57 LeHoangTuan NA1301

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY

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ISO 9001 : 2008
RESEARCH PAPER
AN ANALYSIS ON CONSONANTS IN ENGLISH
AND THEIR COMPARISON IN VIETNAMESE
TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION
Name: Le Hoang Tuan
HAI PHONG, 2013
1
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY
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ISO 9001 : 2008
AN ANALYSIS ON CONSONANTS IN ENGLISH

AND THEIR COMPARISON IN VIETNAMESE
TO IMPROVE PRONUNCIATION
MAJOR: ENGLISH
Name : Le Hoang Tuan
Supervisor : Ngo Viet Tuan, B.A
HAI PHONG, 2013
2
Acknowledgements
My research paper would not be completed without a great deal of

assistance, guidance and encouragement from many people which have I
received along the way from the beginning.
First of all, I owe a great debt to my supervisor, Mr. Ngo Viet Tuan, B.A
for his suggestions, guidance, and all the valuable materials he has provided me.
Secondly, I would also be grateful to all the teachers of English major
Department of Hai Phong Private University who have taught me for the past
four years.
In preparing, this graduation paper, I want to express special
acknowledgement to all my friends, for their highly valuable encouragement and
support for my study.
Finally, my overriding depth continues to be to my lovely family
members who always stand by me to help me overcome every difficulty in
completing this task.
Hai phong, august, 2013

Le Hoang Tuan
3
Symbols and abbreviation
C: Consonant
[x;y] : x shows the name of the text books listed in the part of reference; the
other shows the paper number in that books
Ex: [3;30]
Vd: Voiced
Vs: Voiceless
Ex: example
IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet
4
Table of contents
Acknowledgements
i
Symbols and abbreviation
ii
Table of contents
iii
List of figures
iiii
The organs of speech
iiiii
PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale......................................................................................................... ...1
2. Aims of the study .............................................................................................. 1
3. Scope of the study ............................................................................................. 2
4. Methods of the study ......................................................................................... 2
5. Design of the study............................................................................................ 2
PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: Theoretical background ................................................................. 3
1. ENGLISH CONSONANTS ................................................................................ 3
1.1. Articulators and places of articulation ..................................................... 3
1.2. Definition and the basic consonants in English ....................................... 4
1.2.1. Definitions .................................................................................................... 4
1.2.2. The basic English consonants....................................................................... 4
1.3. Classification of English consonants......................................................... 4
1.3.1. According to place of articulation............................................................. 4
1.3.1.1. Sounds made with the lips............................................................................ 4
a, Both lips-bilabial: /p/, /b/, /m/ ............................................................................... 4
5
b, Lower lip and upper teeth – labiodental: /f/, /v/ .................................................... 5
1.3.1.2. Sounds made with the tip of the tongue ....................................................... 6
a, Tip of the tongue and the teeth – interdental: /θ/ and /ð/ ...................................... 6
b, Tip of the tongue and the tooth ridge – alveolar: /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /z/, /r/ ............
1.3.1.1. Sound made with the blade of the tongue .................................................... 7
a, Blade o the tongue and the hard palate – alveolar- palate: / Ȝ /, /ʃ /, / ʤ /, /tʃ
/
……………………………………………………………………………
...7
1.3.1.2. Sound made with the back of the tongue ..................................................... 8
a, Back of the tongue and soft palate- velar: /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ ........................................... 8
1.3.2. According to manner of articulation ..................................................... 8
1.3.2.1. Complete obstruction of the airstream – stops .......................................... 9
1.3.2.2. Partial obstruction of the airstream – fricatives ......................................... 10
1.3.2.3. Complex consonant sound- affricative....................................................... 10
1.3.2.4. Sounds made with the air escaping through the nose – nasals................... 11
1.3.2.5. Lateral ......................................................................................................... 12
1.3.2.6. Retroflex ..................................................................................................... 12
1.3.2.7. Semivowel .................................................................................................. 12
1.3.3. According to voicing ................................................................................. 14
2. VIETNAMESE CONSONANTS .................................................................... 15
2.1. Definition and the basic consonants in Vietnamese .................................... 15
2.1.1. Definition. ..................................................................................................... 15
2.1.2. The basic consonants in Vietnamese. ........................................................... 15
2.2. Classification of Vietnamese consonants......................................................... 15
2.2.1. According to place of articulation. ................................................................ 15
2.2.1.1. Bilabial. ...................................................................................................... 15
2.2.1.2. Apical-dentals............................................................................................. 16
6
2.2.1.3. Apical-palatal. ............................................................................................ 16
2.2.1.4. Dorsal sound. .............................................................................................. 16
2.2.1.5. Radical sound. ............................................................................................ 16
2.2.1.6. Glottal ......................................................................................................... 16
2.2.2. According to the manner of articulation .................................................. 16
2.2.2.1. Unaspirate - stop sound. ............................................................................. 16
2.2.2.2. Aspirate- stops sound ................................................................................. 17
2.2.2.3. Nasal- consonant sound.............................................................................. 17
2.2.2.4. Fricative sounds.......................................................................................... 17
2.2.2.5. Lateral-consonant sound ............................................................................ 18
2.2.3. According to the voicing ............................................................................. 19
CHAPTER II: Comparison between English consonants and Vietnamese
consonants. ............................................................................................................. 20
1. The similar between English consonants and Vietnamese
consonants: .................................................................................................................
2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese
consonants .............................................................................................................. 20
3. Comment about the similar and differences of Vietnamese and
English consonants. ............................................................................................... 22
3.1. The identical of English and Vietnamese consonants. ............................... 22
3.1.1. Both languages have the same criteria in manner and place of articulation
to analyze ..................................................................................................................... 2
3.1.2. Voiced, voiceless, stop criteria are used to compare. ................................... 22
3.1.3. Both languages have approximately the same amount of consonants. ......... 22
3.1.4. Both languages have the same amount of consonants with the similar
writing. …….......................................................................................................... 23
3.2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese
consonants .............................................................................................................. 24
7
CHAPTER III: The common pronunciation problems faced by Vietnamese ....
1. English consonants problems faced by Vietnamese .............................. 26
1.1. Difficulties in pronouncing English stop- consonants ............................... 26
1.1.1. Word- initial voiceless stop consonants ..................................................... 26
1.1.2. Voiced and voiceless stop in word-final position ...................................... 26
1.1.3. Word- final voiceless stop consonants ....................................................... 27
1.2. Difficulty in pronouncing English fricative consonants ............................ 27
1.3. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant /r/ ..................................... 28
1.4. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant / θ/ and / ð/ as in „think‟
and „this‟ ...................................................................................................................... 28
1.5. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant /p/ vs. /f/ and /b/ .............. 29
1.6. Difficulties in pronouncing word-final /tʃ / .............................................. 29
CHAPTER IV: Finding and solution .................................................................. 30
1. Some suggested techniques and activities ................................................. 30
1.1 Model exercise ........................................................................................... 30
1.2 Minimal pair practice ................................................................................. 32
1.3 Drilling practice.......................................................................................... 33
1.4 Taping student‟s English ............................................................................ 36
1.5 Listening activities .................................................................................... 36
1.6 Reading activities ...................................................................................... 37
2. Techniques to improve specific problems ............................................. 38
2.1 Techniques for English consonants........................................................... 38
2.1.1 Techniques to pronounce English stop consonants .................................. 38
2.1.1.1 Word initial voiceless stop consonants ...................................................... 38
2.1.1.2 Voiced and voiceless stops in word-finial position ................................... 39
2.1.1.3 Word-finial position voiceless stop consonants ........................................ 40
2.2 Techniques to pronounce English fricative .......................................... 40
2.2.1 Voicing of fricative ................................................................................... 40
8
2.2.2 Word-final fricative ................................................................................... 42
2.3 Techniques to pronounce English consonant /r/ .................................. 42
2.4 Techniques to pronounce / θ/ and / ð/.................................................... 43
2.5 Difficulties in pronouncing word-final /tʃ / ......................................... 44
3. Some suggested exercises to improve pronunciation ........................... 44
PART III: CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 53
Conclusion………………………………………………………………... .......... 53
Suggestion for further
study………………………………………………….53 References .................. 54
9
List of figures
Figure 1: Articulators and places of
articulation…………………………………… ........................................................ 3
Figure 2: The position of the lips in the production of /p/, /b/, and
/m/…………….5
Figure 3: The position of the teeth and lips in the production of /f/, /v/…… ........... 5
Figure 4: The position of the tongue the production of “θ” and “ð”…………... ..... 7
Figure 5: The position of the tongue the production of /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/……….. ........ 7
Figure 6: The position of the tongue in the production of /Ȝ/, /ʃ/, /ʤ /, /tʃ.... ...... 8
Figure 7: The position of the tongue in the production of /k/, /g/, /ŋ/………… ...... 8
Figure 8: Places of articulation………………………………………………….. ... 8
Figure 9: Complete blockage of the airstream as in the stops /t/ and /d/………... ... 9
Figure 10: Partial blockage of the airstream as in the fricative /s/ and /z/……........ 9
Figure 11: The position of the velum in the production of /k/ and /g/………........ 11
Figure 12: The position of the velum in the production of nasal consonant
/ŋ/…............................................................................................................ ............ 11
Figure 13: The position of the tongue in the production of the lateral /l/……. ...... 13
Figure 14: The position of the tongue in the production of the retroflex /r/…. ...... 13
Figure 15: Manner of articulation……………………………………………… ... 13
Figure 16: Classification of the consonants the English in terms of places of
articulation, manner of articulation and voicing……………………………….. ... 14
Figure 17: Classification of Vietnamese consonants in terms of place, manner of
articulation, and voicing………………………………………………………... .. 18
10
Figure 18: The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese
consonants………………………………………………………………………... 21
Figure 19: Consonants with the similar writing in Vietnamese………………... .. 23
Figure 20: Consonants with the similar writing in English…………………….. .. 23
11
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
12
1. Rationale
Speaking English like truly native speakers is the dream of the English
learners. However, there are many pronunciation problems the English learners
faced such as consonants, vowels, stress..etc... Vietnamese learning English also
make the same mistakes because of some differences and similarities in
pronouncing consonants between English and Vietnamese.
During English learning at HPU, I myself have encountered great difficulties in
learning English pronunciation especially consonants pronunciation. If we can
understand and practice consonants pronunciation clearly, judiciously, the
English pronunciation problems will be overcome and improved.
The above reasons have inspired me to carry out the study with the title “An
analysis on consonants in English and their comparison in Vietnamese to improve
pronunciation ”.
2. Aims of the study
With the hope of getting more comprehensive and specific understanding
of English consonants, finding out common consonants pronunciation mistakes
faced by Vietnamese and giving some techniques to improve English consonants
pronunciation to Vietnamese, my study focuses on:
Introducing the basic theories of English and Vietnamese consonants and their
differences and similarities.
Particularly, giving the principles of consonants pronunciation and raising the
learner awareness of English pronunciation by giving specific evidences,
examples, figures, pictures may make learners try to pronounce like native
speakers.
Providing some exercises may be very helpful for learners in English
pronunciation as well as in English communication today.
13
3. Scope of the study
Proper English pronunciation is an extremely large study, including
research into principles of vowels and consonants pronunciation, principles of
recognizing the word stress or intonation of a sentence..ect..However, because
of our time and knowledge limitation, English consonants pronunciation and
their comparison in Vietnamese will be focused.
4. Methods of the study

To achieve the aims of the study successfully and effectively, in our
studying process, we stored knowledge from a lot different kinds of resources
specialized in the consonants pronunciation in English and Vietnamese. Then,
English consonants and Vietnamese consonants are contrasted.
5. Design of the study

This paper provides a clear organization consisting 3 main parts that help an
easy exploration and practical benefit gained for readers as well
 Part I: The introduction including rationale of the study, scope of the study,
aims of the study, methods of the study, design of the study.
 Part II: The development of the study consisting 4 chapters
 Part III: Conclusion
14
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter I: theoretical background
1. English consonants
To pronounce English accurately, it is essential to have an understanding
of how the speech sound of English are produced. It will enable you to take the
necessary steps correction of the students‟ pronunciation problems. Different
speech sounds result when the airstream is altered in some ways by the
positioning of various parts of the mouth. This alteration is the basic which helps
classify English consonants.
1.1. Articulators and places of articulation
Figure 1: Articulators and places of

articulation
Articulators: Involved the movable parts
of the mouth
1. Tip of tongue
2. Blade of tongue
3. Back of tongue
Places of articulators: Involved the

unmovable parts of the mouth
4. Teeth 7.Soft palate
(Velum)
5. Tooth (alveolar) 8. Glottis
ridge
6. Hard palate 9. Uvula
15
1.2. Definition and the basic consonants in English
1.2.1. Definitions:
In articulator phonetic, a consonant is a speech of sound that is articulated
with complete of partial closure of the upper vocal tract; the upper vocal tract is
defined as that part of vocal tract lying above the larynx.
[4; 23]
Consonants are formed by interrupting, restricting or diverting the airflow in a
variety of ways.
[9; 147]
1.2.2. The basic consonants in English include:
/b/, /p/, /k/, /g/, /t/, /d/, /v/ /f/, /ʤ /, /∫/, /Ȝ/, /ʧ/, /s/, /z/, /h/, /θ/, /ð/, /m/, /n/,
/l/, /r/, /w/, /y/, /ŋ/
1.3. Classification of English consonants
There are three ways of describing consonant sounds:
1. The place of articulation
2. The manner of articulation
3. The voicing
1.3.1 According to place of articulation
In English, there are six places in the mouth where the airstream is
obstructed in the information of consonants.
In this study, we will discuss each consonant in terms of the articulators
involved and the place in the mouth where the articulators cause an obstruction
of the airstream.
1.3.1.1. Sounds made with the lips
a, Both lips-bilabial: /p/, /b/, /m/
Pronounce the words “pat”, “bat” and “mat”, paying attention to the way
the first consonants of each word is made. The first sound in each of these words
16
is made with the two lips coming together and touching momentarily. The
obstruction of the airstream thus occurs at the lips.
The sound /p/, /b/, and /m/ are referred to as bilabial sounds because the two (bi-
) lips (labial) are involved in their production
Figure 2: The position of the lips in Figure 3: The position of the teeth
the production of /p/, /b/, and /m/ and lips in the production of /f/, /v/
b, Lower lip and upper teeth – labiodental: /f/, /v/

Produce the words “fat” and “vat”, again paying attention to the way the
first sounds of these words are formed. The initial sounds of these words are
made with the top teeth touching the bottom lip. Therefore, the obstruction of
airstream occurs not because the bottom lip and the top lip come together.
Again, the phonetic symbols for these two sounds are the same as the English
letters. We use the symbols /f/ and /v/ to represent the initial sounds of „fat‟ and
„vat‟
The sound /f/, /v/ are referred to as labiodental sounds because the lips (labio)
and the teeth (dental) are involved in their production.
17
1.3.1.2 Sounds made with the tip of the tongue
a, Tip of the tongue and the teeth – interdental: /θ/ and /ð/
Pronounce the words “think” and “this”, paying attention to the way the
first consonant sounds of these words are formed. With first consonant sounds
of these words the obstruction of the airstream occurs because the tip of the
tongue is between the teeth or just behind teeth. The phonetic symbols for these
sounds are not the same as the English letters. The “th” sound in “think” and
“this” are represented by symbol /θ/ and / ð /
The sound / θ/ and / ð / are referred to as interdental sounds because the tongue
is placed between (inter) the teeth (dental).
The two th sounds are notoriously difficult for second language learners
because they are not common sounds in many of the world‟s languages. While
not many words in English contain the / ð/ sound as in „this‟, the words that do
contain in this sound are among the most frequently used words in the English
language. For example, the words „the‟, „this‟, „that‟, „these‟, „those‟, „then‟,
„than‟, ‟them‟ and „their‟ all begin with the / ð / sound. The / ð / sound is also
found in such common words as „mother‟, „father‟, and „brother‟. Thus, how
important this sound is in English.
b, Tip of the tongue and the tooth ridge – alveolar: /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /z/, /r/
Other English sounds made with the tip of the tongue include the initial
sounds of „tip‟, „dip‟, „nip‟, „lip‟, „sip‟, „zip‟, and „rip‟. When you pronounce
the initial consonant of these words, you should feel the tip of your tongue
touching the roof of your mouth just behind upper teeth with /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/ and
approaching the tooth ridge with /s/, /z/, /r/. These sounds are referred to as
alveolar because the tongue either touches or approaches the alveolar ridge in
their production.
18
Figure 4: The position of the Figure 5: The position of the tongue
tongue the production of “θ” and the production of /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/
“ð”
1.3.1.1. Sound made with the blade of the tongue

a, Blade o the tongue and the hard palate – alveolar- palate: / Ȝ /, /ʃ /, / ʤ /,
/tʃ /
When you pronounce the words “wish” and “beige”, concentrating on the
position of the tongue in the production of the final sounds. These sounds are
made with the blade of the tongue approaching the hard palate just behind the
tooth ridge. The phonetic symbols for these sounds are not the same as the
English letters. We use the symbol /ʃ / to represent the final sound of „wish‟
and the symbol /Ȝ/ represent the final sound of „beige‟. One other important
aspect of the pronunciation of /Ȝ/, /ʃ / involves the lips. Notice that the lips are
rounded when you pronounce these sound.
There are two other sounds that are made with the blade of the tongue at
the hard palate. These are initial consonants in the words ‟chug‟ and „jug‟. We
use the complex symbol /tʃ / for the initial sound in the word „chug‟ and / ʤ /
for the initial sound in the word ‟jug‟.
19
The sound / Ȝ /, /ʃ /, / ʤ /, /tʃ / are referred to as alveopalatal sounds because
the tongue is just behind the alveolar ridge at the hard palate in the production of
these sounds.
Figure 6: The position of the tongue Figure 7: The position of the tongue
in the production of /Ȝ /, /ʃ /, /ʤ /, in the production of /k/, /g/, /ŋ/
/tʃ
1.3.1.2. Sound made with the back of the tongue
a, Back of the tongue and soft palate- velar: /k/, /g/, /ŋ/
When you pronounce initial sounds of „coat‟ and „goat‟ and final sound of
„sing‟, the back part of your tongue touches the back part of your mouth
momentarily, causing the obstruction of the airstream.
The sounds /k/, /g/, /ŋ/ are referred to as velar sounds because they are made
with the back of the tongue rising to touch the soft palate or velum.
The places of articulation for consonants can be summarized as following:
Places of articulation
Bilabial Labiodentals Interdental Alveolar Alveolarpalatal Velar

p,b f,v θ, ð t,d /ʃ /, / Ȝ / k,g
m l,n /tʃ /,/ ʤ / /ŋ/
20
s,z,r
Figure 8: Places of articulation

1.3.2. According to manner of articulation
Manner of articulation refers to the interaction between the various
articulators and the airstream.
There are 7 groups of consonants classified according to manner of articulation:
1.3.2.1. Complete obstruction of the airstream – stops
Are the sounds made by the air that passes from the lung into the mouth
can be completely stopped because the lips or tongue actually touch some parts
of the upper mouth, and then escaped strongly causing a closure. Consonants
that involve this complete blockage of the airstream are called stops. The initial
sounds of „pill‟ and „bill‟, „till‟ and „dill‟, „kill‟ and „gill‟ are all stop consonants.
Notice that the place in the mouth where the airstream is blocked differs with
these three pairs of sounds. With /p/ and /b/, the air is blocked because the two
lips come together. With /t/ and /d/, the air is blocked because the tip of the
tongue touches the tooth ridge. With /k/ and /g/, the air is blocked because the
back of the tongue touches the soft palate.
The stop consonants of Lip (bilabial) /p/ and /b/
English
Tooth ridge (alveolar) /t/ and /d/
Soft palate (velar) /k/ and /g/
21
Figure 9: Complete blockage of the Figure 10: Partial blockage of the
airstream as in the stops /t/ and /d/ airstream as in the fricative /s/ and /z/
1.3.2.8. Partial obstruction of the airstream – fricatives

Some consonants in English do not involve a complete stoppage of the
airstream but rather a partial obstruction. This partial obstruction results from
the lips or the tongue coming close to some part of the upper mouth. These
consonants are called fricative because the sounds produced by the forcing the
airstream through a narrow opening between the lips and the teeth or the tongue
and the teeth.
The fricative consonants of English
Lower lip/ upper teeth (labiodental) /f/ and /v/
Teeth (interdental) /θ/ and / ð/
Tooth ridge (alveolar) /s/ and /z/
Hard palate (alveolar palate) /∫/and / Ȝ /
Bilabial Labiodentals Interdental Alveolar Alveopalatal Velar
f θ s ∫
22
v ð z ȝ
1.3.2.9. Complex consonant sound- affricative:
There are two complex consonants sounds in English, /tʃ / as in „chug‟
and / ʤ / as in „jug‟. We introduce both of the sounds previously as hard palate
sounds. Each of combination of a stop followed immediately by a fricative and
they are inferred to as affricates. The initial sound of the „chug‟ begins as the
stop consonant /t/, and is released as the fricative / Ȝ /.
Similarly, the initial consonant of „jug‟ begins as the stop consonant /d/, and is
released as the fricative / Ȝ /. Pronounce these two sounds and see if you can feel
the tip of the tongue making contract with the top of the mouth and then
separating slightly so that a fricative is made immediately after stop.
The complex consonants of English - affricates
Hard palate (alveopalatal) /tʃ /, / ʤ /
1.3.2.10. Sounds made with the air escaping through the nose – nasals
All of the consonants sounds that we have discussed up to this point are
made with air passing through the mouth. Nasal sounds, on the other hand, are
made with air passing through the nose. Air is blocked in the mouth in the same
way as it is for stop consonants. However, the soft palate is lowed allowing air
to escape through the nose.
Figure 11: The position of the velum in Figure 12: The position of the velum in
23
the production of /k/ and /g/ the production of nasal consonant / ŋ/
There are three nasal consonants in English: /m/, /n/, and / ŋ/ as in „ram‟,
„ran‟, „rang‟. These three sounds differ in terms of place of articulation. The /m/
is produced when the two lips touch, the /n/ is produced when the tip of the
tongue touches the tooth ridge and the / ŋ/ is produced when the back of the
tongue touches the soft palate. In each case, this contact prevents air from
escaping out of the mouth.
The nasal consonants of lips (bilabial) /m/

English
tooth ridge (alveolar) /n/
soft palate (velar) / ŋ/
1.3.2.5. Lateral
Lateral sound is made with the tip of the tongue touching the tooth ridge
and the air passing through the mouth over the sides of the tongue: /l/
For some speaker of English, the /l/ may be made with air passing out of the
mouth over one side of the tongue only. Because the air passes out the side of
the mouth, the /l/ sound is referred to as a lateral consonant.
1.3.2.6. Retroflex
Retroflex sound is made with the tip of the tongue slightly curled back in
the mouth. Pronounce the word „red‟ and prolong the initial consonant. You
should feel the tip of the tongue in a curled-back position. You may also feel
some backward movement of the tongue and some rounding of the lips. Upon
pronunciation of the vowel sound in „red‟, the tongue is uncurls. Because the
24
tongue is curled back during the pronunciation of the /r/ sound, it is referred to
as retroflex consonant.
1.3.2.7. Semivowel
Other consonant sounds of English produced with little turbulence in the
airstream are the initial sounds of the words „wet‟ and „yet‟. These two sounds
are often called semi-vowels because they are made with a relatively wide
opening in the mouth. In the pronunciation of the /w/ the lips are rounded and, at
the same time, the back of the tongue approaches the soft palate. Pronounce the
word „wet‟, prolonging the first sound of this word. You should feel the lips
coming together and rounding slightly. It is difficult to feel the back of the
tongue approaching the soft palate but, in fact, this narrowing occurs as well.
In the pronunciation /y/, the blade of the tongue approaches the hard palate.
You should be able to feel the tongue coming o close the hard palate.
Figure 13: The position of the tongue Figure 14: The position of the
in the production of the lateral /l/ tongue in the production of the
retroflex /r/
The manner of articulation can be summarized as following:
25
Manner of articulation
Stop Fricative Affricative Nasal Lateral Retroflex Semivowel
p, b, t f, v, θ, ð ʧ, ʤ m, n, ŋ l r w, y
d, k, g s, z, ∫, Ȝ
Figure 15: Manner of articulation
1.3.3. According to voicing

Sounds that are made with the vocal cord are voice and sound made with
no vibration are voiceless.
All of stops, fricatives and affricatives we have discussed so far come in
voiced/voiceless pairs. The nasals, laterals, retroflex, and semi-vowels of
English are all voiced.
Voiceless: p, t, k, f, s, θ, ∫, ʧ
Voiced: b, d, g, v, ð, z, Ȝ, ʤ , m, ŋ, l, r, w, y
Bilabial Labia- Dental Alveolar Alveolar- Velar

dental palatal
Stop Vd p t g
Vs b d k
Affricatives Vd ʤ
Vs ʧ
Fricatives Vd f θ z Ȝ
Vs v ð s ∫
26
Nasal m n ŋ
Lateral l
Retroflex r
Semi-vowel w Y w
Figure 16: Classification of the consonants the English in terms of places of
articulation, manner of articulation and voicing.
2. VIETNAMESE CONSONANTS
2.1. Definition and the basic consonants in Vietnamese
2.1.1. Definition
Consonant in Vietnamese is a component of syllabication, and is the
mainly initial sound in Vietnamese syllable
Vietnamese consonant can occur at the initial or finial position of Vietnamese
syllable but common at the initial position.
2.1.2. The basic consonants in Vietnamese

The Vietnamese phonetic system contains 23 initial consonants: b, /f/
(ph), /v/, /m/, /t/, / d / (đ), /th / (th), /s/ (x), /z/ (d), /n/, /l/, /t/, (tr), /Ş/ (s), / ž/ (gi,
r), /c/ (ch), /ɲ/ (nh), /k/ (c,k,q),/ Ύ/ (g), / χ/ (kh), /N/ (ng) , /h/, /p/, /r/
The possible Vietnamese consonants are represented in the following chart base
on the place and manner of their production (articulation).
In Vietnamese there are six finial consonants: /p/, /t/, /k (c/ch), /m/, /n/, /N/
(ng/nh), and two finial semivowels: /i/ / (i/y), /u/ (o/u).
2.2. Classification of Vietnamese consonants
27
2.2.1. According to place of articulation
There are six groups of Vietnamese consonants classified according to
place of articulation, those are:
2.2.1.1. Bilabial: are the sound made with two lips or with the lower lip
touching the upper teeth: /p, b, m, f, v /
Ex: the underlined the consonant in the word
/p/ “úp” (cover up) /b/ “ba” (three) /m/ “một” (one)
/f/ “phố” (streest) /v/ “vở” (notebook)
2.2.1.2. Apical-dentals: are the sound made with the tip of the tongue touching
the upper and lower teeth:/th, t, d, n, s, z, l/.
Ex: the underlined consonant in the word:
/θ/ “thu” (autumn) /t/ “tai” (ear) /d/ “đen” (black)
/n/ “não” (brain) /s/ “xa” (far) /z/ “giặt” (wash)
/z/ “da” (skin) /l/ “lá” (leaf)
2.2.1.3. Apical-palatal: are the sound made with the blade of the tongue /t,s,r/
Eg: the underlined consonant in the word:
/t/ “trà” (tea) /s/ “sách” (book) /z/ “rác” (rubbish)
2.2.1.4. Dorsal sound: are the sound made with the blade of the tongue: /c,nh/
/c/ “chanh” (lemon) /ɲ/ “nhanh” (fast)
2.2.1.5. Radical sound: are the sound made with the back of the tongue:
/k,Ύ,χɲ/
Ex: the underlined consonant in the word:

/k/ “cá” (fish) /k/ “quả” (fruit) /k/ “kem” (ice sream)
/ɲ/ “Nga” /ɲ/ “nghe” (hear) / Ύ/ “ghế” (chair)
28
(Russia)
/x/ “khe” (slit) / Ύ/ “ga” (station)
2.2.1.6. Glottal: is the sound made with the epiglottises: /h/
Ex: the underlined consonants in the word: /h/ “hai” (two)
2.2.2. According to the manner of articulation
There are 5 main groups of Vietnamese consonants classified according to
manner of articulation:
2.2.2.1. Unaspirate - stop sound.
There are 5 un-aspirate stop sounds found:
/b/: is a labial sound, appears in the syllable without the medial sound as in: “be,
bi, ba….”
/t/ and /d/: are the apical- dental sound as in: /tin, tai, đỏ, đen”
/t/: is the apical-palatal sound, appear in all syllable as in: “trồng trọ, trẻ trung”
/c/: is the dorsal sound as in: “chim choc, chăm chú”
/k/: is the radical sound as in: “căn cứ, keo kiệt, quây quần”
2.2.2.2. Aspirate- stop sound: there is only one aspirate- stop sound /th / as in:
“thoăn thoắt, thấp thoáng”
2.2.2.3. Nasal- consonant sound: there are 4 nasal- consonant sounds found:
/m/: is the labial sound as in “ may mắn”, “mong manh”
/n/: is the apical-dental sound as in “ nặng nề”, “nắn nót”
/ɲ /: is the dorsal sound as in “nhộn nhịp”, “nhanh nhẹn”
/ŋ/: is the radical sound as in “ ngan”, “ngỗng”, “nghiêng”, “nghi ngờ”
2.2.2.4. Fricative sounds:

There are 9 fricative sounds
/f/ and /v/: are the labio-dental /f/ in “ phấp phới”, “phảng phất”
sounds:
/v/ in “vui vẻ”, “vẻ vang”
29
/s/ and /z/: are the apical-dental /s/ in “xa xôi”, “xinh xắn”
sounds:
/z/ in “ dễ dãi”, “già giặn”
/Ş/ and /z/: are the apical-dental / Ş / in “say sưa”, “sáng sủa”
sounds:
/ Ύ/ and /x/: are the back, radial /x/ in “khe khẽ”, “khuya khoắt”
sounds:
/ Ύ/ in “gặp gỡ”, “gọn ghẽ”
2.2.2.5. Lateral-consonant sound:

There is only one lateral- consonant sound /l/ is an apical- dental sound,
appear in all syllable: /l/ in “lặng lẽ”, “láu lỉnh”
2.2.3. According to the voicing
There are 6 groups of consonants classified according to voicing
correlatively to 6 place of articulation:
Voiced: /b, m, v, d, n, z, ž, Ύ/
Voiceless: /p, f, th, t, s, t, Ş, c, k, x, h/
Classification of the consonants of Vietnamese in terms of place of articulation,
manner of articulation, and voicing:
Labial Apical Dorsa Radia Glottal

l l
Dent Palata
al l
Stop Noisy Aspirate th
Un- Vs t t c k
aspira V b d
30
te d
Nasal sonant m n ɲ ŋ
Fricati Noisy Vs f s Ş x H
ve
Vd v z ž Ύ
Side sonant l
Figure 17: Classification of Vietnamese consonants in terms of place, manner of
articulation, and voicing
Number of coda available in Vietnamese are limited to a certain degree,
especially; there are only six consonants which can stand in word-final position.
31
CHAPTER II: COMPARISON BETWEEN ENGLISH CONSONANTS
AND VIETNAMESE CONSONANTS.
1. The similar between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants:
Both English consonants and Vietnamese consonants are described and
classified by four criteria:
According to place of articulation
According to manner of articulation
According to voiced or voiceless
2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese
consonants:
Criteria English consonants Vietnamese consonant

1. Accordin - No differences - Distinguish between initial
g to place of between initial or final consonants and final consonants:
articulation consonants: p, ng p, ng, .
- No medial sound. - two medial consonants
- Two interdental - Interdental consonants(ð,θ)
consonants (as in ð,θ) don‟t exist in Vietnamese
- tr includes two - tr includes only one consonant:
32
consonants: /t + r/ /tr/
- /g/ consonant doesn‟t - /g/ consonant like ga, ghe
exist in Vietnamese. doesn‟t exist in English.
- 7 interdental - 9 interdental consonants
consonants ( (t/t‟/d/n/s/z/l)
t/d/n/r/s/z/l) - 3 alveopalatal consonants (as
- Two alveopalatal in tr/j)
consonants (as in ch/j) - 2 hard palate consonant (trong
- 1 hard palate c/nh)
consonant (as in j) - 5 Three velar consonants (as in
- Three velar k/g/ng)
consonants (as in
k/g/ng)
2. Accordin - Seven plosive -Ten plosive consonants (as in
g to consonants (as in p/b/t/t‟/d/k/g/?/tr/c)
manner p/b/t/d/k/g/?) - Six nasal consonants (as in
of - Three nasal m/n/ng/l..)
articulati consonants (as in
on m/n/ng) -Nine fricactive consonants (as
- One trill consonant in f/v/s/z/sh/j/h/gh/k)
(r)
- Nine fricative - Two semivowel (w/j)
consonants (as in
f/v/th/s/z/sh/j/h)
- Two affricative
consonants (as in sh/j)
- One lateral consonant
(l)
33
- Two semivowel (w/j)
3. Accordin - There are eight pairs - There are six pairs of voiced-
g to of voiced-voiceless voiceless consonants
voiced- consonants (p-b/f-v/th- (p-b/f-v/t-d/s-z/sh-j/r-g)
voiceless th/t-d/s-z/sh-j/ch-j/k-
g/h-?)
Figure 18: The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese
consonants
3. Comments about the similar and differences of Vietnamese and

English consonants.
3.1. The identical of English and Vietnamese consonants.
3.1.1. Both languages have the same criteria in manner and place of
articulation to analyze.
For example: according to manner of articulation.
- fricative consonants: “f”, “v” (figure, và, vì)
- stop consonants: “t”, “d”, “b” (testily, boat, tàu, dương, biểu)
3.1.2. Voiced, voiceless, stop criteria are used to compare.

The consonants of both languages have the same characteristic which is
formed by airstream construction
Stop consonants are formed by lung airstream which is stopped. Therefore, it
has to break this construction to make the sound
Ex: consonants as in the words "t", "b", "d" ( "balance"(1); "beside", "boat",
“two” and "bão", "bất", "tựa", "tàu", "bằng", "bị"(1); "tức", "tới" "đỡ"(2);
"tuổi"(3); "đó", "tiệc", "để", "biểu", "đảm"(4); "đọc", "diễn"(5), "đứng", "đám",
"đông", "đang"(6) "điều", "biết", "đã", "đẩy", "tôi" in Vietnamese)
34
Fricative: consonant sound which involves a partial obstruction of the
airstream. The articulator approaches another part of the mouth but doesn‟t
touch it. Fricatives can therefore be prolonged, e.g. "f", "v", "s" (as in the words
figure, văn, sóng…)
3.1.3. Both languages have approximately the same amount of consonants.

English includes 24 while Vietnamese consist of 22 initial consonants.
Beside initial consonants, Vietnamese has 8 final consonants, among them there
are 6 consonants and two semivowels.
3.1.4. Both languages have the same amount of consonants with the similar
writing.
In Vietnamese:
Numbers consonants Letter Examples
1 B b bão, bất, bằng, biểu, biết
2 M m một, mất, mở
3 V v và, vì, văn
4 T t tựa, tàu, tức, tới, tiệc, tôi
5 N N nữ, nàng
6 L L lình, lan, lên, là
7 H H hùng, hành
Figure 19: Consonants with the similar writing in Vietnamese
In English:
Numbers Consonant Letter Examples
1 P P plunged, party, passenger, push
2 T T to, testily
3 F F figure
4 S S sudden, sea, said
35
5 H H her, help, hero, honor, his, he
6 M M man, me
7 B B balance, board, beside, boat
8 G G given, gentleman, gathering
9 V V voyage
10 L L lost, look
11 R R rail, rose
12 W W was
Figure 20: Consonants with the similar writing in English.
3.2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese

consonants
There are some consonants in both languages with the same position of
the tongue to pronunciation but the sound is different. For example f and v
consonants in English (as in figure, voyage ) and b, n consonants in Vietnamese
(as in bão, biết, nữ, nàng)
- Vietnamese has some consonants that doesn‟t exist in English. For
example alveopalatal consonants in the words (trình, trong, trắng…)
- vietnames has some consonants made by the blade of the tongue that
doesn‟t exist in English such as nh, kh, ng as in the words khi, khơi, khỏi, nhiên,
nhất, nhìn, ngoài, người, ngạc)
- “g” consonant in English and “γ” consonant in Vietnamese are different.
In English, “g” consonant is velar – stops – voiced as in some words “given,
gentleman, gathering”, but “γ” consonant in Vietnamese is velar-fricative-
voiced as in the words “gắt, ghế”.
- both languages have stop consonants, fricative consonants but affricative
consonants doesn‟t exist in Vietnamese. For example, affricative consonants /
tʃ / - / ʤ / in English (as in the words “cherry”, “jam”, “voyage”
36
- Voiceless, voiced, stops, non- stop criteria are used to compare in both
languages but they are different. For example, “b” and “d” consonants in
Vietnamese and “f”, “v” in English are different criteria.
- There are initial consonants such as: b, th, ph, v, đ, d, gi, l, tr, q, k, s, r, kh,
h...( as in the words bão, thình, khơi, đang, lan, phóng, cấp...) and final
consonants such as: -p, -t, -ch, -c, -m, -n, -nh, -ng...( as in the words một, cơn,
thành, đang, đảm, cấp...) in Vietnamese. The final consonants and initial
consonants in English are the similar, for example: s (sea, was), r (rose, her), f
(figure, of), l (lost, until)
- Unlike English, Vietnamese also has impacts on the local voices. For
example, initial consonants “s-x” (sóng-xóng), “n-l” (nữ-lữ), “l-n” (lên-nên), “tr-
ch” (trình-chình) in the north or “v-d” (và-dà) in the south; the final consonants
such as “t-c” (hất-hấc), “n-ng” (cơn-cơng) in the south.
37
CHAPTER III: The common pronunciation problems faced by Vietnamese
As the sound systems of English and Vietnamese differ greatly,
Vietnamese speakers can have quite severe pronunciation problems. Vietnamese
is a tone language; that is, pitch changes distinguish meaning. Most words in
Vietnamese consist of only one syllable; there are fewer consonants than in
English and there are no consonants clusters. On the other hand, the Vietnamese
consonants system makes a large number of distinctions and Vietnamese use a
modified Roman alphabet but many of the letters have quite different sound
values from those of English. In this research, some basic difficulties as
following will be represented.
1. English consonants problems faced by Vietnamese
1.1. Difficulties in pronouncing English stop- consonants
1.1.1. Word- initial voiceless stop consonants
English stop consonants are pronounced with aspiration and distinguished
clearly at most of position in a syllable.
Example: plot-blot-cot
However in Vietnamese, these sound in initial position are often pronounce
without aspiration, especially, /p/ does not occur in initial position.
38
Therefore, Vietnamese learners often easily fail to pronounce with aspirate the
voiceless stop /p/, /t/, /k/ at the beginning of a word. These sounds are often
mistake for /b/, /d/, /g/ sound.
Example: “plot” can be mistake for “blot”
“cot” can be mistake for “got”
1.1.2. Voiced and voiceless stop in word-final position
Moreover, as Vietnamese has no voiced stops at the ends of words,
Vietnamese speakers need practice in distinguishing between voiced and
voiceless stops in this position, they will not voiced final stops /b/, /d/, /g/ but
will substitute voiceless stop for a voiced one
Example: “cub” may be mistake for “cup”
“lamb” may be mistake for “lamp”
1.1.3. Word- final voiceless stop consonants
Although the voiceless stop consonant /p/, /t/ and /k/ occur at the end of
the word, but the consonants are never release finial position and are much
shorter than their English equivalents. This means that even when Vietnamese
speakers pronounce these consonants in the finial position. English speakers
may have difficultly hearing them.
Example: the word such as “beat” may sound like “bee”
[2;153]
It is more difficult to demonstrate the voiced/ voiceless distinction with
stop than with fricative because stop can be prolonged. And when they get
trouble in voicing finial stops, they will probably have difficulty with finial
voiced fricative also.
1.2. Difficulty in pronouncing English fricative consonants
As affricative do not occur in word- finial position in Vietnamese, many
students are unable to distinguish voiced and voiceless fricative. Most
39
commonly, they will be able to produce voiceless fricative like /f, s, θ, ∫/ but not
voiced ones like /v, z, ð, ʤ /
[2;104]
Ex: “peas” /pi:z/ is pronounced as “peace” /pi:s/
“leave” /li:v/ is pronounced as “leaf” /li:f/
Vietnamese learners may also omit fricative at the end of words.
Ex: A sentence such as :
“The baoys always pass the garage on their way home”

/ðə bɔ iz ɔ :lweiz pa:s ðə 'gæra:Ȝ ɔ n ðeə wei houm /
May be pronounced like:

“The boy alway pa the gara on thei way home”
/ ðə bɔ i ɔ :lwei pa: ðə 'gæra: ɔ n ðeə wei houm /
Almost without exception, /θ/, /ð/ is problematic for Vietnamese learner. They
are a dental fricative sound made with the tip of the tongue and the upper teeth.
The particular native language of a student usually determines which sound will
be substituted: /t/, /s/, or /f/ for /θ/ in word “think”, or /d/, /z/, or /v/ for / ð / in
word “this”. In general, a voiceless sound like /t/ will be substituted for the
voiceless /θ/ and a voiced sound like /z/ for the voiced /ð.
1.3. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant /r/
Although there is the consonant sound /r/ in Vietnamese, the particular
way in which this /r/ sound is produced differs from in English. Vietnamese
speakers generally require word in learning to produce the English alveolar,
retroflex. English /r/ is made with „th‟ tip of the tongue curled back and the lips
rounded.
But in Vietnamese speakers commonly produce this sound as a trill, a sound
made when the tip of the tongue touches the tooth ridge repeatedly like this:
40
And in some areas in Vietnamese, this sound is distinguished very clearly by
pronouncing vibration.
As /r/ is a high frequency sound in English, speakers are usually aware of their
mispronunciation of English /r/ and often ask for instruction in the correct
pronunciation.
1.4. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant / θ/ and / ð/ as in
‘think’ and ‘this’
Vietnamese speakers will often produce a heavily aspirated stop /t/ instead
of /θ/ in word like „think‟. This is probably based on the orthographic system of
Vietnamese, where the letter combination th represents a heavily aspirated /t/.
They will usually substitute a /d/ for / ð/ in the words like this.
1.5. Difficulties in pronouncing English consonant /p/ vs. /f/ and /b/
As /p/ does not occur in initial position in Vietnamese, Vietnamese
speakers may substitute a /b/ or an /f/ for /p/. Thus, „put‟ may sound like „foot‟,
“Peter‟ may sound like „beater‟, and „pin‟ may sound like „fin‟.
1.6. Difficulties in pronouncing word-final / t∫ /

Vietnamese learners have a common mistake when pronounce the
fricative /∫/ in word-final position, they may substitute /∫/ for /t∫/, saying „marsh‟
instead of „march‟.
41
CHAPTER IV: Finding and solution.
This chapter provides an inventory of techniques used in the teaching of
pronunciation. Most of these are production-oriented; their purpose is to
improve student‟s production of spoken English.
1: Some suggested techniques and activities
Once having decided to make pronunciation an integral part of their
teaching, and adopted a policy on models, what techniques and activities can
employ? The range is multifarious from highly focused techniques, such as
drilling, to more broad-reaching activities such as getting students to notice
(look out for) particular pronunciation features within listening texts.
Furthermore, as indicated above, there are two key sides to pronunciation
teaching-namely, the teaching of productive skills on the one hand and the
teaching of receptive skills on the other. In terms of reception, students need to
learn to hear the different between phonemes, for example, particularly where
such a contrast does not exist in their L1. They then need to carry that
knowledge through into their production. Drills, by way of example, are useful
42
in the development of both kinds of skill, while noticing tasks used listening
texts will be most effective in the development of receptive skills.
1.1. Model exercise

The model and realistic goal in teaching English pronunciation is to
enable the learners to surpass the threshold level so that their pronunciation will
not detract from their ability to communication. So, it is necessary to refine the
goal of the drills as comfortable intelligibility rather than native pronunciation.
The model exercise contains 4 steps:
Step1: Knowledge building
Have the learners be exposed to the item for practice with some
explanation to build up in them a simple knowledge about the segments and how
they operate.
Step 2: Mechanical drill
Have the learners read aloud a given list of sounds (after a tape). The
reason to use tape is to increase the exposure to native speech and to approach
accuracy.
Step 3: Identification task
The learner is asked to identify the sound and prosodic feature in context,
for example, listen to a short passage and indentify the sounds in a question.
Step 4: Production task
The learners are asked to work in pairs or in small group to build up a
short conversation containing the sounds and prosodic feature under practice.
Practice aloud and then end up the activity with role-play.
Example: Model of Initial consonant

Step 1: Knowledge building
43
The learner is give two column of contrast words and they have 30 second
to read them silently (identification of words). Show the learner the difference:
Voiceless vs. voiced. The teacher will choose the pairs problematic for drill:
/θ/ /ð/ /∫/ /Ȝ/
Thank Then She Television
Think This Shy Pleasure
Thick They shoe Measure
Step 2: Mechanical drill
Have the learners read aloud the words in the box. Errors are corrected
Step 3: Identification task
Listen and “hands up when you hear”.
First listening: Hands up when you hear the word beginning with /θ/
Second listening: Hands up when you hear the word beginning with /ð/
Third listening: Hands up when you hear the word beginning with /∫/
Fourth listening: Hands up when you hear the word beginning with / Ȝ /
Sample material (for first and second listening)

Script: We thank them for the thick book
Script: They think we‟ll buy that book
Script: The thief was then caught by the policemen
Note: the script is a structured reading passage from one short sentence to a
passage of 50 words to meet the target respectively.
Step 4: Production task
Have the learners think of other targeted words than those available in the
box. Correct mistake by explicit explanation of the place and manner of
articulation. To produce /θ/ and /ð/ make sure that the learner put their tongue
between their teeth. If no contact is made with the teeth the sound will not be
44
produced correctly. Have the learner produce them without stopping the
airstream as these sound are fricative.
To produce /∫/and /Ȝ / make sure that the learners make a contact between
their blade of the tongue and the palate. Have the learner produce them without
stopping the airstream, because they are fricative.
Finally, have the learner read aloud the whole passage introduced in Step 3.
1.2. Minimal pair practice
Although consonant sounds can be presented individual, they are often
taught in contrast with another consonant. Techniques designed for
demonstrating the production of individual sounds generally make extensive use
of minimal pairs.
Minimal pairs: is pairs of words which are different in respect of only one sound
segment
The series of words pin, bin, tin, din, kin, gin, chin, fin, thin, sin, shin, win
supplied with 12 words which are distinguished simply by a change in the first
(consonantal) element of the sound sequence
First, select the sound you need to work on. This can be done by giving a
diagnostic test to check on learner‟s perception of sound. Many pairs of
consonant that will cause problems are pairs that differ in only aspect-that of
voicing. There are many pairs of English consonants that differ only in this
feature:
/p/ and /b/ (pin, bin) /θ/ and /ð/ (think, the)
/f/ and /v/ (fast, vast) /t∫ / and /dȜ / (choke, joke)
/∫/and / Ȝ / (ship, vision) /k/ and /g/ (core, gore)
/t/ and /d/ (to, do) /s/ and /z/ (sip, zip)
When you have selected the sounds that need to be work on, prepare sets of
minimal pair. Worksheets can be prepared for the students with the pairs of
work beside each other:
45
1 2
Thank Sank
Thick Sick
Thumb Some
Tenth Tense
Mouth Mouse
1.3. Drilling practice

One of the main ways in which pronunciation is practiced in the
classroom is through drilling. In its most basic form, drilling simply involves the
teacher saying a word or structure, and getting the class to repeat it. Being able
to drill properly is a basic and fundamental language reaching skill. The
techniques has its roots in behaviorist psychological theory and “audio-lingual”
approaches to teaching; these are both now largely consigned to history, through
drilling has stayed with us as a tried and tested classroom technique. Drilling
aims to help students achieve better pronunciation of language items, and to help
them remember new items. This is a crucial part of classroom pronunciation
work, and is possibly the time in the lesson when students are most reliant on the
teacher.
Drilling often follows on from the process; know as eliciting, of
encouraging students to bring up a previously studied word, phrase or structure.
The teacher generally uses prompts, pictures, mime etc, to help the process
along, and can give the relevant item to the students if none of them is able to
offer it. Given the complex relationships between English spelling and
pronunciation, drilling is best done before students see the written form of the
language. One the item in the question has arisen, teachers can then drill it in
order to work on pronunciation. The teacher‟s main role in drilling is that of
providing a model of the word, phrase or structure for student to copy. You can
46
hear an example of drilling on the CD. Teachers generally drill “chorally” first
of all, which means inviting the whole class to repeat the items in unison. Choral
drilling can help to build confidence, and gives students the chance to practice
pronouncing the drilled item relative anonymously, without being put on the
sport. It is typically followed by individual drilling, where students are invited
one by one to repeat. This gives the teacher the chance to ascertain how well
individuals more or less at random; doing so is seen to help keep students on
their toes.
Chaining
Can be used for sentences which prove difficult for students to pronounce,
either because they are long, or because they include difficult words and sounds.
The following examples show how the teacher isolates certain parts of the
sentence, modeling them separately for students to repeat, and gradually
building the sentence up until is complete.
Back chain
The sentence is drilled but built up from the end, gradually adding to its
length. Certain parts may be drill separately, if they present problems. Each part
of the sentence is modeled by the teacher, and the students repeat.
…….told him
…….would‟ve…
…..would‟ve told…
I would‟ve told him.
If I‟d seen him….
If I‟d seen him, I would‟ve told him
The sentence is drilled and built up from the start, gradually adding to its length.
Certain parts may be drilled separately, if they present problems. Each part of
the sentence id modeled by the teacher, and the students repeat.
If I‟d seen him…
47
If I‟d seen him, I would‟ve…
I would‟ve…
If I‟d seen him, I would‟ve told him.
Substitution drilling is another important and useful variation. This

involves drilling a structure, but substituting items of vocabulary into the
sentence being deal with, as follows:
Teacher: It‟s in the corner.
Students 1: It‟s in the corner.
Teacher: It‟s on the table.
Students 2: It‟s on the table.
Teacher: It‟s under the chair.
Etc….
1.4. Taping student’s English
Taping learner‟s spoken English from time to time can pay dividends.
Tape can be made while students are engaged in language activities, and used
for all manner of language difficulties, but especially those concerned with
pronunciation. If the teacher is sufficiently prepared, tapes of the completion of
whole tasks can be contrasted with, for example, a group of native speakers or
higher level group of students tackling an identical task. Alternatively, students
might tackle the same tasks on two occasions, the tape of the first attempt
providing the basis for pronunciation work; the second performance of the task
will be more successful, and the two attempts can be contrasted.
Individual students can also be taped, even pair work or group work can be done
in the same way.
1.5. Listening activities
48
The anticipated outcome of language teaching is for students to be more
able to understand and use the language outside the classroom. Many classroom
activities therefore aim to reproduce, as far as possible, the authenticity of day to
day communication. While authentic materials (i.e. printed, broadcast or taped
material not produces with the classroom in mind) are available, it is impractical
for teacher to use such material all the time, as one only has to find suitable
material, but also design tasks to go with them.
Listening comprehension exercised in course books are often designed to
sound as realistic as possible, with the participants talking at a normal speed and
using natural language. These can play a key role in helping students to notice
the existence of pronunciation feature.
For example, prior to doing listening task, students can have the meaning
and the pronunciation of a particular aspect of language brought to their
attention, and practice it in very controlled ways. The particular issue may be the
structural and pronunciation characteristic of the third person present simple or,
at a higher level, of the third conditional (I‟d „ve gone if I‟ve known). The
listening exercise can then require students to listen out for this area of language
and listen out for how it is used and pronounced in the context of a narrative or,
say, a conversation.
Alternatively, an extended listening stage can precede an eliciting and
drilling stage. Indeed it can be argued that putting the listening exercise first
might even make the pronunciation elements of the lesson more of a
comprehension issue and more likely to be noticed by the students. Students
would initially have to listen out for and interpret the use of the language and
related pronunciation areas selected for study.
Whether using which way, a teacher‟s choice would be informed by his or her
feels they would be able to perform the various tasks.
49
1.6. Reading activities
In reading activities, although the medium is written word, work on
pronunciation can be successfully integrated too. Like listening, reading is a
receptive activity (i.e. students receive the language rather than produce it), and
so it provides a suitable means of bringing language features to students‟
attention.
Many teachers stage reading activities either by having an initial exercise
to allow students to get the gist of the text they are reading, or by establishing
the type of the text they are reading, or by establishing the type of text being
used, followed by some more detailed work focus on specific details when the
text is read again. At some stage, when the text is read aloud either by the
teacher or the students, pronunciation work can be integrated. Such texts as
poems, rhymes, extracts from plays, song lyrics etc. can be used creatively in the
classroom and can offer plenty of scope for pronunciation work. Depending on
preference, anything can be used to good advantage.
Reading aloud is a classroom activity which has fallen in and out of
favour with teachers at various times. The main argument against it is that is can
interfere with successful pronunciation; spellings can clearly affect
pronunciation performance adversely. But reading aloud offers opportunities for
the study of the linking of sounds between words in connected speech‟ all of
these can be highlighted and investigated further in fun and interesting ways
through the reading aloud
2: Technique to improve specific problems

2.1. Technique for English consonants
2.1.1. Techniques to pronounce English stop consonants
2.1.1.1. Word-initial voiceless stop consonants.
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Students fail to aspirate the voiceless stops /p/, /t/, /k/ at the beginning of
the words. Therefore, „plot‟, „tot‟ and „cot‟ may sound like „blot‟, „dot‟ and
„got‟.
A good way to begin teaching aspiration is to make the students aware
that aspiration is the puff of the air that accompanies the release of the
consonant. This is easily demonstrated with a match or a piece of a paper using
the consonant /p/. Exaggerate the pronunciation of the word „pot‟.
Have the student hold a piece of paper close to their mouth and say the word
after you, making sure that a burst of air blows the paper away from them.
Repeat the produce for /t/. The consonant /k/ is less amenable to this type of
treatment because the air has very little force left by the time it reaches the lips.
However, one the student have understood exactly what aspiration is, they can
easily aspirate /k/
Sound Example
1. /p/ pan, paw, port, paper, pansy
2. /t/ time, team, talkative, teller,
3. /k/ calm,
si‟tar keep, cold, „keynote..
Tell the student that the puff of the air that accompanies these voiceless stops is
much like the /h/ sound in a word such as „hot‟. Have student practise words
beginning with /h/ and then have them place a voiceless stop in front of these
words. For example:
Hot p(h)ot t(h)aught c(h)ot

Hi p(h)ie t(h)ie k(h)ind
He p(h)ea t(h)ea k(h)ey
2.1.1.2. Voices and voiceless stops in word-finial position
Final voicing does affect the pronunciation of preceding vowels; they
51
are longer before voiced stops than before voiceless stop
1. Use minimal pairs such as those below, point out that the vowel are longer
before voiced stops than before voiceless ones
Before voiceless consonant Before voiced consonant
(shorter vowel) (longer vowel)
Tap tab
Pat pad
Back bag
2. In producing the final sounds in the minimal pairs above, have students
release (that is, aspiration lightly) the voiceless stops /p/, /t/ and /k/, but keep the
articulators together for /b/, /d/, /g/.
3. As students may be able to produce voiced stops at the beginning of words,
practice linking words with final voiced stops to function words that begin with
vowels. The voiced stops should seem to begin the following function words as
shown below:
Don‟t rub it [down rʌ bit]
He‟s mad at me [hiyz mæ dət miy]
2.1.1.3. Word-final position voiceless stop consonants
1. Have student release the final voiceless stop consonants in words such as
„top‟, „taught‟, and „back‟. A small puff of air, similar to aspiration, should
accompany the release of the consonants. Practice these words in sentence- final
position where they receive major sentence stress. This may involve some
exaggeration of your own speech because these consonants are not always
released in English in this position
Put it up on top
I didn‟t know that you taught
Do you mind sitting near the back
52
2. Do linking exercise in which words ending in voiceless stops are followed
by words beginning with vowel.
Put the book on top_ of the shelf
He taught us a lot__ about language
Sit at the back_ of the room
2.2. Technique to pronounce English fricative
2.2.1. Voicing of fricative:
Many students are unable to distinguish voiced and voiceless fricatives.
Most commonly, they will be able to produce voiceless fricatives but not voiced
one. For example, /f/ may be substituted for /v/ so that a word such as „leave‟ is
pronounced as „leaf‟. Similarly, /s/ may be substituted for /z/, so that a word
such as „peas‟ is pronounce as „peace‟
As a vowel is always voiced, they can be useful in teaching students to
voice fricatives. Have students place their fingers lightly on their throat while
making a prolonged /a/. Point out that they should feel some vibration of the
vocal cords when the vowel is pronounced. Next, have them produce /s/
followed by /z/ concentrating on maintaining the voice: [aaazzzaaazzz]. While
pronouncing this sequence, student should feel their throat, put a hand on the top
of their head, or cover their ears with their hands. If there is sufficient voicing of
the consonant, they should feel the vibration. Repeat the procedure for the other
voiced fricatives: /v/, /θ/ and / Ȝ /
Once students are able to voice the fricative, provide comprehension and
production practice of the voiced/voiceless distinction using minimal pairs.
/f/ /v/ /θ/ /ð/ /s/ /z/ /∫/ /Ȝ/
fan van thigh This sue zoo shoe allusion

safer saver ether either ceasing seizing mesher measure
leaf leave teeth teethe face phrase
53
Point out that vowels are longer before voiced fricatives than before their
voiceless counterparts. Making the vowel longer before voiced fricatives will
help students to distinguish between minimal pairs such as below:
Before voiceless consonant Before voiced consonant
(shorter vowel) (longer vowel)
Leaf leave
Teeth teethe
Peace peas
Practice the pronunciation of the plural in English. This grammatical
ending involves a difference between the voiceless fricative /s/ and the voiced
fricative /z/ :
/s/ /z/
Ropes robes gems
Cats Cads pawns
Docks Dogs Kings
Reefs Reeves Cars
cloths clothes Halls
2.2.2. Word- final fricative:

As fricative do not occur in word-final position in Vietnamese,
Vietnamese speakers may omit fricative at the end of words
Since students can produce some of these fricatives at the beginning of
English words-/f/, /v/, /s/ and /z/ point out the similarity between these initial
and final sounds
Do linking exercises in which words ending in these fricatives are followed
by words beginning with vowel
Don‟t give_ up your seat
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Don‟t play with_ it
Breathe_in and then breath_ out
Pass_ out the books
Your wish is my command
2.3. Techniques to pronounce English consonant /r/

Vietnamese students commonly produce the English /r/ as trill, a sound
made when the tip of the tongue touches the tooth ridge repeatedly.
Alternatively, learner may produce the English /r/ as a uvular sound, a sound
made when the back of the tongue approaches the uvula and it is made with
the tip of the tongue curled back and the lips rounded
1. Have students pronounce a prolonged [aaaaaa], gradually curling the tip

of the tongue back. Make sure that they do not touch the tooth ridge with the tip
of the tongue and that their lips become slightly rounded. Then have them
uncurl the tongue and unround the lips so that the sequence [aaarrraaa] is
produced
2. Point out that the /r/ sound is made with the tip of the tongue curled back
and not touching the tooth ridge. This is useful information for those students
who are producing a trill
3. Contrast /r/ with the flap sound /D/ in words such as „putting‟ and
„pudding‟. Point out that the tongue touches the tooth ridge momentarily in
pronouncing a flap, but does not touch the tooth ridge at all in pronouncing
Flap /r/
putting purring
leading leering
55
heating hearing
skating scaring
2.4. Techniques to pronounce /θ/ and /ð/

Almost without exception, /θ/ and /ð/ are problematic for ESL student.
The particular native language of a student usually determines which sounds
will be substituted: /t/, /s/ or /f/ for /θ/; and /d/, /z/ or /v/ for /ð/. In general, a
voiceless sound will be substituted for the voiceless /θ/ and a voiced sound for
the voiced /ð/
As these sounds are fricative, make sure that students produce them without
stopping the airstream. It is helpful to have students place their tongue between
their teeth. It is not vital that the tongue produce between the teeth a great deal,
but if no contact is made with the teeth, the sounds will not be produced
correctly. For Vietnamese students, it is embarrassing to protrude the tongue;
this should be kept in mind if you having the students exaggerate the
articulation of these sounds
Most of the ordinal numbers contain the /θ/ sound: „third‟, „fourth‟, „fifth‟,
produce, etc. Therefore, practicing the date or birth dates provides useful
practice with the /θ/
Try tongue twisters such as the one below to practice producing these sounds
/ð/ / θ // θ / / θ / / ð / / ð / / θ / / ð / / θ / / ð /
Those three thugs think that they threw those things there
2.5. Difficulties in pronouncing word-final / t∫ /
56
Once Vietnamese speakers have learned to produce the fricative /∫/ in
word-final position, they may substitute /∫/ for /t∫/, saying „marsh‟ instead of
„march‟.
Tips
Vietnamese does have a sounds similar to the english /t∫/ in word-initial
position. This occurs in the vietnamese word chua / t∫uə/, „not yet‟. Have
students pronounce this word, pointing out the similarity between its initial
sound and the final sound in a word such as „march‟
3. Some suggested exercises to improve pronunciation

Exercise 1: /p/ /t/ /k/
1. When we pronounce the initial sound such words as pair, tear the
consonant sounds are followed by a puff of air, just like an /h/ sound. This /h/
sound after stop consonants such as /p/, /t/ and /k/ is called aspiration.
Pronounce the following words:
pin tin car
pack tip can
pit tan kill
2. In certain positions, especially at the ends of syllables, these sounds are not
usually pronounced with aspiration. Pronounce the following words:
keep cat lake
deep rat take
3. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of words contain the
sounds /p/, /t/ and /k/ which are to be pronounced with aspiration or a slight puff
of air following them.
a) Wait till the cows come home.
b) I spilled the pills.
c) He has a pencil in his pocket.
d) The car cost a lot.
e) This is terrible.
f) Please tell me a story.
g) There are ten people in the room.
h) Can you get the tickets for me?
Exercise 2: /f/ /v/ /b/
57
1. The initial sound in the words fat, feel is symbolized /f/. This sound is
pronounced with the upper teeth placed on the lower lip.
Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain the
sound /f/.
a) I feel fine.
b) The paper fell on the floor.
c) His father works at the factory.
d) He‟s a fine fellow.
2. The initial sound in the words very, vote is symbolized by /v/. This sound is
pronounced with the upper teeth placed on the lower lip, just as in the sound /f/.
The only difference between this sound and /f/ is voicing. The sound /v/ is
voiced.
Practice the following sentences. The words contain the sound /v/.
a) I‟m going to invite her to dinner.
b) We are going to vote tomorrow.
c) We have to visit the school today.
d) Put some vinegar on the vegetables.
e) She has a very nice voice.
3. The teacher will pronounce one of the following sentences. Tick (x) the one
you hear.
He‟s talking about boat.
He‟s talking about vote.
The sound /b/ is a voiced stop pronounced with the two lips pressed
tightly together, then released.
4. Pronounce the words in the columns below. Use as many of the exercises
as you think you need.
(1) Pronounce all of the words in column 1, then, all of the words in column 2.
/b/ /v/
bat vat
best vest
base vase
robe rove
boat vote
(2) Pronounce pairs of words from the above columns, for example, boat, vote.
Be sure that you make a difference in the sounds.
(3) Listen while the teacher pronounces a word from either column. Tell which
column each word is from by giving the number of the column or by holding up
one or two fingers.
5. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /b/ and /v/ are both included
in these sentences as shown.
58
a) I like blueberries very much.
b) The movie was very bad.
c) We are invited to a banquet.
d) The boys are playing volleyball.
e) Get into the boat.
f) I have a savings account at the bank.
g) She bought some vegetables.
h) The village was burned during the war.
Exercise 3: /s/ and /z/

1. Listen while the teacher pronounces the following sentences and select the
correct one.
I‟m going to pronounce the word Sue.
I‟m going to pronounce the word zoo.
The sound /s/ is a voiceless fricative pronounced with the tongue close to the
teeth, the teeth closed, and the tongue grooved. The air makes a hissing sound as
it passes over the tongue and between the teeth.
The sound /z/ is a voiced fricative pronounced with the tongue in the same
position as for /s/. It is a voiced sound; the vocal cords are vibrating. This
produces a buzzing sound as the air passes out through the mouth.
2. Pronounce the words in the columns below. Use as many of the exercises
as you think you need.
1 2
/s/ /z/
seal zeal
sue zoo
sink zinc
see z
(2) Pronounce pairs of words from the above columns. Be sure that you make
a difference in the two sounds being practiced.
(3) Listen while the teacher pronounces a word from either column. Tell which
column each word is from by giving the number of the column or by holding up
either one or two fingers.
3. Practice the following sentences. The underlined parts of the words contain
the sound /z/.
a) He‟s going to the zoo.
59
b) Close your eyes, please.
c) We have bananas and apples today.
d) Those houses are new.
e) Her eyes are full of tears.
f) On Thursday he arose early.
g) His business is good this year.
h) The boys are playing a game.
4. Practice the following sentences. The sound /s/ and /z/ are both included in
these sentences as shown.
a) Sue is going to the zoo.
b) Steam makes a hissing sound.
c) Mosquitoes make a buzzing sound.
d) They raise rice in China.
e) Baseball and Tennis are good games.
f) We sometimes go to the movies.
g) Please pass me the cigarettes.
h) When does his niece start classes?
Whenever the basic form of the word ends in one of the following sounds a
separate syllable is added in pronouncing the -s suffix: /s, z, Ʒ , ǳ, ʧ , ʃ /. This
syllable is usually pronounced /ІZ/.
Whenever the basic form of a word ends in a voiceless sound (except /s/, / ʧ /,
/ʃ /) the -s suffix is pronounced /s/ and is added without pronouncing an extra
syllable.
Whenever the basic form of a word ends in a voiced sound (except /z/, /Ʒ /, /ǳ/)
the -s suffix is pronounced /z/ and is added without pronouncing an extra
syllable.
The contraction of the word is follows these same rules, except that it is the final
sound of the preceding word which determines the choice of pronunciation.
When the preceding word ends in a sibilant sound the word is cannot be
contracted.
Exercise 4: /θ/ and /s/

correct one.
The dog seems to be thinking.
The dog seems to be sinking.
The sound /θ/ is a voiceless fricative produced by putting the tongue
between the teeth and letting the air pass over the top of the tongue.
The sound /s/ is also a voiceless fricative, but it is pronounced with the
teeth placed together and the tongue pulled back behind them. The air escapes
through the teeth with a hissing sound.
60
the sound /θ/.
a) Don‟t throw the ball through the window.
b) Thank you for the theater ticket.
c) Thanksgiving Day is always on Thursday.
d) I thought I heard thunder.
e) His teeth are very white.
f) She had a toothache yesterday.
g) He needs some toothpaste and a toothbrush.
h) The things in the package are thick.
the sound /s/.
a) Several of the students are absent.
b) My sister is sick.
c) Tennis is a fast game.
d) They saw a lot of snow.
e) He likes to play baseball.
f) The nurse works at the hospital.
g) The submarine came to the surface.
h) Don‟t spoil the rice.
4. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /θ/ and /s/ are both in included
a) She has some ink on her thumb.
b) They think the boat is going to sink.
c) They live in the South.
d) Thank you for the cigarettes.
e) The road runs north and south.
f) They passed through many cities.
g) There are many interesting things in the city.
h) They thought the boat was going to sink.
5. Practice the following tongue-twister:
Tom Thumb thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.
Exercise 5: /ð/ and /d/

correct one.
He was happy when day came.

He was happy when they came.
The sound /ð/ is a voiced fricative produced by putting the tongue between the
teeth and letting the air pass over the top of the tongue. The only difference
61
between this sound and the /θ/ sound is the addition of the vibration of the vocal
cords.
The sound /d/ is a voiced stop produced by putting the tongue against the tooth
ridge in order to completely shut off the stream of air. Then the air is released
with a slight explosion.
2. Pronounce the words in the columns below. Use as many of the exercises as
you think you need.
1 2
/ð/ /d/
they day
then den
there dare
than dan
(2) Pronounce pairs of words from the above columns. Be sure that you make a
difference in the sounds.
(3) Listen while the teacher pronounces a word from either column and tell
which column each word is from by giving the number of the column or by
holding up either one or two fingers
the sound /ð/.
a) This is a picture of my father and mother.

b) I want this book, not that one.
c) This boy is taller than that one.
d) Although it‟s late, my brother is coming.
e) I can either go by car or by train.
f) The man on the corner is a friend of mine.
g) I don‟t know the other man.
h) These bananas are good; those are bad.
the sound /d/.
a) He‟s going to Denver in December.

b) It was a dark day.
c) The child was looking for a dog.
d) The movie was good. It wasn‟t bad.
e) The food was good. It wasn‟t bad.
62
f) I have to wash the dinner dishes.
g) He made a good grade on the test.
h) It‟s difficult to drive in the winter.
5. Practice the sentences. The sounds /ð/ and /d/ are both included in these
sentences as shown.
a) I dare you to go there.

b) Dan bought a dozen roses.
c) They‟ve gone away for the day.
d) What‟s the date of the dance?
e) Today is Monday.
f) Don‟t touch your teeth when you pronounce a "d".
g) The word is doze, not those.
h) That was a good movie.
Exercise 6: /ʃ / /ʧ / /Ʒ/
correct one.
She‟s going to wash.
She‟s going to watch.
The sound /ʃ / is a voiceless fricative pronounced with the tip of the
tongue drawn back toward the palate. The tongue is grooved, the lips are pushed
outward, and the teeth are close together. (Pronounce the two sounds /s/ and /ʃ /
in order to notice the difference in position of the tongue.)
The sound /ʧ / is a voiceless affricate, and the pronunciation is almost the
same as for /ʃ /. However, in pronouncing the first part of this sound, the tongue
tip touches the tooth ridge, thus giving the impression that /ʧ / begins as a /t/ and
ends as a /ʃ /.
the sound /ʃ /.
a) He‟s going to shave.
b) He‟s fishing.
c) Brush your shoes.
d) We‟re washing the dishes.
e) It‟s a fishing boat.
the sound /ʧ /.
a) The children were in the kitchen.
b) Try to catch me.
c) She likes her teacher very much.
d) Don‟t catch cold.
e) They were watching the preacher.
63
4. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /ʃ / and /ʧ / are both included
a) You should get a watch.
b) He wants to catch some fish.
c) I don‟t know whether he hurt his shin or his chin.
d) Where does she teach?
e) Put the cherries in a dish.
5. The consonant sound in the middle of the word measure is symbolized /Ʒ /.
It is pronounced with the tongue and lips in the same position as for /ʃ /. The
only difference is that /Ʒ / is a voiced sound.
6. Practice the pronunciation of /Ʒ / in the following words:
division conclusion leisure
treasure vision pleasure
the sound /Ʒ /.
a) It‟s a pleasure to know you.
b) Are you looking for treasure?
c) He has perfect vision.
d) The office was in confusion.
e) You can draw your own conclusion.
8. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /ʃ / and /Ʒ / are both included
a) I go fishing occasionally.
b) It‟s a pleasure to take a cold shower.
c) Did you measure the shelf?
d) He washes the dishes occasionally.
e) You should make a final decision.
f) I like leisure of social activities.
g) The boy was sharing his treasures.
h) They were measuring the fish.
Exercise 7: /ʧ / and /ǳ/

correct one.
They are chocking.
They are joking.
The sound /ʧ / is a voiceless affricate pronounced by putting the tongue against
the tooth ridge as if for /t/ and then pronouncing /ʃ /.
The sound /ǳ/ is a voiced affricate and differs from /ʧ / only by being voiced. In
pronouncing the first part of this sound the tongue tip touches the tooth ridge
giving the impression that /ǳ/ begins with the sound /d/.
64
the sound /ǳ/.
a) The judge has a white hair.
b) Jack was joking with the girls.
c) The midget‟s name was John.
d) They are driving a jeep.
e) There are lots of pigeons in the trees.
3. Practice the following sentences. The sounds /ʧ / and /ǳ/ are both included
a) The children were jumping and playing catch.
b) The judge sent the man to jail.
c) This jelly is made of cherries.
d) The jeep is not cheap.
e) She‟s going to change the furniture in this room.
f) Charles was looking for a job.
g) Sometimes they cheer, sometimes they jeer.
PART III: CONCLUSION
With the purpose to helping learners who cope with difficulties in

pronouncing English consonants my research paper is includes in three parts. In
the first part, the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study are
clearly introduced.
Part two is development of the study, it includes four chapters. Chapter

one is the part that points out theoretical background of both languages
according to the point of view of different researchers. Chapter two is the
comparison between English consonants and Vietnamese consonants to point
out the similarities and differences. In chapter three, the common pronunciation
problems faced by Vietnamese such as some stops fricatives consonants cluster
and the reasons causing those difficulties are mentioned in details. In chapter
65
four is the most important chapter in the study. This chapter gives some
techniques to improve Vietnamese pronunciation with specific and imaginative
examples and exercises which hopefully will be useful for Vietnamese learners
of English to avoid the mistakes in pronunciation.
Part three is the final part in the whole study. This part summarizes the
content of study.
Due to the limitation of time as well as knowledge, it is inevitable to get
some mistakes. Any comments from teachers and friends are welcome to make
this research paper more perfect.
REFERENCES
1. Alan Gruttenden professor of phonetics, Department of Linguistics
University Of Mamchester. July 2000. Gimson‟s pronunciation of English.
(sixth edition) Oxford.
2. Ann baker. Ship or sheep
3. Doan Thien Thuat (second edition).1976. Ngu am tieng viet. Ha noi
National University Press.
4. Gerald Kelly. How to teach pronunciation (series editor Jeremy Harmer)
5. MacCarthy, P. 1987. The teaching of pronunciation Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
6. Nguyen Quoc Hung. M.A. a model teach English pronunciation to
vienamese learners.
7. Peter Avery and Susan Ethric. 1997. Teaching American English
Pronunciation. (sixth edition). Oxford University Press.
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8. Peter Roach. (Xuan Ba translate and annotate). 2000. English Phonetics
and Phonology-Practical course (third edition). Senior Lecture University of
Leeds.
Website:
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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY

ISO 9001 : 2008

Name: Le Hoang Tuan

HAI PHONG, 2013

ISO 9001 : 2008

AN ANALYSIS ON CONSONANTS IN ENGLISH

Name : Le Hoang Tuan

Supervisor : Ngo Viet Tuan, B.A

HAI PHONG, 2013

My research paper would not be completed without a great deal of

Hai phong, august, 2013

4. Methods of the study

5. Design of the study

1.1. Articulators and places of articulation

Figure 1: Articulators and places of

Places of articulators: Involved the

b, Lower lip and upper teeth – labiodental: /f/, /v/

1.3.1.1. Sound made with the blade of the tongue

Bilabial Labiodentals Interdental Alveolar Alveolarpalatal Velar

Figure 8: Places of articulation

1.3.2.8. Partial obstruction of the airstream – fricatives

Bilabial Labiodentals Interdental Alveolar Alveopalatal Velar

The nasal consonants of lips (bilabial) /m/

The manner of articulation can be summarized as following:

1.3.3. According to voicing

Bilabial Labia- Dental Alveolar Alveolar- Velar

2.1.2. The basic consonants in Vietnamese

2.2. Classification of Vietnamese consonants

Ex: the underlined consonant in the word:

2.2.2.4. Fricative sounds:

2.2.2.5. Lateral-consonant sound:

Labial Apical Dorsa Radia Glottal

Criteria English consonants Vietnamese consonant

3. Comments about the similar and differences of Vietnamese and

3.1.2. Voiced, voiceless, stop criteria are used to compare.

3.1.3. Both languages have approximately the same amount of consonants.

3.2. The differences between English consonants and Vietnamese

“The baoys always pass the garage on their way home”

May be pronounced like:

1.6. Difficulties in pronouncing word-final / t∫ /

1.1. Model exercise

Example: Model of Initial consonant

Sample material (for first and second listening)

1.3. Drilling practice

Substitution drilling is another important and useful variation. This

1.5. Listening activities

2: Technique to improve specific problems

Hot p(h)ot t(h)aught c(h)ot

fan van thigh This sue zoo shoe allusion

2.2.2. Word- final fricative:

2.3. Techniques to pronounce English consonant /r/

1. Have students pronounce a prolonged [aaaaaa], gradually curling the tip

2.4. Techniques to pronounce /θ/ and /ð/

3. Some suggested exercises to improve pronunciation

Exercise 2: /f/ /v/ /b/

Exercise 3: /s/ and /z/

Exercise 4: /θ/ and /s/