a survey of awareness towards english pronunciation among...

Ref. code: 25595821040481HAGRef. code: 25595821040481HAG

A SURVEY OF AWARENESS TOWARDS ENGLISH

PRONUNCIATION AMONG THAI INTERNATIONAL

WORKERS IN EXHIBITION SERVICES

BY

MISS TIPSUDA NIAMTHET

AN INDEPENDENT STUDY PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS IN CAREER ENGLISH FOR

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE, THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2016

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY


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Independent Study Paper Title A SURVEY OF AWARENESS TOWARDS

ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION AMONG THAI

INTERNATIONAL WORKERS IN

EXHIBITION SERVICES

Author Miss Tipsuda Niamthet

Degree Master of Arts

Major Field/Faculty/University Career English for International Communication

Language Institute

Thammasat University

Independent Study Paper Advisor Associate Professor Supong Tangkiengsirisin,

Ph.D.

Academic Years 2016

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to investigate Thai international workers’

awareness and attitudes toward English pronunciation. The objectives of this study

were to examine the level of awareness of Thai international workers, to investigate

their attitude towards their English pronunciation, and to explore the difficult areas of

English pronunciation. The respondents in the study consisted of 50 Thai international

workers in exhibition services. A questionnaire was used as the research instrument

for collecting the data. The results revealed that the awareness level of Thai

international workers of segmental aspects was at a high level, while the supra-

segmental aspect was at a moderate level. The findings of this survey showed that

attitudes towards learning English pronunciation were at a high level in terms of

speaking the same as native speakers and using many kinds of media. The findings

indicated that stress was the most significant problem for Thai international workers.

The results of this study suggest there needs to be a greater focus on supra-segmental

aspects in order to raise awareness and improve pronunciation skill. The company

should be able to use the results to encourage and motivate Thai international workers

to enhance and acquire English pronunciation skill.


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Keywords: awareness toward English pronunciation, attitude toward English

pronunciation , level of Thai international workers’ awareness


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

For the accomplishment of this study, first of all, I would like to express my

gratitude and appreciation to my advisor, Associate Professor Supong

Tangkiengsirisin, Ph.D. for his support, guidance, and encouragement. He provided

valuable suggestions that inspired me to complete this study. I also would like to

thank all of the respondents for answering the questionnaire used in this research. In

addition, I would like to indicate my gratitude to my lovely family and parents for

supporting my master’s degree. Finally, I am greatly indebted to all of my friends who

always cheered me up and enabled me to pass through the tough periods.

Miss Tipsuda Niamthet


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT (1)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (3)

LIST OF TABLES (7)

LIST OF FIGURES (8)

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 State of the problem 3

1.3 Research objectives 4

1.4 Research questions 4

1.5 Definition of terms 5

1.6 Scope of the study 5

1.7 Significance of the study 5

1.8 Organization of the study 6

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 7

2.1 Definition of pronunciation 7

2.2 History of the pronunciation teaching 9

2.3 The importance of pronunciation 10

2.4 The pronunciation goals and techniques 12

2.5 The pronunciation factors 13

2.6 The pronunciation problems of Thai learners 15

2.7 Relevant studies of pronunciation 19


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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22

3.1 Respondents 22

3.2 Materials 22

3.3 Procedures 24

3.3.1 Research design 24

3.3.2 Data collection 24

3.4 Data analysis 24

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 27

4.1 General background information of respondents 27

4.2 Awareness of components in English pronunciation 30

4.3 Attitudes toward English pronunciation 34

4.4 The difficult areas of English pronunciation 36

4.5 Open-ended questions 37

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 39

5.1 Summary of the study 39

5.1.1 Objectives of the study 39

5.1.2 Respondents, Materials and Procedures 39

5.2 Summary of the finding 40

5.2.1 General background Information of the Respondents 40

5.2.2 Thai international workers’ Awareness of 40

Components in English Pronunciation

5.2.3 Thai international workers’ Attitude toward 41

learning English Pronunciation

5.2.4 The Difficult Areas of English Pronunciation 41

5.2.5 The way to solve the problems from difficult areas 41

of English Pronunciation


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5.3 Discussion 42

5.3.1 Pronunciation Aspects Affect the Thai-international 42

workers’ Awareness of English Pronunciation

5.3.2 Attitude to Learning Pronunciation among 43

Thai international workers

5.3.3 The difficult Areas in English Pronunciation among 44

Thai international workers

5.4 Conclusion 45

5.5 Recommendations for further research 45

REFERENCES 47

APPENDIX 51

APPENDIX A 52

BIOGRAPHY 56


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LIST OF TABLES

Tables Page

2.1 Table 1. Chart and key to phonemic symbols: 8

2.2 Table 2. English Initial consonant substitutions 17

2.3 Table 3. English Final Consonant Substitutions 17

3.1 Table 4. Scale of Awareness and Rate Interpretation 23

3.2 Table 5. Scale of Attitude and Rate Interpretation 23

4.1 Table 6. Gender of Respondents 27

4.2 Table 7. Age of Respondents 28

4.3 Table 8. Years of Learning English 28

4.4 Table 9. Experience of Taking a Pronunciation Course 29

4.5 Table 10. Standardized English Test Scores of Respondents 29

4.6 Table11. Awareness Level of Each Aspect

and the Average Awareness Level 30

4.7 Table 12. Level of Awareness towards Segmental Aspect 32

4.8 Table 13. Level of Awareness towards Supra-segmental Aspect 33

4.9 Table 14. Level of Areas of English Pronunciation Problems

of Thai international workers 34

4.10 Table 15. Level of Agreement towards Learning

Pronunciation of Respondents 36


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LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Page

4.1 Figure 1. Mean of the awareness on English pronunciation aspects 31

4.2 Figure 2. Mean of segmental and supra-segmental aspect 34

4.3 Figure 3. Frequency of pronunciation problems 37


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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

English is a vehicle for international communication in which pronunciation is

a key element to learn the oral skill in a second language (ESL) and foreign language

(EFL). In general, pronunciation plays a significant role to help workers to become

intelligible speakers (Morley, 1998). On the other hand, nonstandard intonation and

pronunciation will produce psychological nervousness in speakers.

In order to send a message to each other successfully in the communication

process, speakers decide to put a message, thought, or feeling into a specific form that

enables the communication, which is called “encoding”. Then, the message is

received and intends to find the interpretation in the process of “decoding”. However,

the communication process can be distorted and blocked by both internal and external

noise. External noise occurs when the environment of the communicator is distracted

by, for example, the poor grammar of a particular speaker, the sound of a phone

ringing, people talking, and unsuitable temperature or lighting in the room. Internal

noise includes the state of the speaker, such as health condition, being busy and

having no concentration, and lack of background and previous experience about

specific topics (Hamilton, 2011). Therefore, incorrect pronunciation can be

considered as noise, which misrepresents the message that a speaker expects to

convey; the receiver may then misinterpret the codes, leading to misunderstanding

each.

Pronunciation is not only a matter of pronouncing each sound correctly, but

also includes supra-segmental language features such as stress and intonation. Only

accurate production of sound is not enough because native speakers may not

understand incorrect stress and intonation patterns (Hamilton, 2011).


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Some learners may think that pronunciation is a secondary priority compared

to other language skill and they prefer to focus more on grammar and lexis (Griffiths,

2005). One reason is they can still communicate with partners, customers, or co-

workers without perfect pronunciation. However, Morley (1998) said, “Intelligible

pronunciation is an essential component of communication competence”. If speakers

have inadequate pronunciation skill, their ability to communicate is severely limited.

As second language or foreign language, learners can communicate without advanced

vocabulary or grammar by using simple words instead. Nevertheless, there is no

simple pronunciation. Even if nonnative speakers use advanced vocabulary or

grammar, bad pronunciation may confuse people that they communicate with. On the

other hand, good pronunciation will make others understand them easily.

“A person who masters a foreign language but has a strong accent is perceived

as non-fluent. A person who has a perfect pronunciation but has only a limited

vocabulary is perceived as being much further along in learning the language”

(Wojcik, 2002).

In native speakers’ perspective, the communication with someone having bad

pronunciation is not satisfactory at all. Other speakers may confirm that good

pronunciation can enhance understanding and create a good first impression between

nonnative speakers and native speakers, which is an important factor for learners who

use English language as a tool in their work field and international business. When

workers meet English customers for the first time and have conversations together,

they will be able to notice immediately the worker’s pronunciation. If the

pronunciation is poor, they will probably conclude that they have bad English and

may avoid contacting with that worker.

The English language has become crucial in communicating with people in all

areas. It has been considered as a world language for centuries and is used in political,

education, commercial, economic fields, as well as business and trade, government

and international agencies. In the business world nowadays, English is major tool of

international communication. The number of ESL or EFL speakers in Thailand is


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increasing in every region. Thai people learn English through early childhood in

school until university and some of them continue to learn in private courses. They

have to study many English language skills including pronunciation in order to be

able to use English in various fields and purposes effectively.

Practicing pronunciation is very important for Thai English speakers that are

planning to work abroad, as improving their pronunciation skill beforehand can

promote confidence and make them feel less reluctant in speaking English. The self-

esteem and personal attitude are also the main factors for improving their English

pronunciation. Moreover, it can promote self-study when they encounter the new

vocabulary, enabling them to learn how to pronounce a new word better. Thai

international workers not only need English for comprehension in meetings, but also

for interacting and communicating in English outside the office in many situations.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Thai international workers tend to use Thai pronunciation or styles when

communicating with customers. It seems different from native pronunciation and is

hard for them to understand what Thai speakers want to communicate. In Thailand,

pronunciation has not yet received adequate attention, so people speak with

international customers with poorly trained pronunciation skill. Many workers have

difficulties in pronunciation and have problems making international customers

understand them. Although they need to speak English fluently, most of them think

that English is too challenging and they are too shy to speak English.

The idea of practicing pronunciation to increase communicative confidence

and competence for non-native speakers is clearly identified from experiences. When

Thai workers have a meeting with their foreign customers, they always mispronounce

words. Making a good conversation by pronouncing correctly can increase attention

and satisfaction. Moreover, Thai workers need to be careful when presenting,

otherwise they can have problems leading to dissatisfaction and prejudice.


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Mispronunciations can really aggravate customers. All of the customers need

to be treated as human beings, building rapport and creating a good first impression.

Surely this can lead workers to have a good relationship with their international

customers.

Pronunciation is one of the important skills of a second language and foreign

language learners should pay attention to. This skill can be learnt from mimicking

words and sounds from native speakers, then the workers can practice by drilling or

repeating that particular sound. Pronunciation does not only help the speaking skill,

but also help learners predict the sounds of the words pronounced from people they

talk with. Thus, it is important to help Thai workers rise awareness of correct

pronunciation and to be confident when speaking English, which encourages them to

speak out (Morley, 1998). They should know these advantages and practice their

pronunciation more in order to make their communication with English customers

more effective and pleasant, and they will then not be afraid of being blamed or

making mistakes. This study focus on whether pronunciation practice can increase

confidence and raise awareness for Thai international workers and help them to

become intelligible speakers.

1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

1. To examine the level of Thai international workers’ awareness towards their

English pronunciation.

2. To investigate the Thai international workers’ attitude towards learning


3. To explore the difficult areas of English pronunciation among Thai

international workers.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What is the level of Thai international workers’ awareness towards their

English pronunciation?

2. What is Thai international workers’ attitude towards learning English

pronunciation?


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3. What are the difficult areas of English pronunciation among Thai

international workers?

1.5 DEFFINITION OF TERMS

- Workers refer to Thai international workers working in the exhibition field .

- Native speakers refer to the persons whose first language is English.

- EFL refers to English as a foreign language.

- ESL refers to English as a second language.

- Standard pronunciation refers to the ability to pronounce English words in

a standard way, which is understandable and pleasant for others to listen to.

- Non-standard pronunciation refers to pronunciation of English that is

difficult to understand and may cause misunderstanding to the receivers.

- IPA refers International Phonetic Alphabet.

- Segmental aspects refer the sounds of consonants and vowels (Gilakjani,

2012).

- Supra-segmental aspects refer the components of speech including stress,

rhythm, and intonation (Chongning, 2009).

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

1. In this study, the data was collected from 50 Thai workers in the field of

exhibition services.

2. This study was limited to an investigation of Thai international workers’

awareness of their pronunciation and their attitude toward learning pronunciation.

1.7 SIGINIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1. Thai international workers in exhibition services will gain more awareness

about the importance of learning pronunciation to improve their English

communication skill.

2. Thai international workers will gain a more positive attitude toward learning

pronunciation.

3. The research results may make Thai workers aware of the advantages of the

pronunciation to use in their workplace.


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4. The research may be a guideline for international companies to provide

some pronunciation courses for their Thai international workers.

5. The research may be useful for Thai international workers in terms of

enabling them to avoid mispronunciation that may create problems for their

companies.

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This study is divided into five chapters.

Chapter One is the introduction presenting the background, statement of the

problems, objectives and questions, scope of the study, definition of terms,

significance of the study and organization of the study.

Chapter Two presents a review of literature of the definition of pronunciation,

the importance of pronunciation, history of pronunciation teaching, pronunciation

goals and techniques, pronunciation factors, the pronunciation problems of Thai

learners and relevant studies.

Chapter Three describes the methods and research instruments employed in

this study.

Chapter Four presents the findings of the study.

Chapter Five contains the summary of the study, the discussion, the

conclusion and recommendations for further research.


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CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter reviews studies of the definition of pronunciation, the importance

of pronunciation, history of pronunciation teaching, pronunciation goals and

techniques, pronunciation factors, the pronunciation problems of Thai learners, and

relevant studies.

2.1 DEFINITION OF PRONUNCIATION

The pronunciation is one of the elements in communicative skills. When

people communicate with each other, they need to have correct pronunciation in order

to make their communication effective. There are three levels of English

pronunciation (Espressoenglish, 2016)

Level 1: People often don’t understand what you want to say. You use the

wrong sound in English words.

Level 2: People understand you with concentration, but it is unpleasant to

listen to you.

Level 3: People can understand you easily, and your English is pleasant to

listen to.

Level 3 is the level for ‘good pronunciation’. It does not mean perfect

pronunciation, but the accent must be close to the standard and be easily understood.

It is obvious that studying phonetics would help facilitate pronunciation especially for

ESL or EFL.

Pronunciation is systematically taught as one whole course. This kind of

teaching and learning pronunciation class is called a phonetics course, which includes

the science of speech sounds, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the

production of upper and lower lips, tongue, soft and hard palate, front teeth, and vocal

chords. The combinations are more than one syllables and cluster sound groups,

rhythm, stress, and intonation (Jespersen as cited in Thupatemee, 2006).


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Many studies have established phonemic awareness. Learners could be able to

identify the individual sounds in words. Phonics represents the sounds with letters,

which are the most important for reading skill (Uderhill, 2005).

Table 1. Chart and key to phonemic symbols:

Monophthongs

i: ɪ ʊ u:

see /si:/ sit /sɪt/ good /gʊd/ two /tu:/

e ə ɜ: ɔ:

egg /eg away /əweI/ her /hɜ:/ four /fɔ:/

ӕ ʌ ɑ: ɒ

cat /kӕt/ up /ʌp/ ask /ɑ:sk/ on /ɒn/

Diphthongs

ɪə eɪ

here /hɪə/ eight /eɪt/

ʊə ɔɪ əʊ

cure /kjʊə/ boy /bɔɪ/ no /nəʊ/

eə aɪ aʊ

there /ðeə/ my /maɪ/ now / naʊ/

Consonants

p b t d

pen /pen bee /bi:/ ten /ten/ do /du:/

f v ɵ ð

five /faɪv/ very /verɪ/ thing /ɵiŋ/ this /ðɪs/

m n ŋ h

me /mi:/ nine /naɪn/ long /lɒŋ house /haʊs/

ʧ ʤ k g

chair /ʧeə/ just /ʤʌst/ can /kӕn/ go /gəʊ/


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s z ʃ ʒ

so /səʊ/ zoo /zu:/ she /ʃi:/ pleasure /pleʒə/

l r w j

love /lʌv/ right /raɪt/ we /wi:/ yes /jes/

According to Laver (1994), there are differences between accents, dialect, and

language in the research of phonetics. Accent is simply manner of pronunciation.

Dialects are discernibly different to the extent that they involve different

morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic inventories and patterns. In addition, a

language is made up of a group of related dialects and their associated accents.

2.2 HISTORY OF PRONUNCIATION TEACHING

Pronunciation has been studied only a short time since the beginning of the

twentieth century, which is less than grammar and vocabulary. Pronunciation has

taken a secondary role in language teaching as a “Cinderella” area (Celce-Murcia,

Brinto, Goodwin, & Griner 2015). It has a lower priority than grammar and other

language skills. That is the reason why most language learners have a better

understanding of grammar and vocabulary than pronunciation.

Modern pronunciation teaching is divided into two general approaches (Celce-

Murcia, et al., 2015).

1) An Intuitive-Imitative Approach, which depends on a learner’s ability to

listen to and imitate the rhythms and sounds of the target language without the

intervention of any explicit information. It also presupposes the availability of

good models to listen to, a possibility that has been enhanced by the

availability first of phonograph records, then of tape recorders and language

labs in the mid-twentieth century, followed by audio- and videocassettes and

more recently by compact discs and digital video discs.

2) The Analytic-Linguistic Approach, on the other hand, utilizes information

such as a chart of the vocal apparatus, contrastive information, articulatory

description, the phonetic alphabet, and other aids to supplement production,

imitation, and listening. It explicitly informs the learners of and focuses


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attention on the sound and rhythm of the target language. The approach was

developed to complement rather than to replace the Intuitive-Imitative

Approach, aspects of which were typically incorporated into the practice phase

of a typical analytic-linguistic language lesson.

Communicative Language Teaching, which is an approach to language

teaching that began in the 1980s, is also called the Communicative Approach. This is

the dominant method in language teaching because the initial purpose is to use

language in communication that should be central in all language instructions.

Nowadays, there are people whose oral communication needs special

assistance and high level of intelligibility with pronunciation (Morley, 1991):

1). Foreign teachers at universities and colleges in English-speaking countries.

2). Foreign technicians, businesspeople, and professional workers in

international business and industries in English-speaking countries.

3). International businesspeople who use English as their working lingua

franca.

4). Refugees in vocational training programs and resettlement that need to

relocate in English-speaking countries.

Two more groups can be added to Morley’s four categories:

5). Non-native English teachers who expect to serve as the main models and

sources of input in English for their students.

6). People in non-English-speaking countries that are working as customer

agents, hotel personnel, tour guides who use English to communicate with travelers

who do not speak English language.

2.3 THE IMPORTANCE OF PRONUNCIATION

The different races and nationalities of human beings affect pronunciation.

Children learn how to imitate the voices they hear. If they live in an environment

where people speak Thai, they will only be able to produce their speech in Thai

pronunciation, whereas other foreign languages can also be practiced, the sooner, the

better for their pronunciation (Ronakiat as cite in Chamnanprai, 2013). The role of

English language in Thailand is significant just as in many other countries. The study


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of pronunciation has become a controversial topic. Moreover, the study of ESL and

EFL are a necessity for communication skill.

Good pronunciation makes communication easier, more relaxed and

successful according to Dan (2006). In contrast, poor pronunciation can affect

learners’ academic, social and work development. Fraser (2000) maintains that clear

and correct pronunciation is important in learning English language. Otherwise,

learners may misunderstand poor pronunciation from other English speakers.

English language is an international language. It could refer to the

technological and educational development of those countries (Wiriyachitra, 2004). In

many countries, English has an essential role as the world language used to

communicate between speakers who speak different languages. For example,

multilingual nations include those in Africa and India. They are a restricted audience

for ESL because they communicate in English with non-native speakers only. Thus,

whenever they have to speak with natives, their pronunciation leads to communication

breakdown (Kenworthy, 1987).

According to Yong, (2004) pronunciation is the foundation of communicating

English, both spoken and written. It has been accepted as the important medium of

communication in the world; however, inappropriate pronunciation can lead to

misunderstandings.

Cook (1993) states that people receive meanings of the message through the

use of verbal and written language, while native language learners are able to

pronounce and distinguish various sounds in their mother tongue and different

intonations of the same words, which are pronounced in a dissimilar tone.

Kriedler (1989) asserts that good pronunciation may take time to learn because

there are many factors involved. Thai workers need to listen to a lot of English

pronunciation from native speakers until they become familiar with the phonetic


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sounds. Then, they can become more confident and motivated to learn English

pronunciation.

However, listening comprehension and pronunciation are linked by unified

systems with individual sounds that are related for making sense of the separate

pieces. The more English pronunciation skill is improved, the more that listening and

speaking skill are developed. Moreover, English pronunciation ability can be

improved when spelling skill is refined (Gilbert, 1984).

2.4 THE PRONUNCIATION GOALS AND TECHNIQUES

Three are many techniques and practicing materials that have widely been

used for pronunciation teaching as a part of Communication Language Teaching in

order to make the learners improve their pronunciation and reach their goals (Celce-

Murcia et al., 2015).

1. Listen and imitate: a technique that learners listen to English teachers who

provides correct English pronunciation model, then repeat and imitate it. This

technique could be used with video and audio recordings, computer programs, and

other technological devices in the direct method.

2. Phonetic training: this technique uses the phonetic alphabet and articulatory

descriptions and diagrams. Learners learn intonation, which may include reading

phonetically transcribed texts and practicing phonetic transcriptions.

3. Minimal-pair drills: this technique was established in the audio-lingual era to

help speakers distinguish between problematic and similar sounds in the English

language by listening and speaking practice.

4. Visual aids: this technique is a description of sound production by

audiovisual aids such as Fidel wall charts, sound-color charts, mirrors, and pictures.

These devices are used to learn more accurate production of the English sound.

5. Developmental approximation drills: this technique suggests that adults that

have difficulty pronouncing /r/ or /l/ can begin with initial /y/ or /w/ and then shift to

/r/ or /l/, while little children learning English usually get /y/ before /l/or/w/ before /r/,

respectively:


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/w/ → /r/ /y/ → /l/

wipe ripe you lou

wed red young lung

wag rag yes less

witch rich yet let

6. Practice of vowel shifts and stress shifts related by affixation: a generative

phonology technique used with advanced or intermediate learners. To raise awareness,

speakers learn sentences and short texts that consist of both sounds of a pair and are

then provided oral practicing materials:

Vowel shift: mine (long i) mimic (short i)

Sentence context: Street mimes often mimic the gestures of passersby

Stress shift: PHOtograph photography

Sentence context: I can tell from these photographs that you are very good at

photography.

7. Reading aloud or recitation: learners practice from short scripts or passages

and read aloud, focusing on intonation, stress, and rhythm. This technique works better

with genres, which are always intended to be spoken such as, poems, dialogues

speeches, and plays.

8. Recording of learners’ production: video and audio of spontaneous passages,

role-plays, and free conversations. Subsequent playback gives the speakers

opportunities for feedback from other listeners and self-evaluation.

Many learners dream to have an accent like native speakers because they need

to communicate on an equal level with native speakers in their occupations

(Kenworthy, 1987). For example, teachers of English should have a native accent. Air

traffic controllers or telephone operators will need to have pronunciation that can be

easily understood in less than ideal conditions because there is a limited opportunity

for repetition and second tries; indeed, these can be dangerous.

2.5 THE PRONUNCIATION FACTORS

The most important factor in learning English pronunciation is native

language. Native speakers always have the characteristics of sound in foreign accent.


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It shows that role of native language plays could make the comparison of English

systematic sounds and other languages in difficulties and problems of learners

predicted. This factor does not apply only to individual sounds but also to

combinations of sounds and features such as intonation and rhythm. The greater the

differences, the more difficulties the learner will have in pronouncing English. It can

even be said that there are ‘more favored’ and ‘less favored’ languages. However,

speakers must be careful not to oversimplify the situation and think too much in terms

of handicaps or barriers to learning. It is known that people from many different

language backgrounds can and do acquire native-like- pronunciation in English.

Another factor is the frequency of using English language in communication

of learners. Whether a learner is surrounded by English language or living in an

English-speaking country can affect pronunciation skills. If a learner never lives in an

English-speaking environment, they will not gain an advantage. However, most

learners who stay in English-speaking countries spend their time without speaking

English. Conversely, some learners live in other countries but use English in many

areas of their lives. In such complex bilingual and multilingual situations, it is

difficult to draw conclusions as it depends on how people respond to the opportunity

to use and listen to English language.

Another factor is phonetic ability. It is true that some English learners have

better ears for foreign accents than other learners do. This skill could be referred to as

auditory discrimination ability, phonetic coding ability, or aptitude for oral mimicry.

Every human being has this basic ability, unless they did not learn the sounds of their

native language. Far more interesting is the question of whether certain types of

learners, poor discriminators and good discriminators, benefit from different types of

training. The learners who have high phonetic abilities could gain from pronunciation

drills, the correct sounds are listened and the learners have to imitate repeatedly. Their

innate abilities can take advantage of all opportunities to compare with the model

presented. For poor discriminators, they do not get much benefit from pronunciation

drills (Kenworthy, 1987).


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2.6 THE PRONUNCIATION PROBLEMS OF THAI LEARNERS

According to the study of Kenstowicz and Suchato, as cited in Chamnanprai

(2013), using an 800-word corpus of loanwords from English into Thai, the

consonants lacking a counterpart in Thai phonemic system are adapted, e.g., /ʃ/ was

replaced by /ʧ/ and /v/ was replaced by /w/, in order to be similar to the sounds in

Thai language.

As supported by Ronakiat’s study (as cited in Chamnanprai, 2013), some

consonants in the English language do not appear in the Thai phonological system

such as /ϴ/ and /ð/. Thus, a word with phonetic alphabets defined in a dictionary may

help English learners to distinguish the different pronunciation of the word. For

example, Cloth (noun) /ϴ/ in contrast, to clothe (verb) /ð/ and Abuse (noun) /s/ in

contrast, to abuse (verb) /z/.

Many Thai English learners cannot distinguish the different accents and

spelling produced by those from different cultures and geographical areas such as

British and American English. As a result, Thai learners often pronounce words with

more than one accent in a phrase or sentence. In addition, Tokumoto and Shibata

(2011) found that Asian students strive to be like native language users. The

participants consisted of Japanese, South Korean and Malaysian students who

evaluated themselves by a questionnaire to determine whether they could accept their

accented pronunciation. The results revealed disapproval of the varieties of their

accented English and a preference for being able to speak like the native speakers in

the South Korean and Japanese participants. In contrast, Malaysian students regarded

their own accented English as acceptable.

The correct imitation of the specific voice that includes accent, voice quality,

tone, speed and rhythms cannot be achieved without the recognition and interaction

between the voice source and imitator. Many Thai learners of the English language

possibly make errors and mistakes in English pronunciation due to a lack of speaking

and listening experience with the English native speakers since the years of primary

and secondary formal education (Saxton, 2010).


16

The observation of pronunciation of /ʒ/, which is spelt with “sh” sound, and

/ʤ/, which is spelt with “ch” sound in various positions. The study found that only

/ʤ/ spelt with “ch” sound in the medial position was correctly pronounced.

Meanwhile, they were confused with the difference of the /ʃ/ and /ʧ/ that do not occur

in the sound system of Thai language. In particular, the end-sounds of the words that

were the most frequently mispronounced include /ʒ/, /ʤ/, /d/, /k/, /n/ and /s/

(Ongsuragz, 2008).

In an in-depth analysis of self-perception of nine Thai English teachers’

pronunciation difficulties, the results showed that 59 phonetic sounds were considered

difficult to be pronounced and 37 consonants did not exist in Thai language. The often

mispronunciation sound are /ʃ/ and /ʧ/ in the word such as “catch”, “fish” and

“delicious”. The learners should be careful of consonant clusters, vowel sounds and

consonant sounds in pronunciation, which do not exist, in Thai language, including /ʃ/

and /ʧ/ sounds (Sritulanon, 2007).

Thai workers who learn as ESL or EFL face difficulties in many differences

between the Thai and English systematic sound e.g., /v/, /z/ which sounds do not exist

in Thai. Moreover, word stress in English is important in pronunciation as it greatly

affects native speaker’s understanding. On the other hand, Thai is not a stressed

language so these features do not exist; instead, tone is crucial for Thai words’

meanings (Thupatemee, 2006).

The variations of –ed tense markers present syllabic features such as [id] and

[d] in context-free words and words in a context. The –ed tense markers with syllabic

and non-syllabic voiced features were also examined to differentiate the productions.

The results showed that it was difficult to correctly pronounce both context-free

words and words in context. The removal of the –ed tense makers sound also existed

in participants. Thai students should use well-known sources to practice

(Kanokpermpoon, 2005).


17

Table 2. English Initial consonant substitutions

English

initials

/

/v/

/

/ϴ/

/

/ð/

/

/ʃ/

/

/z/

/

/r/

Thai

substitutions

/

/w/, /f/

/

/t/, /s/,

/z/

/

/d/, /t/,

/s/, /z/

/

/ʧ/

/

/s/

/

/l/

Table 3. English Final Consonant Substitutions

English finals

/ϴ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /ʧ/, /s/,

/z/ /v/, /f/ /l/

Thai substitutions /t/ /p/ /n/

According to Wei and Zhou’s study (2002) on English pronunciation problems

in Thai students called “Insight into English Pronunciation Problems of Thai

Students”, the results showed that most of Thai students face problems with vowels

and consonants, for example, the word with /z/ pronounced as /s/, word with /r/

pronounced as /l/, word with /v/ pronounced as /f/ and word with /ei/ pronounced as

/e/. Intonation and stress between wh-question and yes-no question are also problems

for Thai students. The final sound is always voiceless and unaspirated. Moreover, the

English pronunciation difficulties of Thai people are found in the fricatives; they will

be substituted by the similar sounds in Thai language instead, as shown in the above

table.

The study of “The Pronunciation of English Final Consonant Clusters by Thai

Students” showed that there were five responses from Thai student’s productions,

which were that they deleted one sound and replaced the others, inserted extra sounds,

correctly pronounced two given sounds, replaced one or both sounds, or deleted one

of two sounds. The difficulty in the degree of pronouncing a final consonant cluster

ranked from the hardest were a fricative followed by a stop /-sk/, a stop followed by a


18

fricative /-ks/, a nasal followed by an affricate /-nʧ/, a lateral followed by a stop /-lt/, a

nasal followed by a fricative /-ns/, and a nasal followed by a stop /-nt/ (Mano-im,

1999).

The study of “A development of practice Packages on the Vowels and

Consonants in English Word Pronunciation skill for Prathom Suksa Six Students” by

Panseetong (1996) focused on the sounds that always cause problems for Thai

students such as [ɵ], [ei], [-g], [ʧ], [əʊ], [ð], and [ij]. In teaching pronunciation

courses, English teachers should focus on three processes: the first is production,

which means English teachers must produce the target language the same as native

speakers. Secondly, English teachers need to have a good perception skill. The last

process is correction that English teachers must be able to correct and perceive the

mispronunciation of their students.

The study of “Variation of Thai Air Hostesses’ pronunciation of the Final

Consonants (ʧ, ʤ, ʃ) in English words” was conducted with two groups: high English-

language experience and low English-language experience. The result of both final

consonants /ʤ/ and /ʧ showed that learners with low English experience had a bias for

Thai pronunciation especially in Thai contexts and less so in English contexts.

Nevertheless, the learners with high English experience had a bias for English

pronunciation especially in English contexts and diminished in Thai contexts. For the

final consonant /ʃ/, both groups produced irregular interlanguage (Nimphaibule,

1996).

The study of “An Analysis of English Pronunciation of English Major students

at High Certificate of Education Level” found that there were many errors in

segmental phonemes, which are consonant and vowel and supra-segmental elements,

such as intonation and stress. The failures in the learning process of students and the

difficulties of English pronunciation influenced Thai students’ English pronunciation

(Janyasupab, 1982).


19

2.7 RELEVANT STUDIES OF PRONUNCIATION

In a study of the production of /ϴ/ English words by speakers with different

English language experience, the researcher analyzed the production of /ϴ/, the

language transfer and correlation between English-experiences and the production

characteristics in Thai people. The findings showed that the most frequent variant was

[th]; the targeted variant [ϴ] was 11.25 times less produced than [th]. However, both

groups of high and low experience produced [th] as the greatest variant. The result

also revealed that English-language experience were related to the /th/ production

characteristic and native language transfer effect; the high experience group produced

more /ϴ/ in total and had less native language transfer than the low experience one

(Khirin, 2011).

The acquisition of the native language in children is derived from the mental

and cognitive process, while the learning of other language, besides the mother or first

language, in adolescents or adults occurs after the acquisition during the teenager

period. The process of foreign language learning in adults remarkably slows down

compared to the native language (Schreier, 2005).

In Serthikul’s (2004) study on “The production of the final /l/ in English

words in Thai an English Contexts by Thai speakers with Different English-language

experience”, the results indicated that the final /l/ has five variants, ranked from the

lowest to highest as follow: [r], [l], [n], [ɵ], and [w]. The group of high experience in

English-language had fewer effects in native language.

In the study of “ The Production and Perception of English Monophthongs by

Thai Speakers with different English-Language Experience”, it was found that those

with both low and high experience in English-language produced the pairs of

monophthongs /ɑ:-ʌ/, /u:-ʊ/, and /i:-ɪ/ systematically like native speakers. Moreover, a

relationship between the production and perception of two monophthong pairs /ɑ:-ʌ/

and /i:-ɪ/ was clearly found whereas /u:-ʊ/ was not (Kijkar, 2004).


20

The research of “Perception and Production of English Word Stress of First

Year Students at Rangsit University” by Jarusan (1997) showed that the student’s

experiences is the key in the production and the perception of word stress in English

language. Its competence related to how long the learners are exposed to English

language and the listening skill needed to practice and continuous exposure.

In the study of “Variation of Final /l/ in English Loanwords in Thai according

to style and Educational Background”, the results showed that final /l/ in English

loanwords in Thai language has four significant variants, which were [r], [l], [w], and

[n]. In formal style, there was more frequent use of [l] and in informal style there was

more frequent use of [w], [r], and [n]. Those with a higher educational background

would use [l] more than those with a low educational background. In contrast, later on

they use [w], [n], and [r] more than previously (Sirivisoot, 1994).

Additionally, Charmikorn (1988) studied “Variation in the pronunciation of

Final Alveolar Fricatives in English Loanwords: A Case study of Thai Offices”. The

result showed that the frequency of the voiceless alveolar stop /t/ was half of the

voiceless alveolar fricatives /s/. Moreover, experience abroad, age, and gender as a

social variable could affect production. Normally, the Thai voiceless alveolar

fricatives /s/ are used in the initial positions, but is now used as the final consonants in

Thai.

It is significant that in English and many other languages, learners make a

distinction between ‘hearing’ and ‘listening’. Hearing needs mere presence plus ears,

listening requires work; people can listen carefully and not listen to what others have

said. It is realized that some people have more difficulty listening than others, and

when listening to a foreigner speaking a native language, the learner expects to have

to work a little bit harder. A person pronounces in such a way those other speakers

have to constantly ask for repetitions – then at some stage tolerance is reached. They

would become irritated and maybe even resentful of the effort required. In some

cases, the learner might be willing to be patient and be ultra-tolerant, but for the most

part, they expect conversation with non-native speakers to be ‘comfortable’. In setting


21

goals for the learners, the effect of mispronunciation on the listener and the degree of

tolerance listeners would have must be considered (Kenworthy, 1987).

Based on all of the abovementioned research and related literature, Thai

learners have many problems in English pronunciation from youth to adulthood,

which include consonant clusters, vowels, consonants, intonation and stress, -ed

sounds and final sounds. Moreover, some sounds or letters do not exist in Thai

language, so this makes it difficult for Thai speakers to learn English pronunciation.

All of these problems can lead to mispronunciation. Thus, Thai learners or Thai

workers who contact with English customers should learn more about how to

pronounce correctly and practice to improve their pronunciation skill.


22

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter first describes the subjects. Second, the materials are discussed.

Third, the procedures used in the collection of the data are detailed followed by the

data analysis.

3.1 RESPONDENTS

The population of this study was 107 Thai international workers in fields of

Exhibition Sales, Location Sales, Event Sales, Marketing, Accounting, Creative,

Design, and Administration who always contact with international customers. The

data was collected from a random sample of 50 workers using the convenience

sampling method.

3.2 MATERIALS

The research instrument in the study was a questionnaire adapted from a

relevant study (Thupatemee, 2006). Phirualee (2013) defined that it consisted of five

main parts as follows:

Part I “The general information of the respondents”.

The respondents were asked to answer five questions about personal

information; gender, age, number of years for learning English, experience of taking a

pronunciation course, and their English test scores.

Part II “Awareness of English pronunciation components”.

This part consisted of two main sections regarding the components of English

pronunciation, which are the awareness of segmental features; the consonant sound

(item no.1-7) and vowel sound (item no.8-9), and the awareness of supra-segmental;

features, stress, rhythm and intonation (item no.8-15). It contained 15 closed-ended

questions, which were measured on a five-point Likert scale from “lowest” to

“highest” to rate. The scales of awareness were categorized as follows:


23

Table 4. Scale of Awareness and Rate Interpretation

Scales of Awareness Rate Interpretation

Lowest 1

Low 2

Average 3

High 4

Highest 5

Part III “Degree of attitude towards English pronunciation”.

The third section measured the attitude toward English pronunciation from the

respondents with 10 questions, with a five-point Likert scale ranging from “strongly

disagree” to “absolutely agree”. The ranking criteria were as follows:

Table 5. Scale of Attitude and Rate Interpretation

Interpretation of the scale Rate of Attitude

Strongly disagree 1

Disagree 2

Moderate 3

Agree 4

Absolutely agree 5

Part IV “The difficult areas of English pronunciation”.

There were six lists provided. The respondents were asked to check more than

one area that they thought there were difficult in English pronunciation, which

included consonant sounds, vowel sounds, stress, rhythm, intonation, and others.

Part V “The respondents’ opinions.”

This section asked the respondents to share their ideas on the first question

about how to solve the problems in the most difficult areas in English pronunciation.

The second open-ended question gave them a chance to provide their opinions on


24

whether the company should offer a pronunciation course for Thai international

workers.

3.3 PROCEDURES

This section describes the procedure for conducting this study.

3.3.1 Research Design

This research was based on the survey method. The tool was a

structured questionnaire, which was used as an instrument to get the information from

the respondents. To ensure validity, the questionnaire was designed to collect the data

in support of the study. Firstly, the questionnaire written in English was developed

based on the theory and the data from the pilot study as well as qualitative interviews

with a few respondents. After revision, the pilot group consisted of 10 Thai-

international workers. The results from the pilot study showed some questions needed

to be adjusted. The length of some questions was too long and some parts had specific

words about pronunciation; therefore, the researcher decided to reduce the words in

each sentences and put in the Thai meanings of hard words. After the piloting process

and the test run of the instrument, final adjustments were made to the questions. The

revised questionnaire was then distributed to the respondents individually.

3.3.2 Data Collection

The questionnaires were randomly distributed to 50 Thai international

workers at the company from 3rd

April to 16h April 2017. It was requested that the

questionnaires be returned to the researcher after completion.

3.4 DATA ANALYSIS

The quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social

Sciences on a personal computer (SPSS/PC). For the reliability and the validity of the

findings of the whole study samples, the statistics used to analyse the data mainly

focused on frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation.


25

The data collected from the general information of the respondents was

analysed in the form of frequency and percentage. The data on the awareness of the

English pronunciation component is presented in the form of descriptive statistics,

which include frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation.

In order to determine the awareness of English pronunciation in two different

groups, the analysis of the different factors in comparison was processed to measure

the respondents’ awareness on pronunciation aspects. The width of each level was

calculated as follow:

Level Interval = Range

The width of level

= The highest width –The lowest width

The width of level

= 5 - 1

5

= 0.80

The criteria for interpreting the levels of awareness and attitude are shown in

the following range of mean scores:

Very high = 4.21 – 5.00 points

High = 3.41 – 4.20 points

Moderate = 2.61 – 3.40 points

Low = 1.81 – 2.60 points

Very Low = 1.00 – 1.80 points

As described, regarding the range of mean scores, if the mean score was

between 4.21 and 5.00, the level of awareness and attitude would be very high. When

the mean scores were from 3.41 to 4.20, it meant the awareness and attitude would be

high. If the mean scores were between 2.61 to 3.40, the level of awareness and


26

attitudes would be moderate; mean scores between 1.81 to 2.60 indicated a low level,

whereas mean scores between 1.00-1.80 indicated very low awareness and attitudes.

Also, the Thai international workers were asked about the difficult areas in

English pronunciation. Frequencies were counted for each of the features with regard

to the respondents’ opinions on five different English pronunciation areas.

This chapter presented the respondents, materials, procedures and data

analysis in this research study. In the next chapter, the results of the data analysis will

be presented.


27

CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

This chapter reports the results of the questionnaire survey, divided into five

parts based on first, the general background information of respondents; second,

awareness of English pronunciation; third, attitude of the respondent to English

pronunciation; and fourth, the difficult areas of English pronunciation. Moreover, the

last part is open-ended questions.

4.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF RESPONDENTS

The demographic data shows the background information of the respondents

that are presented in five categories; first, gender of respondents; second, age of

respondents; third, years of learning English; fourth, experience taking a

pronunciation course. In addition, the last one is the standardized English test of

respondents. The results are presented below:

Table 6. Gender of Respondents

Gender Frequency Percent

male 26 52.0

female 24 48.0

Total 50 100.0

Table 6 displays the respondents of this study, which consisted of 50 Thai

international workers: 26 were males (52.00 percent) and 24 were females (48.00

percent).


28

Table 7. Age of Respondents

Age Frequency Percent

21-25 years old 7 14.0

26-30 years old 31 62.0

31-35 years old 9 18.0

36-40 years old 2 4.0

more than 40 years old 1 2.0

Total 50 100.0

Table 7 shows that the majority of respondents (62.00 percent) were between

26-30 years old, 18.00% were between 31-35 years old, and 14.00% were between

21-25 years old.

Table 8. Years of Learning English

Years Frequency Percent

less than 10 years 5 10.0

11-15 years 11 22.0

16-20 years 20 40.0

21-25 years 9 18.0

more than 25 years 5 10.0

Total 50 100.0

Table 8 displays the number of years of learning English of the respondents.

The majority of the respondents, 20 respondents (40.00 percent), claimed to have

studied English for 16-20 years, followed by 11 respondents (22.00 percent) for 11-15

years, and 9 respondents (18.00 percent) for 21-25 years, respectively.


29

Table 9. Experience of Taking a Pronunciation Course

Taking a Pronunciation

course Frequency Percent

Yes 23 46.0

No 27 54.0

Total 50 100.0

Table 9 shows that 23 respondents (46 percent) had experience with taking a

pronunciation course, whereas the rest of them, 27 respondents (54 percent), had

never taken a pronunciation course.

Table 10. Standardized English Test Scores of Respondents

Score Frequency Percent

TOEIC 301-500 score 6 12.0

501-700 score 8 16.0

701-900 score 8 16.0

IELTS 5.5 score 2 4.0

6 score 4 8.0

6.5 score 2 4.0

None 20 40.0

Total 50 100.0

Table 10 shows the range of the respondent’s standardized English test scores.

A total of 44% of the respondents took TOEIC when they applied for the company,

whereas the rest of them took IELTS (16 percent). None of them submitted a TOEFL

score. Moreover, 40% of the respondents did not test because they used their English


30

subject grade from their university to meet the requirement of the company. The

majority of the respondents (16.00 percent) received TOEIC scores in the ranges of

501-700 and 701-900, while only 12% of the respondents were in range of 301-500.

However, 8% of the respondents got a 6 score for IELTS, and 4% of the respondents

earned 5.5 and 6.5 score equally.

4.2 AWARENESS OF COMPONENTS IN ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

In this study, the components of English pronunciation were divided into two

aspects. First, the segmental aspect, which are consonant and vowel sounds; second,

the supra-segmental aspects were stress, rhythm, and intonation. The results are

shown using the descriptive statistics of frequency, percentage, mean, standard

deviation, and overall mean for the two main sections. To interpret and analyze the

data, the criteria for the degree of awareness and attitude were divided into five levels:

highest, high, average, low, and lowest as presented in the criteria in Chapter 3.

Table 11. Awareness Level of Each Aspect and the Average Awareness Level

Pronunciation Aspect Mean Std. Deviation Interpretation

Segmental Aspects

Consonant sounds 3.59 0.96 High

Vowel sounds 3.44 1.02 High

Total 3.52 0.99 High

Supra-segmental Aspects

Stress 3.01 1.08 Moderate

Rhythm 3.14 1.03 Moderate

Intonation 3.12 1.06 Moderate

Total 3.09 1.06 Moderate

Average 3.31 1.03 Moderate


31

Table 11 shows the mean average of awareness levels in both aspects of

pronunciation, which are the segmental aspect and supra-segmental aspects. It

includes the average mean, standard deviation of the average awareness of the Thai-

international workers. The segmental aspect consists of consonant and vowel sounds

while the supra-segmental aspect is composed of stress, rhythm, and intonation. In the

resulting table, the average level of awareness was moderate (3.31 mean score) while

the mean score of the segmental aspect (3.52 mean score) represented a high level and

the mean score of the supra-segmental aspect (3.09 mean score) showed a moderate

level. The results revealed that the respondents had higher awareness towards

pronunciation on segmental features more than supra-segmental features.

Figure 1. Mean of the awareness on English pronunciation aspects

Awareness Level of Pronunciation Aspect

Figure 1 shows the results of the awareness of the respondents in the form of a

bar graph. It illustrates the level of the awareness from 15 questions consisting of both

the segmental aspect, which are consonant and vowel sounds, and the supra-

segmental aspect, which are stress, rhythm, and intonation. When the two aspects of

pronunciation were compared, it was found that the respondents were more awaren of

the segmental aspect (3.52 mean score) than the supra-segmental aspect (3.09 mean

score).

2.8

2.9

3

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

Segmental Aspet Supra-segmental Aspect


32

Table 12. Level of Awareness towards Segmental Aspect

Consonant sounds Mean Std. Deviation Level

1. [You know how to pronounce /k/

and /g/ sound.] 3.64 0.92 High

2. [You know how to pronounce /l/

and /r/ sound.] 3.60 1.01 High

3. [You know how to pronounce /s/

and /z/ sound.] 3.90 0.86 High

4. [You know how to pronounce

/sh/ and /ch/ sound.] 3.38 1.02 Moderate


word(s) ending with /-ed/ and /-s/.] 3.62 0.96 High


initial or final /v/ sound.] 3.40 0.99 Moderate


initial or final /th/ sound.] 3.56 0.97 High


Vowel sounds

1. [You can produce and identify

long and short vowel sounds.] 3.28 1.03 Moderate

2. [You know that one vowel can

present different sounds.] 3.60 1.01 High


Table 12 reveals the results of the highest mean score on pronunciation

awareness of the segmental aspect was the consonant sound of /s/ and /z/ at 3.90 mean

score at a high level and the lowest mean score on pronunciation awareness was

produced and identify long and short vowel sound at 3.28 mean score at the moderate

level. The finding indicated awareness of the segmental aspect with a consonant and

vowel sound at a high level, with mean scores of 3.59 and 3.44 respectively.


33

Table 13. Level of Awareness towards Supra-segmental Aspect

Supra-segmental Mean Std. Deviation Level

1. [You pay attention to word stress

by putting stress on the correct

syllable.]

3.10 1.09 Moderate

2. [You pay attention to placing

stress on content words (e.g. nouns,

verbs, adjectives, or adverbs).]

3.12 1.11 Moderate

3. [You pay attention to placing

stress on the suffixes (e.g. -ial, -ian,

-ity, -ious).]

2.92 1.06 Moderate

4. [You pay attention to putting

stress on the compound nouns or

compound verbs]

2.88 1.06 Moderate

5. [You use different intonation

patterns to signify different

meanings and intentions.]

3.12 1.06 Moderate

6. [You always focus on strong and

weak stress in a sentence.] 3.14 1.03 Moderate

Total 3.05 1.07 Moderate

Table 13 shows that the highest mean score on pronunciation awareness was

the focus on strong and weak stress on the sentence, with the rhythm feature at a

moderate level of 3.14 mean score. The results showed that the lowest mean score

was stress on the compound nouns or compound verbs at 2.88 mean score. However,

the overall mean score was at a moderate level at 3.05.

In Figure 2, the comparison of the two aspects on English pronunciation with

regard to the awareness level towards the segmental aspect and the supra-segmental

aspect is shown. The respondents were aware of consonant sounds the most with the


34

highest mean score (3.59 mean score) in the area of segmental aspect. For the supra-

segmental aspect, rhythm had the highest mean score (3.14 mean score). On the other

hand, stress got the lowest mean score (3.01 mean score) of the supra-segmental term.

Thus, respondents had a lack of awareness in this area.

Figure 2. Means of segmental and supra-segmental aspects

Awareness Level towards Segmental and Supra-segmental Aspects

4.3 ATTITUDES TOWARD ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

In this section, the attitudes of respondents toward English pronunciation in

the 10 questions was measured with a five-point Likert scale ranging from “Strongly

Disagree” to “Absolutely Agree”

Table 14. Level of Agreement towards Learning Pronunciation of Respondents

Attitude toward learning

pronunciation Mean Std. Deviation Level

1. [You want to have good

pronunciation.] 4.50 0.67 Very high

2. [Pronunciation is important in

communication.] 4.28 0.67 Very high

2.72.82.9

33.13.23.33.43.53.63.7


35

Attitude toward learning

pronunciation Mean Std. Deviation Level

3. [You believe that taking

pronunciation courses help you to

improve your pronunciation.]

4.08 0.77 High

4. [You find that your pronunciation

can be improved if you start

imitating correct pronunciation

first.]

4.22 0.67 Very high

5. [You find that reading aloud

helps you to improve your

pronunciation.]

4.02 0.86 High

6. [You believe that often watching

English movies or listening to

English songs can help you to


4.46 0.73 Very high

7. [You believe that speaking with

native speakers can help you to


4.54 0.73 Very high

8. [You think that listening to

pronunciation from online

dictionary helps you to improve

your pronunciation.]

3.78 0.97 High

9. [You think that it is necessary to

have pronunciation as close to that

of native speakers as possible.]

3.82 0.87 High

10. [You think that pronunciation

courses should be provided as part

of work training.]

3.88 0.71 High



36

Table 14 shows the respondents their attitudes toward learning English

pronunciation. Among the 10 questions, it was found that speaking with native

speakers helped the workers to improve the pronunciation had the highest mean of

4.54 score. Moreover, watching English movies or listening to English song and start

imitating correct pronunciation first helped to improve pronunciation was at a very

high level, with mean scores of 4.46 and 4.22, respectively. In contrast, the lowest

mean score was on listening to pronunciation from an online dictionary at 3.78.

However, the results also showed that the mean score of all 10 questions regarding the

attitude of learning pronunciation was at a high level at 4.16.

4.4 THE DIFFICULT AREAS OF ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION

This part covers the most difficult areas that lead the respondents to have

problems in pronunciation.

Table 15. Areas of English Pronunciation Problems of Thai international workers

English Pronunciation Problem Frequency

Consonant sounds 13

Vowel sounds 15

Stress 32

Rhythm 22

Intonation 26

Others 0

Table 15 presents the difficult areas of pronunciation for the respondents.

They were asked to choose more than one area and illustrate the answer as best as

possible. The results revealed that stress in supra-segmental aspect was found to be

the most difficult area with 32 respondents from 50 workers. Intonation and rhythm

followed with a frequency of 26 and 22 respondents, respectively. Moreover, this was


37

followed by two less significant problems, which were vowel and consonant sounds

with a frequency of 15 and 13 respondents, respectively.

Figure 3. Frequency of pronunciation problems

Frequency of pronunciation problems

As presented in Figure 3, the most problematic areas of pronunciation

problems as indicated by highest frequency of 32 respondents was stress and the

second most problematic area was intonation with 26 respondents, followed by

rhythm with 22 respondents. This figure also shows that 15 and 13 respondents,

respectively, found vowel and consonant sounds to be problematic.

4.5 OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS

This part presents two open-ended questions and provides information

regarding the opinions about how to address the difficult areas of English

pronunciation of the respondents.

For the first question, the respondent’s answers can be divided into five main

categories to solve the problems from difficult areas of English pronunciation, which

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Consonantsound

Vowel sound Stess Rhythm Intonation Others


38

were learning from textbooks, watching English movies and listening to English

songs, talking with native speakers, using the sound of an online dictionary, and

practicing.

The second question asked their opinions about whether the company should

provide a pronunciation course for them or not and why. Most of respondents agreed

that the company should provide a pronunciation course for many reasons e.g. it could

make the Thai international workers to improve their pronunciation skill and they saw

it as important part in communication that they use in their career. On the other hand,

a few respondents thought that it was unnecessary to learn pronunciation, but they

needed some skills instead such as a conversation class, grammar, vocabulary, or

communicative skill. One or two respondents disagreed with the course for the reason

that they could practice with native English customers.

In summary, this chapter presented the results regarding the English

pronunciation awareness of Thai international workers in exhibition services. The

finding of the study will be summarized and discussed in Chapter 5.


39

CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSION, DISCUSSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents first, a summary of the study; second, a summary of the

findings; third, a discussion of the findings; fourth, the conclusion; and lastly, the

recommendations for further research.

5.1 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

This section summarizes the investigation of the Thai international workers’

awareness toward their own English pronunciation and the attitudes of the Thai

international workers toward learning English pronunciation.

5.1.1 Objectives of the study

1. To examine the level of Thai international workers’ awareness

towards their English pronunciation.

2. To investigate Thai international workers’ attitude towards learning


3. To explore the difficult areas of English pronunciation among the

Thai international workers.

5.1.2 Respondents, Materials and Procedures

The respondents of this study were 50 Thai international workers in

exhibition services.

The research instrument in the study was a questionnaire adapted from

a relevant study (Thupatemee, 2006). Phirualee (2013) defined that it consisted of

four main parts: general information of the respondents, awareness of components in

English pronunciation, attitude towards English pronunciation and opinions of

respondents.


40

The first part was general background information of the respondents,

which had five parts; gender, age, number of years for learning English, experience of

taking a pronunciation course, and their English test scores. The second part of the

questionnaire was the awareness of components in English pronunciation measured

by the awareness level of segmental and supra-segmental aspects. The third part was

the respondents’ attitude toward learning English pronunciation. In the last part, open-

ended questions allowed the respondents to provide their opinion as to whether the

company should provide a pronunciation course for Thai international workers.

The questionnaires were distributed randomly to 50 Thai international

workers in exhibition services. The respondents were asked to fill out the

questionnaires and return them to the researcher. The data was computed and

analyzed using the SPSS program. The descriptive statistics of the findings were

presented in terms of frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The results

were shown in the forms of tables and figures.

5.2 SUMMARY OF THE FINDING

The results of the study can be summarized as follows:

5.2.1 General background Information of the Respondents

There were 50 respondents in this study. On the aspect of gender, there

were almost an equal number of males and females. The majority of respondents were

between 26-30 years old. Regarding the years of learning English, nearly half of them

had been learning English for 16-20 years. The results showed that more than half of

the respondents had never taken a pronunciation course. The majority of the

respondents took TOEIC when they applied for the company.

5.2.2 Thai international workers’ Awareness of the Components in

English Pronunciation

The statistical findings revealed that Thai international workers were

aware of English pronunciation regarding the segmental aspects and supra-segmental

aspects at a moderate level. The overall findings showed that they were more aware of


41

segmental more supra-segmental aspects. The results indicated that consonants got the

highest mean score in the segmental aspect while stress was ranked the lowest among

the supra-segmental aspects.

5.2.3 Thai international workers’ Attitude toward learning English

Pronunciation

The findings in this part indicated that Thai international workers seem

to have positive attitudes towards learning English pronunciation by speaking with

native speakers to improve their pronunciation the most. In addition, watching

English movies or listening to English songs can also help the respondents to improve

their pronunciation. Moreover, an English pronunciation course provided by the

company is an important factor to improve their pronunciation. The results also

showed that using an online dictionary is slightly important to improve English

pronunciation.

5.2.4 The Difficult Areas of English Pronunciation

The findings revealed that the most difficult area of English

pronunciation for Thai international workers was stress. It could clearly be confirmed

that respondents thought English pronunciation of supra-segmental aspects was most

difficult.

5.2.5 The way to solve the problems from difficult areas of English

Pronunciation

The respondent’s opinions for solving the problems from difficult

areas of English pronunciation were learning from textbooks, watching English

movies and listening to English song, talking with native speakers, using the sound of

online dictionaries, and practicing. In addition, most of respondents answered that the

company should provide a pronunciation course for them in order to improve their

pronunciation skill and this would lead to increased profit for their company.


42

5.3 DISCUSSION

The results of this study showed several important issues related to the

awareness and attitudes toward English pronunciation.

5.3.1 Pronunciation Aspects Affect Thai international workers’

Awareness on English Pronunciation

The finding showed that workers considered segmental aspects at a

high level while supra-segmental aspects were at a moderate level; however, the

average of awareness for both aspects was generally at a moderate level. The reason

may come from most of them have never taken a pronunciation course so they do not

know much about both aspects. This supports the study of Walker (2010) that English

pronunciation may in fact be conditioned more by supra-segmental contexts than

segmental contexts as shown in the finding and pronunciation of segmental may

actually be less problematic to a learner’s communicative competence than supra-

segmental pronunciation patterns. The result revealed that the highest mean score on

pronunciation awareness of the segmental aspect was the consonant sound of /s/ and

/z/. The reason why they were aware of it the most from their previous experience

could be explained with the study of Thupatemee (2006) because Thai workers might

face many difficulties due to the differences between the Thai sound system and the

English sound system, with some sounds not existing in Thai. On the other hand, the

lowest mean score on pronunciation awareness was producing and identifying long

and short vowel sounds at a moderate level. This could be due to the fact that Thai

language is a tonal language, which means syllables pronounced with a different pitch

would carry a different meaning. This finding is in line with Smith and Swan (2000)

that vowel length in English language is significant, with a difference made between

long and short vowels; for example, “sheep, ship”; “green, grin”; “least, list”; “meet,

mitt” or “deed, did”.

The results of this study showed that Thai international workers got the

highest mean score on pronunciation awareness of the supra-segmental aspect about

the focus on strong and weak stress on the sentence, which is a rhythm feature. Since

Thai learners study the rising and falling tones as the major difference from their


43

language, they were well aware of it. This supports the study of Celce-Murcia et al.

(2015) that found that learners focus attention on the sounds and rhythms of the native

language. However, the lowest mean score was stress on the compound nouns or

compound verbs, which mean Thai-international workers, did not pay enough

attention to the supra-segmental features in terms of word stress. This was supported

by Janyasupab (1982)’s study that errors were found in supra-segmental elements,

which were stress and intonation. In addition, the wrong placement of stress can cause

unintelligibility in speech at both the national and international level, which was

confirmed by Jindal, Sadanand, and Sethi (2005). From the results, Thai international

workers should raise their awareness of both segmental aspects and supra-segmental

aspects in order to improve their English pronunciation skill.

5.3.2 Attitude of Learning Pronunciation among Thai international

workers

The findings revealed that Thai international workers seek to learn and

develop English pronunciation at a high attitude level. The findings of this study

showed that speaking with native speakers helped the workers to improve the English

pronunciation at the highest mean score. Most of the time when working, they could

practice English pronunciation with their international customers. This result relates

to Bohn and Munro (2007), which indicated that high-quality input from native

speakers plays an important role in second language pronunciation. Moreover, it was

supported by Tokumoto and Shibata (2011) that Asian students desire for their

English pronunciation to be like native language users.

The findings also revealed that watching English movies or listening to

English songs helped to improve pronunciation. At present, many Thais choose to

watch soundtrack English movies more than in the past and they would adapt it for

their working life. This supports Rindal (2010), who found that “it is difficult to avoid

the impression that learner’s pronunciation is influenced by spoken media”. In

addition, the findings showed that starting to imitate correct pronunciation helped to

improve pronunciation because all learners would recognize the correct pronunciation

better after their mistakes. This is in line with Saxton (2010), who determined that the


44

correct imitation of a specific voice including accent, voice quality, tone, speed and

rhythms cannot be achieved without the right recognition and interaction between the

voice source and the imitator. On the other hand, the findings showed that the lowest

mean score was on listening to pronunciation from an online dictionary; this supports

the study of Phirualee (2013), who determined that “it is not convenient to use

dictionary in order to ensure the correct use of pronunciation”.

Thai international workers also indicated that providing pronunciation

courses in the company helps them to improve their pronunciation learning at a high

attitude level. Pronunciation is not only concerned with correct production of

phonemes but it must be considered as another important part of communication such

as grammar, vocabulary, and syntax, which confirms the study of Morley (1991).

5.3.3 The Difficult Areas in English Pronunciation among Thai-

international workers

According to the results of the study, it could be inferred that the most

frequent problem area in English pronunciation in the supra-segmental area relates to

the stress feature. The workers are always confused about stress when they speak both

words and sentences. They do not know what the correct word stress is; however,

only accurate production of sound is not enough because native speakers may not

understand incorrect stress patterns. This confirms the study of Hamilton (2011),

which determined that pronunciation is not only a matter of pronouncing each sound

correctly, but one also needs to have a good or understandable pronunciation; this

requires practice pronouncing the supra-segmental language features such as stress.

Moreover, it relates to the study of Khamkhien (2010), which stated that stress is one

of the possible factors affecting Thai learner’s competence. The result also appears to

concur with Jindal et al. (2005) that a simple word could be misheard if speakers

wrongly stress the right syllable. However, it is not only stress that is the most

difficult feature in English pronunciation for Thai international workers, but other

features including intonation, rhythm, vowel and consonant sounds also cause them a

problem in their English pronunciation.


45

5.4 CONCLUSION

Since this company is a major company that provide service for international

exhibitions in Thailand, the Thai international workers in fields of Exhibition Sales,

Location Sales, Event Sales, Marketing, Accounting, Creative, Design, and

Administration are always in contact with international customers. There were many

problems of mispronunciation between workers and international customers that lead

the company to lose profit and credibility. Therefore, this study sought to investigate

the awareness and attitudes toward English pronunciation among Thai international

workers in order to explore the difficult areas of English pronunciation and find the

way to solve them. Moreover, this study would allow the company to know how

necessary a pronunciation course is for Thai international workers.

The results showed that Thai-international workers were more familiar with

English consonants and vowels than supra-segmental features, and they reported that

stress was the most difficult area of English pronunciation. This was because most

Thai learners focus more on grammar and vocabulary, but less on pronunciation skill

despite the fact that this skill is one of the communication skills that can make

international customers satisfied. Most respondents learn pronunciation by speaking

with native speakers to improve their English pronunciation; however, this was not

enough because they thought that a pronunciation course could make them improve

their pronunciation skill and they were willing to take a course that the company

provided.

In addition, this study can raise respondents’ awareness about the importance

of the supra-segmental aspect, which includes stress, rhythm, and intonation.

Furthermore, Thai international workers would pay more attention to their

pronunciation when communicating with international customers in order to avoid

mispronunciation and make problems for their company.

5.5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Based on the findings and conclusions of this study, the following

recommendations are made for future research


46

5.5.1 Future studies should conduct interviews to collect data in detail from

the respondents to investigate the relationship between Thai international workers’

pronunciation competence and their actual performance.

5.5.2 To increase the validity of future research, other sounds of consonants

and vowels should be investigated to see whether respondents are aware of other

sounds in the segmental aspect or not. Moreover, they should be asked about other

supra-segmental areas that could affect the awareness of respondents.

5.5.3 As the result of this study showed that a pronunciation course is

important for learners, future research should seek to determine what respondents

need to learn in order to provide a suitable course for workers.

5.5.4 According to the scope of this study that investigated only the level of

awareness and attitude of the respondents, future research should be extended to find

the causes of pronunciation problems in supra-segmental aspects.


47

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51

APPENDIX


52

APPENDIX A

A SURVEY OF AWARENESS TOWARDS ENGLISH

PRONUNCIATION AMONG THAI-INTERNATIONAL

WORKERS IN EXHIBITION SERVICES

This questionnaire is a part of research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirement for a Master of Arts Program in English for Careers, Language

Institute, Thammasat University (LITU). We would like to ask you to help us by

answering the following questions concerning about awareness and attitudes towards

English pronunciation of Thai-international workers in exhibition services. This is not

a test so there no “right” or “wrong” answers. Please give your answers sincerely, as

only this will guarantee the success of this study. Your cooperation in answering the

questionnaire is highly appreciated.

Part I

Personal background information

1. Gender:

Male Female

2. Age:

21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 > 41

3. How long have you been learning English?

< 10 11-15 16-20 21-25 > 26

4. Have you ever taken a pronunciation course?

Yes No

5. Have you ever taken an English test?

IELTS TOFEL TOEIC score: __________

Others (please specify) score: __________


53

Part II

Awareness of components in English pronunciation

In this part, we would like you to indicate how much you agree or disagree with the

following statements by simply marking check on a number from 1 to 5. Please do not

leave out any of the items.

1= lowest 2= low 3= Average 4= high 5= highest

Consonant sounds (เสยีงพยญัชนะ) 1 2 3 4 5

1. You know how to pronounce /k/ and /g/ sound.

2. You know how to pronounce /l/ and /r/ sound.

3. You know how to pronounce /s/ and /z/ sound.

4. You know how to pronounce /sh/ and /ch/ sound.

5. You know how to pronounce word(s) ending with /-ed/ and

/-s/.

6. You know how to pronounce initial or final /v/ sound.

7. You know how to pronounce initial or final /th/ sound.

Vowel sounds (เสยีงสระ) 1 2 3 4 5

8. You can produce and identify long and short vowel sounds.

9. You know that one vowel can present different sounds.

Stress, rhythm, and intonation (การเนน้เสยีง จงัหวะ และการออกเสยีงสงูต า่) 1 2 3 4 5

10. You pay attention to word stress by putting stress on the

correct syllable.

11. You pay attention to placing stress on content word (e.g.

nouns, verbs, adjective, or adverbs).

12. You pay attention to placing stress on the suffixes (e.g. -

ial, -ian, -ity, -ious).

13. You pay attention to putting stress on the compound

nouns or compound verbs.

14. You use different intonation patterns to signify different

meanings and intentions.

15. You always focus on strong and weak stress in a sentence.


54

Part III

Attitude towards English pronunciation

In this part, we would like you to indicate how much you agree or disagree with the

following statements by simply marking check on a number from 1 to 5. Please do not

leave out any of the items.

1= strongly disagree 2= disagree 3= moderate 4=agree 5= absolutely agree

Your attitudes towards pronunciation 1 2 3 4 5

1. You want to have a good pronunciation.

2. Pronunciation is important in communication.

3. You believe that taking pronunciation courses help you to

improve your pronunciation.

4. You find that your pronunciation can be improved if you

start imitating correct pronunciation first.

5. You find that reading aloud helps you to improve your

pronunciation.

6. You believe that often watching English movies or listening

to English song can help you to improve your pronunciation.

7. You believe that speaking with native speakers can help you

to improve your pronunciation.

8. You think that listening to pronunciation from online

dictionary helps you to improve your pronunciation.

9. You think that it is necessary to have pronunciation as close

to that of native speakers as possible.

10. You think that pronunciation courses should be provided as

part of work training.


55

Part IV

The difficult areas of English pronunciation

1. What areas of English pronunciation are difficult? You may choose more than 1

area.

Consonant sounds (เสยีงพยัญชนะ) _________________________________

Vowel sounds (เสยีงสระ) _________________________________________

Stress (การเนน้เสยีง) ____________________________________________

Rhythm (จังหวะ) ________________________________________________

Intonation (การออกเสยีงสงูต า่) ____________________________________

Others (please specify) ___________________________________________

Part V

Open-ended questions

1. If you found that English pronunciation are difficult, how do you solve those

problems? For example, Consonant sounds (เสยีงพยัญชนะ), Vowel sounds (เสยีงสระ), Stress (การเนน้เสยีง), Rhythm (จังหวะ), and Intonation (การออกเสยีงสงูต า่).

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. In your opinion, should the company provide a pronunciation course for Thai-

international workers? And why?

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Thank you very much for your cooperation ☺


56

BIOGRAPHY

Name Miss Tipsuda Niamthet

Date of Birth December 31, 1988

Educational Attainment

2011: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Assumption

University of Thailand (ABAC)

Work Position State enterprise

EGAT

Work Experiences 2016 - present: State enterprise

EGAT

2015 - 2016: Sales and Marketing Executive

N.C.C. IMAGE Co., Ltd / Queen Sirikit National

Convention

2015 - 2013: Project Executive

Noble Development Public Co., Ltd. (Bangkok,

Thailand)

2013 - 2011: Project Sales Executive

Plus Property Co., Ltd. (Bangkok, Thailand)

a survey of awareness towards english pronunciation among...

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