Helping VN Learners with

English Pronunciation

1
2
Why teach pronunciation to VN Learners?
Because their mother tongue differentiates words by tone Vietnamese
find a language like English very difficult to learn (PJ Honey)
words are stored in working memory for only a few seconds (Walter,
2008)unless we focus students on the importance of accurate
pronunciation most of them will not be able to consciously invest their
attentional resources long and deeply enough to notice and learn L2
phonemes (G Conti)
Understanding pronunciation aids listening (decoding) & vice versa
it is common for students to feel uneasy
when they hear themselves speak with the rhythm of a second language
(L2)

3
Learner Problems - Sounds
/f/ // // /z/ // // // //
Specific problems:
/t/ // /tr/ for/ /
// for /d/ /z/
/s/ vs //
/g/ for /w/
/z/ for /r/ (N Vietnam)
Long vs short vowel sounds e.g. /i:/ vs //
Vowel sounds in general (more in VN! Eng is sound/tone blind)

P.J Honey Learner Enlgish 4

Learner problems - Words
Missing end consonants e.g. /t/, -s/-ed endings
Consonant clusters & omission of medial consonants e.g. whik (whisk)
Syllable stress
the schwa //
Sound/Spelling relationships in English i.e. saying it like its spelt
NB Be careful Do words always sound like their citation form in the
stream of speech?

5
Learner problems - Speech
Sentence Stress (Prominence)
Weak sounds & the schwa //
Reduced forms
Linking sounds (catenation, intrusive sounds, elision)
Intonation

6
Stages of a pronunciation lesson/stage
Being able to notice the feature
Reception &
Discrimination
For sounds, discriminating it amongst others

Understanding how to produce(mouth placement for sounds)

Modelling Understanding why (rules of thumb)

Controlled/isolated practice e.g. drills, minimal pair games

Production Freer/Less structured practice e.g. dialogues, rhymes

7
Activities - Sounds
Minimal pairs activities & games

8
Learner problems - Words

9
Learner problems - Speech
Drills
Back chaining
Drilling stressed sounds/words
Chants
Da-da language

10
Pron Tips
Always mark syllable stress
Drill, drill, drill

11
 http://www.phonemicchart.com/
Adrien Underhill Pron Workshop http://bit.ly/2ka2eM8
G. Conti Blog: The Language Gym http://bit.ly/2lbBElN

12