USING SONGS TO TEACH ENGLISH SOUNDS TO 11TH FORM STUDENTS AT NGUYEN GIA THIEU HIGH SCHOOL. Lại Thanh Tình.QHF061.E11

Using songs to teach English sounds to 11th form students at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school.

Lại Thanh Tình - 061E111

I. CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1. Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study

Pronunciation is the first thing to be learned about when

learning a language in general and foreign language in particular.

Some reasons for that can be stated as follows. Firstly, it is

pronunciation that creates first impressions between speaker and

listener. We tend to feel like talking to those who have good or at least

acceptable pronunciation. Vice versa, bad pronunciation can cause

communication to break down easily. Secondly, pronunciation helps

speaker to be understood. We can live without advanced grammar, we

can also live without advanced vocabulary, but we can hardly be

understood with incorrect pronunciation. Wong, R. (1987) pointed out

that even when the non-native speakers’ vocabulary and grammar are

excellent, if their pronunciation falls below a certain threshold level,

they are unable to communicate effectively. Therefore, teaching

pronunciation plays a very important role in teaching a language.

The importance of pronunciation work, as a result, is being

increasingly recognized in course books. There are a lot of specific

pronunciation activities and effective teaching methods have been

suggested. One of them is using songs. Songs can bring students great

interest and strong motivation instead of boredom during the lesson.

Besides, songs help teachers design various tasks in a foreign

language classroom.

However, until now, songs if ever used in high schools, just aim

at creating relaxation and change the class atmosphere after a long,

hard practice, not fully exploited to teach pronunciation. Studies



related to exploiting songs to teach pronunciation are limited and

carried out by foreigner researchers mainly, few by Vietnamese

researchers. Therefore, further studies should be taken into

consideration. To be more specific, the issue should be primarily

investigated in the context of teaching sounds, not all the components

of pronunciation, to 11th form students because in the curriculum, only

sounds are taught to 11th form students.

This paper on using songs to teach English sounds, in short,

meets the research demand of the context. It helps offer an overview

of using songs to teach English sounds, then suggestions would also

benefit for improving education quality in the studied context.

2. Aims and objectives of the study

This study is expected to find out the attitudes of both teachers

and students to using songs in teaching and learning pronunciation,

especially English sounds. Secondly, the study aims at answering the

question: whether songs have been exploited to teach English sounds

at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school or not. If already, a closer look

would be taken at the way they are used and the effects of this

applying. In addition, subsequently, some pedagogical techniques

would be detected for further exploitation of songs in the same

context. In brief, these objectives could be summarized into following

research questions.



Research questions:

1. What are the attitudes of the teachers and the students at

Nguyen Gia Thieu high school to using songs in teaching pronunciation?

2. What is the situation of using songs to teach pronunciation at

Nguyen Gia Thieu high school?

3. What are teachers’ and students’ opinions about advantages and

disadvantages of using songs in teaching pronunciation?

4. What are suggestions of teachers and students at Nguyen Gia

Thieu high school to make full use of songs to teach pronunciation to 11th

form students?

3. Significance of the study

This study is carried out to provide teachers with some effective

techniques to exploit songs in teaching pronunciation. This research is

expected to be helpful to teachers in teaching English pronunciation.

4. Scope of the study

In this study, the researcher does not have ambition to cover all the

aspects of using songs to teach pronunciation in English class, but just focus

on teaching 11th form students to pronounce English sounds.

5. Organization

This research will apply the survey method to find out the attitudes of

teachers and students towards using songs to teach pronunciation. Besides,

experiments will also be utilized to experiment some techniques of using

songs in a period of teaching English sounds to 11th form students so that

conclusion can be drawn out.



II. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

1. An overview of English Pronunciation

Simply defined, pronunciation is “the way in which a language is

spoken” (Oxford Advanced learner’s Encyclopedic, 1997, p.1164).

According to Jones, D. (1998), pronunciation involves the production and

perception of segmental (sounds), both alone and in the stream of speech,

where they undergo number of modifications and interact with

suprasegmental (prosodic) features, particularly stress and intonation.

However, the primary emphasis of this paper is teaching English

sounds, the researcher would like to offer only the theoretical framework

about English sounds, into which the problem fits.

1.1. English sounds

There are 44 sounds in English (24 consonant sounds and 20 vowel

sounds).

1.1.1. Vowel sounds

Vowels, according to Gerald (2003, p 29), “are articulated when a

voiced air stream is shaped using the tongue and the lips to modify the

overall shape of the mouth”. There are twelve pure vowels and eight

diphthongs in English.



Pure vowel sounds:

Diphthongs:

“A diphthong is a glide from one vowel to another, and the whole

glide acts like one of the long, simple vowels”, O’Connor, J.D. (1991).

1.1.2. Consonant sounds

Scarcella and Oxford (1994) explained, “Consonants are, or contain,

noises that are pronounced with a blockage of some sort of the air passage.

Consonants are classified into five categories including:

Friction consonants: /f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h/

Stop consonants: /p, b/, /t, d/, /k, g/ and /t ʃ, d ʒ/

Nasal consonants: /m, n, ŋ/

Lateral consonants: /l/

Gliding consonants: /j, w, r/

However, consonants do not always stand a lone. Sometimes two,

three or four or even more consonants follow one after the other, called

“consonant sequences”.



Initial sequences: At the beginning of English words, there may be

either two or three consonants in sequence. These are two main kinds of

initial sequences:

/s/ followed by one of /p, t, k, f, m, n, l, w, j/, e.g. in spy, stay,

sky, sphere, small, snow, sleep, swear, suit

One of /p, t, k, b, d, g, f, θ, �, v, m, n, h/ followed by one of /l,

r, w, j/

/p/ followed by /l, r, j/ play, pray, pure

/t/ /r, w, j/ try, twice, tune

/k/ /l, r, w, j/ climb, crime, quite, cure

/b/ /l, r, j/ blow, bread, beautiful

/d/ /r, w, j/ dress, dwell, duty

/g/ /l, r/ glass, green

/f/ /l, r, j/ fly, from, few

/θ/ /r, w/ throw, thwart

/�/ /r/ shriek

/v/ /j/ view

/m/ /j/ music

/n/ /j/ news

/h/ /j/ huge

Final sequences: Sequences of consonants at the ends of words are

more varied than at the beginning because /s/ or /z/ have to be added to most

nouns to give their plural forms, as in /kæts/ (cats), /d�gz/ (dogs), etc. and

/t/ or /d/ have to be added to most verbs to form their past tense, as in /wi�t/

(wished), /re�zd/ (raised), etc. Also /θ/ is used to form nouns like /streŋθ/

and numerals like /fifθ/ (fifth)



Stop + stop: /pt, kt/ e.g. /әd�pt/ (adopt), /ækt/ (act)

Stop + nasal: /tn, dn/ /b�:dn/ (burden), /b�tn/ (button)

/t/ or /d/ + /l/: /tl, dl/ /b�tl/ (bottle), /m�dl/ (muddle)

Consonant + /s, z, t, d/: These sequences usually occur in forms of

regular plurals and regular past tenses. E.g. /k�ps/ (cups), /frendz/

(friends), /l�:ft/ (laughed), /ә'ra�vd/ (arrived)

Consonant + /θ/ e.g. /tθ/, /dθ/, /nθ/, /lθ/…

/e�tθ/ (eighth), /'h�ndrәdθ/ (hundredth), /na�nθ/ (nineth), /tenθ/

(tenth), /helθ/ (health)

/l/ + consonant e.g. /ls/, /ld/, /lt/, /lp/…

/els/ (else), /held/ (held), /felt/ (felt), /help/ (help)

Nasal + consonant e.g. /nt/, /mp, /ŋk/

/ w�nt/ (want), /d ��mp/ (jump), /θæŋk/ (thank)

Longer consonant sequences: commonly occur in phrases. These

sequences are pronounced by passing smoothly from the last consonant of

the final sequence to the first of the initial sequence, with no vowel or

interval between. E.g. /f�ks ð�s/ (fix this), /b�tld wain/ (bottled wine),

/bent spriŋ/ (bent spr�ng), /nekst spr�ŋ/ (next spring), /ðә teksts stju:p�d/

(the text’s stupid)

1.2. Pronunciation teaching strategies.

Kelly (1969) dubs pronunciation the “Cinderella” area of teaching a

language. (Cited in Marianne, C.M., Donna, M.B., Janet, M.G., 2000). In

other words, teaching pronunciation has not been paid as much attention as

other elements of teaching a language such as grammar and vocabulary. This

may be caused by the fact that Western philologists and linguists have



studied grammar and vocabulary much longer than pronunciation, “which

began to be studied systematically shortly before the beginning of the

twentieth century”. (Marianne, C.M., Donna, M.B., Janet, M.G., 2000, p.2).

Referring to approaches of pronunciation teaching, Kelly (1969), as cited in

Marianne, C.M., Donna, M.B., Janet, M.G., 2000, p.2, says:

The field of modern language teaching has developed two general approaches to the teaching pronunciation: (1) an intuitive imitative approach and (2) an analytic-linguistic approach. Before the late nineteenth century only the first approach was used, occasionally supplemented by the teacher’s or textbook writer’s impressionistic (and often phonetically inaccurate) observations about sounds based on orthography.

An intuitive-amative approach depends on the learner’s ability to listen to and imitate the rhythms and sounds of the target language without the intervention of any explicit information; it also presupposes the availability of good models to listen to, a possibility that has been enhanced by the availability first of phonograph records, then of tape recorders and language labs in the mid-twentieth century, and more recently of audio and videocassettes and compact discs.

An analytic-linguistic approach, on the other hand, utilizes information and tools such as a phonetic alphabet, articulatory descriptions, charts of the vocal apparatus, contrastive information, and other aids to supplement listening, imitation, and production. It explicitly informs the learner of and focuses attention on the sounds and rhythms of the target language. This approach was developed to complement rather than to replace the intuitive-imitative approach, which was typically retained as the practice phase used in tandem with the phonetic information.

When we look at the various language teaching methods that have had some currency throughout the twentieth century, we must acknowledge that there are methods, such as Grammar Translation and Reading-based Approaches, in which the teaching of pronunciation is largely irrelevant. In such methods, grammar or text comprehension is taught through the medium of the learner’s native language, and oral communication in the target language is not a primary instructional objective.



Scarcella and Oxford (1994) made an excellent comparision of

research-based approach and traditional approach for pronunciation

instruction:

Research-based approach Traditional approach

The goal is to gain sufficient pronunciation

skills so that the quality of pronunciation

will not inhibit communication.

The goal of instruction is to

acquire nativelike pronunciation.

Instead of putting the emphasis on sounds,

teachers concentrate on stress and

intonation.

The primary emphasis is teaching

sounds.

The emphasis of instruction is on teaching

pronunciation communicatively.

Sounds segments are taught non-

communicatively through drills of

isolated words.

The teacher provides students with phonetic

descriptions only when they are helpful to

students in tutorials

Phonetic descriptions are a

primary component of traditional

pronunciation classes.

The students’ motivation is seen as central

to successful language instruction. The

student plays a primary role in improving

pronunciation. Self-monitoring skills and

awareness strategies are taught.

Students do not take responsibility

for improving their own

pronunciation

The followings are the techniques that are used in the research-based

approach for pronunciation instruction:

Techniques Contents

Self-monitoring Students can learn to self monitor their

pronunciation to improve their intelligibility.



Tutorial Sessions and

Self-Study

These begin with a diagnostic analysis of each

student’s spoken English and an individualized

program is designed for each student.

Modeling and Individual

Correction

Report the results of analyses of student speech

sample individually.

Communication

Activities

Design activities for the students to practice

specific sounds.

Written Versions of Oral

Presentations

In the more advanced levels, students can be

given strategies for analyzing the written

versions of their oral presentations.

Computer-Assisted

Language Learning

Teachers can use visual displays of speech

patterns to teach intonation, stress, and sounds

to individuals and small groups of students.

Explanations Explanations of how to produce sounds or use

pronunciation patterns appropriately should be

kept to a minimum though directions about

what to do with the vocal organs can help some

students in some circumstances.

Utilization of Known

Sounds

Comparisons with the students’ first language

may help some students to produce a second

language pattern.

Incorporation of Novel

Elements

Using novel elements with the use of directions.

Communication

Strategies

Students can be taught some useful

communication strategies which will help them

give the impression that their pronunciation is



better than it really is. The communication

strategies are retrieval strategies, rehearsal

strategies, cover strategies, and

“communication” strategies. (Oxford 2000)

Affective Strategies A number of excellent affective strategies can

be taught to help learners lower their anxieties

and gain confidence.

2. An overview of songs in teaching language

2.1. Definition of songs

According to Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, song is defined as

“a short piece of music with words that you sing”

Types of songs:

There are many ways to classify songs. According to culture, there are

three types: Art songs (songs created for performance in their own right,

usually with piano accompaniment, the lyrics are often written by a poet or

lyricist and the music separately by a composer), folk songs (songs of often

anonymous origin that are transmitted orally), and popular songs (are

played on the radio, through all other mass media)

With songs used for language teaching, there are five main kinds as

followings:

- List songs: Songs in which structures, lexis are repeated again and

again

E.g. “Twinkle, twinkle, a little star”, “Money, money, money”, “We

wish you a merry Christmas”

- Story songs: Songs telling a story

E.g. “Don’t cry Jony”, “Those were the days”



- Action songs: Songs requiring listeners to do some actions while

singing

E.g. “If you are happy”

- Special occasion songs: Songs sung only on certain occasions or at

certain time of the year

E.g. “Silent night”, “Last Christmas”

2.2. The role of songs in the foreign language classroom

Songs are part of daily life for most people. The benefits of songs in

ELT have been well-documented by a myriad researchers. Foreign language

teachers can use songs to open and close their lessons, to illustrate themes

and topics, to add variety or a change of pace, present new vocabulary or

recycle known language. Falioni (1993) stated that “practically all grammar

points can be found in music text, and the texts also offer a wide variety of

vocabulary, all of which can be utilized to practice the four communication

skills” (p.98). “With some imagination, songs can be used to teach all

aspects of foreign languages” (Claerr and Gargan, 1984, p.31). This research

is going to review some outstanding benefits of listening to music to foreign

language learners.

Firstly, motivation is one of the things that can be gained by using

songs in foreign language classroom. According to Falioni (1993), “The

addition of songs to the foreign language classroom as a teaching method

may be a way to focus students’ attention, and produce a more committed

learner” (p.104). Nambiar (1993) recommends recent pop songs to enhance

motivation in the younger generation: “Songs deal with the whole realm of

human emotions and students are often willing to sing a song in a foreign

language even if they do not fully understand the meaning of the words” (as

cited in Nguyen, D. N. H, 2007, p.20). Rogers (1999) found that “the use of



songs creates an atmosphere of interest in the study of English and can lead

from a “teacher centered” to a “student centered” class”. Using music can

lift the atmosphere in class, or develop a non-threatening classroom

atmosphere, bring in a boost of energy and capture the children’s attention.

Besides, English songs can motivate them in their quest to learn English.

Secondly, songs can be catchy and re-usable. In the article “Using

ESL Songs”, the author expressed: Unlike other recording materials, “songs

are catchy and fun and ESL students will feel happy to hear them many

times” till they can sing along. If teacher plays the recording of a dialogue

the second time, students may get bored with it. However, songs can be

reused without making students become fed up with listening.

Thirdly, songs related to cultural aspects could be chosen to present to

students about social situations, historical events, geographical descriptions,

and others. The use of songs, according to Jolly (1975), gives students the

opportunity to acquire a greater understanding of the culture underlying the

target language. The author of the article “Using ELT Songs” also cites

Cultural Literacy as one of “positive contributions to language learning

songs can make”. He said: “Songs used in English classes can shed light on

interesting musical traditions in countries, but can also teach teens, young

adults and adults to appreciate other cultures. For adult learners they can be

“a rich mine of information about human relations, ethics, customs, history,

humor, and regional and cultural differences” (Lems, 2001)”.

Besides, songs can help students remember vocabulary, grammatical

structures and aid in comprehending the general meaning. Music and

rhythm make it much easier to imitate and remember language than words

which are just “spoken” (Cakir). Practically all grammar points and a wide

variety of vocabulary can be found in musical texts. As Falioni (1993) states,



“The new structures that may seem isolated or out of context in pattern

drills, are seen in a different perspective when they are part of a song” (p.

101). Songs are a useful tool to help learners memorize phrase constructions.

They are more easily learned and tend to “stick” longer than straight-out

grammatical examples.

Pronunciation is also among those can be taught to students by using

songs. Leith (1979) stated that “There is probably not a better nor quicker

way to teach phonetics than with songs” (as cited in Nguyen, D. N. H 2007,

p.21). The melody, along with lyrics, provides an excellent opportunity to

review pronunciation and enjoy music at the same time. The next part of this

research is going to discuss the reasons why songs are useful in teaching

pronunciation.

2.3. The reasons why songs are useful in teaching pronunciation

The benefits of songs in language classroom are undeniable. In

particular, in teaching pronunciation, songs are also valued for its usefulness.

According to Hans (2009), through songs, “learners have the opportunity to

listen to pronunciation in a wide range of varieties of the language. Songs

will help learners become familiar with word stress and intonation, and the

rhythm with which words are spoken or sung also helps memorization”. This

results from the fact that songs usually have words repeated over and over

again in choruses. The repetition of words helps learners get familiar with

the sounds they hear; therefore, they can pronounce them more accurately.

Hannah, H. stated in her study “Teaching Mandarin through Chinese Pop

songs” that repetition “does not only create familiarity but also leads to

understanding, as it gives time for the penny to drop. What at first may be

strange and unfamiliar, after repeated exposure becomes clear and



understandable. This is especially important for learning a brand new foreign

language”.

While listening to English songs, learners create themselves the need

of imitating the singers so that they can sing along with the singers. In other

words, listening to English songs makes them feel that they need English

and that English is an interesting subject to learn.

Besides, English songs are part of authentic materials, which gives

chances for learners to be exposed to native speakers’ pronunciation. As in

Emi, Y. (2009), “learning English through songs can be effective to assist

pronunciation, since students can directly get the knowledge on how to

pronounce the words from the songs they hear, when students learn in an

enjoyable situation, they can digest the lesson easily”.

3. Related studies

Using songs in language teaching and learning is not a new idea. The

exploitation of songs has been widely researched.

3.1. Related studies abroad

There is some literature on the usefulness of songs in a language class

as reviewed in the previous part. Besides, the use of songs in teaching

pronunciation can be found in some of the books about techniques to teach

pronunciation. Laroy (2001), in his book named “Pronunciation”, published

by Oxford English, cited a lot of activities to teach English sounds including

using music. According to Laroy, teachers can utilize “musical sounds” in

pronunciation lessons. In other words, teachers can “improve the

pronunciation of speech sounds through rhythm, singing and movement”

(p.95). He also thought that correcting words and sounds through singing is

advisable because “learners have an opportunity to try again and again



without being exposed to the scrutiny of the teacher and the other students

all the time” (p. 1212)

Silvia, C. B., Eva, E. V., Isabel, S. (2005) conducted a research on

“Teaching phonetics through singing and reciting”. This research presented

the results of the investigation into the role of singing and reciting in the

teaching and learning of English phonetics to non-native speakers. They

found that through singing and reciting, learners would be more native-like

(with less of a foreign accent) due to the well-established rhythmic patterns

of the verse and song conditions.

There is also a relating research named “Teaching English using songs

to improve student’s pronunciation in PG and TK Alam Surya Mentary

Kerten” conducted by Emi, Y. (2009) as a Fulfillment for Requirements for

getting Bachelor Degree of Education in English Department. This

research’s participants are limited, only from one kindergarten in a small

city in Indonesia.

In his article “The Use Of Songs To Teach Grammar and

Pronunciation in ESL Classes”, Rogers (1999) said:

The initial success of this approach led me to conclude that I should base the curriculum almost totally on songs, at least until the majority of the students had learned how to pronounce English relatively well. After a few months, not only had the students' pronunciation improved, but their overall interest in speaking and learning English increased. I have found that there are a number of advantages to using songs as an important part of any curriculum.Besides, Balbina, E. & Marta. J. S., British Council Cameroon

suggested some activities based on songs’ rhymes to focus learners on

particular sounds in their article named “Developing pronunciation through

songs”.



3.2. Related studies in Vietnam

In Vietnam, although there are a lot of researches have been

conducted to investigate the exploitation of songs in language classrooms,

for example, to teach listening comprehension, few have been conducted to

find out the situation of using songs to teach pronunciation in general and to

teach English sounds to 11th form students in particular.

“Using songs in teaching sounds and words at Nguyen Trai high

school” (2008-2009) is the only related study the researcher of this research

can find in Vietnam. However, this research only pointed out problems in

teaching pronunciation and had no suggestions to solve them.

In conclusion, using songs in teaching pronunciation is familiar with

foreign language teachers abroad, it is quite new to Vietnamese teachers.

III. CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

The preceding chapter has reviewed the theoretical basis of the whole

study. Turning to the practical side, the researcher, in this chapter, discusses

the methodology used to investigate the using of songs in teaching

pronunciation in Nguyen Gia Thieu high school. The chapter includes four

parts: selection of subjects, data collection instrument, procedures of data

collection and procedures of data analysis.



1. Selection of subjects

The subjects of the research are four classes in 11th form chosen

randomly and teachers in Nguyen Gia Thieu high school. This helps to

provide reliable results and generalize the findings of the research.

Firstly, the name of each class amongst 15 classes in Nguyen Gia

Thieu high school was written in a piece of paper. Each class had an equal

chance to be selected as the participants of the research.

The similar process was used for the selection of 10 teachers as

subjects of the survey.

2. Data collection instruments

The instrument exploited in the study is questionnaire, interview and

observation.

2.1. Questionnaire:

Questionnaire is one of the most efficient research instruments to

collect information as much as possible in short of time. Moreover,

questionnaire is considered to be more objective and low-cost than other

types of research instrument.

Two sets of questionnaire were utilized, one for students of grade 11

and one for teachers at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school. They were both

combination of close and open-ended questions, which gave the researcher

the chance to take control of the content as well as get in-depth information.

To be specific, the questionnaire for teachers consists of ten questions.

The first question is designed to find out how many years these teachers

have been teaching English to define whether they are experienced or not.

The next question aims at discovering the opinions of teachers about the



difficulty level of pronunciation among other elements of learning a

language and in comparison with four skills also. The third question helps

to find out the importance of pronunciation in teaching a foreign language

according to teacher’s perception. Then, teachers were asked about the

materials they often choose to teach pronunciation in class and problems

they have when teaching English sounds. The next three questions were

designed on the purpose of investigate the situation of using songs to teach

English sounds to 11th form students at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school. The

last two questions aim at finding out the advantages and disadvantages of

using songs in teaching pronunciation from the teachers’ points of view.

The questionnaire designed for students also consists of ten questions

with the aim at finding the attitudes of students towards English songs,

towards using songs in lessons, and how songs are actually exploited in their

class. The three first questions were designed with the same objectives as the

three first ones in teachers’ questionnaire. The next three questions aim at

finding out whether students like English songs or not, how often they listen

English songs and their attitudes towards having songs in lessons. The

frequency of using songs in pronunciation class is studied through the

seventh question. The three last questions aim at finding the usefulness and

problems of listening English songs in learning pronunciation, in students’

opinions.

The two sets of questionnaire were both designed in English.

However, the questions are not difficult for 11th form students to understand.

Moreover, the researcher was willing to answer any questions from students

about what they did not understand.

2.2. Interview



Interview is “particularly useful for getting the story behind

participants’ experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information

around the topic”. (Nguyen, T. T. M, 2008)

This kind of data collection complemented questionnaire and

classroom observation to offer the researcher an insight into the issue.

Similar to the questionnaires, interviews were designed for both teachers and

students. The questions in each schedule were in Vietnamese in order to

avoid misunderstanding and difficulty in expressing opinions or

communication breakdown. They were both semi-structured to provide

interviewees with flexibility while offering interviewers adequate power and

control over the interview.

Because of the lack of time, only 3 teachers were chosen as the

participants of the interviews for teachers. In which, two interviews were

conducted right after 2 experiments of using songs to teach English sounds

to two 11th form classes at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school. This would help

the researcher find out the weak points as well as strong points of using

songs to teach pronunciation and practical comments as well as further

suggestions to the use of songs in teaching pronunciation in general and

teaching English sounds to 11th form students in particular.

In terms of structure, the interview for teachers consists of five

questions. Firstly, the teachers were asked about the frequency they apply

songs in their lessons. This was followed by comment section, which

required the teachers to evaluate the activities in using songs to teach

pronunciation in terms of advantages and disadvantages. Finally,

suggestions for choosing songs and designing tasks for a period of teaching

pronunciation applying songs were asked.



Likewise, interviews were conducted with a group of 6 students from

2 classes at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school after they took part in two

periods of experiments. The purpose is to invite comments about the use of

songs in teaching pronunciation from those who have directly attended a

pronunciation class using songs as a main material. In addition, the

researcher also had a good chance to take up valuable suggestions from

them.

2.3. Classroom observation

According to Nunan (1991), “there is no substitute for direct

observation as a way of finding out about language classrooms”. To prepare

for observation, a detailed observation checklist was designed before hand.

As for the structure, the observation scheme comprises four parts: class

profile, content, classroom assessment and overall comments on the lesson

using songs to teach English sounds. The first part aims to take notes all the

in formation about class setting (class size, time, level and sounds that were

going to be taught). In the next part, teacher’s and students’ activities are

observed and commented on. Teacher’s exploitation and students’

involvement were assessed in the third part. Finally, overall comments were

drawn.

Although the number of classroom observations was rather limited, it

is hoped that the information from these two observations would be useful to

detect and disqualify any irrational findings from the questionnaires and

interviews

3. Procedures of data collection

The data collection went through four major phases in chronological

order: preparing instruments, delivering questionnaires, observing and

interviewing.



3.1. Phase 1

The first step was preparing for the data collection process including

designing two sets of questionnaire, two interview schedules and the

observation checklist. They were all checked by the researcher’s supervisor

in this phase. Moreover, necessary preparation for sampling procedure was

made such as the consideration of sample selection, asking for permission

for classroom observations and questionnaires. In this phase, appointments

for interviews with teachers were also made.

3.2. Phase 2

Delivering questionnaires to both teachers and students was done in

this phase. With the allowance of the Head of the English Group at Nguyen

Gia Thieu high school, the researcher took advantage of six-week practicum

to deliver all of the questionnaires. In break time, the researcher came to the

classes chosen as the participants randomly and delivered questionnaires to

students after a brief introduction about the researcher as well as the

research’s topic. An oral explanation for the terms used in the questionnaire

was given to avoid misunderstanding for some students. The same process

was applied to delivering questionnaire to teachers.

3.3. Phase 3

The next phase was conducted in classrooms. Soon after the

permission was granted and the two teachers were willing to directly try out

the techniques of using songs to teach English sounds to 11th form students,

observation was carried out. During these two periods at two different

classes, the researcher took observation notes. In order to make the lesson as

natural as usual, there was neither introduction of the research topic nor the

statement of the researcher’s objectives. At the end of the lesson, these notes



were revised thanks to the immediate feedback of the training supervisor

teacher and other co-training teachers on the lesson as the whole.

3.4. Phase 4

Interviewing was the last step of data collection process. When the

two experiment lessons had just finished, the researcher conducted

interviews with the teacher and two groups of three students in these classes

during their of-periods. The interviews were given in a friendly and natural

way so that it could create a rapport with participants. During the interview,

questions were asked one at a time and responses were encouraged to

express personal experience, subjective points of view and to give specific

examples so that in-depth information could be achieved. Besides recording

the content of the interview, the researcher took notes on important points

throughout the interviews, which helped with the interview transcription

later on.

4. Procedures of data analysis

Firstly, the data collected were classified into different categories,

such as students’ attitudes towards pronunciation, teachers’ attitudes towards

pronunciation, students’ attitudes towards using English songs and using

songs in teaching and learning pronunciation, teachers’ attitudes towards

using songs in teaching pronunciation, and the actual situation of using

songs to teach English sounds at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school. Based on

categories established, data were then analyzed by using both descriptive

statistics (percentage) and qualitative statistics (answers to open-ended

questions in questionnaires and interviews). Pie charts and graphs were

mainly employed to analyze and compare figures. Moreover, typical

quotations from the interviews, the answers to open-ended questions in the



questionnaires, and classroom observations were cited when necessary.

Interpretation and conclusions were drawn after analyzing the data.

5. Summary

To sum up, this chapter has justified the methodology applied in this

research: the selection of subjects, the data collection instruments, four

phases of data collection procedures and lastly, procedures of data analysis.

Such clarification of methodology would help pave the way for the analysis

of the collected data in the next chapter.

IV. CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, data collected from the three collection instruments is

analyzed and interpreted to reveal answers to each research question of the

study:

The attitudes of the teachers and the students at Nguyen Gia Thieu

high school to using songs in teaching pronunciation

The situation of using songs to teach pronunciation at Nguyen Gia

Thieu high school



Teachers’ and students’ opinions about advantages and disadvantages

of using songs in teaching pronunciation

Suggestions to make full use of songs to teach pronunciation to 11th

form students.

1. Results

1.1. Teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards using songs to

teach pronunciation

1.1.1. Opinions of teachers and students at Nguyen Gia Thieu high

school about the importance of pronunciation

1.1.1.1. Opinions of teachers at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school

about the importance of pronunciation

Table 1: Teachers’ rating of the difficulty of pronunciation:

Aspects of learning English No of T find it

difficult

Pronunciation 64%

Grammar 27%

Four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) 9%

As shown in the table, the number of teachers who consider

pronunciation as the most difficult aspects in learning English accounts for

64%, while 27% think it is grammar that is the most difficult and only 9% of

them think four skills, reading, speaking, listening and writing, are difficult.

When asked about their opinions on the importance of pronunciation,

91 % of teachers at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school said that pronunciation is

very important while only 9 % consider it as an important skill. None of



them think that pronunciation is not important at all in language teaching

and learning.

Chart 1: The importance of pronunciation from teachers’ point of view

1.1.1.2. Opinions of students at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school

about the importance of pronunciation

According to the survey questionnaire, the largest number of students

said that pronunciation is the most difficult in aspects of learning English

cited in the list, accounts for 46%. 23% think grammar is the most difficult

in all. The rest of students, 31% find mastering four skills are more difficult

than learning grammar and pronunciation separately. As can be seen from

the table below:

Table 2: Students’ rating of the difficulty of pronunciation

Aspects of learning English No of Ss find it

difficult

Pronunciation 46%

The importance of pronunciation from teachers' point of view

91%

9% 0%

very important

important

not important at all



Grammar 23%

Four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) 31%

Following is the chart about the importance of pronunciation from

students’ point of view.

Chart 2: The importance of pronunciation from students’ point of view

Clearly from the pie chart above, we can see 64% of the surveyed

students think that pronunciation plays a very important role in learning a

language, 35% of them have lower attitude towards pronunciation. However,

1% of students do not attach any importance to pronunciation. It is perhaps

because they think pronunciation does not influence their language learning

much. They may treasure grammar, or other skills such as reading, listening,

writing and fluently speaking more than pronunciation.

In short, the attitudes towards pronunciation of teachers and students

at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school do not differ much. The majority of both

The importance of pronunciation from students' point of view

64%

35%

1%

very important

important

not important at all



students and teachers consider pronunciation as a difficult but important skill

of learning English.

1.1.2. Teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards using songs to

teach pronunciation

1.1.2.1. Teachers’ attitudes towards using songs to teach

pronunciation

Firstly, the researcher explored the attitudes of teachers towards

English songs, whether they like or dislike. Surprisingly, all surveyed

teachers, 100%, like English songs.

However, when being asked whether songs can be exploited as a

useful tool to teach pronunciation or not, not all of them said yes.

Table 3: Exploitation of songs as a useful tool to teach pronunciation

Exploitation of songs as an useful

tool to teach pronunciation

No. of teachers

Agree 82%

Disagree 18%

The majority of teachers, 82%, agree that using songs can be an

effective way to teach pronunciation. It can be drawn from this result that

most teachers have positive attitudes towards influence of songs in teaching

and learning a language in general and teaching and pronunciation in

particular. The rest of teachers, 18%, think that it is not an effective way to

teach pronunciation by using songs. They stated in the survey: “songs

usually contain spoken language and sometimes there are indistinct sounds,

sound omission, etc., which cause students difficulties in listening and

mimicking the sounds”.



1.1.2.2. Students’ attitudes towards using songs to teach

pronunciation

Following is some information about the attitudes of students towards

English songs and the use of them in pronunciation teaching and learning.

There are 93% of surveyed students expressing that they really like

listening to English songs whereas only 7% say English songs is not their

liking.

Table 4: Students’ attitudes towards English songs

Students’ attitudes towards English songs No. of Students

Like 93%

Dislike 7%

Therefore, it is understandable that most of students like to have songs

in pronunciation lessons. The number accounts for up to 90%. The rest,

10%, reject the use of English songs in lessons. The chart below can help to

see more clearly:

Chart 3: Students’ attitudes towards using songs in lessons

90%

10%40%

60%

80%

100%

Students' attitudes towards using songs in lessons

like

dislike



From open-ended question, most students stated their reasons why

they like to have songs in lessons as followings: “It’s interesting and help me

concentrate on the lesson”, “we feel excited and feel the lesson more

interesting when we have songs in lessons”, “I think it is easier to learn with

songs”, “with songs in lessons, the relationship between teachers and

students will be closer”, “songs can relieve tension during the lesson”, etc.

Whereas students against using songs in lessons reasoned that they don’t like

English songs, some said that it is waste of time and it is not necessary to use

songs in lessons.

1.2. The situation of using songs to teach pronunciation at Nguyen Gia

Thieu high school

1.2.1. According to teachers’ answers

Chart 4: Frequency of using songs to teach pronunciation at Nguyen Gia Thieu

high school according to teachers’ answers



As can be clearly seen from chart 3 and chart 4, there is a contrast

between teachers’ attitudes towards English songs and their frequency of

exploiting songs in their pronunciation lessons. None of them use songs in

every period of teaching pronunciation. The number of teachers who report

“sometimes” takes up only 9% of the total. Nearly one-third of them rarely

use songs in their pronunciation period. A large number of teachers never

exploit songs; the number makes up for up to 64%.

The reason for this contrast can be revealed by the problems they have

when using songs to design tasks for students, which can be clarified later in

the next research questions.

1.2.2. According to students’ answers:

Chart 5: Frequency of using songs to teach pronunciation at Nguyen Gia

Thieu high school according to students’ answers

Frequency of using songs to teach pronunciation at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school

0%0% 14%

37%

always

usually

Frequency of using songs to teach pronunciation at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school

0%0%27%

9%64%

always

usually

sometimes

rarely

never



To answer to the question “How often does your teacher of English

use songs to teach pronunciation?” more than one-third of the surveyed

students answered “never”, 14% revealed that their teachers sometimes use

songs to teach pronunciation, and nearly haft of the students, 49%, revealed

that their teachers.

The number is not much different between teachers’ answers and

students’ answers about the frequency of using songs to teach pronunciation

at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school. It can be drawn that songs have not been

taken advantage of as a means in teaching pronunciation in general and

teaching English sounds as particular. The number of teachers who never

use songs to teach pronunciation is not little, especially according to

teachers’ admission.

In terms of the result from interviews, the first question for both

teachers and students was about the frequency of using songs to teach

pronunciation. In reply to this question, two of three teachers said: “I do not

use songs very often, just rarely or sometimes, I think I’d put it rarely”, “I

rarely design pronunciation task basing on songs”. The other teacher said

that she sometimes use this type of teaching aid.



The answer to this question from two groups of students after

attending an experiment lesson using songs was not much different: “If only

my teacher use songs more often. She rarely uses songs in lesson let alone in

teaching pronunciation”. “I can count for three or four times in two last

semesters that my teacher used songs to teach pronunciation, but only when

my teacher’s lessons were observed by other teachers”.

From this result, it could be concluded that songs have been used to

teach pronunciation at Nguyen Gia Thieu already, but with a quite low

frequency.

1.3. Teachers’ and students’ opinions about advantages and

disadvantages of using songs in teaching pronunciation

1.3.1. Teachers’ opinions about advantages and disadvantages of

using songs in teaching pronunciation

From questionnaire

Chart 6 below shows the teachers’ opinion about the advantages of

using songs in teaching pronunciation, especially teaching English sounds.

There is an absolute number of teachers (100%) agreeing that songs can

reduce boredom in class. Also, the number of teachers approving the point

that songs encourage students to pay attention to the pronunciation of words

is quite large, 64%. Around one-third of teachers think that songs help

students relax during the lesson (27%) and provide them with repetition of

sounds (36%). None of them consider songs as a tool to help students to

access examples of spoken language.

Chart 6: Teachers’ opinion about advantages of using songs

100%

90%

100%

The advantages of using songs to teach pronunciation from teachers' point of view

reduce Ss' boredom in class



From interviews and class observation

From the information from the three interviewed teachers, the same

opinions were obtained. One teacher said: “In spite of not using it very often,

I have to say that thanks to songs, I can draw my students’ attention to do the

tasks I design for them. In other words, students concentrate more on words in

the songs”. “Songs can help create a relaxing atmosphere during the lessons

as well as reduce students’ boredom in class”, said another teacher. Added to

the advantages of using songs to teach pronunciation, one interviewed

teacher shared:

I recognize that songs usually have choruses with a lot of repetition of sounds. Students; therefore, can memorize both vocabulary and the way words pronounced better. Moreover, songs can attract students with their tune, their melody, and then create students’ desire to mimic singer’s pronunciation in order to sing along. (Appendix 5)

From observation checklist #1 and #2, all students are motivated and

eager to do the tasks during the lesson which makes use of songs in teaching.



Teachers’ opinion about disadvantages of using songs

Chart 7: The disadvantages of using songs to teach pronunciation

As can be seen from chart 7, the problem teachers worry to confront

with most is that they cannot find songs suitable for the lesson in the

curriculum (82%). At the second rank is the problem of students being

distracted by music, 36%. Next, the same number of teachers agreed that the

class becomes noisy, out of control and that class time is limited. 18% think

that sounds in songs usually are not clear for students to hear and imitate

because singers often link sounds together, so teachers find it difficult to

teach sounds separately by songs. Especially, no teachers worry about their

ability to sing. Perhaps whether they can sing or not is not important to

them.

When being asked about disadvantages of using songs to teach

pronunciation, the interviewed teachers shared the same ideas and especially

similar to the result from questionnaire. One teacher, like two other surveyed

27% 27%

36%

18%

0%

82%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

1

The problems when using songs to teach pronunciation

The class becomes noisy and out ofcontrol

Class time is limited

Ss are distracted by the music

Sounds are not clear becausesingers usually link sounds together

Teachers cannot sing

Teachers cannot find songs suitablefor the lesson in the curriculum



teachers, said: “The most difficult thing is that I can hardly find songs

suitable to teach sounds as cited in each unit in 11th form text book”. They

all found that their students are usually distracted by music as well as sounds

in songs are not clear enough to teach sounds separately to students and

added “words in songs do not usually sound as normal and it is difficult for

students to produce sounds exactly like singers performing those songs”

Information from observation checklists reveals that class is

sometimes noisy and some students may sing along and forget about the

tasks they have to fulfill. This problem is hard to avoid.

1.3.2. Students’ opinions about advantages and disadvantages of

using songs in teaching pronunciation

From questionnaire:

On the on hand, students all agree that songs bring many benefits

From the chart below, it can be seen that there is few differences

between students’ rating of advantages of listening to songs in learning

pronunciation. At the top is both the number of students who agree that

songs help them relax and encourage them to pay attention to pronunciation

of words in songs, making up 62%. Around haft of students find that songs

help to reduce their boredom in the class (55%) and help them to access

examples of spoken language (50%). Nearly haft of them think the repetition

in songs is an advantage.

Chart 8: Students’ opinion about advantages of using songs in learning

pronunciation:

55%

62% 62%

40%

50%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Advantages of listening to English songs in learning pronunciation

reduce the boredom in the class

help ss relax

encourage ss to pay attention



On the other hand, students also fear that the use of songs may cause

them some problems. Chart 9 demonstrates students’ opinions about

problems of listening to songs in learning pronunciation.

Chart 9: Students’ opinions about problems of listening to songs in

learning pronunciation

47%

38%

72%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Problems of listening to English songs in learning pronunciation

Ss are distracted by the music

Ss cannot follow the song'sspeed

The accents of singers are notalways Standard English



As clearly shown in the chart, the idea that songs usually contain

sounds that are unclear because singers link sounds together is agreed by the

largest number of students. Nearly haft of surveyed students (47%) find it

difficult for them to follow the speed of almost songs. The number of

students agreeing that accents of singers are not always Standard English

makes up 38%.The remaining 23% of the students stated that they are

distracted by music.

From interviews and class observation:

Students from two groups interviewed almost had the same ideas

about both advantages and disadvantages of listening to English songs in

learning pronunciation. Students from group A commented: “I think lessons

with songs like this (the experiment lesson) are very effective because we

can learn without any tensions and pressure. Songs help us to pay attention

to words so that we can sing along”. One student from group B stated:

“Songs have many words repeated, so we cam memorize them more easily”.

When being asked about the problems they encountered when

listening songs to learn pronunciation, one student from group A said: “I

only listen to the song’s melody, the sweet voice of the singer, I almost



cannot catch any sounds in the song”. “The use of songs in pronunciation

lessons has to become frequent so that it can bring effectiveness in the long

run”, one student from group B claimed.

2. Discussion

Through the investigations of the use of songs in teaching

pronunciation to 11th form students at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school, it can

be drawn. Hence, a number of questions have been posed for teachers to

consider when teaching pronunciation, especially sounds separately.

Firstly, it is necessary to make pronunciation lessons more enjoyable

and easier for students to memorize. Because a large number of teachers and

students find pronunciation difficult, it is recommended that teachers should

design more interesting tasks and create pleasant atmosphere in order to

avoid frustration and tensions for students. To arouse passion for learning is

essential but difficult. So, what is an effective way to reduce boredom and

encourage students to learn pronunciation?

Secondly, using songs may be an effective way to teach

pronunciation, but some problems still exist as follows:

One is a need to equip teachers with specific kind of background in

phonetics and its application in communicative approaches. Another is how

to design tasks and activities basing on authentic materials. This depends on

the ability of the teachers and their enthusiasms in teaching career because

looking for suitable materials and designing tasks both interesting and

effective may take a lot of time and is quite difficult. Moreover, in a 45-

minute class of language focus, it is hard to have enough time to teach both

pronunciation and grammar as regulated in the curriculum. To find a helpful

song is really a problem to some teachers who cannot apply information



technology or do not have facilities for it. Finally, to teachers who do not

have a good voice and sense of music. Although songs can be played by

tapes or discs, etc. it is better for teachers to motivate students by singing as

a model or simply by singing together with them. If teachers sing with

wrong rhythm, they may lose confidence or be laughed at by their students.

3. Suggestions

Some suggestions of applying songs in pronunciation lessons,

especially lessons of teaching English sounds separately to 11th form

students, are going to be generated in this part.

Firstly, it is necessary to choose suitable songs. Teachers should note

down the sounds they are going to teach in the first place. Then, they go

through the lyrics of some songs to see which one can help. Besides, the

tune, the speed and especially, the clarity of sounds in the song must be

taken into consideration. A list of songs suggested to teach English sounds

can be found in Appendix 7.

After choosing a suitable song, teachers have to think of how to

design appropriate tasks and activities to students’ level and their interest as

well. Some following activities of teaching English sounds can be taken as

examples:

Activity 1:

Get tapes and discs of English song containing sounds that are going

to be taught.

Introduce how to pronounce those sounds.

Play the song and have students pick a few sentences containing

sounds they have just learned.



Ask them to practice these sentences by trying to sing them as similar

as the singer as possible

(See appendix 8)

Activity 2:

Replace some of the sounds in the song with a gap.

Let students listen to the song and fill in the gaps.

Activity 3:

Choose a number of words in the song from which minimal pairs can

be created.

Write the pairs in a parenthesis then ask students to choose the one

they hear while listening to the song.

(See appendix 8)

4. Limitation of the study

In this paper, the scope of study is limited only in one school, Nguyen

Gia Thieu high school. The research is restricted to only a small number of

objects and the researcher can only look at the situation of using songs to

teach English sounds to 11th form students at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school.

Hence, the results cannot be generalized to all high schools in Vietnam.

Hopefully, this research brings some insight into one of strategies to teach

pronunciation, though.

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS



I am Lại Thanh Tình, last year student from Vietnam National University, Hanoi

University of Languages and International Studies, English Department. I am conducting

a research on “using songs to teach English sounds to eleventh form students at

Nguyễn Gia Thiều highschool”, which aims at investigating the reality of exploiting

songs to teach English sounds to eleventh form students at Nguyễn Gia Thiều highschool

and suggesting different techniques to use songs in teaching pronunciation. I would be

grateful if you could spend some of your precious time completing this questionnaire.

Please read the questions carefully and tick the answer you agree most for each question.

You are encouraged to ask me if you find something you do not understand. It is assured

that your personal opinions will be kept secret under all circumstances.

Thank you for your cooperation.

SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. How long have you been teaching English?

a. less than 2 years

b. 3-5 years

c. 6-10 years

d. more than 10 years

2. In your opinion, what aspect of learning English is the most difficult?

a. Pronunciation

b. Grammar

c. Four skills: reading, speaking, listening, writing

3. In your opinion, how important is pronunciation in learning a language?

a. very important

b. important

c. not important at all

4. Which material do you often choose to teach English sounds in particular?

a. live speech (teacher reads the sounds aloud and students repeat)

b. videos or tape recordings

c. other, please specify………………………………………………………



5. What are your problems when teaching English sounds? You can choose

more than one answer.

a. The English sounds are different from Vietnamese sounds

b. Students feel discouraged when they cannot produce the sounds correctly

c. You cannot find suitable materials to teach pronunciation

d. Other, please specify………………………………………………………

6. Do you like English songs?

a. yes b. no c. don’t care

7. How often do you use songs to teach pronunciation?

a. very often b. often c. sometimes d. rarely e. never

8. Do you think that using songs can be an effective tool for teaching

pronunciation?

a. yes. In what way?........................................................................................

……………………………………………………………………………….

b. no. Why?......................................................................................................

…………………………………………………………………………….....

9. What do you think are the advantages of listening to English songs in

teaching pronunciation? You can choose more than one answer.

a. Songs can reduce the students’ boredom in the class.

b. Songs can help students relax during the lesson.

c. Songs can encourage students to pay attention to the pronunciation of the

words in the songs.

d. The rhymes in songs provide listeners with repetition of similar sounds.

e. Songs are easily accessible examples of spoken English.

f. Other, please specify………………………...…………………………...

10. What do you think are the disadvantages of using songs to teach English

sounds? You can choose more than one answer.

a. The class becomes noisy and out of control.



b. Class time is limited.

c. Students are distracted by the music.

d. The sounds are not clear because singers usually link sounds together.

e. You cannot sing.

f. You cannot find songs suitable for the lesson in the curriculum.

e. Other, please specify:……………………………………………………

Thank you for your cooperation

Appendix 2

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS



I am Lại Thanh Tình, last year student from Vietnam National University, Hanoi

University of Languages and International Studies, English Department. I am conducting

a research on “using songs to teach English sounds to eleventh form students at

Nguyễn Gia Thiều highschool”, which aims at investigating the reality of exploiting

songs to teach English sounds to eleventh form students at Nguyễn Gia Thiều highschool

and suggesting different techniques to use songs in teaching pronunciation. I would be

grateful if you could spend some of your precious time completing this questionnaire.

Please read the questions carefully and tick the answer you agree most for each question.

You are encouraged to ask me if you find something you do not understand. It is assured

that your personal opinions will be kept secret under all circumstances.

Thank you for your cooperation.

SURVEY QUESTIONS

1. How long have you been learning English?

…….. years

2. In your opinion, what aspect of learning English is the most difficult?

a. Pronunciation

b. Grammar

c. Four skills: reading, speaking, listening, writing

3. In your opinion, how important is pronunciation in learning a language?

a. very important

b. important

c. not important at all

4. Do you like English songs?

a. yes b. no c. don’t care

5. How often do you listen to English songs?

a. Always b. usually c. sometimes d. rarely e. never

6. Do you like to have songs in lessons?

a. yes b. no

Why yes/no:………………………………………………………………



7. How often does your teacher of English use songs to teach pronunciation?

a. very often b. often c. sometimes d. rarely e. never

8. Do you think that using songs can help you better your pronunciation?

a. yes. In what way?.....................................................................................

…………………………………………………………………………….

b. no. Why?..................................................................................................

9. What do you think are the advantages of listening to English songs in

learning pronunciation? You can choose more than one answer.

a. Songs can reduce the boredom in the class

b. Songs can help you to relax during the lesson

c. Songs can encourage you to pay attention to the pronunciation of the

words in the songs

d. The rhymes in songs provide listeners with repetition of similar sounds

e. Songs are easily accessible examples of spoken English

f. Others, please specify………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………….

10. What are your problems when listening to songs? You can choose more

than one answer.

a. I am distracted by the music.

b. I cannot follow the speed of almost songs

c. The accents of singers are not always of Standard English

d. The sounds are not clear because singers usually link sounds together

e. Others:…………………………………………………………………..

Thank you for your cooperation

Appendix 3

Interview questions for teachers



Full name:

Time of teaching English:

1. How often do you use English songs to teach pronunciation?

2. In your opinion, what are the advantages of using songs to teach

pronunciation?

3. What are your problems when using songs to teach pronunciation?

4. What are your suggestions to choose suitable songs to teach

pronunciation, especially to teach English sounds?

5. What are your suggestions to design tasks for a period of teaching

pronunciation applying songs?

Appendix 4

Interview questions for students

Full name:

Time of learning English:



1. How often does your teacher teach pronunciation through songs?

2. In your opinion, what are the advantages of listening to songs in

learning pronunciation, especially learning English sounds?

3. What are your problems when you learn English sounds by

listening to songs?

4. What do you think of this experiment lesson? Are the tasks

appropriate to you?

5. Can you suggest some ways to choose songs more suitable for

teaching English sounds?

Appendix 5

Transcription of interviewing teachers

I. Teacher A (11 years of teaching)




I do not use songs very often, just rarely or sometimes, I think I’d put it

rarely.


pronunciation?

In spite of not using it very often, I have to say that thanks to songs, I can

draw my students’ attention to do the tasks I design for them. In other words,

students concentrate more on words in the songs.


The most difficult thing is that I can hardly find songs suitable to teach

sounds as cited in each unit in 11th form text book. Moreover, words in songs do

not usually sound as normal and it is difficult for students to produce sounds exactly

like singers performing those songs.



I like English songs but I just spend some time to enjoy music. It is because I

don’t have much free time. I think to choose a song that suits to teach a period of

pronunciation separately is very difficult. In the textbook, sounds are fixed in each

lesson. So, we can only use sounds to help students revise sounds they already

learned.



Minimal pairs can be applied to design activities for students. We can create

more than one word with different minimal pairs in the lyrics and ask students to

choose the words containing the correct sounds.



II. Teacher B (8 years of teaching)


I rarely design pronunciation task basing on songs. I find it a waste of time to

use songs to teach pronunciation although it can be helpful in some ways.




pronunciation?

Songs can help create a relaxing atmosphere during the lessons as well as

reduce students’ boredom in class


When I let my students listen to a song in a pronunciation lesson, they

seemed not to concentrate on the tasks I asked them to do, they just enjoyed the

song and sang along some times. Moreover, to find songs suitable for teaching

sounds in curriculum is quite difficult.



To teach English sounds separately in an effective way, I think that we

should choose songs that have clear sounds, because as I can see, English songs

usually contain linking sounds and unclear sounds when singers want to follow the

speed of the songs’ tune.



Firstly, we should choose songs containing sounds we intend to teach

students. After that, basing on the lyrics, we design tasks that can help them to

realize and practice the sounds. For examples, we play the song, then pick out a few

phrases or sentences out for students to repeat. Have them try repeating the phrases

or sentences. It is fun and it gets everyone laughing besides help students know how

to pronounce the sounds as well as the words in the song.

III. Teacher C (5 years of teaching)


I often use songs in my lessons because I like English songs very much.




pronunciation?

I recognize that songs usually have choruses with a lot of repetition of

sounds. Students, therefore, can memorize both vocabulary and the way words

pronounced better. Moreover, songs can attract students with their tune, their

melody, and then create students’ desire to mimic singer’s pronunciation in order to

sing along.


One problem I have when teaching pronunciation is that my students seem to

be distracted by the music. Most of them pay little attention to do the tasks, they just

listen to the song because they like the tune of the song or the singer. Finding

suitable songs is another problem of mine. It takes me a lot of time to choose songs

to apply in a lesson.



Uhm, it’s quite difficult to choose songs that fit the curriculum of teaching

pronunciation although songs are various and available on the Internet. I think it will

be easier to use songs to revise sounds students have learned already, not to teach

new sounds. We can use other materials like videos, recordings to teach new

sounds, instead.



We can replace some of the rhymes in the song with a gap and ask students

to fill in the gaps while listening to the song or ask them to listen and repeat the

words that contain the sounds you have cited in the first place, so on.

Appendix 6

Transcription of interviewing students



I. Group A:


If only my teacher use songs more often. She rarely uses songs in lesson let

alone in teaching pronunciation.



I think lessons with songs like this (the experiment lesson) are very effective

because we can learn without any tensions and pressure. Songs help us to pay

attention to words so that we can sing along.

3. What are your problems when you learn English sounds by listening

to songs?

Student 1:

I only listen to the song’s melody, the sweet voice of the singer, I almost

cannot catch any sounds in the song.

Student 2:

I cannot hear the sounds clearly. The singer usually sings so fast and omits

sounds some times.


appropriate to you?

This lesson is very fun and interesting. The tasks are appropriate to our level,

not too difficult. We find it a useful lesson.

5. Can you suggest some ways to choose songs more suitable for

teaching English sounds?

Any songs, as long as they have clear sounds and slow speed.

II. Group B:




I can count for three or four times in two last semesters that my teacher used

songs to teach pronunciation, but only when my teacher’s lessons were observed by

other teachers



Student 1:

Songs have many words repeated, so we can memorize them more easily.

Student 2:

Songs help us learn more eagerly. Songs make lessons more interesting and

we can relax during the lesson.

3. What are your problems when you learn English sounds by listening

to songs?

The use of songs in pronunciation lessons has to become frequent so that it

can bring effectiveness in the long run.


appropriate to you?

This lesson is very interesting. However, songs should be applied more and

more, just one or two lessons like this, in my opinion, cannot bring full

effectiveness.

5. Can you suggest some ways to choose songs more suitable for teaching

English sounds?

I think songs with slow speed and clear voice will be the most suitable to us.

We cannot follow the songs that the singer sings too fast and omits sounds as well

as links sounds together.

Appendix 7

Songs for phonology



FOLK SONGS WITH HIGH FREQUENCY OF PHONEMES BY LEVEL(01-20 are VOWEL SOUNDS and 21-44 are CONSONANT SOUNDS)

SONG LEVEL PHONEMES AUTHORIt's a long way to Tipperary

1 01;04;13;17;19

My bonnie 1 04;08;14;19;22Hello Goodbye 1 14;19;26;39;40 BeatlesSailing 1 08;13;31;35 Rod StewartKum Ba Yah 1 09;10Michael row 1 10;14;19;33;37This old man 1 01;03;13;19;30;33;34Animals went in two by two

1 02;03;09;10;39

One man went to mow

1 02;03;19;33

Ten green bottles

1 04;08;22

Ten in a bed 1 02;19;22;27One man's hands 2 01;03;08;13;20;33;34;38What did you learn in school?

2 03;04;11;12;14;16;24;30;31;33;36;38 Tom Paxton

Where have all the flowers gone?

2 02;04;10;11;17;19;20;27;28;35;38 Pete Seeger

Ebony & Ivory 2 02;04;08;22;28;30 BeatlesRed river valley 2 01;02;03;28;37Little Boxes 2 01;03;04;13;22;23;25;32;33;36 Malvina

ReynoldsWhen I first came to this land

2 01;03;04;05;06;11;13;14;20;25;30;33;34;36;38;41

Leaving on a jet plane

2 08;13;35;36;44 John Denver

Where are you going my pretty maid?

2 02;11;13;17;19;27;33;38

And I love her 2 05;10;11;14;36;39 BeatlesAll my loving 2 01;05;10;12;13;14;19;36 BeatlesYesterday 2 04;05;08;13;14;19;40 BeatlesSanty Anno 2 03;08;10;13;19;20Yellow submarine

2 01;02;03;05;08;31;36;38;40 Beatles

All my trials 2 07;08;10;13;14;31;32;33;34;36John Brown's 2 03;04;09;14;19;22;26;33;35;36;44




SONG LEVEL PHONEMES AUTHORbodyNobody knows the trouble I see

2 03;05;13;19;26;31;36

Swing low sweet chariot

2 01;03;04;06;08;31;36;37;38;43

Worried man blues

2 01;03;04;05;13;20;31;37;38

We shall overcome

2 01;03;05;08;09;14;19;25;28;36;38;39;40

When all the saints

2 01;02;09;10;13;14;31;33;34;35;38;43

Down by the riverside

2 01;10;13;14;20;24;31;36

Turn turn turn 2 08;11;14;23;33;34;35 Pete SeegerHey Jude 2 01;02;03;09;11;12;13;19;20;22;33;34;39;44 BeatlesLet it be 2 01;08;09;14;17;20;31;32;33;38 BeatlesOh, Susanna 2 03;08;12;14;19;31;32Going to the zoo 2 03;12;19;24;30;32;35 Tom PaxtonShe'll be coming round the mountain

2 05;08;20;25;35;36;37;38;40;41

Drunken sailor 2 04;05;10;11;13;14;24;30;31;32;37;38What have they done to the rain?

3 13;17;38;40;44 Malvina Reynolds

If I had a hammer

3 03;10;30;31;32;39 Pete Seeger

Show me the prison

3 15;19;30;33;40;41 Joan Baez

Marvellous toy 3 01;04;15;38;44 Tom PaxtonBlowin in the wind

3 01;14;19;27;33;38;39 Bob Dylan

H-bomb's thunder

3 02;05;10;22;33

Universal soldier 3 10;12;14;27;29;40 Buffet Saint Marie

Last night I had the strangest dream

3 03;08;10

March with us today

3 01;04;13;30;38;43;44 Ewan MacColl

Johnny, I hardly 3 04;05;12;24;26;39




SONG LEVEL PHONEMES AUTHORknew youGypsy rover 3 01;03;08;13;19;44She's leaving home

3 08;19;41 Beatles

This land is your land

3 01;03;10;14;30;34;35;40 Woodie Guthrie

Down the lane 3 01;10;19;31;33;35;40 Ewan MacColl

Streets of London

3 13;14;19;31;36;41 Ralph McTell

Old mother earth 3 03;19;29;30;31;32 Harvey Andrews

Banks of Ohio 3 05;10;14;19;36;38;39I'll never find another you

3 12;14;19;36 Tom Springfield

First time ever 3 11;14;27;28 Ewan MacColl

Oh, no John 3 04;10;12;19;34;44Shenandoah 3 07;10;13;19;37;41Sweet nightingale

3 08;13;14;28;31;32;34

My lady's a wild flying dove

3 08;11;13;14;33;38 Tom Paxton

I've just seen a face

3 10;13;14;27;28;31;35;41 Beatles

Annie's song 3 01;02;04;07;14;27;36 John DenverI give you the morning

3 01;02;05;10;12;19;27;29;36 Tom Paxton

Colours 3 02;07;14;23;25;30;32;37 DonovanLeaving London 3 04;19;20;22;35;36 Tom PaxtonWater is wide 3 12;14;19;27;38Girl 3 11;26 BeatlesI should have known better

3 06;07;12;41 Beatles

I don't know how to love him

3 05;06;12;13;19;24;41 Andrew Lloyd Webber

Morning has broken

3 10;11;19;21;22;33

Cockles & mussels

3 04;05;07;31;32;33




SONG LEVEL PHONEMES AUTHORFreight train 3 04;13;27;37 Elisabeth

CottonSloop John B 3 08;19;31Beans, bacon & gravy

3 08;10;;13;22;35

Nowhere man 3 03;19;33;34 BeatlesDeep blue sea 3 01;08;12;22;24I can't help but wonder

3 05;09;14;20;38 Tom Paxton

All night long 3 04;10;13;19;27;36 Tom PaxtonNow I'm easy 3 05;08;20 Eric BogleWild rover 3 02;13;19;38Clementine 3 01;09;14;25;35;36We can work it out

3 10;11;14;20;38 Beatles

Moonshadow 3 03;12;33;41 Cat StevensHippies & the beatniks

3 01;08;19;38;39 Miles Wootton

Lag's song 4 03;05;09;13;14 Ewan MacColl

Times they are a-changing

4 13;14;23;30 Bob Dylan

Rider pass by 4 14;21;22;37 Joan BaezNo man's land 4 01;13;14;19;20;24;27;36;40 Eric BogleHard rain's a gonna fall

4 08;10;11;13;14;17;28;38;39 Bob Dylan

Imagine 4 01;03;05;30;44 John LennonFree born man 4 08;33;34 Ewan

MacCollCountry roads 4 05;08;13;19;20 John DenverDirty old town 4 11;19;20;23;24 Ewan

MacCollFiddler's green 4 01;02;08;13;15;26;27Skye boat song 4 01;03;08;14;19When the ship comes in

4 01;07;14;41 Bob Dylan

Going to the west

4 01;08;13;19;26;38

Last thing on my mind

4 11;13;14;19;36 Tom Paxton




SONG LEVEL PHONEMES AUTHORDarlin Annie 4 01;02;03;04;05;36 Ewan

MacCollWhat the poet called her

4 Ewan MacColl

Maids when you're young

4 02;03;05;13;33;38;40

I'm a rover & seldom sober

4 08;19;37

Rosalie 4 08;19;31;32;37 Ewan MacColl

Wild mountain thyme

4 02;19;26;30;38

Early one morning

4 08;19;24

Down by the Sally Gardens

4 03;08;16 W.B. Yeats

Foggy dew 4 12;26;33;38Ramblin' boy 4 15;37;39 Tom PaxtonHousewife's alphabet

4 02;13;17;25 Peggy Seeger

Banks of marble 4 03;10;33 Pete SeegerNet hauling song 4 01;06;08;10;12;13;34;39;40;41 Ewan

MacCollMiner's wife 4 02;23;24;34 Ewan

MacCollMy old man 4 03;19;33 Ewan

MacCollCome my little son

4 03;13;24;35 Ewan MacColl

Gilgarra mountain

5 01;03;09;19;26;33;38

Thirty foot trailer

5 02;03;06;13;14;19;23 Ewan MacColl

Sunday supplement world

5 05;11;31 Miles Wootton

Little girl child 5 01;04;11;14;26;36;38;43 Peggy Seeger

Swansea town 5 01;04;08;10;31;32;33;38Leaving of Liverpool

5 01;08;27;36




SONG LEVEL PHONEMES AUTHORDon't think twice

5 01;13;14;19;29 Bob Dylan

Four strong winds

5 01;06;10;13;19;27;29;30;31;32 Ian Tyson

Talking want-ad blues

5 06;33;36 Peggy Seeger

Squire of Tanworth

5

Wish I had a troubador

5 01;14;38 Tom Paxton

Nine month blues

5 12;14;33;34 Peggy Seeger

She moved through the fair

5 08;12;13;14;17;27;28;30;33

Sweet Thames flow softly

5 01;02;04;08;19 Ewan MacColl

Auld lang syne 5 13;14;19;31;36I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail

5 06;08;09;25;38 Paul Simon

Blow the man down

5 08;13;14;19;20;22;36;38;39

Work of the weavers

5 04;08;11;38

Shoals of herring

5 02;17;19;35;36;41 Ewan MacColl

Come fill up your glasses

5 01;02;08;09;38;39 Peggy Seeger

I'm gonna to be an engineer

5 07;12;13;15;16;41;44 Peggy Seeger

Diggers' song 5 30;38;40 Leon Rosselson

Poor Paddy works on the railway

5 03;11;13;21;37;38 Ewan MacColl

Legal illegal 6 07;08;26;36 Ewan MacColl

Alan Tyne of Harrow

6 03;19;39;40 Ewan MacColl

Joy of living 6 01;14;15;28;31;32;35;44 Ewan MacColl




SONG LEVEL PHONEMES AUTHORAngela Davis (Love for love)

6 01;05;17;27;28;36 Ewan MacColl

Ramblin man 6 03;08;24;33;37 Tom PaxtonBoth sides now 6 10;19;20;22;36 Joni

MitchellNuclear energy means jobs

6 04;12;31;32;34;40;44 Ewan MacColl

Manchester rambler

6 03;13;14;33;42 Ewan MacColl

Ballad of accounting

6 01;08;24;38;40 Ewan MacColl

Daddy what did you do in the strike?

6 12;14;24 Ewan MacColl

Retrieved March, 21st, 2010 from the website:

http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/folkphono.html

Appendix 8

I. Tasks to teach sounds: /s/, z, st, sp, zd, sm, nd, nt/



When there was me and youTask 1: Listen to the song and choose the sounds you hear:

(/�ts-�tz/) (1)……….. funny when you (/fa�n- fa�nd/) (2)……….. yourself Looking from the outside I'm /'stænd�ŋ/ - //'stænd�ŋ/ (3)……….. here but all I /w�nt/ - /w�nd/ (4) …………….Is to be over there Why did I let myself believe /'m�rәklz/- 'm�rәkls/ (5)…………… could happen /k�:z/ - /k�:s /(6)……………… now I have to pretend That I don't really care I thought you were my fairytale A /dri:m/ - /tri:m/ (7)…………… when I'm not /sli:p�ŋ/- /sni:p�ŋ/ (8)…….... A wish upon a /st�:/- /sp�:/ (9)……………That’s coming /dru:/- /tru:/ (10)………….But everybody else could tell That I /kәn'fju:zd/- /kәn'fju:st/…(11)…………. my feelings with the truth When there was me and you I swore I knew the melody That I heard you singing And when you /sma�lt/ -/sma�ld/(12)…………You made me feel Like I could sing along But then you /wend - /went/ …(13)………. and changed the words Now my heart is empty I'm only left with used-to-be's And /w�nts/ - /w�ns/…(14)………….. upon a song Now I know you’re not a fairytale And /dri:ms/ - /dri:mz/…(15)………… were meant for sleeping And /w��z/ - /w��s/ (16)………………..on a star Just don't come true Cause now even I can tell That I confused my feelings with the truth Because I /la�t/ - /la�kt/ (17)……………… the view When there was me and you I can't believe that I could be so blind It's like you were floating While I was falling And I didn't /ma�nd/ - /ma�/…(18)………..Because I liked the view I thought you felt it too When there /wәz/ - /wәs/ (19)……………… me and you



Task 2: Listen again and write the words corresponding to the sounds you hear

II. Tasks to teach /s/ - /z/ and /θ, ns, nz, nt, nd/

Love story

Task : Put the words in bold into correct columns:

We were both young when I first saw you

I close my eyes and the flashback starts

I'm standing there

On a balcony in summer air

See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns

I see you make your way through the crowd



You say hello. Little did I know

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles

And my daddy said stay away from Juliet

And I was crying on the staircase

Begging you please don't go, and I said

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone

I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run

You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess

It's a love story baby just say yes

So I sneak out to the garden to see you

We keep quiet cause we're dead if they knew. So close your eyes

Escape this town for a little while

Cause you were Romeo I was a scarlet letter

And my daddy said stay away from Juliet

But you were everything to me

I was begging you please don't go and I said

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone

I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run

You'll be the prince I'll be the princess


Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel

This love is difficult, but it's real,

Don't be afraid

We'll make it out of this mess


Oh oh,

I got tired of waiting

Wondering if you were ever coming around

My faith in you was fading

When I met you on the outskirts of town. and I said



Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone

I keep waiting for you but you never come

Is this in my head, I don't know what to think

He kneels to the ground and pulled out a ring

And said

Marry me Juliet you'll never have to be alone

I love you and that's all I really know

I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress


Oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh

Cause we were both young when I first saw you

Shining FriendTask 1: Listen to the song and choose the sounds you hear:

A little /fe�s/-/fe�θ/…………………/'bra�tnz- /bra�tns/ ……………a rainy dayLife is difficult you can go awayDon't hide yourself in a cornerYou have my /ple�s/- /ple�z/………………. to stay

Sorrow is gonna say goodbye/'әupәns/ - /әupәnz/…………………upYou'll see the happy sunshine

Words containing /s/ sound Words containing /z/ sound



Keep going on with your dream/t�e�s�ŋ/ - /t�e�z�ŋ/…………… tomorrow /'s�nr��z/ - /'s�nr��s/……………

The spirit can never dieSun will shine, my friend/wәunt/ - /wәun/ ………………..let you cry, my dearSeeing you shed a tear ,make my world disappearYou'll never be alone in darkness

See my smile, my friendWe are with you, holding /hænds/ - /hændz/………………..you have got to believe ,you are my destinyWe're /ment/ - /mend/…………… to be your /frend/ - /frendz/………………….That's what a friend should be

Task 2: Listen again and write the words corresponding to the sounds you hear

Appendix 9

Classroom observation checklists

A. Classroom observation checklist No.1

I. Class profile:

Location of class: Class 11D3, Nguyễn Gia Thiều high school

Class size: 30 students

Time: 4th period –(April 2nd, 2010)

Time for teaching pronunciation: 45 minutes

Level: grade 11 (pre-intermediate)

Type of English sounds: /s, z, st, sp, zd, sm, nd, nt/

II. Content:



Elements Comments

Input Sounds that have been taught

Teacher’s

activities

- Teacher (T) lets students listen to the song and do the

tasks followed

- T helps students revise the way to pronounce and

distinguish the sounds and when to pronounce /s/ and /z/

in ending sounds of nouns in plural form.

- T asks students to practice pronouncing the sounds after

finishing the tasks

=>T can check Students’ pronunciation and their

background knowledge about English sounds quite

effectively

Students’

activities

- Students are eager to do the tasks

- All of students are motivated

III. Observation & assessment of using songs to teach pronunciation

Criteria Comments

Teacher’s

exploitation

- Song: “When there was me and you”

=> a popular song among teenagers, interesting to

students and suitable to teach /s, z, st, sp, zd, sm, nd, nt/

sounds

- The tasks designed are suitable with students’ level

Students’

involvement

- Relaxing and motivating atmosphere which can involve

almost all students in class.



IV. Overall comments:

Strong points:

- T can draw students’ attention

- Students are eager and motivated to complete the task given by the T

- Song in the task is popular and interesting to students

- The tasks designed are suitable with students’ level

Weak points:

- Class is sometimes noisy.

- Students may sing along the song and forget to complete the tasks.

B. Classroom observation checklist No. 2

I. Class profile:

Location of class: 11D2, Nguyễn Gia Thiều high school

Class size: 40 students

Time: 2nd period – ( April 2nd, 2010)

Time for teaching pronunciation: 45 minutes

Level: grade 11 (pre-intermediate)

Type of English sounds: /s/ - /z/ and /θ, ns, nz, nt, nd/

II. Content:

Elements Comments

Input Sounds that Students have learned already



Teacher’s

activities

- Teacher should let Students practice pronouncing the

sounds after they do the tasks

- Teacher can control the class well

Students’

activities

- Students listen quite attentively and do the tasks with

interest

III. Observation & assessment of using songs to teach pronunciation

Criteria Comments

Teacher’s

exploitation

- Songs: “Shining friend”, “Love story”

=> interesting songs to students, suitable to teach /s/ - /z/

and /θ, ns, nz, nt, nd/ sounds

- tasks are designed in multiform

=> avoid the boredom in students

Students’

involvement

Most students involve in the lesson eagerly and

concentrate on completing the tasks

IV. Overall comments:

Strong points:

- T can motivate students during the lesson

- The songs chosen are interesting and suitable for teaching the sounds

- The tasks are suitable with students’ level.

Weak points:

- The form of the task for the song “Love story” (handout) is not designed

properly for students to do while listening.

- The speed of the song “Love story” is too fast and some sounds are not

clearly pronounced by the singer.



Documents

USING SONGS TO TEACH ENGLISH SOUNDS TO 11TH FORM STUDENTS AT NGUYEN GIA THIEU HIGH SCHOOL. Lại Thanh Tình.QHF061.E11