MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ HA THI HANG AN INVESTIGATION INTO ESP VOCABULARY TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING IN TOURISM CLASSES AT AU LAC VOCATIONAL TRAINING COLLEGE IN HUE FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.10 MA THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: NGU THIEN HUNG, PhD. HUE, 2012 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ HÀ THỊ HẰNG NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC KĨ THUẬT DẠY TỪ VỰNG CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NGÀNH DU LỊCH THUỘC TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP ÂU LẠC - HUẾ CHUYÊN NGÀNH: LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.10 LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ GIÁO DỤC HỌC NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TIẾN SĨ NGŨ THIỆN HÙNG HUẾ, 2012 STATEMENTS OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere. Author Ha Thi Hang ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr.
Ngu Thien Hung, for the continuous support of my M.A research, for his patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. His guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my M. A very special thanks goes out to my teachers at The M.
A in the Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching course in the academic year 2010- 2012 for their devotion in teaching, which inspired all the students in the class to better their teaching profession. The data collection for my research paper was supported by Tourism students at Au Lac Vocational Training College in Hue. I could not do well with my research paper without their valuable contributions with real and truthful ideas. I would like to thank the students who were willing to spend their time participating in the questionnaire and interview.
Last but not the least, I wish to send my expression of deep gratitude to my family and my friends whose great affection, considerate care, both spiritual and material support, and in time encouragement in moments of difficulty have meant a very big mobilization to me during the process of doing this thesis. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS SUB COVER PAGE. i STATEMENTS OF AUTHORSHIP .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
5 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES .6 Organization of the Research .1 Previous Studies Related to the Research .1 Definition of Vocabulary .2 The status of vocabulary in language teaching and learning .3 Types of vocabulary.2 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Tourism classes .1 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) .3 English for Students of Tourism .1 What is teaching vocabulary? .2 The importance of Teaching Vocabulary .4 Selecting Vocabulary to Teach .5 Techniques for Presenting Vocabulary .6 Techniques for Checking Vocabulary .2 In “BA Upper Practice Skills Methodology Course” (2001, pp. 8-13), many techniques for checking vocabulary are demonstrated.1 The Research Approach .2 Participants of the study .4 Data collection procedures. 35 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .1 English Proficiency of Tourism Students .2 Findings and discussion.1 Students’ Perception on Learning ESP Vocabulary .1 The Importance of ESP Course for Tourism Students’ Current Study and ESP Vocabulary for Tourism Students’ Future Job .2 Factors Affecting Students’ Success in Learning ESP Course .3 Students’ Preference on Learning ESP Vocabulary .4 Students’ Understanding of Word Knowledge Aspects .1 Teachers’ Attitudes towards the Necessity of ESP Vocabulary toStudents’ Career 43 4.2 Teachers’ Opinions on Teaching ESP Vocabulary .3 The Benefits from Presenting ESP Vocabulary .3 The Reality of Using the Techniques of Presenting ESP Vocabulary .1 Frequency of Implementing of Presenting ESP Vocabulary .2 Techniques Used by the Teachers in English Lessons .3 Frequency of Using these Techniques .4 Reasons for Teachers’ Preference to Using the Techniques .5 Factors Influence Teachers’ Choice of Techniques .4 Students’ Attitudes towards the Techniques Used by the Teachers .1 Effects of Teachers’ Techniques on Students’ Study .2 Students’ Preference on Techniques Used by the Teachers .3 Degrees of Students’ Understanding on the Techniques Used by the Teachers .4 Teachers’ Understanding on Students’ Attitudes. 59 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .1 Summary of the key Findings .1 Teachers and Students’ Perception on Teaching and Learning ESP Vocabulary 59 5.2 Teachers’ Techniques of Presenting ESP Vocabulary .3 Students’ Attitudes towards the Techniques Used by the Teachers .4 Effective Techniques in Presenting ESP Vocabulary .2 Implications and suggestions .1 Implications for teachers .2 Implications for students .3 Limitations and suggestions for further study.
7 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL : English as a Foreign Language ESP : English for Specific Purposes L1 : First language L2 : Second language N : Number % : Percentage 5 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4. View on the students‟ evaluation about ESP course. View on the Importance of ESP Course for their Future Job. View on the Importance of ESP Vocabulary for their Future Job.
View on the Factors Affecting Tourism Students‟ Success in Learning. Students‟ Preference on Learning ESP Vocabulary. Students‟ Views on Knowing a Word. Students‟ Views on Understanding “New Vocabulary.
Students‟ Views on Learning a New Vocabulary. Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Necessity of ESP Vocabulary Students‟ Career. Teachers‟ Opinions on Teaching ESP Vocabulary. 44 LIST OF TABLES Table 4.
Tourism students‟ Self-Assessment on Their proficiency. The Benefits from Presenting ESP Vocabulary. Frequency of Implementing of Presenting ESP Vocabulary. Techniques Used by Teachers in English Lessons.
Students‟ Opinions on What Techiques Used by the Teachers. Frequency of Using these Techniques. Reasons for Teachers‟ Preference to Using the Techniques. Factors Influence Teachers‟ Choice of Techniques.
Effects of Teachers‟ Techniques on Students‟ Study. Students‟ Preference on Techniques Used by the Teachers. Degrees of students‟ understanding on the techniques used by the teachers. Teachers‟ Understanding on Students‟ Attitudes.
58 6 ABSTRACT Vocabulary plays an important role in teaching and learning a foreign language, especially in teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP). How to teach vocabulary efficiently is a question to every teacher at Au Lac Vocational Training College in Hue. In order to help our students improve their ESP learning and ESP vocabulary learning, this research was carried out. It aims at answering the following questions: 1.
How is vocabulary taught in Tourism classes at Au Lac Vocational Training College in Hue? 2. What are the students‟ attitudes towards the techniques used by the teacher? 3. What are the suggestions for improving ESP vocabulary teaching? Theparticipants of this study were 100 ESP students who were in classes of Front Office and Restaurant Services(Tourism students), and 5 English teachers at Au Lac Vocational Training College in Hue. Questionnaires, interviews, and class observation were used to collect the data.
The data were analyzed according to statistical frequency and percentage. The findings of this study indicate that Tourism students and English teachers highly appreciate the importance of learning ESP vocabulary in students‟ current study and future jobs. Besides, the research revealed that English teachers only used seven techniques to teach ESP vocabulary, namely, realia, visuals, body, synonyms, antonyms, explanation and translation techniques. Moreover, the findings showed the different attitudes of Tourism students towards mentioned techniques.
Thus, someother techniques were also presented to teach ESP vocabulary more effectively. Basing on the findings, some pedagogical implications for Tourism students and English teachers to improve learning and teaching ESP course as well as limitations and suggestions for further researches were discussed. 7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter firstly presents the rationale of the study in which background of the research and the reasons for the research are mentioned. In addition, the research purposes, research questions, research scope, significance of the study and organization of the study are also given by the researcher.1 Rationale Nowadays with the tendency of the globalization, tourism has become an integral need – a popular social phenomenon.
In Vietnam, tourism attracts a large number of abroad tourists every year. Tourism services have contributed greatly to our economy and the implementation of industrialization and modernization of the country, and improved people‟s lives. Income from tourism business activities increasingly makes tourism a “smokeless industry” that plays an important role in the strategy of socio-economic development of the country. This creates more and more opportunities of work for graduates, especially tourism graduates.
However, to live contently and work successfully in English – using environment means to manage not only the basics of the language but also the terminology of the relevant field of occupation. The most necessary need is that students have to meet the requirement about English in tourism fields. Therefore, English is very important for students to get good job in the future. English has become the language of the multicultural world and plays a key role in human lives.
At present it is considered to be an inevitable part of general and specific education for people all over the world. People need English for different purposes: to deal with the foreign business partners in their jobs, to know it for their studies, to travel abroad to meet other cultures or on holiday, so on. English has become not only an international language but also a global language, an Esperanto of nowadays, a language which is communicated in every part of the world. 7 Moreover, known as a learner-centered approach to teaching English as a foreign or second language, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) satisfies the needs of students who wish to learn English for use in such own specialized fields as law, science, technology, economics, medicine, agriculture, business, tourism, etc.
Anthony (1997:1) asserted: “From the early 1960’s, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown to become one of the most prominent areas of EFL teaching today.” Dudley-Evans and Johns (1991:297) denoted: “As TESOL enters its second quarter century, the demand for English for Specific Purpose (e. English for science and technology, English for business, vocational ESL) continues to increase and expand throughout the world.” ESP teaching and learning might not be new in many countries in which English is used as a foreign language or second language. In Vietnam in general and at Au Lac Vocational Training College in Hue in particular, ESP teaching has recently received a great deal of attention. The teacher or institution may wish to provide teaching materials and techniques that will fit the specific subject area of particular learners.
In response to the demand of society for improving students‟ ability of English communication at work-site, the ESP course quality is of much concern. To achieve the goal of teaching, the teacher must adopt effective teaching methods in education. Especially, today ESP teaching techniques are highly required. In Vietnam, English seems to be learnt and taught in non–English environment, so reading is an important means to get knowledge in ESP, and also a means for further study.
In other words, learners read to learn. This is true for the tourism students at Au Lac Vocational Training College in Hue, where learners are future bartenders, cooks, store clerks to hotel staff, and receptionists who learn English in order to be able to handle subject – related written materials in English and to work with English – speaking tourists. So ESP materials used at Au Lac Vocational Training College in Hue now are often reading materials with the topics in the specific area. “Vocabulary learning has long had a synergistic association 8 with reading; each activity nourishes the other” (Coady and Huckin, 1997:2).
So if one wants to read ESP materials well he needs to learn ESP vocabulary. In fact, vocabularyis the key forstudentsto understand what they hear and read at school; and to communicate successfully with other people. In addition, learning vocabulary is an important part of learning second language.