VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT TRẦN THỊ HẢI LÝ AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMPUTER ASSISTED PRONUNCIATION TRAINING IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ PRONUNCIATION: THE CASE OF ENGLISH VOWEL /æ / PRONOUNCED BY NON-ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS IN BANKING ACADEMY (Nghiên cứu hiệu phương pháp sử dụng phần mềm luyện ngữ âm việc nâng cao khả phát âm sinh viên Điển cứu âm vị tiếng Anh / ỉ/ sinh viên khơng chuyên Học viện Ngân hàng) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 HANOI - 2009 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT TRẦN THỊ HẢI LÝ AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMPUTER ASSISTED PRONUNCIATION TRAINING IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ PRONUNCIATION: THE CASE OF ENGLISH VOWEL /æ / PRONOUNCED BY NON-ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS IN BANKING ACADEMY (Nghiên cứu hiệu phương pháp sử dụng phần mềm luyện ngữ âm việc nâng cao khả phát âm sinh viên Điển cứu âm vị tiếng Anh / æ/ sinh viên không chuyên Học viện Ngân hàng) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Supervisor: Do Tuan Minh, PhD HANOI - 2009 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATION LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem and the rationale of the study Aims and objectives of the study Scope of the study Significance of the study Research questions Method of the study An overview of the rest of the paper CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction 1.1 Pronunciation learning and teaching 1.1.1 Why second/ foreign language pronunciation should be taught? 1.1.2 What should be taught? 1.1.3 How can EFL pronunciation be taught? 1.2 Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) 1.2.1 Definition of CALL 1.2.2 History of CALL 1.2.3 CALL methodology 1.2.4 Benefits of computer assisted learning and teaching 1.2.5 Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) 1.2.5.1 The features of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training 1.2.5.2 Ten suggestions for improving CAPT pedagogy 1.2.5.3 Selecting computer software for learning English pronunciation 1.2.5.4 Feedback in EFL and Feedback in CALL 1.3 English vowels 1.3.1 Vowels 1.3.2 Features of English vowels 1.3.2.1 Articulation 1.3.2.2 Acoustics 1.3.3 Vowel /æ/ Summary CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY Introduction 2.1.The setting of the study i ii iii iv vi vii viii 1 4 5 6 6 14 14 14 15 17 18 19 21 22 23 25 25 26 26 30 32 36 37 37 37 v 2.1.1 The university 2.1.2 The teachers 2.1.3 The students 2.2 Procedures 2.2.1 Research methodology 2.2.1.1 An exploratory case study 2.2.1.2 Selection of subjects 2.2.1.3 Data collection instruments 2.2.1.4 Method of data analysis 2.2.1.5 Limitation of the paper 2.2.2 Data analysis 2.2.2.1 Current English ability and knowledge of English pronunciation of non-major-first-year students in Banking Academy 2.2.2.2 Situation of teaching and learning English pronunciation in Banking Academy 2.2.2.3 Feasibility and suggestions for the use of CAPT in teaching and learning English pronunciation in Banking Academy 2.2.2.4 The effectiveness of CAPT in helping students improve their pronunciation 2.2.3 Findings 2.2.4 Implications CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 For the administrators For teachers CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES 37 37 38 38 38 38 42 44 56 61 61 61 66 73 75 83 84 86 86 86 89 91 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATION ARS: Automatic Speech Recognition CAPT: Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training CALL: Computer Assisted Language Learning EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language F1: First Formant F2: Second Formant F3: Third Formant IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet 10 IT: Information Technology 11 L1: First language 12 L2: Second language 13 NS: Native speaker 14 TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language vii LIST OF TABLES Table – Average F1 and F2 of RP pure vowels Table – Summary of participants’ background information in the experiment Table – Respondents’ suggestions for pronunciation-teaching in Banking Academy viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure - Vowel chart Figure - F1/F2 value based on data from Ladefoged (2006) Figure - The pronunciation of /æ/ by Japanese learner of English Figure – the pronunciation of /æ/ by a native speaker of English Figure – Summary of the experimental design Figure – Students’ length of English – studying time Figure – Reasons for students’ lack of confidence when speaking English Figure – Reasons for students’ lack of confidence when speaking English (from teachers’ perspective) Figure – Aspects of pronunciation that students had got knowledge of Figure 10 – Students’ learning methods Figure 11 – Time spent on pronunciation teaching in class Figure 12 – Students’ opinions on materials used in pronunciation teaching Figure 13 – Students’ opinions on pronunciation-teaching methods Figure 14 – Teachers’ opinions on pronunciation-teaching methods Figure 15 – Students’ opinions on the efficiency of pronunciation-teaching methods Figure 16 – Difficulties that teachers encountered in their pronunciation teaching process Figure 17 – Teachers’ opinion on possible advantages CAPT Figure 18 – Teacher’s opinion on possible disadvantages of CAPT Figure 19 – Experimental results of subject Figure 20 – Experimental results of subject Figure 21 – Experimental results of subject Figure 22 – Experimental results of subject Figure 23 – Experimental results of subject Figure 24 – Experimental results of subject Figure 25 – Experimental results of subject Figure 26 – Experimental results of subject INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem and rationale of the study These days, under the great influence of globalization, English has become the major medium of international communication The remarkable increase in the need of English for communication in every area resulted in the shift of ultimate English language teaching goal from students‘ mastery of English structures and vocabulary to their communicative proficiency With the emphasis on meaningful communication, Morley‘s (1991: 488) premises that ‗intelligible pronunciation is an essential component of communication competence‘ It is because learners with good pronunciation in English are more likely to be understood even if they make errors in other areas, whereas unintelligible pronunciation prevents even those with a large vocabulary and grammar from successful communication with first language (L1) speakers Yet many adult learners find pronunciation one of the most difficult aspects of English to acquire, and need explicit help from the teacher (Morley 1994; Fraser 2000) Surveys of student needs consistently show that learners of English feel the need for pronunciation work in class (e.g Willing 1989) Thus some sort of pronunciation work in class is essential However, according to a literature review on teaching pronunciation by Wei (2006), although English has become more disseminated globally and the importance of pedagogies for English has increased, pronunciation teaching is still not given enough attention, especially in English education in Asian countries where English is not used on a daily basis and learners cannot have regular access to real-life communication with native speakers of English (NS) There are several plausible reasons for this situation On the one hand, some misconceptions about the possibility of successfully teaching L2 pronunciation have made research on this field less attractive than, for instance, research on grammar or vocabulary acquisition As a result, few empirical studies are available on pronunciation training and clear pedagogical guidelines that could be used by language educators are still lacking On the other hand, when designing a pronunciation-training programme, one has to reckon with practical constraints For the student, learning pronunciation ideally requires prolonged supervised practice and interaction with native speakers For the teacher, it ideally implies intensive interaction with the student and the provision of feedback on individual problems These tasks are extremely time-consuming and difficult to implement in classbased settings Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) seems to offer a solution to the problem of practical constrains CAPT systems allow students to access virtually unlimited and realistic L2 input through different channels, to practise individually as often as they wish, and to enjoy unlimited patience from the tutor Moreover, through the integration of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology, these systems can provide individualized feedback automatically and instantaneously It is not surprising, then, that a wealth of CAPT systems has been developed, most of which are already available on the market Despite the popularity of CAPT systems, however, not only Vietnamese students but also Vietnamese teachers of English are not fully aware of the availability and effectiveness of those programs in improving students‘ English pronunciation This may be one of the crucial factors that hinder Vietnamese students‘ advance in English speaking ability in general and pronunciation in particular For that reason, I desire to study the effectiveness of CAPT in the context of Vietnam However, since pronunciation is a large field, with limited time and experience, it is extremely hard for me to cover all of the matters related to CAPT and its application in teaching English pronunciation Therefore, the scope of the study is narrowed to investigating the effectiveness of CAPT in improving students‘ segmental pronunciation It is because examining the relationship between the sentence intelligibility of deaf speakers and acoustic properties at the segmental and suprasegmental level, Monsen (1978) found that the majority of variance in the intelligibility of sentences was related to variations at the segmental level and this result is also emphasised in many other studies (Rogers, Dalby & DeVane, 1994; Maassen and Povel, 1985; Rogers, 1997) Moreover, as many studies have substantiated, numerous factors can affect L2 speech production such as age of L2 acquisition, length of residence in the L2 environment, motivation, and the amount of L1 usage However, according to Flege‘s study (1995), L1 effect on L2 speech production is especially noteworthy His invention, called the Speech Learning Model, shows that L2 learners usually substitute the closest L1 phonemes for similar L2 ones In other words, rather than create a new sound category, L2 learners substitute the closest L1 counterpart This may account for the fact that a great number of Vietnamese students, particularly non-English major ones, mispronounce unfamiliar sounds such as /θ/, /đ/, /dʒ/, and are unable to distinguish the difference between /e/, /r/ and /æ/ (Nguyen and Ingram, 2004) As a result, many of them tend to use the Vietnamese sounds /e/ or /a/ to substitute those vowels, which leads to intelligibility problems From my observation as a lecturer of English in Banking Academy, mispronouncing vowel /æ/ or being unable to differentiate the three vowels /e, æ, r / seems to be a common problem among non-English major students Therefore, I decide to conduct research on: ―The effectiveness of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) in improving students’ pronunciation The case of vowel /æ/ and non-English-major students in Banking Academy” Aims and objectives of the study The aim of the study is to examine the situation of learning and teaching English pronunciation in Banking Academy; the efficiency of CAPT in facilitating Banking Academy’s learners’ segmental pronunciation of the target language as well as to provide some practical suggestions to the administrators and English teachers in Banking Academy It targets the low front vowel /æ/ that exists in English, but not in Vietnamese, and is among several sounds that are problematic for Vietnamese learners of English The study hopes to make a modest contribution to an increased understanding of CAPT and segmental pronunciation in the context of Vietnamese learners of English It is also expected to be useful for any teacher who has intention to utilize CAPT to enhance students‘ English pronunciation Significance of the study As a prestigious training and research institute in Vietnam, Banking Academy has for long realized its mission of training excellent cadres in Banking, Finance and Economicsrelated fields, who not only possess good professional knowledge but also excellent English communicative skills in order to handle demanding tasks in the economic globalization However, with students of low English level in large classes, and serious lack of time in class, 91 BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson-Hsieh, J.(1992), ―Using electronic visual feedback to teach suprasegmentals.‖ System, 20, 51-62 Anderson-Hsieh, J (1998), Considerations in selecting and using pronunciation technology: Proceedings of TCIS colloquium on the 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Pronunciation Training (CAPT) in improving students’ Pronunciation: The case of English vowel /æ/ and non-English-major students in Banking Academy An experimental study” In order to collect reliable data for my study, I am badly in need of your sincere opinions on assessing the real situation of teaching and learning English Pronunciation in Banking Academy I hereby certify that all the information acquired will be dealt with anonymously Thank you for all the time and effort you spent completing this questionnaire! ************************************ Could you please put a tick () beside the answers you choose You may have more than one choices or if you have other ideas please write in detail in the part “ others” I Personal Information How long have you been teaching English? …………………… Which English program are you teaching?  General English  English for Banking and finance II Assessment on students’ English ability and knowledge of English pronunciation From your observation, you think that most of your students are confident when speaking English?  Yes  No If No, what you think are the possible reasons for your students’ lack of confidence when speaking English?  they are lack of ideas  their vocabulary is not wide enough for them to express themselves  they are afraid of making grammatical mistakes  their pronunciation is not good  They are not used to speaking English in front of many people  Other reason(s) ……………………………………………………………………… How you access your students’ pronunciation at the beginning of the English course?  bad  not good  at average level  quite good  good  excellent Which part of English pronunciation you think most of your students have got knowledge of at the beginning of the English course?  The International Phonetic Symbols  Segmental Pronunciation (vowels, dipthongs, consonants)  Suprasegmental Pronunciation (intonation, stress, rhythm, etc.)  All of the above Which aspect(s) of English pronunciation you think your students need to improve during your English course?  Segmental Pronunciation (vowels, dipthongs, consonants)  Suprasegmental Pronunciation (intonation, stress, rhythm, etc.)  None of the above III Situation of teaching English Pronunciation in Banking Academy Which aspects/ English skills are focused in the general English program at Banking Academy?  Grammar  Speaking  Listening  Reading  Writing III Is pronunciation included in syllabus used for teaching general English at Banking Academy?  Yes  No If yes, how often you teach English pronunciation in class?  Never  in most of the lessons  hardly  in every lesson  in only some lessons 10 Which sources of materials you use when teaching English pronunciation?  Textbook (Business Basics)  Books on pronunciation teaching (Write the names of the books if possible) ………  Authentic sources (radio or TV programs)  Computer-assisted Pronunciation Training softwares  Others (Please specify here)………………………………………………………… 11 Which method(s) you usually use when teaching English pronunciation?  Give rules or principles to help students understand the structure of English pronunciation  Use a chart with symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to help students understand which sound he/ she is introducing and which sounds his/ her students had got wrong  Model the correct pronunciation for the students, then ask them to read a particular word, phrase or sentence several times in chorus  Ask students to listen to the tape and practise pronunciation at home to save time for grammatical exercises  Involve students in actually speaking, rather than in just learning facts or rules of pronunciation  Assign tasks on pronunciation training to students so that they can practise more at home  Recommend CAPT programs for students’ self-studying time  Other method(s) (please specify here)……………………………………………… 12 What difficulties you usually have when teaching English pronunciation for firstyear students in Banking Academy?  Limited time in class  Lack of materials for teaching  Lack of useful/ interesting pronunciation-teaching methods  Lack of confidence because of your not-native-like pronunciation  Lack of the basic knowledge of articulatory phonetics  Other difficulties (please specify here)…………………………………………… 13 Please specify the level of satisfaction you usually have with your students’ pronunciation after they finished your English course?  Not satisfied  Fairly satisfied  Satisfied  Very satisfied If the answer is “Not satisfied” or “Fairly satisfied”, what are possible reasons for the limited improvement in your students’ pronunciation?  Students’ lack of motivation to practise pronunciation  Students’ lack of materials on pronunciation for self-study  Students’ lack of useful feedback when practicing pronunciation  Students’ laziness in practicing pronunciation  Other reasons (please specify here) ………………………………………………… IV Feasibility and suggestions for the use of CAPT in teaching English pronunciation in Banking Academy 14 Do you have a personal computer (PC) or a laptop?  Yes  No 15 Do you usually use information technology in your teaching? IV  Never  Sometimes  in every lesson  Rarely  usually 16 Have you got familiar with any CAPT programs?  Yes  No If yes, which program(s)? (Please write the name of the programs here)……………… 17 Do you think the use of CAPT can be effective in helping students improve their pronunciation?  Yes  No  Not sure 18 What you think are the advantages of CAPT in helping students improve their pronunciation?  It provides a private, stress-free environment for students to practice pronunciation  Students can practice their pronunciation every time they like  Students can access virtually unlimited input  Students can practice at their own pace  Students are provided with individualized, instantaneous feedback  Students are more motivated with various activities and games in CAPT systems  Other advantages (please specify here) ……………………………………………… 19 What you think may be the disadvantages of CAPT?  Computers are not very good at teaching themselves They cannot cope with the unexpected happenings and ambiguity  Working with computers normally means that the learners work in isolation This Obviously does not help in developing normal communication between the learners  Computers cannot conduct open ended dialogues and cannot give feedback to open ended questions  Selecting a good and suitable CAPT system is a challenging task  It is complicated for students without prior experience of working with computer  It is more tiring to read from a screen than from a printed text; or to scroll the screen than turn over the page  Others (please specify here) ………………………………………………………… 20 How can teacher help students overcome the above disadvantages when using CAPT?  Teacher should provide students with in-time guidance when they are using CAPT system to practice pronunciation  Teacher should helps students select a good CAPT system for their self-study time  Other suggestions (please specify here)……………………………………………… Thank you for your co-operation!!! V APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS I am Tran Thi Hai Ly, a post-graduate student in College of Foreign Languages - Vietnam National University I am conducting a research on “The effectiveness of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) in improving students’ Pronunciation: The case of English vowel /æ/ and non-English-major students in Banking Academy An experimental study” In order to collect reliable data for my study, I am badly in need of your sincere opinions on assessing the real situation of teaching and learning English Pronunciation in Banking Academy I hereby certify that all the information acquired will be dealt with anonymously Thank you for all the time and effort you spent completing this questionnaire! ******************************************** Could you please put a tick () beside the answers you choose You may have more than one choices or if you have other ideas please write in detail in the part “Others” A Personal Information Where are you from? ……………………… Which year at university are you in? …………………… How long have you been learning English? …………………… Are you interested in English?  Yes  Not really  No B Current English ability Are you confident when speaking English?  Yes  No If No, why?  I don’t have any thing to say (lack of ideas)  My vocabulary is not enough for me to express myself  I’m afraid of making grammatical mistakes  My pronunciation is not good  Other reason(s) ……………………………………………………………………… Have you ever learned English pronunciation before?  Yes  No If yes, go to question If No, go to question Which part of English pronunciation have you got knowledge of?  The International Phonetic Symbols  Segmental Pronunciation (vowels, dipthongs, consonants)  Suprasegmental Pronunciation (intonation, stress, rhythm, etc.)  All of the above How did you learn English Pronunciation?  Teacher introduced me with theory of English Pronunciation in class  I was provided with theory and time for practice English pronunciation in class  I learnt by looking up, listening and imitating words’ pronunciation in the electronic dictionary  I studied by myself, using computer-assisted pronunciation training software  I listened to radio, watched TV programs in English and imitated pronunciation of words  Other way(s): ……………………………………………………………………… C Situation of learning and teaching English Pronunciation in Banking Academy Is pronunciation included in syllabus used for teaching English in Banking Academy?  Yes  No 10 If yes, how often are you taught English pronunciation in class?  Never  in half of the lessons  hardly  in most of the lessons  in only some lessons  in every lesson VI 11 Which sources of materials does you teacher use when teaching English pronunciation?  Textbook (Business Basics)  Books on pronunciation teaching (Write the names of the books if possible) ……………………………………………………………………………………  Authentic sources (radio or TV programs)  Computer-assisted Pronunciation Training softwares  Others (Please specify here)…………………………………………………… 12 Which method(s) does your teacher use when teaching English pronunciation?  Give rules or principles to help students understand the structure of English pronunciation  Use a chart with symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to help students understand which sound he/ she is introducing and which sounds his/ her students had got wrong  Model the correct pronunciation for the students, then ask them to read a particular word, phrase or sentence several times in chorus  Ask students to listen to the tape and practise pronunciation at home to save time for grammatical exercises  Involve students in actually speaking, rather than in just learning facts or rules of pronunciation  Give students tasks on pronunciation training so that they can practise more at home  Other method(s) (please specify here)………………………………………… 13 In your opinion, how effective are the methods that your teacher uses when teaching English pronunciation?  Very effective, they help me improve my pronunciation much  Effective, they help me understand English pronunciation in theory and provide me with necessary time to practise it  Quite effective, they provide me with basic knowledge of English pronunciation but not enough time for practice  Not really effective as I quickly forget the rules and my pronunciation are not improve much  Not effective at all (please specify the reasons if possible) …………………… D Suggestions for teaching pronunciation in Banking Academy 14 What is your opinion on the following statements? (1 Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree) a Speaking skills in general and pronunciation in particular should be paid more attention in general English program in Banking Academy b Segmental aspect of pronunciation should be trained before suprasegmental aspect c Activities on pronunciation training should be varied so that students are more motivated to work on this aspect of English d Students should be assigned with more pronunciation-training tasks to practice at home e Students can learn English pronunciation by themselves VII without the detailed guide and feedback from teachers f It is more effective if teachers recommend useful CAPT programs to students so that they can practice pronunciation in their self-studying time g Learning and teaching pronunciation take much more time and effort from both teachers and students than learning and teaching grammar, vocabulary 15 Do you have a personal computer (PC)/ laptop?  Yes  No 16 If you are recommended with a good CAPT program, are you willing to use it to practice your pronunciation?  Yes  No Thank you for your co-operation! VIII APPENDIX OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONNAIRE FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUP Date of birth: ……………………………… Hometown: ………………………………… Length of time studying English: …………………………………………… Have you learned English pronunciation (segmental and suprasegmental) before taking part in the experiment? Yes No If Yes, which part of English pronunciation have you got knowledge of?  The International Phonetic Symbols  Segmental Pronunciation (vowels, dipthongs, consonants)  Suprasegmental Pronunciation (intonation, stress, rhythm, etc.)  All of the above How did you learn English Pronunciation?  Teacher introduced me with theory of English Pronunciation in class  I was provided with theory and time for practice English pronunciation in class  I learnt by looking up, listening and imitating words’ pronunciation in the electronic dictionary  I studied by myself, using computer-assisted pronunciation training software  I listened to radio, watched TV programs in English and imitated pronunciation of words  Other way(s): ……………………………………………………………… Why did you take part in the experiment? (Please specify here) ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… What you think are the advantages of CAPT programs after using them to practice pronunciation? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Did you have any difficulties/ obstacles when using CAPT to improve your pronunciation?  Yes  No If yes, please specify your difficulties/ obstacles here: ……………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 In general, did the result of your pronunciation training come up to your expectation?  Yes  Not really  No Why? ……………………………………………………………………… … 11 Do you have any suggestions for the use of CAPT in English pronunciation teaching and learning in Banking Academy? (Please write your suggestions here) ………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… IX APPENDIX VOCABULARY SHEET A VOCABULARY SHEET B X APPENDIX LEARNING SHEET FOR USING “PRONUNCIATION POWER” AND “TELL ME MORE” Name:……………… Date:……………… Length of time you used programs today:…………… The content you practice today What kind of functions in this program that you utilize today? How does this software correct your pronunciation? What sound(s) you speak well after this self-studying session? What difficulties you meet when you are practicing? ... CASE OF ENGLISH VOWEL /? ? / PRONOUNCED BY NON-ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS IN BANKING ACADEMY (Nghiên cứu hiệu phương pháp sử dụng phần mềm luyện ngữ âm việc nâng cao khả phát âm sinh viên Điển cứu âm vị. .. than English lies in the establishment of the qualitative oppositions /? ?/ - /e/ - /? ?/- /c/ The opposition /e/ -/? ?/ may be emphasized by making use of the length component of RP /? ?/ in certain contexts,... differentiated from /a/ based on F2 values (/? ?/: 1660Hz; /a/: 1100Hz) because the F1 value of /a/ and /? ?/ is the same (F1: 700Hz) In other words, if the speaker produces a vowel with F2 value of 1100Hz,