Ngữ điệu là quan trọng đối với người học tiếng Anh bởi vì ngay cả với các phụ âm và nguyên âm thỏa đáng, một cụm từ / câu với một đường viền ngữ điệu không chính xác có thể thay đổi mục đích ý nghĩa của cả lời nói. | VNU Journal of Science Foreign Languages 26 2010 171-180 A brief comparison of Vietnamese intonation and English intonation and its implications for teaching English intonation to Vietnamese EFL learners Luu Thi Kim Nhung Faculty of English Hanoi National University of Education Building D3 136Xuan Thuy Cau Giay Hanoi Vietnam Received 12 September 2010 Abstract. Intonation is important for learners of English because even with satisfactory consonants and vowels a phrase sentence with an incorrect intonation contour may change the intended meaning of the whole utterance. This study basing its observation and formulation on earlier publications will briefly compare Vietnamese intonation and English intonation as well as highlight some problems Vietnamese speakers are likely to have in learning English intonation due to the differences between these two language intonations and to offer some implications for teaching English intonation to Vietnamese EFL learners. 1. Introduction . Justification of the study Pronunciation is an area of language use where it is particularly difficult to exert conscious control. And yet it s important. For beginners or for those who have learnt mainly from written texts poor pronunciation can be a obstacle to being understood. For more advanced learners inappropriate intonation may mean that they convey the wrong message when they speak. Even with satisfactory consonants and vowels phonemes a phrase sentence with incorrect melody may change the intended meaning of the whole utterance. On the other hand Pike 1945 1 claims that when brief phrases sentences are Tel 84-912391458. E-mail luu nhung72@ given the proper pitch pattern prosodic features large errors in consonants and vowels seem much less important. This study is an attempt to briefly compare Vietnamese intonation and English intonation as well as highlight some problems Vietnamese speakers are likely to have in learning English intonation due to the differences .