Intonation as a means to better english non majored students oral skills a case study at university of transport in ho chi minh city m a thesis 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES _ NGUYỄN THỊ NGUYỆT ÁNH INTONATION AS A MEANS TO BETTER ENGLISH NON-MAJORED STUDENTS’ ORAL SKILLS: A CASE STUDY AT UNIVERSITY OF TRANSPORT IN HO CHI MINH CITY A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL) Supervisor TÔ MINH THANH, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer HO CHI MINH CITY - August, 2009 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled INTONATION AS A MEANS TO BETTER ENGLISH NON-MAJORED STUDENTS’ ORAL SKILLS: A CASE STUDY AT UNIVERSITY OF TRANSPORT IN HO CHI MINH CITY in terms of the statements of requirements for Theses in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee This thesis has not previously been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, August 2009 NGUYEN THI NGUYET ANH i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYEN THI NGUYET ANH, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL), accept the requirements of the university relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan and reproduction for theses Ho Chi Minh City, August 2009 Signature NGUYEN THI NGUYET ANH ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality i Retention and use of the thesis ii Table of contents iii List of abbreviations x List of charts xi List of tables xiii Acknowledgements xv Abstract xvi INTRODUCTION 0.1 Rationale for the study 0.2 Significance of the study 0.3 Statement of purpose 0.4 Limitation 0.5 Delimitation 0.6 Methodology 0.7 Organization of the thesis Chapter BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1.1 Curriculum and course book 1.2 Assessment 1.3 Teachers 1.4 Students 11 1.5 Summary 12 iii Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 13 2.1 Intonation-related terms 13 2.1.1 Stress 13 2.1.2 Stress-timed rhythm vs Syllable-timed rhythm 13 2.1.3 Placement of main stress in sentences 14 2.1.3.1 Content words vs Function words 14 2.1.3.2 Placement of major sentence stress 15 2.1.4 Pitch 16 2.1.5 Intonation 16 2.1.6 Tone languages vs Intonation languages 16 2.1.7 Intonation units 17 2.1.8 Prominence 18 2.1.8.1 Tonic syllables 18 2.1.8.2 Placement of prominence in an intonation unit 18 2.1.9 Intonation patterns 19 2.1.9.1 By Avery and Ehrlich [1995] 20 2.1.9.2 By Bradford [1992] and Brazil [1997] 21 2.1.9.3 By Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin [2002] 21 2.1.9.4 By Halliday [1978] 23 2.1.9.5 By O’Connor [1986] 24 2.1.9.6 By Roach [2000] 25 2.2 Roles of intonation 26 2.3 Overall functions of intonation 27 2.3.1 Attitudinal functions 27 2.3.2 Grammatical functions 27 2.3.3 Discourse functions 27 2.4 Common intonation patterns and their communicative values 28 2.4.1 The rising-falling 28 iv 2.4.2 The rising 29 2.4.3 The falling 29 2.4.4 The falling-rising 30 2.5 Issues related to intonation teaching and learning 30 2.5.1 Supra-segmentals in pronunciation class 30 2.5.2 English teachers’ attitudes towards intonation teaching 31 2.5.3 Learners’ misconceptions of intonation and their common problems 32 2.5.3.1 Learners’ misconceptions 32 2.5.3.2 Common problems facing Vietnamese learners of English 32 2.5.4 Basic principles in intonation teaching and learning 34 2.5.4.1 When to start teaching and learning intonation 34 2.5.4.2 How to teach and learn intonation 34 2.5.5 Techniques in intonation teaching 35 2.6 Previous researches related to intonation and intonation teaching 37 2.7 Summary 39 Chapter METHODOLOGY 40 3.1 Research questions 40 3.2 Research design 41 3.3 Subjects 42 3.3.1 Teachers 42 3.3.2 Students 43 3.4 Instruments 44 3.4.1 Tests 44 3.4.1.1 Written tests 45 3.4.1.2 Recordings 46 3.4.2 Questionnaires 46 3.4.2.1 Teachers’ questionnaire 47 3.4.2.2 Students’ questionnaire 47 v 3.4.3 Experimental teaching 48 3.5 Data collection procedure 49 3.5.1 Via questionnaires 49 3.5.2 Via Tests 49 3.5.3 Via Recordings 49 3.6 Summary 49 Chapter DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 50 4.1 Responses to students’ questionnaire 50 4.1.1 Responses for personal information 50 4.1.2 Responses to research questions 51 4.2 Responses to teachers’ questionnaire 57 4.2.1 Responses for personal information 57 4.2.2 Responses to research questions 59 4.3 Results from the two tests 68 4.3.1 The pre-test 68 4.3.1.1 Section I 68 4.3.1.2 Section II 69 4.3.1.3 Section III 70 4.3.1.4 Section IV 71 4.3.2 The post-test 72 4.3.2.1 Section I 72 4.3.2.2 Section II 72 4.3.2.3 Section III 73 4.3.2.4 Section IV 73 4.3.3 Comparisons of the two tests’ results 74 4.4 Analysis of the two recordings 76 4.4.1 Misuse of the rising tone in unmarked wh-questions 76 4.4.2 Misuse of the rising-falling tone in unmarked yes/no questions 76 vi 4.4.3 Misuse of the rising tone in tag-questions for confirmation 76 4.4.4 Misuse of the rising tone in closed-choice alternative questions 77 4.4.5 Misuse of the rising tone in statements 77 4.4.6 Misuse of the level tone 77 4.5 Comments on techniques applied in the experimental teaching 78 4.6 Summary 79 Chapter RECOMMENDATIONS, INTONATION TEACHING STRATEGIES AND CONTRIBUTIONS 80 5.1 Recommendations 80 5.1.1 Recommendations to the administrators at UT-HCMC 80 5.1.1.1 Intonation should be officially included as an obligatory part in the English curriculum 80 5.1.1.2 An intonation course should be systematically designed 81 5.1.1.3 Time for intonation teaching should be considered with great care 81 5.1.1.4 Intonation should be made one of the assessment criteria 82 5.1.2 Recommendations to the teachers at UT-HCMC 83 5.1.2.1 Teachers’ knowledge of intonation should be bettered 83 5.1.2.2 Teachers’ attitudes towards intonation and intonation teaching at UT-HCMC should be changed in a positive way 83 5.1.2.3 Teachers should help change their students’ attitudes towards intonation and intonation learning at UT-HCMC 83 5.1.2.4 Teachers should increase their students’ involvement in intonation lessons 84 5.1.2.5 Teachers should make their students well aware of communicative values of the intonation patterns 84 5.1.3 Recommendations to the students at UT-HCMC 85 vii 5.1.3.1 Students should have proper attitudes towards intonation and intonation learning at UT-HCMC 85 5.1.3.2 Students should apply proper ways to learn and practice intonation 85 5.2 Intonation teaching strategies 85 5.2.1 Employing concrete ways to explain abstract concepts 86 5.2.2 Applying various visual techniques in intonation production practice 86 5.2.3 Creating meaningful and interesting activities to arouse the students’ interest 86 5.2.4 Using audio-visual aids 87 5.2.5 Using games 88 5.2.6 Telling stories 88 5.2.7 Using sound recorders 88 5.3 Contributions 89 5.4 Summary 90 CONCLUSION 91 BIBLIOGRAPHY 93 APPENDICES 96 Appendix : Teachers’ personal information 96 Appendix : Test 97 Appendix : Test’s suggested answers 99 Appendix : Test’s CD 102 Appendix : Teachers’ questionnaire in Vietnamese 103 Appendix : Teachers’ questionnaire in English 106 Appendix : Students’ questionnaire in Vietnamese 109 Appendix : Students’ questionnaire in English 111 Appendix : Students’ scores from the two tests 113 viii Activity 3: Games adapted from Hancock [1996] (Small groups of three or four students) Rules: Place the cards face down in the middle of the board and the counters on the square marked Start Players move around the board Each time a player passes Start, he or she may write his or her name on any square on the board; no other player can then land on that square The first player to pass Start three times is the winner Players take turns to pick up a card and move When a player picks up a card, he or she must read the sentence on it and complete it with a tag question with the appropriate intonation If the intonation is correct, the player can then move to the next square with that tag question and that intonation (as marked by the arrow) If a player arrives at a square which is the start of an arrow pointing forwards, he or she can move to the square indicated if he or she can suggest a sentence that would naturally lead to that tag question If a player arrives at a square which is the start of an arrow pointing backwards, the player must move to the square indicated unless he or she can suggest a sentence that would naturally lead to that tag question If a player lands on a square with another player’s name in it, the player must return to the square he or she came from 158 159  Answer key 160 have you? (falling)  You haven’t tried very hard,  You must be hungry You haven’t eaten today,  You can’t go out You haven’t done your homework,  You can’t afford a car You haven’t got any money, have you? (rising)  You haven’t seen my glasses anywhere,  You haven’t taken my keys by mistake,  You haven’t got a pen I could borrow,  You haven’t got a light, can you? (falling)  You can’t write very clearly,  You can’t complain,  You can’t expect to pass if you don’t study,  You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, can you? (rising)  You can’t remember where I left the keys,  You can’t pass me that book off the shelf,  You can’t remember John’s phone number,  You can’t think of a good present for mum, you? (falling)  You don’t much help,  I’d buy you a beer but you don’t drink,  You’re very rude to John You don’t like him,  There’s no sugar, but you don’t take sugar in coffee, you? (rising)  You don’t know where I could buy a stamp around here,  You don’t have an aspirin I could take,  You don’t think I should wear formal clothes,  You don’t think we should take a bottle of wine, is it? (falling)  It’s not very nice weather,  That dog’s not very clever,  That’s not a very good idea,  This music’s not very interesting, is it? (rising)  The music’s not too loud for you,  How’s you headache It isn’t getting worse,  You live in Hope Street That’s not the one off High Road,  I hate the name Sue Your name’s not Sue, are they? (falling)  Those earrings aren’t very nice,  Those flowers aren’t very pretty,  Teachers aren’t very well paid,  These gloves aren’t very warm, 10 are they? (rising)  The shoes I bought you aren’t too small for you,  My dogs aren’t annoying you,  These aren’t the keys you’re looking for,  The vegetables aren’t too well done, Appendix 18 LESSON PLAN Teacher’s name: Nguyen Thi Nguyet Anh Teaching point: Intonation Class: HH07B (Intermediate) Subject: Pronunciation Date of teaching: 10/6/2009 Time allocated: 45 minutes 161 A Objectives: Knowledge: - Help Ss know how intonation is used to express attitude(s) and/or emotion(s) Skills: - Help Ss understand other people’s attitude(s) and/or emotion(s) by means of intonation used; - Help Ss select appropriate tones to express their emotion(s) or attitude(s) towards what they would like to say, the listener(s), or both; - Help Ss pronounce these tones comfortably B Methods: Communicative approach C Teaching aids: handouts, computer, projector, etc D Procedure Time Teacher’s activities Purposes Students’ activities Anticipations 1’ 4’ 15’ STABILIZATION - T checks Ss’ attendance LEAD-IN: - T tells a short story40, using pictures to illustrate.- To warm Ss up PRESENTATION - T asks Ss How did the old man feel when he learnt that the person sitting next to him was a woman, not a man - T pronounces the word really in different - To help Ss realize that the same sequence of word, if spoken with different tones, will mean differently - To help Ss know how - Ss look at the pictures and listen to the story - Ss answer the question - Ss listen and give ways and asks Ss to tell in which way the man intonation affect the in the story should say really meaning of the word really - T shows the following conversation on the screen: A: I saw Jim on the way back home yesterday answer B1: RealLY? B2: REALly B3: R E A L l y - To help Ss know what tone - T lets Ss listen to the recording, in which the is used to express what - Ss listen and tell what word really is spoken three times with three the speaker means in each attitude or emotion different tones and asks Ss to tell how the speaker of the three situations feels and/or what the speaker means in each of the three situations - T gives feedback and explains to Ss how to select proper tones to express attitude(s) or emotion(s) - T shows the following utterances on the screen: Are you kidding? Wow! Really! That’s great I can’t believe it - To help Ss practice - T asks Ss to listen to the recording and recognizing the speaker’s - Ss listen carefully and identify the attitude(s) and/or emotion(s) of the attitude(s) and/or emotion(s) discuss the answer with speaker in each of the given utterances - T helps Ss to pronounce the given utterances 25’ through the tones he/she uses in the given utterances - To help Ss pronounce these expressions naturally 163 - T says some sentences and asks Ss to give proper responses, like You know, I won the lottery ticket yesterday PRACTICE(*) - T gives Ss more practice - To help Ss practice the tones communicatively their partners - Ss the practice - Ss the practice as required (*) PRACTICE Activity 1: Recognition Match each of the three ways of pronouncing thanks provided below with the appropriate situations in which they are used Thanks Thanks T h a n k s Situation 1: A person who has been longed for a gift from her friend for a long time is saying thanks to the postman who is bringing the gift to her house Situation 2: A check out clerk at a store who has to say thanks a hundred times a day is saying thanks to a customer Situation 3: A disgruntled employee who has been assigned overtime duty is saying thanks to his boss  Answer: Situation 1- 2; Situation – 3; Situation - Activity 2: Recognition Listen to the following conversations and identify the attitude of the responder in each case Conversation A: What you think about this picture?  Answer B1: It’s great B1 – perfunctory Conversation B2: It’s great B2 – enthusiasm B3: I t’ s g r e a t B3 – sarcasm A: How you like your new job? 164 B1: It’s OK B1 – He enjoys it B2: I t’ s O K B2 – He doesn’t like it B3: It’s OK B3 – He doesn’t enjoy it very much Activity 3: Recognition Listen to the responses and check likes or dislikes Conversation Conversation Conversation Conversation Question Do you like your job? What’s your job like? How is your new job? What’s your new job like?  Answer: Conversation – Dislikes Response It’s all right It’s interesting It’s great It’s fantastic Conversation – Likes Likes Conversation – Dislikes Activity 4: Communicative activity (Pair work) Ask your partner whether or not he/he likes his/her school, classmates, teachers, etc Dislikes Conversation – Dislikes Appendix 19 LESSON PLAN Teacher’s name: Nguyen Thi Nguyet Anh Teaching point: Intonation Class: HH07B (Intermediate) Subject: Pronunciation Date of teaching: 17/6/2009 Time allocated: 45 minutes 165 A Objectives: Knowledge: - Help consolidate Ss’ knowledge of intonation: common intonation patterns and their communicative values Skills: - Help Ss pronounce these tones comfortably B Methods: Communicative approach C Teaching aids: handouts, computer, projector, etc D Procedure Time Teacher’s activities Purposes Students’ activities 1’ 12’ STABILIZATION - T checks Ss’ attendance Activity 1: Listening discrimination Listen and finish the following dialogs with an - To help Ss practice appropriate rejoinder recognizing what the Dialog 1: speaker means via the tones A: I’ve just read a good book he uses, which in its turn B: What? helps them choose A: ? appropriate responses a The latest one by Sidney Sheldon b I’ve just read a good book c Yeah Why are you looking at me that way? Dialog 2: A: I’ve just read a good book Anticipations B: What? A: ? a The latest one by Sidney Sheldon b I’ve just read a good book c Yeah Why are you looking at me that way? Dialog 3: A: I’ve just read a good book B: What? A: ? a The latest one by Sidney Sheldon b I’ve just read a good book c Yeah Why are you looking at me that way? 166 - First, T shows the given dialogs on the screen and explains to Ss what they are expected to - Then, T let Ss listen to the recording twice; after that, T gets answers from Ss and gives feedback  Answer - Dialog 1: c because What is pronounced with the 2-4 pattern, indicating B’s surprise or disbelief - Dialog 2: a because What is pronounced with the 3-2 pattern, indicating that B wants to ask what book A has read - Dialog 3: b because What is pronounced with the 2-3 pattern, indicating that B doesn’t hear the question clearly, so he wants A to repeat the question - T helps Ss practice pronouncing the given dialogs - Ss listen to the recording and the practice individually - Ss practice pronouncing the given dialogs 12’ 167 10’ Activity 2: Listening discrimination (Pair work) You are going to listen to each of the following sentences spoken twice with different tones Listen and give the situation in which each of the given sentences occurs He left already Sally’s moving Jane missed her flight It’s snowing in Texas Your name’s George, isn’t it? It’s going to rain tomorrow, isn’t it? You wanted to go, didn’t you? Are you coming Friday or Saturday? Can you meet us at or 9? 10 Are you going to Spain or Portugal? - T asks Ss to listen to the recording and give the situation in which each of the given sentences occurs - To help Ss practice recognizing what the speaker means via the tones he/she uses, which, in its turn, helps Ss choose appropriate responses -Ss listen to the recording and give the situation in which each of the given sentences occurs Activity 3: Controlled practice (Pair work) Read the following dialog with your partner, - To help Ss practice using - Do the practice as paying special attention to the intonation pattern the right intonation patterns required used in each of the sentences in the given dialog to express what they mean A: Give me some pancakes B: We don’t serve pancakes A: Three eggs and a short stack of pancakes B: We don’t serve pancakes A: What you mean? Everybody serves pancakes 10’ 168 B: We don’t serve pancakes A: For the last time … bring me some pancakes and eggs B: We don’t serve pancakes - T walks around the classroom and help Ss with the pronunciation - T asks some pairs to read the conversation aloud while others listen and tell if the two students in each of the selected pairs use the right patterns and if they pronunciation is natural enough Activity 4: Communicative activity (Pair work) - Explains the situation to Ss: You and your partner - To help Ss practice using - Do the practice as are roommates who have just set out on a vacation the right intonation patterns required that you had been planning for a long time to express what they mean Responsibilities for the trip were divided up, with A taking charge of reservations and itinerary for the trip and B taking charge of all the arrangements that needed to be made around the home in order to take off for a long period of time - Give student A the card for Partner A and student B the card for Partner B Partner A You’re a bit worried that B hasn’t taken care of all the responsibilities that were delegated to him You know that B has been busy at work, and also that he tends to be forgetful and scattered You just happen to have a list of the things in your pocket, so you decide to find out if anything really important was forgotten Things to close the windows 169 pay the rent tell the neighbors we’ll be away have the mail held arrange to have the plants watered phone Jean to say goodbye cancel the newspaper get prescription refilled Partner B You have been really busy at work over the last week – much busier than you thought you would be just before your vacation A had given you a list of things to take care of Just as you got in the car, you discovered this list in your pocket Most of the things have been checked off, but there are several you neglected to You hope that A doesn’t ask you about them! You know he’ll be furious Things to close the windows  pay the rent tell the neighbors we’ll be away have the mail held  arrange to have the plants watered  phone Jean to say goodbye  cancel the newspaper get prescription refilled  - T walks around the classroom to help if necessary - T asks some pairs to roleplay the conversation in front of the class while other Ss watch, listen and give their comments Activity (Optional): Communicative activity (Pair work) Look at the map, take turn asking for and giving directions Supermarket  Bookstore School     170 Bank Church office Post office You are here  Suggested answer A: ExCUSE me! B: YES? A: Can you tell me where the POST office is? B: First, go along THIS street … A: YES? B: Then, turn left at the FIRST crossroad… A: YES? B: and the post office is the SECOND building on the left A: Yes THANK you B: You’re WELcome Activity (Optional): Communicative activity (Pair work) Roleplay the following situation Student A You are the Personnel Manager of a taxi company At the moment, your company is looking for some more experienced taxi drivers Some people have applied for the job, and now you are having an interview with one of the candidates Ask him about his name, age, experience and foreign language competence Student B You are John Smith You are twenty six years old You are a taxi driver You have been driving a taxi for three years You don’t know any foreign languages A taxi company is recruiting some more experienced taxi drivers You are interested in the job and have applied for the position At the moment, you are in the interview Answer the interviewer’s questions  Suggested answer 171 B: Good MORning, sir A: Good MORning Please take a SEAT B: THANK you A: You’re JOHN Smith, AREn’t you? B: Yes, I am A: How OLD are you? B: I’m 26 A: Have you ever worked as a TAxi driver? B: Yes, I have I’ve been driving a taxi for THREE years now A: Can you speak any foreign LANGuages? B: No, I CAN’T A: THANK you, Mr Smith! ... rising-falling intonation and the rising intonation; and nonfinal intonation consisting of the rising-falling intonation and the continuation rise  Final intonation o The rising-falling intonation: ... to learn grammar as an accurate and efficient means to express what they want to communicate.” 11 1.5 SUMMARY All in all, there are at least four factors that prevent intonation from being taught... as part of supra-segmentals, intonation is indeed too important to be ignored in any English teaching and learning Thus, mastering communicative values of intonation patterns and being able to