MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N02
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY

DOANH THI HONG CHUYEN

AN INVESTIGATION ON WORD STRESS ERRORS
COMMONLY MADE BY THE THIRD YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR
STUDENTS AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N02 AND
SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI HA ANH, M.A

HANOI, 2016


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs.
Nguyen Thi Ha Anh, M.A., for her valuable instructions, advice, suggestions,
as well as encouragement.
In addition, I would like to thank the teachers in the Foreign Language
Faculty for their helpful suggestions and comments. Furthermore, I would like
to acknowledge my gratitude towards the K39 English major students for their
participation in the test survey and recording.
And I would like to thank all my friends who always encourage and
support me to finish my thesis.
Lastly, I own a debt of gratitude to my family for their encouragement
and endless support.




DOANH THI HONG CHUYEN

NGUYEN THI HA ANH, M.A


TABLE OF CONTENT

PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
I. Rationales of the study ...................................................................................1
II. Research objectives .......................................................................................2
III. Research presupposition ..............................................................................2
IV. Research scope ............................................................................................2
V. Research methods .........................................................................................3
VI. Significance of the proposed research .........................................................3
VII. Organization of the research work .............................................................3

PART TWO
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
I.1. Literature review in brief .............................................................................5
I.2. Definition of pronunciation .........................................................................6
I.3. Aspects of pronunciation .............................................................................6
I.4. Factors that affect pronunciation learning ...................................................8
I.4.1. The native language ............................................................................8
I.4.2. The age factor ......................................................................................8
I.4.3. Amount of exposure ............................................................................8
I.4.4. Phonetic ability ....................................................................................9
I.4.5. Attitude and identity ............................................................................9

II.1.6. Data analysis procedures .........................................................................25
II.2. Recording ...................................................................................................26


II.2.1.Purpose of recording ................................................................................26
II.2.2. Population of recording ..........................................................................26
II.2.3. Construction of recording paper .............................................................26
II.2.4. Preparation of recording ..........................................................................26
II.2.4.1. Recording paper ..............................................................................26
II.2.4.2. Arrangement of the recording paper ...............................................26
II.2.5. Data analysis procedures .........................................................................27
II.3. Common errors in the placing English word stress and causes .................27
II.3.1. Results of the survey ...............................................................................27
II.3.2. Common errors in the placing English word stress and causes ..............29
II.3.2.1. Errors and causes in putting stress on three-syllable verbs ............29
II.3.2.2. Errors and causes in putting stress on the mixture of both two and
three-syllable words ......................................................................................30
II.3.2.3. Errors and causes in placing stress on the syllable of two-syllable
adjectives ......................................................................................................31
II.3.2.4. Errors and causes in putting stress on the mixture of three-syllable
words and more than three-syllable words ...................................................31
II.3.2.5. Errors and causes in placing stress on the syllable of two-syllable
nouns .............................................................................................................32
II.3.2.6. Errors and causes in putting stress on three-syllable and more than
three – syllables nouns ..................................................................................32
II.3.2.7. Errors and causes in distinguishing part of speech based on stress of
two-syllable words ........................................................................................32
II.3.2.8. Errors and causes in putting stress on three-syllable adjectives .....33
II.3.2.9. Errors and causes in placing stress on the syllable of two-syllable
verbs ..............................................................................................................33

required in many sectors such as educational sector, medical sector, private
sector, bank, transportation, etc. For students who are English learners, they can
build up a good career by having good English; therefore, it is very essential to
learn this language.
Vietnamese learners have met a lot of difficulties in learning English
especially the pronunciation of English words. To improve their speaking skill,
learners can focus on every aspect of pronunciation. One of the most effective
aspects that can change significantly a person’s pronunciation is stress.
In order to improve pronunciation, speakers must know the placement of
the word stress and sentence stress. It is very difficult for listeners to listen to
the words that are stressed incorrectly. Some words might be misunderstood
because they may have more than one meaning based on stress placement. In
addition, sentences are pronounced with wrong stress can bring different nuance
and meaning.
If students are good at speaking, this skill could support to listening
comprehension. The third year English major students at HPU2 have been
studying English for year as their major, but they still make mistakes in
pronouncing word stress. Additionally, observing the third year English major
students while they are studying Phonetic and Phonology, I see that they still
make mistakes in stress. Therefore, being aware of the problems and hoping to
help the third year English major students better in pronunciation, the topic
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named an investigation on word stress errors commonly made by the third year
English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N02 and some
suggested solutions was conducted.
II. REASERCH OBJECTIVES
The study aims to get the following targets:
1. To help the third year English major students at HPU2 be better at

1. Conducting test survey and analyzing the results
2. Recording the student’s voice and examining the pronunciation of stress
3. Proposing suggestions and solutions to the problems.
The causes of word stress errors were found by private talk and the
author own experience. After conducting test survey, the author saw that there
were lots of wrong answers, so a private talk was hold with 5 students to find
out the reason why they made mistakes. Besides, the author gained experience
when studied Phonetic and Phonology last year as the third year English major
student.
VI. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH
There had been a phenomenon: the third year English major students
have been studying English for years, but they still make mistakes in
pronouncing word stress. To solve this problem, the study was conducted. The
study brings some benefits for the third year English major students in order to
help them pronounce correctly word stress, better their speaking skill and they
can communicate effectively.
VII. ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH WORK
The research is divided into three main parts: Introduction, Development,
and Conclusion.

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Part one Introduction includes the rationales, research presupposition and
the aim of the study. In addition, it provides the scope, methodology, the
signification and the organization of the study.
In part two, there are two chapters. The first is theoretical background,
then common errors in pronunciation of English stress.
Part three Conclusion summaries the whole research and suggests some
solutions.

speech, consonants, vowels and glides, the rhythm of English speech, intonation
and in particular, predicting word stress.
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Throughout the book Teaching English Pronunciation, the author, Joanne
Kenworthy emphasizes on pronunciation and developed speaking skill. Part one
mentions the basic principles of teaching pronunciation, intelligibility and its
assessment, building awareness and concern for pronunciation, sound and
spelling, etc. Part two is about some problems encountered by speakers in some
countries and it suggests strategies in each case.
In general, they work on the theory of English word stress some of them
talk about errors in word level. However, they do not study deeply on common
errors and it is necessary to have a study on that problems. Therefore, I decide
to have a research on word stress errors commonly made by the third year
English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N02 and some
suggested solutions to help the students pronounce more effectively.
I.2. DEFINITION OF PRONUNCIATION
Pronunciation is the way a word or language is spoken or the manner in
which someone utters a word.
Pronunciation plays a very important role in communication for learners.
To communicate effectively they must speak clear and make themselves
understood. Sometimes simply using the right vocabulary and structure is not
enough.
I.3. ASPECTS OF PRONUNCIATION
 Combination of sound
Sounds can occur in groups sometimes. For example, two consonants
occur at the ends of the word “salt”; it is called a consonant cluster.
(Kenworthy, 1987)
 Linkage of sound

speaking; it also is the way people express their thoughts and purposes. In
addition, it helps identify grammatical structure, and it shows what information
is new in speaker’s utterance and what is known.
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I.4. FACTORS THAT AFFECT PRONUNCIATION LEARNING
I.4.1. The native language
The native language seems to be a minor factor which effects
pronunciation learning, but in fact, it is a very important one. Students from
different nationalities have various degrees of difficulty learning proper
pronunciation. The difficulty depends on how their native language is different
from English. Phonemes are different between 2 languages and the way the
mouth, teeth, and tongue used are also different. For example, there are some
differences between Vietnamese and English in term of phonetic. The
pronunciation of consonant “d” in English differs from Vietnamese. Moreover,
the “th” sound does not exist in the Vietnamese language.
I.4.2. The age factor
It is believed that if someone wants to learn the pronunciation of a second
language like a native speaker, he should start it as a child. The younger
students are, the easier it is for them to get accurate pronunciation. Adults still
tend to remain their mother-tongue accent when they pronounce other
languages.
I.4.3. Amount of exposure
Amount of exposure that learners receive is also affect learning English.
If the learners live in an English-speaking country for long time, the constant
exposure will affects pronunciation skill. They have more opportunities to listen
and use English then their English will be better. In contrast, if they do not live
in an English-speaking environment, there is no such advantage. However, this
is not always true in term of residency. Some people use other languages when

I.5.1. Basic concepts related to English syllables
Peter Roach presents that a syllable is a unit which consists of a vowel as
the centre and/or consonant(s) before and after it. A syllable can be part of a
word or it can coincide with a word.
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Consonants are the sounds in the production of which one articulator
moves towards another or two articulators comes together, obstructing the airstream can’t get out freely. For example: /m/, /p/, /k/, /v/, z/
According to Peter Roach (19983), “vowels are sounds in which there is
no obstruction to the flow of air as it pass from the larynx to the lip”.
Longer vowels tend to be longer than shorter vowels in similar context.
The symbols consist of one single vowel plus a length mark made of two dots.
They are different from short vowels not only in length but also in quality,
resulting from differences in tongue shapes and lip positions.
Long vowels: /iː/, /ɜː/, /aː/, /ɔː/, /uː/
Short vowels: /æ/, /e/, /ʌ/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/, /ɪ/, /ə/
(Roach, 1983)
The book Accurate English written by Rebecca M. Dauer (1992) says
stressed syllables sound louder, are usually longer, and have clear vowels and
stronger consonants. In a word said in isolation, stressed syllables are higher
pitched; in sentences, a pitching change (a change in melody from high to low
or low to high) often occurs on stressed syllables.
In addition, he also states unstressed syllables sound softer, are usually
shorter, and are frequently reduced or centralized. This means that the vowels
tend to become /ə/, /ɪ/, /ɚ/ or /ʊ/ and the consonants are weaker. The pitch does
not change direction on unstressed syllables.
I.5.2. Definition of English word stress
There are several definitions of English stress.


perception, first, the production of stress use more muscular energy than
unstressed syllables. Discussing the perception, there are four factors that make
a stressed syllable prominent: loudness, length, pitch and vowel quality.
The levels of English stress are presented by Peter Roach (1983) as three
levels: primary stress, secondary stress, and unstressed. Primary stress, the
strongest type, is marked by a small vertical line high up before the syllable it
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relates to. The next is secondary stress which is stronger than unstressed
syllables but weaker than primary stress. It is found in four or five-syllable
words and signed by a low mark. The third is unstressed which is the absence
of any recognizable amount of prominence.
I.5.4. Function of stress
Stress is extremely important in the process of learning pronunciation. It
is not appeared in all languages but English. Speaking with correct stress helps
the listeners understand deeply. Pronouncing with stress is exactly the way
native speaker communicate. Without stress, it is impossible to fully
comprehend the expression and implications that go with words. In English,
some words often make the confusion for the learners because of its
complication. For example, 2 words with the same spelling can be in two parts
of speech. And, in dialogue, it can be distinguished by stress only. The speaker
who is good at stress can speak more attractively.
I.5.5. Placement of stress
If we want to recognize the placement of stress word, we should consider
these following aspects:
- Word forms: Two syllables or more, complex words, derived words or
compound words…
- The parts of speech of the words: Nouns, verbs or adjectives…
- The numbers of syllables.


Heavy /ˈhɛvi/

The last syllable will be unstressed if it has /əʊ/. For examples:
Borrow /ˈbɒrəʊ/

Below /bɪˈləʊ/

Nouns require different rules: if the second syllable contains a short
vowel the stress will always come on the first syllable. Otherwise, it will be on
the second syllable.
Reason /ˈriːz(ə)n/

Money /ˈmʌni/

Balloon /bəˈluːn/

Delight /dɪˈlʌɪt/

Other two-syllable words such as adverbs and presuppositions seem to
behave like verbs and adjectives. In most two syllable words which are
preposition, the stress is on the second syllable. For examples:
Beyond /bɪˈjɒnd/

Before /bɪˈfɔː/

Aside /əˈsʌɪd/

Between /bɪˈtwiːn/


Potato /pəˈteɪtəʊ/

If the third syllable has a short vowel and the middle syllable has short
vowel too, and ends with mo more than one consonant, both of them are
unstressed. The stress is put on the first one. For examples:
Animal /ˈanɪm(ə)l/

Company /ˈkʌmp(ə)ni/

If a long vowel or a diphthong or it ends with more than one consonant
are appeared in the final syllable of a word, the first syllable will be stressed.
For examples:
Paradise /ˈparədʌɪs/

Photograph /ˈfəʊtəɡrɑːf/

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I.5.5.2.3. With adjective
Adjectives which have three or more than three syllables have the rules
of placing stress as three-syllable nouns and more than three-syllable nouns.
I.5.5.3. Complex words
Complex words have two major types: words are made from a basic stem
word with the addition of an affix, and compound words, which are made of
two independent English words.
I.5.5.3.1. Suffixes and prefixes
There are so many suffixes, so only a small of them which are common
and productive are mentioned here. If we examine English words with suffixes,
a similar tendency is revealed: suffixes are never stressed. Another tendency is

“-ful” wonder /ˈwʌndər/

wonderful /ˈwʌndərfl/

“-ing” amaze /əˈmeɪz/

amazing /əˈmeɪzɪŋ/

“-ish” devil /ˈdevl/

devilish /ˈdevəlɪʃ/

(For suffix “ish”, this is rule for adjectives; if verbs have more than one
consonant in stem, stress will be put on the syllable preceding “ish”)
“-like” bird /bɜːrd/

birdlike

“-less” power /ˈpaʊər/

powerless /ˈpaʊərləs/

“-ly” hurried /ˈhɜːrid/

hurriedly /ˈhɜːridli/

“-ment” punish /ˈpʌnɪʃ/

punishment /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/



“-ial” proverb /ˈprɑːvɜːrb/

proverbial /prəˈvɜːrbiəl/

“-ic” climate /ˈklaɪmət/

climatic /klaɪˈmætɪk/

“-ion” perfect /ˈpɜːrfɪkt/

perfection /pərˈfekʃn/

“-ious” injure /ˈɪndʒər/

injurious /ɪnˈdʒʊrəriəs/

“-ty” tranquil /ˈtræŋkwɪl/

tranquility /træŋˈkwɪləti/
(Roach, 1983)

 The suffixes “-ance” and “-ary”
If single-syllable stems consist of these suffixes, the stress is always
placed on the stem. If the stem has two syllables and the final of stem contains a
long vowel or diphthong or it ends with more than one consonant, that syllable
16


will be stressed. In contrast, the syllable immediately before the last one is