VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT
TRẦN THỊ HẢI LÝ

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
COMPUTER ASSISTED PRONUNCIATION TRAINING
IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ PRONUNCIATION: THE
CASE OF ENGLISH VOWEL /æ / PRONOUNCED BY
NON-ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS IN BANKING
ACADEMY.

(Nghiên cứu hiệu quả của phương pháp sử dụng phần mềm
luyện ngữ âm trong việc nâng cao khả năng phát âm của
sinh viên. Điển cứu âm vị tiếng Anh / æ/ đối với sinh viên
không chuyên tại Học viện Ngân hàng) M.A THESIS

Field: English Linguistics

luyện ngữ âm trong việc nâng cao khả năng phát âm của
sinh viên. Điển cứu âm vị tiếng Anh / æ/ đối với sinh viên
không chuyên tại Học viện Ngân hàng)

M.A THESIS
Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60.22.15
Supervisor: Do Tuan Minh, PhD.

HANOI - 2009 iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
DECLARATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
i
ii
ABSTRACT
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

6
1.1.2. What should be taught?
7
1.1.3. How can EFL pronunciation be taught?
9
1.2. Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
14
1.2.1. Definition of CALL
14
1.2.2. History of CALL
14
1.2.3. CALL methodology
15
1.2.4. Benefits of computer assisted learning and teaching
17
1.2.5. Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT)
18
1.2.5.1 The features of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training
19
1.2.5.2. Ten suggestions for improving CAPT pedagogy
21
1.2.5.3. Selecting computer software for learning English pronunciation
22
1.2.5.4. Feedback in EFL and Feedback in CALL
23
1.3. English vowels
25
1.3.1. Vowels
25
1.3.2. Features of English vowels

42
2.2.1.3. Data collection instruments
44
2.2.1.4. Method of data analysis
56
2.2.1.5. Limitation of the paper
61
2.2.2. Data analysis
61
2.2.2.1 Current English ability and knowledge of English pronunciation of
non-major-first-year students in Banking Academy
61
2.2.2.2. Situation of teaching and learning English pronunciation in
Banking Academy
66
2.2.2.3. Feasibility and suggestions for the use of CAPT in teaching and
learning English pronunciation in Banking Academy
73
2.2.2.4. The effectiveness of CAPT in helping students improve their
pronunciation
75
2.2.3. Findings
83
2.2.4. Implications
84
CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS
86
3.1. For the administrators
86
3. 2. For teachers


LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 – Average F1 and F2 of RP pure vowels.
Table 2 – Summary of participants’ background information in the experiment
Table 3 – Respondents’ suggestions for pronunciation-teaching in Banking Academy

viii
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 - Vowel chart
Figure 2 - F1/F2 value based on data from Ladefoged (2006)
Figure 3 - The pronunciation of /æ/ by Japanese learner of English
Figure 4 – the pronunciation of /æ/ by a native speaker of English
Figure 5 – Summary of the experimental design
Figure 6 – Students’ length of English – studying time
Figure 7 – Reasons for students’ lack of confidence when speaking English
Figure 8 – Reasons for students’ lack of confidence when speaking English (from teachers’
perspective)
Figure 9 – Aspects of pronunciation that students had got knowledge of
Figure 10 – Students’ learning methods
Figure 11 – Time spent on pronunciation teaching in class
Figure 12 – Students’ opinions on materials used in pronunciation teaching
Figure 13 – Students’ opinions on pronunciation-teaching methods
Figure 14 – Teachers’ opinions on pronunciation-teaching methods
Figure 15 – Students’ opinions on the efficiency of pronunciation-teaching methods
Figure 16 – Difficulties that teachers encountered in their pronunciation teaching process
Figure 17 – Teachers’ opinion on possible advantages CAPT
Figure 18 – Teacher’s opinion on possible disadvantages of CAPT
Figure 19 – Experimental results of subject 1

although English has become more disseminated globally and the importance of
pedagogies for English has increased, pronunciation teaching is still not given enough
attention, especially in English education in Asian countries where English is not used on a
daily basis and learners cannot have regular access to real-life communication with native
speakers of English (NS).
There are several plausible reasons for this situation. On the one hand, some
misconceptions about the possibility of successfully teaching L2 pronunciation have made
research on this field less attractive than, for instance, research on grammar or vocabulary
acquisition. As a result, few empirical studies are available on pronunciation training and clear
pedagogical guidelines that could be used by language educators are still lacking. On the
other hand, when designing a pronunciation-training programme, one has to reckon with
practical constraints. For the student, learning pronunciation ideally requires prolonged 2

supervised practice and interaction with native speakers. For the teacher, it ideally implies
intensive interaction with the student and the provision of feedback on individual
problems. These tasks are extremely time-consuming and difficult to implement in class-
based settings.
Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) seems to offer a solution to the
problem of practical constrains. CAPT systems allow students to access virtually
unlimited and realistic L2 input through different channels, to practise individually as
often as they wish, and to enjoy unlimited patience from the tutor. Moreover, through
the integration of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology, these systems can
provide individualized feedback automatically and instantaneously. It is not surprising,
then, that a wealth of CAPT systems has been developed, most of which are already available
on the market.
Despite the popularity of CAPT systems, however, not only Vietnamese students but
also Vietnamese teachers of English are not fully aware of the availability and effectiveness of

problem among non-English major students. Therefore, I decide to conduct research on: ―The
effectiveness of Computer Assisted Pronunciation Training (CAPT) in improving students’
pronunciation. The case of vowel /æ/ and non-English-major students in Banking
Academy”.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
The aim of the study is to examine the situation of learning and teaching English
pronunciation in Banking Academy; the efficiency of CAPT in facilitating Banking
Academy’s learners’ segmental pronunciation of the target language as well as to provide
some practical suggestions to the administrators and English teachers in Banking Academy.
It targets the low front vowel /æ/ that exists in English, but not in Vietnamese, and is among
several sounds that are problematic for Vietnamese learners of English.
The study hopes to make a modest contribution to an increased understanding of
CAPT and segmental pronunciation in the context of Vietnamese learners of English. It is also
expected to be useful for any teacher who has intention to utilize CAPT to enhance students‘
English pronunciation.
3. Significance of the study
As a prestigious training and research institute in Vietnam, Banking Academy has for
long realized its mission of training excellent cadres in Banking, Finance and Economics-
related fields, who not only possess good professional knowledge but also excellent English
communicative skills in order to handle demanding tasks in the economic globalization.
However, with students of low English level in large classes, and serious lack of time in class, 4

it is nearly impossible for English lecturers in Banking Academy to help their students
improve their speaking skill, and more specifically, their pronunciation.
The present study presents a research-based experiment that examines the effectiveness
of CAPT programs in helping students in Banking Academy enhance their segmental
pronunciation. Therefore, it is expected to offer a valuable guidance for English teachers in

improve their pronunciation of /æ/ sound?
6. Methods of the study
To carry out this study, books and internet are two main sources for reference. The
background knowledge is collected from various books and websites, then analyzed and put
together systematically.
A practical work is done to conduct the study. Data are mainly collected from
classroom observation, questionnaires for both teachers and students at Banking Academy and
an experiment in which the effectiveness of CAPT is evaluated. This data instruments give
persuasive data and appropriate assumption of real situation of teaching and learning English
pronunciation in Banking Academy as well as the efficiency of CAPT in improving students‘
pronunciation.
7. An overview of the rest of the paper:
The study consists of five parts:
- The introduction includes some brief information about the rationale for the study, the
aims and objectives of the study, the scope, research questions, the methods as well as
the design of the study.
- Chapter I deals with the literature review of pronunciation teaching and learning,
features of English vowels, the vowel /æ/ and CAPT as well as its effectiveness in
enhancing students‘ pronunciation.
- Chapter II presents the subjects, instruments, procedures, data presentation, data analysis
and interpretation of findings of the study
- Chapter III provides some pedagogical suggestions on how to use CAPT in learning and
teaching English pronunciation in Banking Academy.
The final part is the conclusion and summary of the whole study, followed by references and
appendices. 6

CHAPTER I. LITERATURE REVIEW


7

production is affected by speech perception, and stresses the need of pronunciation in both
listening and speaking. Wong (1987) points out that even when the non-native speakers‘
vocabulary and grammar are excellent, if their pronunciation falls below a certain threshold
level, they are unable to communicate efficiently and effectively. Tench (1981:1) rightly
maintains pronunciation is not an optional extra for the language learner, any more than
grammar, vocabulary or any other aspect of language is. If a learner‘s general aim is to talk
intelligibly to others in another language, a reasonable pronunciation is important.
Varonis and Gass (1982) examine the factors affecting listening comprehension in
native speakers of English exposed to L2 accents, and conclude that grammar and
pronunciation interact to influence intelligibility.
Moreover, Wong (1993) argues that the importance of pronunciation is even more
distinct when the connection between pronunciation and listening comprehension is taken into
account. Wong (1993) also demonstrates that a lack of knowledge of pronunciation could even
affect learners‘ reading and spelling. According to Baker (1992), pronunciation is very
important and learners should pay close attention to pronunciation as early as possible.
Otherwise, the result will be that advanced learners find that they can improve all aspects of
their proficiency in English except their pronunciation, and mistakes which have been
repeated for years are impossible to eradicate. Scarcella and Oxford (1994) similarly postulate
that pronunciation should be taught in all second (/foreign) language classes through a variety
of activities. With the emphasis on meaningful communication and Morley‘s (1991: 488)
premise, that ‗intelligible pronunciation is an essential component of communication
competence‘, teachers should include pronunciation in their courses and expect their learners
to do well in them.
Therefore, we should countenance what Morley (1991) puts forward: The question is
not whether pronunciation should be taught, but instead what should be taught in a
pronunciation class and how it should be taught.
1.1.2. What should be taught?

Influenced by both the strands stated above, I am in favour of both a dominant native-
speaker ascent, such as BBC English or standard American accent and an intelligible accent,
but in a practical, convenient and useful manner. I, of course, advocate an intelligible accent;
but to acquire that the learner has to be exposed to appropriate and adequate input being
constituted of a standard or dominant accent. However, the ultimate target of both the teaching
and the learning of EFL pronunciation would be an intelligible accent.
The aspects, components or features of EFL pronunciation 9

EFL pronunciation teaching should cover both the segmentals and the suprasegmentals as
well as the training of the speech organs, such as lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, palate, tongue,
vocal folds, ears, etc.
The segmentals embody vowel and consonant sounds, preferably phonemes, as well as
syllables. A phoneme is a set of similar sounds showing meaning differences or differentiating
between words. And a syllable consists of a vowel as a compulsory element and one or more
consonants at the onset and/or in the termination as optional elements, which is pronounced
with a single contraction of the lungs. The English language has twenty vowel phonemes
(twelve monophthongs and eight diphthongs) and twenty four consonant phonemes. While the
vowels are articulated without any obstacle in the vocal tract, the consonants are produced
with some blockage of the air passage. The treatment of the segmentals basically includes
sound contrast in words, pronunciation of vowel and consonant phonemes. The phonemes
which are not available in the learner‘s mother tongue and problematic to him/her should
receive special treatment in the teaching material and methodology and sufficient room in the
learner‘s practice.
The suprasegmentals are comprised of stress in words and connected speech, rhythm,
pitch, loudness, length, quality, tone and intonation that play an essential and natural role in
English speech production and perception. As Vietnamese is syllable- timed language in
which the rhythm appears to be fairly even, whereas English is stress timed, Vietnamese

suprasegmentals features are in place, the necessary segmental discriminations will follow
accordingly. The bottom-up approach and the top-down approach respectively correspond to
the traditional approach and the research-based approach propounded by Scarcella and Oxford
(1994). While the traditional approach is concerned with isolated sounds and native like
pronunciation, the research-based approach deals with suprasegmental features and targets at
communication.
According to Celce-Murcia (2001), the top-down approach, in which suprasegmental
aspects of pronunciation are addressed first, has been the main trend in pronunciation
teaching. Levis (2005) shows that, over the past 25 years, segmental pedagogy has not been
considered critical unless speech is very unclear. However, Levis (2005) claims that the
mainstream emphasis on suprasegmental aspects is not entirely valid because it is not based on
sound research, and he points out that a segmental focus makes a more important contribution
to intelligibility.
It can be readily argued that one must understand the segmental in order to be able to
understand the suprasegmental fully. Considering communicative significance, phoneme
awareness should be prioritized. For instance, if speakers mispronounce the suprasegmental
parts, listeners can at least guess the content of the message. However, communication totally 11

fails if speakers do not differentiate certain sounds in minimal pairs in English such as sea or
she (/s/ and /sh/), rock or lock (/r/ and /l/), and fold or hold (/f/ and /h/)—those combinations
are very common problems among Vietnamese learners of English.
From my perspective, I agree with Witt and Young‘s (1998) argument that
pronunciation quality is based on both phonetic and prosodic features. They believe that for
beginners, phonetic characteristics are of greater importance because these cause
mispronunciations. But they stressed that as learners‘ fluency increases, more emphasis should
be given to teaching prosody, i.e., intonation, stress and rhythm (p. 26)
As revealed from the survey conducted among first-year students in Banking

extent.
b. Explanation: Explanation of how to produce sounds or use pronunciation patterns
appropriately should be kept to a minimum through directions about what to do with the vocal
organs can help some young and adult EFL learners in some circumstances.
c. Communication activities: The teacher can design communicative tasks, such as dialogues
or mini-conversations for both young and adult EFL learners according to their linguistic level
to practise particular sounds, especially those which are not available in their mother tongue,
for example, /æ, , / in case of Vietnamese learners. Besides, the learner can be taught some
useful communication strategies, such as retrieval strategies, rehearsal strategies, cover
strategies which will help him/her give the impression that his/her pronunciation is better than
it really is (Oxford, 2000).
d. Written versions of oral presentations: At the more advanced levels, learners can be given
strategies for analyzing the written versions of their oral presentations. This helps them detect,
identify and correct errors or mistakes committed in their oral presentations.
e. Modelling and individual correction: In this technique, the teacher reports the results of
analyses of learner speech sample individually. The young or adult learner gets feedback from
the analyses and stop repeating previous errors or mistakes.
f. Incorporation of novel elements: The instructor can add novel pronunciation elements, such
as sounds, stress placement, tones to the old ones with the use of directions. This helps both
the young and the adult learner get his/her EFL pronunciation further improved.
g. Tutorial sessions and self-study: Tutorial sessions commence with a diagnostic analysis of
each learner‘s spoken English, and an individualized programme is designed for each learner.
This technique can be used for both young and adult learners.
h. Self-monitoring and self-correction: Self-monitoring is the conscious action of listening to
one‘s own speech in order to find out errors and mistakes. This action is followed by self-13

correction standing for the process of fixing one‘s errors and mistakes after they have occurred
14

1.2. Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
1.2.1. Definition of CALL
Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is often perceived, somewhat
narrowly, as an approach to language teaching and learning in which the computer is used as
an aid to the presentation, reinforcement and assessment of material to be learned, usually
including a substantial interactive element (from Wikipedia.org). Levy (1997:1) defines
CALL more succinctly and more broadly as "the search for and study of applications of the
computer in language teaching and learning". Levy's definition is in line with the view held by
the majority of modern CALL practitioners.
1.2.2. History of CALL
Although computers have been used since the first half of the 20th century, they were
not used for educational purposes until the 1960s. The 1970s witnessed the evolution of CALL
as a result of development in research related to the use of computers for linguistic purposes
and for creating suitable language learning conditions. In America the computer-based
introductory courses in the 1960s were pioneering projects in CALL, and were referred to as
computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) The 1980s have witnessed the spread of computers both
in educational institutions and in people's homes. Since the beginning of the '80s computers
have also found their way into many schools. CALL software has also become more readily
available on the market (Ittelson: 2000).
The emergence of inexpensive computer technology and mass storage media,
including optical videodiscs and compact disks, has given instructional technologists better
tools to work with. Compact disks are used to store large amounts of data, such as
encyclopedias or motion pictures. In CALL centers with computers and software such as CD-
ROM, CD-I, or videodiscs, a student who is interested in a particular topic can first scan an
electronic encyclopedia, then view a film on the subject or look at related topics at the reach of
a button. Thus, such learning centers present students with the advantages of reference

By the 1990s communicative CALL began to be criticized. New second language
acquisition theories and socio-cognitive views influenced many teachers and lead them to use
more social and learner-centered methods. This time, emphasis was put on language use in
authentic social contexts. Task-based, project-based and content-based approaches all sought
to integrate learners in authentic environments, and also to integrate the various skills of
language learning and use. In integrative approaches, students are enabled to use a variety of
technological tools as an ongoing process of language learning and use rather than visiting the
computer lab once a week basis for isolated exercises.
1.2.3. CALL methodology 16

Computers are not very good at teaching themselves. How effective computers are in
the language classroom depends on the way the teacher and students use them. Computers
allow the user to carry out tasks which are impossible in other media such as providing
feedback automatically on certain kinds of exercises or editing a piece of writing by deleting,
moving and inserting text. Students can do some exercises on their own and have them marked
by the computer. Multiple-choice and total deletion programs provide examples of this.
Students can carry out exploratory work which is not assessed by the computer but which
allows them to see the results of their decisions. Hardisty & Windeatt (1989) say that the
examples of this can be seen in word-processing, spreadsheet and simulation programs.
Again they argue that students should have an opportunity to discuss with the teacher
the activities they have done on the computer, otherwise they cannot learn effectively from
them.
With regards to the role of teacher in CALL, a review of the CALL literature identifies
two prevalent positions concerning the role of the teacher: the traditional position and the
progressive view. The traditional position is that the teacher is and will remain indispensable
and that the teacher is the ultimate arbiter regarding the place of the computer in language
learning. The traditional position sees the computer as a mere adjunct to the teacher‘s role,

own needs.
1.2.4.3. A compatible learning style
Students have different style of learning, and an incompatible style for students will
cause serious conflicts to them. Computer can provide an exciting ―fast‖ drill for one student
and ―slow‖ for another.
1.2.4.4. Optimal use of learning time
The time flexibility of using computer enables students to choose appropriate timing
for learning. Winter (1997) in Kiliçkaya (2007) stressed the importance of flexible learning,
learning anywhere, anytime, anyhow, and anything you want, which is very true for the web-
based instruction and CALL. Learners are given a chance to study and review the materials as
many times they want without limited time.
1.2.4.5. Immediate feedback
Students receive maximum benefit from feedback only if it is given immediately. A
delayed positive feedback will reduce the encouragement and reinforcement, and a delayed
negative feedback affect the crucial knowledge a student must master. Computer can give
instant feedback and help the students ward off his misconception at the very first stage.
Brown (1997) listed the advantages of CALL as giving immediate feedback, allowing students
at their own pace, and causing less frustration among students. 18

1.2.4.6. Error analysis
Computer database can be used by teacher to classify and differentiate the type of
general error and error on account of the influence of the first language. A computer can
analyze the specific mistakes that students made and can react in different way from the usual
teacher, which make students able to make self-correction and understand the principle behind
the correct solution.
1.2.4.7. Guided and repetitive practice
Students have freedom of expression within certain bounds that programmers create,