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Khóa luận An analysis on consonants in english and their comparison in vietnamese to improve pronunciation

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  1. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY ISO 9001 : 2008 RESEARCH PAPER AN ANALYSIS ON CONSONANTS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR COMPARISON IN VIETNAMESE TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION Name: Le Hoang Tuan HAI PHONG, 2013 1
  2. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY ISO 9001 : 2008 AN ANALYSIS ON CONSONANTS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR COMPARISON IN VIETNAMESE TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION MAJOR: ENGLISH Name : Le Hoang Tuan Supervisor : Ngo Viet Tuan, B.A HAI PHONG, 2013 2
  3. Acknowledgements My research paper would not be completed without a great deal of assistance, guidance and encouragement from many people which have I received along the way from the beginning. First of all, I owe a great debt to my supervisor, Mr. Ngo Viet Tuan, B.A for his suggestions, guidance, and all the valuable materials he has provided me. Secondly, I would also be grateful to all the teachers of English major Department of Hai Phong Private University who have taught me for the past four years. In preparing, this graduation paper, I want to express special acknowledgement to all my friends, for their highly valuable encouragement and support for my study. Finally, my overriding depth continues to be to my lovely family members who always stand by me to help me overcome every difficulty in completing this task. Hai phong, august, 2013 Le Hoang Tuan 3
  4. Symbols and abbreviation C: Consonant [x;y] : x shows the name of the text books listed in the part of reference; the other shows the paper number in that books Ex: [3;30] Vd: Voiced Vs: Voiceless Ex: example IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet 4
  5. Table of contents Acknowledgements i Symbols and abbreviation ii Table of contents iii List of figures iiii The organs of speech iiiii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale 1 2. Aims of the study 1 3. Scope of the study 2 4. Methods of the study 2 5. Design of the study 2 PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: Theoretical background 3 1. ENGLISH CONSONANTS 3 1.1. Articulators and places of articulation 3 1.2. Definition and the basic consonants in English 4 1.2.1. Definitions 4 1.2.2. The basic English consonants 4 1.3. Classification of English consonants 4 1.3.1. According to place of articulation 4 1.3.1.1. Sounds made with the lips 4 a, Both lips-bilabial: /p/, /b/, /m/ 4 5
  6. b, Lower lip and upper teeth – labiodental: /f/, /v/ 5 1.3.1.2. Sounds made with the tip of the tongue 6 a, Tip of the tongue and the teeth – interdental: /θ/ and /ð/ 6 b, Tip of the tongue and the tooth ridge – alveolar: /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /z/, /r/ 6 1.3.1.1. Sound made with the blade of the tongue 7 a, Blade o the tongue and the hard palate – alveolar- palate: / Ȝ /, /ʃ /, / ʤ /, /tʃ / 7 1.3.1.2. Sound made with the back of the tongue 8 a, Back of the tongue and soft palate- velar: /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ 8 1.3.2. According to manner of articulation 8 1.3.2.1. Complete obstruction of the airstream – stops 9 1.3.2.2. Partial obstruction of the airstream – fricatives 10 1.3.2.3. Complex consonant sound- affricative 10 1.3.2.4. Sounds made with the air escaping through the nose – nasals 11 1.3.2.5. Lateral 12 1.3.2.6. Retroflex 12 1.3.2.7. Semivowel 12 1.3.3. According to voicing 14 2. VIETNAMESE CONSONANTS 15 2.1. Definition and the basic consonants in Vietnamese 15 2.1.1. Definition. 15 2.1.2. The basic consonants in Vietnamese. 15 2.2. Classification of Vietnamese consonants. 15 2.2.1. According to place of articulation. 15 2.2.1.1. Bilabial. 15 2.2.1.2. Apical-dentals 16 6
  7. 2.2.1.3. Apical-palatal. 16 2.2.1.4. Dorsal sound. 16 2.2.1.5. Radical sound. 16 2.2.1.6. Glottal 16 2.2.2. According to the manner of articulation 16 2.2.2.1. Unaspirate - stop sound. 16 2.2.2.2. Aspirate- stops sound 17 2.2.2.3. Nasal- consonant sound 17 2.2.2.4. Fricative sounds 17 2.2.2.5. Lateral-consonant sound 18 2.2.3. According to the voicing 19 CHAPTER II: Comparison between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants. 20 1. The similar between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants: 20 2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants 20 3. Comment about the similar and differences of Vietnamese and English consonants. 22 3.1. The identical of English and Vietnamese consonants. 22 3.1.1. Both languages have the same criteria in manner and place of articulation to analyze 22 3.1.2. Voiced, voiceless, stop criteria are used to compare. 22 3.1.3. Both languages have approximately the same amount of consonants. 22 3.1.4. Both languages have the same amount of consonants with the similar writing. 23 3.2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants 24 7
  8. CHAPTER III: The common pronunciation problems faced by Vietnamese 26 1. English consonants problems faced by Vietnamese 26 1.1. Difficulties in pronouncing English stop- consonants 26 1.1.1. Word- initial voiceless stop consonants 26 1.1.2. Voiced and voiceless stop in word-final position 26 1.1.3. Word- final voiceless stop consonants 27 1.2. Difficulty in pronouncing English fricative consonants 27 1.3. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant /r/ 28 1.4. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant / θ/ and / ð/ as in „think‟ and „this‟ 28 1.5. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant /p/ vs. /f/ and /b/ 29 1.6. Difficulties in pronouncing word-final /tʃ / 29 CHAPTER IV: Finding and solution 30 1. Some suggested techniques and activities 30 1.1 Model exercise 30 1.2 Minimal pair practice 32 1.3 Drilling practice 33 1.4 Taping student‟s English 36 1.5 Listening activities 36 1.6 Reading activities 37 2. Techniques to improve specific problems 38 2.1 Techniques for English consonants 38 2.1.1 Techniques to pronounce English stop consonants 38 2.1.1.1 Word initial voiceless stop consonants 38 2.1.1.2 Voiced and voiceless stops in word-finial position 39 2.1.1.3 Word-finial position voiceless stop consonants 40 2.2 Techniques to pronounce English fricative 40 2.2.1 Voicing of fricative 40 8
  9. 2.2.2 Word-final fricative 42 2.3 Techniques to pronounce English consonant /r/ 42 2.4 Techniques to pronounce / θ/ and / ð/ 43 2.5 Difficulties in pronouncing word-final /tʃ / 44 3. Some suggested exercises to improve pronunciation 44 PART III: CONCLUSION 53 Conclusion 53 Suggestion for further study .53 References 54 9
  10. List of figures Figure 1: Articulators and places of articulation 3 Figure 2: The position of the lips in the production of /p/, /b/, and /m/ .5 Figure 3: The position of the teeth and lips in the production of /f/, /v/ 5 Figure 4: The position of the tongue the production of “θ” and “ð” 7 Figure 5: The position of the tongue the production of /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/ 7 Figure 6: The position of the tongue in the production of /Ȝ/, /ʃ/, /ʤ /, /tʃ 8 Figure 7: The position of the tongue in the production of /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ 8 Figure 8: Places of articulation 8 Figure 9: Complete blockage of the airstream as in the stops /t/ and /d/ 9 Figure 10: Partial blockage of the airstream as in the fricative /s/ and /z/ . 9 Figure 11: The position of the velum in the production of /k/ and /g/ 11 Figure 12: The position of the velum in the production of nasal consonant /ŋ/ 11 Figure 13: The position of the tongue in the production of the lateral /l/ . 13 Figure 14: The position of the tongue in the production of the retroflex /r/ . 13 Figure 15: Manner of articulation 13 Figure 16: Classification of the consonants the English in terms of places of articulation, manner of articulation and voicing 14 Figure 17: Classification of Vietnamese consonants in terms of place, manner of articulation, and voicing 18 10
  11. Figure 18: The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants 21 Figure 19: Consonants with the similar writing in Vietnamese 23 Figure 20: Consonants with the similar writing in English 23 11
  12. PART ONE: INTRODUCTION 12
  13. 1. Rationale Speaking English like truly native speakers is the dream of the English learners. However, there are many pronunciation problems the English learners faced such as consonants, vowels, stress etc Vietnamese learning English also make the same mistakes because of some differences and similarities in pronouncing consonants between English and Vietnamese. During English learning at HPU, I myself have encountered great difficulties in learning English pronunciation especially consonants pronunciation. If we can understand and practice consonants pronunciation clearly, judiciously, the English pronunciation problems will be overcome and improved. The above reasons have inspired me to carry out the study with the title “An analysis on consonants in English and their comparison in Vietnamese to improve pronunciation ”. 2. Aims of the study With the hope of getting more comprehensive and specific understanding of English consonants, finding out common consonants pronunciation mistakes faced by Vietnamese and giving some techniques to improve English consonants pronunciation to Vietnamese, my study focuses on: Introducing the basic theories of English and Vietnamese consonants and their differences and similarities. Particularly, giving the principles of consonants pronunciation and raising the learner awareness of English pronunciation by giving specific evidences, examples, figures, pictures may make learners try to pronounce like native speakers. Providing some exercises may be very helpful for learners in English pronunciation as well as in English communication today. 13
  14. 3. Scope of the study Proper English pronunciation is an extremely large study, including research into principles of vowels and consonants pronunciation, principles of recognizing the word stress or intonation of a sentence ect However, because of our time and knowledge limitation, English consonants pronunciation and their comparison in Vietnamese will be focused. 4. Methods of the study To achieve the aims of the study successfully and effectively, in our studying process, we stored knowledge from a lot different kinds of resources specialized in the consonants pronunciation in English and Vietnamese. Then, English consonants and Vietnamese consonants are contrasted. 5. Design of the study This paper provides a clear organization consisting 3 main parts that help an easy exploration and practical benefit gained for readers as well  Part I: The introduction including rationale of the study, scope of the study, aims of the study, methods of the study, design of the study.  Part II: The development of the study consisting 4 chapters  Part III: Conclusion 14
  15. PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT Chapter I: theoretical background 1. English consonants To pronounce English accurately, it is essential to have an understanding of how the speech sound of English are produced. It will enable you to take the necessary steps correction of the students‟ pronunciation problems. Different speech sounds result when the airstream is altered in some ways by the positioning of various parts of the mouth. This alteration is the basic which helps classify English consonants. 1.1. Articulators and places of articulation Figure 1: Articulators and places of articulation Articulators: Involved the movable parts of the mouth 1. Tip of tongue 2. Blade of tongue 3. Back of tongue Places of articulators: Involved the unmovable parts of the mouth 4. Teeth 7.Soft palate (Velum) 5. Tooth (alveolar) 8. Glottis ridge 6. Hard palate 9. Uvula 15
  16. 1.2. Definition and the basic consonants in English 1.2.1. Definitions: In articulator phonetic, a consonant is a speech of sound that is articulated with complete of partial closure of the upper vocal tract; the upper vocal tract is defined as that part of vocal tract lying above the larynx. [4; 23] Consonants are formed by interrupting, restricting or diverting the airflow in a variety of ways. [9; 147] 1.2.2. The basic consonants in English include: /b/, /p/, /k/, /g/, /t/, /d/, /v/ /f/, /ʤ /, /∫/, /Ȝ/, /ʧ/, /s/, /z/, /h/, /θ/, /ð/, /m/, /n/, /l/, /r/, /w/, /y/, /ŋ/ 1.3. Classification of English consonants There are three ways of describing consonant sounds: 1. The place of articulation 2. The manner of articulation 3. The voicing 1.3.1 According to place of articulation In English, there are six places in the mouth where the airstream is obstructed in the information of consonants. In this study, we will discuss each consonant in terms of the articulators involved and the place in the mouth where the articulators cause an obstruction of the airstream. 1.3.1.1. Sounds made with the lips a, Both lips-bilabial: /p/, /b/, /m/ Pronounce the words “pat”, “bat” and “mat”, paying attention to the way the first consonants of each word is made. The first sound in each of these words 16
  17. is made with the two lips coming together and touching momentarily. The obstruction of the airstream thus occurs at the lips. The sound /p/, /b/, and /m/ are referred to as bilabial sounds because the two (bi- ) lips (labial) are involved in their production Figure 2: The position of the lips in Figure 3: The position of the teeth the production of /p/, /b/, and /m/ and lips in the production of /f/, /v/ b, Lower lip and upper teeth – labiodental: /f/, /v/ Produce the words “fat” and “vat”, again paying attention to the way the first sounds of these words are formed. The initial sounds of these words are made with the top teeth touching the bottom lip. Therefore, the obstruction of airstream occurs not because the bottom lip and the top lip come together. Again, the phonetic symbols for these two sounds are the same as the English letters. We use the symbols /f/ and /v/ to represent the initial sounds of „fat‟ and „vat‟ The sound /f/, /v/ are referred to as labiodental sounds because the lips (labio) and the teeth (dental) are involved in their production. 17
  18. 1.3.1.2 Sounds made with the tip of the tongue a, Tip of the tongue and the teeth – interdental: /θ/ and /ð/ Pronounce the words “think” and “this”, paying attention to the way the first consonant sounds of these words are formed. With first consonant sounds of these words the obstruction of the airstream occurs because the tip of the tongue is between the teeth or just behind teeth. The phonetic symbols for these sounds are not the same as the English letters. The “th” sound in “think” and “this” are represented by symbol /θ/ and / ð / The sound / θ/ and / ð / are referred to as interdental sounds because the tongue is placed between (inter) the teeth (dental). The two th sounds are notoriously difficult for second language learners because they are not common sounds in many of the world‟s languages. While not many words in English contain the / ð/ sound as in „this‟, the words that do contain in this sound are among the most frequently used words in the English language. For example, the words „the‟, „this‟, „that‟, „these‟, „those‟, „then‟, „than‟, ‟them‟ and „their‟ all begin with the / ð / sound. The / ð / sound is also found in such common words as „mother‟, „father‟, and „brother‟. Thus, how important this sound is in English. b, Tip of the tongue and the tooth ridge – alveolar: /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /z/, /r/ Other English sounds made with the tip of the tongue include the initial sounds of „tip‟, „dip‟, „nip‟, „lip‟, „sip‟, „zip‟, and „rip‟. When you pronounce the initial consonant of these words, you should feel the tip of your tongue touching the roof of your mouth just behind upper teeth with /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/ and approaching the tooth ridge with /s/, /z/, /r/. These sounds are referred to as alveolar because the tongue either touches or approaches the alveolar ridge in their production. 18
  19. Figure 4: The position of the Figure 5: The position of the tongue tongue the production of “θ” and the production of /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/ “ð” 1.3.1.1. Sound made with the blade of the tongue a, Blade o the tongue and the hard palate – alveolar- palate: / Ȝ /, /ʃ /, / ʤ /, /tʃ / When you pronounce the words “wish” and “beige”, concentrating on the position of the tongue in the production of the final sounds. These sounds are made with the blade of the tongue approaching the hard palate just behind the tooth ridge. The phonetic symbols for these sounds are not the same as the English letters. We use the symbol /ʃ / to represent the final sound of „wish‟ and the symbol /Ȝ/ represent the final sound of „beige‟. One other important aspect of the pronunciation of /Ȝ/, /ʃ / involves the lips. Notice that the lips are rounded when you pronounce these sound. There are two other sounds that are made with the blade of the tongue at the hard palate. These are initial consonants in the words ‟chug‟ and „jug‟. We use the complex symbol /tʃ / for the initial sound in the word „chug‟ and / ʤ / for the initial sound in the word ‟jug‟. 19
  20. The sound / Ȝ /, /ʃ /, / ʤ /, /tʃ / are referred to as alveopalatal sounds because the tongue is just behind the alveolar ridge at the hard palate in the production of these sounds. Figure 6: The position of the tongue Figure 7: The position of the tongue in the production of /Ȝ /, /ʃ /, /ʤ /, in the production of /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ /tʃ 1.3.1.2. Sound made with the back of the tongue a, Back of the tongue and soft palate- velar: /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ When you pronounce initial sounds of „coat‟ and „goat‟ and final sound of „sing‟, the back part of your tongue touches the back part of your mouth momentarily, causing the obstruction of the airstream. The sounds /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ are referred to as velar sounds because they are made with the back of the tongue rising to touch the soft palate or velum. The places of articulation for consonants can be summarized as following: Places of articulation Bilabial Labiodentals Interdental Alveolar Alveolarpalatal Velar p,b f,v θ, ð t,d /ʃ /, / Ȝ / k,g m l,n /tʃ /,/ ʤ / /ŋ/ 20
  21. s,z,r Figure 8: Places of articulation 1.3.2. According to manner of articulation Manner of articulation refers to the interaction between the various articulators and the airstream. There are 7 groups of consonants classified according to manner of articulation: 1.3.2.1. Complete obstruction of the airstream – stops Are the sounds made by the air that passes from the lung into the mouth can be completely stopped because the lips or tongue actually touch some parts of the upper mouth, and then escaped strongly causing a closure. Consonants that involve this complete blockage of the airstream are called stops. The initial sounds of „pill‟ and „bill‟, „till‟ and „dill‟, „kill‟ and „gill‟ are all stop consonants. Notice that the place in the mouth where the airstream is blocked differs with these three pairs of sounds. With /p/ and /b/, the air is blocked because the two lips come together. With /t/ and /d/, the air is blocked because the tip of the tongue touches the tooth ridge. With /k/ and /g/, the air is blocked because the back of the tongue touches the soft palate. The stop consonants of Lip (bilabial) /p/ and /b/ English Tooth ridge (alveolar) /t/ and /d/ Soft palate (velar) /k/ and /g/ 21
  22. Figure 9: Complete blockage of the Figure 10: Partial blockage of the airstream as in the stops /t/ and /d/ airstream as in the fricative /s/ and /z/ 1.3.2.8. Partial obstruction of the airstream – fricatives Some consonants in English do not involve a complete stoppage of the airstream but rather a partial obstruction. This partial obstruction results from the lips or the tongue coming close to some part of the upper mouth. These consonants are called fricative because the sounds produced by the forcing the airstream through a narrow opening between the lips and the teeth or the tongue and the teeth. The fricative consonants of English Lower lip/ upper teeth (labiodental) /f/ and /v/ Teeth (interdental) /θ/ and / ð/ Tooth ridge (alveolar) /s/ and /z/ Hard palate (alveolar palate) /∫/and / Ȝ / Bilabial Labiodentals Interdental Alveolar Alveopalatal Velar f θ s ∫ 22
  23. v ð z ȝ 1.3.2.9. Complex consonant sound- affricative: There are two complex consonants sounds in English, /tʃ / as in „chug‟ and / ʤ / as in „jug‟. We introduce both of the sounds previously as hard palate sounds. Each of combination of a stop followed immediately by a fricative and they are inferred to as affricates. The initial sound of the „chug‟ begins as the stop consonant /t/, and is released as the fricative / Ȝ /. Similarly, the initial consonant of „jug‟ begins as the stop consonant /d/, and is released as the fricative / Ȝ /. Pronounce these two sounds and see if you can feel the tip of the tongue making contract with the top of the mouth and then separating slightly so that a fricative is made immediately after stop. The complex consonants of English - affricates Hard palate (alveopalatal) /tʃ /, / ʤ / 1.3.2.10. Sounds made with the air escaping through the nose – nasals All of the consonants sounds that we have discussed up to this point are made with air passing through the mouth. Nasal sounds, on the other hand, are made with air passing through the nose. Air is blocked in the mouth in the same way as it is for stop consonants. However, the soft palate is lowed allowing air to escape through the nose. Figure 11: The position of the velum in Figure 12: The position of the velum in 23
  24. the production of /k/ and /g/ the production of nasal consonant / ŋ/ There are three nasal consonants in English: /m/, /n/, and / ŋ/ as in „ram‟, „ran‟, „rang‟. These three sounds differ in terms of place of articulation. The /m/ is produced when the two lips touch, the /n/ is produced when the tip of the tongue touches the tooth ridge and the / ŋ/ is produced when the back of the tongue touches the soft palate. In each case, this contact prevents air from escaping out of the mouth. The nasal consonants of lips (bilabial) /m/ English tooth ridge (alveolar) /n/ soft palate (velar) / ŋ/ 1.3.2.5. Lateral Lateral sound is made with the tip of the tongue touching the tooth ridge and the air passing through the mouth over the sides of the tongue: /l/ For some speaker of English, the /l/ may be made with air passing out of the mouth over one side of the tongue only. Because the air passes out the side of the mouth, the /l/ sound is referred to as a lateral consonant. 1.3.2.6. Retroflex Retroflex sound is made with the tip of the tongue slightly curled back in the mouth. Pronounce the word „red‟ and prolong the initial consonant. You should feel the tip of the tongue in a curled-back position. You may also feel some backward movement of the tongue and some rounding of the lips. Upon pronunciation of the vowel sound in „red‟, the tongue is uncurls. Because the 24
  25. tongue is curled back during the pronunciation of the /r/ sound, it is referred to as retroflex consonant. 1.3.2.7. Semivowel Other consonant sounds of English produced with little turbulence in the airstream are the initial sounds of the words „wet‟ and „yet‟. These two sounds are often called semi-vowels because they are made with a relatively wide opening in the mouth. In the pronunciation of the /w/ the lips are rounded and, at the same time, the back of the tongue approaches the soft palate. Pronounce the word „wet‟, prolonging the first sound of this word. You should feel the lips coming together and rounding slightly. It is difficult to feel the back of the tongue approaching the soft palate but, in fact, this narrowing occurs as well. In the pronunciation /y/, the blade of the tongue approaches the hard palate. You should be able to feel the tongue coming o close the hard palate. Figure 13: The position of the tongue Figure 14: The position of the in the production of the lateral /l/ tongue in the production of the retroflex /r/ The manner of articulation can be summarized as following: 25
  26. Manner of articulation Stop Fricative Affricative Nasal Lateral Retroflex Semivowel p, b, t f, v, θ, ð ʧ, ʤ m, n, ŋ l r w, y d, k, g s, z, ∫, Ȝ Figure 15: Manner of articulation 1.3.3. According to voicing Sounds that are made with the vocal cord are voice and sound made with no vibration are voiceless. All of stops, fricatives and affricatives we have discussed so far come in voiced/voiceless pairs. The nasals, laterals, retroflex, and semi-vowels of English are all voiced. Voiceless: p, t, k, f, s, θ, ∫, ʧ Voiced: b, d, g, v, ð, z, Ȝ, ʤ , m, ŋ, l, r, w, y Bilabial Labia- Dental Alveolar Alveolar- Velar dental palatal Stop Vd p t g Vs b d k Affricatives Vd ʤ Vs ʧ Fricatives Vd f θ z Ȝ Vs v ð s ∫ 26
  27. Nasal m n ŋ Lateral l Retroflex r Semi-vowel w Y w Figure 16: Classification of the consonants the English in terms of places of articulation, manner of articulation and voicing. 2. VIETNAMESE CONSONANTS 2.1. Definition and the basic consonants in Vietnamese 2.1.1. Definition Consonant in Vietnamese is a component of syllabication, and is the mainly initial sound in Vietnamese syllable Vietnamese consonant can occur at the initial or finial position of Vietnamese syllable but common at the initial position. 2.1.2. The basic consonants in Vietnamese The Vietnamese phonetic system contains 23 initial consonants: b, /f/ (ph), /v/, /m/, /t/, / d / (đ), /th / (th), /s/ (x), /z/ (d), /n/, /l/, /t/, (tr), /Ş/ (s), / ž/ (gi, r), /c/ (ch), /ɲ/ (nh), /k/ (c,k,q),/ Ύ/ (g), / χ/ (kh), /N/ (ng) , /h/, /p/, /r/ The possible Vietnamese consonants are represented in the following chart base on the place and manner of their production (articulation). In Vietnamese there are six finial consonants: /p/, /t/, /k (c/ch), /m/, /n/, /N/ (ng/nh), and two finial semivowels: /i/ / (i/y), /u/ (o/u). 2.2. Classification of Vietnamese consonants 27
  28. 2.2.1. According to place of articulation There are six groups of Vietnamese consonants classified according to place of articulation, those are: 2.2.1.1. Bilabial: are the sound made with two lips or with the lower lip touching the upper teeth: /p, b, m, f, v / Ex: the underlined the consonant in the word /p/ “úp” (cover up) /b/ “ba” (three) /m/ “một” (one) /f/ “phố” (streest) /v/ “vở” (notebook) 2.2.1.2. Apical-dentals: are the sound made with the tip of the tongue touching the upper and lower teeth:/th, t, d, n, s, z, l/. Ex: the underlined consonant in the word: /θ/ “thu” (autumn) /t/ “tai” (ear) /d/ “đen” (black) /n/ “não” (brain) /s/ “xa” (far) /z/ “giặt” (wash) /z/ “da” (skin) /l/ “lá” (leaf) 2.2.1.3. Apical-palatal: are the sound made with the blade of the tongue /t,s,r/ Eg: the underlined consonant in the word: /t/ “trà” (tea) /s/ “sách” (book) /z/ “rác” (rubbish) 2.2.1.4. Dorsal sound: are the sound made with the blade of the tongue: /c,nh/ /c/ “chanh” (lemon) /ɲ/ “nhanh” (fast) 2.2.1.5. Radical sound: are the sound made with the back of the tongue: /k,Ύ,χɲ/ Ex: the underlined consonant in the word: /k/ “cá” (fish) /k/ “quả” (fruit) /k/ “kem” (ice sream) /ɲ/ “Nga” /ɲ/ “nghe” (hear) / Ύ/ “ghế” (chair) 28
  29. (Russia) /x/ “khe” (slit) / Ύ/ “ga” (station) 2.2.1.6. Glottal: is the sound made with the epiglottises: /h/ Ex: the underlined consonants in the word: /h/ “hai” (two) 2.2.2. According to the manner of articulation There are 5 main groups of Vietnamese consonants classified according to manner of articulation: 2.2.2.1. Unaspirate - stop sound. There are 5 un-aspirate stop sounds found: /b/: is a labial sound, appears in the syllable without the medial sound as in: “be, bi, ba .” /t/ and /d/: are the apical- dental sound as in: /tin, tai, đỏ, đen” /t/: is the apical-palatal sound, appear in all syllable as in: “trồng trọ, trẻ trung” /c/: is the dorsal sound as in: “chim choc, chăm chú” /k/: is the radical sound as in: “căn cứ, keo kiệt, quây quần” 2.2.2.2. Aspirate- stop sound: there is only one aspirate- stop sound /th / as in: “thoăn thoắt, thấp thống” 2.2.2.3. Nasal- consonant sound: there are 4 nasal- consonant sounds found: /m/: is the labial sound as in “ may mắn”, “mong manh” /n/: is the apical-dental sound as in “ nặng nề”, “nắn nĩt” /ɲ /: is the dorsal sound as in “nhộn nhịp”, “nhanh nhẹn” /ŋ/: is the radical sound as in “ ngan”, “ngỗng”, “nghiêng”, “nghi ngờ” 2.2.2.4. Fricative sounds: There are 9 fricative sounds /f/ and /v/: are the labio-dental /f/ in “ phấp phới”, “phảng phất” sounds: /v/ in “vui vẻ”, “vẻ vang” 29
  30. /s/ and /z/: are the apical-dental /s/ in “xa xơi”, “xinh xắn” sounds: /z/ in “ dễ dãi”, “già giặn” /Ş/ and /z/: are the apical-dental / Ş / in “say sưa”, “sáng sủa” sounds: / Ύ/ and /x/: are the back, radial /x/ in “khe khẽ”, “khuya khoắt” sounds: / Ύ / in “gặp gỡ”, “gọn ghẽ” 2.2.2.5. Lateral-consonant sound: There is only one lateral- consonant sound /l/ is an apical- dental sound, appear in all syllable: /l/ in “lặng lẽ”, “láu lỉnh” 2.2.3. According to the voicing There are 6 groups of consonants classified according to voicing correlatively to 6 place of articulation: Voiced: /b, m, v, d, n, z, ž, Ύ/ Voiceless: /p, f, th, t, s, t, Ş, c, k, x, h/ Classification of the consonants of Vietnamese in terms of place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing: Labial Apical Dorsa Radia Glottal l l Dent Palata al l Stop Noisy Aspirate th Un- Vs t t c k aspira V b d 30
  31. te d Nasal sonant m n ɲ ŋ Fricati Noisy Vs f s Ş x H ve Vd v z ž Ύ Side sonant l Figure 17: Classification of Vietnamese consonants in terms of place, manner of articulation, and voicing Number of coda available in Vietnamese are limited to a certain degree, especially; there are only six consonants which can stand in word-final position. 31
  32. CHAPTER II: COMPARISON BETWEEN ENGLISH CONSONANTS AND VIETNAMESE CONSONANTS. 1. The similar between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants: Both English consonants and Vietnamese consonants are described and classified by four criteria: According to place of articulation According to manner of articulation According to voiced or voiceless 2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants: Criteria English consonants Vietnamese consonant 1. Accordin - No differences - Distinguish between initial g to place of between initial or final consonants and final consonants: articulation consonants: p, ng p, ng, . - No medial sound. - two medial consonants - Two interdental - Interdental consonants(ð,θ) consonants (as in ð,θ) don‟t exist in Vietnamese - tr includes two - tr includes only one consonant: 32
  33. consonants: /t + r/ /tr/ - /g/ consonant doesn‟t - /g/ consonant like ga, ghe exist in Vietnamese. doesn‟t exist in English. - 7 interdental - 9 interdental consonants consonants ( (t/t‟/d/n/s/z/l) t/d/n/r/s/z/l) - 3 alveopalatal consonants (as - Two alveopalatal in tr/j) consonants (as in ch/j) - 2 hard palate consonant (trong - 1 hard palate c/nh) consonant (as in j) - 5 Three velar consonants (as in - Three velar k/g/ng) consonants (as in k/g/ng) 2. Accordin - Seven plosive -Ten plosive consonants (as in g to consonants (as in p/b/t/t‟/d/k/g/?/tr/c) manner p/b/t/d/k/g/?) - Six nasal consonants (as in of - Three nasal m/n/ng/l ) articulati consonants (as in on m/n/ng) -Nine fricactive consonants (as - One trill consonant in f/v/s/z/sh/j/h/gh/k) (r) - Nine fricative - Two semivowel (w/j) consonants (as in f/v/th/s/z/sh/j/h) - Two affricative consonants (as in sh/j) - One lateral consonant (l) 33
  34. - Two semivowel (w/j) 3. Accordin - There are eight pairs - There are six pairs of voiced- g to of voiced-voiceless voiceless consonants voiced- consonants (p-b/f-v/th- (p-b/f-v/t-d/s-z/sh-j/r-g) voiceless th/t-d/s-z/sh-j/ch-j/k- g/h-?) Figure 18: The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants 3. Comments about the similar and differences of Vietnamese and English consonants. 3.1. The identical of English and Vietnamese consonants. 3.1.1. Both languages have the same criteria in manner and place of articulation to analyze. For example: according to manner of articulation. - fricative consonants: “f”, “v” (figure, và, vì) - stop consonants: “t”, “d”, “b” (testily, boat, tàu, dương, biểu) 3.1.2. Voiced, voiceless, stop criteria are used to compare. The consonants of both languages have the same characteristic which is formed by airstream construction Stop consonants are formed by lung airstream which is stopped. Therefore, it has to break this construction to make the sound Ex: consonants as in the words "t", "b", "d" ( "balance"(1); "beside", "boat", “two” and "bão", "bất", "tựa", "tàu", "bằng", "bị"(1); "tức", "tới" "đỡ"(2); "tuổi"(3); "đĩ", "tiệc", "để", "biểu", "đảm"(4); "đọc", "diễn"(5), "đứng", "đám", "đơng", "đang"(6) "điều", "biết", "đã", "đẩy", "tơi" in Vietnamese) 34
  35. Fricative: consonant sound which involves a partial obstruction of the airstream. The articulator approaches another part of the mouth but doesn‟t touch it. Fricatives can therefore be prolonged, e.g. "f", "v", "s" (as in the words figure, văn, sĩng ) 3.1.3. Both languages have approximately the same amount of consonants. English includes 24 while Vietnamese consist of 22 initial consonants. Beside initial consonants, Vietnamese has 8 final consonants, among them there are 6 consonants and two semivowels. 3.1.4. Both languages have the same amount of consonants with the similar writing. In Vietnamese: Numbers consonants Letter Examples 1 B b bão, bất, bằng, biểu, biết 2 M m một, mất, mở 3 V v và, vì, văn 4 T t tựa, tàu, tức, tới, tiệc, tơi 5 N N nữ, nàng 6 L L lình, lan, lên, là 7 H H hùng, hành Figure 19: Consonants with the similar writing in Vietnamese In English: Numbers Consonant Letter Examples 1 P P plunged, party, passenger, push 2 T T to, testily 3 F F figure 4 S S sudden, sea, said 35
  36. 5 H H her, help, hero, honor, his, he 6 M M man, me 7 B B balance, board, beside, boat 8 G G given, gentleman, gathering 9 V V voyage 10 L L lost, look 11 R R rail, rose 12 W W was Figure 20: Consonants with the similar writing in English. 3.2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants There are some consonants in both languages with the same position of the tongue to pronunciation but the sound is different. For example f and v consonants in English (as in figure, voyage ) and b, n consonants in Vietnamese (as in bão, biết, nữ, nàng) - Vietnamese has some consonants that doesn‟t exist in English. For example alveopalatal consonants in the words (trình, trong, trắng ) - vietnames has some consonants made by the blade of the tongue that doesn‟t exist in English such as nh, kh, ng as in the words khi, khơi, khỏi, nhiên, nhất, nhìn, ngồi, người, ngạc) - “g” consonant in English and “γ” consonant in Vietnamese are different. In English, “g” consonant is velar – stops – voiced as in some words “given, gentleman, gathering”, but “γ” consonant in Vietnamese is velar-fricative- voiced as in the words “gắt, ghế”. - both languages have stop consonants, fricative consonants but affricative consonants doesn‟t exist in Vietnamese. For example, affricative consonants / tʃ / - / ʤ / in English (as in the words “cherry”, “jam”, “voyage” 36
  37. - Voiceless, voiced, stops, non- stop criteria are used to compare in both languages but they are different. For example, “b” and “d” consonants in Vietnamese and “f”, “v” in English are different criteria. - There are initial consonants such as: b, th, ph, v, đ, d, gi, l, tr, q, k, s, r, kh, h ( as in the words bão, thình, khơi, đang, lan, phĩng, cấp ) and final consonants such as: -p, -t, -ch, -c, -m, -n, -nh, -ng ( as in the words một, cơn, thành, đang, đảm, cấp ) in Vietnamese. The final consonants and initial consonants in English are the similar, for example: s (sea, was), r (rose, her), f (figure, of), l (lost, until) - Unlike English, Vietnamese also has impacts on the local voices. For example, initial consonants “s-x” (sĩng-xĩng), “n-l” (nữ-lữ), “l-n” (lên-nên), “tr- ch” (trình-chình) in the north or “v-d” (và-dà) in the south; the final consonants such as “t-c” (hất-hấc), “n-ng” (cơn-cơng) in the south. 37
  38. CHAPTER III: The common pronunciation problems faced by Vietnamese As the sound systems of English and Vietnamese differ greatly, Vietnamese speakers can have quite severe pronunciation problems. Vietnamese is a tone language; that is, pitch changes distinguish meaning. Most words in Vietnamese consist of only one syllable; there are fewer consonants than in English and there are no consonants clusters. On the other hand, the Vietnamese consonants system makes a large number of distinctions and Vietnamese use a modified Roman alphabet but many of the letters have quite different sound values from those of English. In this research, some basic difficulties as following will be represented. 1. English consonants problems faced by Vietnamese 1.1. Difficulties in pronouncing English stop- consonants 1.1.1. Word- initial voiceless stop consonants English stop consonants are pronounced with aspiration and distinguished clearly at most of position in a syllable. Example: plot-blot-cot However in Vietnamese, these sound in initial position are often pronounce without aspiration, especially, /p/ does not occur in initial position. 38
  39. Therefore, Vietnamese learners often easily fail to pronounce with aspirate the voiceless stop /p/, /t/, /k/ at the beginning of a word. These sounds are often mistake for /b/, /d/, /g/ sound. Example: “plot” can be mistake for “blot” “cot” can be mistake for “got” 1.1.2. Voiced and voiceless stop in word-final position Moreover, as Vietnamese has no voiced stops at the ends of words, Vietnamese speakers need practice in distinguishing between voiced and voiceless stops in this position, they will not voiced final stops /b/, /d/, /g/ but will substitute voiceless stop for a voiced one Example: “cub” may be mistake for “cup” “lamb” may be mistake for “lamp” 1.1.3. Word- final voiceless stop consonants Although the voiceless stop consonant /p/, /t/ and /k/ occur at the end of the word, but the consonants are never release finial position and are much shorter than their English equivalents. This means that even when Vietnamese speakers pronounce these consonants in the finial position. English speakers may have difficultly hearing them. Example: the word such as “beat” may sound like “bee” [2;153] It is more difficult to demonstrate the voiced/ voiceless distinction with stop than with fricative because stop can be prolonged. And when they get trouble in voicing finial stops, they will probably have difficulty with finial voiced fricative also. 1.2. Difficulty in pronouncing English fricative consonants As affricative do not occur in word- finial position in Vietnamese, many students are unable to distinguish voiced and voiceless fricative. Most 39
  40. commonly, they will be able to produce voiceless fricative like /f, s, θ, ∫/ but not voiced ones like /v, z, ð, ʤ / [2;104] Ex: “peas” /pi:z/ is pronounced as “peace” /pi:s/ “leave” /li:v/ is pronounced as “leaf” /li:f/ Vietnamese learners may also omit fricative at the end of words. Ex: A sentence such as : “The baoys always pass the garage on their way home” /ðə bɔ iz ɔ :lweiz pa:s ðə 'gỉra:Ȝ ɔ n ðeə wei houm / May be pronounced like: “The boy alway pa the gara on thei way home” / ðə bɔ i ɔ :lwei pa: ðə 'gỉra: ɔ n ðeə wei houm / Almost without exception, /θ/, /ð/ is problematic for Vietnamese learner. They are a dental fricative sound made with the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth. The particular native language of a student usually determines which sound will be substituted: /t/, /s/, or /f/ for /θ/ in word “think”, or /d/, /z/, or /v/ for / ð / in word “this”. In general, a voiceless sound like /t/ will be substituted for the voiceless /θ/ and a voiced sound like /z/ for the voiced /ð. 1.3. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant /r/ Although there is the consonant sound /r/ in Vietnamese, the particular way in which this /r/ sound is produced differs from in English. Vietnamese speakers generally require word in learning to produce the English alveolar, retroflex. English /r/ is made with „th‟ tip of the tongue curled back and the lips rounded. But in Vietnamese speakers commonly produce this sound as a trill, a sound made when the tip of the tongue touches the tooth ridge repeatedly like this: 40
  41. And in some areas in Vietnamese, this sound is distinguished very clearly by pronouncing vibration. As /r/ is a high frequency sound in English, speakers are usually aware of their mispronunciation of English /r/ and often ask for instruction in the correct pronunciation. 1.4. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant / θ/ and / ð/ as in ‘think’ and ‘this’ Vietnamese speakers will often produce a heavily aspirated stop /t/ instead of /θ/ in word like „think‟. This is probably based on the orthographic system of Vietnamese, where the letter combination th represents a heavily aspirated /t/. They will usually substitute a /d/ for / ð/ in the words like this. 1.5. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant /p/ vs. /f/ and /b/ As /p/ does not occur in initial position in Vietnamese, Vietnamese speakers may substitute a /b/ or an /f/ for /p/. Thus, „put‟ may sound like „foot‟, “Peter‟ may sound like „beater‟, and „pin‟ may sound like „fin‟. 1.6. Difficulties in pronouncing word-final / t∫ / Vietnamese learners have a common mistake when pronounce the fricative /∫/ in word-final position, they may substitute /∫/ for /t∫/, saying „marsh‟ instead of „march‟. 41
  42. CHAPTER IV: Finding and solution. This chapter provides an inventory of techniques used in the teaching of pronunciation. Most of these are production-oriented; their purpose is to improve student‟s production of spoken English. 1: Some suggested techniques and activities Once having decided to make pronunciation an integral part of their teaching, and adopted a policy on models, what techniques and activities can employ? The range is multifarious from highly focused techniques, such as drilling, to more broad-reaching activities such as getting students to notice (look out for) particular pronunciation features within listening texts. Furthermore, as indicated above, there are two key sides to pronunciation teaching-namely, the teaching of productive skills on the one hand and the teaching of receptive skills on the other. In terms of reception, students need to learn to hear the different between phonemes, for example, particularly where such a contrast does not exist in their L1. They then need to carry that knowledge through into their production. Drills, by way of example, are useful 42
  43. in the development of both kinds of skill, while noticing tasks used listening texts will be most effective in the development of receptive skills. 1.1. Model exercise The model and realistic goal in teaching English pronunciation is to enable the learners to surpass the threshold level so that their pronunciation will not detract from their ability to communication. So, it is necessary to refine the goal of the drills as comfortable intelligibility rather than native pronunciation. The model exercise contains 4 steps: Step1: Knowledge building Have the learners be exposed to the item for practice with some explanation to build up in them a simple knowledge about the segments and how they operate. Step 2: Mechanical drill Have the learners read aloud a given list of sounds (after a tape). The reason to use tape is to increase the exposure to native speech and to approach accuracy. Step 3: Identification task The learner is asked to identify the sound and prosodic feature in context, for example, listen to a short passage and indentify the sounds in a question. Step 4: Production task The learners are asked to work in pairs or in small group to build up a short conversation containing the sounds and prosodic feature under practice. Practice aloud and then end up the activity with role-play. Example: Model of Initial consonant Step 1: Knowledge building 43
  44. The learner is give two column of contrast words and they have 30 second to read them silently (identification of words). Show the learner the difference: Voiceless vs. voiced. The teacher will choose the pairs problematic for drill: /θ/ /ð/ /∫/ / Ȝ / Thank Then She Television Think This Shy Pleasure Thick They shoe Measure Step 2: Mechanical drill Have the learners read aloud the words in the box. Errors are corrected Step 3: Identification task Listen and “hands up when you hear”. First listening: Hands up when you hear the word beginning with /θ/ Second listening: Hands up when you hear the word beginning with /ð/ Third listening: Hands up when you hear the word beginning with /∫/ Fourth listening: Hands up when you hear the word beginning with / Ȝ / Sample material (for first and second listening) Script: We thank them for the thick book Script: They think we‟ll buy that book Script: The thief was then caught by the policemen Note: the script is a structured reading passage from one short sentence to a passage of 50 words to meet the target respectively. Step 4: Production task Have the learners think of other targeted words than those available in the box. Correct mistake by explicit explanation of the place and manner of articulation. To produce /θ/ and /ð/ make sure that the learner put their tongue between their teeth. If no contact is made with the teeth the sound will not be 44
  45. produced correctly. Have the learner produce them without stopping the airstream as these sound are fricative. To produce /∫/and /Ȝ / make sure that the learners make a contact between their blade of the tongue and the palate. Have the learner produce them without stopping the airstream, because they are fricative. Finally, have the learner read aloud the whole passage introduced in Step 3. 1.2. Minimal pair practice Although consonant sounds can be presented individual, they are often taught in contrast with another consonant. Techniques designed for demonstrating the production of individual sounds generally make extensive use of minimal pairs. Minimal pairs: is pairs of words which are different in respect of only one sound segment The series of words pin, bin, tin, din, kin, gin, chin, fin, thin, sin, shin, win supplied with 12 words which are distinguished simply by a change in the first (consonantal) element of the sound sequence First, select the sound you need to work on. This can be done by giving a diagnostic test to check on learner‟s perception of sound. Many pairs of consonant that will cause problems are pairs that differ in only aspect-that of voicing. There are many pairs of English consonants that differ only in this feature: /p/ and /b/ (pin, bin) /θ/ and /ð/ (think, the) /f/ and /v/ (fast, vast) /t∫ / and /dȜ / (choke, joke) /∫/and / Ȝ / (ship, vision) /k/ and /g/ (core, gore) /t/ and /d/ (to, do) /s/ and /z/ (sip, zip) When you have selected the sounds that need to be work on, prepare sets of minimal pair. Worksheets can be prepared for the students with the pairs of work beside each other: 45
  46. 1 2 Thank Sank Thick Sick Thumb Some Tenth Tense Mouth Mouse 1.3. Drilling practice One of the main ways in which pronunciation is practiced in the classroom is through drilling. In its most basic form, drilling simply involves the teacher saying a word or structure, and getting the class to repeat it. Being able to drill properly is a basic and fundamental language reaching skill. The techniques has its roots in behaviorist psychological theory and “audio-lingual” approaches to teaching; these are both now largely consigned to history, through drilling has stayed with us as a tried and tested classroom technique. Drilling aims to help students achieve better pronunciation of language items, and to help them remember new items. This is a crucial part of classroom pronunciation work, and is possibly the time in the lesson when students are most reliant on the teacher. Drilling often follows on from the process; know as eliciting, of encouraging students to bring up a previously studied word, phrase or structure. The teacher generally uses prompts, pictures, mime etc, to help the process along, and can give the relevant item to the students if none of them is able to offer it. Given the complex relationships between English spelling and pronunciation, drilling is best done before students see the written form of the language. One the item in the question has arisen, teachers can then drill it in order to work on pronunciation. The teacher‟s main role in drilling is that of providing a model of the word, phrase or structure for student to copy. You can 46
  47. hear an example of drilling on the CD. Teachers generally drill “chorally” first of all, which means inviting the whole class to repeat the items in unison. Choral drilling can help to build confidence, and gives students the chance to practice pronouncing the drilled item relative anonymously, without being put on the sport. It is typically followed by individual drilling, where students are invited one by one to repeat. This gives the teacher the chance to ascertain how well individuals more or less at random; doing so is seen to help keep students on their toes. Chaining Can be used for sentences which prove difficult for students to pronounce, either because they are long, or because they include difficult words and sounds. The following examples show how the teacher isolates certain parts of the sentence, modeling them separately for students to repeat, and gradually building the sentence up until is complete. Back chain The sentence is drilled but built up from the end, gradually adding to its length. Certain parts may be drill separately, if they present problems. Each part of the sentence is modeled by the teacher, and the students repeat. .told him .would‟ve would‟ve told I would‟ve told him. If I‟d seen him . If I‟d seen him, I would‟ve told him The sentence is drilled and built up from the start, gradually adding to its length. Certain parts may be drilled separately, if they present problems. Each part of the sentence id modeled by the teacher, and the students repeat. If I‟d seen him 47
  48. If I‟d seen him, I would‟ve I would‟ve If I‟d seen him, I would‟ve told him. Substitution drilling is another important and useful variation. This involves drilling a structure, but substituting items of vocabulary into the sentence being deal with, as follows: Teacher: It‟s in the corner. Students 1: It‟s in the corner. Teacher: It‟s on the table. Students 2: It‟s on the table. Teacher: It‟s under the chair. Etc . 1.4. Taping student’s English Taping learner‟s spoken English from time to time can pay dividends. Tape can be made while students are engaged in language activities, and used for all manner of language difficulties, but especially those concerned with pronunciation. If the teacher is sufficiently prepared, tapes of the completion of whole tasks can be contrasted with, for example, a group of native speakers or higher level group of students tackling an identical task. Alternatively, students might tackle the same tasks on two occasions, the tape of the first attempt providing the basis for pronunciation work; the second performance of the task will be more successful, and the two attempts can be contrasted. Individual students can also be taped, even pair work or group work can be done in the same way. 1.5. Listening activities 48
  49. The anticipated outcome of language teaching is for students to be more able to understand and use the language outside the classroom. Many classroom activities therefore aim to reproduce, as far as possible, the authenticity of day to day communication. While authentic materials (i.e. printed, broadcast or taped material not produces with the classroom in mind) are available, it is impractical for teacher to use such material all the time, as one only has to find suitable material, but also design tasks to go with them. Listening comprehension exercised in course books are often designed to sound as realistic as possible, with the participants talking at a normal speed and using natural language. These can play a key role in helping students to notice the existence of pronunciation feature. For example, prior to doing listening task, students can have the meaning and the pronunciation of a particular aspect of language brought to their attention, and practice it in very controlled ways. The particular issue may be the structural and pronunciation characteristic of the third person present simple or, at a higher level, of the third conditional (I‟d „ve gone if I‟ve known). The listening exercise can then require students to listen out for this area of language and listen out for how it is used and pronounced in the context of a narrative or, say, a conversation. Alternatively, an extended listening stage can precede an eliciting and drilling stage. Indeed it can be argued that putting the listening exercise first might even make the pronunciation elements of the lesson more of a comprehension issue and more likely to be noticed by the students. Students would initially have to listen out for and interpret the use of the language and related pronunciation areas selected for study. Whether using which way, a teacher‟s choice would be informed by his or her feels they would be able to perform the various tasks. 49
  50. 1.6. Reading activities In reading activities, although the medium is written word, work on pronunciation can be successfully integrated too. Like listening, reading is a receptive activity (i.e. students receive the language rather than produce it), and so it provides a suitable means of bringing language features to students‟ attention. Many teachers stage reading activities either by having an initial exercise to allow students to get the gist of the text they are reading, or by establishing the type of the text they are reading, or by establishing the type of text being used, followed by some more detailed work focus on specific details when the text is read again. At some stage, when the text is read aloud either by the teacher or the students, pronunciation work can be integrated. Such texts as poems, rhymes, extracts from plays, song lyrics etc. can be used creatively in the classroom and can offer plenty of scope for pronunciation work. Depending on preference, anything can be used to good advantage. Reading aloud is a classroom activity which has fallen in and out of favour with teachers at various times. The main argument against it is that is can interfere with successful pronunciation; spellings can clearly affect pronunciation performance adversely. But reading aloud offers opportunities for the study of the linking of sounds between words in connected speech‟ all of these can be highlighted and investigated further in fun and interesting ways through the reading aloud 2: Technique to improve specific problems 2.1. Technique for English consonants 2.1.1. Techniques to pronounce English stop consonants 2.1.1.1. Word-initial voiceless stop consonants. 50
  51. Students fail to aspirate the voiceless stops /p/, /t/, /k/ at the beginning of the words. Therefore, „plot‟, „tot‟ and „cot‟ may sound like „blot‟, „dot‟ and „got‟. A good way to begin teaching aspiration is to make the students aware that aspiration is the puff of the air that accompanies the release of the consonant. This is easily demonstrated with a match or a piece of a paper using the consonant /p/. Exaggerate the pronunciation of the word „pot‟. Have the student hold a piece of paper close to their mouth and say the word after you, making sure that a burst of air blows the paper away from them. Repeat the produce for /t/. The consonant /k/ is less amenable to this type of treatment because the air has very little force left by the time it reaches the lips. However, one the student have understood exactly what aspiration is, they can easily aspirate /k/ Sound Example 1. /p/ pan, paw, port, paper, pansy 2. /t/ time, team, talkative, teller, 3. /k/ si‟tarcalm, keep, cold, „keynote Tell the student that the puff of the air that accompanies these voiceless stops is much like the /h/ sound in a word such as „hot‟. Have student practise words beginning with /h/ and then have them place a voiceless stop in front of these words. For example: Hot p(h)ot t(h)aught c(h)ot Hi p(h)ie t(h)ie k(h)ind He p(h)ea t(h)ea k(h)ey 2.1.1.2. Voices and voiceless stops in word-finial position Final voicing does affect the pronunciation of preceding vowels; they 51
  52. are longer before voiced stops than before voiceless stop 1. Use minimal pairs such as those below, point out that the vowel are longer before voiced stops than before voiceless ones Before voiceless consonant Before voiced consonant (shorter vowel) (longer vowel) Tap tab Pat pad Back bag 2. In producing the final sounds in the minimal pairs above, have students release (that is, aspiration lightly) the voiceless stops /p/, /t/ and /k/, but keep the articulators together for /b/, /d/, /g/. 3. As students may be able to produce voiced stops at the beginning of words, practice linking words with final voiced stops to function words that begin with vowels. The voiced stops should seem to begin the following function words as shown below: Don‟t rub it [down rʌ bit] He‟s mad at me [hiyz mỉ dət miy] 2.1.1.3. Word-final position voiceless stop consonants 1. Have student release the final voiceless stop consonants in words such as „top‟, „taught‟, and „back‟. A small puff of air, similar to aspiration, should accompany the release of the consonants. Practice these words in sentence- final position where they receive major sentence stress. This may involve some exaggeration of your own speech because these consonants are not always released in English in this position Put it up on top I didn‟t know that you taught Do you mind sitting near the back 52
  53. 2. Do linking exercise in which words ending in voiceless stops are followed by words beginning with vowel. Put the book on top_ of the shelf He taught us a lot__ about language Sit at the back_ of the room 2.2. Technique to pronounce English fricative 2.2.1. Voicing of fricative: Many students are unable to distinguish voiced and voiceless fricatives. Most commonly, they will be able to produce voiceless fricatives but not voiced one. For example, /f/ may be substituted for /v/ so that a word such as „leave‟ is pronounced as „leaf‟. Similarly, /s/ may be substituted for /z/, so that a word such as „peas‟ is pronounce as „peace‟ As a vowel is always voiced, they can be useful in teaching students to voice fricatives. Have students place their fingers lightly on their throat while making a prolonged /a/. Point out that they should feel some vibration of the vocal cords when the vowel is pronounced. Next, have them produce /s/ followed by /z/ concentrating on maintaining the voice: [aaazzzaaazzz]. While pronouncing this sequence, student should feel their throat, put a hand on the top of their head, or cover their ears with their hands. If there is sufficient voicing of the consonant, they should feel the vibration. Repeat the procedure for the other voiced fricatives: /v/, /θ/ and / Ȝ / Once students are able to voice the fricative, provide comprehension and production practice of the voiced/voiceless distinction using minimal pairs. /f/ /v/ /θ/ /ð/ /s/ /z/ /∫/ / Ȝ / fan van thigh This sue zoo shoe allusion safer saver ether either ceasing seizing mesher measure leaf leave teeth teethe face phrase 53
  54. Point out that vowels are longer before voiced fricatives than before their voiceless counterparts. Making the vowel longer before voiced fricatives will help students to distinguish between minimal pairs such as below: Before voiceless consonant Before voiced consonant (shorter vowel) (longer vowel) Leaf leave Teeth teethe Peace peas Practice the pronunciation of the plural in English. This grammatical ending involves a difference between the voiceless fricative /s/ and the voiced fricative /z/ : /s/ /z/ Ropes robes gems Cats Cads pawns Docks Dogs Kings Reefs Reeves Cars cloths clothes Halls 2.2.2. Word- final fricative: As fricative do not occur in word-final position in Vietnamese, Vietnamese speakers may omit fricative at the end of words Since students can produce some of these fricatives at the beginning of English words-/f/, /v/, /s/ and /z/ point out the similarity between these initial and final sounds Do linking exercises in which words ending in these fricatives are followed by words beginning with vowel Don‟t give_ up your seat 54
  55. Don‟t play with_ it Breathe_in and then breath_ out Pass_ out the books Your wish is my command 2.3. Techniques to pronounce English consonant /r/ Vietnamese students commonly produce the English /r/ as trill, a sound made when the tip of the tongue touches the tooth ridge repeatedly. Alternatively, learner may produce the English /r/ as a uvular sound, a sound made when the back of the tongue approaches the uvula and it is made with the tip of the tongue curled back and the lips rounded 1. Have students pronounce a prolonged [aaaaaa], gradually curling the tip of the tongue back. Make sure that they do not touch the tooth ridge with the tip of the tongue and that their lips become slightly rounded. Then have them uncurl the tongue and unround the lips so that the sequence [aaarrraaa] is produced 2. Point out that the /r/ sound is made with the tip of the tongue curled back and not touching the tooth ridge. This is useful information for those students who are producing a trill 3. Contrast /r/ with the flap sound /D/ in words such as „putting‟ and „pudding‟. Point out that the tongue touches the tooth ridge momentarily in pronouncing a flap, but does not touch the tooth ridge at all in pronouncing Flap /r/ putting purring leading leering 55
  56. heating hearing skating scaring 2.4. Techniques to pronounce /θ/ and /ð/ Almost without exception, /θ/ and /ð/ are problematic for ESL student. The particular native language of a student usually determines which sounds will be substituted: /t/, /s/ or /f/ for /θ/; and /d/, /z/ or /v/ for /ð/. In general, a voiceless sound will be substituted for the voiceless /θ/ and a voiced sound for the voiced /ð/ As these sounds are fricative, make sure that students produce them without stopping the airstream. It is helpful to have students place their tongue between their teeth. It is not vital that the tongue produce between the teeth a great deal, but if no contact is made with the teeth, the sounds will not be produced correctly. For Vietnamese students, it is embarrassing to protrude the tongue; this should be kept in mind if you having the students exaggerate the articulation of these sounds Most of the ordinal numbers contain the /θ/ sound: „third‟, „fourth‟, „fifth‟, produce, etc. Therefore, practicing the date or birth dates provides useful practice with the /θ/ Try tongue twisters such as the one below to practice producing these sounds / ð / / θ / / θ / / θ / / ð / / ð / / θ / / ð / / θ / / ð / Those three thugs think that they threw those things there 2.5. Difficulties in pronouncing word-final / t∫ / 56
  57. Once Vietnamese speakers have learned to produce the fricative /∫/ in word-final position, they may substitute /∫/ for /t∫/, saying „marsh‟ instead of „march‟. Tips Vietnamese does have a sounds similar to the english /t∫/ in word-initial position. This occurs in the vietnamese word chua / t∫uə/, „not yet‟. Have students pronounce this word, pointing out the similarity between its initial sound and the final sound in a word such as „march‟ 3. Some suggested exercises to improve pronunciation Exercise 1: /p/ /t/ /k/ 1. When we pronounce the initial sound such words as pair, tear the consonant sounds are followed by a puff of air, just like an /h/ sound. This /h/ sound after stop consonants such as /p/, /t/ and /k/ is called aspiration. Pronounce the following words: pin tin car pack tip can pit tan kill 2. In certain positions, especially at the ends of syllables, these sounds are not usually pronounced with aspiration. Pronounce the following words: keep cat lake deep rat take 3. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of words contain the sounds /p/, /t/ and /k/ which are to be pronounced with aspiration or a slight puff of air following them. a) Wait till the cows come home. b) I spilled the pills. c) He has a pencil in his pocket. d) The car cost a lot. e) This is terrible. f) Please tell me a story. g) There are ten people in the room. h) Can you get the tickets for me? Exercise 2: /f/ /v/ /b/ 57
  58. 1. The initial sound in the words fat, feel is symbolized /f/. This sound is pronounced with the upper teeth placed on the lower lip. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /f/. a) I feel fine. b) The paper fell on the floor. c) His father works at the factory. d) He‟s a fine fellow. 2. The initial sound in the words very, vote is symbolized by /v/. This sound is pronounced with the upper teeth placed on the lower lip, just as in the sound /f/. The only difference between this sound and /f/ is voicing. The sound /v/ is voiced. Practice the following sentences. The words contain the sound /v/. a) I‟m going to invite her to dinner. b) We are going to vote tomorrow. c) We have to visit the school today. d) Put some vinegar on the vegetables. e) She has a very nice voice. 3. The teacher will pronounce one of the following sentences. Tick (x) the one you hear. He‟s talking about boat. He‟s talking about vote. The sound /b/ is a voiced stop pronounced with the two lips pressed tightly together, then released. 4. Pronounce the words in the columns below. Use as many of the exercises as you think you need. (1) Pronounce all of the words in column 1, then, all of the words in column 2. /b/ /v/ bat vat best vest base vase robe rove boat vote (2) Pronounce pairs of words from the above columns, for example, boat, vote. Be sure that you make a difference in the sounds. (3) Listen while the teacher pronounces a word from either column. Tell which column each word is from by giving the number of the column or by holding up one or two fingers. 5. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /b/ and /v/ are both included in these sentences as shown. 58
  59. a) I like blueberries very much. b) The movie was very bad. c) We are invited to a banquet. d) The boys are playing volleyball. e) Get into the boat. f) I have a savings account at the bank. g) She bought some vegetables. h) The village was burned during the war. Exercise 3: /s/ and /z/ 1. Listen while the teacher pronounces the following sentences and select the correct one. I‟m going to pronounce the word Sue. I‟m going to pronounce the word zoo. The sound /s/ is a voiceless fricative pronounced with the tongue close to the teeth, the teeth closed, and the tongue grooved. The air makes a hissing sound as it passes over the tongue and between the teeth. The sound /z/ is a voiced fricative pronounced with the tongue in the same position as for /s/. It is a voiced sound; the vocal cords are vibrating. This produces a buzzing sound as the air passes out through the mouth. 2. Pronounce the words in the columns below. Use as many of the exercises as you think you need. (1) Pronounce all of the words in column 1, then, all of the words in column 2. 1 2 /s/ /z/ seal zeal sue zoo sink zinc see z (2) Pronounce pairs of words from the above columns. Be sure that you make a difference in the two sounds being practiced. (3) Listen while the teacher pronounces a word from either column. Tell which column each word is from by giving the number of the column or by holding up either one or two fingers. 3. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /z/. a) He‟s going to the zoo. 59
  60. b) Close your eyes, please. c) We have bananas and apples today. d) Those houses are new. e) Her eyes are full of tears. f) On Thursday he arose early. g) His business is good this year. h) The boys are playing a game. 4. Practice the following sentences. The sound /s/ and /z/ are both included in these sentences as shown. a) Sue is going to the zoo. b) Steam makes a hissing sound. c) Mosquitoes make a buzzing sound. d) They raise rice in China. e) Baseball and Tennis are good games. f) We sometimes go to the movies. g) Please pass me the cigarettes. h) When does his niece start classes? Whenever the basic form of the word ends in one of the following sounds a separate syllable is added in pronouncing the -s suffix: /s, z, Ʒ, dz, ʧ , ʃ /. This syllable is usually pronounced /ІZ/. Whenever the basic form of a word ends in a voiceless sound (except /s/, / ʧ /, /ʃ /) the -s suffix is pronounced /s/ and is added without pronouncing an extra syllable. Whenever the basic form of a word ends in a voiced sound (except /z/, /Ʒ/, /dz/) the -s suffix is pronounced /z/ and is added without pronouncing an extra syllable. The contraction of the word is follows these same rules, except that it is the final sound of the preceding word which determines the choice of pronunciation. When the preceding word ends in a sibilant sound the word is cannot be contracted. Exercise 4: /θ/ and /s/ 1. Listen while the teacher pronounces the following sentences and select the correct one. The dog seems to be thinking. The dog seems to be sinking. The sound /θ/ is a voiceless fricative produced by putting the tongue between the teeth and letting the air pass over the top of the tongue. The sound /s/ is also a voiceless fricative, but it is pronounced with the teeth placed together and the tongue pulled back behind them. The air escapes through the teeth with a hissing sound. 60
  61. 2. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /θ/. a) Don‟t throw the ball through the window. b) Thank you for the theater ticket. c) Thanksgiving Day is always on Thursday. d) I thought I heard thunder. e) His teeth are very white. f) She had a toothache yesterday. g) He needs some toothpaste and a toothbrush. h) The things in the package are thick. 3. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /s/. a) Several of the students are absent. b) My sister is sick. c) Tennis is a fast game. d) They saw a lot of snow. e) He likes to play baseball. f) The nurse works at the hospital. g) The submarine came to the surface. h) Don‟t spoil the rice. 4. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /θ/ and /s/ are both in included in these sentences as shown. a) She has some ink on her thumb. b) They think the boat is going to sink. c) They live in the South. d) Thank you for the cigarettes. e) The road runs north and south. f) They passed through many cities. g) There are many interesting things in the city. h) They thought the boat was going to sink. 5. Practice the following tongue-twister: Tom Thumb thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. Exercise 5: /ð/ and /d/ 1. Listen while the teacher pronounces the following sentences and select the correct one. He was happy when day came. He was happy when they came. The sound /ð/ is a voiced fricative produced by putting the tongue between the teeth and letting the air pass over the top of the tongue. The only difference 61
  62. between this sound and the /θ/ sound is the addition of the vibration of the vocal cords. The sound /d/ is a voiced stop produced by putting the tongue against the tooth ridge in order to completely shut off the stream of air. Then the air is released with a slight explosion. 2. Pronounce the words in the columns below. Use as many of the exercises as you think you need. (1) Pronounce all of the words in column 1, then, all of the words in column 2. 1 2 /ð/ /d/ they day then den there dare than dan (2) Pronounce pairs of words from the above columns. Be sure that you make a difference in the sounds. (3) Listen while the teacher pronounces a word from either column and tell which column each word is from by giving the number of the column or by holding up either one or two fingers 3. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /ð/. a) This is a picture of my father and mother. b) I want this book, not that one. c) This boy is taller than that one. d) Although it‟s late, my brother is coming. e) I can either go by car or by train. f) The man on the corner is a friend of mine. g) I don‟t know the other man. h) These bananas are good; those are bad. 4. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /d/. a) He‟s going to Denver in December. b) It was a dark day. c) The child was looking for a dog. d) The movie was good. It wasn‟t bad. e) The food was good. It wasn‟t bad. 62
  63. f) I have to wash the dinner dishes. g) He made a good grade on the test. h) It‟s difficult to drive in the winter. 5. Practice the sentences. The sounds /ð/ and /d/ are both included in these sentences as shown. a) I dare you to go there. b) Dan bought a dozen roses. c) They‟ve gone away for the day. d) What‟s the date of the dance? e) Today is Monday. f) Don‟t touch your teeth when you pronounce a "d". g) The word is doze, not those. h) That was a good movie. Exercise 6: /ʃ / /ʧ / /Ʒ/ 1. Listen while the teacher pronounces the following sentences and select the correct one. She‟s going to wash. She‟s going to watch. The sound /ʃ / is a voiceless fricative pronounced with the tip of the tongue drawn back toward the palate. The tongue is grooved, the lips are pushed outward, and the teeth are close together. (Pronounce the two sounds /s/ and /ʃ / in order to notice the difference in position of the tongue.) The sound /ʧ / is a voiceless affricate, and the pronunciation is almost the same as for /ʃ /. However, in pronouncing the first part of this sound, the tongue tip touches the tooth ridge, thus giving the impression that /ʧ / begins as a /t/ and ends as a /ʃ /. 2. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /ʃ /. a) He‟s going to shave. b) He‟s fishing. c) Brush your shoes. d) We‟re washing the dishes. e) It‟s a fishing boat. 3. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /ʧ /. a) The children were in the kitchen. b) Try to catch me. c) She likes her teacher very much. d) Don‟t catch cold. e) They were watching the preacher. 63
  64. 4. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /ʃ / and /ʧ / are both included in these sentences as shown. a) You should get a watch. b) He wants to catch some fish. c) I don‟t know whether he hurt his shin or his chin. d) Where does she teach? e) Put the cherries in a dish. 5. The consonant sound in the middle of the word measure is symbolized /Ʒ/. It is pronounced with the tongue and lips in the same position as for /ʃ /. The only difference is that /Ʒ/ is a voiced sound. 6. Practice the pronunciation of /Ʒ/ in the following words: division conclusion leisure treasure vision pleasure 7. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /Ʒ/. a) It‟s a pleasure to know you. b) Are you looking for treasure? c) He has perfect vision. d) The office was in confusion. e) You can draw your own conclusion. 8. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /ʃ / and /Ʒ/ are both included in these sentences as shown. a) I go fishing occasionally. b) It‟s a pleasure to take a cold shower. c) Did you measure the shelf? d) He washes the dishes occasionally. e) You should make a final decision. f) I like leisure of social activities. g) The boy was sharing his treasures. h) They were measuring the fish. Exercise 7: /ʧ / and /dz/ 1. Listen while the teacher pronounces the following sentences and select the correct one. They are chocking. They are joking. The sound /ʧ / is a voiceless affricate pronounced by putting the tongue against the tooth ridge as if for /t/ and then pronouncing /ʃ /. The sound /dz/ is a voiced affricate and differs from /ʧ / only by being voiced. In pronouncing the first part of this sound the tongue tip touches the tooth ridge giving the impression that /dz/ begins with the sound /d/. 64
  65. 2. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the sound /dz/. a) The judge has a white hair. b) Jack was joking with the girls. c) The midget‟s name was John. d) They are driving a jeep. e) There are lots of pigeons in the trees. 3. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /ʧ / and /dz/ are both included in these sentences as shown. a) The children were jumping and playing catch. b) The judge sent the man to jail. c) This jelly is made of cherries. d) The jeep is not cheap. e) She‟s going to change the furniture in this room. f) Charles was looking for a job. g) Sometimes they cheer, sometimes they jeer. PART III: CONCLUSION With the purpose to helping learners who cope with difficulties in pronouncing English consonants my research paper is includes in three parts. In the first part, the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study are clearly introduced. Part two is development of the study, it includes four chapters. Chapter one is the part that points out theoretical background of both languages according to the point of view of different researchers. Chapter two is the comparison between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants to point out the similarities and differences. In chapter three, the common pronunciation problems faced by Vietnamese such as some stops fricatives consonants cluster and the reasons causing those difficulties are mentioned in details. In chapter 65
  66. four is the most important chapter in the study. This chapter gives some techniques to improve Vietnamese pronunciation with specific and imaginative examples and exercises which hopefully will be useful for Vietnamese learners of English to avoid the mistakes in pronunciation. Part three is the final part in the whole study. This part summarizes the content of study. Due to the limitation of time as well as knowledge, it is inevitable to get some mistakes. Any comments from teachers and friends are welcome to make this research paper more perfect. REFERENCES 1. Alan Gruttenden professor of phonetics, Department of Linguistics University Of Mamchester. July 2000. Gimson‟s pronunciation of English. (sixth edition) Oxford. 2. Ann baker. Ship or sheep 3. Doan Thien Thuat (second edition).1976. Ngu am tieng viet. Ha noi National University Press. 4. Gerald Kelly. How to teach pronunciation (series editor Jeremy Harmer) 5. MacCarthy, P. 1987. The teaching of pronunciation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 6. Nguyen Quoc Hung. M.A. a model teach English pronunciation to vienamese learners. 7. Peter Avery and Susan Ethric. 1997. Teaching American English Pronunciation. (sixth edition). Oxford University Press. 66
  67. 8. Peter Roach. (Xuan Ba translate and annotate). 2000. English Phonetics and Phonology-Practical course (third edition). Senior Lecture University of Leeds. Website: 1. 2. 7#2694927 3. Research from Google 67