5 th VTTN Hanoi January 2009 Tackling Common Pronunciation Errors of the Vietnamese English Learners.

1. 5th VTTN Hanoi January 2009Tackling Common Pronunciation Errors of the Vietnamese English Learners. Tran Thi Lan, Ph.D Hanoi University lantt08@fpt.vn, lantt@hanu.edu.vn

3. 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

4. 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)

5. Major objective • To tackle common problems of the Vietnamese

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

14. 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?

15. 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?

16. 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…

17. Place of articulation • /l/ and /n/ (tape) • /b/ and /p/ • /õ/ and /ð/ • /q/, /g/, /w/, and /v/ • /t/, /p/ • /k/

18. Backward vocalizing • With long words: • Establish • Disestablish • Disestablishment • Anti-disestablishment • Antidisestablishmentarian • Antidisestablishmentarian • Antidisestablishmentarianism

19. 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.

20. 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)

21. Classifying errors • Permanent errors: ends of words • Recognizable errors by speakers • Unrecognizable errors by speakers • Can be tackled easily • Can’t be tackled immediately

22. 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

23. Phonemic chart with sounds http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resources/pronunciation/phonemic-chart

24. Thank you for your attention!