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5th VTTN Hanoi January 2009
Tackling Common Pronunciation Errors of the
Vietnamese English Learners.
Tran Thi Lan, Ph.D
Hanoi University
Background
Previous talk on Essential pronunciation to the Vietnamese – list of problems
• Experts from the field: TESL-L voices on pronunciation, BBC English learning website.
• Feedback by teachers from English Dept. HCM University of Pedagogy. www.khoaanh.hcmup.edu.vn
Briefing on feedback
Useful, helpful, interesting
Time-consuming, consistent, needing more effort and patience
Challenging, difficult to put into practice (rules re. voiced/unvoiced; long-short vowels, consonant clusters etc., regional accent, end of words etc.) but
Important, early treatment (needing more writings with focus on languages distinction)
Major objective
To tackle common problems of the Vietnamese
How to go?
•Defining errors: How? How long to define them (if any)? How long to correct errors?
•Defining your own attitude toward errors.
•Correction
How to identify students’ problems?
Interviews, talks (e.g. records): teacher- students, students-students, students reveal their own problems
Quick, easy, friendly and most importantly: learner-focused class)
[E.g. from a tape. ]
Listen – define student’s problems
Common Errors
Dyslexic:
Northern dialect: /l/ and /n/, /S/ and /s/
Central Dialect: /r/ and /d3/
Southern dialect: /q/ and /g/
All regions: /ð/ and /t/ and /õ/- unvoiced and /f/
Intonation
Stress
YOU
How do you want your students to sound in English?
• Perfect? Native like?• Which native? US? UK? Or else?
• Standard? RP? TV, Radio?
• Clear to understand and be understood? Regardless of accents, registers?
How do you want to correct your students’ mistakes? always? Every mistake? Directly? TPR? Or else?
Rod Bolitho
Some questions for teachers:
• Is your own pronunciation perfect? Does it need to be?• If you are a non-native speaker, how do you like the
way you sound in English?•What do you do to help your learners tune into
English?• How do you respond when a learner mispronounces
a word?
•Main ways to deal with common errors (demonstration with tapes, exercises)
•Place of articulation
•Drilling, imitation, backward vocalizing
•Analogue with Vietnamese or whatever language the learners know
•Other…
Place of articulation
/l/ and /n/ (tape)
/b/ and /p/
/õ/ and /ð/
/q/, /g/, /w/, and /v/
/t/, /p/
/k/
Backward vocalizing
With long words:
Establish
Disestablish
Disestablishment
Anti-disestablishment
Antidisestablishmentarian
Antidisestablishmentarian
Antidisestablishmentarianism
Drilling (tape)
La la la la la / na na na na na
Tha tha tha tha tha
Tho tho tho tho tho
Thy thy thy thy thy
Ra ra ra ra ra ro ro ro ro ro
Sha sha sha sha sha sho sho sho sho sho
Ta ta ta ta ta to to to to to
Ba ba ba ba ba po po po po po etc.
Sta sto sto stu, stra stro stru stry etc.
Analogue with Vietnamese and other foreign languages
/s/ and Vietnamese /x/
/z/ and Vietnamese /d/
/S/ and Vietnamese /s/ or French /ch/
/g/ and /d3/: a, o, u and i, e, y like the case of g –gh; ng-ngh (Vietnamese)
c as /k/, /s/, and / S/
Ch as /k/, /S/ and /ts/ (separated sheets)
Classifying errors
Permanent errors: ends of words
Recognizable errors by speakers
Unrecognizable errors by speakers
Can be tackled easily
Can’t be tackled immediately
Conclusion: clarifying some concepts
Purpose of teaching English pronunciation:
• To make sounds clear to the listeners, not native-like (disadvantage of lack of accent – TESL-L experiences)
• To be able to understand others.
Select one variety but make learners aware of other varieties.
• Being consistent – key point for teachers
Phonemic chart with sounds
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resources/pronunciation/phonemic-chart
Thank you for your attention!
