Using teaching aids in teaching pronunciation for grade 10students at hau loc 2 high school

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………….………………………....
I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………...
1.
Rationale of the study………………………………..…………...
2.
Aims and objectives of the study ………………………………..
3.
Scope of the study………………………………………………..
4.
Methods of the study…………………………………………….
II. CONTENT …………………………………………………...............
1.
Theoretical background………………………………………....
1.1. Definition of pronunciation……………………………….………
1.2. Main features of pronunciation..………….….............................
1.3. The articulation of phonemes…………………………………..…
1.3.1.The articulation of vowels……………………………………….
1.3.2.The articulation of consonants…………………………………...
1.4. Definition of teaching aids………………………………………..
2.
Practical background ……………………………………………
3.
Applying the study in teaching pronunciation for grade 10
students at Hau Loc 2 High school………………………………
3.1. Preparation……………………………………………………...
3.2. Using teaching aids in teaching pronunciation for grade 10
students at Hau Loc 2 High school…………………….………
4. Results of applying the method ………………………..………….
III. CONCLUSION ………………………..……………….…………...
1. Conclusion………………….……………………..…………..……

2. Suggestions………………….……………………………………...
REFERRENCES………………………………………………………….
LIST OF GRADED STUDIES…………………………………………...
APPENDIX 1………………………………………………………..…….
APPENDIX 2……………………………………………………..………
APPENDIX 3……………………………………………………..………

i
1
1
1
2
2
3
3
3
3
5
6
8
9
10
11
11
12
16
18
18
18
I

II
III
V
VII

1


I. INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
It is undeniable that English plays an important part in the development of
our country firstly because it is an international language; secondly it is also seen as
a means to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between Vietnam and
other countries. Hence, more and more attention was drawn to teaching and
learning English. Important as it is, teaching and learning this foreign language is
not an easy task to carry out.
The final target, which both teachers and students are trying to obtain, is to
use English to communicate successfully. Thus, there are many things that English
teachers need to fit into their limited class time such as grammar, vocabulary,
speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Normally, pronunciation often gets
pushed to the bottom of the list. Many teachers often say that there is just not
enough time to teach pronunciation. Moreover, students often think it is not as
important as other parts-grammar, reading, writing... etc., because it is only a small
part tested on their college entrance exams. However what students see is just a tip
of the iceberg. They are not aware that if they need or want to speak English
understandably, pronunciation is very important. Even if students’ grammar and
vocabulary are strong, while their pronunciation is not easy to understand, their
communication will fail.
In addition, English Textbook 10 (Published by Education Publishing House)
does not contain any pictures or any demonstrations to illustrate the ways to

pronounce the sound correctly. Students just look at the text book, listen and repeat
the teacher or the tape to produce the sounds. Therefore, not only do they find it
difficult to imitate the way to produce the vowels or consonants but also
mispronounce them. As a result, wrong pronounce can lead to the mistakes of
words’ meaning. In addition, most of the students who have difficulties in learning
pronunciation feel bored and are not eager to participate in the lessons. They are
also afraid of making mistake when they say the words; hence, they are quite
passive in the classroom, which certainly leads to the low achievement of students
in learning English.
All of the above reasons have inspired the author to do the study “Using
teaching aids in teaching pronunciation for grade 10 students at Hau Loc 2
High School” with the purpose of helping many teachers to deal with teaching
pronunciation with these students.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
The general purpose of this research is to show English Foreign Language
teachers the need to consider using teaching aids as a technique that directly
connects the knowledge of a lesson with real things in order to make a clear picture
2


of phonetics to help students learn English more effectively, pronounce words and
sentences more accurately and then be more confident to communicate in English.
The specific aims or objectives of the studies are:
- To improve the pronunciation of the students.
- To motivate students to learn pronunciation.
- To spot the light on the importance of teaching aids in performing teachinglearning processes and make the reception of the information clear and not too
complicated for students to understand.
3. Scope of the study
Learning a second language as a scholar once said “is a long and complex
undertaking”. Therefore, teachers of a second language have to apply a lot of

techniques to accelerate the results of lessons. In the scope of this study, however,
the author only has ambition to propose using teaching aids to improve the effect of
teaching pronunciation for students in grade 10 at Hau Loc 2 High School.
4. Methods of the study
The study is designed to use both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Besides, many resources such as books, and some sources on the Internet have been
read by the researcher.
In order to gain most reliable results, the quantitative data will be collected
through pre-test and post-test. The data, then, will be processed and analyzed to
give conclusions for the study.
Along with the quantitative method, the qualitative data has been obtained by
class observation and consultancy from other teachers to collect further more
information about the real situations of teaching and learning pronunciation in
grade 10 at Hau Loc 2 high school.

3


II. CONTENT
1. Theoretical background
1.1. Definition of pronunciation
Generally, pronunciation is the act or manner of pronouncing words;
utterance of speech, a way of speaking a word, especially a way that is accepted or
generally understood, and a graphic representation of the way a word spoken, using
phonetic symbols. However there exist many different definitions of this term
According to AMEP Research Center (2002) pronunciation refers to the
production of sounds that we use to make meaning. It includes attention to the
particular sounds of a language (segments), aspects of speech beyond the level of
the individual sound, such as intonation, phrasing, stress, timing, rhythm
(suprasegmental aspects), how the voice is projected (voice quality) and, in its

broadest definition, attention to gestures and expressions that are closely related to
the way we speak a language. This broad definition of pronunciation includes both
suprasegmental and segmental features. Although these different aspects of
pronunciation are treated in isolation, it is important to remember that they all work
in combination when we speak, and are therefore usually best learned as an integral
part of spoken language.
Another notion from Szynalski (n.d) in says that
there are three levels of English pronunciation; (i) Level 1: people often don’t
understand what you want to say. You use the wrong sounds in English words, (ii)
Level 2: people can understand what you want to say, but they have to concentrate
to understand you, (iii) Level 3: People can understand you easily. Your
pronunciation is clear and pleasant.
Based on some the statements above, it can be concluded that pronunciation
is an important component in learning English. Therefore, pronunciation cannot be
underestimating in learning English.
1.2. Main features of pronunciation

Figure 1: Features of pronunciation according to Gerald Kelly (2000)
4


According to Gerald Kelly (2000: p1) Pronunciation has 2 main features:
Phonemes and Suprasegmental features.
Phonemes are the different sounds within a language. Although there are
slight differences in how individuals articulate sounds, we can still describe
reasonably accurately how each sound is produced. Sounds may be voiced or
unvoiced (or voiceless). Voiced sounds occur when the vocal cords in the larynx are
vibrated. It is easy to tell whether a sound is voiced or not by placing one or two
fingers on the speaker’s Adam’s apple. If voiced sounds are being produced, the
speaker will feel vibration; if unvoiced sounds are being produced, he will not. The

different between /f/ and /v/, for example, can be heard by putting the top teeth on
the bottom lips, breathing out in a continuous stream to produce /f/, then adding
voice to make /v/.
The set of phonemes consists of two categories: vowel sounds and
consonant sounds. However, these do not necessarily correspond to the vowels
and consonants we are familiar in the alphabet. Vowel sounds are all voiced, and
may be single (like /i/ in hit) or a combination involving a movement from one
vowel sound to another (like /ei/ as in face); such combinations are known as
diphthongs. Single vowel sounds may be short (like /i/ as in miss) or long (like /i:/
in heat). The symbol /:/ denotes a long sound.
Consonant sounds may be voiced or unvoiced. It is possible to identify
many pairs of consonants which are essentially the same except for the element of
voicing (for example /f/, as in fan, and /v/, as in van)
The following table lists English phonemes, giving example of a word in
which each appears.

Figure 2: English phonemes
5


While Phonemes are units of sound which we can analyze, Suprasegmental
features, as the name implies, are features of speech which generally apply to
groups of phonemes. These features consist of intonation, stress and how sound
change in connected speech.
With regard to individual words, teachers can identify and teach word stress.
Usually one syllable in a word will sound more prominent than the others, as in
BEAUty or TEAcher. With regard to utterances, teachers can analyze and teach
intonation as well as stress, although these features can at times be quite hard to
consciously recognize and to describe. Stress provides rhythm to speech. One or
more words within each utterance are selected by the speaker as worthy of stressing

and thus made prominent to the listener. Intonation, on the other hand, is the way in
which the pitch of the voice goes up and down in the course of an utterance.
Utterance stress and intonation patterns are often linked to the
communication of meaning. Take it as an example, in the following utterances:
E.g:
I’d like a cup of herbal TEA. (A simple request)
I’d like a cup of HERbal tea. (Not any other sort of tea)
I’d like a CUP of herbal tea. (Not a mug)
The first example is like the default choice, a first time request, while in the
other two examples there is an apparent attempt to clear up some misunderstanding
between the speaker and the listener.
To sum up, in order to help students to communicate in English successfully,
teachers should raise their awareness of these two above features of pronunciation
which are presented one after another in the text book for grade 10, grade
11(phonemes) and grade 12 (Suprasegmental features). Moreover, they should
assist them and provide them with opportunities to practice pronouncing in order to
become more confident to communicate in English.
1.3. The articulation of phonemes
In learning pronunciation it’s essential for learners to learn how to produce
the sounds, in other words they should learn about the articulation of phonemes.
According to />Articulation is the movement of the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs
(the articulators) in ways that make speech sounds.
As defined above, articulation of phonemes are very important. Once
learners know how to use the articulators in saying the words correctly, they can
speak English as naturally as native speakers. The articulation of phonemes is
composed of the articulation of vowels and consonants
1.3.1. The articulation of vowels
According to Jones (1956, p15) vowels are some of the continuous voiced
sound produced without obstruction in the mouth unaccompanied by any frictional
6

noise. However this definition can’t clarify the role of other articulators in
pronouncing vowel sounds. Later, another notion was developed by Gerald Kelly
(2000, p13) stated that vowels are produced when the airstream is voiced through
the vibration of the vocal cords in the larynx, and then shaped using the tongue and
the lips to modify the overall shape of the mouth. The position of the tongue is
useful reference point for describing the differences between vowel sounds, and
these are summarized in the following diagram.
The diagram is a demonstration of the “vowel space” in the center of the
mouth where vowels sounds are articulated.
* “Close”, “Mid” and “Open” refer to the “vowel space” in the center of the
mouth where vowel sounds are articulated.
* “Front”, “Center” and “Back” and their corresponding “vertical”lines refer
to the part of the tongue.

Figure 3: Vowel diagram

* The position of each phoneme represents the height of the tongue and also
the part of the tongue which is raised.
Put all these thing together:
7


/i:/ as in heat (a close front vowel) is produced when the front of the tongue
is the highest part, and is near the roof of the mouth.
/æ/ as in cat (an open front vowel) is produced when the front of the tongue
is the highest part, but the tongue itself is low in the mouth.
/ɒ/ as in dog (an open back vowel) is produced when the back of the tongue
is the highest part, but the tongue itself is low in the mouth.

/u:/ as in moon ( a close back vowel) is produced when the back of the
tongue is the highest part, is near the roof of the mouth.
The diagram also illustrates the position of the lips when pronouncing
vowels. Front vowels have an unrounded lip position, while back vowels are
pronounced with rounded lips

Figure 4: Lips position in producing single vowel sounds

However, vowels in english is composed
of
not only single vowels but aslo diphthongs.
According to Wikipedia diphthongs are vowels
which change in quality, as if they were made
from
two vowel qualities glued together. The gliding
movement of a diphthong is caused by movement of the articulators during their
production as described in the following figure:
Figure 5: Diphthongs
There are eight diphthongs in English, which can be categorized into two
main groups: centering and closing diphthongs
The first group iə/, /eə/, /ʊə/ are called centering
diphthongs because they all glide towards the /ə/
(schwa) vowel, as the symbols indicate. The starting
point for /iə/ is a little closer than /i/ in bit, bin. /eə/
8


begins with the similar vowel sound as /e/ of get, men, /ʊə/ has a starting point
slightly closer than /ʊ/ in put, pull.
The second group, closing diphthongs, can be divided into two sub-groups.

One of these two subgroups is /ei/, /ai/, /ͻi/, the diphthongs that glide towards /i/- a
closer vowel. Because the second part of these sound is
Figure 6: Groups of diphthongs
weak, they often do not reach a position that could be
called close. However,the important thing is that a glide
from a relatively more open towards a relatively closer vowel is produced. The
other sub-group is /əʊ/, /aʊ/, the two diphthongs that end with a glide towards /ʊ/.
In producing these sounds when the tongue moves closer to the roof of the mouth
there is at the same time a rounding movements of the lips. This movement is not a
large one because the second part of the dipthong is weak.
Vowels, though single vowels or diphthongs, are very important for
pronunciation. Without knowing how to produce vowels, English learners will find
it difficult to make themselves understood in English. Nevertheless, many words
consists of not only vowels but also consonants. Hence, to help leaners
communicate sucessfully, English teachers should also provide them some
knowledge of consonants.
1.3.2. The articulation of consonants
A consonant according to Wikipedia can be defined as a speech sound that is
articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are /p/,
pronounced with the lips; /t/, pronounced with the front of the tongue; /k/,
pronounced with the back of the tongue; /h/, pronounced in the throat; /f/ and /s/,
pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel (fricatives); and /m/ and /n/,
which have air flowing through the nose (nasals).
Consonants, as mentioned ealier, can be voiced or unvoiced. For instance,
The articulation of /p/ or /b/ is comparaively the same, the only differnce being that
the latter is voice while the former is unvoiced. The reason is that the relative force
involved in producing /p/ is greater than that used to produce /b/, thus, the terms
fortis (srong) and lenis (weak) are sometimes used. In addition to the presence or
absence of voicing, consonants can be described in terms of the manner and place
of aticulation.

With regard to the manner of articulation, the vocal tract may be completely
closed so that the air is temporarily unable to pass through. Alternatively there may
be a closing movement of the lips, tongue or throat, so that it is possible to hear the
sound made by air passing through. Basing on manner of articualtion consonants
can be divided into plossive, affricate, fricative, nassal, lateral and approximant.
When it comes to place of articulation, consonants can be divided into these types:
*Bilabial : using closing movement of both lips., e.g: /b/ and /m/
*Labio-dental: using the lower lip and the upper teeth, e.g: /f/ and /v/
9


*Dental: the tongue is used either between the teeth or close to the upper
teeth, e.g: /θ/ and / /
*Alveolar: the blade of the tongue is used to close the alveolar ridge, e.g.
/t/,/s/
*Palato- alveolar: the blade (or tip) of tongue is used just behind the alveolar
ridge, e.g. /tʃ/ and /dʒ/
*Palatal: the front of the tongue is raised to close to the palate, e.g. /j/
*Velar: the back of the tongue is used against the soft palate, e.g. /k/, /ŋ/
*Glotta: the gap between the vocal cords is used to make audible friction,
e.g. /h/
In conclusion, in order to help students to communicate in English
successfully, teachers should raise their awareness of learning pronunciation.
Moreover, they should assist them develop both their pronunciation and the
confidence to handle communication situations they may encounter beyond the
classroom. Only by this way, can the teachers give their leaners the foundation to
communicate competently in the new language.
1.4. Definition of teaching aids
Teaching and learning a foreign language is a process needing a lot of
patience, energy, time, creativity and competence. The success of this teaching and

learning process is determined by a number of factors both linguistic and nonlinguistic such as students, teachers, methods, materials and even teaching aids.
According to Collins English Dictionary “teaching aid is any device, object or
machine used by a teacher to clarify or enliven a subject”. Using only textbook in
teaching and learning can become boring for teacher and student. Hence,
introducing tactile aids to explain concepts is a way to break up lessons, reinforce
retention and increase engagement.Teaching aids fall into 3 groups: Visual aids,
audio aids and audio - visual aids.
Visual aids are the aids which use sense of vision, for example: actual
objects, models, pictures, charts, maps, flash cards, flannel board, bulletin board,
chalkboard, overhead projector, powerpoint etc. As an old saying “picture is worth
of thousand words”, the visual one can make the massage very clear and objective.
In other words, visual aids can have huge impact on how students retain
information. While words can be abstract and hard to remember,visuals tend to be
more concrete and easier to recall. Moreover, when information is presented
visually, more students are likely to be engaged in the lessons.
Another group is audio aids which can be any instructional device that can
be heard not seen. They include recored materials, radios, cassette players, cassette
which teachers can use in the second language class to make the teaching methods,
techniques and materials considerably effective and interesting, and to help learners
have maximum benefits. Unlike most other types of aids and means used in the
10


language class, on the one hand, this type of aid enables the teacher to modify the
teaching method and technique, change the classroom situation quickly and
immediately as necessary, and on the other hand, it attracts the learners attention,
stirs their imagination, reduce their exhaustion and motivate them to be involved in
the learning process.
The last kind of teaching aids, audio - visual aids, can be defined as training
or educational materials directed at both the senses of hearing and the sense of

sight, films, recordings, photographs, etc… used in classroom instruction, library
collections or the likes. There are various types of audio-visual materials ranging
from filmstrips, slides, tape recording and flash cards. In the current digital world,
audio-visual aids have grown exponentially with several multimedia such as
educational DVDs, powerpoint, television educational series, You Tube and other
online materials. This kind of tools not only help teacher present the lesson simply,
easily and effectively but also keep students’ memory more permanent since
students have to use more than one sense.
To sum up, teaching aids play an important part in the success of learning
and teaching a foreign language. They both help the teacher to introduce new
topics in easy way and assist the student to remember the concept for longer period.
Furthermore, they convey the same meaning as words but it give clear concepts
then help to bring effectiveness in learning process.
2. Practical background
Teaching as well as learning pronunciation is so complex and difficult that
both teachers and students meet a variety of challenges. The problems deprive not
only from teachers, students but also from materials.
To begin with, teachers often find that they do not have enough time in class
to give proper attention to this aspect. When they do find the time to address
pronunciation, the instruction often amounts to the presentation and practice of a
series of tedious and seemingly unrelated topics. Drilling sounds over and over
often make students discouraged. Furthermore, in some case, teachers’
pronunciation isn’t really good for students to imitate. Consequently, students will
pronounce inaccurately.
There are also psychological factors from students that affect the learning of
pronunciation, which does not happen to learning grammar or vocabulary. For one
thing, the most basic elements of speaking are deeply personal. Our sense of self
and community are bound up in the speech-rhythms of Vietnamese. These rhythms
were learned in the first year of life and are deeply rooted in the minds of the
students. Therefore, it is difficult for them to try to speak in English accurately. For

example: sound “p” in English is voiceless while it is voiced in Vietnamese.
Therefore, when pronouncing the word PLAY, instead of producing a voiceless “p”
11


they say a voiced “p”. Once making mistakes, students have the sense of shyness
and don’t want to get out of their safe zone to be involved in pronunciation lessons.
The next problem is the awareness from both teachers and students.
Generally, the main goal of studying English many students set during this period is
to get GCSE certificate or win a place at university while pronunciation plays a far
smaller part in the English test than grammar or reading skills. Hence, both teacher
and students find it unnecessary to put stress on this part.
The last but not least, as can be seen, all pronunciation parts in the English
Textbook 10 Published by Education Publishing House are designed in the same
model: Listen and repeat then practice these sentences, which make students
demotivated. Furthermore, there is no instruction about how to produce the sounds
mentioned in this part. Consequently, not only do teachers find it difficult to present
but students also have trouble practicing.
From the above given facts, so as to teach pronunciation effectively teachers
should use teaching aids not only to help them present clearly, but also assist the
students to practice more efficiently and motivate them as well.
3. Applying the study in teaching pronunciation for grade 10 students at Hau
Loc 2 High School.
3.1. Preparation
Before applying the study to solve the problems in teaching pronunciation, I
chose two groups of 10 students in two classes A4 and A6 who were at the same
level of knowledge and awareness. Then after having finished teaching unit 2, 3 I
ask them to do a 15 minute pre-test.
The result of the pre-test is followed:
ST

T
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Group in class A4

Result

Group in class A6

Result

Truong Mai Thi
7,75
Hoang Linh Chi
6,75
Ta Minh Anh
6,5
Luu Thu Hang
7,5
Nguyen Trong Hieu
5,0

Le Ngoc Huy
6,75
Luong Mai Linh
5,5
Hoang Anh Quang
7,0
Truong Hoang Manh
7.0
Luu Ngoc Anh
5,0
Trinh Xuan Manh
6,25
Le Thi Kieu Trang
7,75
Le Hoang Phuc
6,75
Vo To Uyen
6,5
Chung Phuong Thuy
7.25
Vu Thao Van
5,5
Tran Hoang Quan
5.5
Pham Thu Xuan
5,75
Mai Quynh Phuong
6.0
Tran Anh Linh
6,25

The pre-test result shows that the average mark of the two groups was nearly
at the same level: group of class A4’s average mark was 6, 35 while that figure of
group A6 was 6, 45. Furthermore, each group had 3 students whose marks were
12


quite good, more than 7 and 3 other students whose results were from 5 to less than
6. In a nut shell, it could be affirmed that these two groups of students were at the
same level.
After comparing the result of these students to ensure that they were at the
same level, I moved to the next step: preparing the materials for teaching
pronunciation parts in unit 4, 5. In this step, I tried to collect all the suitable
materials from many sources such as internet or books to find out the suitable
teaching aids to help me improve the effectiveness of the lessons. All of my work
was then presented in the VCD attached with this study. Next, from the material I
had, I tried to design the lesson so that it not only can help me present the new
items easily, effectively and attractively but also help students understand the
lesson clearly.
When everything was ready, I began to apply what I had prepared for the two
next lessons: unit 4, unit 5 for only students in class A4 while maintaining
conventional methods for students in class A6.
3.2. Using teaching aids in teaching pronunciation for grade 10 students at
Hau Loc 2 High School
UNIT 4: SPECIAL EDUCATION
Lesson E: Language Focus – Part I: Pronunciation
I. Aims and objectives:
1. Aims: Help students distinguish and pronounce the sounds /ɒ/ and /ͻ:/ correctly
2. Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to distinguish and
pronounce the sounds /ɒ/ and /ͻ:/ correctly by practicing the sounds, the
words and the sentences containing the sounds.

II. Method: Integrated, mainly communicative
III. Time: This part will last for 15 minutes
IV. Teaching aids: Textbook, board, computer, Project, video, speaker, handouts
V. Anticipated problems:
Problems: - They may feel embarrassed when repeat after the speaker
Solutions: - Teacher should give clear guide and encourage student to repeat
after the video.
VI. Procedures:
Time Teacher's activities
Students' activities
2’
I. WARM-UP
- Show Ss some pictures; ask Ss to look at
- Look at the pictures
them and answer the questions below:
and answer the
Picture 1. What is his job?
questions
Picture 2. What is she doing?
1. He is a DOCTOR
13


2. She is WALKING
- Listen to the T

4’

1
2

- Introduce the sounds /ɒ/ and /ɔ: / and the new
lesson.
II. PRESENTING AND PRACTICING
1. Listen and repeat
- Let Ss watch the clips of showing how to
- Listen to the T
pronounce the two sounds: /ɒ/ and /ɔ:/
- Explain to Ss when to listen and when to
repeat before showing the video
- Ask Ss to listen and repeat in chorus
- Listen and do as
required

/ɒ/
/ɔ: /
Notes: O followed by one or two consonants
(except for r) is commonly pronounced /ɒ/. Or,
ou, our, al, au, aw are commonly
pronounced /ɔ: /
- Turn off the volume of the video and call
some Ss to look at the video and read out the
words.
- Give feedback
2. Minimal pairs
- Show the pictures of minimal pairs on the
Power point then ask Ss to listen the first time,
then listen and repeat after the speaker
Sound 1
Sound 2

- Take note

- Look at the video and
read out loud the
words.
- Listen and do as
required

5’

14


4’
III. CHECKING
- Gives handouts and asks Ss to listen and
- Listen and circle the
circle the words they hear in the sentences (the words they hear in the
tape is included in the VCD) then repeat the
sentences.
sentences.

- Call some students to give their answers
- play the video to check and give feedback
*Answer:
1b 2a 3b 4a 5a 6a

- Give the answers
- Listen and take note

UNIT 5: TECHNOLOGY AND YOU
Lesson E: Language Focus – part I: Pronunciation
I. Aims and objectives:
1. Aims: Help students distinguish and pronounce the sounds /ʊ/ and /u:/ correctly
15


2. Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to distinguish and
pronounce the sounds /ʊ/ and /u:/ correctly by practicing the sounds, the
words and the sentences containing the sounds.
II. Method: Integrated, mainly communicative
III. Time: This part will last for 15 minutes
IV. Teaching aids: Textbook, board, computer, Project, video, speaker, handouts
V. Anticipated problems:
Problems: - They may feel embarrassed when repeat after the speaker
Solutions: - Teacher should give clear guide and encourage student to repeat
after the video.
VI. Procedures:
Time Teacher's activities
Students' activities
2’
I. WARM-UP
- Show Ss some pictures; ask Ss to look at
- Look at the pictures
them and answer the questions “What is this?” and answer the
questions
1. A book
2. A tooth
1
2

- Introduce the sounds /ʊ/ and /u:/ and the new - Listen to the T
lesson.
II. Presenting and practicing
4’
1. Listen and repeat
- Let Ss watch the clips of showing how to
pronounce the two sounds: /ʊ/ and /u:/

/ʊ/
/u:/
- Explain to students when to listen and when
to repeat before showing the video
- Ask Ss to listen and repeat in chorus
- Turn off the volume of the video and call
some Ss to look at the video and read out the
words.

- Listen to the T

- Listen and do as
required
- Look at the video
and read out loud the
words.
16


2. Minimal pairs
- Show the pictures of minimal pairs on the
Power point then ask Ss to listen the first time,

then listen and repeat after the speaker

- Listen and do as
required

5’

4’

III. Checking:
- Give handouts and asks Ss to listen and circle - Listen and circle the
the words they hear in the sentences (the tape
words they hear in the
is included in the VCD) then repeat the
sentences.
sentences.
* Tick the word a) or b) that you hear in the
sentences

- Call some Ss to give their answers
- Play the video and check
*Answer:
1. a
2. a
3. a
4.b

- Give the answers
- Listen and take note
5. b

17


18


Figure 7,8: Using teaching aids in Teaching
pronunciation for class 10 A4 at Hau Loc 2 High School
4. Results
of
applying the method
In order to assess the effectiveness of applying this method to teaching
Pronunciation I gave a fifteen minutes post-test to both groups of student in class
a4 and class a6 (the two groups are mention above) after finishing unit 4 and unit 5.
The result of this post-test is presented in the table:
Group in class A4
Pre Post Group in class A6 Pre- PostST
-test
test
test
T
test
1
Truong Mai Thi
7,75 9,0
Hoang Linh Chi
6,75 7,0
19

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Ta Minh Anh
Nguyen Trong Hieu
Luong Mai Linh
Truong Hoang Manh
Trinh Xuan Manh
Le Hoang Phuc
Chung Phuong Thuy
Tran Hoang Quan
Mai Quynh Phuong

6,5
5,0
5,5
7.0
6,25
6,75
7.25
5.5
6.0
7,25

8.0
7,25
6,0
8,5
7,0
7,5
8,75
6,75

Luu Thu Hang
Le Ngoc Huy
Hoang Anh Quang
Luu Ngoc Anh
Le Thi Kieu Trang
Vo To Uyen
Vu Thao Van
Pham Thu Xuan
Tran Anh Linh

7,5
6,75
7,0
5,0
7,75
6,5
5,5
5,75
6,25

8,0
6,0
6,25
5,5
8,0
6,0
5,5
6,0
6,0

As compared above, the level of these two classes was relatively at the same
at first. However, after applying teaching aids to teach pronunciation it can be seen
that all member of groups in class A4 made some obvious progress. Their marks in
post-test were from 0,5 to 2,25 more than that in the pre-test. While in the other
group, only 5 students did better, 1 student kept the same level and 4 of them even
did worse than they had done the pre-test. Moreover the improvement of 5 students
in this group wasn’t as clearly as in group of class A4 because their marks in posttest only increased by 0,25 or 0,5 in comparison with those in the pre-test.
Furthermore, the average marks of the group in class A4 rose from 6,35 in pre-test
to 7,6 in post-test while there was a slight decrease in the average marks of the
counterparts in class A6 from 6,475 in pre-test to 6,425 in post-test.
In addition, it was a matter of fact that when applying some teaching aids in
teaching pronunciation, not only my students in class A4 felt it more motivated to
learn but I myself found it interesting to teach pronunciation as well. All of us
seemed to be very eager for the pronunciation lessons. Furthermore, during the
lessons, all of students were involved in listening and practicing, they worked
excitingly to distinguish the differences between the sounds.
Thirdly, using teaching aids brought a more positive atmosphere to class
which motivated each of the students to learn and get higher result because they
gave the feeling of understanding the lesson and the sense of “having ability to
speak as a native speaker” to students.

To sum up, all the results indicate that when dealing with a pronunciation
lesson, using teaching aids makes teaching and learning more effectively.

20


III. CONCLUSION
1. Conclusion
Pronunciation is very important in communication in English because
if we mispronounce a word, it will lead to misunderstanding. However many
teachers and students underestimate this part. Moreover, many students find that
learning pronunciation isn’t very fascinating. Therefore, teachers encounter some
problems in teaching this part.
In effort to give a support to teachers, based on the limited scale of the study,
the author did a research on “Using teaching aids in teaching pronunciation for
grade 10 students at Hau Loc 2 High School”, and then drew some following
conclusions:
First of all, teaching pronunciation by using teaching aids is successful. The
students learn effectively by using audio - visual aids. They can learn pronunciation
from the native speakers on the video shown. By using the video the students can
listen and repeat the correct pronunciation of the native speaker that shown on the
video. Secondly, this method motivates these students to try their best to say the
words, the sentences like the way native speakers do. Finally, it creates a positive
atmosphere in class for both the teacher and students. Hence, it can raise the
effectiveness of a pronunciation lesson. Once the students aren’t afraid of
mispronouncing words they will be more confident to communicate in English,
which is the main aim of learning and teaching English process.
2. Recommendation
In order to apply this method effectively, teachers should spend time finding
and choosing which teaching aids should be used for each lesson. Moreover,

because many parts are not in the Textbook, teachers had better print the handouts
for students so that they can follow and do their task more easily.
Teaching pronunciation is rather difficult, hence, to make it more easier,
schools can give a hand with this process by providing some useful and modern
teaching aids such as computer, speaker and if possible a lab.
This is my little experience in finding methods to help students find learning
pronunciation more interesting, and then try their best to learn more effectively. I
hope to receive your reading and comments as well as contributions to make this
study more perfect so that it can be widely applied.

21


XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG
ĐƠN VỊ

Thanh Hóa, ngày10 tháng5 năm2017
Tơi xin cam đoan đây là SKKN của
mình viết, khơng sao chép nội dung của
người khác.

Trịnh Hồng Vân

22


REFERENCES
Daniel Jones. (1956) The pronunciation of English: Cambridge University Press
Gerald Kelly (2000) How to teach pronunciation: Long man press
Ann Baker (third edition) ship or sheep: Cambridge University Press

/> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> /> />LIST OF ABBRIVIATION
T: teacher
Ss: students

23


DANH MỤC
CÁC ĐỀ TÀI SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG ĐÁNH
GIÁ XẾP LOẠI CẤP PHÒNG GD&ĐT, CẤP SỞ GD&ĐT VÀ CÁC CẤP
CAO HƠN XẾP LOẠI TỪ C TRỞ LÊN
Họ và tên tác giả: Trịnh Hồng Vân
Chức vụ và đơn vị công tác: Giáo viên trường THPT Hậu Lộc 2

TT Tên đề tài SKKN
1.
2.

Các kỹ năng nhằm nâng cao
hiệu quả dạy từ vựng Tiếng
Anh khối 10 và 11
Some suggested Listening
tasks designed basing on
English Textbook 11 to teach
Listening skills for weak
student”

Kết quả
Cấp đánh
đánh giá

giá xếp loại
xếp loại
(Phòng, Sở,
(A, B,
Tỉnh...)
hoặc C)
Cấp sở
Loại C
Cấp sở

Loại C

Năm học
đánh giá xếp
loại
2010-2011
2016-2017

24


APPENDIX 1
PRE-TEST
Full name: ……………………………….

Class: ………………

I. Tick () the word you recognize in the sentences you hear. (2.5 pts)
Part A:
1. A. pen

3. A. end
5. A. pet
B. pan
B. and
B. pat
2. A. men
4. A. feta
6. A. bed
B. man
B. fatter
B. bad
Part B
3. A. cap
1. A. hat
B. cup
B. hut
C. carp
C. heart
4. A. bun
2. A. cat
B. barn
B. cut
C. cart
II. Listen to the sentences and fill in each blank with one suitable word. (5pts)
Part A
1. The …….man has a red pen.
2. The handbag will be ……. to Helen.
3. Sam ……….. apples were very expensive then.
4. There are ten ……. on the shelf.
5. Ben sat on a ………….. with a yellow cat.

6. Ann never gets……………mark in French.
Part B:
1. I ………..my school very much.
2. I think my …………is lovely.
3. ……..month I took Sunny out for lunch.
4. They are dancing under the ………
III. Choose the word that has the underlined part pronounced differently from that
of the others by circling A, B, C or D. (2.5 pts)
1. A. bed
B. end
C. many
D. cat
2. A. man
B. bed
C. said
D. again
3. A. extra
B. effort
C. help
D. begin
4. A. egg
B. nest
C. sand
D. head
5. A. bag
B. pan
C. mat
D. large
6. A. study
B. cousin

C. guitar
D. wonderful
7. A. target
B. marvelous
C. dance
D. handbag
8. A. under
B. subject
C. study
D. united
9. A. bar
B. hard
C. father
D. ant
10. A. fantastic
B. barn
C. calm
D. heart

25