A study on using multimedia for teaching pronunciation to pre-intermediate students in Crazy Ones English Center

ii ABSTRACT This study is an attempt to find out strategies applying multimedia into teaching pronunciation for pre-intermediate students at Crazy Ones English Center COEC.. iii LIST OF

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG ĐA PHƯƠNG TIỆN TRONG VIỆC GIẢNG DẠY PHÁT ÂM CHO HỌC VIÊN TRÌNH ĐỘ PRE-INTERMEDIATE TẠI

TRUNG TÂM ANH NGỮ CRAZY ONES

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111

HANOI – 2015

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG ĐA PHƯƠNG TIỆN TRONG VIỆC GIẢNG DẠY PHÁT ÂM CHO HỌC VIÊN TRÌNH ĐỘ PRE-INTERMEDIATE TẠI

TRUNG TÂM ANH NGỮ CRAZY ONES

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111

Supervisor : TRẦN THỊ THU HIỀN, PhD

HANOI - 2015

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I would like to express my gratefulness to my supervisor, Dr Trần Thị Thu Hiền, lecturer of Faculty of English, VNU University of Language & International Studies for her enthusiastic instruction, and invaluable supervision throughout my assignment

Secondly, I would like to send my thanks to my lecturers and the staff at Post-Graduate Faculty, VNU University of Language & International Studies for all their kind guide and help

Thirdly, my thanks also go to all the teachers and the manager of Crazy Ones Center for their willing help and enthusiasm cooperation

Finally yet importantly, I would like to give our special thanks to my family who have been interminably encouraging and facilitating me to fulfill this assignment

Hà Nội, 2015

Triệu Ngọc Tuân

ii

ABSTRACT

This study is an attempt to find out strategies applying multimedia into teaching pronunciation for pre-intermediate students at Crazy Ones English Center (COEC) The author finds out all students believed in the importance of pronunciation in communicating However, they did not satisfy with the pronunciation lessons because of its tedious activities and lack of practicing opportunities Moreover, despite using multimedia in teaching pronunciation, teachers did not prepare well because of their insufficient diversity of multimedia tools and effective activities Based on the findings, a number of implications were given with the hope of promoting the teaching and learning pronunciation at COEC

in particular and at other English training centers in general

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LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Reasons why students do not like pronunciation activities 19

Table 3 Students' stress on corrective stressed syllables 21

Table 7 Aspects of pronunciation to be taught at Crazy Ones English

Center

24

Table 8 Students' interest in pronunciation lessons 28

Table 9 Students' opinions on effective factors in studying

pronunciation

29

Table 10 Students' opinions on the benefits and degree of changes they

have made after using multimedia in learning pronunciation

30

Table 11 Comparison of students' pronunciation of English sounds in the

pre-test and the post-pre-test

30

Table 12 Students' stress on corrective stressed syllables 31

Table 13 Comparison of students' pronunciation of English rhythm in the

pre-test and the post-pre-test

31

Table 14 Comparison of students' pronunciation of English intonation in the

pre-test and the post-test

32

Table 15 Comparison of students' pronunciation of English linking sounds at

the pre-test and the post-test

33

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

COEC Crazy Ones English Center

L2 Second Language

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABSTRACT ii

LIST OF TABLES iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Research question 2

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Scope of the Study 2

6 Significance of the study 3

7 Organization of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 Pronunciation Teaching 5

1.1.1 Definition of pronunciation 5

1.1.2 The role of pronunciation in language teaching 5

1.1.3 Aspects of pronunciation in language teaching 5

1.1.4 Approaches in pronunciation teaching 8

1.2 Multimedia 9

1.2.1 Definition of Multimedia 9

1.2.2 Multimedia in language learning 9

1.2.3 Multimedia in teaching English pronunciation 11

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 14

2.1 Action research 14

2.1.1 Definition 14

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2.1.2 Why action research was chosen for this study? 14

2.2 Context of the study 15

2.2.1 Crazy Ones English Center 15

2.2.2 Participants 15

2.2.3 Multimedia used in Crazy Ones English Center 16

2.3 Instruments 16

CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY 18

3.1 The research stages 18

3.1.1 Identifying the problem 18

3.1.2 Action planning 23

3.1.3 Action taking 25

POST-INTERVENTION STAGE 28

3.1.4 Evaluating 28

3.2 Implications 33

PART C: CONCLUSIONS 36

1 Recapitulation 36

2 Limitations and suggestions for further study 37

REFERENCES 39 APPENDICES I Appendix 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS IN

PRE-INTERVENTION STAGE I Appendix 2: QUESTIONNAIRES FOR STUDENTS IN POST –

INTERVENTION STAGE III Appendix 3: SEMI-STRUCTURAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS VI Appendix 5: PRE-TEST IX Appendix 6: POST-TEST X

her book that “a teacher can help overcome this psychological barrier and other

challenges by thinking of the goal of pronunciation instruction not as helping students to sound like native speakers but as helping them to learn the core elements of spoken English so that they can be easily understood by others.”

Therefore, that it is a duty for teachers to find out a more effective way of teaching pronunciation

Moreover, in the very recent time, more and more modern technologies, like projectors, computers animation, videos, Powerpoint, Webpages, software are used

in teaching Using multimedia which is an alternative method to teach pronunciation could be more effective to help students engage the lesson and dispel the fear of learning sounds in the very traditional way instead The researcher together with his colleagues teaching at Crazy Ones Center have also made a lot of attempts using these updated techniques to help students to learn pronunciation effortless and effectively They have equipped one projector in each class and one laptop for each teacher

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Although teachers at Crazy Ones Center have been using these techniques at class, there has been no research on teaching pronunciation in this specific place Furthermore, students seem to be negative in learning and they are not engaged in the lesson Therefore, it is a need for the researcher to investigate and provide some feasible and effective ways of teaching pronunciation using multimedia

2 Aims of the study

This research aims at using multimedia to motivate pre-intermediate students

in learning pronunciation at Crazy Ones English Center

According to the aim, the researcher points out some main objectives as bellow:

- To investigate the students and teachers' attitude toward pronunciation learning and using multimedia in pronunciation

- To apply multimedia in pronunciation learning and assess the impacts of multimedia in helping the students learning pronunciation

3 Research question

This study is supposed to answer these questions:

(1) What do teachers and students at Crazy Ones English Center think about pronunciation learning and using multimedia in pronunciation? (2) What are the effects of using multimedia in helping students at Crazy Ones English Center in learning pronunciation?

4 Methods of the study

This study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods To reach the aim of the study, the researcher intends to carry out an action research at Crazy Ones English Center

5 Scope of the Study

This study focuses on using multimedia for teaching pronunciation to

Pre-3

Intermediate students in Crazy Ones English Center All of the efforts to teach students at other levels and/or at other English centers and institutions with different techniques are out of the scope of the study

6 Significance of the study

Pronunciation has often been used to evaluate the cohesion and fluency of speakers Whether sitting for an exam assessing speaking skill or participating in a job interviews, candidates who can speak cohesively and fluently take advantages Good pronunciation is important for people who want to improve their speaking skill Moreover, they can also understand others more easily and vice versa

However, to be good at learning pronunciation is very difficult for students The research was carried out to find out the applicability of multimedia in teaching

and learning English pronunciation to help students at Crazy Ones English Center

improve their speaking skill and confidence while communicating in English The author hopes that the results of the study could contribute for the English center in teaching and learning English pronunciation Besides, he also hopes that this study could be a useful reference for both teachers and students in finding an innovative way to achieve students‟ progress in English pronunciation field

7 Organization of the study

This study includes three parts:

Part A: Introduction introduces the rationale for the research, the aims of the study, research questions, the methods, the scope, the significance and the organization of the study

Part B: Development includes three chapters, reports on the main contents of the study Chapter 1 reviews necessary theories and studies related to the topic of the research Then, chapter 2 shows the methodology of the study Finally, in chapter 3, the study has been carried out at the Crazy Ones English Center is described

4 Part C: Conclusion deals with the recapitulation as well as the limitations and suggestions for further studies

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Pronunciation Teaching

1.1.1 Definition of pronunciation

"Pronunciation" is defined as "the way in which a word or language is pronounced" (Macmillan Dictionary, 2009)

1.1.2 The role of pronunciation in language teaching

From the late 1960s to 1980s, pronunciation teaching was not considered as much important because it was not admitted as a part of communicative competence (Pennington & Richards, 1986) In the traditional language teaching, learners usually learnt speaking and improved pronunciation ability themselves Although the communicative language teaching had been finally the cutting edge, pronunciation instruction were often ignored

However, later researchers point out the change of view to pronunciation From the middle of 1980s, Pronunciation had been put in to its' significance to communicative language instruction more than just part of linguistic (Grant, 1995;

Pen-nington & Richards, 1986) Morley (1991: 488) claims, "Intel-ligible

pronunciation is an essential component of communicative competence" In another

research, Isaacs (2009:2) emphasizes the importance of pronunciation teaching as

"the prominence in the structural approach to teaching (audiolingualism)"

1.1.3 Aspects of pronunciation in language teaching

When discussing about pronunciation, people often talk about sounds and rules of making sounds, however pronunciation contains much more than just the phonemes, they are: stress, intonation, linking, rhythm

The smallest segments of sounds called phonemes There are forty-four phonemes divided into: vowels and consonants

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Vowels are sounds that are produced when the airstream is voiced and is not obstructed but is shaped by the tongue and lips

Consonants are sounds that, when produced, obstruct somehow the airflow

In addition, teaching pronunciation can become unproductive if teaching

“individual sounds without establishing some basic understanding of the English

system of rhythm and melody” (Gilbert, 2008:30) He builds up the “English prosody” in order to obtain the L2‟s rhythm then “make it easier for students to pronounce L2 sounds.” His “Prosody Pyramid" performs “peak”, “stress”, “focus word”, and “thought group” from top to bottom He dignify the “thought group”

because it supports the listeners understand the speakers more effortless

When speaking fast and unconsciously, English people often use linking

According to BBC Learning English "Linking is a way of joining the pronunciation

of two words so that they are easy to say and flow together smoothly."

Pronouncing sounds individually is different from pronouncing sounds in a

phrase or a sentence Besides, there are always important or information words

which tend to be in strong form and less important word or structural words which tend to be in weak form when making utterances These structural words will be changed into schwa sounds and are not pronounced clearly Understanding weak form and practicing it can help learners improve not only their fluent speaking but

also listening capacity “Depending on the environments in which they are found,

vowels become schwa in unstressed syllables, phonemes are dropped, phonemes are added, and phonemes are changed to become more like the phonemes around them.” (Brown, 2012:3)

Standard pronunciation is continuously in discussing like what kind of English pronunciation should we teach students Teachers need to notice leaners about the standard accent using connected speech The standard accent here can be British English or American English because these types of accent can describe the

connected speech the best Arthur (2001:1) affirmed: "those two „traditional‟

Standard Englishes [i.e British Standard English, and American Standard English]

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co-exist with many other Englishes in the UK, the US, and elsewhere as part of a

„world English‟ or with a range of „world Englishes‟ and further Standard Englishes have begun to assert themselves more potently than before, in for example Australia (AusSE), Canada (Can SE), and the Philippines (PhilSE)”

In teaching pronunciation, Wharton & Race (1999:28) insist on the

importance of the correct intonation because “inappropriate intonation may mean

that they „give the wrong message‟ when they speak”

Furthermore, Brown (2012) affirms that “Learning the Phonemes of English

Is Not Enough” and “Learning the phonemes of English is only the first step to learning clear pronunciation The phonemes are just the basic units, and if teachers never show students how the basic units fit together, the students will continue to sound foreign.” In addition, the solution is to teach connected speech in order to

help ESL/EFL utilize pronunciation smoother in daily speech

One more thing is that learners need to identify the strong form and weak form, especially the schwa sound When they pay more attention to the weak form they can speak faster, more naturally and understand the conversation more easily

In daily conversation, the given phonemes can change due to the context surrounded, the purpose of speakers or the influence of phonemes nearby The problem here is that learners cannot realize this phenomenon and as a result, they cannot understand the utterance correctly It happens more often in informal or casual speech in everyday conversation, in particularly in reduction phrase of

American English For example, native speakers say “gividame” instead of “give it

to me” or “wanna go?” instead of “do you want to go” “In casual situation, we are sometimes less careful with pronunciation and grammar” (Mojsin, 2009:115) so

that we have to be more careful with informal spoken English

Some learners have an erroneous idea that it is a good way of speaking fast

to be a fluent speaker They even do not know when to pause in a sentence It is necessary to notice that speaking fast is not always the fluency but the correct

pauses Zellner (1994: 46-47) explains that “pauses provide additional time during

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which the final output can be planned and programmed This hypothesis explains some common observations, such as when a speaker thinks a long time before providing a very quick, clear, and well-constructed reply On the other hand, it can also be observed that sometimes, a speaker begins to reply at once, and then has to stop or retrace his steps to clarify his message In this case, the hypothesisproposes that “speech has raced ahead of cognitive activity” and that the pause reflects the time needed for the cognitive planning process to catch up.” In another word, we

can understand that speakers have to know how to use rhythm, how to use sentence stresses and pauses correctly

1.1.4 Approaches in pronunciation teaching

According to Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (1996:2), there have been

two basic approaches in teaching pronunciation through the years: the

Intuitive-Imitative Approach and the Analytic-Linguistic Approach

The Intuitive-Imitative Approach: This approach uses a model of sounds

for the standard for learners to listen and repeat Learners can imitate the sounds from a various type of multimedia such as audio, CD players, videos

The Analytic-Linguistic Approach: This approach analyzes pronunciation

in the segmental level (using phonetic chart, articulator descriptions .) to help learners understand the use of pronunciation Teacher mainly utilize the Analytic-Linguistic Approaches to add supplement to The Intuitive-Imitative Approaches

Yates (2002:1) suggests that top-down and bottom-up approaches can be

useful in teaching pronunciation with different purpose of teaching

Bottom-up Approach: Teachers have students listen to individual sounds or

phonemes to decode the meaning of what they hear They also need to work with stress, intonation, and rhythm

Top-down Approach: Teachers have students listen to the overall meaning

of what they hear, use their background knowledge of the topic to create expectations about what it must all mean

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The later approach, integrated approach, emphasizes its effective integration

of pronunciation instruction (Levis & Grant, 2003)

Integrated Approach: This approach has been used by many researchers

who need to apply it for teaching difficult sounds (Yong, Lin, Lianxia & Yinying, 2012) The purpose of the teachers for using this approach can be getting students motivated, engaged, and interested in learning pronunciation This approach contains a combination a good practice of using animation, performance drill, training of pronunciation, visual and kinetic coordination In summary, it motivates students to get knowledge and skilled by practicing and solving problems

1.2 Multimedia

1.2.1 Definition of Multimedia

Due to the development of mordern technology , multimedia provides the use of multimedia software and internet which are very powerful in communication today In gerneral, multimedia is a very popular term in the domain of computers

which refers to the “present text, graphics, video, animation and sound in an

integrated way” (Webopedia, 2006) However, multimedia is not only used in

computer fields but also in so many others Banerji and Ghosh (2010:2) mention about multimedia that almost people have thought about its definition so far:

When used as a noun, „multimedia‟ refers to all the technology and devicces for

communication of information It means the combined use of several forms of

audio and visual media such as text, graphics, audio, animation and video For

example, when we say „telephone communication technology is evolving into

multimedia such as videophone‟ it is used as noun When used as an adjective, the

term „multimedia‟ describes presentations involving the use of several media

simultaneously For example, when we say „a multimedia presentation for the class‟

it is used as an adjective

1.2.2 Multimedia in language learning

In this study, the author would like to apply multimedia in learning pronunciation so that he focuses on the educational multimedia Multimedia

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learning, as in SEG‟s definition (2008:1), refers to “the delivering instruction

including visual and auditory information for students to construct knowledge” In

fact, many researchers show the numerous of benefits of multimedia in teaching To emphasize the essentiality of application of Multimedia Technology in English communication teaching, Chirag (2013: 117) point out seven effects: (i) To sow students‟ studying arouses; (ii) To improve students‟ oral skill; (iii) To help student understand and gain knowledge about Western culture; (iv) To get a better cause in teaching; (v) to set up a better interaction between teachers and students; (vi) To make a context for language teaching purpose; (vii) To make content of lessons more flexible

In terms of cognitive theory of multimedia learning as described by Mayer (2005: 46-47), it is easier for students to learn from multimedia than words

individual Earlier, Brown (2000:122) stated that “most successful learners utilize

both visual and auditory input” and he continued to emphasize “slight preferences one way or the other may distinguish one learner from another, an important factor for classroom instruction.” That means to the learners with communicative purpose,

teachers should use visual aids with “visual input” and “auditory input” to instruct

them about the lesson

In his research, Desai (2013:17) finds that “Computer Multimedia” is suitable in teaching English according to three types of learners “in English

irrespective”; those are “Gender of the students”, “Urban and Rural area”, and

“irrespective of Level of IQ” He also concludes that “Computer Multimedia” is better than the “traditional teaching method” in helping students practicing and learning English because when using this new method “they have the potentiality to

motivate, to reinforce, to inform, to guide, to assist, to enhance retention, etc.”

In recommending the using of Information and communication technologies,

Wharton & Race (1999:62-71) give the full advice in five tips: “Helping learners to

get started with e-mail”; “Setting up computer conferencing ;“Choosing aided packages”; “Designing computer-delivered assessment elements”; “Giving

computer-11

learners feedback using e-mail” They claim that it is very useful for students with

thier self-study and “they can receive a great deal of useful feedback from each

other, in the comfort and privacy of a seat at a computer terminal.” Together with

that, teachers can give feedback to students by email in a very convenient way

1.2.3 Multimedia in teaching English pronunciation

In the developing of the information technology, students have been more familiar in using computer for the learning purpose and many educators have found the extensive of taking its advantages in teaching Besides, practicing time in oral skills at class is often limited so that students do not satisfy with the minified time

of drill Su (2008:102), in his study, finds that pronunciation software helps solving the problems of time lacking effectively Some other advantages of using software

in learning that he shows are the students will not face with being “blamed”, “,made

afraid”, or “embarrassed” when learning However it would be better to be

“complimentary” between the real teachers and the computer He suggests that

teachers should prepare well to apply pronunciation software; and, otherwise, not only computers but teachers should give feedback to students‟ mistakes because

they prefer teachers to “indicate their mistakes, and tell them how to correct their

pronunciation”

Learning pronunciation can be boring Therefore, Por & Fong (2011: 245)

think that using multimedia “makes learning pronunciation effective and a fun

experience” They, then, believe it will improve students‟ pronunciation ability and

learning motivation However, to do so, Zahra (2001:256) recommends a good computer training for students must be done

Poor pronunciation can lead to the misunderstanding between the speakers and listeners This happens with both beginners and advanced learners Wharton & Race (1999:29) give a suggestion on how to teach pronunciation to help students overcome the pronunciation mistakes by using recording tool They believe that by this listening to students‟ recording teacher can easily find out their mistakes and difficulties in order to enhance their speaking ability Having the same thought that

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recording can helps students in learning pronunciation, Lane & Brown (2010:12)

show that homework is easily taken by “short recordings of either spontaneous

speech or a controlled warm-up exercise followed by a freer speaking task”

Feedback and instruction can be sent easily by teacher sending email or even “live

or recorded feedback” They also propose that the feedback can be employed into

“peer feedback Activities” at class

One of three modes of practice is given in pronunciation teaching by Morley

(1991: 509) is “Imitative Speaking Practice” which contains “self-access audio-

and/or videotaped materials” for intermediate to advanced students This mode of

practice concentrates on the fixed pronunciation/accent of the speakers in the videos

and needs “contextualized practice”

Based on the Plass and Jones‟ (2005) model connecting the theories of second language acquisition and the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, Quynh (2009: 3) propose another model which enhances the speaking skills in

“face-to-face class”

It is noticed from her application that this type of her video drill has a limitation to the level of students This practice will not suitable for the beginners

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Action research

2.1.1 Definition

Bassey (1998: 93) describes „action research as an enquiry which is carried

out in order to understand, to evaluate and then to change, in order to improve educational practice‟

Winter and Munn-Giddings‟s (2001: 8) state about action research as a“study

of a social situation carried out by those involved in that situation in order to improve both their practice and the quality of their understanding‟, captures the essence of the philosophy underlying the action research approach.”

2.1.2 Why action research was chosen for this study?

Action research provides better practice than theory for teachers to apply into

a specific class or course so that to develop the teaching and learning in a particular class room, teachers oreducational practitioners should make an antion research In another word, it is paticipatory reseach which requires teachers take an impact into teaching in order to make an positive results The results are most profitable for the aim of the environment of the study instead of only observing or analysing Besides, each class has its own issue depending on the level of students, what the students enquire to get, the ages of students, students‟ motivation or the purpose of their learning To develop the teaching and learning, teacher needs to make a research to find out the problems (what is exactly the problem that teachers should care about)

in their classroom then make an action to sovle the issues Using action research, teachers could apply the practice into a real classroom continuously in order to enhance their teaching which sooner or later they have to make

The author of this study has the purpose of enhancing his own students‟ learning in pronunciation without the ambition of straithening out the issue of the whole educational system The study is made to identify what happens at his classroom in pronunciation course and make a decision on how to improve professional practices.The authour totally believes that the change of English

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pronunciation training could assist the students‟ improvement It concludes questions to test his idea about teaching practices and systematic approachso as to grasp more about learning progress

2.2 Context of the study

2.2.1 Crazy Ones English Center

Crazy Ones, a young English Center in Hanoi, was founded in the early of

2013 Its main duty is to train the communicative skills to young students from universities in Hanoi (mostly from the ages of 18 to 27) The students at the centers are students who have learnt English from high school and university but they have difficulties in communicating in English, especially poor pronunciation The class at this center contains a small number of students at about fifteen for each The classroom is well equipped with comfortable teaching and learning conveniences (air conditional, large learning classroom ) multimedia device (computers, microphone, projector, screen )

The pronunciation course is nine weeks long Students study two lessons per week Each lesson lasts for two hours On the first three weeks, students study the segmental elements, that is vowels and consonants On the last six weeks, they study the super-segmental level containing stress, intonation, linking

2.2.2 Participants

The participants of this study were 30 pre-intermediate students who have learnt basic pronunciation at Crazy Ones English center for three weeks They are from the ages of 18 to 27 They are 23 females and 7 males There are 3 female teachers for the survey questionnaires from the ages of 24 to 28 at Crazy Ones English center All the teachers and students come from different parts of Vietnam, but living in Hanoi

Although all students have learnt the basic pronunciation rules, they have difficulty in pronouncing fluently, especially at the sentence level For example,

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they often ignore the stress and intonation when communicating Most of them have not learnt pronunciation at school and lack of practicing opportunity

2.2.3 Multimedia used in Crazy Ones English Center

Although there are good multimedia devices supported, they are used very little They just sometimes show Powerpoint on the screen, play the CD or just organize some games, English songs Not all the advantages of multimedia are inserted Understanding this, leaders and teachers at this center are trying to employ multimedia into teaching pronunciation more effectively

*Questionnaires

There were two questionnaires for students (on week 2 and 9) It aimed to collect students' information and their attitude at learning pronunciation then to compare the result of the pre-test and the post-test to see their progress

*Semi-structural interview

One semi-structural interview was conducted for teachers on week 2 It was a collecting data from teachers to find their opinion about the important degree of multimedia tools to teaching pronunciation and solutions improve students' performance when using them

* Pre-test & Post-test

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The researcher conducted a pre-test and a post-test by using audio recording software (audacity) in order to find out students' pronunciation errors and examine their improvement after applying multimedia in learning and teaching

There were two recording tests to evaluate the pronunciation ability of students The author also used the data for analyzing the progress of students The first test was given to students on the week 2 and the second one was taken on the week 9 The first recording test is to find out students' pronunciation errors in pronouncing sounds, stress, rhythm, word linking and intonation The second on is

to assess the effectiveness of using multimedia in teaching pronunciation

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CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY 3.1 The research stages

PRE-INTERVENTION STAGE

3.1.1 Identifying the problem

Before the study was conducted, the author had observed his own classroom and seen a lot of problems from his students at pronunciation course at Crazy Ones English center They had difficulty in understanding and identifying sounds in English distinguishing from their mother tongue They tended to pronounce the same way they spoke in their mother tongue

At that time, he also realized that the students were inactive with the class activities They spent time on listening to teachers‟ guide more than practicing with friends or enhancing their own speaking skills Many students did not have the correction from teachers for their pronunciation They seemed to be bored and dissatisfied because they just sat still and repeat after teacher‟s voice or audio One

or two students fell asleep during reading the text on screen or listening to teachers‟ explanation

3.1.1.1 Questionnaires for students

The survey questionnaires were conducted by asking 30 students to give the answers for 5 questions on the prepared papers Their identity was not shown on the papers

a Students' opinions on learning pronunciation

In the first three questions (see appendix 1), 73% of the students said that they did not like learning pronunciation 100% of the students were aware of the

importance role of learning pronunciation 90% students chose "important" and 10% of them chose "very important" However, all students agreed that learning

pronunciation was not easy Most of the students (70%) thought it was very difficult

to learn pronunciation Another amount is from those who stated that it was quite difficult, counted for 23.3% The last amount comes from 6.7% who said learning pronunciation was difficult

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b Reasons why students do not like pronunciation activities

Table 1: Reasons why students do not like pronunciation activities

The main reason that makes students dislike pronunciation learning “the

activities are poor” (90.9%) The second majority of uninterested attitude to the

pronunciation activities is 72.2% from the students who believed that the content of the lessons was not interesting 22.7% of the students said that they were not motivated to learn 13.6% of them stated that they did not know how to pronounce

of a large number of new words 9.1% of the students wished that they would have more time of pronunciation practicing and feedback from teacher

Fortunately, none of the students reported that their teachers' pronunciation was unclear The reason for students not enjoying the activities is that teachers did not give clear examples to clarify the lessons However, this reason was only about 9.1% All students (100%) thought that the reason effects their pronunciation learning negatively is that teachers gave little chance for them to practice 36.4% of them thought that their teacher did not provide enough The last reasons come from 27.3% students who said that they needed more care from the teacher Apart from the options listed, some students added that it would be better if teacher should listen to most of students then correct and give feedback to them Besides, they wished to have more interesting activities with sounds and images in order to avoid distracting so that they could join in and by the way learn pronunciation Some gave

Table 2: Students' errors in producing sounds

Most students (87%) had the problem in identifying long vowel and short vowel; they tend to pronounce them the same Another big fault is from 83% students who often ignored pronouncing final consonants One vowel sound that 80% students could not pronounce correctly is /æ/ Mispronouncing also appeared

in a very difficult consonant /θ/, counted for 73% of the students Many of them did not know when to pronounce /i:/ so that they made the sound /ju:/ instead The next clusters of consonants are /bl/, /pr/ and /br/ which were pronounced in Vietnamese way by adding schwa sound like /bəl/, /pər/ and /bər/

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Table 3: Students' stress on corrective stressed syllables

As can be seen from table 3, many students did not give the correct stress The most correct sentence stress they made was from the very short sentence (sentence 1 and 11) with the number of only 40% students

c Rhythm

Table 4: Students' rhythm

The biggest problem when students made was the misplaced stress 67% of the students did not give the correct sentence stress

Table 5: Students' intonation

As can be seen from table 5, most of the students produced correct intonation with falling intonation of statement sentences 90% of the students made correct falling intonation

in sentence 1 and 11 However, they had difficulty in identifying intonation from listing sentence The lowest number of students (53%) who had correct intonation came from listing sentence 4