quyen thesis
TRANSCRIPT
THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC SCIENCES
NGO THI QUYEN
AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING SONGS TO
TEACH PRONUNCIATION FOR THE FIRST YEAR
STUDENTS AT THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCES, TNU
THAI NGUYEN, APRIL, 2011
THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF BASIC SCIENCES
NGO THI QUYEN
AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING SONGS TO
TEACH PRONUNCIATION FOR THE FIRST YEAR
STUDENTS AT THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCES, TNU
SUPERVISOR’S NAME : NGUYEN THI TUYET
THAI NGUYEN, APRIL, 2011
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With the accomplishment of this graduation paper, I want to give my gratitude for many
people who helped, advised and supported me in doing my paper, without their assistance
and guidance I could not finish my final graduation paper.
In the first place, my great appreciation goes to my supervisor Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tuyet,
who directly guided me to do this graduation paper. Her valuable guidance, and detail
comments have helped me to shape my ideas and realize my aims in doing this graduation
thesis.
Next, I would like to give my sincere thanks to other lectures in the Department of Basic
Sciences for their help and guide which help me fulfill this graduation paper.
Besides, I would be also greatful to the English teachers of Department of Basic Sciences
and the first year students in College of Sciences for their cooperation and enthusiasm in
completing my survey questionnaires.
Last but not least, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my lovely family and all
my friends for their love, support, and encouragement in finishing my graduation paper.
And I want to thank all people who can not be mentioned one by one who helped me in
writing this final people, thanks a lot. Hopefully, success and luck come to them all.
Thai Nguyen, April 2011
The writer
Ngo Thi Quyen
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ABSTRACT
It is undeniable that English has become the most popular foreign language in Vietnam
nowadays. English is the most popular foreign language to be used as a mean of
communication in Vietnam, nevertheless Vietnamese people in general face to many
difficulties when learning English as a second language. Among millions of people
speaking English in Vietnam, there are many people who make mistakes in pronunciation.
Pronunciation plays an important role when leanrning a second language. Right
pronunciation wil make others understand and listen to you, but wrong pronunciation may
cause misunderstanding from others. It can be said that many years ago, when learning
English from the very beginning, Vietnamese learners were taught much about the
grammar or vocabulary, so that they became good at grammar and vocabulary, but not
good at pronunciation. To be honest, in the past, when teaching English, pronunciation was
usually considered not important as grammar. Consequently, pronunciation seemed to be a
weakness of many people. Many Vietnamese speakers feel embarrassed when
communicate with the native foreigners or foreigners, they are difficult to understand what
the foreigners said and also not being understood easily.
Nowadays, English has become a compulsory subject in most Vietnamese schools so
there have been a lot of changes in methods of English teaching and learning.
Consequently, pronuncation is considered as an important aspect to teach for students.
There have been many methods are exploited to teach pronunciation for students. Among
of these, using songs to teach English pronunciation is an useful way to help students learn
English better.
However, in fact the roles of songs have not been fully grasped by most teachers and
students. Some of their drawbacks have prevented teachers from using them more often.
The objective of this study is to investigate whether songs have been exploited to teach
pronunciation for students at the College of Sciences or not, and the attitudes of both
teachers and students at the Collge of Sciences, TNU to using songs in teaching and
learning pronunciation.
In constructing this study, the writer collected data from the classroom action research,
which was carried out through five activities. The activities were begun from selecting
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subjects, preparing the instruments for collecting the data, collecting data, analyzing and
interpreting the data, taking action and find out the teachers and students’ reflection.
The subjects of the study were 215 first year students at the College of Sciences, TNU
and 7 English teachers in the Department of Basic Sciences, College of Sciences, TNU.
This graduation paper has been made more reliable through the results from data
collection of the survey questionnaires and from the inteviews.
Based on this study, it is found that the use of songs in teaching English is effective to
improve the students’ pronunciation and very beneficial for the students in order to
facilitate them in learning English.
Based on this finding, it is suggested that songs in teaching English can be recommended
for the English teachers. To get a wider generalization, research of similar kind should be
done with different subjects.
Errors and mistakes are unavoidable, therefore, comments and criticisms are always
welcomed by the author in order to make this graduation paper better.
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LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES
List of tables:
Table 1: Teachers’ opinion about the most difficult aspect of teaching English
Table 2: Teachers’ criticism on the importance of pronunciation
Table 3: The use of songs in some skills
Table 4: Teachers’ point of view about songs can be an effective tool for
teaching pronunciation or not
Table 5: The attitudes and feelings of students towards songs basing on
teachers’ point of view
Table 6: Time when songs are used in the class
Table 7: Students’ opinion of using songs can help they have better pronunciation
Table 8: The frequency of listening to English songs
Table 9: The teachers’ frequency of using songs to teach pronunciation, in students’ point
of view
List of figures:
Figure 1: The material teachers often use to teach pronunciation
Figure 2: The problems when teachers teaching English sounds
Figure 3: Teachers’ exposure in using English songs
Figure 4: The percentage of teachers prefering teaching pronunciation
through songs
Figure 5: Purposes of using songs in teaching English
Figure 6: The frequency of using songs
Figure 7: Teachers’ perception on the effectivenes of using songs in teaching
pronunciation
Figure 8: The advantages of using songs in the lesson
Figure 9: The difficulties in using songs in the class
Figure 10: Time spent in using songs
Figure 11: The students’ ability of speaking English
Figure 12: The aspect of learning English is the most difficult in students’ point of view
Figure 13: The importance of pronunciation in learning a language, in students’ opinion
Figure 14: The students’ preference of listening to English songs
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Figure 15: Students’ preference of having songs in the lessonFigure 16: The purposes of using songs from students’ opinion
Figure 17: Students’ experience in learning English pronunciation through songs
Figure 18: Students’ opinion about advantages of using songs in learning pronunciation
Figure 19: The students’ problems when listening to English songs
Figure 20: The number of songs used in class, in students’ point of view
Figure 21: Students’ opinion about teachers should use songs teach pronunciation or not
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................IAbstract.................................................................................................................................IIList of tables and figures......................................................................................................IIITable of contents..................................................................................................................IV
PART A
INTRODUCTION
I. State of the problem and reasons for choosing the topic....................................................1
II. Aims of the study...........................................................................................................
III. Research questions......................................................................................................
IV. Significance of the study.................................................................................................
V. Scope of the study............................................................................................................
VI. Methods of study........................................................................................................
VII. Design of the study.......................................................................................................
PART B
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND.........................................................
1.1. Introduction of the chapter........................................................................................1.2. An overview of songs in teaching language..............................................................
1.2.1. Songs as teaching media.........................................................................................
1.2.2. Definition of songs..................................................................................................
1.2.3. Elements of songs...................................................................................................
1.2.4. Types of songs........................................................................................................
1.2.5. The roles of songs in the foreign language classroom............................................
1.2.6. The reasons why songs are useful in teaching pronunciation................................
1.2.7. The drawbacks of using songs................................................................................
1.2.8. Selection of songs...................................................................................................
1.2.9. Procedure in applying the songs.............................................................................
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1.3. Theory of pronunciation............................................................................................
1.3.1. Definition of pronunciation...................................................................................
1.3.2. The importance of teaching pronunciation............................................................
1.3.3. Elements of pronunciation.....................................................................................
1.4. Literature review.......................................................................................................
1.4.1. Students’ pronunciation problems in pronuncing English sounds.........................
1.4.2. General views on pronunciation teaching strategies..............................................
1.5. Songs to improve achievement in pronunciation......................................................
1.6. Summary of the chapter............................................................................................
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY..................................................................................
2.1. Introduction of the chapter.......................................................................................
2.2. Selection of the subjects...........................................................................................
2.3. Data collection instruments......................................................................................
2.3.1. Questionnaires.......................................................................................................
2.4. Procedures of data collection...................................................................................
2.5. Procedures of data analysis......................................................................................
2.6. Summary of the chapter...........................................................................................
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION............................................................
3.1. Introduction of the chapter.......................................................................................
3.2. Results............................................................................................................................
3.2.1. Data collection and analysis of the findings from the teacher survey......................
3.2.1.1. The opinions of teachers about the difficulty level of pronunciation among other
elements of teaching English...........................................................................................
3.2.1.2. Opinions of teachers at the College of Sciences, TNU about the importance of
pronunciation..........................................................................................................................
3.2.1.3. The material teachers often use to teach pronunciation.............................................
3.2.1.4. The problems when teachers teaching English sounds.............................................
3.2.1.5. The situation of using songs to teach pronunciation..................................................
3.2.1.6. The attitudes of teachers towards using songs to teach pronunciation.......................
3.2.1.7. The purpose of using songs in teaching process........................................................
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3.2.1.8. The frequency of using songs in teaching pronunciation...........................................
3.2.1.9. The effectiveness of using songs in teaching pronunciation.....................................
3.2.1.10. The attitudes and feelings of students towards songs basing on the teachers’
view..
3.2.1.11. The advantages of using songs in the lesson..........................................................
3.2.1.12. The difficulties in using songs in the class..............................................................
3.2.1.13. The time when songs are used in the class and how long it takes.........................
3.2.2. Data collection and analysis of the findings from the student survey.......................
3.2.2.1. The students’ ability of speaking English................................................................
3.2.2.2. The aspect of learning English is the most difficult.................................................
3.2.2.3. The importance of pronunciation in learning a language, in students’ opinion........
3.2.2.4. The attitude of the first year students towards learning pronnciation through songs
3.2.2.5. The situation of learning pronunciation by using songs at the College of Sciences,
TNU.....................................................................................................................................
3.2.2.6. The advantages of using songs in learning pronunciation.........................................
3.2.2.7. The students’ problems when listening to English songs...........................................
3.2.2.8. The number of songs used in the class and students’ opinion about using songs to
teach pronunciaton............................................................................................................
3.4. Discussion....................................................................................................................
PART C
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
I. Summary of the findings.............................................................................................
II. Suggestions for English teachers..................................................................................
III. Limitations of the research.........................................................................................
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PART A
INTRODUCTION
This part presents statement of the problem and also the reasons for choosing the topic. Moreover, it indicates the aims, research questions, significance of the study, scope and method of the study. Finally, it gives the design of the whole study.
I. State of the problem and reasons for choosing the topic
Nowadays English has become an international language of the world. It is a mean of
international communication to help people from different countries communicate and
understand each others easily. Actually, English is used in all fields of our today lives, as
in: communication, commerce and trade, travel, medicine, study, science, etc.
In our country, English is also an important language. It is one of the compulsory subjects
in the curricula of High Schools up to Universities in the whole country. In recent years,
the course of teaching and learning English has gone through many changes, especially
when the communicative approach became a buzzword among people in the fields of
language education. As a result, the English curriculum has been geared more toward
communication because the educators hope that with communicative teaching oriented
syllabus students would be much improved in oral communication. Thus, the English
teaching and learning curriculum in Viet Nam has been reformed in 2004, English
teaching and learning activities combine four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. These four skills are combined to teach closely in the class to improve learners’
English skills. Although these four skills are all taught in the class, pronunciation seems to
be not easy to teach.
Pronunciation is one of the most important parts when one learns English as a second
language. The fact that bad English pronunciation may confuse people even if you use
advanced English grammar. We can use simple words and simple structures that make
people understand you but we can not use “simple pronunciation”. On the contrary, good
English pronunciation will make people understand you easily and be willing to listen to
you. Thus, when we communicate with other people we should not only have good
vocabulary and grammar but also have good pronunciation. Wong, R. (1987) pointed out
that: “...even when the non-native speakers’ vocabulary and grammar are excellent, if
their pronunciation falls below a certain threshold level, they are unable to communicate
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effectively...”. Therefore, teaching pronunciation plays an important role in teaching a
foreign language, as stated by Harmer (2000: 183) that: “...for all people, being made
aware of pronunciation issue will be of immense benefit not only to their own production
but also to their own understanding of spoken language...”
Besides, Vietnamese learners may cope with many problems when pronouncing English
sounds. There are many reports indicated that: “...up to a certain proficiently standard, the
fault which most severely impairs the communication process in Vietnamese learners is
pronunciation, rather than vocabulary or grammar...” (Best, J. D, 1981). This may be
caused by many factors such as motivation, interest, aptitude, intelligence that come from
learners, or condition and situation of the environment, learning materials, and the
teachers’ ability in handing the English teaching and learning process that come from
outside of learners. As a result, many foreigners have commented that: “...Many
Vietnamese can speak English, but only a few have right English pronunciation so that
they can be understood easily in direct communication with foreigners...” (Hinofitis and
Baily, 1980).
The fact that English learners need a way of teaching that is interseting as well as practical
so that finally they can achieve better pronunciation. Therefore, English teachers should
have effective methods to motivate their students in learning English. In reality, some
recent changes in language teaching have shown that creating English environment or
organizing activities in the classroom have helped learners learn better. Moreover,
boredom and tiredness have been driven away by the interesting activities during the
lesson.
In fact, a lot of specific pronunciation activities and effective teaching methods have been
suggested. One of them is using songs to teach pronunciation for students. Songs can get
students integrated to English because songs can bring students great interest and strong
motivation instead of boredom during the lesson. Songs provide examples of authentic,
memorable, and rhymthmic language. They can be motivating for students keen to
repeatedly listen to and imitate their musical heroes. Moreover, songs can help teachers
design various tasks in a foreign language classroom. It is assumed that they can contribute
many things to improve students’ capabilities. However, until now, songs if ever used in
teaching activities, just aim at creating pleasure and change the class atmosphere after long
and hard practice, not fully exploited to teach pronunciation for students.
Based on the reasons mentioned above, the writer would like to carry out the research on
“An investigation into using songs to teach pronunciation for the first year students at the
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College of Sciences, Thai Nguyen University” with the aims to find out whether songs can
be exploited as an interesting and effective tool to teach pronunciation for first year
students at the College of Sciences, Thai Nguyen University or whether teaching
pronunciation by using songs can improve learners’ ability in English pronunciation or
not?
II. Aims of the study
This thesis is expected to investigate some main issues:
The primary goal is to discover whether songs have been exploited to teaching
pronunciation for the first year students at the College of Sciences, TNU or not.
The second aim is to find out the opinions of both English teachers and the first year
students at the College of Sciences, TNU about using songs in teaching and learning
pronunciation.
In addition, some suggestions for teachers of English in improving the effectiveness of
teaching pronunciation by using songs based on the findings from the study are introduced.
III. Research questions
On this study, the writer would like to find out the answers for these following questions:
1. What are the opinions of the English teachers and the first year students at the College
of Sciences, TNU to using songs in teaching and learning pronunciation?
2. What is the situation of using songs to teach pronunciation for the first year students at
the College of Sciences, TNU?
3. What are the English teachers’ and the first year students’ opinions about advantages
and disadvantages of using songs in teaching and learning pronunciation?
IV. Significance of the study
The results of the study are expected to be able to give the following benefits:
(1) For English teachers: the results of the study are expected to be used as a consideration
in teaching pronunciation for learners. This research is carried out to provide teachers with
some effective techniques to exploit songs in teaching pronunciation.
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(2) For the readers: it is expected that this study will be useful for further research and
enlarge the readers’ knowledge in using songs as media.
V. Scope of the study
Within the limitation of knowledge, time and experience, the writer only focuses on
investigating how to teach English pronunciation by using songs, not any other stimulating
activities to teach pronunciation, just among the English teachers and the first year
students at the College of Sciences, Thai Nguyen University.
VI. Methods of study
In order to collect appropriate data throughout process of carrying out this research, some
suitable methodologies are used:
Firstly, the researcher consults the information from many documents, books and
materials, etc. which provide plenty of information related to the topic, and several
websites and materials from the internet which are relevant to the topic of using songs to
teach pronunciation for students.
Secondly, the study is conducted on the real- life teaching and learning circumstances of
some non-English major classes at the College of Sciences, Thai Nguyen university. The
results taken from the survey questionnares will be of a great help for the writer of the
study to find out basic problems facing ESL students and teachers.
VII. Design of the study
In order that this study is easier to follow, it is organized as follow:
Part A deals with the Introduction. This includes the state of the problem and reasons for
choosing the topic, aims of the study, research questions, significance of the study, scope,
method and design of the study.
Part B is Development which includes three main chapters:
(1) Chapter I is Theoretical background which provides fundamental and theoretical
concepts related to the purpose of the study by discussing an overview of songs in teaching
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language, theory of pronunciation and a literature review that mentions to some related
topics carried by some other authors.
(2) Chapter II is Methodology which describes the methods have been used and the
procedures have been followed when researcher conducted the study.
(3) Chapter III is Results and Discussion which presents the data and procedure of
data analysis.
Part C is the Conclusion of the study that summarizes the main points, revealing the
limitations and suggesting for further studies.
PART B
DEVELOPMENT
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This is the focus of the study which consists of three chapters:
Chapter 1: Theoretical background
Chapter 2: Methodology
Chapter 3: Results and Discussion.
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. Introduction of the chapter
This chapter provides fundamental and theoretical concepts related to the purpose of the
study. It includes three main parts: An overview of songs in teaching language, the Theory
of pronunciation, and A literature review that related to this topic.
1.2. An overview of songs in teaching language
1.2.1. Songs as teaching media
Media is derived from the Latin word “medium” that means “between”. The term refers to
anything that links two things together or carries information between a source and
reciever. In general, media is a mean of communication. In teaching, media is also
considered as instructural system of teaching and learning process. Thus, media is also
called teaching aid. It is used to facilitate the teacher to achieve her goal in teaching
process (Hannah. H, 1999)
In fact, songs are very important in every one's life. Today's life is full of work tensions
and people hardly find time to relax. When someone wants to relax and look for a peaceful
life then he may looks and urges to hear a song because it is food for his soul. Music
makes our lifes peace and happiness. Thus, music plays a vital role in our daily life. It is a
way of expressing our feelings and emotions. It is a way to escape life, which gives us
relief in pain and helps us to reduce the stress of the daily routine. It helps us to calm
down, an even excites us in the moment of joy. Moreover, it enriches the mind and gives
us self confidence.
Sometimes we just only listen to a song without realizing that from songs we can also
learn many things such as we can get more new words or we can learn how the words are
pronounced. Thus, songs not only like a magic in daily life but also have magical effects in
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teaching and learning process. Harmer (2000 : 242) stated that: “Music is a powerful
stimulus for students engagement precisely because it speaks directly to our emotions
while still allowing us to use our brain to analysis it and its effect if we so wish. It can
make a satisfactory connection between the world of leisure and the world of learning”.
And according to Harmer, songs are a good resource for English teaching for these
following reasons: First, they are funny and interesting: Songs enable learners to relax in a
learning atmosphere. Songs help to create a soothing and enjoyable environment for
learning. Songs reduce pressure and tension in the class. Therfore, students do not feel
threatened. Second, songs can bridge the gap between teachers and students: songs help to
bring teachers and students closer together. They share the same interest, which is music.
They participate in various academic and social activities together to pursue and promote
music. Teachers who can sing and like to sing with students are normally very popular.
Third, songs are good to introduce suprasegmental phonetics such as stress, rhythm and
intonation. Fourth, songs can be applied to comprehension stages (listening) or production
(singing). Fifth, songs promote mimes and gestures, etc, associated to the meaning. Sixth,
students learn English easily through echoic memory. Seventh, there are appropriate songs
for all levels and ages.
1.2.2. Definition of songs
Before talking about the roles as well as the usefullness of songs, the writer would like to
quote some definitions of songs from the reliable sourses:
(1) Hornby, AS (1995) defines songs as “a short poem or a number of verses set into
music and intened to be sung”
(2) The Encyclopedia of Americana (1998) defines songs as “a short musical work set to o
poetic text, with equal important given to the music and to the words. It may be writen for
one or several voices and is generally performed with instrument accompaniment”.
(3) Jamalus (1988: 5) states that songs can be said as “art work if they are sounded (sung)
with the accompaniment of musical divices”.
(4) Song - “a short musical composition with words, a successful musical must have at
least three good songs” (http://www.Allwords.com/word-song+thrush.html)
From the definitions of songs mentioned above, the writer concludes that song is a kind
of arts work that are intended to be sung either with or without the accompaniment of
musical divices.
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1.2.3. Elements of songs
When one listens to a song, he enjoys not only the melody, harmony, ryhthm but also the
lyrics of the song. That means a song is a combination of many music elements. It will be
helpful for the readers to know something about the various elements of a song.
According to Jamalus (1988: 7), the elements of songs are devided into two categories:
main elements and expression elements.
The first category is the main elements. It concludes measure (bar), melody, harmony,
rhythm, time signature, and lyrics. Following are the definitions of music’s elements:
Measure (Bar): A segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration.
The word "measure" is heard more frequently in the U.S., while bar is used in other
English-speaking countries.
Melody: The part of a song that can be sung alone so that the song is recognizable; the
"lead". Elements of the melody include:
o Motif: a short group of notes
o Phrase: Two motifs combined
o Sentence or period: Two phrases combined
o Paragraph: A group of sentences
o Sequence: a melodic phrase that is repeated but is transposed
Harmony: The notes that compliment or support the melody line. These may be sung or
played. In music theory, they are described as the vertical structure. If the singers use a
chord progression format, they should base the harmony of the song upon the progression
and only vary a bit.
Rhythm: The pattern of beats to which the words are sung. There are two versions: The
traditional, where every note is played as shown, and the "swing", used in Blues and Jazz,
where, for example, two half-beats go "bomp-bomb" (kind of like heartbeat).
Time Signature: 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, etc. the top number relates to amount of beats in a
measure/bar and the bottom number relates to the value of the notes in the bar. i.e 4/4 =
four Quarter/crochet notes in a bar. 6/8 = six eighth/quaver notes in a bar.
Lyrics: A set of words that make up a song.
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The second category is the expression elements. It is the way that musicians express their
mind and feeling which consists of tempo, dynamic, and voice color. Besides, it is also the
way of singers introduce a song. Each singer sings a song in different ways.
In short, all the elements above are needed when someone creates a song.
1.2.4. Types of songs
Songs can be broadly divided into many different types, depending on the criteria used.
Before introducing some types of songs, we should know that there are many ways of
clarifying types of songs.
According to Laroy (1993:7), there are three main types of songs which are classified in
culture criteria:
(1) Art songs: songs created for performance in their own right, usually
with piano accompaniment, the lyrics are often written by a poet or lyricist and the music
separately by a composer.
(2) Folk songs: songs of often anonymous origin that are transmitted orally.
(3) Popular songs: songs are played on the radio, through all other mass media.
Other common methods of classification are by purpose (sacred vs secular), by style
(dance, ballad, Lied, etc.), or by time of origin (Renaissance, Contemporary, etc.).
With songs used for language teaching, there are three main kinds as followings
(Murphey, 1992):
(1) List songs: Songs in which structures, lexis are repeated again and again.
E.g. “Twinkle, twinkle, a little star”, “Money, money, money”, “We wish you a merry
Christmas”, etc.
(2) Story songs: Songs telling a story.
E.g. “Don’t cry Jony”, “Those were the days”, etc.
(3) Action songs: Songs requiring listeners to do some actions while singing.
E.g. “If you are happy”, etc.
1.2.5. The roles of songs in the foreign language classroom
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The benefits of songs have been well-documented by many researchers. Falioni (1993: 98)
pointed out that : “...practically all grammar points can be found in music text, and the
texts also offer a wide variety of vocabulary, all of which can be utilized to practice the
four communication skills...” . Other authors, Claerr and Grgan (1984: 31) stated that:
“...with some imagination, songs cab be used to teach all aspects of foreign langages...”
In this part, the author is going to discuss some outstanding bebefits of songs to foreign
language learners.
First of all, motivation is one of the things that can be gained by using songs in foreign
language classroom. Most of the methodologists agree that motivation is a crucial factor
in language learning process. Motivation may be defined as: “some kind of internal drive
which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something” (Harmer 2000: 51), and
Scott Thornbury (2003: 97) added that it is “ a key factor in determining success or failure
in language learning”. When one thinks of music, the first thing in mind is enjoyment. Its
entertaining function is widespread in many human activities, individually and
collectively. Halpern (1999, p1,) stated that "of the many factors that influence learning,
few are as far-reaching - or little understood - as sound and music". The sound of music
brings into the world its magic power to activate the mind when it is dormant, to soothe the
soul when it is in turmoil, and to heal the body when it is hurt. Its magic power is the
reason why children love to play with songs and rhymes even at an early age in life. It is
unthinkable to see human existence without music. In the classroom, music has the ability
to produce greater student motivation. Accoding to Falioli (1993: 104) : “ the addition of
songs to the foreign language classroom as a teaching method may be a way to focus
students’ attention, and produce a more committed learner”.
Songs invite the students to become active in the learning practice. Songs also help
creating more student involvement. When students have fun singing songs in their English
class, they develop improved attitudes toward class. Teachers resort to numerous ways and
means to encourage their students to like learning English. One way which is not
uncommon is the use of songs. Songs provide a non-threatening atmosphere for students
compared to speaking formally in English in the classroom for example. They offer
teachers the much needed change from a routine procedure. They provide valuable
language and cultural input in the classroom. Whatever those reservations may be, the use
of songs in the language classroom is one of the ways to motivate students to learn
English. Students love listening to music outside the language classroom and songs
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become a major source of English for them. Notice how those who are usually quiet
become very talkative when discussing songs. Songs then, have the “power” to capture
students’ attention. In addition, ESL practitioners (Reeve & Williamson, 1987) have
widely acknowledged the role of songs in enhancing learner involvement. Together with
the teachers’ ability to present songs meaningfully in the classroom, we have an inspiring
way of motivating our learners to learn English.
Secondly, songs can help students remember vocabulary, grammatical structures and aid
in comprehending the general meaning. Music and rhythm make it much easier to imitate
and remember language than words which are just “ spoken” (Cakir, 1997: 35).
Practically all grammar points and a wide variety of structures can be found in musical
texts. As Falioni (1993): stated that: “The new structures that may seem isolated or out of
context pattern drills, are seen in a different perspective when they are part of a song”
(p.101). Songs are useful tool to help learners memorize phrase constructions. They are
more easily learned and tend to “stick” longer than straight-out grammatical examples.
Thirdly, using songs can create a pleasant enviroment in learning. Rogers (1999) found
that “...the use of songs creates an atmosphere of interese in the study of English and can
lead from a “teacher-centered” to a “student-centered” class”. Using songs can lift the
atmosphere in the class, or develop a non-threatening classroon atmosphere. There are
many fun and silly songs that make off-beat, interesting changes of pace in the classroom.
Music establishes a positive learning state and energizes learning activities. In the article
“Using ESL Songs”, the author-Lems (2002) expressed: Unlike other recording materials,
“songs are catchy and fun and ESL students will feel happy to hear them many times” till
they can sing along.
Besides, songs related to cultural aspects could be chosen to present to students about
social situations, historical events, geographical descriptions and others. According to Jolly
(1975): “The use of songs gives students the opportunity to acquire a greater
understanding of the culture underlying the target language”. The author of the article
“Using ESL Songs” also cited Cutural Literacy as one of “positive contributions to
language learning songs can make”. He said: “Songs used in English classes can shed light
on interesting musical traditions in countries, but can also teach teens, young adults, and
adults to appreciate other cultures. For adult learners they can be “ a rich mine of
information about human relations, ethic, customs, history, humor, and regional and
cultural differences” ( Lems, 2002).
12
Pronunciation also can be taught to students by using songs. Leith (1979) stated that
“There is probably not a better nor quicker way to teach phonetics than with songs” (as
cited in Nguyen, D. N. H 2007, p.21). The melody, along with lyrics, provides an excellent
opportunity to review pronunciation and enjoy music at the same time. The next part of
this research is going to discuss the reasons why song are useful in teaching pronunciation.
1.2.6. The reasons why songs are useful in teaching pronunciation
The roles of using songs in language classroom are undeniable. However, the value of
songs as teaching tool for pronunciation teaching has not been fully explored by teachers.
Hans (2009) pointed out that: “...through songs, learners have opportunities to listen to
pronunciation in a wide range of varieties of the language. Songs will help learners
become familiar with words stress and intonation, and the rythm with which words are
spoken or sung also helps memorization”.
In teaching pronunciation, songs are valued for its unsefulness because songs usually
have words repeated over and over again in choruses. The repetition of words help
students get familiar with the sounds they hear, therfore, they can pronounce them more
accurately.
While students listen to English songs, they create the need of imitating the singers so
that they can sing along with the singers. As Hannah, H (1999) stated that “...repetition
does not only create familiarity but also leads to understanding, as it gives time for the
penny to drop. What at first may be strange and unfamiliar, repeated exposure becomes
clear and understandable. This is especially important for learning a brand new foreign
language”.
Moreover, English songs are part of authentic matrials, which gives chances for learners
to be exposed to native speakers’ pronunciation. As in Emi. Y (2009), “...learning English
through songs can be effective to assist pronunciation, since students can directtly get the
knowledge on how to pronounce the words from the songs they hear, when students learn
in an enjoyable situation, they can digest the lesson easily”.
1.2.7. The drawbacks of using songs
”Nothing is perfect”. It means that everything has good side and also bad side. Realizing
many advantages of using songs in the language classroom, the author also discovers the
disadvantages of using songs. In this part, the author wants to mention the drawbacks of
13
using songs that teachers may face in the class. First of all, not all the songs have good
grammars and vocabularies. There are alot of songs that have much slang words so that
listeners can not understand them. If the teachers choose a song like that she or he can not
use it to teach the students. Secondly, most English songs have too many words as they are
written for native speakers so the first year students have no hope of being able to sing
along. Next, many popular songs have inappropriate content for the classroom – at least in
many cultures. Onother problem is using songs can disturb neighbouring classes. When
playing songs, the neighbouring classes can hear the sounds and they may be bothered. So
the teachers can not play songs too loud. Besides, when teachers play songs the
studentsjust want to listen to songs, not to work. It is true when the songs are so fantastic
or when the students are too tired. They just want to listen to songs to relax and do not
want to work. One more problem is the words in the songs are spoken too quickly.
Because the singers sing so quickly, even they link the sounds together, or sometimes use
dialects. It is difficult for the listeners to hear the words in the songs.
1.2.8.Selection of songs
Songs represent valuable teaching material. However, not all the songs are appropriate for
teaching purposes. To overcome the disadvantages of using songs in the class, teachers
should choose the suitable songs for the lessons. When the teachers use songs for the
teaching process, she/ he should know what kinds of songs she/ he would bring into the
class. This seems not easy for every teacher.
There are no specific rules of selecting a song but there are several things to take into
consideration when teachers take songs to the class:
Selection: What is the purpose to take that song? To reinforce grammar
points or to improve listening skills, for example.
The class: number of students and their ages, the students’ language level,
how much time do you have?
Students’ interests: It is important to ask students about their favourite
songs and singers. With that information you have a picture about the possible
selection of songs. If you want you can make a list of different songs for the
students to select. By doing so, you involves students in their own learning and
motivation. However, students may select rap or heavy metal which is either not
very clear or too fast, or contain too much slang. Frodden (1991: 4 Citing Dommel
14
and Sacker, 1986) addressed this problem of perception of the singers voice. There
are songs which appeal students a lot through their rhythm and music, yet they are
quite difficult to understand. The reason for this may be that the instruments cover
the singer’s voice, the words are spoken too quickly, the language variety is
unfamiliar, there are too much slang or the students just do not know enough
English yet.
Consequently, the teacher should know the students’ interest and try to find out the songs
that suitable for the students, and suitable for the purpose of teaching. If possible try to
select not only a song that deals with love but also a song that deals with social, ecological
and human issues.
For teaching pronunciation, teachers should choose songs that have clear sounds, the
sounds are not sung qickly as well as do not contain slang.
1.2.9. Procedure in applying the songs
To apply songs in the classroom and to achieve teachers’ goal in teaching, the teachers
should plan application sequence of the songs. Here the author suggests two procedures in
applying songs:
- Preparation: This step is quite important because the more careful teachers prepare, the
more effective she perform the songs. Some factors teachers should take into consideration
in this first step are selection of songs, the students’ language level, class activities, time
using and words’ handout of the songs.
- Pre-listening stage: the aim of this stage is to prepare students with everything necessary
for listening the songs. Therefore, in this step teachers should: warm up the class,
introduce the songs, give listening time and also give students listening task.
- While-listening stage: In this stage, learners listen to the songs directly in individuals. So
teachers will play the song on the tape as many times as necessary, show the words of the
song , then ask the students to follow the words. Because the purpose of listening to a song
is to teach English pronunciation for the students so teachers will be the corrector and try
to find out the students’ mistakes and correct for them.
- Post-listening stage: After listening to the song, teachers should give the feedback and
comment on the students’ job.
1.3. Theory of pronunciation
15
1.3.1. Definition of pronunciation
Pronunciation has been defined by many authors with different expressions. In this paper the
author would like to quote some definitions from the reliable sources:
Simply defined, pronunciation is “the way in which a language is spoken” ( Oxford Advanced
learners’ Encyclopedic, 1997, p.1164). According to Jones, D, (1998), pronunciation “involves
the production and perception of segmental (sounds), both alone and in the stream of speech,
where they undergo number of modifications and interact with suprasegmental (prosodic)
features, particulary stress and intonation”. Pronunciation is defined as: the act or manner of
pronouncing syllables, words and phrases with regard to the production of sounds and the
placing of stress, intonation, etc, any accepted or standard ways of pronouncing a word, the
transcription in symbols of such a way of pronouncing a word ( www.yourdictionary.com).
As all the definition mentioned above, the writer concludes that pronunciation is:
- The standard way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.
- The way in which a person sounds the words of a language when speaking.
1.3.2. The importance of teaching pronunciation
Communication is the most important component of any human sociaty. In this aspect,
they adapted English as the international language of the world. So, to communicate
properly we need good pronunciation, because pronunciation affects very much on the
understanding of the words’ meanings. If the sound of the word is different it may lead the
listeners to some other meanings, and if this happens, it is obvious that this is not a proper
communication. This is, in fact, confusion. For this reason, it is very nesessary to teach
correct pronunciation. Pronunciation involves far more than individual sounds. Word
stress, sentences stress, intonation, and word linking all influence the sound of spoken
English, not to mention the way we often slur words and phrases together in casual speech.
For example, what are you going to do? becomes Whadda ya gonna do?
English pronunciation involves too many complexities for learners to strive for a complete
elimination of accent, but improving pronunciation will boost self esteem, facilitate
communication, and possibly lead to a better job or aleast more respect in the workplace.
Effective communication is gvery important. So we should choose first to work on
problems that significantly hinder communication and let the rest go initially. We should
remember that students also need to learn strategies for dealing with misunderstandings,
16
since native pronunciation is for most an unrealistic goal. A student’s first language often
interfers with English pronunciation. For example, /p/ is aspirated in English but not in
Vietnamese, so when a Vietnemese learner pronounces ‘pig’ without a puff of the air on
the /p/, English may hear ‘big’ instead. Sometimes, the students will be able to identify
specific problem sounds and sometimes they won’t. It is often difficult for a student to
reach the exact pronunciation by spellings because English phonemes are not much in tha
order in which the spellings are in practice. So only a teacher can move away student from
spelling to phnomic script to learn correct pronunciation. Teaching pronunciation is also
essential because learning the phonemic script involves not just getting to know the
symbols but also making sure you can say the right sound for each one, so the teachers’
help is very important.
1.3.3. Elements of pronunciation
According to Jones, D, (1998), pronunciation involes “the production and perception of
segmental (sounds), both alone and in the stream of speech, where they undergo number of
modifications and interact with suprasegmental (prosodic) features, particulary stress and
intonation. It means that the author will discuss about two kinds of features: segmental features
and suprasegmental features.
1.3.3.1. Segmental features
Segmental features include consonant sounds and vowel sounds. “The classification is based on
the differences in their functions in an utterance and their way of production” (Ramelan,
1985:55)
“Consonants are, or contain, noises that are pronounced with a blockage of some sort of the air
passage” ( As an explaination by Scarcella and Oxford, 1994). The English consonant sounds
consist of twenty-four. Those are: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /η /, /g/, /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /h/, /l/, /θ/, /δ/, َ/m/,
/n/, /r/, /w/, /y/,
English consonants can be classified in different ways:
- Accoding to the place of articualation, they may be dental, bilabial, alveolar, palatal, velar.
- According to the manner of articualation they may be plosive, affricate, fricative, nasal, lateral.
- According to the involvement of vocal cords they may be voiced or voiceless.
Each English consonants has all the features of these classifications, for example:
Consonant Place Manner Voice
/k/ in kick Velar Plosive Voiceless
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/l/ in long Alveolar Lateral Voiced
“Vowels are articulated when a voiced air stream is shaped using the tongue and the lips to
modify the overall shape of the mouth” (Gerald, 2003, p.29). English vowel sounds are divided
into two kinds: long vowels and short vowels. Long vowels include /i:/, /a:/, /u:/, /o:/, /ə:/
while short vowels include /i/, /e/, /u/, /o/, /ə/, /æ/, / /. Besides, there are also vowel clusters
include dipthongs and tripthongs. Dipthongs /ei/, /ai/, /oi/, /oə/, /iə/, /aə/, /uə/, /eə/, /au/, /əu/ and
tripthong /eiə/, /aiə/, /oiə/, /əuə/, /auə/ which are, in fact, the glide from one vowel to another
(dipthong) then to a third (tripthong). They may cause trouble for any learner who is incapable of
gliding from one vowel to another smoothly and properly, causing misunderstanding to the
listener.
1.3.3.2. Suprasegmental features
Suprasegmental features refer to stress, rhythm, intonation and other features that always
accompany the production of segmental. There are three main kinds of suprasegmental features:
The first is stress. “Stress is meant the degree of force or loudness with which a syllable is
pronounced so as to give it prominence” (Ramelan, 1985: 25). In English, there are word stress
and sentence stress. Stress plays an important role in English because different stress will express
different meaning.
The second is rhythm. The literal meaning of rhythm is “ a strong regular repeated pattern
of sounds or movements” ( New Oxford Advance Learners’ Dictionary 7th edition , 2005)
. The two most common rhythm noticed in the languages spoken around the world are :
Syllable – timed Rhythm and Stress - timed Rhythm. In English, rhythm is Stress - timed.
This means that the time between two primary stresses is the same,if there are many words
between the two primary stresses, then these syllables will be pronounced fast, if, on the
other hand, there is only small mumber of syllables between the primary stresses, then
these syllables will be pronounced slowly and more clearly (Syafei, 1988:33). For
example, “ Can you see the man?”, the words see and man take primary stresses.
The third is intonation. Intonation is the change in pitch of a sentence, up and down The
sequence of pitches that produces the 'tone' of an utterance and plays an important part in
conveying the meaning (Ramelan, 1985: 25). For example, the intonational tone of a
question usually features a rising pitch at the end.
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1.4. Literature review
1.4.1.Students’ pronunciation problems in pronuncing English sounds
There are many researches about English pronunciation problems of Vietnamese learners such
as Common pronunciation problems of Vietnamese learners of English (Ha Cam Tam, 2005),
Difficulties for Vietnamese when pronouncing English sounds ( Nguyen Thi Thu Thao, 2007),
and the findings of these also revealed the common mistakes in English pronunciation of
Vietnamese learners. These researches found that there are three main mistakes caused by
Vietnamese learners: Sound omitted, sound confusion, and sound redundancy. Among of these,
sound omitted is the most common mistake that was caused by most learners.
The reason is Vietnamese learners have to face to many difficulties when learning English
as a second language. These difficulties prevent them from reaching the right English
language. Like learners elsewhere in the world, Vietnamese learners encounter great
obstacles in learning English pronunciation because of the two reasons that come from
foreign language:
Firstly, the English sound system has several sounds foreign that do not occur in
Vietnemese sound system.According to the findings of Nguyen Thi Thu Thao’s research
(Nguyen Thi Thu Thao, 2007: “Difficulties for Vietnamese when pronouncing English
final consonants”), there are five consonants that are not familiar to Vietnamese
learners: /s, z, f, d, l/. They often cause Vietnamese learners unavoidable errors when
pronouncing English, even worse when these sounds appear in word-final position. This is
explained why there is a tendency to move the foreign English sounds towards the similar
sounds in Vietnamese among learners. In addition, Vietnamese learners are certainly
confused between voiceless and voiced sounds which happen fairly commonly between /t/
and /d/, /s/ and /z/ while it is clearly that in Vietnamese sounds, we do not have voiced as
well as voiceless sounds.
Secondly, the way English speakers pronounce the ending sounds is completely different
from the Vietnamese speakers that make it more difficult for them to achieve appropriate
English pronunciation. It is true that in English, they pronounce the final sounds but in
Vietnamese we do not pronounce the final sounds. It is quite difficult for Vietnamese
19
learners to pronounce the final sounds. For this reason, omission mistake is very popular
among Vietnamese learners.
Moreover, the difficulties also come from the influence or interference of the mother
tongue. Our first language is Vietnamese that is quite different from English in the ways of
pronouncing. Firstly, Vietnamese is not classified as voiced and voiceless sounds, all the
Vietnamese sounds are pronounced in equal voice. Besides, English has stress, speakers
emphasize on the words that carry stress as nouns, main verbs, etc, Vietnamese, however,
has no stress so that all the words are produced in the same tone. These affect the way of
pronouncing of Vietnamese learners and cause many difficulties when they learning
English.
1.4.2. General views on teaching pronunciation
1.4.2.1. Related studies abroad
Using songs in language teaching and learning is not a new idea. The exploitation of songs
has been widely researched. There is some literature on the usefulness of songs in a
language class as reviewed in the previous part. Besides, the use of songs in teaching
pronunciation can be found in some of the books about techniques to teach pronunciation:
Laroy (2001), in his book named “Pronunciation” published by Oxford English, cited a lot
of activities to teach English sounds including using music. According to Laroy, teachers
can utilize “musical sounds” in pronunciation lessons. In other words, teachers can
“improve the pronunciation of speech sounds through rhythm, singing and movement”
(p.95). He also thought that correcting words and sounds through sining is advisable
because “learners have an opportunity to try again and again without being exposed to the
scrunity of the teacher and the other students all the time” (p.1212).
Silvia, C. B., Eva, E. V., Isabel, S,. (2005) conducted a research on “ Teaching phonetics
throug singing and reciting”. This research presented the results of the investigation into
the role of singing and reciting in the teaching and learning of English phonetics to non-
native speakers.
There is also a relating research named “Teaching English using songs to improve
students’ pronunciation in PG and TK Alam Surya Mentary Kerten” conducted by Emi, Y.
20
(2009) as a Fulfillment for Requirement foe getting Bachelor Degree of Education in
English Department, Indonesia.
Besides, Balbina, E.&Marta. J. S., Brishtish Council Cameroon (2005) suggested some
activities based on songs’ rhytms to fosuc learners on particular sounds in their article
named “Developing pronunciation through songs”
1.4.2.2. Related studies in Vietnam
In Vietnam, although there are alot of researches have been conducted to investigate te
exploitation of songs in language classroom, for example, to teach listening
comprehension, few have been conducted to find out the situation of using songs to teach
pronunciation in general and to teach pronunciation to non-major English students
inparticular. “Using songs in teaching sounds and words at Nguyen Trai high scholl (2008-
2009)” is the related study the researcher of this can find in Vietnam. However, this
research only pointed out problems in teaching pronunciation and has no suggestions to
solve them. Another study is “Using songs to teach English sounds to 11 th form at Nguyen
Gia Thieu high school” (Lai Thanh Tinh)
In conclusion, using songs to teach pronunciation for the students is familiar with foreign
language teachers abroad, it is quite new to Vietnamese teachers.
1.4.3. Songs to improve achievement in pronunciation
Teaching pronunciation is done orally. One very effective thing to teach students’
pronunciation is by having the students train themselves in daily lives through their own
interests. Some students probably prefer to play a game to enrich their vocabulary, other
may sing or listen to English songs or may read poetry to improve their listening ability,
pronunciation and the English fluency. Paul (1996: 7) states that “.....if she is singing or
playing something she really enjoys, and suddenly encounters a word or structure she does
not know, but which she feels she needs in order to sing or play successfully, she will feel
an emotion need to learn. It means that someone will learn something when they need to
learn. No one can force his/ her to learn something if he/ she does not want to learn”.
If the teachers want the students achieve something, they should not teach them formally.
The more the teachers teach, the less the students learn. “By using songs, teachers may
21
keep students emotionally involved in the learning process and keep them interested in
making sense of this fascinating word of English. The aim is for students to feel excited by
getting better at English” (Paul, 1996: 8). So it is better for the teachers to give extensive
listening task to train their pronunciation by listening songs they like. There are two kinds
of listening activities that can be done by the students. Those are extensive listening and
intensive listening. Extensive listening usually takes place outside of the classroom. It can
be done at home or any places that the students want to have listening activities. They can
also choose the way and the material they want. For example, the students may have songs
or English news on the radio as the listening materials. While intensive listening is usually
done in the classrooms, and the teachers usually have the materials and the way of
listening activities for the students. Intensive listening can be done in some ways by using
taped material and life listening. It can be in the form of reading aloud, story telling or
conversation. Both ways are very important to improve the students acquisition of the
language.
Songs as one of listening materials can be applied in both ways. While the students
listening to the music or song, they will learn many things, such as learning grammar and
pronunciation. They could also train themselves for the listening comprehension. When
they are listening they will not realise that they are improving their achievement of the
language. While listening to songs, the students may follow to sing the songs. So they can
train their pronunciation ability unconsciously.
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
2.1. Introduction of the chapter
22
The preceding chapter has reviewed the theoretical basic of the whole study. In this chapter, the
researcher discusses the methodology used to investigate the using of songs to teach
pronunciation for the first year students at the College of Sciences, TNU. The chapter includes
four main parts: the selection of subjects, data collection instrument, procedures of data
collection and procedures of data analysis.
2.2. Selection of the subjects
The subjects of the study are two groups of teachers and students
The first group includes seven English teachers of Department of Basic Sciences, College
of Sciences, TNU. All of these teachers have experienced teaching English for students
from 4 to over 20 years. The teacher survey was carried out in the form of questionnaires
which included 17 questions.
The second group consists of 215 first year students at the College of Sciences, TNU.
They range from 18 to 23 years old, with the majority in their age of 20-21. Female
accounting for 69% outnumbers male which are 31%. All subjects had been studying
English for at least 4 years before entering college.
2.3. Data collection instruments
Instrument is a tool that is used by a researcher when he or she applies certain method to
get the data (Syakur, 1995: 85). In doing research, there are various methods of data
collection: field notes, audio tape recording, pupil diaries, interviews and discussions,
video tape recording, questionnaires, slide/ tape photography, documentary evidence, case
study (Mc Niff, 1992: 76). The instrument exploited in the study were survey
questionnaires.
Questionnaire is one of the most efficient research instruments to collect information as
much as possible in short of time. Moreover, questionnaire is considered to be more
objective and low-cost than other types of research instrument.
Two sets of questionnaire were utilized, one for the first year students and one for
English teachers at the College of Sciences, TNU. They were both combination of close
and open-ended questions, which gave the researcher the chance to take control of the
content as well as get in-depth information.
23
The study used questionnaires of 7 English teachers and 215 first year students from the
College of Sciences, Thai Nguyen University. The questionnaires for teachers consist of
17 questions and the questionnaires for students conclude 15 questions which were
designed by the researcher in order to find out the attitudes of both teachers and students to
using songs in teaching and learning pronunciation.
First of all, the author used questionnaires as the main source for data collection because it
has its own strengths in helping the author to find out satisfactory and sufficient
information. “Questionnaires are any written instruments that present respondents with a
series of questions or statements to which they are to react either by writing out their
answers or selecting from among existing answers” (Brown, J. D. 2001:6)
Besides, this instrument was used because it enables the researcher to collect information
from students easily and quickly.
Moreover, “in a form that lends itself perfectly to the purpose of the study” (Verma &
Mallick, 1999), this instrument allowed the subjects to give suggestive data to test the
researchers’ hypothesis.
Therefore, by using questionnaires we can have more in-depth information on certain
aspects. Hence, any clarification or further inquiry towards a question can be made
convenient.
To be specific, the questionnaire for teachers consists of 17 questions. The first question is
designed to find out how many years these teachers have been teaching English to define
whether they are experienced or not. The next question aims at discovering the opinions of
teachers about the difficulty level of pronunciation among other elements of learning a
language and in comparison with four skills also. The third question helps to find out the
importance of pronunciation in teaching a foreign language according to teacher’s
perception. In the fourth question, teachers were asked about the materials they often
choose to teach pronunciation in class and problems they have when teaching English
sounds. Then, the teachers were asked about their problems when teaching English sounds.
The next seven questions were designed on the purpose of investigate the situation of
using songs to teach English pronunciation to the first year students at the College of
Sciences, TNU. Then, teachers were asked about their opinion that using songs can be an
effective tool for teaching pronunciation or not. The next two questions aim at finding out
the advantages and disadvantages of using songs in teaching pronunciation from the
24
teachers’ points of view. The two last questions aim at finding out when teachers use songs
in their classes and how long they apply songs in the classes.
The questionnaire designed for students consists of 15 questions with the aim at finding
the attitudes of students towards English songs, towards using songs in lessons, and how
songs are actually exploited in their class. The first questions were designed with the same
objective as the first one in teachers’ questionnaire. In the second question, students were
asked about their level of speaking English. Then, the third question aims at discovering
the opinions of students about the difficulty level of pronunciation among other elements
of learning a language and in comparison with four skills also. The next six questions aim
at finding out whether students like English songs or not, how often they listen English
songs and their attitudes towards having songs in lessons. The frequency of using songs in
pronunciation class is studied through the ninth and eleventh question. Then, the students
were asked about using songs can help them improve pronunciation or not. The three next
questions aim at finding the usefulness and problems of listening English songs in learning
pronunciation, in students’ opinions. In the two last questions, students were asked about
the number used in the class and should their teachers use songs in teaching activities, in
their opinions.
The two sets of questionnaire were both designed in English. However, the questions are
not difficult for students to understand. Moreover, the researcher was willing to answer
any questions from students about what they did not understand.
2.4. Procedures of data collection
Data are facts we have about people, situations, events, things, and relationships (Tripp,
1996: 15). Gathering data is the most important thing in doing research. In doing this
study, there are three main stages in the data collection procedure:
2.4.1. Step 1
In the first step, the questionnaire of 17 questions was designed for the teachers and the
questionanire of 18 questions was designed for the first year students. In the questionnaire,
the subjects were asked to check the best answers. Most of the questions were multiple
25
choices, so they could read and check more than one answer. The questions would not
take respondents much time to complete and answer quickly. After the first draft of the
questionnaire was made, it was sent to the supervisor to be commented and edited. At the
end of the first stage, the questionnaire was revised for the second time with the
suggestions and corrections from the supervisor.
2.4.2. Step 2
The completed version of the questionnaire was delivered to all the subjects at the College
of Sciences, TNU. The subjects were not required to write their names so that they are not
identified in the paper. The subjects of this study belonged to two different groups of
teachers and students, and the group of students belonged to 4 different classes, so it took
the researcher a lot of time to collect all the responses.
2.4.3. Step 3
In this last step, the answered questionnaires are collected and analyzed by the researcher.
The findings of the study are analyzed according to every question and illustrated in the
charts with the real data from the subjects.
2.5. Procedures of data analysis
The process of data analysis is carried out carefully based on the collected data from the
subjects. The numbers are calculated according to number and then percentage, and
presented in tables to help viewers easily to understand. Through the process of data
analysis, the research questions are answered and the researcher’s hypothesis is confirmed.
Based on categories established, data were then analyzed by using both descriptive
statistics (percentage) and qualitative statistics (answers to open-ended questions in
questionnaires and interviews). Pie charts and graphs were mainly employed to analyze
and compare figures. Moreover, typical quotations from the interviews, the answers to
open-ended questions in the questionnaires, and classroom observations were cited when
necessary. Interpretation and conclusions were drawn after analyzing the data.
2.6. Summary of the chapter
To sum up, this chapter has justified the methodology applied in this research: the
selection of subjects, the data collection instruments, three steps of data collection
26
procedures and lastly, procedures of data analysis. Such clarification of methodology
would help pave the way for the analysis of the collected data in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1. Introduction of the chapter
27
In this chapter, data collected from the three collection instruments is analyzed and
interpreted to reveal answers to each research question of the study:
First, the attitudes of the teachers and the students at the College of Sciences, TNU to
using songs in teaching pronunciation.
Second, the situation of using songs to teach pronunciation at the College of Sciences,
TNU.
Next, teachers’ and students’ opinions about advantages and disadvantages of using
songs in teaching pronunciation.
3.2. Results
3.2.1. Data collection and analysis of the findings from the teacher survey
3.2.1.1. The opinions of teachers about the difficulty level of pronunciation among
other elements of teaching English
Question 2 : In your opinion, what aspect of teaching English is the most
difficult?
This question is designed to ask teahers about which aspect of teaching English
they found it as the most difficult to teach. And the result was shown in the
following table:
Aspect of teaching English
Most important
Grammar 0%
Pronunciation 0%
Vocabulary 0%
4 skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking 100%
Table 1: Teachers’ opinion about the most difficult aspect of teaching English
From the table above, we can see that the answers are the same from all the teachers.
Among 4 given answers, the number of teachers who considered 4 skills: reading, writing,
listening, speaking are the most difficult accounts for 100%. None of them considered
grammar or vocabulary or pronunciation as the most important.
28
3.2.1.2. Opinions of teachers at the College of Sciences, TNU about
the importance of pronunciation
Question 3 : In your opinion, how important is pronunciation in
learning a language?
Range of the importance Percentage
Very important 83,3%
Important 16,7%
Not important 0%
Table 2: Teachers’ criticism on the importance of pronunciation
When asked about their opinions on the importance of pronunciation, 83,3% % of
teachers said that pronunciation is very important while only 16,7 % considered it as an
important skill. None of them think that pronunciation is not important at all in language
teaching and learning.
3.2.1.3. The material teachers often use to teach pronunciation
Question 4 : Which material do you often choose to teach English
pronunciation?
This question aims at investiaging the methods and materials that
teachers usually use to teach pronunciation for their students. The result
was shown in the following pie chart:
29
Figure 1 : The material teachers often use to teach
pronunciation
As we see in the pie chat, 57,1% of teachers often use video or tape
recording to teach pronunciation, in fact, this is quite effective way to
teaching English pronunciation. It helps students pronounce English sounds
more accurate and they can immitate as the native speakers’ ways. 28, 6%
of teachers teach pronunciation in the traditional method, it means
teachers read sounds a loud and then their students repeat. This method
seems quite popular in universities, but teach pronunciation by this way
have many disadvantages such as: students can not pronounce the sounds
as the way of native speakers, or even sometimes teachers pronounce the
sound wrong. 14,3% left chose pictures to teach pronunciation.
3.2.1.4. The problems when teachers teaching English sounds
Question 5 : What are your problems when teaching English
sounds? ( Teachers can choose more than 1 answer)
Athough most of the teachers said that 4 skills: listening, speaking,
reading, writing are the most difficult to teach, not pronunciation, but
30
teaching pronunciation is not easy work. This question aims at finding out
the problems when teaching English sounds. The result showed that the
problem is not teachers can not find the suitable materials to teach
pronunciation, but the problem are: the English sounds are different from
Vietnamese sounds and the students feel discouraged when they can not
produce the sounds correctly. These two choices took the equal percentage
of 66,7%.
Figure 2: The problems when teachers teaching English sounds
3.2.1.5. The situation of using songs to teach pronunciation
Question 6 : Have you ever used songs in your teaching process?
31
Figure 3: Teachers’ exposure in using English songs
As can be seen from the pie chart, the percentage of teachers who have
been used English songs in their teaching process is 83,3%. There is 16,7%
of teachers have not used songs in their teaching process. To some extend,
16,7% of teachers may be not aware of the effectiveness of using songs in
teaching process.
3.2.1.6. The attitudes of teachers towards using songs to teach
pronunciation
Question 7 : Do you like teaching English pronunciation through
songs?
32
Figure 4: The percentage of teachers prefering teaching pronunciation
through songs
Firstly, the researcher explored the attitudes of teachers towards English songs, whether
they like or dislike. Surprisingly, all surveyed teachers, 100%, like English songs. The
rate of 100% expressed the reality of teachers’ interest towards teaching
pronunciation through songs. This will give the students a chance to
practice English pronunciation in interesting environment.
3.2.1.7. The purpose of using songs in teaching process
Question 8 : What are your purposes of using songs in your
teaching process?
33
Figure 5: Purposes of using songs in teaching English
The result from question 8 showed that all of the teachers want to use
songs for both learning and relaxing. None of them wanted to use learing
or entertaning perpose separately. This proves that all the teachers use
songs with a clear purpose. They wanted to create a comfortable learning
atmosphere for their students in which learning and relaxing are combined
to reduce the boredom in the class and students’ stress.
Question 9 : Which aspect of English do you want to use songs to
teach most?
From the table, we can see that the choices for the question 9 are quite
different among teachers. The largest purpose in their using songs was for
listening skills, about 50% of teachers. 33,3% used songs to teach
vocabulary and the same percentage used for integrated skills. In
compared with vocabulary and integrated skills, 16,6%of teachers wanted
to use songs to teach pronunciation, the equal percentage wanted to use
for speaking skills. None of the teachers chose songs for teaching writing
and reading skills.
34
Aspect of English Percentage
Listening skills 50%
Speaking skills 16,6%
Writing skills 0%
Reading skills 0%
Integrated skills 33,3%
Grammar 0%
Vocabulary 33,3%
Pronunciation 16,6%
Table 3: The use of songs in some skills
3.2.1.8. The frequency of using songs in teaching pronunciation
Question 10: How often do you use songs?
35
Figure 6: The frequency of using songs
According to the chart, it can be seen that the frequency of using songs in the lessons
varies from teacher to teacher. About 42,8% of teachers sometimes used songs in their
teaching process while 14,3% of them very often used and 28,6% of them often used.
About 14,3% of the teachers rarely used and no one has never used songs in the lessons.
So we can come to a conclusion that all of the teachers at the Collge of Sciences, TNU
have used songs in their lesson, however, the amount of using them is not much.
3.2.1.9. The effectiveness of using songs in teaching pronunciation
Question 11 : What do you think about the use of songs in teaching
pronunciation?
36
Figure 7: Teachers’ perception on the effectivenes of using songs in teaching
pronunciation
For question 11, approximately 66,7% of teachers remarked songs as an effective way to
teach pronunciation. About 33,3% thought that songs are very effective way to teach
pronunciation. No one found songs as an ineffective way and no one kept neutral idea for
this question.
Question 13 : Do you think that songs can be an effective tool for
teaching pronunciation
Teachers’ point of view Percentage
Yes 100%
No 0%
Table 4: Teachers’ point of view about songs can be an effective tool for
teaching pronunciation or not
37
All of teachers, 100%, agreed that using songs can be an effective way to teach
pronunciation. It can be drawn from this result that most teachers have positive attitudes
towards influence of songs in teaching and learning a language in general and teaching and
pronunciation in particular
They stated in the survey : “When students listening to songs, they can
immitate the sounds”. Some said that students can listen to songs and
learn by heart and others said that listening to songs will encourage the
students in the lessons.. None of them said that songs are not an
effective tool for teaching pronunciation. In compared with analysis of
question 11, we can conclude that all of the teachers are aware of the effectivenes of
using songs in teaching pronunciation, although in fact not all of them have used songs in
teaching pronunciation.
3.2.1.10. The attitudes and feelings of students towards songs
basing on the teachers’ view
Question 12 : Do your students like listening to songs?
Students’ feeling Percentage
Yes, very much 100%
Yes, but not much 0%
Not at all 0%
Table 5: The attitudes and feelings of students towards songs basing on
teachers’ point of view
As can be seen from the table, all the teachers realized clearly that their
students like songs or not like at which level. They were all sure that their
students like listening to songs in the lesoos vey much. This proves that
the attitudes of the students towards songs are positive.
3.2.1.11. The advantages of using songs in the lesson
38
Question 14 : In your opinion, what are the advantages of using
songs in the lesson?( Teachers can choose more than 1 answer)
Look at the chart below, we can see that there is a broad and almost
absolute consensus among teachers. 83,3% of teachers agreed that songs
can help students relax during the lesson. The same percentage of
teachers thought that songs can encourage the students to pay attention
to the pronunciation of the words in the songs.
Figure 8: The advantages of using songs in the lesson
66,7% of teachers supported for the benefit of songs in creating a high
motivation towards learning English of the students. About 50% of teachers
agreed that songs can reduce the boredom of students in the class, 33,3%
of teachers said that the bebefit of songs is the rhythm in songs provide
listeners with the repetition of similar sounds.
3.2.1.12. The difficulties in using songs in the class
Question 15 : In your opinion, what difficulties do you cope with
when using songs in teaching pronunciation?
39
The aim of asking question 15 takes an important role in this study.
Finding out the difficulties in applying songs in the class help us to solve
the problem partly. Clearly, based on some suggested difficulties, the
greatest obstacles of using songs in the class was the sounds are not clear
because singers usually link sounds together, holding 66,7%. 33,3% of
teachers agreed that Class time is limited is the difficult when using songs
in teaching pronunciation, 17% of them thought that the difficulty is The
class becomes noisy and out of control. 33,3% left said that mixed-ability
of students caused problem when applying songs. No one chose students
are distracted by the music or teachers can not find the suitable songs for
the lesson in the curriculum.
Figure 9: The difficulties in using songs in the class
These obstacles prevented teachers from using songs in the class. And
the finding suitable songs are not a big problem for teachers.
3.2.1.13. The time when songs are used in the class and how long
it takes
40
Question 16 : When do you use songs in the class?
Time Percentage
At the beginning of the lesson 16,7%
At the end of the lesson 50%
In the middle of the lesson 16,7%
Table 6: Time when songs are used in the class
The result of question 16 pointed out that the number of teachers used songs at the
beginning of the lesson and in the middle of the lesson are not much,
hoding the same percentage 16,7%. 50% of teachers want to use song at
the end of the lesson.
Question 17 : How long does it take you to apply songs in the class?
Figure 10: Time spent in using songs
41
As we can see, an important issue that teachers had to take into consideration is amount
of time need for applying a song. 16,7% of teacher wanted to use songs in about 5 to 15
minutes. Usually, teachers spent about 10 minutes or 10 to 15 minutes so two these choices
took equal 33,3% of teachers. May be because the class time is limited so no one wanted to
apply songs in about 20 to 25 minutes. Hence, it can be summed up that the amount of
time to apply songs of teachers was different. It depens on the chosen songs and the stable
time of teachers.
3.2.2. Data collection and analysis of the findings from the student survey
3.2.2.1. The students’ ability of speaking English
Question 2 : Your speaking English is at which level?
From the students’ self-criticism about their own abilities of speaking English according
to the chart above, we can see that although on average they have been learning english for
4 to 9 years, the number of students admiting their abilities at normal was largest, with
50%. Less than some percentage was group of students at bad level with 44,4%. There is
2,2% of student said that they are at excellent level and 3,4% is at good level. This fact
showed that although learning English for a quite long time, the first year students at the
Collge of Sciences, TNU have seen not much improvement in pronunciation.
Figure 11: The students’ ability of speaking English
42
This may be due they paid attention too much on grammar, vocabulary and other aspects
of English, not pronunciation. Therefore, to help students improve their pronunciation,
teachers need to find out effective methods in teaching English pronunciation.
3.2.2.2. The aspect of learning English is the most difficult
Question 3 : In your opinion, what aspect of learning English is the most
difficult?
From the chart below, we can see that most of the students at the College of Sciences
found that 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading , writing as the most difficult, holding
60,6%. Only 8,3% of students found vocabulary as the most difficult while 11,7% of
students found grammar as the most difficult. For pronunciation, there is 19,4% considered
it as the most difficlut aspect of English to learn. The result showed that both teachers and
students at the Collge of Sciences found that 4 skills are the most important for them, not
other skills.
F igure 12 : The aspect of learning English is the most difficult in students’ point of view
3.2.2.3. The importance of pronunciation in learning a language, in students’ opinion
Question 4 : In your opinion, how important pronunciation in learning a
language?
43
Figure 13: The importance of pronunciation in learning a language, in students’ opinion
As can be seen in the pie chart, most of the students said that learning pronunciation is
very imporatnt in learning a language. This proves that almost students are aware of the
importance of learning pronunciation. 13,7% of students regarded pronunciation is
important and only 2,9% of students said that it is not important.
3.2.2.4. The attitude of the first year students towards learning pronnciation through
songs
Question 5 : Do you like English songs?
44
Figure 14: The students’ preference of listening to English songs
Song help creating an interesting environment among students and encourage them in
learning. It is the reason why 90,6% of students liked listening to English songs. However,
there is 9,4% of students dislike listening to songs. Some said that they do not like English
songs because when listening to English songs they do not understand anything.
Question 8 : Do you like having songs in the lesson?
This question aimed at asking about students’ preference of having songs in the lesson.
Knowing their likes or dislikes of having songs in the lesson plays an important role in this
study. The result of question 10 was showed in the chart below:
45
Figure 15: Students’ preference of having songs in the lesson
94,9% of students said that they like having songs in the lesson. Not as the author’s
prediction, there is 5,1% of students did not like having songs in the lesson. According to
these group of students, they said that songs are used only for entertainment, not for
studying.
Question 10 : In your opinion, songs help you?
46
Figure 16: The purposes of using songs from students’ opinion
From the chart, we can see that the majority of the students were aware of the value of
songs in their studying. 92,7% of them regarded the benefit of songs as the combination of
relaxing and studying. While 6,2% of them thought that songs help they learning only,
there was still 1,1% of students said that songs help them relaxing only. Anyway, the
combination between, learning and relaxing was the greatest advantage that songs help
students to learn English better.
Question 11 : Do you think that usings songs can help you to have better
pronunciation?
Students’ opinion Percentage
Yes 79,9%
No 20,1%
Table 7: Students’ opinion of using songs can help they have better pronunciation
47
As we can see in the table above, 79,9% of students thought that using songs can help
they have better pronunciation while 20,1% of them thought that using songs can not help
they improve their pronunciation.
3.2.2.5. The situation of learning pronunciation by using songs at the College of
Sciences, TNU
Question 6 : How often do you listen to English songs?
As we can see in the table 8, the largest percentage of students said that they sometimes
listen to English songs, holding 60,8%. 15,9% of students usually listen to English songs
and only 4,2% of students always listen to English songs.
Frequency of listening to
English songs
Percentage
Always 4,2%
Usually 15,9%
Sometimes 60,8%
Rarely 19%
Never 3,7%
Table 8: The frequency of listening to English songs
There was 19% of students said that they rarely listen to English songs. From the result
bove we can conclude that most of the students have ever listened to English songs,
although the number of students have never listened to English songs is not much, only
holding 3,7%. The reason was that they did not like English songs or some said that they
did not understand any thing.
Question 7 : Have you ever been taught English pronunciation by songs?
48
Figure 17: Students’ experience in learning English pronunciation through songs
As the result refered from the question 9, 73,6% of students said that they have never
been taught pronunciation through songs. On the other hand, the rate of students who have
ever been taught pronunciation through songs accounts for 26,4%. The results collected in
the part of the Students’ experience in learning English pronunciation through songs play
an important role in investiagting some next questions.
Question 9 : How often does your teachers of English use songs to teach
pronunciation?
The frequency of using songs to
teach pronunciation
Percentage
Very often 2%
Often 2%
Sometimes 38,6%
Rarely 31,8%
Never 27,4%
Table 9: The teachers’ frequency of using songs to teach pronunciation, in students’ point
of view
49
The result we got from question 9 showed that only 2% of students said that their teachers
very often use songs to teach pronunciation. The same percentage chose Often and the
largest percentage of students chose Sometimes, held 38,6%. 31,8% said that their teachers
rarely using songs to teach pronunciation.27,4% of students left said that their teachers of
English have never used songs to teach pronunciation.
3.2.2.6. The advantages of using songs in learning pronunciation
Question 12: What do you think are the advantages of listening to English songs
in learrning pronunciation?
Figure 18: Students’ opinion about advantages of using songs in learningpronunciation
From the chart above, it can be seen that there is few differences between students’ rating
of advantages of listening to songs in learning pronunciation. At the top is both the number
of students who agree that songs can reduce the bodedom in the class, making up 45,5%.
Around 42,1% of students find that songs can help them to relax during the lesson and
41,6% of them said that songs can encourage them to pay attention to the pronunciation of
the words in the songs. Nearly 25,3% of them think the repetition in songs is an advantage.
50
3.2.2.7. The students’ problems when listening to English songs
Question 13 : What are your problems when listening to songs?
Figure 19: The students’ problems when listening to English songs
As clearly shown in the chart, the idea that songs usually contain sounds that are unclear
because singers link sounds together is agreed by the largest number of students (68%) .
Nearly 38,8% of surveyed students find it difficult for them to follow the speed of almost
songs. The number of students agreeing that accents of singers are not always Standard
English makes up 8,4%.The remaining 14,6% of the students stated that they are distracted
by music.
3.2.2.8. The number of songs used in the class and students’ opinion about using
songs to teach pronunciaton
Question 14 : In your opinion, the number of songs used in the class is?
51
Figure 20: The number of songs used in class, in students’ point of view
From the chart above, most of the students thought that the number of songs are used in
class is too few, making up 78%. However, 17,9% of them thought that it is enough.
Surprisingly, 3,9% students said that the number of songs are used in class is a lot.
Question 15 : In your opinion, should teachers use songs to teach pronunciation?
Figure 21: Students’ opinion about teachers should use songs teach pronunciation or not
52
From the pie chart above, 63,6% of students thought that teachers should use songs to
teach pronunciation. 35% of students wanted teachers sometimes use songs to teach
pronunciation. Only 1,7% of students thought that teachers should not use songs to teach
pronunciation.
3.4. Discussion
Basing on the result we got, this part mainly focuses on the discussion from findings,
stating some advantages and disadvantages of using songs to teach pronunciation for the
first year students at the College of Sciences, TNU.
3.4.1. Some advantages of using songs to teach pronunciation for the first year
students
The analysis of the results help us to have an overview on the practical use of English
songs in learning English , especially pronunciation. In general, the use of songs in
teaching-learninmg process is now very popular. Al most English teachers have ever used
songs in their teaching process. The most important thing here is that whether using songs
to teach pronunciation is enough and effective or not. The advantage is most of the
students like listening to songs and want to have songs in the lessons.
There is a common point of view betwwen English teachers and the first year students at
the Collge of Sciences on the effectiveness of songs in the teaching and learning English.
Most of them appreciate the vital role of songs because of their advantages. The
combination of relaxing and learning is the biggest support to them. It must be admitted
most teachers and students have a positive attitudes towards songs. Many students have a
desire of using songs more and more in class because they want to practice English more
under the teachers’ guidance together with getting of relaxing.
3.4.2. Some difficulties when using songs to teach pronunciation for the first year
students
Some difficulties when using songs are shown clearly from the results. Although the first
year students at the Collge of Sciences, TNU have experienced in learning English for
many years, their ability of speaking of English on average is not so good. This causes
53
difficult for teachers in helping them improve their speaking skills. To help students
learning speaking better, it is necessary for teachers to take into consideration students’
abilities in order to find out suitable methods as well as other support.
The most difficult for students when listening to English songs is they can not hear clearly
because singers usually link sounds together. Besides, students can not follow the speed of
almost songs is a also disadvantage when they learning pronunciation through songs. In
addition, using songs in class consisting of too many students is one of the difficulty for
the teachers. It becomes more difficult to choose the suitable songs for their students
because of students’ differences about inrerest, level, experience, etc.
54
PART C: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
In this chapter, the writer will draw some conclusions about the research that has been reported
on the previous chapters and give some suggestions as the contribution to support the teaching-
learning process and also give the limitation of the study.
I. Summary of the findings
To sum up, this study investigated the situation of using songs to teach pronunciation for
the first year students at the College of Sciences, TNU. From the data collection
instruments, namely questionnaires, the analysis and discussions of findings achieved the
following results:
Firstly, it is necessary to make pronunciation lessons more enjoyable and easier for
students to memorize. Because a large number of teachers and students find pronunciation
difficult, it is recommended that teachers should design more interesting tasks and create
pleasant atmosphere in order to avoid frustration and tensions for students. To arouse
passion for learning is essential but difficult. So, what is an effective way to reduce
boredom and encourage students to learn pronunciation?
Secondly, the use of songs in the teaching-learning process have some benefits for the
students. The students not only learn about how the words pronounced but also master
English vocabulary. Moreover, most of the student are interested in learning pronunciation
by using songs. It seems that they feel more relax during the lesson.
Finally, using songs may be an effective way to teach pronunciation, but some problems
still exist as follows: One is a need to equip teachers with specific kind of background in
phonetics and its application in communicative approaches. Another is how to design tasks
and activities basing on authentic materials. This depends on the ability of the teachers and
their enthusiasms in teaching career because looking for suitable materials and designing
tasks both interesting and effective may take a lot of time and is quite difficult. Moreover,
in a 45- minute class of language focus, it is hard to have enough time to teach both
pronunciation and grammar as regulated in the curriculum. To find a helpful song is really
a problem to some teachers who cannot apply information technology or do not have
facilities for it. Finally, to teachers who do not have a good voice and sense of music.
55
Although songs can be played by tapes or discs, etc. it is better for teachers to motivate
students by singing as a model or simply by singing together with them. If teachers sing
with wrong rhythm, they may lose confidence or be laughed at by their students.
II. Suggestions for English teachers
It is better for English teachers to use songs on their teaching - learning process since songs have
a very big benefit for the students. Songs can be implemented when teachers want to teach
vocabulary, grammar, or pronunciation. It is known that most of the students like songs, so it can
be used as one of the ways to get the students’ participation in teaching - learning process.
III. Limitations of the research
As a self-criticism, the researcher had made the best efforts to accomplish the research.
However, because of the limitation of time, scope as well as knowledge, the findings of
this research are therefore very limited to certain degree. The method of this study is only
based on the data collection through questionnaires and class observation, and if it has
chance to develop in the future it should be carried out by interviewing so that the results
would be more interesting and convincing. Furthermore, the investigation focused only on
the first year students who are studying in College of Sciences, Thai Nguyen University. In
addition, if time allowed, interviews and class observation should have been selected to
collect data in a larger scope. In short, these limitations should be taken into consideration
when further are conducted in the future. In this paper, the scope of study is limited only in
the College of Science, TNU. The research is restricted to only a small number of objects
and the researcher can only look at the situation of using songs to teach English
pronunciation for the first year students. Hence, the results cannot be generalized to all
colleges. Hopefully, this research brings some insight into one of strategies to teach
pronunciation.
56
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33, Rogers, P. 1999. Advantages of songs. Published in: Using inexpensive technologies
to promote engaged learning in the adult education classroom, Project INTER-ALT
(Interactively Advancing Literacy).
34, Scarcella, R.C., & Oxford, R.L. .1994. The Tapestry of Language Learning: The
Individual in the Communicative Classroom. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
35, Scott Thornbury, 2003. (p.p 97). Discourse analysis for language teachers. New York:
Oxford University Press.
36, Silvia, C. B., Eva, E. V., Isabel, S. 2005. Teaching phonetics through singing and
reciting. Financed by the Madrid regional Government (ref. no. 06/HSE/0123/2004).
37, Syafei, A. 1988. English pronunciation: Theory and Practice. Jakarta: Depdikbud,
Dirjen dikti.
38, Syakur, 1995. Effective tools for Teaching English. China: Oxford University Press.
39, The Encyclopedia of Americana, 1998. Retrieved from
http://www.encyclopediacenter.com/Encyclopedia-Americana-1998-p/americana2011.htm
40, Tripp, D. 1996. SCOPE: Supporting Work Place Learning Education Department of
Western Australia. Eaglewood.
41, Verma, G. K. & Mallick, K. (1990). “Researching Education: Perspectives and
Techniques”. Falmer Press.
42, Wong, R. 1987. Teaching pronunciation: focus on English rhythm and itonation.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.
Wesite visisted:
http://www.Allwords.com/word-song+thrush.html
59
http://www.yourdictionary.com
APPENDIX 1
QUESTIONNAIRES FOR THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS
I am conducting the graduation thesis on “An investigation into using songs to teach
English pronunciation for the first year students at College of Sciences, TNU” which aims
at investigating the reality of exploiting songs to teaching pronunciation. I would be
grateful if you could spend some of your precious time completing this questionnaire.
Please read the questions carefully and tick on the answer you agree most for each
question. It is assured that your personal opinions will be kept secret under all
circumstances. Thank for your cooperation!
SURVEY QUESTIONS
- You are:............... (male/female)
- Your age:.............
1. How many years have you been learning English?
..................................................................................................................................................
2. Your speaking English is at which level?
a, excellent
b, good
c, normal
d, bad
3. In your opinion, what aspect of learning English is the most difficult?
a, pronunciation
b, grammar
c, vocabulary
d, 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing
4. In your opinion, how important pronunciation is in learning a language?
a, very important
b, important
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c, unimportant
5. Do you like English songs?
a, yes
b, no
6. How often do you listen to English songs?
a, always
b, usually
c, sometimes
d, rarely
e, never
7. Have you ever been taught English pronunciation by songs?
a, yes
b, no
8. Do you like having songs in the lesson?
a, yes
b, no
9. How often does your teacher of English use songs to teach pronunciation?
a, very often
b, often
c, sometimes
d, rarely
e, never
10. In your opinion, songs help you:
a, relax
b, study
c, relax and study
11. Do you think that using songs can help you to have better pronunciation?
- yes, in what way?...................................................................................................................
- no, why?.................................................................................................................................
12. What do you think are the advantages of listening to English songs in learning
pronunciation? You can choose more than one answer.
a. Songs can reduce the boredom in the class
b. Songs can help you to relax during the lesson
61
c. Songs can encourage you to pay attention to the pronunciation of the words in the songs
d. The rhythm in songs provide listeners with repetition of similar sounds
e. Others, please specify…………………………………………………..............................
13. What are your problems when listening to songs?
a, You are distracted by music
b, You can not follow the speed of almost songs
c, The accents of singers are not always of standard English
d, You can not hear clearly because singers usually link sounds together
14. In your opinion, the number of songs used in the class is:
a, a lot
b, enough
c, too few
15. In your opinion, should teachers use songs to teach pronunciation?
a, yes
b, no
c, sometimes
Thank you for your cooperation!
62
APPENDIX 2
QUESTIONNAIRES FOR TEACHERS
I am conducting the graduation thesis on “An investigation into using songs to teach
English pronunciation for the first year students at College of Sciences, TNU” which aims
at investigating the reality of exploiting songs to teaching pronunciation. I would be
grateful if you could spend some of your precious time completing this questionnaire.
Please read the questions carefully and tick on the answer you agree most for each
question. It is assured that your personal opinions will be kept secret under all
circumstances. Thank for your cooperation!
SURVEY QUESTIONS
- You are: ................(male/female)
- Your age: ........................
1. How long have you been teaching English?
.................................................................................................................................................
2. In your opinion, what aspect of teaching Enlish is the most difficult?
a, grammar
b, pronunciation
c, vocabulary
d, 4 skills: reading, writing, listening, speaking
3. In your opinion, how important is pronunciation in learning a language?
a, very important
b, important
c, not important
4. Which material do you often choose to teach English pronunciation?
a, Live speech (Teacher reads sounds aloud and students repeat)
b, Video or tape recordings
63
c, Others, please specify..........................................................................................................
4. What are your problems when teaching English sounds? (You can choose more than one
answer)
a. The English sounds are different from Vietnamese sounds
b. Students feel discouraged when they cannot produce the sounds correctly
c. You cannot find suitable materials to teach pronunciation
d. Other, please specify………………………………………………………
5. Have you ever used songs in your teaching process?
a, yes
b, no
6. Do you like teaching English pronunciation through songs?
a, yes
b, no
7. What are your purposes of using songs in your teaching process?
a, to relax
b, to learn
c, to relax and to learn
8. Which aspect of English do you want to use songs to teach most?
a, listening skills
b, speaking skills
c, writing skills
d, reading skills
e, integrated skills
f, grammar
g, voacabulary
h, pronunciation
9. How often do you use songs?
a, very often
b, often
c, sometimes
d, rarely
e, never
10. What do you think about the use of songs in teaching pronunciation?
a, very effective
64
b, effective
c, ineffective
d, neutral
11. Do your students like listening to songs?
a, yes, very much
b, yes, but not much
c, no, not at all
12. Do you think that using songs can be an effective tool for teaching pronunciation?
-Yes, in what way?...................................................................................................................
-No, why?.................................................................................................................................
13. In your opinion, what are the advantages of using songs in your lesson? (you can
choose more than 1 answer):
a, Songs can reduce the boredom of students in the class
b, Songs can help students relax during lesson
c, Songs can create high motivation towards learning English of students
d, Songs can encourage students to pay attention to the pronunciation of the words in the
songs
e, The rhythm in songs provide listeners with repetition of similar sounds
f, Others, please specify..........................................................................................................
14. In your opinion, what difficulties do you cope with when using songs in teaching
pronunciation? (you can choose more than 1 answer):
a, The class becomes noisy and out of control
b, Class time is limited
c, Students are distracted by the music
d, The sounds are not clear because singers usually link sounds together
e, You can not find suitable songs for the lesson in the curiculum
f, Mixed-ability of students
g, Others, please specify.......................................................................................................
15. When do you use songs in your class:
a, At the beginning of the lesson
b, At the end of the lesson
c, In the middle of the lesson
17. How long does it take you to apply songs in the class?
a, About 5 to 10 minutes
65
b, About 10 minutes
c, About 10 to 15 minutes
d, About 20 to 25 minutes
Thank you for your cooperation!