PART I: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale

As mentioned, there are many reasons that inspire me to conduct this

research, which focuses on the most common mistakes made by first year students

who are from Nghe An province in pronouncing English consonants.

In the first place, pronunciation is one among the most important aspects in

English speaking skill. The more exactly we pronounce, the better we speak. As

such, the pronunciation course plays such an important role for first year students

who have been at the first steps in the university. Besides that, 44 English sounds is

very complex in pronunciation; therefore, students are still confused when

practicing the given sounds.

The second reason for this choice is that after studying for one term in ULIS

I realize many students have difficulties in English pronunciation. Then I wondered

whether students from Nghe An also make those errors or not because the dialect of

people there is quite different from any other part of Vietnam.

The last one is due to my personal experience. I am also a first year student

coming from Nghe An so to some certain extent, I am fully aware of the given

difficulties that students from this area encounter in English pronunciation. This

helped me a lot in fulfilling the research.

In short, all the above reasons encouraged me to choose this practical study,

which is expected to help first year students better in their speaking skill.

2. Aims of the study

The research is aimed at answering the two following question:

Which are the consonant mistakes that are commonly made by first

year students coming from Nghe An?

In addition, the author wishes to give out some suggested solutions, which

are expected to be workable for first year English learners from Nghe An. Also,

throughout the process of doing this research, I may gain some useful insights into

this aspect of pronunciation.

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3. Scope of the study

The focus of this study is on an investigation of the mistakes that are

commonly made by first year students who come from Nghe An province in

pronouncing 24 English consonant sounds.

4. Methodology

In this research, I have applied some research instruments and involved a

number of students to join in as described below.

4.1. Research instruments

The research instruments having been applied are: observation, informal

talks; interview and recording, among which recording is the most important tool.

4.1.1. Observation and informal talks

The process of observation is rather long. It starts from the very first days of

mine in the University. I noticed that many ULIS’s first year students have a lot of

trouble in pronouncing English sounds and a question was therefore formed: Do

college freshmen coming from Nghe An make mistakes in pronouncing English

consonants? To find out the answer, some informal talks with first year students as

well as my friends who come from Nghe An were conducted.

4.1.2. Interview

I keep trying to discover the answer for the next question: which are the

consonant mistakes that are commonly made by first year students? By

interviewing a lecturer teaching pronunciation course in English Department 1, I

was given some sounds that she summed up from her experience. The result of this

method is the basic background for carrying out the next method.

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4.1.3. Recording

Recording is the most important method because from the result of this one I

can find out the answer for the most vital question: Which are the most common

mistakes made by college freshmen coming from Nghe An?

The method was conducted as follows:

First, students’ voices were recorded . However, before that I gave them a

piece of paper was given to them with 24 English consonant sounds (see Appendix

1) and each sound is correspondent to an example. Undoubtedly, the shy feeling is

unavoidable, so I promised to make they feel free with the recorder by standing far

from their positions. They could also spend some time looking through the paper

and jog their memory to find how each sound is pronounced. After that, they were

guided to pronounce 24 consonant sounds in rank and pronounce twice to each

sound and each example. By recording distinct sounds like that I could detect errors

more easily and more exactly.

Obviously, all of these methods above are collection, classification and

combination with the result of the study which are expected to ensure the reliability

of the research.

4.2. Participants

Beside the given instruments, participants play an essential role. There are 15

out of 18 1st year students from Nghe An province in Faculty of English Language

Teacher Education participating in this research. I also interviewed a lecturer who is

teaching pronunciation in English 1 Division for her experience about errors

commonly made by first year students to compare with the results of my research.

Her useful information helps me a lot in fulfilling this study.

5. Structure of the study

The paper consists of three parts in which part two is the most important. To

be clearer, in chapter 1, I will give out the theological background about

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pronunciation and English consonants. Relying on the content in chapter 1, chapter

2 includes the result of the research and also the discussion about it. Beside those

main parts, I also provide the introduction in part one, which will help the audience

have a general look of the study before continuing with part two - development.

Finally yet importantly, the conclusion in part 3 plays such an essential part because

it summarizes the progression, ends with result of the study and also contains

suggestions for further study.

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: Theoretical background

1.1.What is English Pronunciation?

Needless to say, pronunciation is of great importance because it is regarded

as the way the sounds are produced. Thus, in order to understand and to be

understood, it is of great necessity to have correct pronunciation. For those whose

major is English, they try to produce the kinds of pronunciation like the native

speakers, which is really challenging to evaluate the accuracy in pronunciation on

account of the subjectiveness of the speaker.

There are many different ways of defining the terminology “pronunciation”.

Pronunciation is defined as the way people use the mouth to speak the

language. Hearing is a significant constituent with pronunciation. A foreign

language will have some sounds that are well known to someone and fairly few that

are unknown. Become familiar with all the sounds of the given language and

understand that a number of them will take continuing practice to say correctly.

(Tom Payne, 2007).

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1948) Oxford University Press

defined pronunciation as “the way in which a language or a particular word or

sound is pronounced”.

In website http://www.brainyquote.com/words/pr/pronunciation207323.html,

they put that “Pronunciation is the act of uttering with articulation; the act of giving

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the proper sound and accent; utterance; as, the pronunciation of syllables of words;

distinct or indistinct pronunciation, the mode of uttering words or sentences, and the

art of manner of uttering a discourse publicly with propriety and gracefulness”.

Speech sounds are produced by a moving column of air in a resonating

chamber – just like a musical instrument. Different sounds are produced by varying

the speed of the column of air, the size and shape of the resonating chamber, and by

introducing various kinds of vibrations into the column. By changing the speed of

the column of air, the shape of the resonator, and the kind of vibration introduced

into the air stream, people produce the phonetic differences that constitute the

sounds of speech. (Tom Payne, 2007).

There are 44 basic phonemes in English. They are divided into vowels and

consonants.

1.2. What are consonants in English Pronunciation?

In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated

with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. They are either voiced or

voiceless. It can be defined as an articulate sound which in utterance is usually

combined and sounded with an open sound called a vowel; a member of the spoken

alphabet other than a vowel; also, a letter or character representing such a sound.

(retrieved January 22,, 2010, from:

http://www.brainyquote.com/words/co/consonant147344.html).

Another definition of consonant is that A speech sound that's not a vowel; a

letter of the alphabet that represents a speech sound produced by a partial or

complete obstruction of the air stream by a constriction of the speech organs

(retrieved January 22, 2010, from:

http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/consonaterm.htm).

There are 24 consonants in English. Traditionally, the three basic criteria

used in the articulatory description of a sound are vocal cord vibration (voicing),

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the place of articulation and the manner of articulation. They are classified by the

manner of articulation as plosives, fricatives, nasals, liquids, and semivowels

(Cawley 1990, O'Saughnessy 1987). Plosives are known also as stop consonants.

Liquids and semivowels are also defined in some publications as approximants and

laterals. Further classification may be made by the place of articulation as labials

(lips), dentals (teeth), alveolars (gums), palatals (palate), velars (soft palate), glottal

(glottis), and labiodentals (lips and teeth). Classification of English consonants is

summarized in Figure 1.

Fig. 1. Classification of English consonants (Cawley 1996).

Finally, consonants may be classified as voiced and unvoiced. Voiced

consonants are: /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /r/ and /j/, and others are unvoiced.

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Chapter 2: Common mistakes of students from Nghe An province of Viet Nam

in pronouncing English consonants and suggested solutions

In this chapter, the most common mistakes of students from Nghe An

province in pronouncing 24 English consonants will be demonstrated and also the

solutions which were summed up from conducting the given methods will be

suggested.

2.1. Data analysis and discussion

Actually, the result of the study is also the answer for question that have been

given before and during the process of carrying out the methods.

- By observation and informal talks, the writer found that the

students coming from Nghe An also make mistakes in pronouncing English. 100%

said “Yes” when being asked: Do you make mistakes in pronouncing English?

- By having an interview with Ms. Cấn Thị Chang Duyên, who is

teaching pronunciation course in English I Division, the author found out some

consonant sounds that first year students commonly make mistakes. According to

her experience, there are six frequent consonant pronunciation mistakes as follows:

1. /ʃ/ → /s/

2. /s/ → /ʃ/

3. /dʒ/ → /d//z/

4. /θ/ → /th/

5. /ð/

6. /tʃ/

The above result is very important which could be used as an orientation to

the recording method. In addition, this will be compared with the result of recording

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so that I could discover whether first year students in Nghe An also make mistakes

like many other first year students or not.

- Result of recording: There is a variety of mistakes which have been found.

Some errors made by just only 1 or 2 students. For examples:

+ /k/ → /c/ (in Vietnamese transcription)

+ /b/ → /p/

+ /ʒ/ → /z/

Besides, there are also some sounds that were made by almost all 15 students

joining in this research. However, due to the scope of this study, the author just

focus on those consonants, which were made by approximately 50% and more than

50% of the total participants. The particular result is shown in the below table:

Number Consonant

sounds

Mistakes Number of

students who

made the

mistake

Percentage of

students who

made the

mistake

1 /d/

(in

pronouncing

simple sound

and example)

/d/ → /đ/ (in

Vietnamese

transcription)

12/15 80%

2 /j/

(in

pronouncing

simple sound

and example)

/j/ → /z/ 11/15 73,3%

3a /t/

(in pronouncing

simple sound)

/t/ → /t/ (in

Vietnamese

transcription)

11/15 73,3%

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3b /t/

(in pronouncing

the example)

/t/ → /th/ (in

Vietnamese

transcription)

11/15 73,3%

4 /dʒ/

(in pronouncing

simple sound

and example)

/dʒ/ → /z/ 10/15 66.7%

5 /θ/

(in pronouncing

simple sound

and example)

/θ/ → /th/ (in

Vietnamese

transcription)

9/15 60%

6. /ʒ/

(in pronouncing

simple sound

and example)

/ʒ/ → /dʒ/ 6/15 40%

Table 1-The consonant sounds that first year students coming from Nghe An often make mistakes in pronunciation.

As shown above, it can be confirmed that first year students coming from

Nghe An province also make mistakes in pronouncing some English consonant

sounds. However, when comparing the result with what was gained from the

interview, it is proved that those sounds are much more different from the ones that

are made by other fresh men not coming from Nghe An.

- The most common mistakes made by 80% students coming from Nghe An

is the sound /d/. Then come /j/ and /t/ sounds, which both make up 73, 3%.

However, these sounds are not a big trouble with the remaining students. Because I

am also a person from Nghe An, I understand that the dialect strongly affects Nghe

An students’ English pronunciation. This could be the main reason.

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- The sounds /dʒ/ and /θ/ make up 66, 7% and 60% respectively. These

rations are not very high but they are not low. Moreover, these coincide with the

errors commonly made by other first year students. Therefore, the results imply that

the given sounds are quite problematic for most students.

- Finally, the least common sound is /ʒ/ with around 40% of students

making mistakes. This means that this sound does not seem very difficult for the

given students but it still needs attention for further practice to be sure that mistakes

can be avoided.

So far, in this chapter the most common mistakes pointed out were made by

first year students coming from Nghe An. In the next part, some solutions will be

given.

2.2. Suggested solutions

In this part, several solutions which have been collected, classified and

combined from several reliable references will be suggested and discussed.

2.2.1. Practicing individual sounds correctly

Almost all first year students apply this method to practice pronunciation

because pronouncing the sounds exactly is the main requirement of pronunciation

course of first year students. Students should listen carefully to the basic sounds

pronounced by the foreigner on the tapes and try to repeat and speak after her/ him

correctly.

2.2.2. Practicing with a mirror

This method is recommended by the author’s teacher teaching pronunciation

in the first term. Due to her experience, this technique helps students adjust their

mouth movements so that the sounds will be correctly pronounced. Moreover, this

also makes their mouth more flexible so that they will become more confident in

speaking.

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2.2.3. Recording

This method can be an assistance of reviewing the process of practicing.

After recording your voice, you can play the recorder to find out which sounds you

still wrongly pronounce.

2.2.4. Practicing with a partner

This can be a useful method if you know how to use it because learning with

a partner gives you an opportunity to correct each other and to learn from each other

in a natural, informal way.

In addition, instead of practicing by separated methods, it should be the best

if you combine them reasonably, because one method can support the other one and

vice versa.

In short, the given methods are just author’s recommendation but in fact,

they have been proved workable for many English learners. The writer does hope

that everyone can find suitable method to be better in pronunciation.

PART 3: CONCLUSION

This part gives the summary of the key points of the whole study. Besides, it

mentions briefly the limitations and suggestions for further studies.

3.1. Conclusion

The paper is a procession of finding the answers for those questions that have

been given from the beginning, among which, the most important one is: What are

the mistakes that are commonly made by first year students coming from Nghe

An province?

By using several methods (observation, informal talks, interview and recording), it

was proved that the mistakes commonly made by first year students from Nghe An

are quite different from those frequently made by fresh men from other parts of

Vietnam. Those consonant errors are: /d/, /j/, /t/, /dʒ/, /θ/, /ʒ/ among which, the

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most common one is the sound /d/. According to author’s experience, the reason for

making these mistakes is mainly because of the dialect of Nghe An province which

is not similar as that of other provinces in Vietnam.

However, some limitations are unavoidable. Firstly, because the time was

limited, the author has not discovered other possible factors causing pronunciation

problems to first year students coming from Nghe An province. Furthermore, some

particular exercises have not been included so that the given students can practice to

improve their pronunciation.

3.2 Suggestions for further studies

According to the above limitations, it is obvious that there are many further

studies, which can be exploited from enlarging the scope of the study. Hopefully, a

further study of mistakes in English pronunciation among the first year students

coming from the North of Vietnam, or another study of the students’ pronouncing

mistakes on vowels should be taken into consideration in order to see how students

make mistakes and the way they improve and overcome to be better and perfect

their pronunciation.

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REFERENCES

Cawley G., Noakes B. (1993a). Allophone Synthesis Using a Neural Network.

Proceedings of the First World Congress on Neural Networks (WCNN-93)

(2): 122-125. Retrieved from the World Wide Web

<http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~gcc> dated 3rd March, 2010.

Cawley G., Noakes B. (1993b). LSP Speech Synthesis Using Backpropagation

Networks. Proceedings fo the IEE International Conference on Artificial

Neural Networks (ANN-93): 291-293. Retrieved from the World Wide Web

<http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~gcc> dated 3rd March, 2010..

Cawley G. (1996). The Application of Neural Networks to Phonetic Modelling.

PhD. Thesis, University of Essex, England. Retrieved from the World Wide

Web <http://www.sys.uea.ac.uk/~gcc/thesis.html> dated 3rd March, 2010.

Definition of Consonant. Retrieved from world wide web

http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/consonaterm.htm dated 3rd March 2010.

Definition of Pronunciation. Retrieved from world wide web

http://www.brainyquote.com/words/co/consonant147344.html dated 3rd

March 2010.

Graduation paper guidelines (last edited October 2009), Hanoi: Faculty of English

Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International

Studies, Vietnam National University.

Khổng Thanh Tú (1999), A study on tone errors commonly made by Vietnamese

first year students in English, Hanoi: Vietnam National University,

University of Foreign Languages.

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APPENDIX

TABLE OF 24 ENGLISH CONSONANTS SOUNDS

Number Sounds Example Transcription1 /r/ rest /rest/2 /j/ yard /jɑːd/3 /k/ queen /kwiːn/4 /ɡ/ garden /ˈɡɑːdn/5 /ŋ/ bring /brɪŋ/6 /h/ hint /hɪnt/7 /θ/ bath /bɑːθ/8 /ð/ this /ðɪs/9 /t/ time /taɪm/10 /d/ done /dʌn/11 /s/ start /stɑːt/12 /z/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/13 /l/ life /laɪf/14 /ʃ/ show /ʃəʊ/15 /dʒ/ general /ˈdʒenrəl/16 /tʃ/ cheese /tʃiːz/17 /ʒ/ pleasure /ˈpleʒə(r)/18 /n/ now /naʊ/19 /p/ pen /pen/20 /b/ brown /braʊn/21 /m/ miss /mɪs/22 /w/ water /ˈwɔːtə(r)/23 /f/ face /feɪs/24 /v/ view /vjuː/

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