VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ------ NGUYỄN THỊ VÂN THE NEEDS-BASED EVALUATION OF ESP MATERIAL “ENGLISH COURSE FOR NURSING STUDENTS” FOR SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT THANH HOA MEDICAL COLLEGE (ĐÁNH GIÁ DỰA THEO NHU CẦU TÀI LIỆU TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH “ENGLISH COURSE FOR NURSING STUDENTS” DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG Y TẾ THANH HÓA) M. MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.10 Hanoi, 2012 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ------ NGUYỄN THỊ VÂN THE NEEDS BASED EVALUATION OF ESP MATERIAL “ENGLISH COURSE FOR NURSING STUDENTS” FOR SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT THANH HOA MEDICAL COLLEGE (ĐÁNH GIÁ DỰA THEO NHU CẦU TÀI LIỆU TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH “ENGLISH COURSE FOR NURSING STUDENTS” DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG Y TẾ THANH HÓA) M. MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.10 Supervisor : Nguyễn Bàng, M.A Hanoi, 2012 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality of the thesis ……………………………………………… i Acknowledgements ……………………………………………… ii Abstract ……………………………………………… iii Table of contents ……………………………………………. vii List of figures …………………………………………….
viii List of tables ……………………………………………. ix ’ PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 I. Aims of the study ……………………………………………… 2 I. Scope of the study ……………………………………………… 2 I.
Methods of the study ……………………………………………… 2 1. Organization of the study ……………………………………………… 2 PART II: DEVELOPMENT 4 Chapter 1: Literature Review 4 1. An Overview of English for Specific Purpose ……………………………… 4 1. Definition of ESP ……………………………… 4 1.
Classification of ESP ……………………………… 4 1. Characteristics of ESP Course ……………………………… 6 1. Characteristics of English for Medical Purpose ……………. Definition of Material Evaluation ……………………………… 7 1.
Types of Material Evaluation ……………………………… 8 1. Purposes of Material Evaluation ……………………………… 8 1. Models for Material Evaluation ……………………………… 9 1. Needs-Based Evaluation ……………………………… 11 1.
Need Analysis/Assessment Definition ……………………………… 12 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Models of Need Assessment ……………………………… 13 1. Steps in Need Analysis ……………………………… 14 1. Techniques for Need Analysis ……………………………… 15 1.
Purposes of Adaptation ……………………………… 15 1. Areas for Adaptation ……………………………… 16 1. Techniques for Adaptation ………………………………. 16 Chapter 2: Research Methodology 18 2.
The Current Situation of Teaching and Learning ESP at TMC ………. The Course Objectives ……………………………. The Material Description ……………………………. The Research Question.
The Data Collection Instruments .…………………………… 20 Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion 21 3. Methodology ……………………………… 27 PART III: CONCLUSION 31 III. Objective Adjustments ……………………………… 31 III. Content Improvements ……………………………… 32 III.
Methodology Improvements ……………………………… 33 III. Limitations of the Study …. Suggestions for Further Research …. 34 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com REFERENCES 35 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONAIRE FOR TEACHERS I APPENDIX 2 : QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENTS III APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONAIRE FOR TEACHER INTERVIEW V APPENDIX 4 : QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENT INTERVIEW VI APPENDIX 5 : STUDENT NEEDS ANALYSIS RESULTS VII vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABBREVIATIONS TMC: Thanh Hoa Medical College ESP: English for Specific Purpose EMP: English for Medical Purpose vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Types of ESP (From Strevens, 1977, Robinson 1991) …………………….
5 Figure 2: Types of ESP (From Hutchinson and Water, 1987) ……………………. 5 Figure 3: Four-Step Macro-Evaluation (Hutchinson and water, 1987) .………………… 9 Figure 4: Framework for Material Analysis and Evaluation (Littljohn,1998)…………… 11 Figure 5: Skill Importance Ranking …………………… 43 Figure 6: Skill vs. Class-Time Distribution …………………… 43 viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Teachers’ views on the appropriateness of the material to the course objectives 21 Table 2: Students’ views on the appropriateness of the material to the course objectives 21 Table 3: Teachers’ views on the appropriateness of the contents of material 23 Table 4: Students’ views on the appropriateness of the contents of material 24 Table 5: Teachers’ views on the methodology of the material 27 Table 6: Students’ views on the methodology of the material 28 ix LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART I: INTRODUCTION I. Rationale Since the early 1960s, English for specific purposes (ESP) has grown to become one of the most prominent areas of English Language Teaching.
The growth of ESP has also generated an increasing number of specialized textbooks. The importance of the textbook is undeniable since it determines the major part of classroom teaching and student learning. Although choosing a textbook is daunting, it has a significant influence on the ability of students to meet their language learning objectives and affects both the process of learning and outcomes. Nevertheless, as Swales (1980) states, textbooks, especially course books, exhibit problems and in extreme cases are examples of educational failure.
Thus, to have a successful language teaching program, it is necessary to have good materials, and to make the most effective use of a textbook, it is necessary for teachers to carefully examine all aspects of the textbook and compare it against an assessment tool. The present ESP textbook taught at Thanh Hoa Medical College (TMC) was collected and edited from various sources. To some extent, its objectives meet teaching and learning’s goals such as the vocabulary and reading development. However for communicative target in learning language it does not meet teaching and learning requirement.
It includes the texts then the exercises, the exercises are only questions to check reading comprehension and the same kind of questions for all 17 units that gives students a bore. There is no tape, no video, no suggested references books or sources presented in the material. Also this textbook is used to teach all second year students of different faculties such as: students of nursing, students of mid-wife studying…. This material has been used at TMC for several years but no evaluation or consultation has been conducted to check its strengths and weaknesses and to see how well it suited the desired and attainable goals of the course.
As teachers and students’ recent complaints and dissatisfaction about the textbook, evaluating the textbook based on teachers’ and students’ needs is necessary to decide whether to continue using the material, or to look for a new one, or to adapt orientation. Besides, the textbook evaluation helps teachers move beyond impressionistic assessments and it helps them to acquire useful, accurate, systematic, and contextual insights into the overall nature of material, and thus they can respond to the students’ needs and maximize their learning opportunities. For those reasons, the topic “The Needs-Based Evaluation of ESP Material “English Course for Nursing Students” for Second Years Students at Thanh Hoa Medical College” was chosen with the intention that it will not only help improve the material’s quality but also enhance the learning efficiency as well as stimulate students’ interest in language learning. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Aims of the study The study aims to evaluate the material “English Course for Nursing Students” in terms of appropriateness of its objectives, contents and methodology from both the teacher’s and the student’s perspective. The findings will help the teachers to adjust the exploitation of the material so that they can make optimum use of strong points and adapt or substitute weak points from other medical materials. Scope of the study In material evaluation, there has been a great number of criteria that should be taken into consideration such as: the audience, the content, the methodology, the cultural bias, the layout, the authenticity, and so on. In this study, the criteria for evaluation were based on Hutchinson and Water’s (1987) with focus on the three following criteria: objectives of the material, contents of the material, and methodology.
Methods of the study This study employs survey research with two methods, including survey questionnaires and informal interviews. These methods are described in detail in chapter two. Organization of the study The study consists of 3 parts: Part I - Introduction - presents the rationale, aims, scope and methodology of the study Part II - Development - includes 3 chapters: Chapter 1 – Literature review – provides a theoretical basis for the study. First, it surveys the literature on the theories of the basic concepts such as English for Specific Purposes and English for Medical Purposes, regarding the definition, classification, and characteristics.
Second, it reviews material evaluation, need analysis in terms of definition, types, purposes and models. The last part of the chapter presents the issues involving material adaptation which serve as a base for the improvements recommended at the end of the study. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Chapter 2 – Methodology – includes an overview of the approach used in conducting the study. It also provides a thorough description of the data collection procedure as well as the analytical procedure.
Chapter 3 – Result and discussion – reports the findings of the survey and discusses the prominent aspects. Part III – Conclusion – makes conclusion of the study; recommends the improvements to the material; expresses the limitations and suggestions for further research. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART II: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature Review 1. An Overview of English for Specific Purpose 1.
Definition of ESP The concept of ESP has been basically agreed by numerous researchers to be a kind of language learning which has its focus on all aspects of language pertaining to a particular field of human activities while taking into account the time constraint imposed by learners. Hutchinson and Waters (1987:19) states “ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and methods are based on the learners’ reasons for learning.” Widdowson (1983:5) makes it more specific when linking tasks with the direct purpose of an ESP course: “ESP is essentially a training operation which seeks to provide learners with restricted competence to enable them to cope with certain clearly defined tasks. These tasks constitute the specific purposes, which the ESP course is designed to meet.” ESP is also defined as “a particular case of general category of special purpose language teaching” of which, advantages are widely recognized as : being focused on the learner’s needs, relevant to the learner, successful in imparting learning, and last but not least, more cost-effective than “General English” (Adapted from Streven). From the definitions, ESP can be seen that it is not necessarily concerned with a specific discipline, nor does it have to be aimed at a certain age group or ability range, ESP should be seen simple as an “approach” to teaching that meets learner’s needs.
Classification of ESP ESP is traditionally divided into two major areas: English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) and English for Academic Purpose (EAP). EOP involves work-related needs training while EAP, academic study needs. EOP is taught in a situation in which learners need to use English as part of their work and or profession, whereas EAP is taught generally within educational institutions and is provided when the students specialize or intend to specialize in a specific field or subject. Nevertheless, school-subject ESP has been divided into such situations where English is a separate subject on the curriculum but 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com with a related content to other subjects (independent ESP), and where English is the means for other subject to be learnt (integrated ESP).
These types of ESP are summarized as: ESP Occupational Academic Pre-experience Simultaneous Post-experience Discipline-based School subject Pre-study In-study Post-study Independent integrated Figure 1: Types of ESP (From Strevens, 1977, Robinson 1991) To make the ESP classification more clearly, Hutchinson and Water (1987) divide it into three branches with each branch subdivided into two smaller ones: EOP and EAP as follows: ESP - English for Specific Purposes EST EBE ESS English for Science English for Business English for & Technology & Economics Social Study EAP EOP EAP EOP EAP EOP e.