MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY HUE COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ----------- BUI DUC ANH A STUDY ON THE TEACHER AND LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING SOFTWARE TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION AT HUEITC CENTRE MA THESIS IN EDUCATION HUE, 2012 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY HUE COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ----------- BUI DUC ANH A STUDY ON THE TEACHER AND LEARNERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING SOFTWARE TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION AT HUEITC CENTRE FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH TEACHING CODE: 60.10 MA THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: NGO DINH PHUONG, ASSOC.DR HUE, 2012 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ BÙI ĐỨC ANH NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CẢM NHẬN CỦA HỌC VIÊN VÀ GIÁO VIÊN VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG PHẦN MỀM HỖ TRỢ DẠY PHÁT ÂM Ở TRUNG TÂM HUẾ ITC CHUYÊN NGÀNH: LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.10 LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ GIÁO DỤC HỌC NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC PGS. NGÔ ĐÌNH KHƯƠNG HUẾ, 2012 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere. Author Bui Duc Anh Acknowledgements There are many people who should be acknowledged for their support and assistance during the course of my work on this thesis.
First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Associate Professor Ngo Dinh Phuong. Without his guidance and assistance, this work would probably still be incomplete. In addition, I do appreciate and feel warm in my heart for the care and concern from the manager of HueITC Centre Nguyen Phu Minh for his help. I also would like to thank the other other teachers at HUEITC, who have given support and assistance to me.
I am grateful to my all instructors in MA course, who gave me much knowledge and valuable materials in the lectures during the course. Those are the valuable resources of knowledge for me to start my thesis. I also should thank my students at the centre who carefully completed the questionnaires and supplied me with valuable information to help me complete the thesis. Most of all, however, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my parents.
Without their encouragement, consistent support and persistence, this thesis would not have been completed. I feel sorry that I could not take care of my parents because I was far away from home for a long period of time. I also thank my sisters and friends who have given support to me. Finally, I would like to thank all the people, events and things that I met on the journey his study in Vietnam.
They provided me with chances for learning and experiencing. ABSTRACT This research investigated how the characteristics of two Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) programs assisted Vietnamese students learning English pronunciation, how the different types of feedback in the program helped them to learn English pronunciation effectively, and how teachers may effectively integrate such computer software into their teaching. The purpose of the study was to define directions for pedagogy and research in CALL in Vietnam, it was about the perceptions of Vietnamese students and their teacher, in regard to the effectiveness of the selected programs and their feedback functions. This research sought to explore ways to develop and improve English pronunciation learning in Vietnam by using another tool in addition to teacher-directed learning.
It is hoped that the research will provide Vietnamese language teachers with information about how to supplement the teachers directed language teaching, and about what learning tools are effective for pronunciation. In all, one teacher/researcher and 67 college students in three classes took part in this research project, and the setting was in an English Centre in Vietnam. The students all used the two computer software programs separately in a computer laboratory for four months, and their perspectives about the effectiveness of the programs and the feedback they gave were collected. The research methodology was action research, and it used an open-ended questionnaire and participant observation for collecting data, as well as content analysis for the interpretation of the data.
In addition, the students wrote learning sheets which aimed to focus their learning. The results showed that the students preferred the program with correction feedback, and with repetition and other specific functions, as well as the facility for self-paced and self-directed learning. The key finding of the study was that in Vietnam, when used a long with the traditional classroom teaching, CALL is a tool which has the potential to solve some of the issues English pronunciation teachers face, such as low student motivation and low English pronunciation proficiency. A number of recommendations are made for the effective use of CALL.
Students gave several detailed suggestions in regard to the computer software functions which could help them to learn more effectively, and the teacher also solve some issues which need to be considered when using CALL computer software to assist students’ learning. ACRONYMS USED IN THIS THESIS ASR : Automatic Speech Recognition CALL : Computer Assisted Language Learning CAPT : Computer Assisted Pronunciation-Teaching System CAP : Computer Assisted Pronunciation EAP : English for Academic Purposes EFL : Learning English as a Foreign Language EOP : English for Occupational Purposes ESL : English as Second Language ESP : English for Specific Purposes K.K : Phonetic Symbols Written by Two American linguists, Kenyon & Knott. L1 : The First Language L2 : The Second Language (the target language) LCD : Liquid Crystal Display PP : Pronunciation Power TESL : Teaching English as a Second Language TMME: Tell Me More English THE STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY This research contains five chapters Chapter I – Introduction: Presenting background of the study, the objective of the study. Chapter II - Literature review and theoretical background: Telling reader all about the theoretical background which presents the definitions of key term that appear in the thesis.
Chapter III - Methodology: Telling readers the methods to carry out the research and the subject of the study. Chapter IV – Findings and discussions: Presenting findings from worksheets, questionnaires and observations, and presenting the summary of the findings. In this chapter the data will be analyzed to answer the first two research questions of the research paper. Chapter V – Conclusion and recommendation: Giving out the summary of thesis, and present some implications TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ACKNOWLED GEMENTS ABSTRACT ACRONYMS USED IN THIS THESIS THE STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.
Background of the Study. The History and Trends of Pronunciation Teaching in the World. Traditional Classroom Techniques to Teach Pronunciation. New Directions in Teaching English Pronunciation.
The Purposes of Learning English in Vietnam. Its Role in Daily Life. English for Specific Purposes. Common pronunciation problems of Vietnamese learners of English.
The scope of the study. The Significance of this Study .17 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND. How Should Language Learners’ Pronunciation be Required?. Why is pronunciation instruction needed?.Acquisition of Pronunciation Skills.
Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). The definition of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL). The Benefits of Computer-Assisted Language Learning. Teaching pronunciation using CALL program.
The design of CALL pronunciation program. Correction and feedback. Feedback in oral classes. Feedback in CALL.
The research process. Open-ended questionnaire. The Design of the Open-ended Questions in this study. Analysing the Data Using Content Analysis.
Summary of the Research Methodology.45 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Researcher’s and students’ perspectives on Tell Me More English (TMME)46 4. Participant Observation Notes from the Teacher/Researcher. Summary of Participant Observation Notes from Class A.
Participant Observation Notes from the Teacher/Researcher. Summary of Participant Observation Notes from Class B. Participant Observation Notes from the Teacher/Researcher. Summary of Participant Observation Notes from Class C.
Teacher/researcher’s Comments on the Students’ Use of TMME. Researcher’s Reflections on Using TMME. The Summary of Findings from Participant Observation Notes. Students’ Responses on the Open-ended questionnaires.
Question One: The Characteristics of TMME. Question Two: The Disadvantages of TMME. Question Three: Necessary Improvements. Question Four: Comparisons between Learning with the Software and Learning from a Real Teacher.
Question Five: Correction and Feedback. Question Six: Taking away Feedback. Summaries of Findings from the Open-ended Questionnaires. Pronunciation power (PP): Researcher’s and student’s perspectives.
Participant Observation Notes from the Teacher/Researcher. Participant Observation Notes from the Teacher/Researcher. Participant Observation Notes from the Teacher/Researcher. Summary of Teacher/Researcher’s Observation Notes on Students’ Use of PP.
Observations of the Students. Observations of the Program. Observations Regarding the Role of the Teacher. Teacher/Researcher’s Reflections on Students’ Use of PP.
Reflections Regarding the Students. Reflections on the Hardware and the Program. Reflections on the Role of the Teacher. A Summary of Findings from the Teacher/Researcher’s Observation Notes.
Students’ Responses on the Open-ended Questionnaire. Question One: What are the characteristics of this program?. Question Two: Which characteristics helped you most in your English pronunciation? Why?. Question Three: What are the disadvantages of this program?.
Question Four: How does the program need to be improved?. Question Five: What are the differences between a real teacher and this program?. Question Six: Recording your own pronunciation and comparing it with the speaker in the program without correction. Question Seven: Could you make a comparison between PP and TMME.
Which is more helpful for you, why?. The Findings from the Seven Questions. Students’ Point of View. Suggestions for Improvement from the Students.
Real Speech Interaction. The Content from Easy to Difficult/Different Levels of English Practice. Learning Other Skills as Well. Speed of Speaking.
The Teacher/Researcher’s Point of View. The Perceptions of the Students about the Feedback that was Given through the Computer Programs. Students’ Point of View. The Accuracy of Feedback and the Scoring System .94 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
Summary of the findings. Summary of Tell Me More English. Summary of Pronunciation Power. Recommendations to Assist Teachers in Vietnam in Selection of CALL Software and Its Integration into Teaching/Learning.
Computer Multimedia Speech Laboratory Classroom Management 5. Students’ Learning When Accessing Computer Software. Focus on the Less Motivated and Low Proficiency Students. Issues Related to Computer Software and Hardware.
The Teacher’s Tasks. Preparation for the Computer Multimedia Laboratory Class. Suggestion for Class Time Scheduling. Tasks of the Teacher during the Class.
The Teacher’s Reflections. General Suggestions for Selecting Computer Software. Limitations of this Study. Suggestions for Further Research.104 APPENDIX ONE APPENDIX TWO APPENDIX THREE -6- LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Tables Table 2.
The criteria for selecting computer software. Feedback types in the oral classroom and CALL environment. The process of action research used in this research. Summary of research design.
Adapted from Denzin (1978).1 gives details of the classes and their use of the program. Teacher’s Observation, TMME.4 Classes and session times using PP .5 Teacher/Researcher observation notes for PP. Lesson workshop of the program .Correction and feedback. Correction and feedback.
Interact with the native people in the program. The 52 phonemes in English. A lesson of the program. Exercise and practice.
Exercise and practice. Function of listening games. Background of the Study 1.1 Introduction The research study on this thesis was an action research project which investigated the perceptions of a teacher/researcher and college students in Vietnam, regarding to their perceptions of the effectiveness of two computer software programs for learning English pronunciation. In order to provide a broad understanding of the educational background of the study.2 The History and Trends of Pronunciation Teaching in the World.
Celce-Murcia (1996) and Chen (2007) proposed three approaches to pronunciation instruction, these are the intuitive-imitative approach, the analytic- linguistic approach and the integrative approach. These approaches combine traditional methods and modern techniques.