Problems and solutions to improve the 10 TH graders pronuciation at nong cong no 1 secondary school

Page 11 2.2.3.The reality of teaching and learning Pronunciation at Nong Cong 1 Page 11Upper secondary school 2.3... Purpose of the study The aim of the study is mainly figure out common

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.2.Purposes of the study and Research Questions ………… Page 2

2.2.1 Definition of pronunciation ……… Page 42.1.2 Ways to overcome pronunciation errors ……… Page 10

2.2.1.Participants and the research context……… Page 11

2.2.3.The reality of teaching and learning Pronunciation at Nong Cong 1

Page 11Upper secondary school

2.3 FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

2.3.1.Data analysis and discussion ……… Page 122.3.2 Major finding and discussion ……… Page 13

PART 3: CONCLUSION

3.1 Summary of the main findings ……… Page 16 3.2 Suggestions for further study ……… Page 16

PART 1 INTRODUCTION

1 1.Rationale for the study

Obviously, pronunciation is one of the most important skills in Englishlanguage teaching Incorrect pronunciation leads to misunderstandings,however, at the upper-secondary schools in Vietnam, pronunciation has so farbeen paid less attention to compared to vocabulary, grammar and languageskills Moreover, in English textbooks for 10th graders, there are a few exercisesfor pronunciation practice As we know, all English exams at school are always

in the written form so most teachers as well as students have little motivation toteach and to learn pronunciation

In teaching English I recognize that students make many pronunciationerrors such as word and sentence stress, intonation, length of vowel sounds,ending sounds and linking sounds There are a lot of differences in learningEnglish between people in city and the countryside, as students in city havebetter skills than in countryside The results of examination in two recent yearsshow that students in the cities have better marks than in the countryside Thegap in knowledge and skills of English between students in those two areas isvery big Therefore, the necessity to fill this gap is a challenging but worth doingfor teachers of English One of the aspects that needs to be fulfilled ispronunciation To improve students' pronunciation , I carry out this study to findout suggested solutions to overcome problems in pronunciation Thus, with theambition to improve our own students’ pronunciation, that is, to improve ourstudents’ English skills, decided to carry out the study entitled “ Problems andsollutions to improve the 10th graders’s pronunciation at Nong Cong no.1 Uppersecondary school”

1.2 Purpose of the study

The aim of the study is mainly figure out common mistakes inpronouncing English vowels and consonants by 10th graders at Nong Cong no.1upper secondary school in order to give some suggested solutions to improveteaching and learning pronunciation at Nong Cong no.1 upper secondary school

1.3 Scope of study

The research focuses on English pronunciation mistakes made by 10 thgraders at Nong Cong no.1 upper secondary school and gives suggestedsolutions Moreover, within the scope of this study, we do not have an ambition

to cover all students' problems with English pronunciation Only pronunciationmistakes with some typical vowels and consonants made by the students areinvestigated

In order to obtain the exact response to the aims, two research questionsare raised:

1 What types of common pronunciation mistakes made by 10th gradersstudents?

2.What should students do to overcome the pronunciation mistakes?

1.4 Methodology

There are 80 10th graders from classes 10A6, 10A10 at Nong Cong no.1upper secondary school in Thanh Hoa province They are the same age but theyare in different levels The students are from rural areas such as Tế Nông, TếThắng, Thăng Long communes.They were asked to answer the questionaires.The teacher calls them to read the sounds in each lesson with their teacher’sobservation The observer listens and finds out the common pronunciationmistakes in vowels and consonants

PART 2 DEVELOPMENT2.1 literature review

2.1.1 Definition of pronunciation

Pronunciation is the way in which a word is spoken" or "the way in which

a word is usually pronounced Pronunciation is a basic skill in speaking If theword is pronounced wrong, the listener can't understand In addidition, sound isthe core of the language so the teacher should teach pronunciation correctly.Nowadays communicative approach is popularly applied, it means that learnersmust communicate successfully with each other That is the reason whypronunciation teaching has been paid attention to by all the teachers as well asthe students

As we know there are 44 sounds in English They are included twogroups: there are 20 vowel sounds including 12 pure vowels, 8 dipthongs and 24consonants sounds

Characteristics of pure vowel sounds are presented as follows:

Pure vowel

Sounds

Characteristics

/ i: / The front of the tongue is slightly behind and below the

close front position The "close" position is where thetongue is closest to the roof of the mouth Lips are spread.The tongue is tense, and the sides of the tongue touch theupper molars

For example some words are read as / i:/: sea, seat, , see,free, cede, secret, receive, Vietnamese, chief, machine

/ ɪ / The part of the tongue slightly nearer the centre is raised to

just above the half-close position The lips are spreadloosely, and the tongue is more relaxed The sides of thetongue may just touch the upper molars

As in these words: village, ear, beer , pier , here, bit,become, women

/ e/ The front of the tongue is between the hlf-open and

half-close positions Lips are half-closely spread The tongue istenser than for / ɪ /, and the sides of the tongue may touchthe upper molars.

For example: bed, bread, breath, chair, care, pleasant/ æ/ The front of the tongue is raised to just below the half-open

position Lips are neutrally open

For example: dam, map, have, plait, antique

/ ɑː / The tongue, between the centre and the back, is fully open

position Lips are neutrally open

As in these words: bar, sharp, half, calm, star, smart

/ ɔː / The back of the tongue is raised to between the half-open

and half-close positions Lips are loosely rounded

For example: all, call, fault, laugh, law, awful, wall, water,born, cross, oar, four, door

/ ɒ / The back of the tongue is in the fully open position Lips

are lightly rounded

Example: dot, often, long, knowledge, want, cough,Astralia

/ ʊ / The part of the tongue just behind the centre is raised, just

above the half-close position The lips are rounded, butloosely so The tongue is relatively relaxed

For example: could, should, full, put, woman, wolf, foot,cook, good

/ uː / The back of the tongue is raised just below the close

position Lips are rounded The tongue id tense

As in these words: screw, fruit, juice, rule, do, who, cool,food, cukoo

/ ʌ / The centre of the tongue is raised to just above the fully

open position Lips are neutrally open

For example: come, some, young, cousin, but, cup, blood,rug, must, unhappy, umbrella, lungs

/ ɜː / The centre of the tongue is between the close and

half-open positions Lips are relaxed, and neutrally spread.

As in these words: serve, girl, first, worm, fur, hurt, earth,learn

/ ə / The centre of the tongue is between the close and

half-open positions Lips are relaxed, and neutrally spread

For example: sperate, about, paper, silent, banana

Table 1: Characteristics of pure vowel sounds

Characteristics of English diphthongs are presented as follows: Adiphthong is defined by Jones as "a sound made by gliding from one vowel toanother represented phonetically by sequence of two letters"

Diphthongs Characteristics

/ eɪ / Diphthong / eɪ / starts " from slightly below the

half-close front position and moves in the direction of RP /

ɪ /" Diphthong / ɔɪ / The first element of / ɔɪ / in RP is pronounced very

close to cardinal [ɔ ] and the second, afterconfiguration changes, is close towards thepronunciation of [ɪ

/ əʊ / The realisation of diphthong / əʊ / starts with the

articulators positioned for "typical RP [ɜː] position",while afterwards the tongue moves "slightly up andback to RP [ʊ]

/ aʊ / The diphthong / aʊ / starts "further back than / aɪ/ and

changes towards RP / ʊ /"

/ ɪə / This is one of the centering diphthongs (/ ɪə /, / eə/, /

ʊə/) Diphthong / ɪə /, starts with the tonguepositioned for / ɪ /

/ eə / Diphthong / eə / "starts at cardinal /e / or below and

moves to more central but equally open position"

/ ʊə / The glide / ʊə / has "coalesced with / ɔː / for most RP

speakers" and "[a] monophthongal pronunciation

is .found regularly before / r / in, e.g alluring,furious, having the quality of the diphthong'sbeginning point"

/ p / Bilabial sounds: total closure is made using both lips The soft

palate is raised / p / is unvoiced and fortis / b / is voiced andlenis / b / is devoiced at the end of the word

For example: pig/ big, cap/ cab, happen, cabbage/ b /

/ t / Alveolar sounds: closure is made by the tongue blade against

the alveolar ridge The soft palate is raised / t / is unvoiced andfortis / d / is voiced and lenis / d / is devoiced at the end of aword

For example: to/ do, hat/ bad, hotter, harder

/ d /

/ k / Velar sounds: closure is made by the back of the tongue against

the soft palate / k / is invoiced and fortis / g / is voiced andlenis / g / is devoiced at the end of a word

Example: cat/ get, pick/ pig, packet, forget/ g /

/ f / Labio- dental sounds: the lower lip makes light contact with the

upper teeth The soft palate is raised / f / is unvoiced andfortis / v / is voiced and lenis / v / is devoiced at the end of aword

For example: fan/ van, cafe, cover, hoof, hooves

/ v /

/ s / Alveolar sounds: The tongue blade makes light contact with the

alveolar ridge The soft palate is raised / s / is unvoiced andfortis / z / is voiced and lenis / z / is devoiced at the end of aword

/ z /

For example: sad/ zoo, this, that, these, icy, lazy.

/ θ / Dental sounds The tongue tip makes light contact with the back

of the top, front teeth Or, tongue tip may produce betweenupper and lower teeth The soft palate is raised / θ / is unvoicedand fortis / ð / is voiced and lenis / ð / is devoiced at the end of

a word

For example: thank, the, bath, bathe, mathematics, father

/ ð /

/ ʧ / Palato-alveolar sounds The tongue tip, blade and rims close

against the alveolar ridge and side teeth The front of the tongue

is raised, and when the air is released, there is audible friction.The soft palate is also raised / ʧ / is unvoiced and fortis / ʤ / isvoiced and lenis / ʤ / is devoiced at the end of a word

For example: church, judge, nature, larger

/ ʤ /

/ ʃ / Palato-alveolar sounds The tongue blade makes light contact

with the alveolar ridge, and the front of the tongue is raised Thesoft palate is also raised

/ ʃ / is unvoiced and fortis / ʒ / is voiced and lenis

/ ʒ / is devoiced at the end of a word

Note: / ʒ / does not occur as an initial sound in English, and israre as a final sound

For example: she, fish, nation, measure

/ ʒ /

/ h / A glottal sound Air passes from the lungs through the open

glottis, causing audible friction Tongue and lip position is that

of the following voel sound The soft palate is raised / h / isunvoiced

Note: / h / does not occur as a final sound

For example: hello, behind / m / A bilabial sound Total closure is made by both lips If followed

by / f / or / v /, the closure may be labio-dental The soft palate

is lowered, and air passes out through the nasal cavity / m / isvoiced, but may be devoiced, after /s/ like in smart

For example: more, room, camera/ l / A lateral sound A partial closure is made by the blade of the

tongue against the alveolar ridge Air is able to flow around thesides of the tongue The soft palate is raised / l / is voiced For example: life, pool, small

/ n / An alveolar sound The tongue blade closes against the alveolar

ridge, and the rims of the tongue against the side teeth Iflollowed by / f / or/ v / the closure may be labio-dental, orbilabial if followed by / p / or / b / The soft palate is lowered,and passes out through the nasal cavity / n / is voiced, but may

be devoiced after / s / like in snowFor example: no, on, infant, know

/ ŋ / A velar sound The back of the tongue closes against the soft

palate The closure is further forward if it follows on from afront vowel (compare sing and bang) The soft palate is lowered,and air passes out through the nasal cavity / ŋ / is voiced / ŋ /does not occure as an initial sound

Foe example: sing, sink, singing Sinking/ r / A post- alveolar sounds, as the tongue tip is held just behind

(not touching) the alveolar ridge Back rims of tongue touchupper molars The soft palate is raised / r / is voiced

For example: red, hurry, party, car/ j / A palatal semi-vowel The tongue is in the position of a close

from vowel (similar to / ɪ /) The soft palate is raised The soundglides quickly to the following vowel / j / is voiced / j / doesnot occure as a final sound

For example: yes, young, usual, few, education, suit

/ w / A labio-velar semi-vowel The tongue is in the position of a

close back vowel (similar to / ʊ /) The soft palate is raised Thesoft palate is raised The sound glides quickly to the followingvowel / w / is voiced / w / does not occure as a final sound

2.1.2 Ways to overcome pronunciation errors

There are many ways to help students overcome pronunciation mistakesbecause of its importance Learners need to be taught pronunciation, as all otheraspects of language, in a communicative method Though communicativemethods for teaching vocabulary, grammar and pragmatics have been around fordecades, there has been little development of a communicative method forpronunciation teaching We consider here some aspects of what is involved in acommunicative approach to pronunciation One thing learners need is teacherswith confidence to assure them that the communicative methods do fulfill theirneeds

2.2 METHODOLOGY2.2.1.Participants and the research contextThe participants were 82 students of 10 A6,10 A10 class from every corner

of Nong Cong district, by this I mean they are both from town and ruralareas Almost of them are females and they are 16 years old Most thesestudents are generally at elementary level They learned English for at leastfive years at high school but this subject was not carefully taken into itsconsideration In their opinion, learning English means learning grammar andstructures with common lexical sources Therefore, they find learningEnglish pronunciation difficult Some students can easily adapt to the newways of learning, but most of them face challenges

2.2.2.Textbook and Reading materials

The vocabulary materials used in the study consisted of selected texts fromEnglish Textbook 10 published by Education Publishing House In the textbook,there are 16 units with diverse topics related to 6 themes: You and me,Education.Community, Nature, Recreation, People and places 5 sections wereincluded in one unit namely: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing, Languagefocus ( where pronunciation is taught) It is hoped that English teachers willhave a better insight into using images and become confident to integrate theseeffective tools into their learning vocabulary classroom practice

2.2.3 The reality of teaching and learning pronunciation at Nong Cong no.1Upper secondary school

Nong Cong no.1 upper secondary school is a school located in thecountryside, the students have very few opportunities to speak English.Students' level of English is lower than other areas After finishing high school,

if they enter university or go to work, English is very essential to get a goodjob Therefore, it is essential to help students pronounce correctly, which helpsstudents have opportunity as students in other areas

In communication, correct pronunciation is very important because if youmispronounce a sound, it leads to misunderstand If the pronunciation isdifferent from other people, it is difficult to recognize and understand eachother To get success in communicating with other, you must have goodpronunciation So good pronunciation is very important for students who learnforeign language This will decide the success or failure of students'communication in the target language Like other aspects of languagepronunciation is very important Correct pronunciation is very necessary todevelop our skills, especially speaking skill Beside this, pronunciation also hasother connections to other fields like listening, writing, spelling If you aregood at pronunciation, you will be able to speak English well

The sound systems of English and Vietnamese differ greatly, soVietnamese learners can have some pronunciation problems Vietnamese is atone language, that is, pitch changes distinguish word meaning Most words inVietnamese consist of only one syllable, there are fewer consonants than inEnglish and there is no consonant cluster Thus, they often meet some mainproblems when producing English

2 2.4 Research methodology

Through questionaires and classroom observation survey to find out thestudent's pronunciation mistakes The study is based on the combination ofqualitative and quantitative approaches Quantitative researchers are concerned

in their research with an attempt to count, measure the events and perform thestatistical analysis of a body of numerical data This method can achieve highlevels of reliability of gathered data due to controlled observations, laboratoryexperiments, mass surveys, or other form of research manipulations