Using English Songs to Improve the Pronunciation of Consonant Sounds Problematic to Thai Students

Using English Songs to Improve the Pronunciation of Consonant Sounds Problematic to Thai Students

Students learning English as a foreign language might have difficulties in pronunciation, depending on their native language and how similar its sounds are to those of the target language. Thai students, for instance, find it hard to pronounce consonant sound which are related by point of articulation, manners of articulation  and aspirated and non – aspirated voicing. Doff (1993) state that the problem with teaching English as Foreign Language is the difficulty experienced by students with the consonant sounds that do not appear in target language, such as sound of /th/ and the similar sound like /p/ and /b/. When the students pronounce the sound such as /θ/ , they will replace by the similar consonant sound of Thai language such as /ซ,s/ or /ต,t/ so this problem will cause the misunderstanding of communication. Pronunciation is one of the primary language skills in English that students should pay closer attention as it is taught through variety of activities (Scharcell and Oxford,1994.)

According to some researches of Thai students’ pronunciation in English language, the researchers evidently found that students have difficulties to pronounce some consonant sounds. Sita Yiemkuntitavorn (2012) stated that there are some consonant sounds which do not exist in Thai language so students could not pronounce these sounds correctly including / θ ,ð, z ,ʒ, ʤ, ʧ, ∫ / . In addition, Thirapit Thapornpard (1995) found that the sound /v/ and /g/ in initial position and medial position had problems at the highest level of students’pronunciation. Kalayanee Pimwan (2012) stated that Pronunciation is an important skill in learning English as it creates not only the positive first impression of the speaker and but always conveys correct massage between the speaker and the listener. In the other words, pronunciation help the speaker to be more clearly understood. According to Thai school curriculum, pronunciation is an integrated part of language learning. It includes the element of consonant sound, vowel sounds, rhythm and intonation which support the communication process.  Students of all age have a strong interest in music; therefor it is a resource that should be taken into account. Regina Lo and Henry Li (1998) stated that song offers a change from the routine procedures in the classroom. They are valuable tool to develop students’ language abilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing and can be used to teach a variety of language items such as sentence patterns, vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm, adjective , adverb and so on.

Wong (1987) and Zainuddin et al. (2002) pointed out that song can inspire great interest and create strong motivation instead of boredom and apathy during the lesson as songs stimulate a positive emotional attitude to language learning. Songs also support the abilities of learners in term of reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as providing opportunities for learning pronunciation, rhythm, grammar and vocabulary. The students can hear the word of song and imitate the correct pronunciation. They can also easily recognize words and their meaning through songs. In addition, songs are good tool for teachers to design various tasks in foreign language classroom.

There are many different advantages of using songs ; establishing positive learning state, energizing learning activities, increasing attention, improving memory, releasing tension, enhancing imagination, developing inspiration and motivation. Songs tend to have simplified, colloquial language, use natural rhythm, stress, intonation, contractions, slang, expression, idiom, authentic material and communicative repetition, all of which help to build vocabulary and others language structures in way that is stress-free for many.

Being Thai speaker myself and have been learning English as foreign language I have found that English songs are very useful tool for improving my pronunciation. As a Thai teacher who teaches English in classroom, I have found some errors when students producing consonant sounds. Consequently, the aim of this paper is to provide English instructors with activities using engaging songs focusing on the pronunciation, student will understand to distinguish minimal pairs of consonants. At the same time, they will become more familiar with connected speech. This will lead to a better understanding of native speakers.

English Consonant sound

          The consonant sounds that have been being problems of Thai students pronunciation included /g, v, θ ,ð, z ,ʒ, ʤ, ʧ, ∫ /

Place Manner	bilabial	Labio-dental	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal-alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	P b			t  d			k    g
Affricate					ʧ  ʤ
Fricative		f v	θ  ð	s  z	∫   ʒ			h
Nasal	m			n			ŋ
Lateral				l
Tap				r
Semi-vowel						j	w

Passive and active Articulators

Place of articulators	Active articulator	Passive articulators	sound
1. bilabial	Lower lip	Upper lip	P b m w
2. labio-dental	Lower lip	Upper teeth	f  v
3. dental	Tip of the tongue	Upper teeth	θ  ð
4. alveolars	Tip of the tongue	Alveolar ridge	t d z s n r l
5. retroflex	Upper or surface of tip of the tongue	Post alveolar	r
6. palatal- alveolars	Front of the tongue	Alveolar ridge	ʧ  ʤ ∫   ʒ
7. palatal	Front of the tongue	Hard palate	j
8. velar	Back of the tongue	Soft palate	K g ŋ
9. glottal	Vocal cords	Vocal cords	h

Selection of the song

Songs contain many different aspects that can provide the teachers and students with a valuable opportunity to practice pronunciation. Song lyrics can be found easily in the internet that language teachers can bring to the class. For teaching pronunciation, the teacher should consider the level of the students. What kind of songs do they like? Is the singer’s voice clear enough? How complex are the structures and the vocabulary? Can they sing along?

Let me show you one particular song and the way it could be present in class for practicing the minimal pair of the sound /θ/ and   /ð/ the difference between the sound /f/ and /v/ the song “This one for you” (David Guetta feat. Zara Larson)

Teaching process

1. Describe the students to understand how the differences between English consonant sound and Thai consonant sound.

2. Let them practice with using the correct articulators in their mouths.

3. Listen to the song and practice with friends. Compare the differences between the minimal pairs of the sound /θ/ and   /ð/, /f/ and /v/

4. Sing along together.

5. Get oral test with the teacher.

Song lyrics  

This one for you  : David Guetta feat. Zara Larson

We're born to fly
So let's keep living 'til it all falls down
Let's close our eyes
And let the moment drive the whole world out

** We're in this together
Hear our hearts beat together
We stand strong together
We're in this forever
This one's for you
This one's for you

Waving colored flags
We won't surrender, there's no standing down
There's a playing field
It's full of winners, we're breaking new ground

Exercise: Put the vocabulary of the song in to their sound

/f/	/v/	/θ/	/ð/
Fly Fall Field Flag full	Forever Living drive	Together (teacher can give more words to the students if it not enough for practicing)	This There the

Pronunciation Test

Number	words	right	wrong	remark	Number	words	right	wrong	remark
1. 2. 3. 4.	Farm Fan Van very				5. 6. 7. 8.	Thank Thing That they

References

Doff, A. (1993). Teaching English as training course for teacher.7^th Ed. New York :

                   Cambridge University Press.

Kalayanee Pimwan (2012). The effect of Teaching English Pronunciation

through Songs of Pratomsuksa 4 students at Watratchaphatigaram school.

Srinakharinwirote University Press.

Regina Lo and Henry Li. (1998). Songs Enhance Learner Involvement, Forum 3,8.

                   Access August 20^th,2007, ‹hppt:// exchanges.state.gov.forum./vols/vol36/no3

                   P8.htm›.

Thirapit Thapornpard. (1995). A Study of English Pronunciation Problem of

                   Mattayomsuksa 3 Students in Thai-Khmer-Speaking Community in Surin.

                   Mahasarakham. Mahasarakham University Press.

Scharcell, R. and Oxford,R..L (1994). Second Language Pronunciation: State of the

          Art in Instruction system. 22 (2), 221-223.

Sita Yiemkuntitavorn (2012). The basic knowledge of English Pronunciation for

          Thai English Teacher. 2th Rd. Bangkok. Chulalongkorn University Press. (Thai)

          Wong, R. (1987). Teaching Pronunciation : Focus on English Rhythm and Intonation.

                   Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.

Zainuddin, H., Yahya, N.,Marales Jones.,A.C., and Areza, N.E. (2002). Fundamental

          Of Teaching English to Speaker in other Language in K-12 Mainstream

          Classroom. Iowa. Kendall-Hunt.