UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

FALCUTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE



PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGY

ESSAY

IMPROVING PRONUNCIATION FOR A NON – ENGLISH

MAJORED STUDENT

Course Instructor: MA. Lê Mai Hiền Trang

Full name Student’s ID
Nguyễn Thị Thùy Duyên 22131035
Đinh Thị Tuyết Ngân 22131089
Huỳnh Thị Thủy Tiên 22131146

Course code: PHON130136_23_1_01

Ho chi Minh city, December, 2023

 TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1
CONTENT ............................................................................................................................................... ..2
Phase 1: Pronunciation problems ............................................................................................................. 2
Phase 2: Propose the solutions to deal with pronunciation problems ................................................... 5
Phase 3: The result of the subject.............................................................................................................. 6
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 7
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INTRODUCTION
English is a global language today, and the ability to communicate fluently in English is essential. In the future,
when students enter the workforce, good English communication skills are always required by employers.
One of the factors that contribute to good English communication is accurate pronunciation. However, for
most students, especially those who are not majoring in English, pronunciation is the biggest barrier to using
English in their daily lives and work. Having recognized this situation, we have done a project to help a non -
English majored student to enhance her English pronunciation.

Through the Phonetics and Phonology course, we have learned about articulation, pronunciation, and stress in
words and sentences. From that, we conducted research and implemented a project to improve the
pronunciation of a non – English student. She is a first-year student at the College of Foreign Economic
Relations and her major is Logistic. We had a short conversation with her to identify her errors, and then
proposed some methods to improve them. After more than one month of exchanging and applying these
methods, she was able to improve some basic pronunciation errors, and she became more confident in using
her English.

Our whole project will be divided into 3 phases:

Phase 1: Pronunciation problems

Phase 2: Propose the solutions to deal with pronunciation problems

Phase 3: The result of the subject

The following is a detailed report of our work on “Improving pronunciation skills for a non – English majored
student”
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CONTENT
Phase 1: Pronunciation problems
From short conversation, we have identified some basic pronunciation errors that she has made. There are five
errors that we want to improve for her:
• Lack of final sounds
• Lack of stress in the word
• Lack of stress in the sentences
• Mispronouncing certain sounds
• Adding sounds to words

This is the mistakes we have discovered:

• Lack of final sounds

Firstly, when she pronounced words, she did not pronounce the final sound of the word, or she pronounced
the final sound in a faint or unclear way. For example, she did not pronounce the /z/ sound in "days", the /z/
sound in "countries", the /t/ sound in "quite", the /z/ sound in "years", and the /t/ sound in "difficult". This is a
basic mistake that non-major students often make. The error of not pronouncing the final sound of a word can
make it difficult for listeners to understand the meaning of the word or sentence, such as misunderstanding
the meaning of the word, or even not understanding anything at all.

• Lack of stress in the word

Secondly, the next mistake is lack of word stress. In some words, she didn’t have word stress or wrong stress.
For example, the word “ restricted ”, she stressed on the first syllable instead of the second one. Some words
“economically” and “evident” she didn’t stress, so the whole speech was quite blunt. Besides, wrong or miss
word stress can decrease the effectiveness in communication. Therefore, it is quite essential to fix this error.

• Lack of stress in the sentences

The third mistake is lack of stress in the sentences. In the sentence “ This trend is not restricted to rich students
who have the money to travel, but is also evident among poorer students who choose to work and become
economically independent for a period of time”. We have the word “ but ” emphasize the contrast of two
clauses, so she should stress strongly on the word “but”, and the other contrasted pair: rich and poorer. The
stress in the sentence will help the speaker to express their opinions clearly and persuasively. So, whenever
she speaks, she should pay attention to emphasize the words in a sentence.
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• Mispronouncing certain sounds

She was mispronouncing certain sounds. She produced sounds incorrectly, for example, she said “greiduating”
instead of “graduating”, “inpendent” instead of “independent”, “plisure” instead of “pleasure”, “neet” instead
of “need”. Sometimes, she replaced one sound with another such as “nors” instead of “not”, “rick” instead of
“rich”, “evenden” instead of “evident”, “trivel” instead of “travel”, “piarot” instead of “period”. This problem
is often encountered by non-specialist students because they are unaware of the correct position and
movements of the tongue and the lips.

• Adding sounds to words

Finally, she has a mistake that many people are facing, it is adding the /s/ sound. For example, she said “My
majors is” instead of “My major is”, “because its is” instead of “because it is”, “who choose to s works and”
instead of “who choose to work and”, “I am readies to join” instead of “I am ready to join”. If she keeps
making this mistake, she will feel very tired of having to pronounce the fricatives constantly. Sometimes,
adding the sounds can make the listener understand the wrong meaning of the talk.

Here is the paragraph she has read:

“ It is quite common these days for young people in many countries to have a break from studying after
graduating from high school. This trend is not restricted to rich students who have the money to travel, but is
also evident among poorer students who choose to work and become economically independent for a period
of time. ”

Some possible explanation for having these pronunciation issues:

There are some reasons that lead to these mistakes.
Firstly, she lacks practice. Maybe, she does not have enough time to practice regularly. This could be due
to living in a rural area with limited social communication with english, studying from home that does not
require frequent communication in english with others. The lack of practice in the long run can result in poorer
communicating in English.
Secondly, she is influenced of native language. For non-native speakers, the pronunciation of English
may be influenced by her native language, and that’s why she often pronounces instinctively. Vietnamese
people tend to pronounce the word according to Vietnamese, and for the words she did not know, she
pronounced similar to the Vietnamese pronunciation.
Thirdly, she lacks awareness of making mistakes. She may simply be unaware that she is omitting final
consonant sounds, as she has not received proper pronunciation training or feedback. When she does not
realize the errors she has made, she cannot improve it or correct it in a right way.
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Another reason for these issues is fear of judgement. The fear of being judged or ridiculed for
pronunciation mistakes can create anxiety and hinder a learner's willingness to practice and improve. This
psychological barrier may lead to avoidance of spoken English, exacerbating pronunciation challenges.

Finally, she focuses on grammar and vocabulary, but neglects pronunciation and stress. She may not be
aware that she was adding sounds to words. This might be because she had not received feedback on her
pronunciation, or because she was not familiar with the correct pronunciation of the words. This is because in
Viet Nam, studying English concentrate more on grammar and writing. Most of the curriculum of English do
not focus too much on speaking and listening. And she just studied grammar, vocabularies to take the
examination, forget the pronunciation.
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Phase 2: Propose the solutions to deal with pronunciation problems

Our plan for improving pronunciation for this non-English majored student includes:
25/10/2023: We had a short conversation with her. From the conversation, we identified the mistakes she had
made.

1/11/2023: We identified and corrected 3 mistakes for her: + Lack of final sounds

+ Lack of stress in the word

+ Lack of stress in the sentences

10/11/2023: We pointed out and corrected 2 mistakes for her: + Mispronouncing certain sounds

+ Adding sounds to words

20/11/2023: Propose the solutions and some tips to improve the pronunciation.
30/11/2023: Compared to the beginning, she has progressed.
Some solutions to deal with pronunciation problems:
+ Listen with short English clips or videos:
This is the first step in improving her speaking skills - working on listening. Listening to English has several
benefits – it allows her to pick up new words, phrases, and ways to respond in conversations. Secondly,
listening provides opportunities to understand pronunciation, how some words are omitted when speaking,
how some are joined together, the rhythm, the intonation, and the sounds of language. We have recommended
some channels for her such as: TED Talk, VOA learning English,… and encourage her watch some movies
in English.
+ Record herself speaking:
After playing the audio, repeat the words and conversations exactly as she heard. Pay special attention to the
intonation, stress, and rhythm of language. Recording will provide her an opportunity to listen to herself and
self-correct. This is an important step. Do not skip this step. We also suggest to her some applications that can
help her, it is Cake and Elsa Speak. These applications allow her to listen to her pronunciation, and have the
lessons to practice day by day.
+ Find people to talk to or practice in front of a mirror:
Practicing speaking in front of a mirror will help her avoid embarrassment when communicating in front of a
crowd. To be more effective, take note of the words she is not confident in saying, stand in front of a mirror
and review her mouth shape when pronouncing, then imitate a native speaker's mouth shape. This not only
helps she build confidence but also helps she improve her English pronunciation extremely quickly. By this
way, she can also increase her confidence, and speak more fluently.
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Phase 3: The result of the subject

The improvement in speaking after a person has been corrected on pronunciation mistakes can vary depending
on several factors, but generally, we can see some positive changes.

Firstly, she has reduced errors. With consistent correction, she becomes more aware of their pronunciation
errors and learns to avoid them, leading to more accurate pronunciation.

Secondly, she has improved the clarity. Having a clear pronunciation ensures listeners understand the speaker
better. She reduces misunderstandings and fostering smoother communication.

Another improvement is increasing the confidence. When she feels more confident in her pronunciation, she
becomes more fluent and less hesitant in her speech. She has been a person that hesitate to communicate in
English before. However, she is more confident now and ready to speak in English.

Finally, she has a smooth rhythm than before. She has a smoother transition between sounds, resulting in a
more natural and rhythmic speaking style. If she practices frequently, she can communicate in English better.

Correcting pronunciation mistakes can significantly improve a person's speaking skills. Through over a month,
she has accompanied with us and has been corrected the mistakes. She also said that these mistakes she has
not known before. After this project, she feels it is vital to pronounce English correctly and she is happy for
better pronunciation.

In this project, we have faced with some difficulties. The time is quite short, and sometimes we could not
agree the time to have the meeting. Besides, we are just English linguistic students, we still lack of skills and
knowledge. However, we have tried our best to help her with the pronunciation problems. She has progressed
and we are happy for that.

Embarking on the journey of executing this project has been a valuable learning experience, providing us with
a wealth of insights and lessons that extend beyond the project's scope. One of the primary takeaways is the
age-old adage: "Practice makes perfect." This timeless wisdom underscores the significance of consistent
effort and dedication in achieving excellence. We discovered the importance of patience and the understanding
that results often require time to manifest. Moreover, this undertaking has served as a mirror, reflecting our
team's collective and individual shortcomings. We recognize the importance of honing not only our technical
skills but also our soft skills, teamwork, and communication. By acknowledging these areas for growth, we
are positioning ourselves to be more resilient, adaptable, and effective in future endeavors.
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CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the journey of improving pronunciation for non-English majored students is a multifaceted
and rewarding endeavor. In this essay, the challenges faced by individuals in mastering pronunciation skills
are varied, ranging from linguistic differences to cultural nuances. However, the significance of effective
communication in today's globalized world cannot be overstated, making the enhancement of pronunciation
skills a crucial aspect of language acquisition.

Through the process of identification and modification, it becomes evident that having feedback is necessary
for improvement. Integrating technological tools, interactive practices, and personalized feedback can create
a dynamic learning environment. This project has been beneficial for both the subject and the projectors. The
execution of this project has been a multifaceted learning experience. It has instilled in us the virtues of
patience, the understanding that progress is a gradual journey, and the necessity of continuous self-
improvement. Armed with these lessons, we are better equipped to face future challenges, and we eagerly
anticipate the opportunities for growth that lie ahead on our collective and individual paths.

In essence, the journey to improve pronunciation is a continuous process that demands dedication,
perseverance, and an open-minded approach. By acknowledging the importance of this endeavor and
embracing a diverse range of methodologies, this non-English majored student can unlock the door to more
meaningful and impactful communication, enriching her language skills. As we navigate the ever-evolving
landscape of global communication, the commitment to refining pronunciation stands as a testament to the
enduring pursuit of linguistic excellence.