Using english pronunciation websites to improve students pronunciation an action research project at an english center in hanoi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ LOAN

USING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION WEBSITES TO
IMPROVE STUDENTS’ PRONUNCIATION: AN ACTION
RESEARCH PROJECT AT AN ENGLISH CENTER IN
HANOI

Sử dụng trang web dạy phát âm tiếng Anh để cải thiện khả năng phát âm
của học sinh:
nghiên cứu hành động tại một trung tâm Anh ngữ ở Hà Nội

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology
Code : 8140231.01

Hanoi, 2018


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ LOAN

USING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION WEBSITES TO
IMPROVE STUDENTS’ PRONUNCIATION: AN ACTION

RESEARCH PROJECT AT AN ENGLISH CENTER IN
HANOI
Sử dụng trang web dạy phát âm tiếng Anh để cải thiện khả năng phát âm
của học sinh:
nghiên cứu hành động tại một trung tâm Anh ngữ ở Hà Nội

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field

: English Teaching Methodology

Code

: 8140231.01

Supervisor : Huỳnh Anh Tuấn, PhD

Hanoi, 2018


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research has been accomplished with the support and encouragement of
many people. Hence, I hereby would like to express my appreciation to all of them.
In the first place, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor,
Huỳnh Anh Tuấn, PhD for his valuable assistance and guidance throughout my
research.
Also, I am greatly indebted to all professors and staffs of the Faculty of PostGraduate Studies for their meaningful lessons and precious support thanks to which
I was able to overcome obstacles during the time my research was carried out.

Besides, I would like to give my whole-hearted thanks to the manager and
students in class Movers 6 in the center for their enthusiastic participation in my
research. Without their help, I would not have been able to complete this paper.
Last but not least, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my beloved family
whose support and encouragement have always been a great deal of motivation that
has helped me to overcome all problems to complete my thesis
.
Hanoi,
Nguyễn Thị Loan

i


ABSTRACT

This study investigated the potential role of pronunciation websites as a
means to improve students‘ competence in pronunciation. The research aimed to
figure out whether the use of pronunciation instruction websites could help improve
students‘ pronunciation and to identify students‘ attitude towards using these
websites as well as the selected activities. In order to accomplish these purposes, 15
students of class Movers 6 at an English center in Hanoi were selected to participate
in the study. All the students came from the same linguistic background and they
shared the same teacher and teaching contents. Three data collection instruments
were employed, namely pre-test/post-tests, questionnaire and class observation.
After 3 months, the post-test and a questionnaire were administered. The analysis of
the data collected revealed that the students made progress in pronunciation by
using pronunciation websites in teaching and learning pronunciation. Results from
the questionnaires and observation also reflected a completely positive attitude of
students towards the use of these websites, and students claimed that the selected
activities helped them have more fun and motivation in learning pronunciation. On

this basis, useful implications for teachers‘ preparation, classroom practices and
future research were proposed.

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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................................ii
CONTENTS ............................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS ................................................... vi
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1
1. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study .............................................. 1
2. Aims and objectives of the study ............................................................................ 2
3. Research questions .................................................................................................. 3
4. Scope of the study ................................................................................................... 3
5. Significance of the study......................................................................................... 4
6. Research methods ................................................................................................... 4
7. Organizations of the study ...................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................ 6
1. Pronunciation .......................................................................................................... 6
1.1. Definition of pronunciation ................................................................................ 6
1.2. The importance of pronunciation ....................................................................... 6
2. Pronunciation in language teaching ........................................................................ 7
2.1. Pronunciation as an aspect of communicative competence ............................... 7
2.2. Approaches to teaching pronunciation ............................................................... 9
2.2.1. Intuitive- imitative approach ............................................................................ 9
2.2.2. Analytic- linguistic approach ........................................................................... 9
2.2.3. Bottom-up approach ....................................................................................... 10

2.2.4. Top-down approach ....................................................................................... 10
2.2.5. Integrated approach ....................................................................................... 10
2.3. Elements of pronunciation teaching ................................................................. 10
2.3.1. Consonant and vowel sounds ......................................................................... 11
2.3.2. Word stress ..................................................................................................... 11
3. Ideas on pronunciation teaching and learning ...................................................... 11

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4. Pronunciation websites ......................................................................................... 13
5. Theoretical background of technology and websites application in language
teaching ..................................................................................................................... 13
6. Advantages and disadvantages of using pronunciation websites in pronunciation
teaching and learning ................................................................................................ 14
7. Websites evaluation .............................................................................................. 15
8. Summary of previous studies and the gap to carry the current research .............. 18
CHAPTER 2. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................... 20
1. The context of the study........................................................................................ 20
2. Action research ..................................................................................................... 20
2.1. Definition of action research ............................................................................ 20
2.2. Types of action research ................................................................................... 21
2.2.1. Individual teacher research ........................................................................... 21
2.2.2. Collaborative action research model ............................................................. 22
2.2.3. The school wide action research .................................................................... 22
2.3. Action research model ...................................................................................... 23
2.4. The reasons of choosing action research for this study .................................... 25
2.4.1. A framework for change and improvement .................................................... 26
2.4.2. A framework for a participative small scale study that can be evaluated ................ 27
2.5. The potential pitfalls of doing action research ................................................. 29

3. The participants of the study................................................................................. 29
4. Data collection instruments .................................................................................. 30
4.1. Pre-test and post-test ........................................................................................ 30
4.2. Questionnaire .................................................................................................... 30
4.3. Observation....................................................................................................... 31
5. The research stages ............................................................................................... 31
PRE-INTERVENTION STAGE ........................................................................... 31
5.1. Identifying the problem .................................................................................... 31
INTERVENTION STAGE ..................................................................................... 32
5.2. Action planning ................................................................................................ 32

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5.2.1. Matching the symbols and the words (Appendix 5- Worksheet 1) ................. 33
5.2.2. Running dictation (Appendix 5- Worksheet 2) ............................................... 33
5.2.3. Silent mouthing ............................................................................................... 33
5.2.4. Minimal pair bingo (Appendix 5- Worksheet 3) ............................................ 34
5.2.5. The tongue twisters game ............................................................................... 34
5.2.6. Word hunters .................................................................................................. 35
5.2.7. Odd one out (Appendix 5- Worksheet 4) ........................................................ 35
5.2.8. Stress snap (Appendix 5- Worksheet 5) .......................................................... 36
5.3. Action taking .................................................................................................... 36
POST-INTERVENTION STAGE ......................................................................... 38
5.4. Evaluating ........................................................................................................... 38
CHAPTER 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS................................................... 39
1. The improvement of students‘ pronunciation by using the pronunciation
instruction websites in teaching and learning pronunciation .................................... 39
1.1. Scores of pre-test and post-test ......................................................................... 39
1.2. Pre-test and post-test analysis ........................................................................... .42

2. The students‘ attitude towards the use of pronunciation instruction websites for
improving pronunciation ........................................................................................... 43
3. The students‘ feelings about the activities applied to improve their pronunciation
through pronunciation instruction using websites .................................................... 45
4. Discussion ............................................................................................................. 47
5. Reflection .............................................................................................................. 48
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................ 50
1. Major findings of the research .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. Implications .......................................................................................................... 51
3. Limitations of the study ........................................................................................ 51
4. Suggestions for further study ................................................................................ 52
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 53
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... I

v


LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS
Figure 1. Simple action research model .................................................................... 23
Figure 2. Detailed action research model .................................................................. 24
Table 1: Scores of pre-test and post-test ................................................................... 39
Chart 1: Overall mean score of students‘ pre-test and post-test ............................... 40
Table 2: The percentage of students‘ scores ............................................................. 41
Chart 2: Scores of students‘ pre-test and post-test .................................................... 41
Table 3: The results of students‘ questionnaire answers........................................... 44
Table 4: Students‘ evaluation of class activities ....................................................... 45
Table 5: Students‘ answer about their favourite activity used in the lessons ........... 46

vi

INTRODUCTION

1. Statement of the problem and rationale of the study
The last few decades have seen phenomenal growth in the demand for
English. It is now thought to be one of the crucial features for people‘s success in
not only academic life but also in people‘s casual life. In Vietnam, English has
become increasingly important not only as a mean of global communication but
also as bridge to mankind‘s knowledge. Most of Vietnamese try to master English
in order to communicate, gain knowledge and get better chances for their life.
Vietnamese children learn English quite early because their parents believe that the
younger they are, the better they learn English. To meet the demand of society,
there are a lot of English centers for children opened in Hanoi- the capital of
Vietnam. English teachers always try to apply new methods and materials to help
their students improve English. Besides course books and other written resources,
technology integrated language teaching provides a lot of materials for language
learners as well. Websites might be regarded as online teaching tools which can be
very effective resources both for learners and teachers.
After teaching at some English centers in Hanoi for 3 years and teaching the
students as participants in this study for 5 months, the researcher notices the poor
pronunciation with incorrect word stress of many students. Though they seem not to
have problems with grammar, fluency or ideas, they have difficulties in
pronouncing certain consonants, vowels and similar sounds in English. Besides,
words and sentences are usually produced with wrong stress pattern or no stress at
all.
The researcher has taken this matter into consideration a lot. The students
seem not eager to learn pronunciation and feel difficult to correct their mistakes.
Meanwhile, most of them are really into surfing the Internet on computers or mobile
phone to play games or watch films every day, which inspires the researcher the

1


idea of using websites for pronunciation instruction. The websites include not only
standard video clips that guide students to pronounce English sounds but they also
provide a wide range of exercises, games, quizzes and activities with pictures and
other illustrations, which are believed to attract the children. Besides, using
websites to study English pronunciation can give students chances to listen again
and practice the words, phrases, sentences at home.
So far, there are some studies which have been conducted to discover the
effectiveness of using technology in teaching English in general and in
pronunciation aspect in particular. For example, Nguyen Thi Kim Dung (2014)
found out the challenges the teacher encountered in applying IT (MS Powerpoint) in
teaching medical vocabulary terms to the second year students at Thanh Hoa
medical college as well as provide suggestions to enhance effective utilization of
MS Powerpoint here. Besides, Tran Thi Tuyet Mai (2010) in other context, at Duy
Tien C high school, worked on the effectiveness of using English traditional songs
to improve students‘ pronunciation. With the similar aspect, another study
conducted named ―A study on using multimedia for teaching pronunciation to preintermediate students in Crazy Ones English center” (Trieu Ngoc Tuan, 2015)
showed a variety of using multimedia and assessing their impacts in teaching
pronunciation. Actually, those studies were conducted with the participants who are
high school and college students, have a long time to learn English and
pronunciation as well. Differently, the researcher would like to work on children
aged from 8-10 at different English center where the researcher is working with the
objective to enhance the students‘ pronunciation by using some websites; with these
subjects, it is more concrete than the previous studies.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
This research aims at using websites to motivate 8-10 year- old children in
improving pronunciation at the chosen English center. According to the aim, the
researcher points out some main objectives as below:

- Investigating how students in class Movers 6 at the English center improve

2


their pronunciation after using the pronunciation instruction websites in teaching
and learning pronunciation
- Identifying class Movers 6 students‘ attitude towards the use of pronunciation
websites for improving pronunciation
- Finding out class Movers 6 students‘ feelings about the activities applied to
improve their pronunciation through using these websites
3. Research questions
In a nutshell, the researcher is going to answer three following questions:
1. To what extent does using pronunciation instruction websites in teaching
and learning pronunciation contribute to the improvement of’
pronunciation of the students in class Movers 6 at the English center?
2. What is the attitude of the students in class Movers 6 at the English
center towards the use of pronunciation instruction websites for
improving pronunciation?
3. What do the students in class Movers 6 at the English center think about
the activities applied to improve their pronunciation through using these
websites?
4. Scope of the study
There are many problems in Vietnamese children‘s English learning that
they can be listed such as grammar, vocabulary, four basic skills (listening,
speaking, reading and writing); however, it can be seen that learning to speak is
very essential. Obviously, we cannot communicate with one another without
speech. What‘s more, there are certainly various aspects of pronunciation such as
vowels and consonants, stress, intonation, rhythm, assimilation, elision, linking,
tones etc.; however, due to the limitation of time as well as the scope of this paper,

the research deals with only two aspects of pronunciation: consonants and vowels
and word stress.
In terms of methods, there are a lot of methods to help children improve
pronunciation; however, in modern society, using Information Technology in

3


teaching and learning English is necessary and convenient. With the development of
the Internet, websites supporting for learning English in general and learning
pronunciation in particular are more popular. Hence, the researcher wish that IT as
well as websites would be implemented more often and more efficiently for
learning English pronunciation is the coming time.
5. Significance of the study
Pronunciation has often been used to evaluate the cohesion and fluency of
the speakers. Good pronunciation is important for people who want to improve their
speaking skills and listening skills to communicate effectively with others. This is
more essential to children in order to help them become confident when expressing
their ideas and motivate them to learn English better.
Although the study is conducted in as small scale one, once being completed, it
may bring advantages to the teachers and other researchers also. The research was
carried out to find out the applicability of websites in teaching and learning English
pronunciation to help students at the chosen center improve their pronunciation,
speaking skill and confidence while communicating in English. Hopefully, the
teachers will take this research as a helpful consultant for teaching English
pronunciation to children.
6. Research methods
The aim of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of using websites for
students‘ improvement in pronunciation; therefore action research is the method
employed in this study. In addition, the researcher made a careful selection of the

subjects of the study and the participants. In this research, both qualitative and
quantitative methods are used to analyze the data.
In this research, quantitative method is used to analyze the data collected from
the pre-tests and post-tests. Then, conclusions are drawn from the results using
inferential statistics. It is also used to analyze data collected from the survey
questionnaire to find out what are the students‘ attitudes towards the use of
pronunciation websites in learning pronunciation.

4


Furthermore, qualitative method is used to analyze the tape recordings and
teacher‘s observation and notes.
7. Organizations of the study
The minor thesis is composed of five following parts and chapters:
INTRODUCTION
This part presents the statement of the problem and rationale of the study, aims and
objectives, research questions, the scope, the significance and methods of the study.
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter summarizes the concepts and theoretical backgrounds related to the
topic of the study by earlier authors
CHAPTER 2. METHODOLOGY
This chapter involves the information about the setting of the study, the participants,
instruments for collecting data and presents the data collection and analysis
procedures.
CHAPTER 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The findings of the tests, questionnaire and observations are presented in this
chapter.
CONCLUSION
This part summarizes some major findings, provides recommendations for

pronunciation teaching using websites, limitations of the study and suggestions for
further studies.

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CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Pronunciation
1.1.

Definition of pronunciation

There are various ways to define the term ―pronunciation‖. Simply,
according to Hornby (2003), pronunciation is ―the way in which a word or a
particular word or sound is pronounced‖ (p.1015). Similarly, Dalton & Seidlhofer
(1994) defined pronunciation as the production of significant sounds.
What‘s more, according to Adult Migrant English Program Research Centre
(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.
Moreover, Otlowski (2004:1) (cited in ―The Portrait Of ED Students
Pronunciation Education Essay ‖, 2015) asserted that pronunciation is a way that is
accepted or generally understood. Expressing his idea in another way, Gilakjani
(n.d) stated pronunciation is a set of habits of producing sounds which are ―acquired
by repeating these habits over and over again and by being corrected when the
sounds are pronounced wrongly‖. He also has the same idea that pronunciation

includes attention to the particular sounds of a language (segments) and other
aspects of speech.
From the statements mentioned above, the author can conclude that
pronunciation is the way of speaker to produce segmental and suprasegmental
sound that is accepted or generally understood.
1.2.

The importance of pronunciation

Nowadays, no one might deny the significant role of pronunciation in
language teaching and learning. Pronunciation is one of the most important aspects
of language. We may be proficient at grammar and have a numbers of vocabularies
but when we pronounce words incorrectly, the hearers will not get understood.

6


Wong (1993) argues that the importance of the connection between
pronunciation and listening comprehension is needed to be considered. Besides
pronouncing the words, as listeners expect spoken English to follow certain patterns
of rhythm and intonation, speakers need to employ these patterns to communicate
effectively. Obviously, if the rhythm and intonation are different, listeners might get
the wrong meaning from the speakers. Furthermore, listeners also need to know
how speech is organized and what patterns of intonation mean to interpret the
messages accurately. Hence, learning about pronunciation helps learners be able to
comprehend spoken English well.
According to Hope Speak (2014), pronunciation is the most important and
difficult problem that non-native English speakers have to face when studying
English. Incorrect pronunciation can lead to negative impression, misunderstanding
and ineffective communication. If you have a poor pronunciation with very strong

foreign accent, you can be regarded as a bad English speaker in spite of your good
vocabulary and grammar. Knowing a lot of vocabularies is meaningless if you
cannot pronounce those words correctly because no one can understand the words
that you are trying to use.
As mentioned above, it is surely that pronunciation plays a very important
role in communicative competence because successful communication cannot take
place without correct pronunciation (Celce-Murcia, Briton and Goodwin, 1996).
2. Pronunciation in language teaching
2.1.

Pronunciation as an aspect of communicative competence

There have been various supports for the effectiveness of pronunciation
training on learners‘ achievement in communicative competence. According to
Pennington (1996), the most important part of learning a second language rests on
pronunciation. With the similar idea, Morley (1998) also states that pronunciation
plays an important role in overall communicative competence. While, Kelly (2006)
emphasizes that a learner mispronouncing a range of phonemes can be extremely
difficult for the listeners from another language community to understand. This can

7


make the learner who may have a good command of grammar and lexis but have
difficulty in understanding and being understood by a native speaker feel very
frustrating when learning and communicating. Moreover, the inaccurate use of
supsegmental elements, such as stress or intonation can also cause a big problem.
In addition, Fraser (1999) explains that being able to speak English includes
a number of sub-skills, of which pronunciation is the most important (other subskills of speaking include vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics). She states that a
speaker with good pronunciation is intelligible in spite of other errors; however,

with poor pronunciation, a speaker can be very difficult to understand, despite
accuracy in other areas.
Hewings (2004) also emphasizes that ―difficulties with pronunciation might
mean that students fail to get their message across, even when the correct words are
being used, or they might fail to understand what is said to them.‖ (p.10)
Yong (2004) confirms that from the traditional ways of learning English,
students neglected the basic knowledge of speaking. This may have been enough to
meet the demands of English in the years when we had less communication with
foreign countries. However, oral communication began to be more important when
they arrived in this century with extended forms of communication with Western
countries. He asserts that understanding by reading or writing would no longer be
sufficient for development of the economy and that communicating face to face
personally or through the internet needed be understood. Yong also indicates that
pronunciation is the foundation of speaking. English, both written and spoken, has
been accepted as the dominant means of communication for most of the world but
some misunderstandings have been caused by improper pronunciation. Obviously,
poor pronunciation can lead learners to less social, academic and work advancement
than they deserved.
Moreover, Dan (2006) claims that language competence covers many
aspects. Phonetics, both in theory and practice, establishes the basis of speaking
above all other aspects of language and pronunciation is the foundation of speaking.

8


Good pronunciation might make the communication easier, more relaxed and more
useful. Almost all learners rate pronunciation as a priority and an area in which they
need more guidance.
In short, pronunciation plays a vital role in our modern world, particularly in
oral communication. Hence, acquiring good pronunciation is very crucial for those

who are learning foreign languages in general and in English in particular.
2.2.

Approaches to teaching pronunciation

According to Celce-Murcia (1987), the field of modern language teaching has
developed two general approaches to the teaching pronunciation: Intuitive- imitative
approach and Analytic- linguistic approach.
2.2.1. Intuitive- imitative approach
Intuitive- imitative approach depends on the learner‘s ability to listen and
imitate the rhythms and sounds of the target language without the intervention of
any explicit information; it also presupposes the availability first of phonograph
records, the of tape recorders and language labs in the mid-twentieth century and
more recently of audio and video cassettes and compact discs. Jones and Evans
(1995) suggest teachers should take this approach at the beginning of teaching
pronunciation because it gives students a chance approach pronunciation on
intuitive and communicative levels before moving on to a more analytical
exploration of specific elements of phonology.
2.2.2. Analytic- linguistic approach
Analytic- linguistic approach utilizes information and tools such as a phonetic
alphabet, articulatory description, chart of the vocal apparatus, contrastive
information, and other aids to supplement listening, imitation and production. It
explicitly informs the 5 learners of and focused attention on such segmental as the
sounds and rhythms of the target language. This approach was developed to
complement rather than to replace the intuitive-imitative approach.
Two other common approaches to teaching pronunciation stated by Tench
(1984), Pennington (1989), Jones and Evans (1995), Dalton and Seidlhofer (1994)
are approaches of Bottom-up and Top-down

9

2.2.3. Bottom-up approach
Bottom-up approach has close relationship with accuracy which should be
focused from the very beginning of a course. Teachers teach learners with the
smallest and most concrete unit elements in pronunciation. Teachers start from
individual sounds to more abstract segments such as intonation and thought group.
2.2.4. Top-down approach
Top-down approach gets the idea of contextualized sounds in connected
speech. The teacher goes from the biggest elements to the smallest ones of
pronunciation: from intonation or thought group to individual sounds.
2.2.5. Integrated approach
Integrated approach mentioned by Hewings and Goldstein (2004) is that this
approach is applied in some classes where pronunciation is given a lower priority
than other components of language such as grammar and vocabulary. The teacher
gives pronunciation a more central role in teaching by integrating it with other areas
of language work; for example connection vocabulary and pronunciation or the link
between grammar and pronunciation.
2.3.

Elements of pronunciation teaching

Different researchers have different viewpoints toward what should be taught
in pronunciation classes. Colin Mortimer (1985) claims that elements of
pronunciation teaching include weak forms, clusters, linking-up, contractions and
stress. However, more sufficiently, according to Gerald Kelly (2000), teaching
pronunciation involves vowels, consonants, word and sentence stress, intonation,
other aspects if connected speech and spelling. Jennifer Jenkins (2004) provides
more comprehensive elements of pronunciation teaching. This researcher states that
pronunciation teaching typically covers any or all of the following: consonant and

vowel sounds, changes of these sounds in the stream of connected speech, word
stress patterns, rhythm, and intonation.
In short, because of the scope of this study, among aspects mentioned
above, the researcher chose consonant and vowel sounds and word stress to
teach to children.

10


2.3.1. Consonant and vowel sounds
It is obvious that learners of English need to know and pronounce letter
sounds correctly because they are basement for the combination of sounds into
words. However, students must know that English pronunciation does not match
spelling and one of the most confusing aspects of English pronunciation is sound
and spelling patterns. English has borrowed lots of words from other languages such
as ancient Latin, Greek,… so its sound and spelling correspondences are irregular.
Consonants
Roach (2000) defines ―Consonants sounds are the sounds in the production
of which two articulators come together to form and an obstruction of some type so
that the air-stream cannot get out freely‖ (p.10).
In English, there are 24 consonants, whereas Vietnamese has only 21. Some
phonemes exist in English but not in Vietnamese and vice versa, which are
challenging for both Vietnamese teachers and learners.
Vowels
―Vowels are the sounds in the production of which there is no obstruction to
the air so the air can get out freely‖. (Roach, 2000, p.11). There are 20 vowels in
English (12 simple vowels and 8 diphthongs).
2.3.2. Word stress
Word stress must highly be focused on at the beginning of any pronunciation
courses because without correct word stress, speakers of English cannot have

understandable pronunciation. In every two or more syllable words, one of the
syllables is stressed, which means it is higher, louder and longer than the others.
This stressed syllable is very important because it helps listeners distinguish the
word from others. Therefore, listeners often find it hard to understand what the
speaker is saying when he or she misuses word stress.
3. Ideas on pronunciation teaching and learning
Changing outlooks on language learning and teaching have influenced the
view of language competence, which leads to a shift from specific linguistic

11


competencies to broader communicative competencies as goals for teachers and
students (Morley, 1991). Previously, teachers of pronunciation only focused on
teaching segmental features which started with a concentration on phonetic
alphabets during the Reform Movement (Celce-Murcia et. Al., 1996). Phonetic
training was used in order to help learners establish good speech habits. Minimal
pair drills were used extensively to distinguish phonemes in listening practice and
oral production (Celce-Murcia et. al., 1996).
However, after the studies on ―Teaching suprasegmentals to international
teaching assistants using field-specific materials‖ (1990) and ―Pronunciation factors
affecting intelligibility in speakers of English as a foreign language‖ (1995) were
introduced by Anderson-Hsieh, the focus of pronunciation teaching changed
dramatically from segmentals to and emphasis on suprasegmentals. Thanks to
Anderson-Hsieh‘s viewpoints, abundant studies have investigated the extent to
which suprasegmentals contribute to speakers‘ intelligibility and its pedagogy. Then
a lot of books for teachers have largely encouraged the teaching of suprasegments at
the production level to improve learners‘ intelligibility.
In the same spirit, Morley (1991) also states the need for the integration of
pronunciation with oral communication, a change of emphasis from segmentals to

suprasegmentals, more emphasis on individual learner needs, meaningful task-based
practices, development of new teacher strategies for the teaching, and introducing
peer correction and group interaction.
According to Cohen (1977), teaching phonemes is not enough for
intelligibility in communication. With the emphasis on meaningful communication
and Morley‘s (1991) premise, that ―Intelligible pronunciation is an essential
component of communication competence‖ teachers should include pronunciation
in their courses and expect students to do well in them. It is certain that the learner‘s
ability to communicate is severely limited without adequate pronunciation skills.
Morley believes that not attending to a student‘s pronunciation needs ―is an
abrogation of professional responsibility‖ (1991)

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4. Pronunciation websites
A website is a page or series of related pages that load after entering a
domain name in an Internet browser. It‘s the medium that your audience will
experience your online content with. The most relevant example would be this
article, which is a page on the Hover website. (Hover, 2016)
Pronunciation websites are a collection of related web pages containing
images, videos, lessons, conversations, exercises and quizzes on pronunciation of
English consonants, vowels and words, phrases and sentences, which support the
teaching and learning of pronunciation.
5. Theoretical background of technology and websites application in
language teaching
Thanks to the achievements of international science and technology, the
methods of teaching and learning have undeniably been changing year by year.
Now it is time for us to make up the general scenery of technology in foreign
language classroom or educational technology (Harmer, 2001)

The grammar- translation method has usually been the most popular method
of teaching with chalk, blackboards, pens, paper and textbooks. These go with
educational technologies. Warschauer & Carla Meskill (2000) said nearly every
type of foreign language classroom teaching is supported by its own technologies.
The blackboard can be considered a perfect tool for grammar- translation method.
The teacher uses the board for a lot of purposes, such as note pad, explanation aid,
picture frame and so on. However, all the educational technologies above
sometimes do not work well.
In Vietnam and in the world, the traditional educational technologies are
currently used by teachers or educators. To make the matter better, such modern
media as radios, cassette players, recorders, movies, TV, etc have contributed to the
renovation in teaching and learning. According to Nguyen Lan Trung (2002), they
have changed classroom structures and have assisted learners‘ acquisition of
knowledge. Foreign language classroom activities have been much more fascinating

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and understandable to both teachers and learners, which is due to the usage of
modern media. Learners learn foreign languages when they listen to CDs/ tapes,
watch film/ programmes or see images projected from computers‘ screen.
Of all the means of modern media, undeniably, computer is now quite a
useful multipurpose tool for foreign language education. A newly established
branch called IT started the actual revolution of innovating methods in FL
education.
Teachers and students can easily search for information of language teaching
and learning with the help of CD/ DVD-ROMS and Internet. CDs/ DVDs of FL
have continuously been programmed and produced to meet the enormous needs of
FL teaching and learning. The two most distinguishing programmes to count are
Encyclopedia and FL Dictionaries. The Encyclopedia such as Encarta, Grollier,

Hutchinson contains knowledge of all fields, including maps, photos and films. To
those who teach and learn FL, FL dictionaries can be used as a perfect tool for
reference. They are available on CD-ROM or Internet. Undeniably, Internet is now
the most convenient source of materials.
―As

a vast

virtual

library the Internet

offers a

seemingly

endless

range of topics to choose from, all in one handy location‖ (Dede & Peta, 2001,
p.36). Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista, etc have been the most popular searching
engines. Only with a key word, a teacher or student can find a vast amount of
information related. Importantly, foreign language students and teachers make great
use of web sides in FL as authentic materials for research or reference. Each Web
page is identified by a unique address called URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A
variety of web sites are designed specifically for foreign language students and
teachers to search information, exchange emails, so exercises, play games, etc.
6. Advantages and disadvantages of using pronunciation websites in
pronunciation teaching and learning
There are certainly lots of advantages of using websites for pronunciation
instruction. First of all, students have chance to access to authentic voice since there

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are video and audio clips by native speakers. Secondly, teachers can save time and
energy; all what they need to do is some guidance for students to study on their own
and some observation to make sure if they are on the right track. In addition,
websites are very useful resources for students to practice pronunciation at home
where there is no teacher‘s help. What‘s more, websites motivate and relax students
when studying because there are lots of illustrations, clips, games and quizzes to
refresh their mind while studying. Last but not least, students can test their own
pronunciation with recording function, tests and quizzes.
Everything has its two sides and websites are not the exception. Once using
websites for language instruction, teachers need to be well-prepared for everything,
for example, the power, the Internet connection and the access speed, the
headphones, projector, sound server installation, searching engines etc. All these
conditions must work well during the lesson because if one thing goes wrong, the
lesson will not be successfully carried out. Moreover, it is quite difficult to find
pronunciation websites which are not only suitable for students‘ level and interest
but also easy enough for teachers to design related activities in the class. Besides,
teachers also have to pay very close attention to make sure that students do not
access to other distracted websites and check whether they actually imitate the
sounds in the video or audio clips.
7. Websites evaluation
Nowadays there are thousands of websites for English teaching and learning
on the Internet. Therefore, it is essential for teachers as well as learners to decide
what is good to use. The excessively increasing load of information production and
routing within the Internet leads to an inevitable overload of useless information,
which raises certain criticisms concerning the pedagogic value and relevance of the
web. According to Luhmann (1996), as cited in Sofos & Kostas (2009), he

amassing of information follows a non-systematic pattern because the organization
and presentation of information on the Web is quite different from those taking
place within the classical media. Kron & Sofos (2007), as cited in Sofos & Kostas

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(2009), stated that within the online context, the user can be a content ―producer‖
and ―consumer‖ simultaneously, thus leading to a huge amount of a raw
information, produced by a huge number of different users without any educational
information applied and incapable to support classroom learning design. As a result,
evaluation of information resources is a basic requirement for content published on
the web. Sofos & Kostas (2009) added:
If we focus on the learning and teaching process, then we have to consider
evaluation through a pedagogical approach and a media-didactic theory and so, web
resources are able to support active learning by using various media elements, are
considered as quality content (p.2)

Many scholars and organizations have developed criteria for judging
educational websites. They usually specific criteria about platform requirements,
goals and objectives, the content, the pedagogy, ease of use, and costs. However,
the criteria can be modified according to your needs. Kapoun (1998) mentioned five
criteria to evaluate a website, including accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency
and coverage. While Jackson (2000) listed six: platform requirements, goals, and
objectives, content, pedagogy, ease of use and cost. He also asserted that we need to
undertake our own assessment of the websites based on the criteria which were
previously prepared by scholars and organizations, you might adapt those criteria to
your organization‘s own priorities, or you might develop new criteria. According to
Hsu, Yeh & Yen (2006) ―Standardized and objective design criteria for evaluating
web-based learning platforms can effectively distinguish the quality of a platform

and, therefore, contribute in improving web-based learning outcomes‖
The two websites used for the research were selected and evaluated
thoroughly from the pronunciation websites available based on such criteria as
Authority, Purpose, Accuracy, Currency, Content, Functionality, Cost and
Accessibility. General speaking, the two selected websites meet quite well the
criteria.

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The first selected website is
/>ort_1.shtml

This website, which is mainly designed for English learning, is ideal for
guiding students to pronounce correct vowels and consonants in English as there are
series of video clips directing students how to pronounce properly. Besides, it also
consists of quizzes, and other activities for students to practice and test their own
pronunciation. It is written and designed by the BBC (The British Broadcasting
Cooperation) which has gained reputation throughout the world over years. The
working team includes experienced native teachers, editors, producers and
programmers who have been working for BBC for many years and very
professional in designing a very interesting and user-friendly websites with easy
navigation. In addition, this website is frequently updated and in terms of
functionality, it works well with no broken links. The page is incorporated with
Video Media, PDF, audio and some links with other websites/ channels such as
Youtube and Encyclopedia. Another advantage of the website is that it is a free
website on a consistent basis and quick accessibility.

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