MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HUE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
------------

NGUYEN THI HONG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE APPLICATION
OF TEACHING PROBLEMATIC CONSONANTS
IN “ TIENG ANH 11” AT QUANG TRACH NO 3
HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH

MA THESIS IN EDUCATION

HUE, 2012


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HUE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
------------

NGUYEN THI HONG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE APPLICATION
OF TEACHING PROBLEMATIC CONSONANTS
IN “ TIENG ANH 11” AT QUANG TRACH NO 3
HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH

FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE: 60.14.10

MA THESIS IN EDUCATION

SUPERVISOR: D.r NGŨ THIỆN HÙNG

HUE, 2012


BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
----------

NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG

KHẢO SÁT VIỆC ÁP DỤNG DẠY CÁC PHỤ ÂM VÀ
CHUỖI PHỤ ÂM TIẾNG ANH KHÓ TRONG SÁCH
GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH 11 Ở TRƯỜNG THPT
SỐ 3 QUẢNG TRẠCH, TỈNH QUẢNG BÌNH

CHUYÊN NGÀNH: LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC
MÔN TIẾNG ANH
MÃ SỐ: 60.14.10

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SỸ GIÁO DỤC
NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC
TS. NGŨ THIỆN HÙNG

HUẾ, 2012



STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I hereby acknowledge that this thesis entitled “AN INVESTIGATION INTO
THE APPLICATION OF TEACHING PROBLEMATIC CONSONANTS IN “
TIENG ANH 11” AT QUANG TRACH NO 3 HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH” is

the result of my own research except as cited in the references. The data and
findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and
have not been published elsewhere.

Signature

Nguyen Thi Hong


During the time for developing and completing this
thesis,
I have received a great deal of help and encouragement
from lecturers in College of Foreign languages, Hue
University and in College of Foreign languages, The
University of Danang, family, and friends. Without their
great assistance and encouragement, I could have been
unable to fulfill my thesis.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude
to Dr. Ngu Thien Hung, my supervisor. His careful reading,
guidance, understanding, continual encouragement, and
patience has helped me much in completing this thesis.
Secondly, another special thank goes to the principal,
teachers and students in Quang Trach No 3 High School,



Quang Binh province for their willing participation in the
study. I greatly appreciate their generosity with their time
and efforts in filling the questionnaire and helping me with
the interviews and diagnostic test. Without them, this
paper could not have been possible.
Finally, I would like to dedicate my concluding words to
my family, my friends, and my classmates. Their love,
support and encouragement gave me a great deal of
strength and determination that help me during the time
of writing this paper.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents

Pages

Sub-cover page
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................ 1
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................... 6
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................ 8
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... 9
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................... 10
1.1 RATIONALE ..................................................................................... 10
1.2 THE AIMS OF THE STUDY ............................................................... 11
1.3 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY ............................................................ 12

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS................................................................... 12
1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY ................................................... 13
Chapter 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 14
2.1 OVERVIEW ......................................................................................... 14
2.2

THEORICAL

BACKGROUND

OF

CONSONANTS

AND

CLUSTERS ................................................................................................. 14
2.2.1 Consonants and consonant clusters ................................................ 14
2.2.1.1 Definitions of consonants........................................................ 14
2.2.1.2 Characteristics of consonant sounds ....................................... 14
2.2.1.3 Contrast between English and Vietnamese consonants .......... 15
2.2.1.4 Consonant clusters .................................................................. 18
2.2.2 The syllable structure of English and Vietnamese ........................ 18
2.2.2.1 The nature of the syllables ...................................................... 19
2.2.2.2 Remarks on the syllable structure of English and
Vietnamese .......................................................................................... 22
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2.3 BACKGROUND OF THE PRONUNCIATION TEACHING ............ 24

2.3.1 Definition of pronunciation ............................................................ 24
2.3.2 Elements of pronunciation ............................................................ 24
2.3.2.1 Phonemes ................................................................................ 24
2.3.2.1.1 Vowel sounds ................................................................... 25
2.3.2.1.2 Consonant sounds ............................................................ 25
2.3.2.2 Suprasegmental features ......................................................... 25
2.3.3 Pronunciation and communicative language teaching................... 25
2.3.4 Why teach and learn consonants and consonant clusters ............ 26
2.3.5 The factors of teaching and learning consonants and clusters ....... 27
2.3.5.1 Native language....................................................................... 27
2.3.5.2 The age .................................................................................... 27
2.3.5.3 Amount of exposure ................................................................ 27
2.3.5.4 Phonetic ability ....................................................................... 27
2.3.5.5 Learner attitude and identity ................................................... 28
2.3.5.6 Motivation and concern for good pronunciation .................... 28
2.3.6 The techniques of teaching consonants and consonant clusters .... 28
2.3.6.1 Listen and imitate .................................................................... 28
2.3.6.2 Phonetic training ..................................................................... 28
2.3.6.3 Visual aids ............................................................................... 29
2.3.6.4 Recordings of learners‟ production ....................................... 29
2.3.6.5 Tongue twisters ....................................................................... 29
2.3.6.6 Developmental approximation drills....................................... 29
2.3.6.7 Minimal pair drills .................................................................. 29
2.3.7 Teaching pronunciation in Vietnam............................................... 29
2.4 PREVIOUS STUDIES RELATED TO THE RESEARCH ................. 30
2.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY ....................................................................... 32
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Chapter 3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................... 33

3.1 RESEARCH APPROACH ................................................................... 33
3.2 HYPOTHESES ..................................................................................... 34
3.3.1 EFL teachers................................................................................... 35
3.3.2 Students .......................................................................................... 35
3.4 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS ............................................ 35
3.4.1 Questionnaires ................................................................................ 35
3.4.2 Diagnostic tests .............................................................................. 36
3.4.3 Interviews ....................................................................................... 37
3.5 DATA ANLYSIS INSTRUMENTS................................................... 37
3.6 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE............................................... 38
3.7 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY ........................................................ 39
3.8 CHAPTER SUMMARY ....................................................................... 39
Chapter 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ............................................ 40
4.1 OVERVIEW ......................................................................................... 40
4.2 RESULT PRESENTATION ................................................................. 40
4.2.1 Data collected from students‟ questionnaires and teachers‟
interviews ................................................................................................ 40
4.2.1.1 Teachers and Students‟ background ....................................... 40
4.2.1.2 Teachers‟ perception towards teaching and learning
pronunciation at Quang Trach No 3 High School .............................. 40
4.2.1.3 Students‟ perception towards learning pronunciation at
Quang Trach No 3 High School .......................................................... 42
4.2.1.4 Students‟ actual situation of pronunciation learning .............. 43
4.2.1.5 Teachers‟ view on the practice of teaching pronunciation at
Quang Trach No 3 High School .......................................................... 49
4.2.1.6 Students‟ view on the practice of teaching pronunciation at
Quang Trach No 3 High School .......................................................... 52
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4.2.1.7 Students‟ opinions in pronouncing some difficult
consonant sounds and clusters ........................................................... 55
4.2.2 Results from the data analysis of students diagnostics .................. 56
4.2.2.1 Students‟ actual performance of perceiving consonants and
consonant clusters ............................................................................... 56
4.2.2.1.1 Students‟ actual performance of perceiving sounds at
sentence level .................................................................................. 56
4.2.2.2 Students‟ actual performance of producing consonants and
consonant clusters ............................................................................... 56
4.2.2.2.1 Students‟ actual performance of producing consonantal
sounds at word level ......................................................................... 56
4.2.2.2.2 Students‟ actual performance of producing consonant
cluster in word level ........................................................................ 57
4.2.2.2.3 Students‟ actual performance of producing consonants
and consonant cluster in sentence level .......................................... 57
4.3 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ............................................................. 58
4.3.1 Discussion of types of Errors ......................................................... 58
4.3.1.1 Errors made by students in terms of perception ..................... 58
4.3.1.2 Errors made by students in terms of production ..................... 59
4.3.1.2.1 Errors in the pronunciation of English sounds in word
level ................................................................................................. 59
4.3.1.2.2 Errors in the pronunciation of English sounds in
sentence level .................................................................................. 65
4.3.2 Causes of errors .............................................................................. 68
4.4 POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION OF
TEACHING CONSONANTS AND CONSONANT CLUSTERS ............ 70
4.5 SUMMARY .......................................................................................... 71
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Chapter 5. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS ............................... 72
5.1. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................. 72
5.2. IMPLICATIONS.................................................................................. 74
5.2.1 Implications for teachers ................................................................ 74
5.2.2 Implications for students ................................................................ 76
5.2.3 Implications for Administrators ..................................................... 76
5.3. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY ......................................................... 77
5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ................................. 77
REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 78
APPENDICES

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1 English consonant chart .................................................................. 15
Table 2.2 Vietnamese initial consonant chart ................................................. 16
Table 2.3 Vietnamese final consonant chart ................................................... 16
Table 2.4 Two- consonant clusters with pre-initial„s‟ .................................... 20
Table 2.5 The post consonant clusters with initial„s‟ ..................................... 20
Table 2.6 Final three-consonant clusters: the first is pre-final plus postfinal ............................................................................................. 21
Table 2.7 Final three-consonant clusters: final plus post-final 1 plus postfinal 2 .......................................................................................... 21
Table 2.8 Four-consonant clusters .................................................................. 22
Table 2.9 Four-consonant clusters: zero pre-final + 3 post-finals .................. 22
Table 2.10 Maximum phonological structure ................................................. 22
Table 2.11 The structure of the Vietnamese syllable ...................................... 23
Table 3.1 Problems of English consonants in Vietnamese students‟
performance ................................................................................ 37
Table 4.1 Students‟ background...................................................................... 40
Table 4.2 Information about skills of the most importance and the role of

the pronunciation in English speaking and listening skills ........ 42
Table 4.3 Benefits of using consonants and consonant clusters in
practising pronunciation ............................................................. 43
Table 4.4 Frequency of using English as a means of communication............ 44
Table 4.5 Students‟ focuses............................................................................. 44
Table 4.6 Students‟ attention to pronunciation of consonants and
consonant clusters in oral communication.................................. 45
Table 4.7 Frequency of students‟ problems with consonant pronunciation ... 45
Table 4.8 Students‟ difficulties due to various factors ................................... 46
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Table 4.9 Causes of difficulties due to different sound systems in English and
Vietnamese systems of consonants and consonant clusters and the
influences of the society ................................................................ 48
Table 4.10 Frequency of practising consonants and clusters at home ............ 48
Table 4.11 Information about Language items teacher pays much attention
at Quang Trach No3 High School .............................................. 52
Table 4.12 The length of pronunciation teaching periods and it suitability ... 53
Table 4.13 The activities used for teaching consonants and consonant
clusters ........................................................................................ 54
Table 4.14 Teachers‟ correction ...................................................................... 54
Table 4.20 The summary of the errors in the word level ................................ 65
Table 4.21 The summary of the errors in the sentence level .......................... 67

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LIST OF FIGURES


Figure 2.1 The internal structure of the syllable in English ............................ 19
Figure 3.1 Audio signal of the word “thick” performed by a native speaker . 38
Figure 3.2 Audio signal of the word “thick” performed by a student ............ 38
Figure 4.1 The demonstration of sound wave of the word “although”
made by the native English speaker as compared with that of
student ......................................................................................... 60
Figure 4.2 shows clearly the different demonstration of the two words
“jam” and “village” made by the native speaker and that of
student. ........................................................................................ 61
Figure 4.3 The demonstration of sound wave of the word “skill” made by
the native English speaker as compared with that of student ..... 62
Figure 4.4 The demonstration of sound wave of the words “ask” and
“best” made by the native English speaker as compared with
that of student.............................................................................. 63
Figure 4.5 The demonstration of the wave of the words “strong” and
“scream” made by the native speaker as compared with that
of eleventh form student ............................................................. 64
Figure 4.6 The demonstration of the sentence “Which picture do you think
the youth want to change?” made by native speaker and
student ......................................................................................... 66
Figure 4. 7 The demonstration of the sentence “Stanley speaks up on her
school speech day.” made by native speaker and student .......... 66

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ABSTRACT
This study was concerned with the application of teaching problematic
consonants and clusters at Quang Trach no 3 High School in Quang Binh province.
The objectives of the study are to investigate the problems faced by EFL teachers in

teaching consonants and consonant clusters in English 11 textbook as well as the
causes of the problems and figuring out their solution.
This study first presents the features of pronunciation, a contrast between the
consonant systems of English and Vietnamese languages. The characteristics, the
significance and the factors that affect teaching and learning consonants and clusters
also are overviewed in the part.
A mixed method was used for this research. Participants for this study were
six teachers of English teaching and 150 eleventh form students at Quang Trach No
3 High School. The main instrument of data collection consisted of questionnaires,
informal interviews, and diagnostic test.
The results show the teachers‟ treatment in teaching consonants and clusters
and the problematic consonants for eleventh form students. With the results, I put
forward some suggestions about how to teach and learn consonants and consonant
clusters with the hope of helping improve the pronunciation teaching as well as
helping eleventh form students make further progress in English learning and
communication.

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Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1

RATIONALE
English has become the most important foreign language in Vietnam since

1989 when there were political changes in the former Soviet Union and
developments in Vietnam‟s economic relations with other countries. English is the

compulsory subject in primary school, secondary school and university. Almost of
English teachers, however, get students to study grammar, vocabulary. Since
Vietnam entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) and became one of twenty
destinations of the world, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of
and need for communicative English. The demands of teaching and learning
English have changed. The final objectives of developing communicative
competence are emphasized and the communicative language teaching is considered
as a predominant approach in which teachers pay more attention to speaking and
listening skills and need to perceive that these skills require not only vocabulary and
ideas but also a reasonable pronunciation. Unfortunately, most of the students
comment that it is difficult to communicate in English although they have learnt
English at schools or at universities. They cannot understand what the native
speakers say and they are not confident to communicate to them. One of the causes
of this problem is their unintelligible pronunciation.
Pronunciation is one of the important components of a language so that it
plays a crucial role in second language teaching and learning (Fraser, 1999).
“When speaking English, with the poor and little trained pronunciation skills
students have problems either making themselves understood and understanding
others” (Lin.1995: 1).
Pronunciation is an essential part of teaching and learning a language.
Pronunciation, however, is not paid enough attention to teaching a language at most
of Vietnamese schools in general and at Quang Trach No 3 High School in Quang

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Binh province in which the researcher is working in particular. Some teachers make
little attempt to teach pronunciation; they often skip pronunciation part in language
focus and focus on grammatical structures. The quality and effectiveness of
teaching pronunciation therefore seems not to be high as expected. Moreover, the

shortage of clear guidelines and rules in course books makes pronunciation tend to
be neglected. Teaching consonants and consonant clusters seems to be the
challenges for the teachers. In English 11 textbook, the consonant clusters which are
one of the important aspects of English are taught in pronunciation part in language
focus. In English 10, students learned most of the English consonants; however,
they still cannot pronounce consonants exactly. There are, moreover, some of the
consonant clusters which are difficult to teach and learn so that students also have
many troubles in improving pronunciation. After learning consonant clusters in
English 11 textbook, most of students do not pronounce correctly. Additionally,
among four skills, students are worse at listening and speaking. In such context,
pronunciation teaching should be taken in appropriate consideration so that the
teaching goals can be met. All of these problems set an orientation for the
researcher to explore the application of teaching consonants and consonant clusters
in language focus in English 11 textbook at Quang Trach No3 High School in
Quang Binh province. Finding out problems in teaching consonants and consonant
clusters in English 11 textbook and proposing the appropriate techniques to deal
with them are the main issues of the researcher‟s study. It is expected to contribute
to the improvement of teaching English consonants and consonant clusters at Quang
Trach No3 High School as well as other high schools in Vietnam in general.
1.2 THE AIMS OF THE STUDY
This study aims to
- Explore the teachers‟ perception of teaching consonants and consonant
clusters at Quang Trach No3 High School in Quang Binh
- Investigate the problems faced by EFL teachers in teaching consonants and
consonant clusters in English 11 textbook at Quang Trach no 3 High School

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- Find out the causes of the problems experienced by the teachers and

students in teaching and learning problematic consonants in English 11 textbook at
Quang Trach No 3 High School
- Figure out how teachers actually solve these problems
- Provide some solutions and implications for improving the teaching of
consonants and consonant clusters.
1.3 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is conducted with grade 11 students and English teachers at
Quang Trach No 3 High School in Quang Binh province. It mainly finds out the
consonants and consonant clusters in the section of language focus of English 11
textbook. Additionally, the problems that existed in teaching these consonants and
consonant clusters in English 11 textbook as well as the ways the teachers use to
deal with them are investigated. The examination and discussion of the other sounds
of English are beyond the scope of this study. The survey of research takes place in
small scale and limited to only Quang Trach No 3 High school during the academic
year 2011-2012 (from October 2011 to May 2012).
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Focusing on grade 11 students at Quang Trach No 3 High School, this
research examined the teaching and learning consonants and consonant clusters. To
achieve this, four research questions were proposed:
1) What is teachers‟ perception of teaching consonants and consonant clusters?
2) What are the problematic consonants and consonant clusters in English 11
textbook?
3) What are the actual problems of teaching consonants and consonant clusters
in English 11 textbook?
4) What are the strategies of teaching consonants and consonant clusters in
English 11 textbook?

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1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
The study is presented in 5 chapters as follows:
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION: introduces the rationale for the research, the
aims of the study, the scope, and the organization of the study.
Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW: provides a brief literature review and
theoretical knowledge for the matters of study.
Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY: describes the methodology used in this thesis
including research approaches, participants, and data collection and analysis
instruments.
Chapter 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS: reports the findings of the
research to answer the research questions. The researcher‟s opinions and reflections
on them will be presented.
Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: summarizes some
major findings, provides recommendations for teaching consonant clusters,
limitations of the study, as well as suggestions for further research.

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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 OVERVIEW
In this chapter, the researcher will present the characteristics of consonants
and consonant clusters. Moreover, some notions of teaching and learning
pronunciation will be provided. The significance of teaching and learning
pronunciation and the factors that affect teaching consonant clusters are discussed.
Then the techniques of teaching consonants and clusters will be included.
2.2 THEORICAL BACKGROUND OF CONSONANTS AND CLUSTERS
2.2.1 Consonants and consonant clusters
2.2.1.1 Definitions of consonants

According to Kelly (2000), “Consonants are formed by interrupting, restricting
or diverting the airflow in a variety of ways”. Thornbury (2006) agrees with Kelly
(2000), and suppose that “Consonants are made when the airflow from lungs is
obstructed in some ways by articulators.”
2.2.1.2 Characteristics of consonant sounds
According to Kelly (2000), there are three ways of describing the consonant
sound.
1. The manner of articulation (plosive, affricate, fricative, nasal, lateral,
approximant)
2. The place of articulation (bilabial, alveolar, velar, dental…)
3. The force of articulation (fortis, lenis)
Consonants may be voiced or unvoiced. As far as English consonants are
concerned, the distinction is most useful when it comes to distinguishing between
sound that are articulated in essentially the same ways, one using the voice, the
other not.

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2.2.1.3 Contrast between English and Vietnamese consonants
According to my observation, the difference in the system of consonants in
the two languages is one of the causes of the problem for the students when learning
to pronounce consonants and consonant clusters. To start the comparison between
English consonants and Vietnamese consonants, we would like to present a picture
about the consonant chart in each language.
According to Roach (2001), there are 24 consonants in English. Those are p,
b, n, m, f, v, t, d, k, ɡ, θ, ð, s, z, l, Ʒ, h, ŋ, r, j, w, ʧ, ʤ, ʃ.
Table 2.1 English consonant chart
Place BilabManner


ial

Stops

pb

Dental

Labio-

Alve-

Palato-

dental

olar

alveolar

t d

θð

Fricatives

f v

s z


M

ʃ ʒ

tal

?

h

n

ŋ

l

Lateral
Approximants

kɡ

Glot-

ʧ ʤ

Affricates

Nasals

Palatal Velar


(w)

r

j

w

(Extracted from Kelly, G. (2000), p.07)
According to Doan Thien Thuat (1998), meanwhile, there are 22 initial
consonants (at initial position of syllable) in Vietnamese consonants. Those are b,
m, f, v, t, t’, d, n, z, ʐ, s, ş, c, ʈ, ɲ, l, k, χ, ŋ, ɣ, h, ʔ

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Table 2.2 Vietnamese initial consonant chart

(Extracted from Lê Quang Thiêm ( 2004).[p.100])
Besides, there are 8 final consonants (end by changing timbre at the last
phoneme due to closing of the articulators):
- 6 consonants: p, t, k, m, n, n. For example: /n/ chân, /k/ khóc, /t/ suốt
- 2 semi-consonants: /-w, -j/ (which have both features of not only vowels
but consonants)
Table 2.3 Vietnamese final consonant chart

(Extracted from Lê Quang Thiêm (2004), p.101)
Vietnamese consonants have some differences from English consonants. In
Vietnamese, consonants increased in quantity are made by distinguishing between

initial consonants and final consonants. In contrast, there are no this situation in
English. Consonants can be at initial position, medial position and final position in
English. However, it distinguishes between fortis (voiceless) and lenis (voiced). For
example: plosive consonants: /b, d, ɡ/ at final position called lenis-meaning
(weak) and /p, t, k /called fortis-meaning (strong). According to Roach (2001), all
consonants, except for /h/, are distinguished fortis – lenis.

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Articulation of final consonants is fortis or lenis, which depends on prior
vowel is short, long or diphthongs:
- If it is long vowel, final consonant is weak (lenis). For example: heard
/hɜ:d/, her /hɜ:z/ rye /rai/ , rise / raiz/
- If it is short vowel, final consonant is strong (fortis). For example: hurt
/hɜ:t/ hearse /hɜ:s/, right /rait/, rice /rais/
Contrasting the two English consonant and Vietnamese consonant charts, it
can be seen that there are more detailed and more categorizing criteria for manner
of articulation in Vietnamese. For example, manner of the articulation is divided
into two manners of articulation for stop and fricative, and then stop and fricative are
divided into nasal stop and oral stop (plosive), finally, nasal stop and oral stop are
divided into unaspirated, aspirated, voiced (lenis) and voiceless( fortis). However,
there are less categorizing criteria for place of articulation in Vietnamese than in
English; for example, places of articulation in English are divided nine criteria such
as bilabial, labiodental, dental, alveolar, alveopalatal, palatal, velar, glottal, labiovelar.
In addition, in Vietnamese consonants chart, more attention is paid to tongue position
(flat, retroflex, dorsal) whereas there is more pay attention to other articulators such
as dental, alveolar, palatal alveolar in English consonants chart.
Moreover, in the manner of articulation for stop, there is oral stop /t‟/, oral
voiceless stop / ţ, t, c, k /, oral voiced stop /b, d/, nasal stop / m, n, ŋ, n / in

Vietnamese. Meanwhile, English plosive consonants combine between oral stop and
/ p, b, t, d, k, ɡ, m, n/ and affricate /f, ɡ/. In these sounds, /ɡ/ (English) belongs to
plosive, /γ/ (Vietnamese) belongs to fricative. Furthermore, in the manner of
articulation for fricative, English consonants alveolar lateral /l/ and glottal fricative
/h/ are the same as Vietnam consonants. English consonants are different from
Vietnamese consonants such as /θ, ð, s, z, l, Ʒ, ʧ, ʤ, ʃ/.
In English, there are some consonants such as bilabial approximant /w/,
palatoalveolar approximant /r/ and palatal approximant /j/ that have no in
Vietnamese. Similarly, the fricatives which consist of the voiceless interdental /θ/

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and the voiced interdentals /ð/ and the affricates including the voiceless alveopalatal / t∫/ and the voiced alveo-palatal affricates /dʒ/ do not exist in Vietnamese.
The bilabial voiceless stop /p/ is important in English because it can occur in all
positions. Meanwhile it is only occur in final position and initially in some loan words
in Vietnamese, but Vietnamese learners are not very good at pronouncing it because
they often mix it up with its voiced partner /b/ which is more familiar in Vietnamese.
Moreover, there are no consonant clusters in Vietnamese. In contrast, in English, for
example, the groups /spl/ and /ts/ are consonant clusters in the word splits.
These unique sounds in English have caused difficulties for Vietnamese
learners. They have a tendency to bring their own phonemic habits into English and
fail to imitate proper pronunciation.
2.2.1.4 Consonant clusters
According to Thornbury (2006), “English pronunciation permits sequences
of two or more than consonants at the beginning or end of syllables, and these are
called consonant clusters”. English syllables may have three consonants at the
beginning (in the words like “straight” /streit/) and up to four at the end (in the
words like “sixths” / siksθs/. It means consonant cluster is a group of consonants
that appear together in a word without any vowels between them. When reading

clusters, each letter within the cluster is pronounced individually. Different lengths
and combination of clusters are permitted by different languages. This causes the
problems for learners. Nowadays, in English, most complex final clusters are
reduced. Learners often simplify clusters by adding or inserting a vowel. Initial
consonant clusters can endanger intelligibility. Therefore, this is a pronunciation
feature that is the target in teaching of pronunciation.
2.2.2 The syllable structure of English and Vietnamese
The syllable structure, one of the important things in English and Vietnamese
is included in order to realize the components of a syllable.

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2.2.2.1 The nature of the syllables
According Tran and Nguyen (2002), the syllable is described as “one or more
speech sounds forming a word or part of a word, containing one vowel sound, with or
without a consonant or consonants, and uttered at a single effort”. The syllable is one
of the phonological constituents (Carr, 2009, p 66), “the evidence for the existence of
the syllable comes largely in the form of the phonological generation which cannot be
adequately expressed without reference to the notion „syllable‟. Carr (2009) agues
that the syllable is divided into two main constituents: the onset and the rhyme. In the
word „bile‟, for example, /b/ is the onset, the two rest /aɪ/ and /l/ which is taken
together is the rhyme. The rhyme may be further subdivided into the nucleus and the
coda. Hence, the word „bile‟ is described like below
Syllable (σ)

Onset (O)

Rhyme (R)
Nucleus (N)


/b/

/aɪ/

Coda (C)
/l/

Figure 2.1 The internal structure of the syllable in English
The syllable like „bile‟, containing one or more consonants in the coda position,
is referred to as a closed syllable. Meanwhile, the syllable which does not contain any
consonants in the coda position is called the open syllable „buy‟ /baɪ/, for example.
Morphemes like „bile‟, which contain only one syllable, are monosyllabic.
Whereas, morphemes which may contain more than one syllable are polysyllabic,
for instance the word „rider‟, „elephant‟.
In English, there are the syllables with an empty onset such as the word „it‟
[ɪt] and branching onsets, for example „clip‟ [klɪp]. Moreover, the codas may
branch, for instance „hunt‟ [hʌnt]. Carr (2009) states that “syllables which have no
branch within the rhyme, either at the level of the rhyme node itself, or within
nucleus, are called light syllables. Any syllables which have branching anywhere
within the rhyme constituents are referred to heavy syllables” (p.76).

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