TEACHING ENGLISH DENTAL FRICATIVES TO VIETNAMESE LEARNERS: ADDRESSING PRONUNCIATION CHALLENGES WITH EVIDENCE-BASED METHODS
Abstract
Pronunciation is a critical component of effective communication in English, directly affecting intelligibility and fluency (Derwing & Munro, 2005). Vietnamese learners often struggle with the dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/, which do not exist in their native phonetic inventory, leading to common errors such as pronouncing /θ/ as /s/ or /t/ and /ð/ as /d" or "z" (Tran & Le, 2022). These mispronunciations can cause misunderstandings, undermining learners' confidence and communicative competence. This study evaluates the effectiveness of three instructional methods—Phonetic Training, Immersive Listening, and Interactive Practice—in teaching these sounds. The practical implications of this research are significant, as it offers insights for educators and researchers specializing in pronunciation teaching and language acquisition. Sixty Vietnamese university students were divided into three groups, with results indicating that Interactive Practice led to the most significant improvement in pronunciation accuracy, followed by Phonetic Training. These findings underscore the importance of combining explicit instruction with interactive practice to enhance pronunciation skills, offering practical guidance for educators.