An investigation into English intonation of English major students at Khanh Hoa University

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH INTONATION OF

ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT KHANH HOA UNIVERSITY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL

Submitted by TRAN THI KIM NGAN

Supervisor: Nguyen Thuy Nga (PhD.)

HO CHI MINH City

November 2015

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that the thesis entitled “An Investigation into English Intonation of English

Major Students at Khanh Hoa University” is my own work.

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain

material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I

have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

No other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of

the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other

tertiary institution.

Ho Chi Minh City, November 2015

Tran Thi Kim Ngan

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest attitude to the people who have helped me so

much for the completion of this thesis.

First and foremost, I wish to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Ms.

Nguyen Thuy Nga (PhD.). Her patient guidance, helpful advice, and great encouragement

do make a significant contribution to the accomplishment of my research. I would also

like to show my special thanks to the study consultant, Mr. Pham Vu Phi Ho (PhD.), for

his consultation and support during the course.

I also feel thankful for the students at Khanh Hoa University for their contribution

as willing participants. Besides, my sincere thanks go to two native English speakers,

John Vo and Carl Adams, for their assistance as evaluators in my thesis. Last but not

least, I am genuinely grateful to my family, friends, and colleagues for their enormous

support and encouragement in the time I conducted the thesis.

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ABSTRACT

English intonation has been taught to English majors for years in Khanh Hoa

University. However, the fact is that the students have to struggle hard to perceive and

produce correct intonation when listening and speaking English. Therefore, this study,

which was designed as a case study following the qualitative descriptive approach, aimed

at examining the students‟ perception and production of English intonation. Twelve first

year English majors did a perception test and a production test of English intonation. Two

native speakers acting as judges and the software Praat were involved in the process of

analyzing the data collected. The students‟ performance was examined following the

framework of the tone unit – tonic syllable – tone pattern.

The results show that the participants had both strengths and weaknesses in

perceiving and producing English intonation. In terms of perception, they could perceive

correctly tone unit boundaries, tonic syllables on function words and the tones in most of

the sentence types. However, they were not good at perceiving the meaning changes

caused by changes of tone unit locations. Besides, they failed to perceive tonic syllables

showing emphasis and the tone pattern in Wh-questions. In terms of production, the

students could distribute tone units in utterances quite well. Moreover, they could put

stress on important words in utterances and produce appropriate tones in several sentence

types. Nevertheless, the students were not acquainted with distributing tone units in long

sentences and often added excessive tone units without considering the meaningfulness.

Furthermore, they tended to produce less sentence stress, putting stress on incorrect

syllables, and failing to produce tonic syllables contrasting information. Finally, they did

not assign correct tones in tag questions and lists, neither did they have stable production

of tone patterns in Wh-questions and Yes-No questions.

The study also suggests practical recommendations to the Foreign Language

Department, teachers, students and on teaching materials are provided. It is hoped that

these suggestions could help tackle the weaknesses, and in the long term helped improve

the students‟ English intonation.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................................................................. i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................................ ii

ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................... iv

LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................................... ix

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ x

LIST OF SYMBOLS ..................................................................................................................... xi

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background of the study ........................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Statement of the problem.......................................................................................................... 3

1.3 Aims of the study...................................................................................................................... 4

1.4 Research questions.................................................................................................................... 4

1.5 Significance of the study........................................................................................................... 5

1.6 Organization of the study.......................................................................................................... 5

1.7 Definitions of key words........................................................................................................... 6

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 7

2.1 Definitions of intonation........................................................................................................... 7

2.2 The importance of intonation in communication...................................................................... 8

2.3 Functions of intonation ............................................................................................................. 9

2.4 The system of intonation......................................................................................................... 11

2.4.1 The tone unit..................................................................................................................... 11

2.4.2 The tonic syllable ............................................................................................................. 12

2.4.2.1 Giving new information............................................................................................. 13

2.4.2.2 Emphasizing .............................................................................................................. 13

2.4.2.3 Contrasting................................................................................................................. 13

2.4.3 The tone pattern and its communicative values............................................................... 14

2.4.3.1 The falling tone / The fall (

)..................................................................................... 14

2.4.3.2 The rising tone / The rise (



)...................................................................................... 15

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2.4.3.3 The falling-rising tone / The fall-rise (

) ................................................................. 16

2.4.3.4 The rising-falling tone / The rise-fall (



) ................................................................. 16

2.4.3.5 The level tone ............................................................................................................ 17

2.4.3.6 Critique of the tone patterns to be investigated in the study ..................................... 17

2.4.4 The analytical framework of intonational system............................................................ 18

2.5 Intonation languages versus tone languages and the native language‟s influence on learning

intonation ...................................................................................................................................... 19

2.6 Previous studies on EFL students‟ perception and production of English intonation ............ 20

2.6.1 Common intonation features of EFL students.................................................................. 20

2.6.2 Intonation difficulties faced by EFL students whose mother tongues are tone languages

................................................................................................................................................... 22

2.6.2.1 Intonation difficulties of Vietnamese EFL learners .................................................. 22

2.6.2.2 Intonation difficulties of Chinese EFL learners ........................................................ 24

2.6.2.3 Intonation difficulties of Nigerian EFL learners ....................................................... 26

2.6.3 Implications for the present study .................................................................................... 28

2.7 The research model................................................................................................................. 29

2.8 Summary of chapter 2............................................................................................................. 30

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 31

3.1 Research design ...................................................................................................................... 31

3.2 Participants.............................................................................................................................. 32

3.2.1 Selecting participants for the pilot study.......................................................................... 32

3.2.2 Selecting participants for the formal study ...................................................................... 33

3.3 Data collection instruments..................................................................................................... 34

3.3.1 Designing of the tests....................................................................................................... 34

3.3.2 The perception test of English intonation ........................................................................ 35

3.3.2.1 The perception test – Part 1: The tone unit................................................................ 36

3.3.2.2 The perception test – Part 2: The tonic syllable ........................................................ 36

3.3.2.3 The perception test – Part 3: The tone pattern........................................................... 37

3.3.3 The production test of English intonation........................................................................ 37

3.3.3.1 The production test – Part 1: Read-aloud activity ..................................................... 38

3.3.3.2 The production test – Part 2: Spontaneous speech activity ....................................... 38

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3.4 Data collection procedure ....................................................................................................... 39

3.5 Data analysis........................................................................................................................... 40

3.5.1 Research question 1: How do English majors at Khanh Hoa University perceive English

intonation?................................................................................................................................. 40

3.5.2 Research question 2: How do English majors at Khanh Hoa University produce English

intonation?................................................................................................................................. 41

3.6 Summary of chapter 3............................................................................................................. 44

Chapter 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................ 45

4.1 Description of the participants................................................................................................ 45

4.2 Data analysis........................................................................................................................... 45

4.2.1 Research question 1: How do English majors at Khanh Hoa University perceive English

intonation?................................................................................................................................. 46

4.2.1.1 Students‟ perception of the tone unit......................................................................... 46

4.2.1.2 Students‟ perception of the tonic syllable.................................................................. 48

4.2.1.3 Students‟ perception of the tone pattern.................................................................... 51

4.2.2 Research question 2: How do English majors at Khanh Hoa University produce English

intonation?................................................................................................................................. 53

4.2.2.1 Students‟ production in Read-aloud activity ............................................................. 53

4.2.2.1.1 Students‟ production of the tone unit (Read-aloud activity)............................... 54

4.2.2.1.2 Students‟ production of the tonic syllable (Read-aloud activity) ....................... 57

4.2.2.1.3 Students‟ production of the tone pattern (Read-aloud activity).......................... 60

4.2.2.2. Students‟ production in Spontaneous speech activity .............................................. 62

4.2.2.2.1 Students‟ production of the tone unit (Spontaneous speech activity)................. 63

4.2.2.2.2 Students‟ production of the tonic syllable (Spontaneous speech activity) ......... 65

4.2.2.2.3 Students‟ production of the tone pattern (Spontaneous speech activity)............ 67

4.2.3 Summary of the findings.................................................................................................. 70

4.3 Discussion of the findings....................................................................................................... 72

4.3.1 Research question 1: How do English majors at Khanh Hoa University perceive English

intonation?................................................................................................................................. 72

4.3.1.1 Students‟ perception in terms of the tone unit........................................................... 72

4.3.1.2 Students‟ perception in terms of the tonic syllable.................................................... 73

4.3.1.3 Students‟ perception in terms of the tone pattern...................................................... 74

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4.3.2 Research question 2: How do English majors at Khanh Hoa University produce English

intonation?................................................................................................................................. 75

4.3.2.1 Students‟ production in terms of the tone unit .......................................................... 75

4.3.2.2 Students‟ production in terms of the tonic syllable ................................................... 76

4.3.2.3 Students‟ production in terms of the tone pattern...................................................... 78

4.3.3 Relationship between students‟ perception and production of English intonation .......... 79

4.4 Summary of chapter 4............................................................................................................. 81

Chapter 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................. 82

5.1. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 82

5.1.1 Conclusion to Research question 1 .................................................................................. 82

5.1.2 Conclusion to Research question 2 .................................................................................. 83

5.2 Pedagogical implications........................................................................................................ 84

5.3 Recommendations for the teaching and learning of English intonation ................................. 84

5.3.1 Recommendations to the Foreign Language Department................................................ 85

5.3.2 Recommendations to teachers.......................................................................................... 86

5.3.3 Recommendations on materials and resources................................................................. 87

5.3.4 Recommendations to students.......................................................................................... 89

5.3 Contribution of the study ........................................................................................................ 89

5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further research.................................................................... 91

5.5 Summary of chapter 5............................................................................................................. 91

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 93

APPENDIXES ............................................................................................................................ 100

Appendix 1.................................................................................................................................. 100

Appendix 2.................................................................................................................................. 103

Appendix 3.................................................................................................................................. 105

Appendix 4.................................................................................................................................. 109

Appendix 5.................................................................................................................................. 110

Appendix 6.................................................................................................................................. 111

Appendix 7.................................................................................................................................. 113

Appendix 8.................................................................................................................................. 114

Appendix 9.................................................................................................................................. 117

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Appendix 10................................................................................................................................ 118

Appendix 11................................................................................................................................ 119

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: The analytical framework of the current study............................................................ 18

Table 2.2: Intonation difficulties faced by EFL students whose native languages are tone

languages....................................................................................................................................... 27

Table 4.1: Description of the items in the perception test ............................................................ 46

Table 4.2: Students‟ answers in items I11, I13, and I16............................................................... 50

Table 4.3: Extracted sentences for analysis in the Read-aloud activity........................................ 54

Table 4.4: Three utterances for analysis of the tonic syllable....................................................... 58

Table 4.5: Summary of the students‟ performance on English intonation ................................... 72

Table 5.1: Pedagogical implications according to the weaknesses............................................... 84

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: The research model .................................................................................................... 29

Figure 4.1: Students‟ perception of the tone unit.......................................................................... 47

Figure 4.2: Students‟ perception of the tonic syllable .................................................................. 49

Figure 4.3: Students‟ perception of the tone pattern..................................................................... 51

Figure 4.6: F3‟s production of tone unit in U1 ............................................................................. 55

Figure 4.7: Students‟ production of the tone unit ......................................................................... 55

Figure 4.8: F1‟s inappropriate tone unit division ......................................................................... 56

Figure 4.9: Prominent syllables in tone units produced by students............................................. 57

Figure 4.10: Students‟ production of tonic syllable concerning three functions.......................... 58

Figure 4.11: Students‟ production of tone pattern ........................................................................ 60

Figure 4.12: Inappropriate tone choices in the list and tag question by F8 and F10 .................... 61

Figure 4.13: Inappropriate tone choices in the echo question and Yes-No question by F1 and F5

....................................................................................................................................................... 62

Figure 4.14: Inappropriate rise in Wh-question by M1 and in definite statement by F5.............. 62

Figure 4.15: Students‟ production of tone unit ............................................................................. 63

Figure 4.16: Inappropriate tone unit division by M1.................................................................... 64

Figure 4.17: Students‟ production of sentence stress.................................................................... 65

Figure 4.18: Students‟ production of tonic syllables giving new information ............................. 66

Figure 4.19: Incorrect stress of “seafood” by M2......................................................................... 67

Figure 4.20: Students‟ production of tone patterns....................................................................... 67

Figure 4.21: Students‟ inappropriate tone choices in the statement and Yes-No question........... 68

Figure 4.22: Inappropriate rise in tag question by F4................................................................... 69

Figure 4.23: Inappropriate tone choices in the Wh-question and lists by F2 and F1 ................... 69

Figure 4.24: Relationship between students‟ perception and their production............................. 80

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LIST OF SYMBOLS

Symbols1

:

a. Double vertical lines (| |): represent the tone-unit boundary;

b. Apostrophe ('): represents the stressed syllable in the tone unit;

c. Underlined syllable ('boring): represents the tonic syllable;

d. Small arrows (

): represents the tone patterns (

: the falling tone, 

: the

rising tone, 

: the falling-rising tone, 

: the rising-falling tone).

1 Adopted from Roach (2000)

1

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents an introduction to the current study. Firstly, it briefly

presents the history of English intonation teaching and learning to give readers a general

background. After that, it describes the situation at Khanh Hoa University where this

study was conducted and raises the problems. Finally, the chapter states the significance

of the study and outlines its organization.

1.1 Background of the study

The English language is a bridging language: it gives the ability for people to inter

communicate from different cultures. As a result, one can see the necessity to teach the

language. Nevertheless, throughout the history of English teaching and learning, there

was time when much concentration was specially put on the study of grammar,

vocabulary, speaking, and listening, neglecting pronunciation and in particular, intonation

(Dalton, 1997).

In fact, intonation plays a crucial role in effective communication. Firstly,

intonation is claimed to contribute significantly to the success of conversational

interaction. Indeed, Leech and Svartvik (1992) put that “effective communication in

speech depends to a great extent on intonation” (p. 10). Sole (1991) explains that

appropriate tone choices are more important for intelligibility than correct pronunciation

of isolated phonemes, and Mennen (2006) holds that poor intonational skills can frustrate

both listeners and speakers. Secondly, misuse or misinterpretation of intonation possibly

causes misunderstanding or failures in communication, and this happens more commonly

between native and non-native speakers. Harmer (2001) believes that “listeners

frequently get the wrong messages from intonation when foreign speakers use it in an

idiosyncratic way” (p. 29). For instance, when a foreign speaker always speaks with a

monotonous low pitch, listeners may think he is bored or uninterested whereas this is