BANKING ACADEMY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ----- ----- GRADUATION THESIS A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF USING VIDEO DUBBING IN PRONUNCIATION CLASSES Student : Le Ngoc Chinh Class : K23ATCA Academic course : 2020 - 2024 Student ID : 23A7510017 Supervisor : Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Nga Hanoi, May 2024 Declaration I, Le Ngoc Chinh, hereby declares that this thesis is the product of my own efforts and has not been previously published or submitted for any other degree program. I have referenced all sources accurately and have not plagiarized any material. This thesis represents my original ideas and analysis, and I take full responsibility for its content.
I understand that any violation of academic integrity will result in consequences as outlined by my academic institution. Author of graduation thesis Le Ngoc Chinh Acknowledgement First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis advisor, Nguyen Ngoc Nga, for her guidance, support, and invaluable feedback throughout the process of writing this thesis. Secondly, I would like to acknowledge the support of my family and friends who have been a constant source of encouragement and motivation throughout my journey in completing the thesis. Also, I would like to give special mention to my elder brother who was the first catalyst in motivating me to undertake the thesis, and gave me valuable advises.
I am also grateful to the individuals who participated in this study for their willingness to share their experiences and insights, without which this study would not have been feasible. Lastly, I would like to thank the faculty and resources at Banking Academy for providing the necessary assistance and resources for this project. Thank you all for your contributions to this gradual thesis. Table of contents Declaration.
ii Table of contents. iii List of Tables. v List of Figures .vi List of Abbreviations. Significance of the study.
Scope and limitations of the study. 4 Chapter 2: Literature review. Second Language Acquisition Theory. Technology-Enhanced Language Learning.
The importance of pronunciation in L2 acquisition. Factors influencing English pronunciation learning. Video dubbing process. Previous research on implementing video dubbing techniques.
17 Chapter 3: Research methods. Setting of the study. Data collection procedure. Data analysis procedure.
26 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussions. Students’ video dubbing experience. Students’ perspectives on the effectiveness of the video dubbing method. Students’ difficulties in deploying the video dubbing method.
Students’ strategies and recommendations. Students’ decision-making on further video dubbing practice. Summary of the findings. Limitations of the study.
For teachers of the Faculty of Foreign Language. For further studies. 51 Appendix: Survey questionnaire. 56 List of Tables Table Page Table 3.1: Sample of the study 24 Table 4.1: Personal information of respondents 28 Table 4.2: Students’ attitude towards video dubbing in pronunciation 29 class Table 4.3: Students’ perspectives on effectiveness of video dubbing 31 Table 4.4: Students’ difficulties in deploying the video dubbing 33 techniques List of Figures Figure Page Figure 2.1: Factors influence pronunciation acquisition 11 Figure 4.1: Students’ preferred type of accent for dubbing 35 Figure 4.2: Students’ favorable applications of editing video 36 Figure 4.3: Students’ way to tackle the difficulties of doing dubbing 37 Figure 4.4: Students’ readiness to continue dubbing practice 38 Figure 4.5: Students’ willingness to recommend dubbing method to 39 others List of Abbreviations AP Advanced program BAV Banking Academy of Vietnam CG Control group EFL English as a Foreign Language EG Experimental group EM English major ESP English for Specific Purposes L1 First language L2 Second language TELL Technology enhanced Language Learning Abstract Pronunciation plays an important role in enhancing students’ listening and speaking proficiency.
Therefore, utilizing video dubbing can be an effective method for improving students’ pronunciation. This study aims to investigate whether video dubbing has a beneficial impact on students’ pronunciation improvement and to discover students' challenges with this method. The study involved forty-nine advanced program students and fifty-two English-majored students at Banking Academy of Vietnam. Participants were given a survey questionnaire exploring the effectiveness of video dubbing in the Pronunciation course, challenges that students face when working on this activity, and some strategies to overcome the difficulties.
The findings revealed that students generally expressed positive attitudes toward video dubbing in pronunciation learning. Specifically, video dubbing helped students better understand the intonation and word stresses in delivering English speech, thereby improving their fluency in speaking and listening skills. On the other hand, due to the complex technical procedure, students struggled to select, adjust, and edit a video clip for dubbing. Overall, integrating dubbing techniques into language learning can provide students with authentic contexts and various pronunciation features.
1 Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter will offer a summarized overview of theoretical backgrounds and present research questions. It also provides information on the significance, scope, and the structure of the study. Research problem With the growth of interconnectivity and globalization, English is used as a global language (Rao, 2019). Despite being diverse in cultures and geographical locations, the widespread use of English has made the world more accessible to people from all walks of life (Shrishthy, 2022).
In the context of Vietnam, English is an indispensable tool in helping individuals and the country as a whole to increase its competitiveness on the global stage. It was stated that proficiency in English is regarded as a key factor in gaining access to better education and job opportunities in Vietnam (Tien, 2024). As a result, English has always been given special consideration when teaching it as a second language of the educational system in Vietnam, from primary to tertiary education. Having contributed to English foreign language (EFL) learners’ communicative success, pronunciation plays a significant role in oral communication (Darcy, 2018; Derwing & Munro, 2015).
When it comes to pronunciation accuracy, second language (L2) learners deal with many challenges due to the differences between their first language (L1) phonetic system and L2 phonetic system. Meanwhile, many other factors also impact how well learners acquire pronunciation such as motivation, attitude, classroom instruction, and so on. English-speaking pronunciation courses conducted by native English speakers are not always available to Vietnamese students. As a result, students mostly rely on Vietnamese teachers or self-study approaches, such as watching English shows or movies, to enhance their native-liked pronunciation.
Oftentimes, learners do not receive feedback on their pronunciation errors. Movies and reality shows, however, served as a valuable source of authentic language input, offering learners exposure to natural English pronunciation patterns. In this context, the use of video 2 dubbing as a means of improving English speaking pronunciation has garnered attention as an innovative and engaging language learning tool. In addition, when learning the English language, students' attitudes towards particular language learning activities, such as video dubbing, can significantly impact their motivation, engagement, and ultimately, their language proficiency (Ajzen, 1991).
Research questions The study aims to examine students’ perspectives on the implementation of dubbing methods in pronunciation improvement. The key research question is: How do students perceive the use of video dubbing in pronunciation classes? This main research question is answered using two questions as below: 1. What are students’ perspectives on the effectiveness and difficulties when implementing video dubbing in Pronunciation class? 2. What are students’ strategies and suggestions for improving pronunciation practice? 1.
Significance of the study It is undeniable that EFL learners find it difficult to be proficient in pronunciation due to the interference of their first language, particularly for students at the Banking Academy of Vietnam (BAV). The study was conducted to find out whether the use of video dubbing technique has positive effects on pronunciation practice with a view to developing and adopting this method in the frequent English learning process. Therefore, the researcher hopes to contribute to learning pronunciation for creativity and productivity. This study aims to benefit not only the students but also the teachers: 3 - For students, they can create an English-exposed environment in which they absorb the native accent as well as common expressions through dubbing.
Thus, it is possible for them to enhance both speaking and listening skills. - For lectures, the results of the study would aid them in better understanding students’ attitudes toward the use of video dubbing in the Pronunciation class so that teachers can tailor educational approaches along with teaching materials to improve the quality of students’ pronunciation learning, promoting effective long-term academic outcomes and future orientation. Scope and limitations of the study Due to time limitation, the study solely focused on students attending Pronunciation courses at Banking Academy of Vietnam, particularly 101 participants joining the research survey. The study aims to investigate the students’ perspectives regarding the efficacy of the video dubbing methods and the challenges associated with their practical application.
The research was conducted over a period of approximately two months, completing on 30th April 2024. Thesis Structure The study consisted of five chapters. The information contained in each chapter is outlined as below: Chapter 1 - Introduction states a summary of the Research problem, and addresses the Research questions, Scope, and Significance of the study. Chapter 2 - Literature review provides related literature research, the role, and factors that influence pronunciation, definition, and steps of video dubbing.
Additionally, previous studies of video dubbing were also summarized in this chapter. 4 Chapter 3 - Research methods provides a detailed description of the Participants, Research instruments, and the process of data collection and analysis. Chapter 4 - Findings and Discussions analyzes collected data and describes discussions on the findings. Chapter 5 - Conclusion briefly summarizes the research findings, acknowledges the study’s limitations, and offers Implications for further study.
Chapter summary: Introduction It is noticeable that the English pronunciation of Vietnamese freshmen is restricted by their focus on grammar and vocabulary for university entrance examination. Regrading to this, Vietnamese students may not have regular exposure to native English-spoken environments, making it harder for them to deliver correct pronunciation patterns. The study was conducted to investigate whether video dubbing had beneficial effect on students’ pronunciation practice, difficulties encountered while doing this activity. Following this, the study also proposed some practical implications for students, teachers and further studies.
5 Chapter 2: Literature review This chap provides related literature research; the role and factors influencing pronunciation; the definition, and the steps of video dubbing. It also includes a summary of previous studies on using video dubbing in language practice. Second Language Acquisition Theory Dalton & Seidlhofer (1994) stated that effective pronunciation teaching and learning includes three main processes: exposure, exercise, and explanation. Exposure enables learners to listen to and mimic the native pronunciation by listening to native speakers, or videos to have a sense of familiarity with the sounds and intonation patterns of the language.
Exposure provides learners with a model of the target language assisting in second-language comprehension (Neri et al. Through the repeated processes following the authentic language models, learners can absorb the accurate manner of speaking. Besides, learners’ exposure to comprehensible and communicative language is important in improving their pronunciation skills. According to Krashen’s Input Hypothesis (1982), learners’ academic learning process occurs when they understand the language input at a level somewhat above their current level.
To simply explain, if the learners’ present level is “i” then the input should be at “i+1”, which helps them internalize knowledge naturally, and effectively. Learners are supposed to engage with a comprehensible context, in which they can grasp common expressions, grammatical structures, and language variations during exposure. Moreover, to adapt to diverse learning styles, input should be delivered in multiple formats, including written, spoken, and audio-visual materials (Neri et al. However, exposure is not enough to acquire a language, you need to spend time practicing putting it into real life.
Exercise allows learners to perform their language-exposed input into actual situations through pronunciation features (Dalton Seidlhofer, 1994).