USING VIDEOS TO IMPROVE EFL VIETNAMESE LEARNER’S ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

In order to eradicate this problem,this study aims to investigate the audiovisual method which means using videos to improve EFF Vietnamese learners’ English pronunciation.. The Nature o

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

TRẦ N NGUYỄN NHƯ QUỲNH

USING VIDEOS TO IMPROVE EFL VIETNAMESE LEARNER’S ENGLISH

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I herein declare that the thesis is my own work and that it has not been submittedfor any other purposes before

Works of others that are used in the thesis are properly cited and acknowledged

Tran Nguyen Nhu Quynh

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to many people, from whom I have received valuable contributions for the completion of this work

First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved

supervisor, Mr Nguyen Gia Viet, Ph.D for his valuable support, guidance and timely, encouragement while I was doing this research Without his guidance, comment, and suggestions during all phases of the work, my thesis would still

be far from completed

Secondly, I would also like to express my gratitude to all lecturers and staff

of the Department of Foreign Languages, Vinh University who supply me with the good conditions to conduct this thesis and finish this TESOL M.A cohort

In addition, my special thanks also go to the non-English major students of grade 11th in Le Quy Don High School for their willingness to complete the survey questionnaire Without their help, this project could not been a success.Last but not least, my warmest thanks go to my beloved family, my colleagues,

my friends for their kindness, helpful supports and useful encouragements

ABSTRACT

In learning English, Pronunciation is an important skill because a wordbeing pronounced incorrectly or wrong intonation may lead to misunderstandingfrom listeners Most of EFL Vietnamese learners have difficulties inpronouncing the words correctly in English The National University EntranceExam delivered annually does not test oral and aural competencies of theprospective English language teachers As they do not expected to have theseskills, students automatically do not focus on listening comprehension andpronunciation aspects of the target language, which leads to lose one of thecomponents of an effective communication In order to eradicate this problem,this study aims to investigate the audiovisual method which means using videos

to improve EFF Vietnamese learners’ English pronunciation The data werecollected mainly through survey questionnaires, interview and tests.Questionnaires are administered to 60 participants of the two non-major Englishclasses whose ages 17, and then analyzed by means of descriptive statistics.These learners were pretested through a number of pre-designed words which berated in terms of pronunciation accuracy Based on the results of the pre-test,two groups, one as the experimental group and the other as control group, wereformed Then, traditional method (drill) will be used for the control group inpronunciation practice Meanwhile, videos will be used to get the experimentgroup practice After three months, the two groups were posttested throughsimilar in format and material to the pre-test The score of the participantsdemonstrated that experimental group outperformed the control group in terms

of the average accuracy gains Finally, it was concluded that videos can lead tohigher accuracy in improving EFL Vietnamese’s English Pronunciation.

3 The Objective of the study

4 Significance of the study

5 Scope of the Study

6Methodology

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW3

A The Nature of Pronunciation

1) The definition of Pronunciation3

2) Definition of consonant

2.1 Place of Articulation

2.2 Manner of Articulation

2.3 Manners of Interference

3) Consonant in English Phonology

3.1 English sound class

3.2 Consonants

4) Teaching Pronunciation

4.1 The objective of teaching pronunciation

4.2 The problems of teaching pronunciation for EFL Vietnamese learners

4.3 Methods and techniques of teching pronunciation

B The Nature of Audio-visual aids

1 Kinds of Audio-visual aids

2 The Advantages of using Audio-visual aids

CHAPTER THREE METHODOLODY

A The setting and the subject of the Research

1. Time and place of the Research

2. The subject of the Research

B Action Research

1. Definition of Action Research

2. The steps in Action Research

3. The procedure of Action Research

3.1Indentify a problem area

3.2Planing the action

C Method of Research

D Research Instruments

1. Pretest

2. Questionnaire

3. Treatment

4. Posttest

E Data Collection Procedure

F Data Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A Research Findings

Cycle 1

1)Questionnaire A

2)Interview

3)Pre-test

4)Planning

5)Action

6)Observation

7)Reflection

Cycle 2

1) Revised Plan

2) Action

3) Posttest

4) Questionnaire B

5) Observation

6) Reflection

7) Interview

B Discussion

1) Videos are able to improve Students’ pronunciation ability

2) Videos are able to improve Students’ perception

C Hypothesis testing

CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION

A Conclusion

B Implication

C Suggestion

1) For the teachers

2) For the institutions

3) For other researchers

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A PRETEST

APPENDIX B POSTTEST

APPENDIX C DATA COLLECTION FROM PRETEST AND POSTTEST

APPENDIX D THE CYCLE1 TEST

APPENDIX E QUESTIONNAIRE A

APPENDIX F QUESTIONNAIRE B

APPENDIX G ENGLISH PHONETIC SYMBOLS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

English has been accepted as the dominant means of communication, bothwritten and spoken in most of the world And because of the internet, the worldbecomes smaller and smaller so English learning is also every important toVietnamese learners During daily communications, we often find somemisunderstandings being caused by inappropriate pronunciation Sometimessuch mispronunciation is significant and we should pay close attention to theproblem I decided I would try to tackle the teaching of pronunciation in order tohelp my students with their English pronunciation and in turn they would be thebest model for their future students as well

According to A.G Gimson “All language are spoken and begun with ears Once a known professor notes that at speaking language a person should know exactly one hundred percent of its phonetics, ninety percent of its grammar and ten percent of the vocabulary may be sufficient” It seems obvious to me that

phonetics constitutes the basic of all other aspects of language The studentsshould first of all learn to hear the sounds accurately and listen to them closelyand carefully The more and hear the differences between the various sound ofEnglish language, the better they will articulate them To this end, studentsshould undergo ear-training and constant listening to English native speakers orsome equally good models Then they should imitate they should heard, usingtheir background knowledge to make the proper adjustment of their speechorgans to reproduce the sound correctly Wrong practice does not only wastetime and effort but also creative had habits, which will be extremely difficult toeliminate

When speaking a foreign language, say English, pronunciation is of greatimportance If you cannot pronounce correctly you are not able to make yourselfunderstood A language is a tool of communication but bad pronunciation cannever be a good tool of communication

For the reasons above, I have decided to do this research named “ UsingVideos to Improve EFL Vietnamese Learner’s English Pronunciation” I hopethat this study will be helpful for Vietnamese teachers and students in someways to find appropriate approaches to help students improve theirpronunciation

2 Research questions

1 Does the use of videos help students improve English pronunciation?

2 What perceptions do students have about using videos to help them improvepronunciation in English classes?

3 The Objectives of the Study

For the reasons mentioned above, the study aims of this thesis to examinewhether or not the audiovisual (videos) method can improve Englishpronunciation ability of EFL Vietnamese Learners and to identify what students’perceptions are when videos are used as a teaching learning media inpronunciation practice

4 Significance of the Study

This study is significant in many ways Firstly, if the results are positive, this canencourage English teachers to use audio visual in teaching Englishpronunciation Secondly, EFL Vietnamese learners are easy to get moreexperience or use videos as an effective way to improve English pronunciation.Next, it also helps EFL Vietnamese learners to learn English pronunciationeasily or ensure that audio visual can be interesting in teaching Englishpronunciation

5 Scope of the study

This research is focused on the effectiveness of using audio visual (videos) todevelop EFL Vietnamese Learner’s English pronunciation The researcherwants to make an effort to improve Vietnamese EFL Learners’ six finalconsonants (/s/, /z/, /l/, /ð/, /f/, /v/) The researcher chose 60 graded 11th

students to prove this study However, this research still has limitation which

is not focused on all ages and regions in Vietnam It also estimated students’English pronunciation level by final consonants

- The pronunciation standard used is American standard

6 Methodology

1. Participants

The participants of this study come from two classes of 11th graded studentsfrom Le Quy Don High School One class will be experiment group and theother is control group

2. The research instruments.

The main data collection instruments are tests and a follow-up questionnaire.This research will be carried out using an action research design Two classeswill be chosen to participate in the study: one is the control group and the other

is the experimental (treatment) group In the first cycle, both groups will begiven a pronunciation test and a questionnaire In this first test, the students will

be asked to say a number of pre-designed sentences and words and be rated interms of pronunciation accuracy Then, the researcher will use thequestionnaire’s result to make a plan for the students For a period of threemonths, the traditional method (drill) will be used to get the experimental grouppractice Meanwhile, videos will be used to get the experimental group practice

pronunciation The videos will be only taken from the website “youtube.com”.

After the period, a post test, which is similar in format and materials used to thepre-test, will be conducted with both groups The results of the tests will be

compared and analyzed to bring about findings for research question 1.Following the post test, a follow- questionnaire will be distributed to theexperimental group, to investigate students’ experiences and perceptions ofusing videos for pronunciation learning in English classes This follow-questionnaire will continue findings for research question 2 The interviews inthis research would also use to support to answer the question 2

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

A. The nature of pronunciation

1. The definition of pronunciation

Pronunciation is one of the important aspects in English, especially inoral communication Every sound, stress pattern, and intonation may conveymeaning The non-native speakers of English who speak English have to bevery careful in pronouncing some utterances or he may createmisunderstanding So, having an intelligible pronunciation is necessaryrather than having a native-like pronunciation Here is pronunciationdefinition from some experts:

According to Ann Cook, pronunciation is the spoken sounds of vowels,consonants and combination We can take assumption is in which a language

or word is pronounced Pronunciation is how the way we pronounce theword How we can speech the word is included in pronunciation

Beside of that, Lado (1964:70) has opinion that pronunciation is the use of asound system in speaking and listening Here, pronunciation is merely treated

as the act that happens in speaking and listening Lado doesn’t mention how thesounds are produced

Pronunciation is the act or manner of pronouncing words; utterance ofspeech In other words, it can also be said that it is a way of speaking aword, especially a way that is accepted or generally understood Inthe senses, pronunciation entails the production and reception of sounds

of speech and the achievement of the meaning (Kristina, Diah, et al.2006: 1).This second definition gives a briefer pronunciation’s definition It containssome important keys in pronunciation: act, speaking, production and reception

of sound According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary,pronunciation is a way in which a language or a particular word orsound is spoken This definition has clear information as follows:

a Pronunciation is a way of producing something.

b The product of this act is language or word or sound.

However, it does not have any important information about how alanguage or a particular word or a sound should be spoken

From the definitions above, it can be concluded that pronunciation is theparticular way of speaking a word or phrase which is accepted orgenerally understood (intelligible)

We can conclude that toward pronunciation we are able to identify thespeakers We can know if someone is native or not by his pronunciation

2. Definition of Consonant

Consonants are sounds characterized by a constricting or a complete closing ofthe air passages (Malmberg, 1963: 32) Every consonant may be definedaccording to its place of articulation and manner of articulation

2.1) Place of Articulation

The place of articulation of a consonant is determined by the articulatorparticipating in its production.

a) Bilabials

Bilabial sounds are made with two lips coming together and touchingmomentarily The obstruction of the airstream thus occurs at the lips Englishhas three bilabial sounds: [p] as in pie, [m] as in man and [b] as in ball

Table 2.1 Bilabial Consonants in Phonetic Alphabet

le Language Orthograph

b) Labiodentals

The labiodentals sounds are made with the upper teeth touching the lower lip

Table 2.2 Labiodentals Consonants in the International Phonetic Alphabet

IPA Descriptio

n

Exampl Language Orthograph IPA Meanin

f voiceless

labiodental

labiodental

c) Interdentals

Interdental consonants are produced by placing the blade of the tongue againstthe upper incisors In this case, the tip of the tongue is placed between the upperand lower front teeth, and therefore may articulate with both the upper and lowerincisors Voiced and voiceless interdental fricatives [ð, θ] appear in AmericanEnglish as the initial sounds of words like 'then' and 'thin'

Table 2.3 The Alveolar Consonants in Phonetic Alphabet

IPA

alveolarnasal

voicelessalveolar

voicedalveolar

voicelessalveolar

voicedalveolar

f) Alveo-palatal

Alveopalatal consonants are made with the blade of the tongue approaching ofthe hard palate just behind the alveolar ridge The alveo-palatal consonants inthe International Phonetic Alphabet are:

g) Velars

Velar consonants occur when the back of the tongue is raised towards the velum(soft palate) The velars consonants in the International Phonetic Alphabet are:

Table 2.4 The Velars Consonants in Phonetic Alphabet

Language Orthography IPA Meaning

Table 2.5 TheGlottal Consonants in Phonetic Alphabet

Language Orthography IPA Meaning

h "fricative" English hat [hæt] hat

2.2 Manner of Articulation

Manner of articulation refers to the way in which the obstruction of the stream, which characterizes all consonants, is achieved (Peter and Susan, 1992:18) At the different places of articulation in the mouth, there are several basicways that the air-stream can be obstructed

air-a) Stops

Malmberg (1963: 40) states that momentary consonants or stops are completeclosing followed by an abrupt opening (explosion) With regard to English, thisclosing may be achieved with both lips against each other (bilabial stop), withthe tip of the tongue against the teeth or the gums (dental or alveolar stop), orwith the back of the tongue either against the hard palate (palatal stop) or againstthe soft palate (velar stop) The examples of stops are:

b) Fricatives

Fricatives are sounds made by partial obstruction of the airstream This partialobstruction results from the lips or the tongue coming close to some part of theupper mouth These consonants are called fricatives because the closeapproximation of the articulations causes turbulence or friction in airflow.Fricative consonants are characterized by a narrowing of the air passage, whichproduces a frictional or rubbing noise as the air passes through the tiny openingformed by the articulating organ In principle, it is possible to produce fricatives

at any point whatever in the mouth, from the lips to the pharynx, and also in thelarynx itself English has fricative consonants as follows: [f], [v], [s], [z], [∫], [ʒ],[θ], and [ð]

c) Affricatives

Affricatives are the consonant which is the combination of stop and fricative

The example of affricatives is [t∫] as in English initial consonant of child.

d) Nasals

Nasal sounds are sounds made with the air escaping through the nose All nasalsounds much alike a kind of humming sound English has several nasalconsonants: nasal bilabial [m], nasal alveolar [n] and velar nasal [ŋ] Nasalconsonants are normally voiced but may lose their voicing in combination withvoiceless consonants

e) Laterals

Laterals are sounds that are occur when the tongue makes a firm contact with thepoint of articulation in the teeth or the palate This contact takes place only at themiddle and oral cavity, while air escapes from both sides of the place ofarticulation The English [l] in long is a lateral type The tip of the tongue

touches the upper gums, and air escapes on both sides of the tongue English [l]sound is alveolar lateral.

f) Trills: r-sound

The consonants called trills or vibrant are articulated in such a way that thearticulating organ (in this case is either the tip of the tongue) forms a series ofvery brief occlusion, separated by small vocalic elements The trills belong tothe r-family sounds There are two kinds of r in terms of the articulatory organ:the front or apical r and the back or uvular r The first is pronounced in such away, that the tip of the tongue touching the alveoli, is pressed by forward by thestream of air f

2.3 Manners of Interference

2.3.1 Closure

There are three different types of closure: stops, rolls, and flaps As statedabove, stops are complete closing followed by an abrupt opening (explosion).When there is velic closure the air the air-stream cannot get out through thenose, nor can get out immediately through the mouth Since the lungs are stillpushing air upwards the air is compressed within the totally enclosed cavity, andthen when the mouth closure is removed, this is compressed air explodes out ofthe mouth as pie, by, die, et cetera This kind of sound, which has compressionand explosion, is called plosive

2.3.2 Narrowing

When two speech organs are very close together the air forcing its way, then it isresulting narrowing The air then becomes turbulent, and this turbulence is heard

as friction noise Sounds having such friction are known as fricatives Somefricatives are made with a hissy kind of friction, example /s/ and /∫/, and theseare sometimes referred to as sibilants; while the non-sibilants have a less hissy,like /f/ and /θ/ In German s is generally even more grooved than in English andthis makes it sounds very characteristic

2.3.3 Opener Positions

If two organs are not so close together that they cause friction they may beplaying a major part in shaping the cavities through which the air flows Thisposition causing frictionless sounds named frictionless continuants This soundcan be produced if the speaker gently lowers the lip away from the teeth when

he says along fricative sound (for example /v/) until the friction disappears Thisfriction /v/ sound can quite often be heard as a defective /r/ in English The wordever said with a frictionless /v/ will sound like defective version of the worderror

3 Consonant in English phonology

3.1 English Sound Classes

To be effective in learning English pronunciation, it is essential to have anunderstanding of how the speech sounds of English are produced By knowinghow sounds are produced, the correct English sounds can be correctly produced

3.1.1 English Speech Sounds Production

Speech sounds are made by air moving outward from the lungs through themouth or nose Different speech sounds result when the airstream is changed insome way by the positioning of various parts of the mouth Some sounds are

made as a result of the lips changing the airstream while other sounds made as aresult of the tongue changing the airstream.

The parts of the mouth that are involved in production of speech sounds can bedivided into two: articulators and places of articulations The moveable parts of

the mouth (the lower lip, the bottom teeth, the tongue, and the lower jaw) are

referred to as articulators The unmovable parts of the mouth involved in thearticulation of speech sounds are referred to as places of articulations In theproduction of speech sounds, the articulators approach the places ofarticulations, causing the airstream to be changed in different ways

3.1.2 Organs of Speech

a) Lungs are the main organ for respiration, the other functions are toprovide main source of airstream to create speech sound and to organize speechsound Lungs are the initiator in initiation, so it’s called pulmonic sound

b) Larynx is the valve in respiratory which will shut immediately to ensuringthe food or drink will come through pharynx and go into esophagus Anotherspeech sound in larynx is vocal fold Vocal fold is the valve which controls theair stream among lungs, oral cavity, and nasal cavity

c) Pharynx is a pipe which located in the larynx When producing soundpharynx as the air tube which will vibrate when the vocal fold vibrate

d) Hard palate, this articulator often called as “roof of the mouth” Just like

velar this articulator is passive articulator The sound produced by thisarticulator called palatal sound

e) Alveolar ridge, located between front teeth and hard palate In producingsound this articulator is passive, but the tip of the tongue is active The soundproduced by this articulator called alveolar sound

f) Tongue divided into three main parts: tip of the tongue, blade of thetongue, and back of the tongue

g) Upper teeth ridge is located above and behind the upper front teeth

h) Hard palate is that portion of the roof of the mouth directly behind theupper teeth ridge It arches upward to the highest point in the mouth and thengradually descends

i) Soft Palate or Velum is that portion of the palate directly behind the hardpalate It ends at the back portion of the mouth in a small bulb called the uvula.The position of velum can be up or down, so it will control the air streamthrough the oral cavity or nasal cavity Velum is passive articulator The soundproduced by this articulator called velar sound

j) Vocal cords are muscles in the larynx which make the sound producedvoiced or voiceless

4 Teaching Pronunciation

Teaching pronunciation in a high school is very essential Teacher should givecertain attention in teaching pronunciation and decide the area of sounds thatbecome the basic need for students

Native-like pronunciation is difficult for most young learners to achieve in aforeign language The achievement of it requires not only skilled teaching but

also a high level of internal motivation of the student Most young learners aresatisfied with reasonably intelligible speech in the second language and this is anacceptable goal for the English Foreign Language teacher The teacher shouldgive assistance during the regular speaking lesson to students who are havingdifficulty with particular sounds The particular sounds that students will find itdifficult will differ for different language backgrounds.

4.1 The Objectives of Teaching Pronunciation

Here are some objectives of teaching pronunciation:

The pronunciation should enable learners to surpass the threshold level so thattheir pronunciation will not detract from their ability to communicate (Celce-Murcia, et al 1996: 8)

Based on the goals above, the intelligibility is considered the main goal ofpronunciation since the idea of pronunciation is to enable the listeners tounderstand what the speaker says Kenworthy (1987) states that the main goal ofpronunciation for the learners is can be comfortably intelligible It means thatthe conversation between the speaker and the listener can be “comfortable” It’snot the condition where the speaker and the listener speak a native-likepronunciation, but both the speaker and the listener understand each other

4.2 The Problems of Teaching Pronunciation for EFL Vietnamese Learners

4.2.1 The Vietnamese Learner

The Vietnamese language has only six consonants that appear at the end of

words, all of which are shared with English (p, t, k, m, n, and ng) However,

English has an almost endless list of final consonants and final consonantclusters The chart below by Tang (2007) lists over fifty, most of which can takederivational or inflectional morphemes to create new, different sounds.Vietnamese learners of English often struggle with production of six Englishfinal consonant sounds (/s/, /z/, /l/, /ð/, /f/, /v/) in the syllable final positions (Ha,2005; Ngo, 2005; Nguyen, 2007; Osburne, 1996; Sato, 1984; Tang, 2007)

The chart: Comparison of Vietnamese and English Consonant sounds in

Syllable Initial and Final Position

Tang (2007) found that Vietnamese learners often simplify or omit theconsonants in the final syllables of English words He also noted that whensimplifying these final sounds,

Vietnamese learners of English have a tendency to replace the Englishendings with sounds that are common to both Vietnamese and English languages(Tang, 2007, p 21).Having noted the influence of the Vietnamese on theproduction of English, it is also important to understand the final syllable soundsthat pose the greatest struggle for Vietnamese English language learners (ELLs).Below are some sounds that are not shared between the two languages as finalconsonant sounds

Having noted the influence of the Vietnamese L1 on the production ofEnglish, it is also important to understand the final syllable sounds that pose thegreatest struggle for Vietnamese English language learners (ELLs) Two soundsthat are not shared between the two languages as final consonant sounds are thealveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/ While Vietnamese does have these sounds assyllable-initial consonants, they never appear at the end of words (Tang, 2007)

Ha (2005) asserts that among Vietnamese speakers of English, the /z/ and /s/sounds are most frequently omitted Vietnamese speakers’ also maypronounce /z/ as /s/ Another sound, which is known to pose struggles forVietnamese speakers, is the alveolar lateral sound /l/ (Ha, 2005) Ha (2005)indicates us that the final consonant sound /l/ may be produced as the /n/ Thelast sound addressed in this research is the dental fricative /ð/, which may bereplaced with the Vietnamese dental aspirated /t/ (Ha, 2005)

4.2.2 The Teacher

The problems of the teacher related to pronunciation practice are stated below:

a) The Lack of Knowledge about Pronunciation

Sometimes, teachers are simply don’t understand about pronunciation, so theyoften make mistake when they pronouncing words or utterances They don’tknow how the sounds are produced, so they can’t explain to their students

b) The Lack of Motivation to Teach Pronunciation

Many teachers ignore of the importance of pronunciation in language learning.They think that pronunciation is not as important as writing, reading, grammar,etc

c The Techniques of Teaching Pronunciation

There are many techniques of teaching pronunciation According to Murcia, et al (1996: 8), there are ten techniques of teaching pronunciation asfollows:

Celce-1) Listen and imitate: A technique used in the Direct Method in which

students listen to a teacher-provided model and repeat or imitate it

2) Phonetic Training: Use of articulatory descriptions, articulatory

diagrams, and a phonetic alphabet

3) Minimal pair drills: A technique to help students distinguish between

similar and problematic sounds in the target language through listeningdiscrimination and spoken practice

4) Contextualized minimal pairs: In the technique, the teacher establishes

the setting and presents key vocabulary; students are trained to respond to asentence stem with the appropriate meaningful response

5) Visual aids: Enhancement of the teacher’s description of how sounds are

produced by audiovisual aids such as sound-color charts, Fidel wall charts, rods,pictures, mirrors, props, regalia, etc these devices are also used to cueproduction of the target sounds

6) Tongue twister: A technique from speech correction strategies for native

speakers

7) Developmental approximation drills: A technique suggested by

first-language acquisition studies in which second first-language speakers are taught toretrace the steps that many English-speaking children follows as they acquirecertain sounds in their first language

8) Practice of vowel shift and stress shift related by affixation: A technique

based on rules of generative phonology used with intermediate or advancedlearners

9) Reading aloud/recitation: Passage or scripts for learners to practice and

then read aloud, focusing on stress, timing, and intonation

10) Recordings of learners’ production: Audio and video tape of rehearsed

and spontaneous speeches, free conversations, and role plays

4.3 Methods and Techniques of teaching Pronunciation

a) Phonetic transcription

One of the long-used and known to all teachers technique is phonetictranscription, which is a code consisting of phonetic symbols Each symboldescribes a single sound, which is in fact different from a letter of the alphabet

True as it is, in order to use phonetic transcription one must learn the code and ittakes time and effort Although it is possible to learn the pronunciation withoutthe code, many linguists believe it to be a valuable tool in learning the foreignsound system One obvious advantage of learning the code is the ability to findthe pronunciation of unfamiliar words in a dictionary All good modern learners’dictionaries use phonetic symbols to indicate pronunciation, and learners musttherefore be familiar with them’.

b) Auditory reinforcement

As A Brown (1992 ) notes, there is a common assumption among teachers that

perceptual and productive language skills such as listening and speaking are taught through the same medium, namely speaking and listening As the result

many of them use the traditional listen-and-repeat approach in spite of thepresent tendency for communicative language teaching Techniques based onthis method are often production oriented and aim at improving students’ spoken

English Many of such techniques employ minimal pairs, which are words that

have different meaning and their pronunciation differs only in one sound

Minimal pair drills were introduced during the Audio lingual era and have still been used both in isolation - at a word-level and in context - at a sentence-level.

The technique is useful for making learners aware of troublesome soundsthrough listening and discrimination practice

c) Visual reinforcement

Visual reinforcement has been connected with pronunciation teaching since the

time of Silent Way was the skill was taught through the use of word charts and

color rods Since that time many other ways of visualizing pronunciation havebeen introduced They may be especially useful for adult learners who undergo

the process of fossilization While children benefit from oral repetition, drillsand taping themselves, adult learners find it difficult to learn the patterns ofintonation, stress and rhythm The reason may be that they simply do not knowwhether the patterns they produce are acceptable Real time visual displays are

to show learners the relationship between the patterns they produce and thosethey are required to repeat One of the possible conventions for making the wordstress visible is writing the stressed syllable in capital letters:

FAshion, SEssion, beHAVE

Another common way of visualizing word stress is the use of dots The largedots mark a stressed syllable in a word:

catwalk - • •

d) Tactile reinforcement

The use of the sense of touch is another frequently employed technique, though

it is not discussed very often In fact, some teachers might be taking advantage

of it without even realizing this Celce-Mauricia (1996) calls this mode a visualreinforcement One of the forms of this reinforcement includes placing fingers

on the throat in order to feel the vibration of the vocal cords, and it may beuseful when teaching the distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants Adifferent form of tactile reinforcement incorporates simple tactile descriptionsgiven to the students: ‘When you pronounce /r/ your tongue feels liquid andyour jaw is tight (Celce-Mauricia, 296)

e) Drama Voice Techniques

The focus of the above techniques has been generally on accuracy of sounds andstress at a word level Nevertheless, we should bear in mind that both the ability

to produce isolated sounds or recognizing suprasegmental features and fluencycontribute to effective communication Today’s pronunciation curriculum whichhas communicative language teaching as its goal thus seeks to identify the mostimportant features and integrate them in courses The interactive aspect ofpronunciation as well as other aspects of English can be emphasised by the use

of drama techniques In classes where these techniques are employed, they help

to reduce the stress that accompanies oral production in a foreign language.They are fun, entertaining and relaxing Moreover, they also increase learnerconfidence, because they help learners to speak clearer, louder and in a variety

of tones One means in which drama voice techniques can enter pronunciationclassroom is for teachers to employ poetry, tongue twisters and raps

f) Audio feedback

In traditional methods, which have been used for a long time now, teachers havetaken the advantage of the audio medium, namely a tape recorder, for a dualpurpose First, for listening to the recorded native speaker discourse Andsecond, for taping students and replaying their own production As a matter offact, in today’s pronunciation classroom audio feedback still plays a significantrole Most of all, learners are provided with authentic material and unlimitedaccess to native-speaker’s discourse They can also record written passages andask teachers for feedback

g) Multimedia enhancement

One of the major developments in the field of linguistics following the audiomedium are video recorders and the use of software These are an advance over

audio tapes in that they provide visual support, which is as important inpronunciation teaching as auditory Celce-Mauricia (1996) lists also otheradvantages of multimedia enhancement (313):

1 access to a wide variety of native-speaker speech samplings

2 sheltered practice sessions in which the learner can take risks without stressand fear of error

3 opportunity for self-pacing and self-monitoring of progress

4 one-on-one contact without a teachers’ constant supervision

5 an entertaining, game like atmosphere for learning

As for video recorders, they may serve both as a source of learning material andfeedback Students may not only view a native speakers’ production of speechbut can also see and hear themselves if videotaped Another innovativetechnique, which is becoming more and more frequently used in pronunciationteaching, are computer displays The advantages of this medium include: visualfeedback, entertaining, game like quality of programs, a great amount ofindividual feedback and the opportunity to compare learner’s own production ofspeech with a native-speaker model The only limitation of this medium thatlearners and teachers may come across is the availability of software, sincemany schools are still not equipped with large enough computer labs to meetuser’s needs

B. The Nature of Audio-visual aids

Madhuri (2013) states about the definition of visual aids that the visual aids are tools of record to improve speaking skills that are used for severaltimes and more than others It is where the object picture section and gestureshave been systematically used with audio-visual work to elucidate meaning.

audio-Subathra (2012) emphasizes the best side of audio-visual aids that they made theprocess of learning has become quite exciting for the students with the audio-visual aids It helps the students in generating an open mind for learning At thesame time it develops team work among the students as they are required towork in teams for such project-based learning Within a short period of timethese audio-visual aids gained much popularity and have shown theirdominance

Ahmad (2013) emphasizes that in audio visual aids, both the listening (ears) andviewing faculties (eyes) are involved Such aids include television programs,video films, motion pictures, synchronized audio-slide projectors, computersand computer- assisted instructions and so on Cartoon films are also a usefulmedium for developing, and chiseling the skills of the students

1 Kinds of Audio-Visual Aids

According to Ahmad (2013), there are four kinds of audio-visual aids They arefilms, television, video and CDs

1) Films

Films represent an effective instructional device to cater to the students’ attentionand create interest and motivation among them towards effective learning.Educational films may be prepared on any content material or any aspect ofknowledge, and behavior

2) Television

Television is a versatile medium of transmitting education through differentprograms It is an exciting means of communication Useful instructionalprograms are being telecasted regularly for the student community on television

A teacher should utilize the TV programs and make them the basis fordiscussions on relevant occasions

3) Video

Video is a viable aid towards effective learning and teaching Teaching with thehelp of video is called video-aided instruction In video-aided instruction,learners’ comprehension is generally tested through a questionnaire and video isclearly an instructional medium that generates a much greater amount of interestand enjoyment than the more traditional printed material

4) CDs

Nowadays, educational video-cassettes are easily available in the market.Educational CDs can be prepared on any aspect of the subject-matter andcurriculum

2 The Advantages of Using Audio Visual Aids

According to Nupur (2012), there are so many advantages of using audio visualaids, such as:

1) Best motivators: They are the best motivators Students work with more

interest and zeal They are more attentive

2) Fundamental to verbal instructions: They help to reduce verbalism

which is a major weakness of the schools They convey the same meaning aswords mean They give clear concepts and thus help to bring accuracy inlearning

3) Clear images: Clear images are formed when we see, hear, touch, taste

and smell as our experiences are direct, concrete and more or less permanent.Learning through the senses becomes the most natural and consequently theeasiest

4) Vicarious Experience: Everyone agrees to the fact that the firsthand

experience is the best type of educative experience but such an experience cannotalways be provided to the pupils so in some situations certain substitutes have to

be provided For this we find a large number of inaccessible objects andphenomenon In all such cases audio-visual aids provide us the best substitutes

5) Variety: Audio-Visual aids provide variety and provide different tool s in

the hands of the teacher

6) Freedom: The use of audio-visual aids provide various occasions for the

pupil to move about, talk, laugh and comment upon Under such an atmospherethe students work because they want to work and not because the teacher wantsthem to work

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes five parts: the setting of the research, the method of theresearch, the techniques of collecting the data, and the techniques of analyzing

A. The Setting and the Subject of the Research

1. Time and Place of the Research

The research is conducted at Le Quy Don High School, one of senior HighSchool in Tan An city, Long An Province, Vietnam

The reason of choosing Le Quy Don High School as the offsetting for theresearch is that there is a close relationship between the teachers and theresearcher in this school so that the researcher can get more information fromthem In addition, the researcher would like to contribute her efforts to teachingand learning English to this school

Based on the researcher’s observation, this school has completely enoughfacilities There are 55 classes from 10th grades to 12th grades Each classconsists of 30 students Besides, there are a headmaster room, a languagelaboratory (in progress), a science laboratory, a computer laboratory, a library, acounseling room, a health room, a hall, and 3 canteens

The researcher conducted the research in this school for about three months Itwas started on January10th and was finish April 10th 2017 The research adjustedthe research schedule with the lesson schedule in this school She conducted herresearch once a week

2. The Subject of the Research

The subject of the research was the 11th graded students of two classes Eachclass consisted of 30 students The students were observed by the researcher intheir English lesson

B. Action Research

1. Definition of Action Research

In this study, the classroom action research was conducted as a way to solvethe problems related to students’ pronunciation According to Ferrance (1998)action research is a process in which participants examine their own educationalpractice systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research.Ferrance’s statement is clear enough since it provides complete informationabout action research reflected in these key words: process, participants,educational practice, and techniques of research

Meanwhile, Carr and Kemmis in Anne Burns (1999: 30) states that actionresearch is the application of fact finding to practical problem solving in asocial situation with a view to improving the quality of action within it,involving the collaboration and co-operation of researchers, practitioners, andlaymen

Wallace (1998: 255) states that action research is a method of professionaldevelopment which involves the systematic collection and analysis of datarelated to practice

From the definition above, it can be concluded that action research is thesystematic study of problem solving in a social situation with the involvement ofthe researcher to improve the quality of action within it which involves thesystematic collection and analysis of data related to practice

2. The Steps in Action Research

Kemmis and McTaggert in Burns (1999:32) explain that action research occurs

through a dynamic and complementary process, which consists of four essential

‘moments’: planning, action, observation and reflection These moments are thefundamental steps in a spiraling process Each step is explained as follows:

d Reflection

Reflection is a step to reflect the effects of the action as the basis for furtherplanning Reflecting is needed as the basis for further planning In this step theresearcher reflects what he has done through a succession of stages