MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ----------------------- NGUYEN THI THAO AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS’ ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION LEARNING AT HA TINH UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES -------------------------- NGUYEN THI THAO AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS’ ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION LEARNING AT HA TINH UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: PHAM HONG ANH, Ph.D HUE, 2016 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ---------------- NGUYỄN THỊ THẢO NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC HỌC PHÁT ÂM TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH Ở TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÀ TĨNH LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. PHẠM HỒNG ANH HUẾ, 2016 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. Nguyen Thi Thao Date: ………………………….
i ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate students’ English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University. Specifically, it intends to investigate the reality of English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University and examine students’ perceptions of pronunciation learning as well as of intelligible pronunciation as the target of learning. The results of the investigation indicate that there is an increasing awareness of students of their interlocutors in the future and of the existence of different varieties of English in terms of pronunciation. However, native-like pronunciation still establishes a dominant position in pronunciation mastery of students in the study because of the firm belief for a standard, prestige and legitimate model of the natives.
The findings also show students’ understanding of the need to understand and be understood in the context of international communication; therefore, intelligible pronunciation can be realized as a suitable aim in English pronunciation learning for students in the study. Finally, the study gives some implications for English pronunciation teaching and learning as well as some recommendations for practice. ii Acknowledgements I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to people who have advised and supported me, and made constructive criticism during the research. Thanks are extended to Dr.
Pham Hong Anh, my supervisor for her professional guidance and support. Without her professional support and encouragement, this thesis could not reach this present standard. I am very grateful to students at Ha Tinh University who helped me to complete the questionnaires and sincerely provided me with valuable information for this research in the interviews. My very special thanks go to the Board of Director, the Library Staff of Hue University of Foreign Languages for their dedicated helps during the time I carried out this research.
I wish to express my deep thanks to my parents and friends for all their support as well as motivation during the time I was conducting this project. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS.
vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Background of the study. Rationale for the study. The aims and research questions of the study.
Significance of the study. Scope of the study. Structure of the thesis. Background of pronunciation learning.
Definition of pronunciation. The development and current trend of pronunciation teaching and learning in English Language Teaching. Teaching and learning pronunciation in Vietnam. Varieties of English in terms of pronunciation.
Three circles of English. Nativeness principle and intelligibility principle. Intelligibility and Lingua France Core. Previous studies related to the research.
Research context and participants. The design and implementation of data collection instruments. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. The reality of English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University.
Students’ perceptions of English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University. Students’ perceptions of intelligible pronunciation as the target of learning. The orientation toward a native-like pronunciation model. Intelligible pronunciation as an aim of pronunciation learning.
CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS. Summary of the answers of the research questions. For pronunciation teaching and learning. Recommendations for practice.
Limitations and suggestions for further studies .84 vi LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS LIST OF TABLES Table No. Name of Tables Page 3.1 General profile of participants 34 4.1 Frequency of the use of English 42 LIST OF CHARTS Chart No. Name of Charts Page 4.1 The kind(s) of English pronunciation being taught at 41 school 4.2 The reality of the use of English at work 41 4. 3 The importance of English pronunciation learning 43 4.4 The preference for the kind of pronunciation being taught 44 4.5 Exposure to different varieties in terms of pronunciation of 45 English in class 4.6 The existence of other varieties in terms of pronunciation 47 in the world 4.7 The kind(s) of English pronunciation being standard 48 4.8 The preference when communicating in English 49 4.9 The importance of having a native-like pronunciation in 50 English 4.10 The preference of learning a non-native variety in terms of 52 pronunciation of English 4.11 The suitable kind(s) of English pronunciation for the target 54 of instruction in the current international context vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL : English as a foreign language EIL : English as an international language ELF : English as a lingua franca ELT : English language teaching ESL : English as a second language GA : General American LFC : Lingua Franca Core NNSs : Non-native speakers NSs : Native speakers RP : Received Pronunciation viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This introductory chapter provides a brief overview of the study.
It begins with the background of the study, then goes on to rationale together with the aims and research questions of the study. This is followed by significance and scope of the study. Lastly, the structure of the study is also presented. Background of the study In the process of globalization today, English is a language that is used as an international language.
It is not only used as the official language by many nations in the world but it is also broadly used in business, politics, economics, education and communications. Today, the number of English speakers is more and more increasing because of its position as the leading global language in the world. According to The economist (2001), some 380million people speak English as their first language and perhaps two-thirds as many again as their second. A billion are learning it, about a third of the world’s population are in some sense exposed to it and by 2050, it is predicted, half the world will be more or less proficient in it.
It is the language of globalisation-of international business, politics and diplomacy. It is the language of computers and the Internet. The types of spread and the functional allocation of English in diverse cultural contexts (Jenkins, 2003) have been expressed in three circles, subscribing to Kachru’s (1992) models: the Inner circle for countries where English is spoken as a native language, the Outer circle for countries where English is spoken as a second language and the Expanding circle for countries where English is spoken as a foreign language (Kang, 2015). Among them, the Expanding circle includes countries that represent the largest expanding numbers of English speakers in the world today (Crystal, 2003).
Obviously, English has been using as a means of communication mainly between non-native speakers (NNSs). According to Kirkpatrick (2007), the number of NNSs has significantly outnumbered that of native speakers (NSs). More specifically, only one out of every four users of 1 English in the world is a native speaker of English (Crystal, 2003; as cited in Ton Nu Nhu Huong & Pham Hoa Hiep, 2010), and the vast majority of communication in English does not involve any NSs of the language (Graddol, 1997; as cited in TonNu Nhu Huong & Pham Hoa Hiep, 2010). Accordingly, there is a consensus among many scholars that the ownership of English has changed and more specifically, it no longer belongs just to the Inner circle countries (Kirkpatrick, 2008).
It is claimed by Rajagopalan (2004) that English belongs to no particular culture but belongs to everyone who speaks it, i., it is nobody’s mother tongue. On a similar note, Widdowson (1994) states that English no longer belongs to NSs, but to everyone who speaks it. Also, “due to the continuing spread of English and the proliferation of the language contacts, a great variety of “Englishes” have emerged, each modifying, in their own way, the canonical version on grammatical, lexical and phonological levels” (Skopintseva, 2015, p. The issue of English varieties has recently come into light in the framework of pronunciation teaching and learning.
Regarding the aim of pronunciation teaching and learning, two contradictory principles, the nativeness principle and the intelligibility principle have also become a central issue for pronunciation research and pedagogy. The nativeness principle maintains that “it is possible and desirable to achieve native-like pronunciation in a foreign language” (Levis, 2005, p. However, several studies have documented the impossible accomplishment of this aim. On the other hand, the intelligibility principle posits that “learners simply need to be understandable” and “communication can be remarkably successful even when speakers have strong and noticeable accents” (Levis, 2005, p.
In this case, the traditional English language teaching orientation that centers on native- speaker linguistic monocentricity (Kachru, 1992; as cited in Jindapitak & Teo, 2013) has been called for a paradigm shift in order to be more consistent with the current profile of English (Jindapitak & Teo, 2013). Instead, intelligibility has been brought into the center of attention due to several factors such as the development and flourishing of communicative language teaching, the global spread of English as an international language (EIL) and the coming forth of the notion of World 2 Englishes, and the increase in the international communications for business, political and cultural purposes (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015). Accordingly, intelligibility is advised to improve rather than perfectly native pronunciation in teaching and learning (Derwing & Munro, 2005). Pronunciation instruction is of great importance for successful oral communication to take place, however, it very often remains neglected or absent in many language teaching programs even if it is included in the curriculum (Habib, 2013).
Pronunciation, in other words, has been discounted in English Language Teaching (ELT) although it is considered as a key to intelligible speech and effective communication in a globalized world (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015). More ideas about the importance of teaching pronunciation have been formulated by some scholars, among them is Al-Azzawi &Barany (2015, p. 154) who states that “pronunciation is essential to the completeness of not only oral language development, but also for the skills of listening, reading and writing”. Similarly, Lado (1964) emphasizes that English as a foreign language (EFL) pronunciation should be viewed in the same light as the other skills of the English language, such as grammar, reading, writing, vocabulary and so on since it is a crucial part of communication.
Hence teaching pronunciation in the classroom should be brought great urgency and the goal in teaching pronunciation is threefold: to enable students to understand and be understood, to build their confidence when engaged in communication situation, to enable them to monitor their speech based on input from the environment (Goodwin, 2001). In terms of teaching pronunciation, the issue of the suitable kind of pronunciation for instruction in the context of international communication has been a controversial and much disputed subject.