iii ABSTRACT In teaching vocabulary in general and ESP vocabulary in particular, teachers employ many techniques and activities in order to help their students retain learned lexical items. Therefore, this thesis is carried out with the aim to: (1) investigates the difficulties encountered by the second year students at AETD, SDU when learning ESP vocabulary, (2) to find out the techniques/ activities that teachers at SDU used in teaching ESP vocabulary, and (3) to find out how far the use of simulation tasks improve ESP vocabulary for the second year students at AETD, SDU. To achieve the given aim of the study, a pre – task survey questionnaire and a post – task questionnaire have been designed to gather information from 170 students. The findings show that pronunciation and retention of word meaning are factors prevent students from mastering vocabulary and among various techniques employed by the teachers at SDU, simulation tasks prove its effectiveness in the ESP vocabulary improvement of the students.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration……………………………………………………………………………. i Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………… ii Abstract………………………………………………………………………………. iii Table of contents……………………………………………………………………… iv List of tables and figures……………………………………………………………… viii List of abbreviation…………………………………………………………………… ix PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Aims of the study………………………………………………………………….
Scope of the study…………………………………………………………………. Design of the study………………………………………………………………… 3 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.2 Characteristics of simulation…………………………………………………… 5 1.1 Reality of function…………………………………………………………… 5 1.3 Advantages of simulation……………………………………………………… 6 1.4 Criteria for applying simulation………………………………………………… 8 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.3 The role of vocabulary in language learning…………………………………….4 Aspects of vocabulary teaching………………………………………………… 11 1.3 Techniques in vocabulary teaching…………………………………………….1 Techniques in presenting and practising new words…………………………… 14 1.2 Vocabulary teaching in ESP…………………………………………………… 17 1.3 Simulation tasks in ESP vocabulary teaching………………………………….2 Simulation tasks in ESP vocabulary teaching………………………………… 19 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 English teaching and learning context in SDU – background information….1 The course objectives and the textbook “ English for Automobile Engineering.2 Students’ English background and vocabulary learning……………………….3 The teachers and current ESP teaching methods……………………………….1 Subjects of the study…………………………………………………………….2 Methods of the study …………………………………………………………… 23 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.1 The pre – task questionaire…………………………………………………… 23 2.2 The post – task questionaire…………………………………………………. 24 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 3.1 Data analysis of the pre – task survey questionaire…………………………… 25 3.1 The students’ perception and purpose in learning ESP vocabulary…………….1 The students’ opinion of the importance of ESP vocabulary learning……….1 The students’s purpose in learning ESP vocabulary………………………….2 The students’ evaluation of vocabulary in the coursebook English for 26 Automotive Engineering……………………………………………………………… 3.1 How many terminologies? …………………………………………………… 26 3.2 How difficult is the terminology? …………………………………………… 27 3.3 The students’ difficulties in learning ESP vocabulary………………………….1 Difficulties encountered by the students when learning ESP vocabulary…… 28 3.2 Factors causing the difficulties……………………………………………….4 Techniques/ activities exploited by the teachers in teaching ESP vocabulary….1 Techniques exploited by the teachers in presenting ESP vocabulary………… 30 3.2 Techniques exploited by the teachers in practising ESP vocabulary………… 31 3.3 Techniques exploited by the teachers in consolidating ESP vocabulary…….4 The students’ expectation toward teacher’s vocabulary teaching techniques.2 Data analysis of the post – task survey questionaires………………………….1 The impact of simulation tasks on the students’ interest and participation……. 34 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.1 The students’ interest in simulation tasks…………………………………… 34 3.2 The students’ participation in simulation tasks……………………………… 34 3.3 The students’s feelings after taking part in simulation tasks………………… 35 3.2 The benefits and effectiveness of simulation tasks toward ESP vocabulary 36 learning……………………………………………………………………………….1 The students’ ESP vocabulary practice situation through simulation tasks….2 The students’ confirmation of the effectiveness of simulation tasks toward 37 ESP vocabulary learning…………………………………………………………….3 The students’ preferences and expectations to make use of the simulation tasks 39 in ESP vocabulary learning…………………………………………………………… 3.1 The students’s preference to make use of simulation tasks in ESP vocabulary 39 learning……………………………………………………………………………… 3.2 The students’ expectation for the frequency of exploiting simulation tasks… 40 3.4 Sample of simulation tasks used in ESP teaching…………………………….
42 PART C: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 1. Summary of the findings…………………………………………………………… 45 2. Suggestions on applying simulation tasks to improve ESP vocabulary…………… 45 3. Limitations of the study and Recommendations for further study ………………… 46 4.
46 REFERENCES APPENDICES LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Knowledge of a word Table 2: Garage job sheet LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Students' opinion of the importance of ESP vocabulary Figure 2: Students' purpose in learning ESP vocabulary Figure 3: Students’ evaluation of the amount of ESP terminologies Figure 4: Students’ evaluation of the difficulty level of ESP terminologies Figure 5: Students’ difficulties in learning of ESP vocabulary Figure 6: Factors caused students’ difficulties in learning of ESP vocabulary Figure 7: Frequency of techniques used in presenting ESP vocabulary. Figure 8: Students’ preference toward vocabulary presenting technique Figure 9: Students’ preference toward vocabulary practising technique Figure 10: Students’ preference toward vocabulary consolidating technique Figure 11: Students’ expectation toward vocabulary teaching technique Figure 12: Students’ interest in simulation tasks Figure 13: Students’ participation in simulation tasks Figure 14: Students’ feelings after taking part in simulation tasks Figure 15: Students’ ESP vocabulary practice in simulation tasks Figure 16: Students’ confirmation of the effectiveness of simulation tasks toward ESP vocabulary learning Figure 17: How effective? Figure 18: How beneficial? Figure 19: Students’ preference to simulation tasks Figure 20: The frequency of exploiting simulation tasks LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AETD : Automotive Engineering Technology Department EAE : English for Automotive Engineering EAP : English for Academic Purposes ED : English Division EGP : English for General Purposes ESP : English for Special Purposes L2 : Second language SDU : Sao Do University TFLD : Tourism and Foreign Language Department LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1 PART A: INTRODUCTION This part presents the rationale, aims, research question, research methodology and scope of the study. In addition, design of the study is also briefly mentioned. Rationale Vocabulary teaching and learning plays an important role in the process of language acquisition because there is a close relationship between vocabulary and the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Reality shows that due to the shortage of vocabulary, many learners fail to communicate smoothly though their knowledge of grammar is fairly good. Therefore, Wilkins (1972) emphasized: “Without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”(p. In addition, with the development of profession in many fields such as engineering, information science, finance and banking…, there is a worldwide increase in the need for English for specific purpose (ESP). However, the prominent difference between ESP and English for General Purpose (EGP) is the lexicon as Zimmerman (1997 as cited in Eyraud, el al, 200, p.2) states “Vocabulary is central to language and of critical importance to the typical language learner” and it is further described by Jahangard (2007, p.8) that vocabulary, particularly specialist vocabulary (or terminology), is a key element of ESP.
At Sao Do University, ESP is offered to both English majors and non – English majors. However, ESP vocabulary teaching and learning have not been paid enough attention and still far from satisfactory due to many reasons such as course book, mixed – level students, large class, low learner motivation and poor participation. Thus, it is necessary for teachers to create an active and motivated learning environment to get students to involve in learning vocabulary. Among various kinds of techniques, simulation is defined as “reality of function in a simulated and structured environment” (Jones, K.
Simulation with its characteristics and advantages is considered one of the most useful activities that can help students enlarge their vocabulary. Moreover, up to now, there has been little research on the application of simulation tasks in improving ESP vocabulary for foreign language learners. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2 For the above reasons, the author would like to carry out this research entitled, “Using simulation tasks to improve ESP vocabulary for the second – year students of Automotive Engineering Technology Department at Sao Do University”. The author does hope that this study will help the teachers in some ways to find appropriate teaching method to improve vocabulary for their students.
Aims of the study The study aims at investigating the use of simulation tasks to improve vocabulary among the second year students at Automotive Engineering Technology Department (AETD), SDU. The main purposes of the study are summarized below: 1. To investigate the difficulties encountered by the second year students at AETD, SDU when learning ESP vocabulary. To find out the techniques that teachers at SDU used in teaching ESP vocabulary.
To find out how far the use of simulation tasks improved ESP vocabulary for the second year students at AETD, SDU. What difficulties do students of Automotive Engineering Technology Department face with during the process of acquiring vocabulary? 2. What are the techniques that teachers at SDU employ in teaching ESP vocabulary? 3. How can simulation tasks improve ESP vocabulary for the second year students at AETD, SDU? 4.
Research methodology The study primarily employs a survey questionnaire to find answers for the research questions and is conducted mainly with the descriptive - quantitative method. Data is collected through pre - task survey questionnaires and post – task survey questionnaires delivered to 170 students at SDU. Besides, informal interviews with students are carried out to collect more information. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Scope of the study Due to the limitation of time and scale of a minor thesis, it is impossible to cover every aspect of language theory and practice in this study. Thus, the study focuses on examining the use of simulation tasks to improve ESP vocabulary for the second year students at AETD, SDU. Last but not least, the term “ESP vocabulary” is restricted to “vocabulary in English for Automotive Engineering”. Design of the study The study is designed with 3 parts.
Part A: “Introduction” presents the rationale for study, aims of the study, the scope of the study, methods as well as research questions. Part B: “ Development” consists of three chapters Chapter one “Literature review” displays the theoretical background of the research related to vocabulary theory (definition, classification, roles) and simulation tasks (definition, characteristics, advantages) and the discussion of simulation tasks in ESP vocabulary teaching Chapter two “Research Methodology” presents the methodology performed in the study: subjects of the study, the data collection method, instruments as well as process of data collection and data analysis. Chapter three “Data analysis and findings” deals with documentation, data analysis. This focuses on presenting, analyzing and discussing the results obtained from the study based on the pre – task survey questionnaire, the post – task survey questionnaire ,interviews.
Part C: “Recommendations and conclusion” summarizes the findings, implication, recommendations and future directions for further research. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW As mentioned above, vocabulary plays an important role in learning and teaching a language. Many techniques and activities are employed to enlarge learners’ vocabulary. Simulation has recently considered one of the most useful activities in improving the students’s word retention.
The literature review has been made in the hope of demonstrating the scope of the study theoretically in terms of ESP vocabulary and simulation tasks.1 Definitions Simulation is a kind of potential activity that shows much effectiveness to language proficiency. The term “simulation” is defined by many researchers and the latest definitions can be found in “Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics” by Jack C. Richards & Richard Smith(2002, p.487) as follows “classroom activities which reproduce or simulate real situations and which often involve dramatization and group discussion… In simulation activities, learners are given roles in a situation, tasks, or a problem to be solved, and are given instructions to follow (for example, an employer–employee discussion over wage increases in a factory) The participants then make decisions and proposals. Consequences are “simulated” on the basis of decisions the participants take.