VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGO HAI YEN THE APPLICATION OF COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE (CEFR) TO DESIGNING A SYLLABUS OF GENERAL ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT QUANG NINH UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY UNG DUNG KHUNG THAM CHIEU CHAU AU (CEFR) THIET KE CHUONG TRINH CHI TIET TIENG ANH TONG QUAT CHO SINH VIEN NAM THU NHAT TRUONG BAI HOC CONG NGHIEP QUANG NINH.MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 TIANOI- 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGO ITAI YEN THE APPLICATION OF COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE (CEFR) TO DESIGNING A SYLLABUS OF GENERAL ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT QUANG NINH UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY UNG DUNG KHUNG THAM CHIEU CHAU AU (CEFR) THIET KE CHUONG TRINH CHE TIET TENG ANH TONG QUAT CHO SINH VIEN NAM THU NHAT TRUONG DAT HOG CONG NGITEP QUANG NINIT M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Lé Vin Canh HANOT- 2014 DECLARATION I certify my authority of the submitted studied entitled THE APPLICATION OF COMMON EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF ROITRENCE (CEFR) TO DESIGNING A SYLLABUS OF GENERAL ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT QUANG NINH UNTVERSITY OF INDUSTRY In total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Axts September 2014 Ngô lãi Yến ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS T would lik, first of all, sincercly and wholcheartedly to thank my supervisor, Dr Ie Van Canh, my supervisor, for his valuable instructions and cornmuents, his considerate assistance and invaluable critical (cedbuck. My special thanks go to all iy teachers of the Post-graduate course 21 at Victramn National University, University of Languages and International Studies for their inleresting and useful lectures.
T also wish to convey my sincere thanks to all my colleagues and the first-year studerls al Quang Ninh University of Industry for their contribution to the data colloction and their constructive suggestions for this research. Last but not Teast, T am grateful tomy friends and ny family who gave me support and encouragement during the time of fulfilling this work ABSTRACT Very recently, the Mistry of Education and Traming of Vietnam has issued the Common Framework of Competencies in Foreign Languages on the basis of the Common European Framework of References for Languages: Teaching, Learning and Assessment, commonly called the CEFR. As the official institutionalization of the Vietnamese Common Framework was preceded the policy of using the CEFR to define the competencies in English, tris thesis uses the term the CRFR. The innovation is a very recent phenomenon, and because of this most of educational institutions in the country do not have the Engtish tanguags syllabus for the atiainment of the goals defined by this innovation This study is an attempt to develop a syllabus towards this, The th Teports on the resulis af situation analysis and particularly the studenls" enrenl tevel of Fnglish proficioney, which are then used as the source of reference for the de lopment of the Rnglish syllabus for the first year at Quang Ninh University of Industry.
The goal of the syllabus is to identify appropriate task types that are aimed at enabling the students to achieve the A2 level on the CEFR, or Level 2 on Vietnamese Framework. As this is just a suggested syllabus, it has not been piloted yet. Therefore, evaluation and modifications resulting from the piloting the syllabus is needed. The study also makes recommendations regarding administration and pedagogy that are needed to deliver the syllabus if it is approved by concerned people and authorities.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration. Abstra Table of Contcuts. List of abbreviations. PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale.
ey Scope of the study. Significance of the study. Methods of the study. APA Structure of the study.
PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER [: LITERATURE REVIEW. 1 Syllabus in Janguage teachin, 1.1 Syllabus and curriculum.2 Types of syllabus.1Grammatical/ Siructural Syllabus 1.3 Notional-functional syllabus.4 Task-based syllabus.25 Toptcal/ Content-bused syllabus.7 Competency-based wllabus.8 Skill-based syllabus 4.9 Text-based syllabus.3 Approaches to syllabus design.2 The Common European Framework of References.1 What is the Common European Framework? .2 Descriptors for Common Reference Levels.3 The application of CRF in 1eaching English in thẻ worllandin 14 CHAPTER II: THE METHODOLOGY 1? 2. 1 1v QLD The teacher sic coco ccc veces tees tes anaes ¬-—.2 The students’ KET test.3 Major finding and discussion.2 Discussion at CHAPTER IIL: SYLLABUS DESIGN .1 Selecting ihe must suitable appreach to syllabus design and a type of 4 syllabus.2 Proposed objectives of the syllabus.3 The content of the syllabus.1 The topics! thematic content.2 Grammar and Vocabulary.3 The language functions in the syÖlabus.1 Inparting and seeking factual Informution.3 Expressing and Finding wut Moral “Atitules. cote te eee eee te env 31 3.4 Expressing and Finding out Intellectual Auindes.5 Rxpressing and finding out Rmotional Attitudes.6 Getting things done 32 3.4 The task types used in the syllabus 3 3.5 The organization of the syllabus.6 The Timing of the Syllabus.1 Recommendations to university administrations .2 Recommendations to the Teachers.3 Recommendations to Studem 37 PART C: CONCLUSION.
1 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS QUI: Quang Ninh University of Industry CEFR; Common European Framework of Reference KET: Key English Test ALTE: Association of Language Testers in Europe YNU-HCM: Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City ULIS-VNU: University of Languages and International Studies-Vietnam National University. TRUT: Task-based Language Teaching EPL: English as a Foreign Language vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Vietnam, like other developing nations, is aware of the importance and necessity of foreign languages but has not been very successful in producing sufficient, fluent foreign language speakers and proficient users of English, Que af the main reasons is the lack of appropriate teaching methods and learning envitonment, Mercover, syllabus design and mataials construction have alwa bocn a big problem to the university administration boards and English teachers. This is the precise situation at Quang Ninh University of Industry.
In recent years a series of conferences and seminars at various levels have been Øigumzvd with a view to work out solutions lo foreign language cducation in Vietnam. The most remarkable evidence of change is the issue of the Decision 1400-QD-TTg by the Prime Minister approving the Project of foreign language teaching and learning in the national system for the 2008-2020 periods. The general goal of the project is to renovate thoroughly teaching and leaming of foreign language within national education systern, to implement a mew program on teaching and learning forcign language at cvery school levels and training degrees which aims to achicve by thc year 2015 a progress on professional skills, language competency for human resources, especially at some prioritized sectors, by the year 2020 most Vietnamese youth whoever graduate fom vocational schools, colleges and universitics gain the capacity to usc a forcign language independently. Within the context of this Decision, The Ministry of Education and Training has issued the Common Framework of Levels of Foreign Language Proficiency, based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Leaming, Teaching, and Assessment (CRER).
This Framework includes 6 levels equivalent io these of CEFR and the national forgign language education cuniculmn will bố sign designed accordingly. The introduction of English into the primary education cwriculum starting fiom pgradc 3 is the greatest change in the forcign language education in Vietnam. The new cwrinulum defines that students st the completion of Primary education should reach Level {Al of CEFR), at the completion of Lower secondary education Level 2 (A2 CEFR) and General school leavers should reach Level 3 (BI CEFR), For tertiary education, graduates fom vocational colleges should reach level 2 and university graduates level 3, and graduates from language colleges should reach from level 4 to 5, with the second foreign language as a compulsory subject. While the CEPR and the Common Framework of Levels of Foreign Language Proficiency hes been instilutionalized, the QUI Iras nol Ue appropriate syllabus, which is developed im the light of the new Gamework.
Zarale (2005) studied the implementation of the CEFR in Colombia and recommended that” the need for the construction of standards regarding foreign language education based on cur coniexiual features, not leaving aside the issue of being global competent” This gives me a tremendous impetus to implement the study “The Application of Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) to designing a syllabus of General English for the first-year students at Quang Ninh University of industry.” Towevel because of time constraints, the syHabus proposed here is just for first ~ycar students. Althongh it is targeted al A2 level, the experience in developing and inmplementing Uis syllabus will be useful for developing the syllabus fer the second-year students which is targeted at B1 level. Aims and objectives of the study The aim of the judy is to develop an English language syllabus for the first-ycar stulenls al Quang Ninh University of Industry with referanee to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), on which the Vietnam Common Framework of Competencies in Foreign Language is based, taking into consideration of the target leamers” needs and other contextual variables. In order to achieve this aim, the following objectives are defined: ® To define the needs of the first-year students at QUI reflected in their level of proficiency as measured by means ofa standardised test © To define the learning outcomes of the syllabus.
® To develope the task types that may be suitable for the first-year students at QUI. Kesearch questions To achieve the aforementioned aims and objectives, the following research questions are set out to be answered’ ¥ What level of English proficiency on the CEFR are the first-year students in QUP ¥ What are the learning onicơmes of the sy]lahns? ~ What inputs and task types should be included in the syllabus to achieve the defined learning outcomes given the situation in QUI? 4. The scope of the study The study focuses on the designing a syllabus of General English for the first-year stulents aL Quang Ninh University of Industry, basing on the criteria of level Al, AQ of CFR. The sludy of syttibus dosign of other level woukd be beyond the scope.
Signiticance of the study This study may be of some help to the tcavhers and students in QUI. It implements ihe teferm of syllabus design and matcriat construction accarding to the benchmarks of CEFR. In addition, the study contributes greatly to the programme of teaching and training English with a view to meet the English requirements denoted im National Plan “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in te National Formal Educational Sysiem in the period of 2008-2020. Methods of the study As the sim of this research is to develop 1 CEPR-based syllabus that is appropriate to the context of tcaching and Icaming at QUI, a quantitative method was adopted to analyze the contextual factors such as the university, the teachers and the students.
One of the requirements for syllabus design is the analysis of the the students’ leaming needs. In order to gain understanding of the students’ needs, a test was used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the students regarding the four macro skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing. The test result then was interpreted to identify the students’ entrance level of proficiency so that decision on content to he incorpora hi the syllabus was made. This is a smvey research which is inlended to define the gap between the students” emtrance level and the taget Icvel in an attcrmpt to design a syllabus for this students group.
The goal of the syllabus is to enable the students to achieve the sequired proficiency level (A2), which is compatible to what is detined in KET. KET is taken in this case as the measurement of the students’ required proficiency level because at this time when this study was conducted, no sample A2 test for Vietnamese students was institutionalized.