THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES BUI THI NGOAN THE EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION ABOUT ASPECTS OF CONNECTED SPEECH TO THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION AND PRODUCTION AT SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES – THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY (Nghiên cứu việc hướng dẫn khía cạnh liên ngữ việc nhận biết sử dụng sinh viên năm thứ chuyên ngành tiếng Anh Khoa Ngoại ngữ-Đại học Thái Nguyên) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 THAI NGUYEN - 2019 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES BUI THI NGOAN THE EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION ABOUT ASPECTS OF CONNECTED SPEECH TO THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION AND PRODUCTION AT SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES – THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY (Nghiên cứu việc hướng dẫn khía cạnh liên ngữ việc nhận biết sử dụng sinh viên năm thứ chuyên ngành tiếng Anh Khoa Ngoại ngữ-Đại học Thái Nguyên) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Dr Bui Thi Huong Giang THAI NGUYEN - 2019 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis entitled “the explicit instruction about aspects of connected speech to the first year English major students’ perception and production at School of Foreign Languages-Thai Nguyen University” is my own study in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at School of Foreign languages, Thai Nguyen University Signature, Researcher Supervisor Bui Thi Ngoan Bui Thi Huong Giang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Working on this research has been an extremely invaluable and rewarding experience This was made possible by the support, encouragement and guidance from many people This paper would not have been completed without the support from all of whom I am profoundly indebted First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr Bui Thi Huong Giang, she has been such a tremendous mentor for me I really want to thank the lecturers at School of Foreign Languages who helped and gave me precious advice to complete this research on time I also give thanks to students of N06 and N08 classes who helped me a lot during my research Last but not least, I am truly grateful to my family for their wholehearted care and support during the time I conducted the study Without their encouragement and consolations, my study could not have been completed with such great satisfaction ii ABSTRACT Connected speech is one of the essential aspects of successful communication, which comprises effective auditory perception and speech production Therefore, this study investigated the effects of aspects of CS training on ELF‟s perception and production Forty first year students in English language class were the study subjects Participants of the study were divided into two groups (experimental group and control group); each group consisted of 20 learners They were required to pre-tests before starting research treatment to examine if the participants of both groups were at the same level of CS awareness Then, participants of experimental group were instructed explicitly aspects of CS in weeks while the participants of control group continued their regularly classes After instruction weeks, both groups were asked to post-tests The results in pre-tests and post-tests were compared to be able to answer the research questions The study results elicited there was a significant difference between experimental participants who have experienced explicit instruction of aspects of connected speech and control participants who have not Both groups had a higher result in recognition and production post-tests; however, the experimental group outperformed control group Hence, it can be concluded that CS instruction had positive effectiveness on ELF‟s recognition and production iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS C Consonant C-C Consonant to consonant C-V Consonant to vowel CS Connected speech ELF English language freshmen f Final i Initial L2 Second language N The number of participants 10 n The number of targets 11 n₁ The number of regconised/produced targets 12 p The probability value 13 S Score 14 SFL School of Foreign languages 15 TNU Thai Nguyen University 16 V Vowel 17 V-V Vowel to vowel iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: CS listed by Alameen (2014) Figure 2: Linking and assimilation recognition of control and experimental groups 30 Figure 2: Linking and assimilation production of control and experimental groups v 32 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The aspects of connected speech Table 2: The number of phenomena in listing and reading test 19 Table 3: Mean comparison in aspects of CS recognition of both groups on pre-test 26 Table 4: Mean comparison of both groups on listening pre-test 27 Table 5: Mean comparison of both groups on listing pre-test 27 Table 6: Mean comparison of both groups on linking and assimilation listening pre-test 27 Table 7: Mean comparison of both groups on linking and assimilation listing pre-test 27 Table 8: Mean comparison of two groups’ performance on the reading text pretest 28 Table 9: Mean comparison of two groups’ performance on the speaking pre-test 28 Table 10: Mean comparison of the experimental group’s CS recognition pre and post- test 29 Table 11: Mean comparison of the control group’s CS recognition pre and post- test 29 Table 12: Mean comparison of the experimental group’s CS recognition pre and post-test 30 Table 13: Mean comparison of the control group’s CS recognition pre and posttest 30 Table 14: Mean comparison of both groups on reading test 31 Table 15: Mean comparison of the both groups on speaking test 31 Table 16: The percentage of performed linking of both groups (Reading test) 32 Table 17: The percentage of performed linking of both groups (Speaking test) 33 Table 18: The percentage of performed assimilation of both groups (Reading test) 33 Table 19: The percentage of performed assimilation of both groups (Speaking test) 33 Table 20: Mean comparison of two groups on recognition post-test 34 Table 21: Mean comparison of two groups on listing and listening post-test 34 Table 22: Mean comparison of two groups on reading post-test 35 Table 23: Mean cpmparison of two groups on speaking post-test 35 vi CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF FIGURES v LIST OF TABLES vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale .1 Aims of the study .2 Scope of the study The significance of the study .3 Organization .3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Theory of connected speech 1.1 Definition of connected speech 1.2 Classification of connected speech 1.2.1 Linking .7 1.2.2 Assimilation .9 The importance of connected speech in English language learning 12 The difficulties of studying connected speech .13 Adapted framework from Khaghaninezhad and Nunan in teaching CS 14 Previous studies on aspects of connected speech 15 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 Research questions 18 vii Subjects .18 Data collection instruments 19 Procedure of data collection 20 Teaching procedure 20 Data analysis .24 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 26 Mean comparison of two groups on pre-test 26 1.1 The data from recognition pre- test 26 1.2 The data from production pre- test 28 Mean comparison of both groups on pre-test and post-test 29 2.1 The participants’ “connected speech recognition” 29 2.2 The participants’ “connected speech production” .31 Mean comparison of both groups on post-test 34 3.1 Assimilation and linking recognition 34 3.2 Assimilation and linking production 35 Discussion 35 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION 38 Findings .38 Implications 38 Limitations of the study 39 Suggestions for the future studies 40 Conclusion 41 REFERENCES 42 APPENDIX 1: PARTICIPANTS’ RECOGNITION SCORES (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP) I viii APPENDIX 2: PARTICIPANTS’ RECOGNITION SCORES (CONTROL GROUP) No Participants Pre-tests’ scores Post-tests’ scores Listening Listing Average Listening Listing Average A 2.94 5.00 4.0 2.45 5.53 3.99 B 2.65 6.05 4.3 3.82 7.11 5.46 C 1.86 4.74 3.3 2.16 6.32 4.24 D 2.55 6.05 4.3 3.04 8.16 5.60 E 2.75 5.53 4.1 3.04 6.05 4.55 F 0.59 4.74 2.7 0.78 5.79 3.29 G 0.49 4.47 2.5 0.88 6.58 3.73 H 1.67 5.26 3.5 1.76 6.84 4.30 I 0.88 4.74 2.8 2.16 6.84 4.50 10 J 1.76 5.53 3.6 2.35 7.63 4.99 11 K 1.37 7.11 4.2 1.96 8.42 5.19 12 L 2.55 6.32 4.4 3.24 7.37 5.30 13 M 1.27 2.63 2.0 1.96 3.42 2.69 14 N 1.18 6.84 4.0 1.08 8.16 4.62 15 O 0.39 2.63 1.5 1.08 5.00 3.04 16 P 0.59 4.21 2.4 0.49 6.05 3.27 17 Q 0.69 5.00 2.8 1.47 7.11 4.29 18 R 0.88 5.26 3.1 1.47 6.58 4.02 19 S 0.69 3.68 2.2 0.69 5.53 3.11 20 T 0.20 2.63 1.4 0.78 4.47 2.63 II APPENDIX 3: PARTICIPANTS’ PRODUCTION SCORES (EXPERIMENTAL GROUP) No Participants Pre-tests’ scores Post-tests’ scores Reading Speaking Average Reading Speaking Average a 2.42 0.77 1.60 3.41 2.50 2.96 b 1.01 0.67 0.84 1.78 3.47 2.63 c 1.22 1.74 1.48 1.74 3.75 2.75 d 1.11 1.73 1.42 2.80 2.67 2.74 e 1.10 6.90 4.00 2.00 4.43 3.22 f 1.11 4.22 2.67 2.12 3.00 2.56 g 2.79 3.73 3.26 4.19 5.63 4.91 h 1.62 0.80 1.21 3.63 5.83 4.73 i 2.64 6.48 4.56 5.49 4.48 4.99 10 j 2.04 1.32 1.68 3.33 7.81 5.57 11 k 1.52 2.09 1.81 2.52 4.54 3.53 12 l 1.01 0.29 0.65 2.50 5.90 4.20 13 m 0.98 0.71 0.85 2.00 5.75 3.88 14 n 1.72 0.36 1.04 2.92 6.25 4.59 15 o 2.04 3.06 2.55 3.45 4.48 3.97 16 p 1.62 1.07 1.35 2.92 4.78 3.85 17 q 0.69 1.00 0.85 1.20 0.86 1.03 18 r 0.89 3.75 2.32 1.34 3.06 2.20 19 s 2.21 4.11 3.16 2.62 5.88 4.25 20 t 0.42 0.00 0.21 0.42 2.05 1.24 III APPENDIX 4: PARTICIPANTS’ PRODUCTION SCORES (CONTROL GROUP) No Participants Pre-tests’ scores Reading Speaking Average Post-tests’ scores Reading Speaking Average A 1.52 0.23 0.88 2.21 4.02 3.12 B 1.72 1.29 1.51 2.92 1.99 2.46 C 1.82 1.00 1.41 2.22 2.08 2.15 D 1.10 0.00 0.55 1.81 2.79 2.30 E 1.92 0.42 1.17 2.85 2.50 2.68 F 0.51 3.21 1.86 0.80 1.25 1.03 G 1.11 2.20 1.66 2.05 2.36 2.21 H 2.47 1.44 1.96 2.22 0.99 1.61 I 1.49 0.32 0.91 0.75 1.92 1.34 10 J 1.71 1.75 1.73 2.22 2.19 2.21 11 K 4.14 2.67 3.41 4.63 4.86 4.75 12 L 2.12 8.93 5.53 2.53 7.33 4.93 13 M 1.11 1.25 1.18 1.20 2.25 1.73 14 N 0.80 0.00 0.40 1.57 1.00 1.29 15 O 0.79 1.25 1.02 0.80 1.52 1.16 16 P 1.71 1.74 1.73 1.70 0.76 1.23 17 Q 0.21 0.63 0.42 0.89 4.44 2.67 18 R 1.52 1.33 1.43 2.12 3.98 3.05 19 S 1.20 4.58 2.89 1.30 5.83 3.57 20 T 1.31 1.87 1.59 1.82 3.11 2.47 IV APPENDIX 5: PRODUCTION TEST Task 1: Read out this text WOMEN IN SOCIETY Throughout much of the history of human civilization, deep-seated cultural beliefs allowed women only limited roles in society Many people believed that women‟s natural roles were as mothers and wives These people considered to be better suited for childbearing and homemaking rather than for involvement in the public life of business or politics Widespread doubt about women‟s intellectual ability led most societies deny education, employment and many legal and political rights to women It was men who controlled most positions of employment and power in society The struggle of women‟s rights- the rights that establish the same social, economic, and political status for women and for men- began in the 18th century during the period known as the Age of Enlightenment During this period, political philosophers in Europe began to argue that all individuals, male or female, were born with natural rights that made them free and equal These pioneer thinkers advocated that women should not be discriminated against on the basic of their sex Today, although their status varies in different countries, women in most parts of the world have gained significant legal rights The most important of these are: the right to have equal work opportunities and pay to men, the right to vote, and the right to formal education (English textbook-12) Task 2: Work with your partner to make a conversation V APPENDIX 6: RECOGNITION TEST Task 1: Listen and write down the missing words [linking] A: Can ………………………… ? B: Yes, ………………… The door………… A: ………… ……………… ? B: No, …………………… A: …………………… ……… ? B: It…………………… …… A: How ……………… ……….? B: …………………… ………………………… I love ………… I eat at restaurants ……… the time ……………………., but I don‟t care Task 2: Fill the missing words in the blank She's a ………………… I've never been in ………………………… We ………………………… it ……………………………… see it? A: What time …………………………? B: It‟s exactly twelve o‟clock …………………… VI A: Do you play …………… ………………… weekend, Rita? B: No, I …………………… A: Wow, what happened? B: I ……………………… A: Gee That ……………… pretty bad B: yeah I never …………………… like stamp collecting, but now I think it‟s great I …………………… get my passport renewed Task 3: Read the text and then indicate how many assimilation and linking may occur Write words in columns below: Assimilation Linking Example: in the , Example: much of, ………………………… ……………………… ………………………………………… ………………………….…………… …………………………… ………… ……………………………….……… ………………………… …………… ………………………….…………… ………………………………………… ……………………… …………… …………………………… ………… …………………………….………… ………………………… …… ……… ……………………….….… ……… ………………………………………… …………………………….………… ………………………………………… …………………………….……………… VII WOMEN IN SOCIETY Throughout much of the history of human civilization, deep-seated cultural beliefs allowed women only limited roles in society Many people believed that women‟s natural roles were as mothers and wives These people considered to be better suited for child hearing and homemaking rather than for involvement in the public life of business or politics Widespread doubt about women‟s intellectual ability led most societies t deny education, employment and many legal and political rights to women It was men who controlled most positions of employment and power in society The struggle of women‟s rights- the rights that establish the same social, economic, and political status for women and for men- began in the 18th century during the period known as the Age of Enlightenment During this period, political philosophers in Europe began to argue that all individuals, male or female, were born with natural rights that made them free and equal These pioneer thinkers advocated that women should not be discriminated against on the basic of their sex Today, although their status varies in different countries, women in most parts of the world have gained significant legal rights The most important of these are: the right to have equal work opportunities and pay to men, the right to vote, and the right to formal education VIII APPENDIX 7: KEYS OF LISTENING TEST Task 1: Listen and write down the missing words [linking] A: Can I come in? B: Yes, come on in The door is open A: Should I leave it on? B: No, turn it off A: What time is it? B: It‟s already five o’clock A: How far is it? B: Four and a half hours away I love to eat out I eat at restaurants most of the time It’s expensive, but I don‟t care Task 2: Dictation Write down what you hear She's a good girl PLACE I've never been in speed boat PLACE We can buy it PLACE Did you see it? PLACE What time is it now? Manner It‟s exactly twelve o‟clock Midnight Manner IX A: Do you play sports on the weekend, Rita? Voicing/ PLACE B: No, I hate sports Manner A: Wow, what happened? B: I went skiing Manner A: Gee That looks pretty bad Voicing B: yeah I never used to like stamp collecting, but now I think it‟s great Voicing I have to get my passport renewed Voicing X APPENDIX 8: THE NUMBER OF TARGETS IN READING TEXT Linking Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph C-C considered to Europe began right to much of struggle of varies in beliefs allowed that establish women in women only women and parts of roles in began in most important were as known as important of mothers and Age of these are for involvement of Enlightenment have equal involvement in philosophers in work opportunities life of all individual opportunities and business or male or formal education doubt about and equal women‟s intellectual thinkers advocated intellectual ability discriminated employment and against legal and against on positions of basic of Widespread doubt C-V of employment employment and power in V-V history of to argue deny education free and XI Assimilation Place Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Throughout much and political different countries human civilization period known in most seated cultural that made most parts believed that made them and pay childbearing advocated that and the led most should not education and many not be and political controlled most most positions education in the in the on the Manner Voicing gained significant Beliefs and for Varies Allowed women‟s countries Roles rights parts women‟s philosophers rights mothers individuals opportunities wives thinkers considered suited for politics rights controlled positions societies XII APPENDIX 9: SAMPLE OF LESSON PLAN LINKING I Objectives By the end this lesson, students are able to: - Know the significance of linking when speaking English - Apply this phenomenon in spoken language - Speak English smoothly and fluently II Time It takes about periods to teach this topic III Procedure Steps/time Teacher‟s activities Pre-listening - (10 minutes) - Interaction Introduces new words and structures TeacherAsks questions to make students familiar students with the topic they are going to hear Listening comprehension checking - Asks questions to check comprehension listening Teacherstudents (10 minutes) Fill in the blank and dictation tasks - Gives fill-in-blank task(5 minutes) - Distributes tests (20 minutes) - Individual hold… ….end picked… I…it get late …guy Gives dictation task (15 minutes) Teacher plays recording times and asks students Individual to write down what they hear Raising students‟ awareness (20 minutes) - Checks (5 minutes) - Gives examples about linking - Introduces the classification XIII definition Teacher and => Definition: Linking is a process that the final sound of the preceding word links to the initials There are main types including C-C, C-V, V-V linking - C-V linking Eg: Fill in -> /fi lin/ - C-C linking Eg: Big girl -> /bi ggз:l/ - V-V linking Intrusive /r/ Eg: Far away => /fa:ʳ әwei/ Intrusive /w/ Eg: Go in => /gәu ʷ in/ Intrusive /j/ Eg: my aunt => /mai ʲ a:nt/ - Gives more examples and asked students to repeat after the recording look up drop it That’s enough a cup of coffee fill a cup write it it’s ok four eggs Just a little years old Two others Too old Going Media events Allow him Day and night XIV Teacherstudents The end Perception exercises - (15 minutes) - Likes her Asks students to give some example about Individual linking Gives students a short paragraph and ask Group them to write the transcription and list work linking phenomena “It is difficult to know how many elephants once lived in the continent, but there may have been at least 3-5 million elephants in Africa in the early part of the twentieth century People have always hunted elephants for meat, hides and ivory As the human population grew and weapons become more advanced, elephants were under great threat.” Production exercises (20 minutes) Checks - Asks students to read the following sentences Please sit down until I call you Deep as sea and wide as sky You are always on my mind Play a song for us on your guitar I had the best time ever That was a big grape I just ate Did you exercise? Am I too old to learn another language? He wants to be alone I’ll have some boiled potatoes He is the picture of his father You ought to give me your schedule I almost fell on the ice XV Pair work I will take out the bottles when I pick up the children Pair work I found it - Requires students to work in pair to make a conversation using linking phenomenon Homework (5 minutes) Summarizes Teacher Gives homework XVI ... LANGUAGES – THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY (Nghiên cứu việc hướng dẫn khía cạnh liên ngữ việc nhận biết sử dụng sinh viên năm thứ chuyên ngành tiếng Anh Khoa Ngoại ngữ- Đại học Thái Nguyên) M.A THESIS Field: English