MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------ DRADUATION THESIS THE IMPACT OF USING SHADOWING TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION FROM THE ENGLISH- MAJORED SOPHOMORES’ PERSPECTIVES STUDENT NAME: VO CAM LINH ID NUMBER: 17055481 CLASS CODE: DHAV13B COHORT: 2017-2021 SUPERVISOR NAME: HO THI HIEN, M. HCMC, 06/2021 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------ DRADUATION THESIS THE IMPACT OF USING SHADOWING TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION FROM THE ENGLISH- MAJORED SOPHOMORES’ PERSPECTIVES STUDENT NAME: VO CAM LINH ID NUMBER: 17055481 CLASS CODE: DHAV13B COHORT: 2017-2021 SUPERVISOR NAME: HO THI HIEN, M. HCMC, 06/2021 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------ Student name : Vo Cam Linh ID Number : 17055481 Class Code : DHAV13B Cohort : 2017-2021 Supervisor Name : Ho Thi Hien, M. Student’s declaration: I declare that this graduation report is entirely my own work and does not involve in plagiarism or collusion.
It also has not been accepted as part of a submission to another purpose else where. I accept heavy penalty for any cheating or plagiarism. Date submitted: 20th Jun, 2021 Signed : ……………………… Word length : 7319 words THE IMPACT OF USING SHADOWING TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION FROM THE ENGLISH-MAJORED SOPHOMORES’ PERSPECTIVES ABSTRACT This study emphasizes the importance of incorporating a new learning technique into learning in pronunciation practice class, which will help students become more interested in learning, particularly self-study. The goal of this study is to gain knowledge of how far the shadowing technique can help improve pronunciation for English-majored sophomores (from the participants' perspectives) at Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH).
Data was collected from 70 participants through observation, questionnaires, and interviews. The researcher designed the study as a homework assignment, that students need to shadowing 10 videos within 10 weeks. This technique, according to the study's findings, can help students improve their pronunciation, particularly intonation. As a result, up to 70% of students expressed extreme satisfaction with this shadowing technique.
Furthermore, when asked if this technique should be used more widely in the teaching and learning process at IUH, 94% of students agreed. Keywords: English-majored sophomores, IUH, pronunciation, shadowing technique. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Throughout the period of graduation. I received a great deal of enthusiastic aid and encouragement, which guided and encouraged me to overcome all obstacles and complete my graduation thesis.
First and foremost, I greatly appreciate the School Board of the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH) and the Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) for providing me with excellent research conditions in fulfilling my research. Secondly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Ho Thi Hien, my conscientious supervisor, for guiding me with useful directions and accommodations. Furthermore, she generously shares her prior experiences and of course timely feedback.
Those significantly aided me in successfully overcome this most difficult period. More specifically, she also assisted me in carrying out the questionnaire in her class. Furthermore, I cannot overlook the enthusiasm, care, and meticulousness of 70 English majors in the two speaking 3 classes. Their contribution to this thesis is undeniable, and I will be eternally grateful.
Next, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and eternal appreciation to my family, my friends for always being by my side and encouraging me to get through this tough time. Last but not least, I would like to thank my cohort, Le Thi Thu Thuy. We have gone through a tough time, and now it is time we can enjoy the fruits of our efforts. Honestly, thank you for always collaborating with me to complete this research, Thu Thuy.
In abridgment, I will be eternally grateful to everyone who assisted me in finalizing my graduation thesis. Thank you so much! TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .4 SCOPES OF THE STUDY. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 The definition of pronunciation .2 The definition of the shadowing technique .3 The definition of Flipgrid .4 The definition of learning styles .1 Elements of pronunciation .2 The importance of pronunciation .1 How to shadow a video .2 Benefits of the shadowing technique .3 Differences between Shadowing and Dubbing technique .4 BENEFITS WHEN USING FLIPGRID .6 THE PREVIOUS STUDIES. 15 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN .3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH METHODS .3 Stage 3: Observation, questionnaire, interview.
22 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .1 How do English-majored sophomores at IUH feel about using the shadowing technique in improving pronunciation? .2 Should the shadowing technique be widely applied in learning pronunciation to English-majored students at IUH?. 43 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATION .1 The results of the research .2 Comparison to previous studies. 50 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH) 2.
Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) 3. English as a Foreign Language (EFL) TABLE OF FIGURES Table 2. 1 Steps of shadowing according to Takizawa. 2 Steps of shadowing according to Kadota and Tamai.
3 Steps of shadowing according to Ivan Ottinger. 1 What are 10 videos. 1 How long have participants learnt English. 2 Which course is participants in?.
3 Students’ most favorite language skills?. 4 Students’ least favorite language skills?. 5 Students’ favorite learning styles. 6 Percentage of students in finishing pronunciation practice class.
7 Students’ results in pronunciation practice class. 8 The importance of pronunciation. 9 Students’ self-practicing pronunciation?. 10 Difficulties during self-learning pronunciation?.
11 Students’ self-learning methods. 12 Students’ perception of own pronunciation ability. 13 Students’ experience of shadowing technique. 14 Students’ video submission.
15 Students’ opinions about the levels of videos. 16 Students’ frequency in recording videos. 17 Benefits from using the shadowing technique. 18 Students’ responses on their videos?.
19 Difficulties encountered during uploading videos on Flipgird. 20 Do you like this shadowing technique?. 21 Should the shadowing technique be widely applied in learning pronunciation to English-majored students at IUH?. 22 Pronunciation elements that students have enhanced the most…………………….
43 Submitted by: Vo Cam Linh ID Number: 17055481 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Supervisor: Ho Thi Hien, M. Page |1 Submitted by: Vo Cam Linh ID Number: 17055481 1.1 RATIONALE Pronunciation is a crucial aspect of speaking and it influences the meaning of an utterance (Aprianoto & Haerazi, 2019). Indeed, clear pronunciation allows speakers to be confident when sharing ideas and opinions with others (Zaigham, 2011). Nonetheless, having a standard pronunciation is not always easy for everyone, especially for EFL students; hence, it appears that teaching pronunciation is consistently focused on by teachers.
According to Goodwin (2001), teaching pronunciation has three goals: the first is to allow students to comprehend, the second is to improve students' confidence in speaking, and the third is to assist learners in monitoring their way of speaking based on environmental input. However, when looking at the traditional classroom, it can be seen that knowledge is rather heavy on theory; learning time is sometimes tiresome dues to passively absorbing knowledge; and students, in particular, have few opportunities to practice on their own. This is also true in pronunciation practice classes, where teachers explain almost the fundamentals of pronunciation before allowing students to practice. Take pronunciation practice classes in 2020 and 2021 at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh city as illustrations.
The pupils in these classes are stretching from 40 to 45 students; with such many students, teachers are unable to approach and correct the mistakes of each student individually. Moreover, class time practice is obviously insufficient because the class time is only 60 periods to cover 52 lessons from the coursebook. Therefore, if students want to perfect pronunciation, they need to spend more time practicing outside of class. This raises the question of whether there is a technique of learning pronunciation that is both effective, enjoyable as well as allowing students to devote more time to practice.
As a result, the shadowing method is discovered. To further clarify whether this learning method is truly appropriate for students, the author conducted research: “The impact of using shadowing technique to improve pronunciation - from the English-majored sophomores’ perspectives”. Supervisor: Ho Thi Hien, M. Page |2 Submitted by: Vo Cam Linh ID Number: 17055481 1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The researcher aims for 4 outcomes as below.
The study's initial goal is to emphasize the significance of pronunciation, particularly in the English speaking and communication. The second goal is to introduce a new learning pronunciation technique (shadowing), to English learners in order to enhance pronunciation abilities. Furthermore, the researcher wants to know if shadowing can help students improve their pronunciation. The final goal is to obtain students' perspectives on the shadowing technique when it is in use.
Then, speculate on better approaches to teaching and learning pronunciation.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS At the end of the research, the author desires to figure out the answers to these two questions: 1. How do English-majored sophomores at IUH feel about using the shadowing technique in improving pronunciation? 2. Should the shadowing technique be widely applied in learning pronunciation to English- majored students at IUH? 1.4 SCOPES OF THE STUDY Even though this study took the researcher a considerable amount of time and effort, objective influences stills had an impact on. They are as follows: Since the researcher is merely a fourth-year student, an intensive experiment or a direct assessment of student improvement is difficult to conduct.
Moreover, the researcher cannot administer the study methodically (set 2 groups apart, one is a controlled group where the shadowing method is used, whereas the other group does not). Because of these constraints, the researcher is supposed to do research in just a group of students, then solicit students’ viewpoints. Supervisor: Ho Thi Hien, M. Page |3 Submitted by: Vo Cam Linh ID Number: 17055481 Lastly, since this is the researcher’s first paper, any flaws are unavoidable.
Regardless, this paper will serve as a source for other potential fourth-year students can use to delve deeper into if they desire. Supervisor: Ho Thi Hien, M. Page |4 Submitted by: Vo Cam Linh ID Number: 17055481 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Supervisor: Ho Thi Hien, M. Page |5 Submitted by: Vo Cam Linh ID Number: 17055481 2.1 The definition of pronunciation The key aspect of speaking is pronunciation.
Therefore, its definitions have been proposed by several researchers. Here are some perspectives: Cook (1996) defined pronunciation as the production of English sounds (as cited in Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2016). Likewise, according to Yates (2002 as cited in Pourhosein Gialkjani, 2016), pronunciation is known as the sound production to convey meaning. Going into more details, pronunciation is described as a way to speak a word, in particular one widely acknowledged or understood, according to Otlowski's (1998) research.
Taking into account all of the definitions provided above, it is possible to conclude that pronunciation is the sound production of a language that conveys meaning and is generally acknowledged.2 The definition of the shadowing technique Shadowing is a pronunciation technique utilized extensively for many years; thus, numerous definitions were born to define it. At first, shadowing was originally used to train interpreters. Nonetheless, in the current decades, it has been introduced in teaching for EFL learners. According to Tami (1997), the shadowing technique is more than just a passive practice in which students track the heard speech and vocalize it as clearly as possible while also listening.
To add to the definitions, Luster (2005, as cited in Hamzar, 2014) stated in one of his research papers that "shadowing" involves repeating what speakers say and is also an excellent way to teach English. He also provided a few shadowing descriptions: • Shadowing is not listening and repeating. • Shadowing is not listening while you are reading. • Shadowing is not memorizing and then shadowing.
• Shadowing is not mumbling sounds. Supervisor: Ho Thi Hien, M.