Improving Freshmen's Intonation Through English Pop Songs-Nguyen Thanh Van - Qh06f1e3

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
NGUYỄN THANH VÂN
IMPROVING FRESHMEN’S ENGLISH INTONATION

THROUGH ENGLISH POP SONGS:
AN ACTION RESEARCH AT ULIS-VNU
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (TEFL)
Hanoi, May 2010
Hanoi, May 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
NGUYỄN THANH VÂN
IMPROVING FRESHMEN’S ENGLISH INTONATION

THROUGH ENGLISH POP SONGS:
AN ACTION RESEARCH AT ULIS-VNU
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (TEFL)
SUPERVISOR: PHẠM MINH TÂM, M.Ed.
Hanoi, May 2010
ii
ACCCEPTANCE
I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Thanh Vân, 061E3, being a candidate for the
degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College
relating to the retention and use of Bachelor‟s Graduation Paper deposited
in the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in

the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in
accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the
care, loan or reproduction of the paper.
Signature
May, 2010
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
On completing this graduation paper, I would like to send my deepest and
most sincere gratitude to many people for their invaluable help during the
conduct of the research.
First and foremost, I would like to send my heartfelt gratitude towards

my supervisor Mrs. Phạm Minh Tâm, M.Ed for her constructive and timely
feedbacks as well as her constant and unfailing support which were decisive
factors to the completion of the study.
Additionally, I would like to show my deepest gratitude towards Mrs.

Lương Quỳnh Trang, M.Ed and Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Anh Thư, PhD. for their
valuable advice and guide in the methodology of the research.
Furthermore, I would love to thank all the teachers who have taught me
pronunciation and research methodology. I would also like to say the sincerest
thanks to Mr. Andrew Larson, English teacher at the University of FPT
Greenwich and those first- year students ULIS mainstream English majors who
have enthusiastically participated in the study. Their participation has been
crucial to the completion of the research.
I would also love to thank Mr. Lục Hoàng Long, staff of FPT Software
Center for his crucial help with Information Technology and his spiritual
support throughout the research process.
On a personal note, I express my truly gratitude to my family and friends

who emotionally and spiritually comforted me through the challenging time of
conducting the research. The study could not have been completed without
their continual encouragement.
i
ABSTRACT
In the context of globalization and English becomes the dominant

language all around the world, the number of students learning English as their
second or foreign language has witnessed a rapid increase. Despite the increase
in number of learners and the development of teaching and learning condition,
it seems that teachers and learners of English have not paid enough attention to
supra-segmental aspects of English language. The process of teaching those
aspects is mainly sole lecturing or explaining from teachers. This is such a pity
because these aspects, with their natural links to speaking and listening, play a
more decisive role in successful communication than any segmental aspects of
language. Intonation, a basic factor among these aspects, is no exception. With
a great interest in English songs and an inspiration to introduce a fresh and
relaxing way of teaching intonation, the researcher has decided to conduct the
study in order to find out the most effective techniques and songs for intonation
teaching from students‟ perspectives as well as possible improvement in
students‟ intonation when learning in this way. In form of an action research,
the study is a continuous process of techniques applying, effect verifying and
lesson improving to explore and discover the most effective techniques and
essential features of songs to use.
The results from the study are fairly positive with a considerable progress in
students‟ intonation (30%) accompanied by many interesting and constructive
ideas on how to choose songs and employ them to teach intonation. The
findings from the study are hopefully of benefit not only for learners interested
in intonation area but also for teachers by provoking a desire for more positive
teaching methods and providing them with some fundamental ideas to develop
new techniques of teaching intonation.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLES OF CONTENTS PAGE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………i
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………iii
LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS………………..vii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 1

1.1. Rationale for the study and research problem statement ......................... 1
1.2. Research aims and research questions .................................................... 3
1.3. Significance of the study ........................................................................ 3
1.4. Scope of the study .................................................................................. 4
1.5. Methodology .......................................................................................... 4
1.5.1. Research Design .............................................................................. 4
1.5.2. Sampling .......................................................................................... 4
1.5.3. Methods of Data Collection ............................................................. 5
1.5.4. Methods of Data Analysis ................................................................ 5
1.6. Organization .......................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................... 7
2.1. Intonation ............................................................................................... 7
2.1.1 Definitions ........................................................................................ 7
2.1.2. Elements of English intonation ........................................................ 8
2.1.3 Importance of intonation in English .................................................. 9
2.2. English intonation teaching ...................................................................11
iii
2.2.1 Features of intonation teaching process ............................................11
2.2.2 Approaches to intonation teaching ...................................................12
2.2.3 Techniques in teaching intonation ....................................................14
2.3. English pop songs .................................................................................18
2.3.1. Definitions ......................................................................................18
2.3.2. Features of English pop songs .........................................................19
2.3.3. The use of English pop songs in ELT ..............................................20
2.4. Conclusion ............................................................................................21
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................22
3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................22
3.2. Research questions .............................................................................22
3.3. Selection of Methodology ...................................................................22
3.4. Selection of subjects .............................................................................24
3.4.1. Population .......................................................................................24
3.4.2. Sampling .........................................................................................24
3.4.3. Participants .....................................................................................25
3.5. Research instruments ............................................................................25
3.5.1. Pre-test and post test .......................................................................26
3.5.2. Intonation courses ...........................................................................27
3.5.3. Interviews .......................................................................................29
3.6. Procedure of data collection ..................................................................30
3.6.1 Cycle 1 .............................................................................................30
3.6.1.1. Preparation ................................................................................30
3.6.1.2. Pre-test ......................................................................................31
3.6.1.3. Interviews .................................................................................31
3.6.1.4. Post- test ...................................................................................32
3.6.2. Cycle 2 ............................................................................................32
iv
3.6.2.1. Preparation ................................................................................32
3.6.2.2. Pre-test, Post test and Interviews ...............................................32
3.7. Procedure of data analysis .....................................................................32
3.7.1 Data from pre-test and post test ........................................................33
3.7.2 Data from the interviews ..................................................................36
3.8. Conclusion ............................................................................................38
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...............................................39
4.1. Findings ................................................................................................39
4.1.1. Research question 1 ........................................................................39
4.1.1.1. Results ......................................................................................39
4.1.1.2 Discussion..................................................................................43
4.1.2. Research question 2: .......................................................................44
4.1.2.1. The Recommended lessons for intonation teaching ...................44
4.1.2.2. Features of a favorable lesson ...................................................45
4.1.2.3 Effective techniques for intonation teaching ..............................46
4.1.2.4. Conclusion ................................................................................49
4.1.3. Research question 3 ........................................................................50
4.1.3.1. Features of song melody ...........................................................51
4.1.3.2. Features of song lyric ................................................................53
4.1.3.3. Conclusion ................................................................................54
4.2. Implications ..........................................................................................55
4.3. Application ...........................................................................................55
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ........................................................................56
5.1. Summary of findings .............................................................................56
5.2. Limitations ............................................................................................57
5.3. Suggestions for further studies ..............................................................57
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………..59
v
APPENDIXES………………………………………………………………...65
Appendix 1: Test of intonation…………………..……………………….65
Appendix 2: Interview scheme used in intonation course-Cycle 1……....67
Appendix 3: Interview scheme used in intonation course-Cycle 2………68
Appendix 4-10: Songs and lesson plans used for intonation courses…….69
Appendix 11: Summary of students‟ answers in the interviews- Lesson..101
Appendix 12: Summary of students‟ answers in the interviews- Song…104
Appendix 13-16: Samples of interview transcription………………..….106
vi
LIST OF TABLES
TABLES PAGE
Table 1: Grammar and intonation (Kelly, 2000, p.89)…………..…………13
Table 2: Intonation choices in discourse approach………………………...14
Table 3: Syllabus of intonation courses………………….……………….. 27
Table 4: Model comparison of two ToBI transcriptions………………..…35
Table 5: Average percentage of improvement_Dung………….…………..36
Table 6: Improvement in Dung‟s intonation…………..…………………...39
Table 7: Improvement in Hanh‟s intonation…….…………………………40
Table 8: Improvement in Thanh‟s intonation………………………………40
Table 9: Improvement in Mai‟s intonation……...…………………….…... 40
Table 10: Improvement in Thiet‟s intonation……………………….……...41
Table 11: Improvement in Tu Anh‟s intonation………………..………......41
Table 12: Improvement in Trang‟s intonation…………………………......42
Table 13: Improvement in Binh‟s intonation…………………………........42
Table 14: Participants‟ attitude towards lessons in cycle 1…………...…...44
Table 15: Participants‟ attitude towards lessons in cycle 2……………… ..44
Table 16: Students‟ interest in songs……… . ……………………………..50
Table 17: Marks given by students to the songs……….……………..……51
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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURES PAGE
Figure 1: Circle of difficulties in intonation teaching…………………...…12
Figure 2: Procedure of lesson plan conduction………………………...…..28
Figure 3: Structure of interviews…………………………………………...30
Figure 4: Pitch contours-Pretest-Dung-Utterance 1………………………..33
Figure 5: Pitch contours with ToBI transcription-Pretest-Dung-
-Utterance 1……………………………………..34
Figure 6: Pitch contours with ToBI transcription- Native speaker-
-Utterance 1…………………………………...35
Figure 7: Percentage of improvement……………..………………….……43
Figure 8: Effectiveness of teaching techniques perceived by students….....47
Figure 9: Students‟ most favorite activities in lessons……………………..48
ABBREVIATIONS
ULIS, VNU: University of Languages and International Studies
Vietnam National University, Hanoi
ELT : English Language Teaching
viii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale for the study and research problem statement
In the context of educational development when more and more positive
teaching and studying methods are in demand, the necessity of exploring
new methods with relaxing as well as effective sources of teaching materials
has become a matter of course to educators.
The use of music in developing linguistic skills has become a trend since
it was stated in Maess and Koelsch‟s study in 2001. After a wide range of
complicated experiments and studies, neurologists have come to the
conclusion that musical and language processing occur in the same area of
the brain and there are probably parallels in how musical and linguistic
syntax are processed (Maess and Koelsch, 2001, as cited in Kristen, 2001).
Many others linguistic educators and teachers have also conducted various
studies and reached the conclusion that music is one of the best sources for
language learning and teaching. Among various genres of music, pop songs-
with normal rhythm and similarity to speech- are the best for teaching
language. This point has been emphasized by Kisito (2005), an experienced
teacher of English as well as the webmaster of est-galaxy.com, a well-known
website in teaching English for Japanese, and Murphey (1992), to name but
a few.
In terms of linguistic skills, many Vietnamese students share their
difficulties when studying abroad in some forums like vietphd.org, a forum
for Vietnamese people who are studying PhD abroad to share their ideas and
experiences. One strange situation is that although their English
pronunciation can be considered better than Indian students, they are often
misunderstood or asked to repeat their utterances by their professors and
classmates while it is not the case for those from India. After a certain
1
period of time, they realize that Indian students‟ superiority to them is
certainly not word pronunciation but word stress and sentence intonation,
which results in their effect to professors and classmates‟ understanding
(translated, Ericsson and Klmn (2008) in the discussion “Teaching Assistant
with Limited English Speaking”). Although these are just some cases
through personal experience, they deserve more consideration from teachers
and learners of English. Cook (2000), in his preface for the book American
Accent Training, has also stated that “If you speak fairly quickly and with
strong intonation, you will be understood more easily”. This is based on the
fact that English is an intonation language, the language which uses pitch to
convey ideas or concepts.
Through my own experience of studying English intonation in Phonetics
and Speaking classes, it can be said that students at the University of
Languages and International Studies- Vietnam National University (ULIS,
VNU) are not really aware of the importance of intonation in English
communication. Additionally, their intonation practicing is somehow
“cosmetic” and not sufficient enough for them to have a good command of
English intonation. To be more specific, the first- year students at ULIS,
VNU only have a maximum of two periods in Speaking lesson to intonation
for the whole semester, which is just a very quick introduction on English
intonation compared to its complexity and importance.
All these aforementioned factors, together with the article “Listen to
Songs and Film Dialogues to Improve Your Intonation Skills” written by the
authors in qwetrystudios.com, have provoked a desire for the researcher to
conduct a study on the effective ways in exploiting English pop songs to
improve English intonation for the first -year students at ULIS-VNU.
2
It is obvious that such a study cannot be successful without explicit data
on participants‟ intonation skill and a suitable condition for them to study
and develop the skill. The lack of setting for learning and teaching intonation
at ULIS-VNU, as mentioned above, makes it reasonable and essential for the
study to be conducted in form of an action research.
In sum, with strong interest in the topic and belief in methodology from,
the researcher has been attracted to the conduction of the study “Improving
freshmen’s intonation through English pop songs: An action research at
ULIS, VNU”
1.2. Research aims and research questions
The particular aims of this study are to reach the specific data on the
improvement in participants‟ intonation, to analyze the effectiveness of
some techniques used in the research process and supply some criteria to
choose relevant songs for this purpose.
In sum, the research seeks answers to the following questions:
1. To what extent does the use of English pop songs in intonation
teaching process improve ULIS freshmen‟s intonation?
2. What techniques are the most effective to teach intonation with
English pop songs to the freshmen at ULIS, VNU as perceived by
these freshmen?
3. What are the essential features of English pop songs that can help to
improve ULIS freshmen‟s intonation as perceived by the participants?
1.3. Significance of the study
The first contribution the study aims at is an overview of fundamental
knowledge of intonation and intonation teaching process, especially the
exploitation of English pop songs in the teaching process.
3
It is also expected that this study may provide a source of reference for
teachers and researchers in linguistic and pedagogical areas.
1.4. Scope of the study
Due to a small scale as well as time limit, this research will only focus on
a limited target population and a certain aspect of intonation. In terms of
intonation aspects, the study only put a focus on pitch variation, the key
factor of intonation. The small scale of the study also creates the necessity
for participants in the study to be restricted to the number of 5 first- year
students at ULIS, VNU for each cycle. From now to the end of this paper,
these first-year students at ULIS, VNU are simply referred as “the students”
or “the participants”.
1.5. Methodology
1.5.1. Research Design
The study is conducted in the form of an action research to answer the
first main question. The action research will be implemented with two
cycles, and each cycle is a course on English intonation. Each course
consists of 7 classes, 60 minutes each, with the lesson plans designed by the
researcher. Intonations tests are taken by the participants at the beginning
and at the end of the course to see the differences.
Deep- end interviews will also be used at the end of each class to get the
demands and the feedback of the participants towards certain aspects of the
teaching procedure.
1.5.2. Sampling
As the subject of the study is the freshmen‟s intonation and their
perceptions of this skill through a period of time with the addition of English
pop songs, the participants will be chosen from first- year students at ULIS,
4
VNU. Due to the time limit and big work-load for the researcher, it is
necessary that the study will be conducted with convenient sampling.
1.5.3. Methods of Data Collection
To answer the first question, data will be collected with the use of
PRAAT, an effective computer program for linguistics uses. First, the
participant‟s speech will be recorded with an MP4 player. All the speech,
then, will be opened in PRAAT program, transformed and stored in the form
of speech diagrams.
One semi-structure interview schedule will also be used to get the answer
of the other two research questions.
1.5.4. Methods of Data Analysis
The first method of data analysis is quantitative method to get descriptive
statistics about participants‟ intonation changes with the use of PRAAT,
which helps to answer the first research question.
The second method of data analysis will be theme analysis method,
applied on the answers of participants in the deep- end interviews with the
researcher. The data helps to answer the other two research questions.
1.6. Organization
The study totally consists of five chapters, namely Introduction,
Literature Review, Methodology, Results and discussions and Conclusion
with the major contents as follows:
Chapter 2 provides the background on the study, including the
definitions and the features of some determinant terms such as intonation,
intonation teaching process and English pop songs. Besides, this chapter
gives a brief review of some major approaches and techniques for teaching
intonation as well as using English songs in English Language Teaching
(ELT).
5
Chapter 3 demonstrates the research methods applied in the study with
details on how and why these methods were implemented in the research.
Chapter 4 presents the data collected from careful interviews as well as
the pre-test and post-test throughout the research. In order to ensure the
clarity and conciseness of the paper, the raw data are filtered and
demonstrated briefly in forms of tables and charts. It also demonstrates the
results and discussion of the study, which answer the three research
questions, and then suggests the application of these results in reality.
Chapter 5 summarizes the main issues covered in the paper, presents the
limitations of the study and some suggestions for further studies in the
research area. Following this chapter are the References and Appendixes for
the whole research.
6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
To begin with the study, it is essential to know clearly about the key
concepts of the study as well as the research site. In this chapter, three main
concepts “intonation”, “intonation teaching” and “English pop songs”
will be presented in an overview of their definitions and uses in ELT.
2.1. Intonation
Intonation is one important aspect of every language. Therefore,
defining the term “intonation” in general, “English intonation” in particular
and its elements has always been a controversial matter for linguists all over
the world. In this paper, the term “intonation” would be used to refer to
“English intonation” only.
2.1.1 Definitions
First and foremost, it is worth defining the fundamental aspect of the
research- intonation.
Generally defined, Al-Sibai (2004) considered intonation as “it is not
what you said, it is how you said it” (p.1) at the very beginning of the study
Intonation: A Suprasegmental Aspect of the English Language. This idea
was repeated in Sabbadini (2006) in her article “Intonation” on the website
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/
Another general definition of intonation is “intonation is the music
language”. This idea was emphasized by Baker and Goldstein (2008, p.14),
in their book Pronunciation Pairs: An Introduction to the Sounds of English,
and by many other linguists in the forum
http://linguisticsinc.org/intonation.htm.
Other linguists and researchers offered more specific definitions of
intonation. O‟Connor & Arnold (1961), in their book Intonation of
Colloquial English, gave the definition “when we talk about English
7
intonation, we mean the pitch patterns of spoken English, the pitch tunes of
melodies, the musical features of English”. Despite the differences in word
choice, Bradford (1992), Cruttenden (1986), Kelly (2000), Tench (1981)
and many other linguists also defined intonation as the changes of pitch
pattern in utterances.
In sum, it was widely recognized among linguists that intonation dealt
with pitch variations in utterances.
2.1.2. Elements of English intonation
Due to the differences in definitions, linguists and researches offered
different elements of English intonation. Nguyen H.N. (2003), in her
graduation paper English Tunes in Communication, stated that dealing with
intonation meant dealing with three main elements: stress, rhythm and tone
groups. However, this idea was not supported by other studies as these
elements were of intonation teaching rather than of intonation itself.
Cruttenden (1986, p.35) assumed that intonation had three main
elements at three layers: intonation units (parts of a stream of speech), tonic
status (a stressed syllable of an important word) and tones of intonation
units (the pitch chosen for a certain intonation unit). These elements, more
or less, corresponded to tone units, tonic syllable and tunes mentioned in
O‟Connor and Arnold (1961).
Differently, Pierrehumbert (1980) emphasized the importance of pitch
movement in perceiving intonation and considered three elements of pitch
accents , (i.e. tones at main words and getting stressed, marked with *),
phrasal tones (i.e. tones linking the main phrase and the boundary, marked
with -) and boundary tones (i.e. tones at the end of the phrase, marked with
%). The accents or tones were restricted to only 2 basic ones: high (H) or
low (L). Her idea was then developed by Beckman, Hirschberg and
8
Shattuck-Hufnagel (2005), adding pauses as an important element of
intonation, to form a system of intonation transcription named Tones and
Break Indices (ToBI).
Among all of these ideas about the elements of intonation, the
researcher of this study was really convinced by Pierrehumbert‟s because it
had been recognized and developed into a world-wide system of
transcription by other linguists. That was the reason why ToBI was chosen
to be one standard for data analysis procedure in this study.
2.1.3 Importance of intonation in English
The importance of intonation in English communication has been
emphasized over and over in many studies. It was stated by Cook (2000) in
his preface of the book American Accent Training that the speech with high
speed but strong intonation was easily understood. Gilbert (1993) also
claimed that “…time spent helping students concentrate on rhythm and the
major intonational road signs is more important than any other efforts to
improve their pronunciation” (p.43).
The important role of English intonation has also been observed by a
number of other linguists. Roach (1983) demonstrated four important
functions of intonation in English as follows:
- Attitudinal function: helps speakers express their attitude and adds
special kind of meaning to spoken language.
- Accentual function: helps to produce sense of emphasis or
prominence to the important word or syllable in speaker‟s intention.
- Grammatical function: helps listeners recognize the grammatical and
syntactic structure of the utterance.
- Discourse function: signals to the listeners what is considered new or
shared or what kind of answer is expected.
9
Vaissiere (2004) made the point clearer by introducing 7 ranges of
intonational functions: Syntactic, Informational, Interactive, Modal,
Attitudinal, Emotional and Other (speaker‟s identity, sex, age, and so on).
Actually, the Attitudinal (attitude towards the speech and listener) and
Emotional (speaker‟s arousal) in Vaissiere‟s study could be combined to
make the Attitudinal function in Roach‟s idea. The Informational function in
Vaissiere‟s corresponded to the Discourse function in Roach‟s and
Vaissiere‟s Syntactic function was included in Roach‟s Grammatical
function.
In agreement with those ideas, the author(s) of the article “Teaching
Intonation and Stress Pattern” at http://www.btinternet.com/ added one
more function of English intonation in communication: turn-taking. It was
stated in the article that rising and falling could be used as a signal to keep
the floor or give the floor to another person to talk: “Remain at a high pitch
if you want to continue talking. A fall shows completion” (The Importance
of Intonation in Social Interaction section, para.1)
The importance of intonation lies not only in the benefits of suitable
intonation to the communication but also in the bad effects it brings when
used inappropriately. Because intonation is perceived unconsciously (Kelly,
2000, p.86 and Al-Sibai, 2004, p.2), native speakers are often unable to
recognize this kind of mistake in non-native speakers‟ utterances and
consider the novice speakers‟ inappropriate intonation as deliberate
(O‟Connor, 1998, p. 108 and Al-Sibai, 2004, p.2). This will certainly lead to
misunderstanding and communication break-down. This point was stressed
again when in Hewings (1995, p. 251) clarified in his review “Tone Choice
in the English Intonation of Non-Native Speakers” with the contention that:
10
We often react more violently to . . . intonational meanings than to . . .
lexical ones; if a man's tone of voice belies his words, we immediately assume
that the intonation more faithfully reflects his true linguistic intentions.
In conclusion, intonation is such an important and sensitive aspect of
English language that the appropriate or inappropriate choice of it may
determine the success or failure of communication.
2.2. English intonation teaching
2.2.1 Features of intonation teaching process
The intonation teaching process can be characterized by complexity
and difficulty.
The complexity of the teaching process originated from the
unconscious perception of native speakers about intonation. Kelly (2000)
described the teaching of intonation as “examine the nature of these
unconscious processes (perceive, understand and use intonation), bring them
to the surface and show how we believe they work” (p.86, notes in
parentheses added by the myself). In other words, the teaching of intonation
consisted of three main phases: careful examination and study on the nature
of intonation acquisition, transformation of the nature into clear and
understandable pieces of information and presentation of the information to
students. Each of the phase itself has contained many problems. As stated in
Vaissiere (2004), it was difficult to study intonation due to the lack of clear
definitions, unified approaches and standardized methods. In addition, the
values that linguistics and teachers often use for intonation such as pitch
level/ movement or prominence (loudness or stress) are just relative: one
speaker‟s „mid‟ pitch could be another‟s „low‟ pitch. This example was
demonstrated in Ranalli (2002) to state that values do vary from speaker to
speaker and from one situation to another. Moreover, there were problems
11
with the transformation and presentation of the information as these
processes consisted of "lengthy explanatory input for very little
performance output on the part of the student" (Currie & Yule, 1991, p.271).
The difficulty in intonation teaching process is an indispensible
consequence of its complexity. Roach (1991, p.11) claimed that "the
complexity of the total set of sequential and prosodic components of
intonation ... makes it a very difficult thing to teach". The difficulty of this
part has made teachers less confident to teach it in classrooms (Sabbadini,
2006) and hence, led to a vicious circle:
No
confidence
Ignorance in
Dificulties
classrooms
Less skills+
Students'
unawareness
Figure 1 : Circle of difficulties in intonation teaching

2.2.2 Approaches to intonation teaching
Different ideas in the perception and functions of intonation are the
determinants that create different approaches in teaching intonation.
Traditionally, researchers dealt with intonation, first and foremost, in
grammatical or attitudinal approaches. Researchers with grammatical
approach tended to show connections between intonation patterns and a
particular type of grammatical structure. It can be seen from Kelly (2000)
12
and Littlejohn and Hicks (1998) that in grammatical approach, intonation
teaching process put a focus on presenting and explaining the intonation in
isolated sentences of a certain type of sentences. Here are the clear examples
of grammatical approach in Kelly (2000):
Grammatical structure Intonation pattern
1 Information questions (asked for the first time) Falling
2 Questions (expecting a yes/no answer) Rising
3 Statements Falling
4 Imperatives Falling
5 Question tags (expecting confirmation) Falling
6 Question tags (show less certainty) Rising
7 Lists of items Rising, rising and finally falling
Table 1: Grammar and intonation (Kelly, 2000:89)
This approach has been criticized by Bradford (1998) and McCarthy (1991)
as there is no one-to-one relationship between sentence-type and tone of
intonation.
Another tradition approach to teaching intonation was attitudinal
approach. This approach considered how intonation changed in accordance
with speaker‟s attitude (Kelly, 2000, p. 95). However, this approach got
criticism from many researchers like Kelly (2000) or McCarthy (1991)
because there were too many things to be conveyed. Kelly (2000, p.96)
pointed out that the same intonation pattern could be used to express
different attitude (falling tone for a matter of fact or sense of relief).
McCarthy (1991, p.107) gave another argument that almost any emotion can
be expressed by any tone contour as displaying a particular attitude or
emotion. However, both of these researchers agreed that the links between
attitudes and intonation should be applied in teaching and practicing a
particular set of utterances.
13
Recently, linguistics have been more interested in an approach
developed by Brazil (1995) named interactive approach or discourse
approach. In this approach, speech was viewed as a target status of shared
understanding that both speaker and listener manage to reach; intonation was
considered not only used by speaker but also by listener (Cauldwell and
Allen, 1997). This approach could be summarized as in the following table:
System Choices
Prominence prominent／non-prominent syllables
Tone rise-fall, fall, level, rise, fall-rise
Key high, mid, low
Termination high, mid, low
Table 2: Intonation choices in discourse approach
(Brazil, 1995 cited in Higuchi, 2000)
With the three approaches above, researchers and teachers have
developed different methods and techniques in teaching intonation, which
would be presented in the next part of this paper.
2.2.3 Techniques in teaching intonation
It is necessary to re-emphasize that teaching intonation is not an easy
task for teachers of English language. For those who are native speakers of
English, as mentioned above, they often perceive intonation subconsciously
and are unaware of intonation difficulties of non-native speakers. Thus, it is
difficult for these native speakers to teach intonation. Consequently, without
the help from native teachers, non-native teachers will find it more difficult
to teach intonation as the theoretical basis for their teaching process is
limited. Perhaps, due the difficulties of intonation teaching process, there
have been few official researches on this area. However, a number of
teachers all around the world have paid more and more attention to this area
and shared their ideas for techniques in teaching intonation. This part aims at
demonstrating some of the main techniques mentioned.
14
Sabbadini (2006), a teacher in British Council- Cameroon, shared
some of her techniques in teaching intonation as follow:
- Modeling: teachers provide models for the learners and it is noticeable
that teachers should “exaggerate” their intonation for students to acquire
easily.
- Imitating: after giving models, teachers may ask students to imitate their
intonation by humming only.
- Comparing two examples of the same phrase: this can be done by two
ways. In a receptive way, teachers may let students listen to the two
examples recorded or spoken by teachers themselves. In a productive way,
teachers may ask students to practice two sentences in pairs, two minutes
as the robots without intonation and another two minutes with their
normal speaking.
With reference to Kelly (2000), Sabbadini (2006) also suggested some
particular activities to teach intonation from different approaches.
- From grammatical approaches, Sabbadini (2006) offered an activity of
using falling/rising tunes to convey their certainty about classmates‟ jobs
(the jobs were assigned to each student by the teacher). This activity was
similar to the one in Kelly (2000) in which each student received a piece
of paper with his/her nationality and the level of certainty about some
other mates‟ nationalities. Their task is to use falling/rising intonation to
ask the other about their nationalities. With this approach, Scrivener, in
his article “Skill: Teaching English Intonation” suggested that the teacher
model the intonation of every sample sentence when teaching a grammar
point.
- From attitudinal approach, Sabbadini (2006) provided a sample lesson. In
recognition stage, the teacher and students brain-stormed some attitude
15
such as “interested, uninterested, enthusiastic, surprised”. Then, the
teacher spoke a certain word, “banana” for example, with different
intonation and asked students to guess the attitude conveyed. In
production stage, the teacher assigned students with particular attitude as
“Miss Happy, Mr. Grumpsy or Miss Frightened” to speak some given
words or phrases.
A similar activity was introduced by Counihan (1998) when he asked
his students to present different ways of saying “Hello” to a lovely six-
month-old baby, to a strict teacher, to a long lost friend. This activity
could be repeated with other structures, other situations and attitudes.
Greeting and thanking to a particular person with different attitudes
was also a technique for students‟ drill in Kelly (2000). In his lesson,
Kelly provided students with a selection of role cards stating their
previous relations with Mr. Johnson and asked them to say “Good
morning, Mr. Johnson” in their proper ways.
For students at higher level, Scrivener let his students work in groups
of three with some situation like “Two people think the third one is a
thief” or “Today is one person‟s birthday”. Each student would only speak
the words/phrases written in their paper and simultaneously express their
attitude to others.
- From discourse approach, Sabbadini (2006) let students look at a scripted
dialogue between a waiter and two customers in a restaurant and focus on
the waiter‟s intonation in new or shared information. This approach was
also used to form the lesson in Kelly (2000) when he provided students
with different example intonation of the same phrase and explain the
discourses.
16
Beside techniques particularly related to an approach as above,
Scrivener also offered some other integrated activities for intonation
teaching. The first integrated activity he mentioned was marking text- letting
students look at a script, listen to the dialogue, mark the stressed syllables
and draw arrows to intonation patterns.
The idea of using arrows and visual markers for intonation has been
shared by almost every teacher and researcher in this area. This idea has
been emphasized in Al-Sibai (2004), Kelly (2000), O‟Connor and Arnold
(1961), Sabbadini (2006), Stibbard (1996), to name but a few.
Another technique emphasized by all teachers and researchers in this
area was practice. According to Kelly (2000) and Sabbadini (2006), for
students‟ benefits, practice rather than theory must be the focus in
classrooms. Authors of the article “Listen to Songs and Film Dialogues to
Improve Your Intonation Skills” at http://www.qwertystudios.com also put a
stress on practice when stating that “ While teaching intonation it's necessary
to remember that the best way to achieve quick result is constant practicing”.
An interesting and innovative technique in teaching intonation is the
use of jazz chant. This is a course developed by Carolyn Graham with the
use of jazz music‟s melody and rhythm to teach American rhythm and
intonation. The written document of this technique, Graham‟s book Jazz
Chant published in 1978 was described as an amusing way of teaching and
learning English.
All of the techniques above were helpful and crucial for teachers of
English intonation to develop a range of interesting and effective lessons.
17
2.3. English pop songs
2.3.1. Definitions
According to Cambridge Advanced Learner Dictionary, song is “a
usually short piece of music with words which are sung”. It can also be
defined as “ a short musical composition with words” from the website of
Princeton University, USA http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Pop song, or the song of pop music, is defined by Hatch and Millward
(1987) in their book From Blues to Rock: An Analytical History of Pop
Music as “a piece of music that have popular appeal”. A similar definition
of pop song is also given by Oxford Dictionary of Music as “concerts
appealing to a wide audience”.
However, it is essential to understand more deeply about pop music in
order to understand the term „pop song‟. As defined at the website
http://en.wikipedia.org, Pop music is a piece of music usually recorded for
commercial purpose, oriented towards a youth market, usually consisting of
relatively short and simple love songs and utilizing technological
innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.
It is also crucial to distinguish between pop music and popular music:
pop music is a specific genre of music related to alternative rock „n roll
while popular music is a term used for all kind of music appealing to popular
tastes (Allen, 2004).
In general, pop music is a genre of music popular to the youth but also
appealing to most of the audiences. This clear understanding of English pop
songs will help deduct the important features of this genre.
18
2.3.2. Features of English pop songs
It is possible to say that the most important feature of English pop
songs is the pleasure to audiences. Lamb (2010) emphasized that “the
audience pleasure in listening to the song is the primary goal”. This feature
leads to a decisive advantage of English pop songs: as the majority of
listeners enjoy the songs, the exploitation of these songs for other purposes,
like teaching or learning, will more likely receive motivation and support
and achieve good results.
English pop songs are also described in Shuker (2001, p.8-10) and
Warner (2003, p.3) with many features as follows:
- The lyrics focus on simple themes like love and romantic relationships
- The songs are short, usually about two and a half minutes to three and
a half minutes.
- The songs consist of verse and repeated chorus
- The beat of the song is simple and strong, which is relatively easy to
perceive.
Murphey (1992) , after conducting an analysis of a number of pop songs,
has found many features beneficial to language learners:
- They contain common and short words, including many personal
pronouns. According to his estimation, 94% of the songs had a first
person, I, referent and are written at about a fifth-grade level
- The language is similar to normal conversations with 25% of
imperatives and questions
- Time and place are usually imprecise (except for some folk ballads);
- The lyrics are often sung at a slower rate than usual and are there are
more pauses between utterances
19
With all of these important characteristics as mentioned above,
English pop songs seem to be beneficial and suitable materials for teaching
English language.
2.3.3. The use of English pop songs in ELT
As stated in the previous part of this paper, English pop songs seems
to be a useful material for English language learning and teaching process.
In the effort to employ an effective but interesting and joyful material in
teaching process, many teachers of English have tried using songs in their
classrooms. Those include Kristen Lems from the USA, Futonge Kisito from
Japan, Larry Lynch from Colombia, to name but a few.
Lems (1996) exploited songs in most of her classroom activities for
adult learners: listening for the song lyrics, recognize the song stress, rhythm
and intonation, practice singing to improve pronunciation, teaching
vocabulary and introducing cultural aspects.
Kisito (2005) put his high interest in using English songs to teach
listening. He suggested some activities for listening lesson such as fill in the
blanks, identify two words with the same rhyme. He also had similar ideas to
Lems (2001) that English pop songs can be used to teach grammar,
vocabulary or distinguish singers‟ accent (especially between American and
British accent).
Songs were also said to be a “wonderful material to teach rhythm and
intonation” by Cakir (1999). In his journal “Musical Activities for Young
Learners of ESL”, Cakir provided a wide range of interesting ELT activities
based on some given songs.
All of the above studies are persuasive evidences that English pop
songs can be an effective material for teaching English language in general
and English intonation in particular.
20
2.4. Conclusion
From the literature review above, it is remarkable that intonation is a
difficult but provoking and interesting area to study. To enthusiastic teachers
of English, the importance of intonation in the language requires a deeper
and more careful study to solve the contemporary problems.
Despite the significance of intonation and the benefits English pop
songs may bring to the intonation classrooms, there have been no official
studies on using English pop songs to teach intonation yet. This situation
remains a gap in the development of ELT methodology.
In conclusion, with the basis of theory and methodology on intonation
teaching process and the use of English pop songs for English-as-Foreign-
Language classrooms, it is promising that this study will filing the existing
gap in the research area.
21
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1. Introduction
In the previous chapter, the background and the focus of the study
have been justified through a brief review of the literature. This succeeding
chapter will demonstrate the methodology applied in the study by discussing
in detail the participants, the instruments and the procedure of data
collection which all aimed at achieving the major targets of the present
study. It should also be noted that the discussion of data analysis procedure
will be delayed until the next chapter.
3.2. Research questions
The targets of this study are the specific data on the improvement in
participants‟ intonation and the suggestions to choose the effective
techniques and relevant songs for intonation teaching. These targets can be
summarized into the answers to three major questions:
1. To what extent does the use of English pop songs in intonation
teaching process improve ULIS freshmen‟s intonation?
2. What techniques are the most effective to teach intonation with
English pop songs to the freshmen at ULIS, VNU as perceived by
these freshmen?
3. What are the essential features of English pop songs that can help to
improve ULIS freshmen‟s intonation?
3.3. Selection of Methodology
Before dealing with the specific steps in the research procedure, it is
necessary to explain the selection of the methodology because good
understanding of action research is indispensible for a deep understanding
and analysis of the research.
22
Action research, as defined in Cohen and Manion (1994, p.186) is
“small- scale intervention in the functioning of the real world and a close
examination of the effects of such an intervention”. In other words, Hopkins
(1985, p. 32) and Ebbutt (1985, p.156) defined it as the combination of
action and research in which a person attempted to understand, improve and
reform practice. Carr and Kemmis (1986, p.162) presented a different point
when regarding action research as a form of “self-reflective inquiry”.
From these definitions, researchers suggested some main features of
an action research as follows:
- Combination of action and research
- Intervention to solve real problems in the real word
- Close and careful examination of the effect of the intervention
- Self- reflection of the participants on their changes, or in another
words, the researcher is also a participant
Some other characteristics of action research were also stated by Hult
and Lennung (1980) and McKernan (1991) as:
- Aiming at improving the quality of human actions
- Being on an on-going cycle process, i.e. the feedback from data
collected can be used to improve the next steps in the research.
- Being formative, i.e. the research may witness the alteration in
definition, aims and methodology
- Contributing to a science of education
- Being collaborative, i.e. the research involves all contribution to
improve the understanding and action
These features were reflected in this study. First, the aim of the study
was to improve the current situation of English intonation teaching. Second,
the study would contribute to the science of language education. Third, the
23
study included the researcher‟s intervention on other participants‟ intonation
competence. Forth, the study was formed with several uncertainties and
suspicions, thus, it needed the alteration and improvement from within the
research process. Finally, the answer to the research question needed
answering as participants reflected on their own improvement, interest and
emotion during the research.
In conclusion, action research is a good choice for this study on
account of the suitability in target, design and characteristics of the study.
3.4. Selection of subjects
3.4.1. Population
The target population of this research was the first-year students at
ULIS, VNU. These students have spent at least seven years of their high
school studying English, passed the entrance exam to become mainstream
English majors at ULIS,VNU- a well-known university for English
Language Education- and been taught by teachers at ULIS,VNU for half a
year. These experiences were strong evidences for their solid background on
English vocabulary and structures, which helped the process of learning
intonation and giving feedback on ELT matters easier and more reliable.
3.4.2. Sampling
Firstly, as the subject of the study was the freshmen‟s intonation and
their perceptions of this skill through a period of time with the addition of
English pop songs, the participants were be chosen from first- year students
at ULIS, VNU. Because of time limit and big work-load for the researcher at
B.A. graduation paper, it was necessary that the study be conducted with
convenient sampling. At the beginning of the first cycle, the researcher made
contact with Thuong from class 091E3, a student being tutored privately by
the researcher. An appointment was made for the researcher to have some
24
talks with students from class 091E8 at ULIS, VNU to choose 10
participants, explain the process of the research and ask for their permission
to use their real names, private information and sayings for the study. All
participants and the researcher had come to the unity that written agreements
would not be necessary. Afterwards, the two cycles were implemented
gradually with five students in each cycle.
Secondly, it was worth stating that all the tests and interviews taken
by participants were used for the study. Thus, if any participant could not
attend the intonation course regularly, the information from him/her would
not be used for the discussion of the study because it could not ensure the
reliability of the study. This regulation, unfortunately, decreased the number
of participants in the first cycle down to 4.
3.4.3. Participants
It was a coincidence that all the participants of the research were
female students at ULIS, VNU. These young girls were active and
enthusiastic students who had strong inspiration on learning communicative
English, especially improving their pronunciation and intonation. They also
had similar results in English language for the first semester at the
university.
Moreover, they had the common interests of young female students:
funny activities for studying and popular songs for entertainment.
3.5. Research instruments
As a main feature of action research, the study was implemented with
two cycles. Within each cycle, the main research instruments used were
intonation test, intonation course and interviews. These instruments were
fully employed and simultaneously to ensure the most valid and reliable
data.
25
3.5.1. Pre-test and post test
To answer the first research question about ULIS freshmen‟s
improvement in intonation and to analyze results of an action research, it
was essential to find the criteria for evaluation. The participants‟ competence
of English intonation would be examined at the beginning and at the end of
the course through an intonation test (see Appendix 1). This test consisted of
six popular sentences of different grammatical structures and in different
situations. The participants‟ task was speaking out loud the utterances with
their most natural intonation. Their speeches were recorded with an MP3
player for further analysis.
It was important to state that the content of pre-test and post-test were
absolutely the same. The test was constructed by the researcher with
reference to reliable sources such as the book How to Teach Pronunciation
by Gerald Kelly (2000) or the research ESL Pronunciation Practice for
Question Intonation by Eric (2007). It was then sent for comments from
experts in intonation like Mrs. Nguyen Thi Anh Thu, PhD on Phonetics from
Queensland University, Australia, the co-author of several articles in
Elsevier Journal of Phonetics. After all, the intonation test was formed and
consistently used along the whole research.
The criteria for the evaluation of the test result underwent a range of
complicated steps. With the consideration that the best criteria for intonation
evaluation was native speakers‟ one, the researcher had chosen the audio
files of the utterances spoken by a native speaker, Mr. Andrew Larson,
teachers of English in FPT Greenwich University. In order to ensure the
validity of the intonation pattern, the recordings were compared to those in
the CDs of the books above and achieve the same result. The accuracy of
students‟ intonation would be assessed by the similarities between their
26
utterances and those of the native speaker in form of pitch contours and
ToBI transcription. The assessment (transcription and comparison) were all
done by the researcher.
3.5.2. Intonation courses
The most emphasized feature of action researches, which was
mentioned in the section “Selection of Methodology”, was the process of the
researcher‟s intervention. With the objectives of this study, the intervention
process should be designed to raise participants‟ awareness, improve their
English intonation and create a favorable condition for them to reflect on the
effective songs and teaching techniques for intonation. The intonation
courses, consequently, were established to meet the above demands.
Due to a small scale of a Bachelor -of -Art research with limits on
time and experience, the course in each cycle just consisted of 7 classes with
the researcher as the teacher and other participants as students. The syllabus
of the each course could be briefly demonstrated as in the following table:
Week Time Lesson Song Content(s) of lesson
1 Monday 1 Hello(Lionel Richie) Rising tone in greetings and Y/N
questions
Thursday 2 You can get it if you - Falling tone in statements
really want (Jimmy - Intonation in a lists
Cliff)
2 Monday 3 Donna, Donna (Julie Rising and falling tones in WH-
Roger) questions
Thursday 4 The day you went - Interchange of falling and rising
away (M2M) tones in WH-questions
3 Monday 5 Eyes on me (Faye - Rise-fall tone in exclamations
Wong) - Intonation in alternative questions
Thursday 6 A little time (The Falling and rising tones in tag
Beautiful South) questions
4 Monday 7 Do you know where Intonation patterns in combined
you going to (Janice) questions
+ Do you know what
you want (M2M)
Table 3: Syllabus of intonation courses
27
The total of 7 lesson plans (see Appendix 4-10) were prepared by the
researcher before the courses with reference from the intonation practice
books and articles together with advices from teachers and experts on
pronunciation and intonation teaching. The contents of the lessons in the
courses were based on eight model lessons suggested in chapter Intonation
of the book How to Teach Pronunciation by Gerald Kelly (2000).
Here are the normal steps in the construction of the lesson plan:
Preparing activities+ explanation
Checking melodies+ selecting songs

Selecting relevant lyrics
Selecting teaching points
Collecting songs from suggestions
Figure 2: Procedure of lesson plan construction

- Firstly, a range of English pop songs were chosen based on the suggestions
from Lems (1996, 18), teachers in http://www.eslhq.com/forums/esl-
forums/teaching-esl/ and researcher‟s own assumptions and interest. These
songs were carefully burned into the CDs for cassette use later on.
- Secondly, the intonation patterns taught in each lesson were chosen with
grammatical approach, i.e. linked one intonation pattern with a certain type
of sentence.
- Thirdly, the lyrics of all the songs were scanned by the researcher to find
out those with the needed grammar structures.
28
- Fourthly, the melody of the songs chosen from the previous step was
checked to see whether the intonation in the grammar structure was
suitable with the content of the lesson. Only the most suitable song(s)
would be selected for the lesson.
- Fifthly, the research decided how to introduce the intonation patterns with
the song(s), prepared explanations for any questions about intonation
which might popped up at the class (normally related to attitudes or
discourses) and formed the practice activities based on the techniques
mentioned in the section “Techniques in teaching intonation” above.
The data collected after the first cycle were used to developed better
lesson plans for the second cycle (see Appendix 4-10).
3.5.3. Interviews
So as to answer the second and third research question, semi-structure
interviews were exploited right after each lesson for two main reasons. The
first reason was the effectiveness in data supplementation of this instrument.
Interactions in an interview, as claimed in Nunan (1992) could be
“incredibly rich” and the data could be “extraordinary evidence about life”
that might not be gained in a questionnaire. Moreover, since the interviews
were all semi-structured, they “are particularly useful for getting the story
behind a participant‟s experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth
information around the topic” (McNamara, 1999). In this case, the
participants would have the chance to express their ideas freely according to
their experience and feeling about the lessons; therefore, data collected were
valid and constructive, which helped the researchers fully address the two
research questions.
In the study, the interview schedule (see Appendix 2) offered six
questions. The first three questions were about participants‟ feeling and
29
comments about the overall lesson. The other three questions explored their
attitudes and emotions towards the songs used in each lesson. Through the
experiences in cycle 1, the interview scheme was re-constructed to offer
easier and deeper reflection on the techniques. (see Appendix 3)
In short, the structure of the interviews could be demonstrated with the
graph below:
Give Effective Most

Techniques Describe effective &
marks activities interesting
Desribe Describe Effective Give

Songs or not marks
melody lyric
Figure 3: Structure of interviews

To sum up, the data collection instruments – intonation pretest and post
test, intonation course and in-depth interviews - were used to serve the aims
of the research. Such combination was expected to collect valid and reliable
data, which created strong support and basis for the findings and discussion
section.
3.6. Procedure of data collection
3.6.1 Cycle 1
3.6.1.1. Preparation
The first phase was the preparation for the data collection instruments,
which consisted of constructing intonation test, writing lesson plans and
designing interview schedule.
The second phase was the researcher‟s contact with participants in the
study. The contact was implemented with persuading participants about the
benefits of the study, explaining their main tasks, arranging a suitable
30
schedule for all participants and asking for their permission to publish some
of their basic information in the research paper. After careful consideration,
all participants and the researcher agreed that there would be no need for a
written agreement on these private matters.
Besides, pilot interviews were also conducted with two voluntary
respondents, the result of which was taken into great consideration to
produce the final drafts.
Moreover, a record of model utterances spoken by a native speaker ,
Mr. Andrew Larson, had been prepared. These model utterances, as
mentioned in the previous section, would serve as the standard to evaluate
participants‟ intonation
3.6.1.2. Pre-test
The pre-test of cycle 1 was conducted on February 22 nd , 2010 at room
103, A2 building, ULIS-VNU. Four participants had 10 minutes to explore
the situation. After that, each participant read aloud the utterances which
were recorded by the researcher‟s MP3 player.
3.6.1.3. Interviews
During the intonation courses, the frequent interviews were conducted
between the researcher and participants. Right after each class, each
participant spent 15 minutes responding interviews with the researcher. The
contents of the interview were noted at the same time by the researcher. In
order to assure the validity of students‟ evaluation across the whole course,
starting from the second class, the interview also asked for any changes in
participants‟ ideas when comparing the recent lesson with the previous ones.
31
3.6.1.4. Post- test
The post test of cycle 1 was conducted on March 22nd , 2010 at room
103, A2 building, ULIS-VNU. The same procedure as in the pretest was
implemented.
3.6.2. Cycle 2
3.6.2.1. Preparation
With the data collected from the first cycle, the researcher decided to
make some changes in the lesson plans and interview scheme. Specifically,
explanations of song lyrics were added to lesson 3 and the clarification of
the fast rhythm (related to the stressed-time feature of English) was added to
lesson 6.
The interview scheme was also changed in that the third question about
effective activities in each lesson was no longer an open-ended question. It
was reformed into a list of activities and students‟ comment on the
effectiveness of each activity. This reformation was made to assure that no
activities or ideas about the songs were missed in the interview.
3.6.2.2. Pre-test, Post test and Interviews
The same procedure of pre-test, post test and interviews as those in the
first cycle were used. The pretest was on March 25th and the post test was
on April 25th .
3.7. Procedure of data analysis
Initially, the raw data were classified according to the three research
questions. Specifically, the data from pre-test and post test were used to
answer the first research questions. The answer for the second question of
the research paper was found through the analysis of data from question 1, 2
and 3 in the interviews. Finally, the responses to the last three questions of
32
the interviews were processed to find out the key to the third research
question.
3.7.1 Data from pre-test and post test
To begin with the demonstration data analysis procedure, it is worth
re-stating that the study put the only focus on the main element of
intonation- pitch variation. Thus, all the analysis of data below was merely
based on pitch variations and pitch contours only. The data collected from
the pre-test and post-test were treated in a pretty long and complicated
process.
Firstly, all the recordings from the test were converted from audio file
(*.WAV) into pieces of audio file (*.MP3) with the use of the program Easy
Audio Cutter.exe.
Secondly, each utterance was opened in the program PRAAT.exe.
PRAAT was a specialized program for linguistic use, developed by Paul
Boersma and David Weenink from the Institute of Phonetic Sciences
(University of Amsterdam). This program helped transfer the audio files into
pitch contours as an example below:
Figure 4: Pitch contour - Pretest- Dung- Utterance 1
33
Thirdly, with a view to restoring and analyzing these intonation
contours with the most effective and reliable form of information, the
combination of audio files and pitch contours were transcribed into ToBI
system- an intonation transcription system developed by Pierrehumbert
(1980) and Mary Beckham- as mentioned in the section 2.1.2 “Elements of
intonation” . This system of transcription consists of three main sets of
symbol: H (high) and L (low) for tones; * (stressed), % (boundary) and –
(linking) for tones; range of 0-4 indices for gradually perceptual strength of
breaks (0 for clitic boundary and 4 for strong perceptual breaks). The
transcription in this study was processed with the application of ToBI
TextGrid into PRAAT program and the manual transcription on PRAAT
afterwards. Within this study, the researcher only explored the pitch ranges;
hence, only tones were treated in the analysis. One example of process
above was the following image:
Figure 5: Pitch contour and ToBI transcription

- Pretest- Dung- Utterance 1
34
The same process was also implemented to the native speaker‟s utterances to
get an example result as follows:
Figure 6: Pitch contour and ToBI transcription

- Native Speaker- Utterance 1
Fourthly, each ToBI transcription of participant‟s utterance was
compared to that of the native speaker‟s to analyze the similarity between
them. The similarity was illustrated by a fraction: the number of matching
tones between the two transcriptions divided by the total number of tones in
the native speaker‟s. Figure 8 below would illustrate this process clearly:
You need a pen, a pencil and some paper
Native Total: Simila-
L* L+ H* H-H% L* H-H% !H* H* !H* L-L%
Speaker 9 rity:
Match: 𝟐
Dung L* H* H* L-L% L !H* H* L-L%
2 𝟗
Table 4: Model comparison of two ToBI transcriptions
Fifthly, the two results of each speaker‟s utterances in pretest test and
post test were compared to see how much their intonation had improved.
35
The comparison was between the fraction in post test and the fraction in
pretest, as in the formula below:
Improvement (fraction) = Post test (fraction) – Pretest (fraction)
For example, the similarity between Dung‟s intonation and the native
2 6
speaker‟s was in the pretest and in the post test. Then, her
9 9
6 2 4
improvement would be - =
9 9 9
In order to provide a unified type of statistic for all utterances while assuring
the accuracy of statistic, the fractions of improvement would be changed
into percentage statistics (omitting the decimal parts). In the example in
4
Table 5, index for Dung‟s improvement would be × 100% = 44%
9
Finally, the improvement of each participant was illustrated by the
average percentage of improvement in all utterances. Thus, Dung‟s general
improvement could be illustrated as in the figure follow:
Utterance Pretest Post test Improvement in fraction Improvement
(post test- pretest) percentage
1 2/9 6/9 4/9 44%
2 4/6 5/6 1/6 17%
3 2/5 4/5 2/5 40%
4 3/6 4/6 1/6 17%
5 1/3 1/3 0/3 0%
6 1/4 2/4 1/4 25%
𝟒𝟒%+𝟏𝟕%+𝟒𝟎%+𝟏𝟕%+𝟎%+𝟐𝟓%
Average percentage of improvement =
𝟔 24%
Table 5: Average percentage of improvement_ Dung
3.7.2 Data from the interviews
To make the data analysis process more efficient and easy to follow,
data were summarized into tables and charts to facilitate the synthesis,
comparison and generalization of data. Column charts and graphs were
36
principally used to analyze and compare numeric figures, while tables were
preferably applied for further details in interviews. Finally, most typical
quotations from the interviews are frequently cited when necessary to
illustrate the analysis of data. The various types of data collected from the
interviews created a necessity for the researcher to implement different
methods in the analysis process.
Firstly, participants‟ responses to the questions of “like or dislike”
were treated with qualitative analysis and used to classify lessons and songs
into two main categories: Recommended and Ignored. With high
expectation on the lessons the songs, the researcher found out two important
points:
- When a student replied “So so” when asked “Do you like it?”, the
answer should be treated as “No”.
- A song or lesson would not be recommended if it could not get the
interest from 70% of the students‟ answers in class. Therefore, any
song or lesson getting the “like” percentage less than 70% should not
be further used to answer the researcher questions.
However, it was essential to notice that the ignored lessons and songs in
cycle 1 received improvements in teaching techniques in cycle 2. Thus, the
status of “Recommended” or “Ignored” could be different between two
cycles. In this case, the songs would be recommended in combination with
the techniques.
Secondly, the adjectives mentioned about songs and lessons in the
“Recommended” list would be analyzed with theme analysis method to get
the codes or main themes for the answers of the last two research questions.
A noticeable point in this process was that the songs would be used despite
37
low appreciation from students‟, as long as the lessons were considered
successful.
Finally, the marks given to each song and lesson by participants were
averaged so that the features and techniques could be demonstrated in the
sequence of effectiveness to students.
3.8. Conclusion
All in all, the chapter has justified the methodology applied in this paper
by clarifying these following aspects:
(1) The two groups of participants involved in the process of data collection,
namely the Vietnamese and American white-collar workers.
(2) The three instruments “intonation test”, “intonation course and
“interviews” employed to collect necessary data
(3) The process of data collection depicted in three major phases
(4) The two different processes of data analysis applied to seek answer for
the three research questions
After all the matters of methodology have been demonstrated, the next
chapter would present the results of the research and discuss the findings in
the following chapter.
38
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Findings
4.1.1. Research question 1: To what extent does the use of English pop
songs in teaching improve ULIS freshmen’s intonation?
4.1.1.1. Results
As stated in the previous chapter of Methodology, the ULIS freshmen‟s
improvement in intonation was studied carefully to produce the most reliable
statistics.
In the first cycle, the improvements in students‟ intonation were pretty
positive.
1 2/9 6/9 4/9 44%
2 4/6 5/6 1/6 17%
3 2/5 4/5 2/5 40%
4 3/6 4/6 1/6 17%
5 1/3 1/3 0/3 0%
6 1/4 2/4 1/4 25%
Average percentage of improvement 24%
Table 6: Improvement in Dung’s intonation
As demonstrated in the table, Dung‟s intonation had the average

improvement percentage of 24%, with the remarkable increase in accuracy
for utterance 1 and utterance 3.
There was a similarity in the utterances with rapid improvement
between the participants. The table below about Hanh‟s intonation
improvement also showed a sharp increase in her accuracy for utterance 1
and 3. Moreover, both of the two students had little improvements in
utterance 2 and utterance 5.
39
1 3/9 6/9 3/9 33%
2 3/6 3/6 0/6 0%
3 2/5 4/5 2/5 40%
4 3/6 4/6 1/6 17%
5 1/3 1/3 0/3 0%
6 2/4 3/4 1/4 25%
Table 7 : Improvement in Hanh’s intonation
The similar progress could also be seen in Thanh‟s intonation, as

illustrated in the following table:
1 2/9 7/9 5/9 56%
2 3/6 5/6 2/6 33%
3 2/5 4/5 2/5 40%
4 3/6 3/6 0/6 0%
5 1/3 1/3 0/3 0%
6 0/4 1/4 1/4 25%
Table 8: Improvement in Thanh’s intonation
The only student with different improvement from the others was
Mai. Although her average improvement percentage was similar (25%), her
progress in utterance 3 and utterance 5 was in converse:
1 3/9 6/9 3/9 33%
2 3/6 3/6 0/6 0%
3 2/5 3/5 1/5 20%
4 3/6 3/6 0/6 0%
5 0/3 2/3 2/3 67%
6 0/4 2/4 2/4 50%
Table 9 : Improvement in Mai’s intonation
40
In average, the first cycle witnessed an increase of 23% in students‟
accuracy on intonation.
In the second cycle the results were more and more positive. The
highest progress percentage was up to 40%, found in Thiet‟s intonation:
1 2/9 6/9 4/9 44%
2 2/6 4/6 2/6 33%
3 1/5 4/5 3/5 60%
4 4/6 5/6 1/6 17%
5 1/3 2/3 1/3 33%
6 2/4 4/4 2/4 50%
Table 10 : Improvement in Thiet’s intonation
Another record-breaker together with Thiet was Thuong. It was not

difficult to recognize a great similarity in their improvements with the sharp
increases in utterance 1, 3 and 6.
The improvement in intonation accuracy for utterance 6, in contrary to
the first cycle, was really popular among students since other two students,
Trang and Tu Anh, also had good improvements on it. Tu Anh had the best
improvements in utterance 6, with 75%
1 1/9 6/9 5/9 56%
2 2/6 4/6 2/6 33%
3 3/5 4/5 1/5 20%
4 4/6 5/6 1/6 17%
5 1/3 2/3 1/3 33%
6 0/4 3/4 3/4 75%
Table 11 : Improvement in Tu Anh’s intonation
41
Despite the lower improvement percentage, Trang still had the similar
progress in utterance 6 to Tu Anh:
1 1/9 3/9 2/9 22%
2 2/6 3/6 1/6 17%
3 1/5 3/5 2/5 40%
4 2/6 2/6 0/6 0%
5 1/3 1/3 0/3 0%
6 0/4 3/4 3/4 75%
Table 12: Improvement in Trang’s intonation
The last student, Binh, seemed to develop in a different trend from

other peers in the same cycle, with high improvements in utterance 2, 3 and
4 but no progress in utterance 6:
1 2/9 4/9 2/9 22%
2 2/6 4/6 3/6 50%
3 1/5 4/5 3/5 60%
4 1/6 3/6 2/6 33%
5 0/3 1/3 1/3 33%
6 1/4 1/4 0/4 0%
Table 13: Improvement in Binh’s intonation
In average, the second cycle witnessed a 26%- improvement in
students‟ intonation.
For both of the cycles, the average improvement in participant‟s
intonation could be identified easily from the chart below:
42
Percentage of improvement
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Dung Hạnh Mai Thanh Bình Thiết Thương Trang Tú Anh
Cycle 1 Cycle 2
Percentage of improvement
Figure 7: Percentage of improvement

As demonstrated from in the chart, participants in cycle 1 improved
more than 20% in the accuracy of intonation. The second cycle even
witnessed a better improvement in participants‟ intonation with the highest
percentage of 40% and the lowest of 26%. From the two cycles, the average
percentage of participants‟ improvement was 30%, which could be
considered a success for the scale and the length of the course.
4.1.1.2 Discussion
It was clear from the data above that the use of English pop songs in
teaching has brought certain improvement to ULIS freshmen‟s intonation. It
was also noticeable that the participants‟ intonation has improved much
better in cycle 2 than in cycle 1 (in average, 23% for cycle 1 and 36% for
cycle 2). The difference between the two cycle, perhaps, thank to the
improvements made for the lesson plans in cycle 2 as well as the
researcher‟s experience and confidence.
43
4.1.2. Research question 2: What techniques are the most effective to teach
intonation with English pop songs to the freshmen at ULIS, VNU as
perceived by these freshmen?
The answers to this question lied in the reflection on highly
appreciated lessons and the techniques suggested in these lessons. In order
the get the most effective and correct answers, it was important that the data
were process step by step as follows:
4.1.2.1. The Recommended lessons for intonation teaching
It could be seen from the chart below that participants in the first
cycle were not interested in the lesson 5 as none of them liked this lesson.
Percentage of
Lesson Dung Hạnh Mai Thanh
appreciation
1 Yes Yes Yes Yes 100%
2 So so Yes Yes Yes 75%
4 Yes Yes, very Yes Yes 100%
5 No So so So so So so 0%
6 Yes Yes Yes Yes, very 100%
Table 14: Participant’s attitude towards lessons in cycle 1
However, lesson 5 got the appreciation from all students in the second
cycle. Lesson 2, in contrast, got a lower mark in the second cycle.
Percentage of
Lesson Bình Thương Thiết Trang Tú Anh
appreciation
1 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 100%
2 Yes So so So so Yes So so 40%
Table 15: Participant’s attitude towards lessons in cycle 2
When taken into consideration across both of the cycle, lesson 5 and
lesson 2 got the same average mark of 55% , which was lower than the
44
required mark stated in the previous chapter (70%). Thus, these two lessons
would not be used for later analysis. This result was reinforced when the
researcher studied the marks given by students to each lesson, which showed
that lesson 2 and lesson 5 only got the average mark of 7.9 while all other
lessons got more than 8.6.
In sum, the Recommended list for further study would include lesson
1, 3, 4, 6 and 7.
4.1.2.2. Features of a favorable lesson
The basic desire of this research was to explore a joyful way of
learning and teaching intonation; thus, whether or not learners were
interested in the lesson was the major concern of the research. As the
previous section has identified the favorable lessons from learners‟
perspectives, this section would continue with the main features of these
lessons.
A careful study of all participants‟ description about the lessons above
has brought about some key features for a lesson to be favorable. From the
adjectives used by participants, their answers could be coded into three main
categories of freshness, joyfulness and effectiveness
 Joyfulness: this term was used to refer to any positive or high emotions
experienced by students during the lesson. When being asked to describe
the lessons, the majority of answers, accounting for 88% of participants‟
responses, contained at least an adjective to describe the joyfulness of the
lesson. The most frequent expressions used by these students were
“interesting” and “exciting”. Some students expressed higher emotional
level towards the lessons with adjectives like “attractive”, “great”, or
“wonderful”. The adjective “funny” was sometimes used by participants
as an expression for their joy with the lesson.
45
 Effectiveness: in the scope of this study, effectiveness referred to any
positive impressions and effects on participants‟ authentic communication
in English. This characteristic also received considerable concerns from
students as 68% of their responses contained the words “effective” or
“useful”. Other expressions like “impressive” or “practical” were also
mentioned in the descriptions of lessons.
 Freshness: the general meaning of this term, as used in this paper,
referred to the fact that students found the information and activities in
lessons new. This success determinant of lessons lied in 39% of students‟
answers in the form of the words “new”, “surprising” and even
„strange”.
These key factors in participants‟ perceptions of good lessons would
work as the guide-channel for the researcher to analyze the useful techniques
to teach intonation, as discussed in the next section.
4.1.2.3 Effective techniques for intonation teaching
After collecting all the lessons which were recommended by students
as effective and interesting for their intonation learning in the previous steps,
the researcher made further investigation into each lesson plan, each
teaching technique used in the lesson and students‟ reflection on each
technique. The chart below summarized students‟ ideas about the
effectiveness of the main techniques:
46
Percentage of effectiveness
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Song listening Eliciting+ Practice Visual display Explanation Singing
disussion
Percentage of effectiveness
Figure 8: Effectiveness of teaching techniques perceived by students

As shown in the chart, the techniques of eliciting knowledge from
students and their discussion, displaying intonation patterns visually on the
board and explaining the theoretical contents achieved a stably and
continuously good effect as they were mentioned in 100% of students‟
answers. The activities of listening to the song (techniques used for ice-
breaking and introductory purposes) and practicing were also appreciated in
most of the answers (98%). The final major activities for reinforcing
students‟ knowledge and practicing intonation- singing along- got the most
criticism and suspicion for their effectiveness with only 83% of approval.
However, the effectiveness of each technique did not correspond to
students‟ interest in it. When being asked to combine the effectiveness and
joyfulness of each activity and select their most favorite activity for each
lesson, students provided the votes as totalized in the chart below:
47
Frequency of student's votes
Song listening
2%
Singing
18% Eliciting+
Explanation disussion
3% 22%
Practice
55%
Figure 9: Students’ most favorite activities in lessons

Specifically, although practice did not get the absolute value for
effectiveness, this kind of activity was considered the most favorite with
55% of the responses. “Although the song is not interesting and the
information is not new, I still liked the lesson very much because we have
chances to practice” was the frequent comment for lesson 6 and lesson 7. A
deeper look into students‟ perception of practice activities showed that they
felt more involved and interested in tasks which contained less control from
the teachers. Further interviews about lesson 6 and lesson 7 reached a
common comment of “ I feel more excited and involved when the practice
tasks give me a chance to express our intonation in our own words. It is
more challenging but interesting”.
Similarly, the activity of singing along the songs received a high rate
of votes (18%) despite their position for the most criticized and suspected
technique in effectiveness.
48
Conversely, activities with high appreciation for their effectiveness
such as song listening (98%), theory explaining (100%) and visual
intonation displaying (100%) were hardly voted as the most effective and
interesting activity of the lesson. The percentages of votes for all these three
activities were all less than 3%. The only technique to have correlative
results in effectiveness and students‟ interest was eliciting students‟
knowledge and discussion, with the value of 100% for effectiveness and
22% of votes to be the most favorite activities.
4.1.2.4. Conclusion
With all the data demonstrated and interpreted above, the effective
techniques and activities to teach intonation with English pop songs have
been found as follows:
- Using songs as the main material for ice-breaking , lesson introduction
and students‟ discussion
- Eliciting students‟ knowledge by drawing their attention to sentences
and melodies of the songs, letting them interpreting the intonation, the
situation and reasons for the choices of the intonation and discussing
the answers with other mates.
- Presenting the theory by summarizing students queries or conflicts,
explaining the origin of their difficulties and giving correction
- Demonstrating the key contents of the intonation lesson on the board
with simple visual tools like arrows
- Using songs as a source for students to practice their intonation:
encourage them to sing along the flow of the songs
- Delivering practice tasks
49
4.1.3. Research question 3: What are the essential features of English pop
songs that can help to improve ULIS freshmen’s intonation as perceived
by these freshmen?
First and foremost, it was worth re-stating that the Recommended list
of lessons did not include lesson 2 and lesson 5; hence, the songs in these
two lessons would not be used to answer the third research question.
However, songs in other lessons would still be used even when they received
low marks from students. The only changes in the process of these songs
would be the connection between the unfavorable features of the songs and
the techniques used to minimize these disadvantages.
Then, in order the explore the most essential features of songs used
for intonation teaching, it was crucial to analyze the songs in the sequences
of appreciation. With reference from the table below, it was clearly that the
features of songs in lesson 1 and lesson 4 be studied first because they were
really successful from students‟ perspectives (on average for both cycles,
100% students liked the song in lesson 1 and 90% liked that in lesson 4).
Other songs in lessons 3, 6 and 7 would be used as a means to check and
reinforce these features.
Cycle 1 Cycle 2
Songs Dung Hạnh Mai Thanh Aver- Bình Thương Thiết Trang Tú Aver-
age Anh age
1 Yes Yes Yes Yes 100% Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 100%
3 A bit Yes Yes So so 50% Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 100%
4 So so Yes, Yes Yes 75% Yes, Yes Yes Yes Yes 100%
very very
6 No So so So so Yes 25% Yes A bit So so So so Yes 60%
7 Yes So so Yes Yes 75% Yes So so Yes Yes Yes 80%
Table 16: Students’ interest in songs

50
From the table above, it was also necessary to study more about the
techniques used in lesson 3 and lesson 6 as the changes in teaching
techniques had brought considerably increase in students‟ interest: from 50%
to 100% in lesson 3 and from 25% to 50% in lesson 6.
In order to check the relative statistic above, another step on absolute
marks given to lessons was implemented:
Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Average

Songs Dung Hạnh Mai Thanh Bình Thương Thiết Trang Tú
Anh
1 9 9 9 9.5 9.5 9.5 10 9 9.5 9.3
3 8 8.5 8.75 8.5 8.5 9 9 8 9 8.6
4 8 9.5 9.5 8.5 9.5 9.5 9 9 9.5 9.1
6 7 7 8 9 8 8 7 7.5 8 7.7
7 8.5 7.75 8.75 9 8.5 8 8 8.5 8.5 8.4
Table 17: Marks given by students to the songs

With the data on marks, the importance and success of lesson 1 and
lesson 4 were reinforced. Simultaneously, the innovation in lesson 3 and
lesson 6 was proved. In other words, it was reasonable that the process of
song analysis would be implemented in the sequences mentioned above.
It was also worth noticing that, the features of English pop songs used
for intonation teaching would be interpreted in two main aspects: melody
and lyric, as defined clearly in the interview schemes.
4.1.3.1. Features of song melody
The interpretation of comments about the songs “Hello” in lesson 1
and “The day you went away” in lesson 4 has brought about some main
features of these songs: speed, gentleness and impression.
 Speed: Although the two songs had different speed, Hello was rather
slow while “The day you went away” was a bit fast, they could be both
51
considered to have a medium speed. When a song have a fast speed, like
the song “A little time” in lesson 6, it was likely to receive negative
feedback from students. “ When the song is too fast, I cannot catch the
words and cannot sing along. It is very discouraged”, a student said.
Additionally, the high speed of the melody often prevented students from
paying attention to the lyrics. This point was proved as 8 out of 9
participants said they did not care about the lyric of the song “A little
time”. A song with too slow melody would also be discouraged, as
stated in participants‟ comments on the song “Eyes on me” in lesson 5.
However, the problem with the fast speed of songs was not unsolvable. In
lesson 6 of the second cycle, students‟ discouragement with the fast
melody of “A little time” had been eliminated by explaining that the
speed was similar to normal speaking speed in English and that they
would only catch some main words in a native speaker‟ utterance, by
guiding students to pay only attention to the main intonation pattern of
the lesson and spending more time for practice. When applying these
techniques, the difficulties with high speed would become a challenge
and motivation for students to try, as said by a student “After the
explanation, I feel like I can deal with this difficult song. This makes me
motivated and happy.”
 Gentleness: an important feature that most of the appreciated songs had
in common was the gentle melody. The adjectives like “gentle”,
“relaxing”, “sweet” or “peaceful” were repeated again and again in
participants‟ answers during the interviews.
 Impression: Participants‟ answers about song melody also offered
another important feature: their strong impression on the melody.
Although students‟ tastes of music might differ, they often have positive
52
feeling to the melody that brought impression of “familiar” or “easy to
listen”
The combination of the features above would make an English pop
song suitable and effective in teaching intonation.
4.1.3.2. Features of song lyric
It appeared in the participants‟ responses that song lyrics played a
secondary role in determining students‟ interest in a song, after song melody.
This fact was firstly shown in the statistic that only 32% of the answers were
“ I don‟t care about the song lyric” or “ When I listen to a song, I only pay
attention to the melody”. Some participants clarified that “Only when I
really like the song melody do I pay attention to the lyric”.
However, the exploration of students‟ comments on song lyrics still
offered some important features for a song to be relevant and effective to
teach them. The first code for features of song lyric was meaningfulness.
This was the term mentioned in 37% of the answers about song lyrics. In this
study, the meaningfulness of a song lyric was understood as the positive
effects on people‟s behaviors. It could be the educational and valuable
lesson “No pain, no gain” in the song “Donna, Donna” (Lesson 3), some
philosophical sentences in the song “The day you went away” often lesson 4
(for example, “Why do we never know what we‟ve got till it‟s gone?”) or
simply the noble love expressed in the song “Hello” (Lesson 1). The
meaningfulness of a song lyric, as stated by most students, would make them
“want to listen more”, “want to understand more”, “want to practice more
to sing like this” and “become more interested in the whole lesson”.
The second feature of song lyrics which could be coded from the
interviews were romance. This was the feature that accounted for 44% of
the answers about song lyrics. It should be noted that the 2 most appreciated
53
songs, “Hello” and “The day you went away”, were about the romance (or in
another word, love). This situation, perhaps, originated from that two
important facts in the subjects of this study: firstly, the pop songs were
mainly about love or romantic relationships and secondly, all participants in
this study were first-year students of ULIS-VNU who were all young and in
favor of romance.
The last feature of song lyrics to be mentioned in the interviews was
new vocabulary. This feature was rather contradictory in terms of
effectiveness to the lessons. On the one hand, a range of new vocabulary
appearing in one song might discourage learners as they could not
understand the song well. In a learner‟s words, “I think this is over my level.
I can‟t learn anything about the use of intonation in this song because I just
don‟t understand!”. This kind of discouragement and prejudice may bring
negative effects to the process of teaching and learning intonation. On the
other hand, the new vocabulary might motivate students in that they could
learn more. The adding of lyric explanation in lesson 3 proved to be really
necessary and effective. One student expressed their feeling as “afraid” at
the beginning and then “excited” as “It‟s like I can deal with such difficult
vocabulary”.
4.1.3.3. Conclusion
The essential features of an English pop song, which are to teach
intonation to freshmen at ULIS-VNU, can be summarized as follows:
- The song melody should have a medium speed and be gentle, easy to
listen and sing along as well as familiar to the students
- The song lyrics should be meaningful with educational lesson about
life or romance. It should also contain a certain amount of new
vocabulary.
54
Although these features are essential, it is possible for some chosen
songs to violate one of these features. The disadvantages of the missing
feature can be minimized with suitable techniques to encourage students and
shift the focus of the lesson to another activity.
4.2. Implications
This study has been conducted with a strong desire of the researcher
that it would attract more concerns from linguists, pedagogues, especially
teachers and learners of English to intonation and the use of English songs in
classrooms. Hopefully, this would help to raise Vietnamese teachers‟ and
learners‟ awareness on the importance of intonation in English language and
open up a new trend of teaching and learning in Vietnam: a trend of more
concentration on intonation as well as exploitation of relaxing materials for
learning process.
4.3. Application
All the findings of this study together with the research instruments
(including data, intonation test, lesson plans on intonation courses) can be
used as the materials for intonation teaching process or as a source of
reference for further studies in the future.
Specifically, the lessons plans and the songs used in the research can
be merely employed in teaching intonation to students at ULIS,VNU. This
can also be used for any other groups of population with small changes in
process and tasks to meet the demand of those learners.
Furthermore, the information in this study can be used as data or
suggestions for later studies on intonation, intonation teaching or application
of English pop songs in ELT.
55
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
This section is the last part of the research. It is going to give a brief
summary of the research findings and cite the limitations of the research.
Besides, suggestions for future research and further implications are also
included.
5.1. Summary of findings
The present study explores a new way of teaching English intonation
with the use of English pop songs. Moreover, in the form of an action
research using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the study comes up
with the answers to the three research questions.
First, it is shown according to the data collected that this way of
intonation teaching has brought certain improvements to ULIS freshmen‟s
intonation.
Second, there are some effective techniques that should be used to teach
intonation through English pop songs. Specifically, they are:
- Using songs as the main material for ice-breaking , lesson introduction
and students‟ discussion
- Eliciting students‟ knowledge by letting them concentrate on analyzing
the intonation of some certain phrases in the song, guessing the
situation and reasons for the choices of the intonation and discussing
the answers.
- Presenting the theory by summarizing students queries or conflicts,
explaining the origin of their difficulties and giving correction
- Using simple visual tools like arrows to demonstrate the key contents of
the intonation lesson on the board
- Using songs as a source for students to practice their intonation:
encourage them to sing along the flow of the songs
56
- Providing abundant practice tasks with a large amount of autonomy for
students
Finally, the selection of English pop songs for the purpose of teaching
intonation should be processed with consideration about speed, gentleness
and familiar impression of the melody as well as the meaningfulness,
romance and amount of new vocabulary in the lyric.
5.2. Limitations
Due to time limit, shortage of standardized materials and methods to
evaluate intonation, the researcher‟s little experience in conducting a
research and unexpected objective problems, it is inevitable that the study
has revealed several limitations as follows:
In terms of methodology, the pre-test and post test used to analyze the
results of the action research was only self-designed and self-processed
without any official recognition, which made the results not absolutely
reliable.
In terms of theory, the intonation tests and intonations course just put
a sole concentration on pitch variations; thus, the result can not represent the
intonation improvement in the broadest sense.
Besides, some interviews were conducted in a short time, which may
have brought about possible affective factors on the attitude and perception
differences among the participants. Also, due to the scope of the research,
this study could only be conducted with a small population of participants,
thus, the result might not be representative enough, which should be
improved in further research.
5.3. Suggestions for further studies
Due to the various constraints of the project, there are still many
undiscovered sub-areas which provide a ground for further studies.
57
Firstly, the study is in form of an action research, which cannot
control effects from other factors on participants‟ improvement. With a view
to getting more valid data, another study in form of an experimental research
should be of interest.
Moreover, the study merely focuses on pitch variable which may
leave an option for other researchers to investigate other elements of
intonation.
Later, when all elements have been investigated, there would be a
need for an exploitation of new the methods and techniques to teach
intonation with all the essential aspects.
Lastly, doing research on a larger number of participants or other
groups of participants with different characteristics is highly suggested as it
will help to find out more reliable and interesting data.
58
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Ebbutt, D. (1985) Educational action research: some general concerns and

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Eric, K. (2007). ESL pronunciation practice for question intonation. Retrieved

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64
APPENDIX 1
TEST OF INTONATION
(PRE-TEST AND POST- TEST)
You are going to deal with some situations in which the sayings have been prepared for you.
Imagine you are in these situations and speak the utterances with your natural intonation.
1. You are a teacher at Language Link and your students are from 5 to 8 eight years old. Today,
you are going to play a small game. Before playing the game, you instruct them to prepare the
necessary objects: “You need a pen, a pencil and some paper.”
2. You are at the train station to see off your close friend. You don‟t remember the departure
time, so you ask him/her: “Your train leaves at six, doesn’t it?”
3. Your younger sister borrowed your walkman for 2 weeks and now she comes into our room to
return it. You are busy with the assignment, so you say to her without turning around: “Put it on
the table”
4. This is your first time to London. You need to deposit some money but you don‟t know how to
get to the bank. You catch a man on the street and ask him: “Do you know where the bank is,
please?”
5. You don‟t have a watch or a clock around. In order to know the time, you ask your roommate:
“What time is it?”
6. You are a teacher at a high school. You are teaching the lesson when a student opens the door
and asks for permission to come in the class. He is 30 minutes late. You ask him: “What time is
it?”
65
References for the test
Utterance 1: Gerald Kelly (2000). Intonation. How to teach Pronunciation (pp.101). Longman
Publisher.
Publisher.
Publisher.
Publisher.
Utterance 5+6: Eric (2007). ESL Pronunciation Practice for Question Intonation. Retrieved
January 9th, 2010 from the World Wide Web
http://teachers-call.com/2007/08/esl-pronunciation-practice-for-questions.html
66
APENDIX 2: Cycle 1
INTERVIEW SCHEME- Lesson
1. So, we have just finish the lesson today. Do you like it?
Can you use some specific adjectives to describe it?
2. In comparison to the previous lesson, which one do you prefer? If you can give a mark from 1
to 10 for this lesson, which mark will you give?
3. Now, let‟s talk about the activities in this lesson. Which activities in this lesson do you
consider interesting and effective?
Specifically, which activity do you think is the most effective and interesting?
4. Do you like the song?

Can you use some adjectives or phrases to describe the melody of the song?
Do you think the melody of the song is effective for the lesson?
Can you use some adjectives or phrases to describe the lyric of the song?
Do you think the lyric of the song is effective for the lesson?
5. If you can give a mark from 1 to 10 for this song, which mark will you give?
6. Is there any idea about this interview or the previous interview that you want to change?
67
APPENDIX 3: Cycle 2
INTERVIEW SCHEME- Lesson
1. So, we have just finish the lesson today. Do you like it?
Can you use some specific adjectives to describe it?
2. In comparison to the previous lesson, which one do you prefer? If you can give a mark from 1
to 10 for this lesson, which mark will you give?
3. Now, let‟s talk about the activities in this lesson.
The first activity of the lesson today is…………….. Do you think it is effective?
The second activity of the lesson today is…………….. Do you think it is effective?
The second activity of the lesson today is…………….. Do you think it is effective?
Specifically, which activity do you think is the most effective and interesting?
4. Do you like the song?

Can you use some adjectives or phrases to describe the melody of the song?
Do you think the melody of the song is effective for the lesson?
Can you use some adjectives or phrases to describe the lyric of the song?
Do you think the lyric of the song is effective for the lesson?
5. If you can give a mark from 1 to 10 for this song, which mark will you give?
68
APPENDIX 4_A: Song for lesson 1
Hello
Lionel Richie
I've been alone with you, inside my mind.

And in my dreams I've kissed your lips, a thousand times.
I sometimes see you pass outside my door.
Hello!
Is it me you're looking for?
I can see it in your eyes, i can see it in your smile.

You're all I've ever wanted and my arms are open wide.
cause you know just what to say and you know just what to do
And I want to tell you so much....
I love you.
I long to see the sunlight in your hair

And tell you time and time again, how much I care.
Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow.
Hello!
I've just got to let you know
Cause I wonder where you are, and I wonder what you do

Are you somewhere feeling lonely, or is someone loving you!?.
Tell me how to win your heart, for I haven't got a clue.
But let me start by saying...
I love you.
69
APPENDIX 4- B: Lesson plan 1
The song “Hello” and the rising tunes
1. Class description: 5 first-year students, Faculty of English Language Teacher
Education, ULIS-VNU
2. Time: 60 mins
3. Objectives: After the lesson, Ss will be able to
+ Understand the pitch range in rising tunes
+ Understand the use of rising tunes in greeting
4. Assumed knowledge: Ss have already got knowledge about intonation and
known some vocabulary items in the songs
5. Anticipated problems: It may be time, so teacher should prepare the way to
shorten down practice part
Ss may not have enough vocabulary about song lyric or intonation pattern => T
should prepare explanation or use Vietnamese to explain to difficult terms
6. Teaching aids: CDs, cassette, handouts
7. Procedure:
Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Teaching techniques
1. Warm-up 1. Warm-up
*Aims: make Ss familiar with the *Aims: make Ss familiar with the
song and raise their interest for song and raise their interest for
the lesson the lesson
- Let Ss listen to the song for the - Let Ss listen to the song for the
first time. first time. - Ice-breaking
- Ask them whether they have - Ask them whether they have with songs
heard the song before, what the heard the song before, what the
title of the song is and who the title of the song is and who the
singer is => the song “Hello” by singer is => the song “Hello” by
Lionel Richie. Lionel Richie.
2. Main-activities 2. Main-activities
- Deliver the handouts containing - Deliver the handouts containing - Using songs as
the lyric of the song the lyric of the song the material to
- Let Ss look at the lyric and listen - Let Ss look at the lyric and listen learn
to the song again to the song again
2.1 Intonation in greeting 2.1 Intonation in greeting
- Let Ss pay attention to the word - Let Ss pay attention to the word
“Hello” “Hello”
- Ask 3 of them to sing the word - Ask 3 of them to sing the word
again again
- Play the CD around the piece of - Play the CD around the piece of - Eliciting Ss‟
song containing the word “Hello” song containing the word “Hello” knowledge
- Ask Ss: - Ask Ss:
+ Which tune is used in this + Which tune is used in this
utterance? utterance?
+ How do you often say this + How do you often say this - Eliciting class
utterance of greeting? utterance of greeting? discussion
+ Is it different in this song? + Is it different in this song?
70
+ Can you imagine in which + Can you imagine in which
situation the rising tune situation the rising tune
is used like this? is used like this?
- Explain the different intonation - Explain the different intonation

patterns of greeting used with patterns of greeting used with - Explanation of
different purposes different purposes lesson points
+ Normally, the glide-up is + Normally, the glide-up is used
used for greeting and goodbye for greeting and goodbye
+ The take-off is used when the + The take-off is used when the
speaker is not sure about the speaker is not sure about the
existence of the other people or existence of the other people or
want to draw attention want to draw attention
2.2. Intonation in interrogative 2.2. Intonation in interrogative
questions questions
- Let Ss pay attention to the - Let Ss pay attention to the - Eliciting Ss‟
Yes/No questions in the lyric Yes/No questions in the lyric knowledge
+ Is this me you’re looking for? + Is this me you’re looking for?
+ Are you somewhere feeling + Are you somewhere feeling
lonely or is someone loving you? lonely or is someone loving you?
- Let Ss listen to the song again to - Let Ss listen to the song again to - Eliciting class
identify the intonation of these identify the intonation of these discussion
sentences sentences
- Write the two sentences on the - Write the two sentences on the
board board
- Ask Ss about the intonation of - Ask Ss about the intonation of
the sentences and draw the tune the sentences and draw the tune
shapes on the board, under each shapes on the board, under each - Visual display
sentence sentence
Is this me you’re looking for? Is this me you’re looking for?
Are you somewhere feeling Are you somewhere feeling lonely

lonely or is someone loving you? or is someone loving you? - Explanation of
lesson points
- Explain the use of rising tunes in - Explain the use of rising tunes in - Using songs as a
Yes/No questions Yes/No questions material to
- Let Ss listen to the song again - Let Ss listen to the song again practice
and sing along and sing along
- Practice with
2.3. Practice 2.3. Practice authentic
- Write 2 sentences on the board: - Write 2 sentences on the board: utterances
+ Are you American? + Are you American?
+ Is this your first time to + Is this your first time to
Vietnam? Vietnam?
71
- Ask Ss which intonation pattern - Ask Ss which intonation pattern
they will use they will use
- Let Ss practice individually in 1 - Let Ss practice individually in 1
minute and practice in pairs for 2 minute and practice in pairs for 2
mins mins - Giving feedback
- Call each S to stand up and - Call each S to stand up and speak
speak the utterances out loud the utterances out loud
- Ask other Ss to give comment - Ask other Ss to give comment on
on their peers‟ intonation their peers‟ intonation
- Consolidate Ss‟ feedback and - Consolidate Ss‟ feedback and
give T‟s feedback give T‟s feedback
72
You Can Get It If You Really Want
Jimmy Cliff
You can get it if you really want

But you must try, try and try
Try and try, you'll succeed at last
Rome was not built in a day

Opposition will come your way
But the hotter the battle you see
It's the sweeter the victory, now

Persecution you must bear

Win or lose you've got to get your share
Got your mind set on a dream
You can get it, though harder them seem now

You can get it if you really want - I know it

You can get it if you really want - though I show it
- so don't give up now
73
APPENDIX 5-B: Lesson plan 2
The song “You can get it if you really want” and the falling tune
Education, ULIS-VNU
2. Time: 60 mins
+ Reinforce knowledge about rising tune
+ Understand the pitch range in falling tunes
+ Understand the combination of rising tunes and falling tunes
5. Anticipated problems: It may be lack of time, so teacher should prepare the way
to shorten down practice part
7. Procedure:
Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Teaching
Techniques
song and raise their interest or song and raise their interest or
curiosity for the lesson curiosity for the lesson
- Deliver the handouts containing - Deliver the handouts containing - Ice-breaking
the lyric of the song “You can get the lyric of the song “You can get with songs
it if you really want” it if you really want”
- Let Ss look through the song - Let Ss look through the song
lyrics and ask them whether they lyrics and ask them whether they
know the song or not. know the song or not.
If anybody knows, encourage If anybody knows, encourage
him/her to sing for the whole the him/her to sing for the whole the
class class
If nobody knows, let Ss draw the If nobody knows, let Ss draw the
purpose of the song based on the purpose of the song based on the
content and guess how the melody content and guess how the melody
of the song will be like (quick or of the song will be like (quick or
slow, high or low tone, etc.) slow, high or low tone, etc.)
T can help Ss with some questions T can help Ss with some questions
- Eliciting Ss‟
like: like:
knowledge:
+ What is the purpose of this + What is the purpose of this
links between
song? Which kind of response does song? Which kind of response does
melody and
the composer want from the the composer want from the
purpose
hearers? hearers?
+ With this kind of purpose, which + With this kind of purpose, which
tone do you often choose to speak tone do you often choose to speak
or sing? Is it high or low? Is it fast or sing? Is it high or low? Is it fast
74
or slow? or slow?
- Play the CD once for Ss to see if - Play the CD once for Ss to see if
their mate‟s singing/ their guess is their mate‟s singing/ their guess is
correct correct
- Let Ss look at the song lyric and - Let Ss look at the song lyric and - Using songs as
listen to the song again. listen to the song again. the material to
T encourage them to sing along T encourage them to sing along learn
2.1.The falling tune in statements 2.1.The falling tune in statements
- Write the main and repeated - Write the main and repeated
sentence on the board sentence on the board
You can get it if you really want You can get it if you really want
- Ask Ss to recall their memories - Ask Ss to recall their memories
and tell what the intonation in this and tell what the intonation in this
sentence is like sentence is like
- Eliciting Ss‟
T can help Ss by asking them step T can help Ss by asking them step
knowledge
by step by step
+ What are the important words in + What are the important words in
this sentence? this sentence?
+ How is the intonation in each + How is the intonation in each
word? Is it high or low? Is it on word? Is it high or low? Is it on
the rise or on the fall? the rise or on the fall?
- Underline the key words as Ss - Underline the key words as Ss
say and draw the tune shape of the say and draw the tune shape of the
You can get it if you really want You can get it if you really want - Visual display
- Let Ss listen to the piece of song - Let Ss listen to the piece of song
again and check the intonation in again and check the intonation in - Eliciting class
the sentence above the sentence above discussion
- Ask Ss to give the - Ask Ss to give the
- Explain the intonation patterns - Explain the intonation patterns
used in a list used in a list - Explanation of
The intonation pattern used in a The intonation pattern used in a lesson points
normal statement usually falling. normal statement usually falling.
2.2. Intonation in a list 2.2. Intonation in a list
- Write the a list on the board - Write the a list on the board
But you must try, try and try, try But you must try, try and try, try - Visual display
and try and try
- Ask Ss to recall their memories - Ask Ss to recall their memories
and tell what the intonation in this and tell what the intonation in this
sentence is like sentence is like
T can help Ss by asking them step T can help Ss by asking them step - Eliciting Ss‟
by step by step knowledge
75
+ How is the intonation in each + How is the intonation in each
word? Is it high or low? Is it on word? Is it high or low? Is it on
the rise or on the fall? the rise or on the fall?
- Underline the key words as Ss - Underline the key words as Ss
say and draw the tune shape of the say and draw the tune shape of the
But you must try, try and try, try But you must try, try and try, try - Visual display
and try and try
again and check the intonation in again and check the intonation in
the sentence above the sentence above - Eliciting class
- Ask Ss to discuss and suggest the - Ask Ss to discuss and suggest the discussion
intonation pattern for a list intonation pattern for a list
- Explain the intonation patterns - Explain the intonation patterns
used in a list used in a list
- Explanation of
+ For the initial items in a list + For the initial items in a list
lesson points
,the rising tone is used ,the rising tone is used
+ For the last item of a list, the + For the last item of a list, the
falling tone is used falling tone is used
Then , normally, the intonation Then , normally, the intonation
pattern in a list is rising, rising pattern in a list is rising, rising
and finally falling and finally falling
- Using songs as
- Let Ss listen to the song again - Let Ss listen to the song again a material to
and sing along and sing along practice
2.3. Practice 2.3. Practice
- Ask each student to think of 2 - Ask each student to think of 2
sentences: one normal statement sentences: one normal statement - Practice with
and one sentence containing a list and one sentence containing a list authentic
in 3 minutes in 3 minutes utterances
- Let Ss choose the appropriate - Let Ss choose the appropriate
intonation pattern for their intonation pattern for their
sentences and practice individually sentences and practice individually
in 2 minute in 2 minute
- Call each S to stand up and - Call each S to stand up and - Giving
speak the utterances out loud speak the utterances out loud feedback
- Ask other Ss to give comment on - Ask other Ss to give comment on
their peers‟ intonation their peers‟ intonation
- Consolidate Ss‟ feedback and - Consolidate Ss‟ feedback and
give T‟s feedback give T‟s feedback
76
Donna Donna
Julie Roger
On a waggon bound for market

there`s a calf with a mournful eye.
High above him there`s a swallow,
winging swiftly through the sky.
How the winds are laughing,
they laugh with all their might.
Laugh and laugh the whole day through,
and half the summer`s night.
Chorus:
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna; Donna, Donna, Donna, Don.
Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna; Donna, Donna, Donna, Don.
"Stop complaining!? said the farmer,

Who told you a calf to be ?
Why don`t you have wings to fly with,
like the swallow so proud and free??
*Chorus*
Calves are easily bound and slaughtered,

never knowing the reason why.
But whoever treasures freedom,
like the swallow has learned to fly.
*Chorus*
77
The song “Donna, Donna” with the interchange of falling & rising tone
Education, ULIS-VNU
2. Time: 60 mins
+ Reinforce knowledge about falling tone in statement
+ Understand the interchange of rising and falling tones in WH-questions
7. Procedure:
Teacher Teaching
Techniques
song and raise their interest or song and raise their interest or - Ice-breaking
curiosity for the lesson curiosity for the lesson with songs
- Deliver the handouts containing the - Deliver the handouts containing
lyric of the song “Donna, Donna” the lyric of the song “Donna,
- Let Ss look through the song lyrics Donna”
and ask them whether they know the - Let Ss look through the song lyrics
song or not. and ask them whether they know the
If anybody knows, encourage song or not.
him/her to sing for the whole the class If anybody knows, encourage
If nobody knows, play the CD once him/her to sing for the whole the
and let Ss guess the genre of the song class
T can help Ss with some questions If nobody knows, play the CD once
like: and let Ss guess the genre of the
+ How is the melody of the song like? song
+What is your feeling when you T can help Ss with some questions - Eliciting Ss‟
listening to this song? like: knowledge:
+ Normally, which kind of music + How is the melody of the song links between
brings you this feeling? like? melody and
+What is your feeling when you purpose
listening to this song?
+ Normally, which kind of music
brings you this feeling?
- Explain the main content and the
lesson implied in this song: “No
pain, no gain”
78
- Let Ss look through the song lyric - Let Ss look through the song lyric
and find out all types of sentences. and find out all types of sentences.
- Ask Ss to recall their memories about - Ask Ss to recall their memories - Revision
the previous lesson and suggest the about the previous lesson and
general use of intonation pattern in the suggest the general use of intonation
learnt type of sentences pattern in the learnt type of
- Let Ss look at the song lyric and sentences
listen to the song again. - Let Ss look at the song lyric and
T encourage them to sing along listen to the song again.
T encourage them to sing along
2.1.The falling tune in WH- 2.1.The falling tune in WH-

questions questions - Using songs as
- Write the important sentence on the - Write the important sentence on the material to
board the board learn
+Who told you a calf to be? +Who told you a calf to be?
+Why don’t you have wings to fly +Why don’t you have wings to fly
with like the swallow so proud and with like the swallow so proud and
free? free?
- Ask Ss to recall their memories and - Ask Ss to recall their memories - Eliciting Ss‟
tell what the intonation in this sentence and tell what the intonation in this knowledge
is like sentence is like
T can help Ss by asking them step by T can help Ss by asking them step
step by step
+ How is the intonation in each word? + How is the intonation in each
Is it high or low? Is it on the rise or on word? Is it high or low? Is it on the
the fall? rise or on the fall?
- Underline the key words as Ss say - Underline the key words as Ss say
and draw the tune shape of the and draw the tune shape of the
sentence on the board according to Ss‟ sentence on the board according to
suggestion Ss‟ suggestion - Visual display
+Who told you a calf to be? +Who told you a calf to be?
+Why don’t you have wings to fly +Why don’t you have wings to fly
with like the swallow so proud and with like the swallow so proud and
free? free?
- Eliciting class
- Let Ss listen to the piece of song - Let Ss listen to the piece of song discussion
again and check the intonation in the again and check the intonation in the
sentence above sentence above
- Together with Ss, correct the - Together with Ss, correct the
79
intonation on the board intonation on the board
- Explanation of
- Explain the intonation patterns used - Explain the intonation patterns lesson points
in a list used in a list
In WH-questions, the most common In WH-questions, the most
tone is falling. common tone is falling.
Depending on the purpose of the Depending on the purpose of the
questions, the stress may be put on the questions, the stress may be put on
WH words or not the WH words or not
+ If the questions aim at information, + If the questions aim at
the WH words are stressed and falling information, the WH words are
tones are used stressed and falling tones are used
+ If the questions do not aim at + If the questions do not aim at
information, WH words are unstressed information, WH words are
and other tones would be used. unstressed and other tones would be
used.
2.2. Intonation in imperative
sentences 2.2. Intonation in imperative
- Write the an imperative sentence on sentences - Visual display
the board - Write the an imperative sentence
Stop complaining on the board
- Ask Ss to recall their memories and Stop complaining
tell what the intonation in this sentence - Ask Ss to recall their memories
is like and tell what the intonation in this
T can help Ss by asking them step by sentence is like
step T can help Ss by asking them step
+How many syllables are there in the by step - Eliciting Ss‟
sentence? What are they? +How many syllables are there in knowledge
+What are the differences in the pitch the sentence? What are they?
of these syllable words? Which is the +What are the differences in the
highest? Which is the lowest? pitch of these syllable words? Which
- Underline the key words as Ss say is the highest? Which is the lowest?
and draw the tune shape of the - Underline the key words as Ss say
sentence on the board and draw the tune shape of the
Stop complaining sentence on the board
Stop complaining - Visual display
- Ask Ss to analyze the common tones

used in imperative sentences => - Ask Ss to analyze the common - Eliciting Ss‟
falling tones tones used in imperative sentences knowledge
=> falling tones
- Let Ss listen again to the whole song - Using songs as
and sing along - Let Ss listen again to the whole a material to
song and sing along practice
80
- Write 4 sentences on the board: - Write 4 sentences on the board: - Practice with
+ What did you do last night? + What did you do last night? authentic
+ Don’t ever do it again. + Don’t ever do it again. utterances
+ Sit down, please. + Sit down, please.
+ Who told you to do this? + Who told you to do this?
- Ask Ss to imagine the situations in - Ask Ss to imagine the situations in
which they would use these utterances which they would use these
and choose an appropriate intonation utterances and choose an appropriate - Giving feedback
patterns intonation patterns
minutes minutes
- Call each S to stand up and speak the - Call each S to stand up and speak
utterances out loud with explanation the utterances out loud with
about their situations explanation about their situations
- Consolidate Ss‟ feedback and give - Consolidate Ss‟ feedback and give
T‟s feedback T‟s feedback
81
The Day You Went Away
M2M
Well I wonder could it be
When I was dreaming 'bout you baby
You were dreaming of me
Call me crazy, call me blind
To still be suffering stupidly after all of this time
Did I lose my love to someone better?

And does she love you like I do?
I do, you know I really really do
*Chorus*
Well hey, so much I need to say
Been lonely since the day
The day you went away
So sad but true
For me there's only you
Been crying since the day
I remember date and time

September twenty second
Sunday twenty five after nine
In the doorway with your case
No longer shouting at each other
There were tears on our faces
And we were letting go of something special

Something we'll never have again
I know, I guess I really really know
(Chorus)
Did I lose my love to someone better?
And does she love you like I do?
I do, you know I really really do
(Chorus)
Why do we never know what we've got 'til it's gone?
How could I carry on
The day you went away?
Cause I've been missing you so much I have to say
Been crying since the day
82
The song “The day you went away” with the interchange of falling & rising tones
Education, ULIS-VNU
2. Time: 60 mins
+ Reinforce knowledge about intonation pattern in all kinds of sentences that they
have learnt
+ Understand more situation which create the interchange of rising and falling
tones in WH-questions
techniques
song and raise their interest for the song and raise their interest for the - Ice-breaking
lesson lesson with songs
- Play the intro part of the song - Play the intro part of the song
- Ask Ss whether they have heard the - Ask Ss whether they have heard
song before, what the title of the the song before, what the title of the
song is and who the singer is => the song is and who the singer is => the
song “The day you went away” by song “The day you went away” by
M2M. M2M.
- Deliver the handouts containing the - Deliver the handouts containing - Using songs
lyric of the song the lyric of the song as the
- Let Ss look through the song lyric - Let Ss look through the song lyric material to
and find out all types of sentences. and find out all types of sentences. learn
Statement: I do, you know I really Statement: I do, you know I really
really do. really do.
Imperative: Call me crazy, call me Imperative: Call me crazy, call me
blind blind
Y/N question: Did I lose my love to Y/N question: Did I lose my love to
someone better? someone better?
- Ask Ss to recall their memories - Ask Ss to recall their memories - Revision
about the previous lesson and about the previous lesson and
suggest the general use of intonation suggest the general use of intonation
pattern in the learnt type of pattern in the learnt type of
sentences sentences
83
2.1Falling tone in Yes/No questions 2.1Falling tone in Yes/No questions
- Let Ss pay attention to the - Let Ss pay attention to the
sentences sentences
And does she love you like I do? And does she love you like I do? - Eliciting Ss‟
- Ask Ss to analyze the intonation in - Ask Ss to analyze the intonation in knowledge
the sentence the sentence
+ What is the common tone + What is the common tone
used in this kind of sentence? used in this kind of sentence?
+Which tune is used in this +Which tune is used in this - Eliciting
sentence? sentence? class
+ What is the difference + What is the difference discussion
between them? between them?
+ Can you imagine in which + Can you imagine in which
situation the falling tune situation the falling tune
is used like this? is used like this?
- Explain the different intonation - Explain the different intonation - Explanation
patterns of greeting used with patterns of greeting used with of lesson
different purposes different purposes points
+ Normally, the rising tone is + Normally, the rising tone is
used for Yes/No questions to get the used for Yes/No questions to get the
answer of Yes or No answer of Yes or No
+ The falling tone would be used + The falling tone would be used
for Yes/No questions if they do not for Yes/No questions if they do not
aim at any answer. The questions aim at any answer. The questions
are used as a statement of are used as a statement of
confirmation confirmation
2.2. Rising tone in WH-questions 2.2. Rising tone in WH-questions
- Write the sentence on the board - Write the sentence on the board
and let Ss pay attention to the and let Ss pay attention to the - Eliciting Ss‟
questions in the lyric: questions in the lyric: knowledge
How could I carry on, the day you How could I carry on, the day you
went away? went away? - liciting class
- Let Ss listen to the song again to - Let Ss listen to the song again to discussion
identify the intonation of the identify the intonation of the
sentence sentence
- Ask Ss about the intonation of the - Ask Ss about the intonation of the
sentence and draw the arrow of pitch sentence and draw the arrow of pitch
change on the board change on the board
How could I carry on, the day you How could I carry on, the day you - Visual
went away? went away? display
- Ask Ss: - Ask Ss:

+ What is the normal tone for WH + What is the normal tone for WH
84
questions? questions?
+ When is the rising tone used? + When is the rising tone used?
+ Does this question aim at an + Does this question aim at an
answer? If yes, why does it have answer? If yes, why does it have
rising tone? rising tone?
-Explain the point: Intonation can be -Explain the point: Intonation can be - Explanation
affected by speaker‟s attitude and affected by speaker‟s attitude and of lesson
emotion. The extreme emotion can emotion. The extreme emotion can points
often be shown by rising tone often be shown by rising tone
- Let Ss listen to the song again and - Let Ss listen to the song again and - Using songs
sing along sing along as a material
to practice
- Write 3 sentences on the board: - Write 3 sentences on the board:
+ Did I tell you about that? + Did I tell you about that? - Practice
+ Did he inform you about the test? + Did he inform you about the test? with
+ What will you do in this + What will you do in this authentic
situation? situation? utterances
- Ask Ss to imagine the situations in - Ask Ss to imagine the situations in
which they would use these which they would use these
utterances and choose an appropriate utterances and choose an appropriate
intonation patterns intonation patterns
- Let Ss practice individually in 5 - Let Ss practice individually in 5 - Giving
minutes minutes feedback
- Call each S to stand up and speak - Call each S to stand up and speak
the utterances out loud with the utterances out loud with
explanation about their situations explanation about their situations
85
APPENDIX 8-A: Song for lesson 5
Eyes On Me
Faye Wong
Games: Final Fantasy VIII
Whenever sang my songs on the stage on my own

Whenever said my words wishing they would be heard
I saw you smiling at me, was it real or just my fantasy?
You'd always be there in the corner of this tiny little bar
My last night here for you same old songs just once more
My last night here with you, maybe yes, maybe no
I kind of liked it your way how you shyly placed your eyes on me
Oh did you ever know that I had mine on me?
Darling so there you are with that look on your face

As if you're never hurt, as if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you who pinches of you softly but sure?
If frown is shown then I will know that you are no dreamer
So let me come to you close as I wanna be

Close enough for me to feel your heart beating fast
And stay there as I whisper: "how I loved your peaceful eyes on me
Did you ever know that I had mine on me?
And darling so share with me, your love if you have enough
Your tears if you're holding back, or pain if that's what it is
How can I let you know I'm more than the dress and the voice?
Just reach me out, then you will know that you are not dreaming
And darling so there you are with that look on your face
As if you're never hurt, as if you are never down
Shall I be the one for you a pinches of you softly but sure?
If frown is shown then I will know that you are no dreamer
86
The song “Eyes on me” with the rise-fall tone
Education, ULIS-VNU
2. Time: 60 mins
+ Reinforce knowledge about intonation pattern in all kinds of sentences that they
have learnt
+ Understand more about the use of intonation is WH questions
+ Understand the intonation pattern used in exclamations and alternative
questions
techniques
song and raise their interest for the song and raise their interest for the - Ice-breaking
lesson lesson with songs
- Let Ss listen to the song for the first - Deliver the lyrics of the song “Eyes
time. on me” by Faye Wong in the game
- Ask them whether they have heard Final Fantasy VIII.
the song before, what the title of the - Ask them whether they have heard
song is and who the singer is => the the song before, what the title of the
song “Eyes on me” by Faye Wong in song is and who the singer is
the game Final Fantasy VIII. - Let Ss listen for the first time and
find out the mistakes in the song
lyric.
- Ask Ss to point out the mistakes
and correction
- Let Ss listen again and check
2. Main-activities 2. Main-activities - Using songs

- Deliver the handouts containing the - Deliver the handouts containing the as the material
lyric of the song lyric of the song to learn
and find out all types of sentences. and find out all types of sentences.
Statement: You’d always be there in Statement: You’d always be there in
the corner of this tiny the corner of this tiny
little bar little bar
Imperative: So let me come to you Imperative: So let me come to you
close as I wanna be close as I wanna be
87
- Ask Ss to recall their memories - Ask Ss to recall their memories - Revision
about the previous lesson and suggest about the previous lesson and suggest
the general use of intonation pattern the general use of intonation pattern
in the learnt type of sentences in the learnt type of sentences
2.1Rise-fall tone in Yes/No questions 2.1Rise-fall tone in Yes/No questions

- Let Ss pay attention to the sentences - Let Ss pay attention to the sentences
Did you ever know that I had mine Did you ever know that I had mine
on you? on you? - Eliciting Ss‟
- Ask Ss to analyze the intonation in - Ask Ss to analyze the intonation in knowledge
the sentence the sentence
+Which tune is used in this +Which tune is used in this
sentence? sentence?
+ What is the difference between + What is the difference
the intonation in this sentence and the between the intonation in this - Eliciting class
normal intonation in this type of sentence and the normal intonation in discussion
sentence ? this type of sentence ?
+ Do you see anything special in + Do you see anything special in
the structure of this sentence? the structure of this sentence?
- Draw the arrow of pitch change on - Draw the arrow of pitch change on
the board in accordance to Ss‟ the board in accordance to Ss‟
suggestion. After that, correct the suggestion. After that, correct the
tone: tone: - Visual display
Did you ever know that I had mine Did you ever know that I had mine
on you? on you?
- Explanation of
- Explain the different intonation - Explain the different intonation lesson points
patterns of greeting used with patterns of greeting used with
different purposes different purposes
+ When Y/N questions consist of + When Y/N questions consist of
subordinate clauses, the tone may subordinate clauses, the tone may
rise in the main clause and fall in the rise in the main clause and fall in the
subordinate clause subordinate clause
2.2. Rising and falling tones in 2.2. Rising and falling tones in
alternatives questions alternatives questions
- Write the sentence on the board and - Write the sentence on the board and
let Ss pay attention to the questions let Ss pay attention to the questions
in the lyric: in the lyric:
Was it real or just my fantasy? Was it real or just my fantasy?
- Let Ss listen to the song again to - Let Ss listen to the song again to
identify the intonation of the sentence identify the intonation of the sentence
change on the board change on the board - Visual display
88
Was it real or just my fantasy? Was it real or just my fantasy?
- Eliciting Ss‟
- Ask Ss: - Ask Ss: knowledge
sentence? sentence?
+ What is the difference between + What is the difference
the intonation in this sentence and the between the intonation in this - Eliciting class
normal intonation in this type of sentence and the normal intonation in discussion
sentence ? this type of sentence ?
+ Do you see anything special in + Do you see anything special in
the structure of this sentence? the structure of this sentence? - Explanation of
-Explain the point: When Y/N -Explain the point: When Y/N lesson points
questions consist “OR”, they are call questions consist “OR”, they are call
alternative questions and the list of alternative questions and the list of
options is treated similarly to other options is treated similarly to other
kinds of lists; i.e. rising, rising and kinds of lists; i.e. rising, rising and
finally falling. finally falling.
2.3. Rise-fall tone in WH- question 2.3. Rise-fall tone in WH- question
let Ss pay attention to the questions let Ss pay attention to the questions - Eliciting Ss‟
in the lyric: in the lyric: knowledge
How can I let you know I’m more How can I let you know I’m more
than the dress and the voice? than the dress and the voice?
change on the board change on the board - Visual display
How can I let you know I’m more How can I let you know I’m more
than the dress and the voice? than the dress and the voice?
- Eliciting class
- Ask Ss: - Ask Ss: discussion
sentence? sentence? - Eliciting Ss‟
+ What is the difference between + What is the difference knowledge
the intonation in this sentence and the between the intonation in this
normal intonation in this type of sentence and the normal intonation in
sentences? this type of sentences?
+ Do you see anything special in + Do you see anything special in - Explanation of
the structure of this sentence? the structure of this sentence? lesson points
-Explain the point: The rise-fall tone -Explain the point: The rise-fall tone
can be used in WH questions to can be used in WH questions to
89
convey strong agreement and convey strong agreement and
statement, requiring confirmation statement, requiring confirmation
rather than answer. rather than answer.
- Eliciting Ss‟
2.4 Rise-fall tone in exclamations 2.4 Rise-fall tone in exclamations knowledge
let Ss pay attention to the questions let Ss pay attention to the questions
in the lyric: in the lyric:
How I loved you peaceful eyes on How I loved you peaceful eyes on
me! me!
change on the board change on the board
How I loved you peaceful eyes on - Visual display
me! How I loved you peaceful eyes on
me!
- Ask Ss: - Eliciting class

+Which tune is used in this - Ask Ss: discussion
sentence? +Which tune is used in this - Eliciting Ss‟
+ What kind of sentence is it? sentence? knowledge
+ What kind of sentence is it? - Explanation of
-Explain the point: The rise-fall tone lesson points
is often used in exclamations, with -Explain the point: The rise-fall tone
peak of voice at adjectives, adverbs is often used in exclamations, with - Using songs
or verbs that show emotions. peak of voice at adjectives, adverbs as a practice
- Let Ss listen to the song again or verbs that show emotions. material
and sing along - Let Ss listen to the song again
and sing along
2.5. Practice 2.5. Practice - Practice

- Write 3 sentences on the board: - Write 3 sentences on the board: with
+ How beautiful she is! + How beautiful she is! authentic
+ You want beef, chicken or pork? + You want beef, chicken or pork? utterances
+ What an awful day! + What an awful day!
+ You will need a dress, a hat and a + You will need a dress, a hat and a
pair of shoes. pair of shoes.
- Ask Ss to imagine the situations in - Ask Ss to imagine the situations in - Giving
which they would use these which they would use these feedback
utterances and choose an appropriate utterances and choose an appropriate
intonation patterns intonation patterns
minutes minutes
90
- Call each S to stand up and speak - Call each S to stand up and speak
the utterances out loud with the utterances out loud with
explanation about their situations explanation about their situations
91
A little time
The Beautiful South
I need a little time to think it over
I need a little space just on my own
I need a little time to find my freedom
I need a little...
Funny how quick the milk turns sour

Isn't it, isn't it?
Your face has been looking like that for hours
Hasn't it, hasn't it?
Promises, promises turn to dust
Wedding bells just turn to rust
Trust into mistrust
I need a little room to find myself

I need a little space to work it out
I need a little room all alone
I need a little...
You need a little room for your big head

Don't you, don't you?
You need a little space for a thousand beds
Won't you, won't you?
Lips that promise - fear the worst
Tongue so sharp - the bubble burst
Just into unjust
I've had a little time to find the truth

Now I've had a little room to check what's wrong
I've had a little time and I still love you
I've had a little...
You had a little time and you had a little fun

Didn't you, didn't you?
While you had yours do you think I had none
Do you, do you?
The Freedom that you wanted bad is yours for good
I hope you're glad
Sad into unsad
I had a little time to think it over

Had a little room to work it out
I found a little courage to call it off
92
The song “A little time” with intonation in question tags
Education, ULIS-VNU
2. Time: 60 mins
+ Reinforce knowledge about intonation in other types of sentences
+ Understand the different use of rising and falling tones in question tags
7. Procedure:
Techniques
song and raise their interest or song and raise their interest or - Ice-breaking
curiosity for the lesson curiosity for the lesson with songs
- Deliver the handouts containing the - Deliver the handouts containing the
lyric of the song “A little time” by the lyric of the song “A little time” by the
band The Beautiful South. band The Beautiful South.
- Let Ss look through the song lyrics - Let Ss look through the song lyrics
and ask them whether they know the and ask them whether they know the
song or not. song or not.
him/her to sing for the whole the class him/her to sing for the whole the class
If nobody knows, play the CD once If nobody knows, play the CD once
for them to get familiar with the for them to get familiar with the
melody of the song melody of the song
T can make Ss feel more relaxing with T can make Ss feel more relaxing with
some questions like: some questions like:
+ How is the melody of the song like? + How is the melody of the song like?
+What is your feeling when you +What is your feeling when you
listening to this song? listening to this song?
- Give explanation about the speed
of the song: this speed is normal in
English speaking world=> hearers
only catch some main words =>
focus on the intonation and the
93
stressed words
and guess the content of the lesson and guess the content of the lesson
today today
=> tag questions => tag questions
- Let Ss look at the song lyric and - Let Ss look at the song lyric and
listen to the song again. listen to the song again to catch the
words.
2.1. Intonation in tag questions- main 2.1. Intonation in tag questions- main
clause clause
- Write the important sentence on the - Write the important sentence on the - Using songs
board board as the material
Funny how quick the milk turn Funny how quick the milk turn to learn
sour, isn’t it, isn’t it sour, isn’t it, isn’t it
Your face has been looking like that Your face has been looking like that
for hours, hasn’t it, hasn’t it? for hours, hasn’t it, hasn’t it?
- Tell Ss to pay attention to the main - Tell Ss to pay attention to the main - Eliciting Ss‟
clause of the questions. clause of the questions. knowledge
+ What kind of sentence are they? + What kind of sentence are they?
+ What is the normal intonation for + What is the normal intonation for
this type of sentence? this type of sentence?
 The intonation in main  The intonation in main - Explanation
clauses of tag questions are clauses of tag questions are
treated the same as normal treated the same as normal
statements, i.e. falling statements, i.e. falling
2.2.Intonation in tag questions- tag 2.2.Intonation in tag questions- tag

- Let Ss pay attention to the tags - Let Ss pay attention to the tags - Using songs
Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it? as the material
Hasn’t it? Hasn’t it? Hasn’t it? Hasn’t it? to learn
- Ask Ss to recall their memories and - Ask Ss to recall their memories and
tell what the intonation in this phrase tell what the intonation in this phrase
is like is like
T can help Ss by asking them step by T can help Ss by asking them step by
step step - Eliciting Ss‟
+ How is the intonation in each word? + How is the intonation in each word? knowledge
Is it high or low? Is it high or low?
+ Which one is higher/ lower? + Which one is higher/ lower?
sentence on the board according to Ss‟ sentence on the board according to Ss‟
suggestion suggestion - Eliciting class
94
- Let Ss listen to the piece of song - Let Ss listen to the piece of song discussion
intonation on the board intonation on the board
Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it? - Visual display
Hasn’t it? Hasn’t it? Hasn’t it? Hasn’t it?
- Explain : There are different tones - Explain : There are different tones - Explanation of
chosen for the question tags. chosen for the question tags. lesson points
+ If the questions aim at an answer of + If the questions aim at an answer of
Yes or No(speaker don‟t know the Yes or No(speaker don‟t know the
answer), rising tone should be used answer), rising tone should be used
+ If the questions do not aim at + If the questions do not aim at
information but confirmation and information but confirmation and
agreement, falling tone would be used. agreement, falling tone would be used.
- Write 3 questions on the board: - Write 3 questions on the board: - Practice with
+ What is your favorite food? + What is your favorite food? authentic tasks
+ What is your favorite drink? + What is your favorite drink?
+ What is your favorite book? + What is your favorite book?
- Let Ss act as journalists to collect - Let Ss act as journalists to collect
information about students‟ hobbies. information about students‟ hobbies. - Information
Their task is to ask the other students Their task is to ask the other students gap
about their hobbies and record the about their hobbies and record the
information in their mind WITHOUT information in their mind WITHOUT
NOTE-TAKING. Ss should also pay NOTE-TAKING. Ss should also pay
attention to their intonation in attention to their intonation in - Reivision
questions and answers during their questions and answers during their
interviews. interviews.
- After 15 minutes, each S will have to - After 15 minutes, each S will have to
stand in front of class and ask their stand in front of class and ask their
classmates about their hobbies, based classmates about their hobbies, based - Giving
on his/her memories on his/her memories feedback
- From the presenter‟s intonation, - From the presenter‟s intonation,
other Ss in class have to identify other Ss in class have to identify
whether the presenter is sure about the whether the presenter is sure about the
information or not. information or not.
- Ss give feedback on other peers and - Ss give feedback on other peers and
their own intonation. their own intonation.
95
APPENDIX 10_A: Songs for lesson 7
Do You Know Where You're Going To Do You Know What You Want
Janice M2M
Do you know where you're going to? Someone Who Treats You Right
Do you like the things that life is showing you? Stay With You Day And Night
Where are you going to? Do you know? I Can Tell That's What You Need
I Know Just What To Do
Do you get what you're hoping for I'll Take Good Care Of You
When you look behind you there's no open door? Baby You Can Get That From Me
What are you hoping for? Do you know?
#I Can Tell She's Not Treating You Right
Once we were standing still in time Every Time You Look At Me
Chasing the fantasies that filled our minds So Which One Will You Choose?
You know how I loved you You Look So Confused
But my spirit was free Tell Me The Truth
Laughin' at the questions that you once asked of me Do You Know What You Want?#
Do you know where you're going to? Chorus

Do you like the things that life is showing you? Do You Know What You Want?
Where are you going to? Do you know? Do You Know What You Want?
Love's So Hard To Find
Now looking back at all we've planned So Make Up Your Mind
We let so many dreams just slip through our hands Do You Know What You Want?
Why must we wait so long
Before we'll see Oh Baby Can't You See
How sad the answers to those questions can be One Minute You're With Me
Next One You Are All Over Her
Do you know where you're going to? She Talks Behind Your Back
Do you like the things that life is showing you? You Know I'll Stay On Track
Where are you going to? Do you know? Something She Wouldn't For Sure
Do you get what you're hoping for How Can I Help You To Make Up Your Mind?
When you look behind you there's no open door? Boy You're Running Out Of Time
What are you hoping for? Do you know? So Which One Will You Choose?
You Look So Confused
Tell Me The Truth
Do You Know What You Want?
*Chorus*
$ Please Call Me And Say

I Am The One You Need In Your Life
The Game That You Play Ain't No Fun
Please Answer Me Now
Gotta Know What You Want $
96
The songs “Do you know where you’re going to” and “Do you know what you want”
with intonation in combined questions
Education, ULIS-VNU
2. Time: 60 mins
+ Reinforce knowledge about intonation in other types of sentences
+ Understand the variations of pitch in combined questions
5. Anticipated problems: It may be time left, so teacher should prepare more on the
practice part
7. Procedure:
Techniques
song and raise their interest or song and raise their interest or
curiosity for the lesson curiosity for the lesson
- Deliver the handouts containing the - Deliver the handouts containing the
lyric of the two songs “Do you know lyric of the two songs “Do you know - Ice-breaking
where you‟re going to” by Janice and where you‟re going to” by Janice and with songs
“Do you know what you want” by “Do you know what you want” by
M2M. M2M.
- Let Ss look through the song lyrics - Let Ss look through the song lyrics
and ask them whether they know the and ask them whether they know the
song or not. song or not.
him/her to sing for the whole the class him/her to sing for the whole the class
If nobody knows, play the CD once If nobody knows, play the CD once
for them to get familiar with the for them to get familiar with the
melody of the song melody of the song
2.1. Revision on intonation in 2.1. Revision on intonation in
questions- Song “Do you know questions- Song “Do you know where
where you‟re going to” you‟re going to” - Using songs
- Write 2 important sentences on the - Write 2 important sentences on the as the
board board material to
Where are you going to? Where are you going to? learn
Do you know? Do you know?

- Tell Ss to pay attention to the two - Tell Ss to pay attention to the two
97
questions. questions. - Eliciting Ss‟
+ What kind of questions are they? + What kind of questions are they? knowledge
+ What is the normal intonation for + What is the normal intonation for and recall
each type of question? each type of question? their
-Let Ss listen again to check whether -Let Ss listen again to check whether memories
the intonation of these two questions the intonation of these two questions
match their ideas. match their ideas.
=> Falling tone is often used for WH => Falling tone is often used for WH
questions while rising tone is often questions while rising tone is often - Explanation
used for Yes/No questions. used for Yes/No questions.
2.2.Intonation in combined questions 2.2.Intonation in combined questions
- Let Ss pay attention to the questions - Let Ss pay attention to the questions
in the song “Do you know where in the song “Do you know where - Using songs
you‟re going to” you‟re going to” as the
Do you know where you’re going to? Do you know where you’re going to? material to
- Ask Ss to recall their memories and - Ask Ss to recall their memories and learn
tell what the intonation in this tell what the intonation in this
question is like question is like
T can help Ss by asking them step by T can help Ss by asking them step by
step step
+Which tone is used in this +Which tone is used in this
question? question? - Eliciting Ss‟
+ What is the special feature of + What is the special feature of knowledge
this question? this question?
sentence on the board according to sentence on the board according to Ss‟
Ss‟ suggestion suggestion
intonation on the board intonation on the board - Visual
Do you know where you’re going to? Do you know where you’re going to? display
- Let Ss listen to the song “Do you - Let Ss listen to the song “Do you
know what you want” and pay know what you want” and pay - Eliciting Ss‟
attention to the questions attention to the questions knowledge
Do you know what you want? Do you know what you want?
- Ask Ss to identify the tone use in - Ask Ss to identify the tone use in this
this question question
98
sentence on the board according to sentence on the board according to Ss‟
Ss‟ suggestion suggestion
- Together with Ss, correct the - Together with Ss, correct the - Visual
intonation on the board intonation on the board display
Do you know where you’re going to? Do you know where you’re going to?
- Ask Ss to compare the two - Ask Ss to compare the two - Eliciting

patterns of intonation in these patterns of intonation in these class
questions and guess what questions and guess what discussion
creates the differences. creates the differences.
- Explain the intonation patterns - Explain the intonation patterns - Explanation
used in combined questions. used in combined questions. of lesson
+ If the questions aim at an answer of + If the questions aim at an answer of points
Yes or No, rising tone should be used Yes or No, rising tone should be used
+ If the questions aim at information + If the questions aim at information
for WH- question, falling tone would for WH- question, falling tone would
be used be used
- Introduce one more case of - Ask student to think about - Eliciting Ss‟
combined question in reality: some combined questions that knowledge
Could you show me the way to they may use in the real life
the post office please? =>Introduce combined
question with politeness:
Could you show me the way to
the post office please?
- Let Ss choose intonation - Let Ss choose intonation pattern
pattern and speak aloud the and speak aloud the utterance.
utterance.  Draw Ss‟ attention to the rise
 Draw Ss‟ attention to the rise at “please”
at “please”
- Provide a situation for Ss: This is - Provide a situation for Ss: This is
your first time to London and you your first time to London and you have - Practice
have lost the city map. So, you have lost the city map. So, you have to ask a with
to ask a pass-over on the street to pass-over on the street to show you the authentic
show you the way. way. tasks
- Write 6 places on the board: - Write 6 places on the board:
Library Museum Library Museum
Hospital US Embassy Hospital US Embassy
Bank Nearest bus-stop Bank Nearest bus-stop
99
- Each Ss have 3 minutes to prepare - Each Shave 3 minutes to prepare the
the questions to ask for the way to questions to ask for the way to these
these places above. places above.
- After 3 minute, T calls a student to - After 3 minute, T would call a
stand up and make questions with representative to come to the board,
those places, tap at a word on the choose another student, tap at a
board and the student‟s duty is to word on the board and the student’s
utter the questions to know the way to duty is to utter the questions to
that place. know the way to that place.
- Other Ss give feedback on other - Other Ss give feedback on other
peers‟ intonation. peers‟ intonation. - Giving
- Consolidate Ss‟ feedback and give - Consolidate Ss‟ feedback and give feedback
T‟s feedback T‟s
100
APPENDIX 11
Summary of students’ responses in interviews
Q2+3. Adjectives to describe the lessons. Which activities do you

like best?
Lesson Name Answers Codes Techniques
1 Thiet Interesting, funny motivation Sing
1 Thuong Impressive, Motivation, impression Practice

attentive, enjoyable
1 Hanh Interesting, motivation, effectiveness, Elicit
informative, information abundance
effective
1 Dung Surprising, Freshness, motivation Practice
interesting
1 Trang Interesting, Freshness, motivation Elicit
new,exciting
1 Binh Great, interesting, Motivation Practice
funny
1 Mai Useful, interesting Effectiveness, motivation Elicit & discuss
1 Thanh New, very Freshness, motivation Listen and sing

interesting, good
1 Tu Anh Relevant, Unity, motivation Practice
interesting, smooth
3 Thiet interesting, useful motivation, effectiveness Sing
3 Thuong Useful, attentive motivation, effectiveness listen
3 Hanh interesting, useful motivation, effectiveness Revision
3 Dung Interesting, effective motivation, effectiveness Practice
3 Trang Useful, interesting Motivation, effectiveness Elicit
3 Mai Useful, relevant Effectiveness, unity Elicit & discuss
3 Tu Anh Attractive, useful, Effectiveness, motivation Practice

interesting
4 Thiet interesting, useful motivation, effectiveness Listen and sing
101
along
4 Thuong interesting, effective motivation, effectiveness Listen and sing

along
4 Hanh Surprising, Freshness, motivation, Sing along, practice

interesting, effectiveness, information
attractive, effective, abundance
informative,
4 Dung Informative, information abundance, Practice
practical practicality
4 Trang Useful, interesting, Motivation, effectiveness Explanation
exciting
4 Binh Interesting, exciting, Freshness, motivation Elicit & discussion
surprising
4 Mai Good, motivating, Effectiveness, motivation Practice
useful
4 Thanh useful Effectiveness Practice
4 Tu Anh Wonderful, very Effectiveness, motivation Listen and sing

interesting, useful along
6 Thiet Useful, funny motivation, effectiveness practice
6 Hanh New, useful Freshness, effectiveness Practice
6 Dung Exciting, useful, motivation, effectiveness Practice

eager,
6 Trang Useful, practical, Effectiveness, practicality, Practice
interesting motivation
6 Binh Effective, new Effectiveness, freshness Practice
6 Mai Interesting, useful Motivation, effectiveness Practice
6 Thanh Surprising, strange Freshness Practice
7 Thiet New, interesting, Freshness, motivation, Practice

useful effectiveness
7 Thuong New, interesting, Freshness, motivation, Elicit & discussion
effective effectiveness
7 Hanh Interesting, new Freshness, motivation Practice
7 Dung Interesting, useful, Freshness, motivation, Practice, change the

informative effectiveness sequence of
listening and
102
finding Qs
7 Trang New, useful, Freshness, motivation, Elicit& discuss

exciting effectiveness
7 Mai New, interesting, Freshness, motivation, Practice
useful effectiveness
7 Binh Good, interesting, motivation Practice
motivating, happy, a
bit difficult
7 Thanh Interesting, new, Freshness, motivation, Practice
good, a bit difficult
7 Tu Anh Useful, exciting, Freshness, motivation, Elicit, compare and
new effectiveness discussion
103
APPENDIX 12
Summary of students’ responses in interviews
Q4+5. Adjectives to describe the song
Lesson Name Melody Lyric
1 Thiet Slow, emotional, romantic Romantic, similar to own state of mind
1 Thuong Attractive, deep, sweet, gentle, easy to Meaningful, noble love, relevant for
catch, lyrical lesson
1 Hanh Gentle, interesting, slow, relaxing meaningful
1 Dung Lyrical, emotional, gentle Don‟t‟ care
1 Trang Gentle, romantic romantic
1 Binh Gentle, interesting Meaningful=>love
1 Mai Gentle, romantic romantic
1 Thanh Slow, gentle, deep emotion Meaningful, romantic
1 Tu Anh Slow, easy to listen Beautiful wording, romantic
3 Thiet Smooth, peaceful, a bit sleepy Meaningful, may new words=>

provoking
3 Thuong Smooth, relaxing, slow Meaningful, may new words
3 Hanh Slow, gentle, sweet, sleepy meaningful
3 Dung Sad, meaningful, interesting Meaningful, many new words
3 Trang Gentle, easy to listen, relaxing Meaningful, educational=, curiosity
3 Mai Gentle, soft, sweet, relaxing meaningful
3 Tu Anh Slow, gentle, soft meaningful
4 THiet Lively, fast, romantic Moving, romantic
4 Thuong Lively, alerted Moving, romantic
104
4 Hanh Rather fast, easy to listen suitable
4 Dung Interesting, relaxing Don‟t care
4 Trang Fast, good, easy to sing Easy to understand
4 Binh Funny, a bit fast=> eager Meaningful, good
4 Mai Fast, lively, good Emotional, good
4 Thanh Fast, gentle, transparent Romantic, boring if listen too much
4 Tu Anh Fast, funny, romantic
6 Thiet Too fast Don‟t care
6 Hanh Too fast, difficult=>eager Don‟t care
6 Dung Too fast Don‟t care
6 Trang Too fast Don‟t care
6 Binh Good, lively, very fast Don‟t care
6 Mai Too fast=> discouraged Don‟t care
6 Thanh Too fast, lively, exciting Meaningful, same emotion
7 Thiet 1 Slow, 2 fast not impressive Don‟t care
7 Thuong 1: slow, smooth, transparent Don‟t care

2: too fast
7 Hanh Interesting, easy to compare, new Don‟t care
7 Dung Memorable, effective Don‟t‟ care
7 Trang 1: slow, gentle. Romantic, emotional

2: fast
Easy to compare
7 Mai 1: romantic, gentle Romantic, excited
2: romantic, lively
Easy to compare
7 Binh 1: relaxing, 2:fast=> easy to compare Meaningful, about love
7 Thanh 1: gentle; 1: fast Meaningful, romantic, emotional

 difficult
7 Tu Anh Funny, fast, contradict romantic
105
APPENDIX 13: Cycle 1
INTERVIEW Lesson 1- Hanh
1. -So, we have just finish the lesson today. Do you like it?
-Yes, I really enjoy it
2. -Can you use some specific adjectives to describe it?

-It‟s interesting, informative and effective
3. -If you can give a mark from 1 to 10 for this lesson, which mark will you give?
-I think I‟ll give it 8.5
4. -Now, let‟s talk about the activities in this lesson. Which activities in this lesson do you
-I like all the activities. T hey‟re all interesting
-Specifically, which activity do you think is the most effective and interesting?
-Uhm, like the way you let us pay attention to the structures, catch the intonation and
imagine the situation we often use the sentences and the intonation
5. - Do you like the song?

-Yes, I have always like this song, it‟s so sweet.
-So, you have known this song before?
-Yes
-Can you use some adjectives or phrases to describe the melody of the song?
- It‟s gentle, slow, relaxing and very interesting
- Do you think the melody of the song is effective for the lesson?
- Yes, of course. It makes me excited, want to listen more and know more about the
intonation
- Can you use some adjectives or phrases to describe the lyric of the song?
106
- It‟s meaningful
- Meaningful? What do you find meaningful in the song lyrics?
- The noble love of the man to the woman.
- Do you think the lyrics of the song are effective for the lesson?
- Yes, it‟s really suitable for the lesson.
6. -If you can give a mark from 1 to 10 for this song, which mark will you give?
- I‟ll give it 9
107
APENDIX 14: Cycle 1
INTERVIEW – Lesson 3- Mai
-Not really

-It‟s informative and interesting
-I think I‟ll give it 9
-I like all the activities.
-Specifically, which activity do you think is the most effective and interesting?
-Uhm, like the way you let us pay attention to the structures, catch the intonation and
imagine the situation we often use the sentences and the intonation

-Yes, it‟s so sweet.
-No
- It‟s gentle, slow, relaxing, makes me feel peaceful
- Yes, of course. It makes me relaxed, so I feel easier to study
- It‟s too difficult with many new words
108
- Difficult? Do the new words affect you studying?
- Yes, I feel rather nervous
- I‟ll give it 8.5
109
APENDIX 15: Cycle 1
INTERVIEW – Lesson 6- Thanh
-Yes

-It‟s new and useful
-I think I‟ll give it 7.5
-I like all the activities. They‟re all effective
- Specifically, which activity do you think is the most effective and interesting?
-Uhm, I like practice the most

-So so. It‟s too fast and too difficult for me
- It‟s too fast, too difficult, as I‟ve mentioned
intonation
- Can you use some adjectives or phrases to describe the lyrics of the song?
- Sorry, I don‟t pay attention to the lyrics
- Why don‟t you pay attention to the the lyrics of the song?
- I‟m too busy with catching the melody.
110
- I‟ll give it 7
7. -Is there any idea about this interview or the previous interview that you want to change?
-No
111
APENDIX 16: Cycle 2
INTERVIEW SCHEME- Lesson 3- Trang
-Yes, I really enjoy it

-It‟s interesting and useful
-I think I‟ll give it 8
4. -Now, let‟s talk about the activities in this lesson.

-The first activity of the lesson today is the discussion about the meaning of the song. Do
you think it is effective?
- Yes, it helps me understand the song more and feel less nervous. At first I was shocked
to see so many new words
- The second activity of the lesson today is revision. Do you think it is effective?
- Of course. It helps me recall all the things I‟ve learnt
- The third activity of the lesson today is my questions and your discussion on the intonation
and the sentences in the songs. Do you think it is effective?
- Yes. I think all the activities in this lesson are effective.
- Specifically, which activity do you think is the most effective and interesting?
-Uhm, like the way you elicit our knowledge from the song

-Yes, I have always like this song, it‟s so sweet.
-Yes
112
- It‟s gentle, slow, relaxing and peaceful
intonation
- It‟s meaningful, educational
- Meaningful? What do you find meaningful in the song lyrics?
- The lessons about our life
- I‟ll give it 9
I want to give mark 8.5 for the lesson.
113

Improving Freshmen's Intonation Through English Pop Songs-Nguyen Thanh Van - Qh06f1e3

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

NGUYỄN THANH VÂN

IMPROVING FRESHMEN’S ENGLISH INTONATION

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (TEFL)

Hanoi, May 2010

Hanoi, May 2010

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

NGUYỄN THANH VÂN

IMPROVING FRESHMEN’S ENGLISH INTONATION

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS (TEFL)

SUPERVISOR: PHẠM MINH TÂM, M.Ed.

Hanoi, May 2010

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in

First and foremost, I would like to send my heartfelt gratitude towards

Additionally, I would like to show my deepest gratitude towards Mrs.

On a personal note, I express my truly gratitude to my family and friends

In the context of globalization and English becomes the dominant

TABLES OF CONTENTS PAGE

LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS………………..vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................... 1

Appendix 1: Test of intonation…………………..……………………….65

Appendix 2: Interview scheme used in intonation course-Cycle 1……....67

Appendix 3: Interview scheme used in intonation course-Cycle 2………68

Appendix 11: Summary of students‟ answers in the interviews- Lesson..101

Appendix 12: Summary of students‟ answers in the interviews- Song…104

Appendix 13-16: Samples of interview transcription………………..….106

Table 1: Grammar and intonation (Kelly, 2000, p.89)…………..…………13

Table 2: Intonation choices in discourse approach………………………...14

Table 3: Syllabus of intonation courses………………….……………….. 27

Table 4: Model comparison of two ToBI transcriptions………………..…35

Table 5: Average percentage of improvement_Dung………….…………..36

Table 6: Improvement in Dung‟s intonation…………..…………………...39

Table 7: Improvement in Hanh‟s intonation…….…………………………40

Table 8: Improvement in Thanh‟s intonation………………………………40

Table 9: Improvement in Mai‟s intonation……...…………………….…... 40

Table 10: Improvement in Thiet‟s intonation……………………….……...41

Table 11: Improvement in Tu Anh‟s intonation………………..………......41

Table 12: Improvement in Trang‟s intonation…………………………......42

Table 13: Improvement in Binh‟s intonation…………………………........42

Table 14: Participants‟ attitude towards lessons in cycle 1…………...…...44

Table 15: Participants‟ attitude towards lessons in cycle 2……………… ..44

Table 16: Students‟ interest in songs……… . ……………………………..50

Table 17: Marks given by students to the songs……….……………..……51

Figure 1: Circle of difficulties in intonation teaching…………………...…12

Figure 2: Procedure of lesson plan conduction………………………...…..28

Figure 3: Structure of interviews…………………………………………...30

Figure 4: Pitch contours-Pretest-Dung-Utterance 1………………………..33

Figure 5: Pitch contours with ToBI transcription-Pretest-Dung-

Figure 6: Pitch contours with ToBI transcription- Native speaker-

Figure 7: Percentage of improvement……………..………………….……43

Figure 8: Effectiveness of teaching techniques perceived by students….....47

Figure 9: Students‟ most favorite activities in lessons……………………..48

ULIS, VNU: University of Languages and International Studies

Vietnam National University, Hanoi

ELT : English Language Teaching

Figure 1 : Circle of difficulties in intonation teaching

Preparing activities+ explanation