VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES BUI THI PHUONG THAO A STUDY ON USING VISUAL AIDS TO TEACH ESP VOCABULARY FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE SHIPBUILDING FACULTY AT THE CENTRAL VOCATIONAL COLLEGE OF TRANSPORT NO. 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 BÙI THỊ PHƯƠNG THẢO A STUDY ON USING VISUAL AIDS TO TEACH ESP VOCABULARY FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE SHIPBUILDING FACULTY AT THE CENTRAL VOCATIONAL COLLEGE OF TRANSPORT NO. MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60. Supervisor: VŨ THỊ THU THỦY, M.
HANOI - 2012 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Contents number Declaration………………………………………………………. iii Table of contents………………………………………………. iv List of abbreviations……………. viii PART 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………….
Rationale of the study………………………………………. Research questions and aims of the study…………………. Scope of the study…………………………………………. Significance of the study…………………………………….
Methods of the study…………………………………. Design of the study…………………………………………. 3 PART 2: DEVELOPMENT……………………………………… 5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………… 1. An overview of ESP……………………………………… 5 1.
The definitions of ESP……………………………… 5 1. Classification of ESP…………………………………. Vocabulary in ESP teaching………………………………. Definition of vocabulary…………………………… 7 1.
Classification of vocabulary and ESP vocabulary….… 8 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. The issue of teaching ESP vocabulary……………… 9 1. Selection of vocabulary for teaching……………. Stages in teaching vocabulary…………………… 10 1.
Visual aids in teaching and learning vocabulary…………. Gestures, mine, actions and performance……………. Benefits of using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary……. Instrument A – Survey questionnaires…………… 18 2.
Instrument B – Class observation……………… 19 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 3: DATA PRESENTATION AND DICUSSION OF MAJOR FINDINDS………………………………………………………. Data from the survey questionnaires…………………. The teachers’ and the students’ attitudes towards the use of visual aids in teaching and learning vocabulary…………. The teachers’ and the students’ opinion on purposes of teaching and learning vocabulary in shipbuilding…………….
Frequency of visual aids used in teaching vocabulary and students’ impression of visual aids……………… 22 3. The stages at which visual aids are often used and the students’ response……………………………………. Benefits of using visual aids to teach and learn vocabulary in shipbuilding…………………………………. The teachers’ and students’ difficulties in teaching and learning vocabulary in shipbuilding through visual aids…….
The suggestions made by the teachers for using visual aids to teach vocabulary in shipbuilding…………………. Data from the classroom observation………………… 32 3. Discussion of major findings…………………………… 34 3. The situation of current teaching and learning ESP vocabulary………………………………………………………… 34 3.
The kind of visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary……. 34 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. The frequency of using visual aids to teach ESP 35 vocabulary………………………………………………………… 3. The stages at which visual aids are used most often in ESP vocabulary lessons………………………………………….
The difficulties in using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary………………………………………………………. Limitations of the study………………………………. Suggestions for further study…………………………. 39 APPENDICES vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS GE: General English ESP: English for Specific Purposes EST: English for Science and Technology EBE: English for Business and Economics ESS: English for Social Studies EAP: English for Academic Purposes EOP: English for Occupational Purposes M.A: Master of Arts CVCOT: Central Vocational College of Transport No.
II viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study Vocabulary teaching is one of the most important components of any language class. The main reason is the fact that it is a medium, which carries meaning; learning to understand and express the meaning is what counts in learning languages. There has been increased focus on teaching vocabulary recently, “If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh” (Harmer 1993:153).
Vocabulary functions as a cornerstone without which any language could not exist. Speaking would be meaningless and perhaps impossible having only structure without vocabulary. A good mastery of vocabulary is essential for learners, especially for those who learn for specific purposes. The main objective of English for specific purposes has always been the teaching of highly specialized vocabulary to specialists in various domains.
I myself have experienced 10 years of working as a teacher of English at the Central Vocational College of Transport No.II where students will be future technicians and workers. Most of the students here find learning ESP vocabulary the most challenging to them in acquiring English. Our students’ biggest obstacle in learning ESP vocabulary is that it is difficult for them to identify the meaning of, to understand the use of and to remember the words belonging to technical terms. In fact, the students’ problems always haunt the teachers, which urge them to find a suitable solution to ESP vocabulary teaching and learning at the college to satisfy the students’ need.
The idea of using visual aids in teaching vocabulary is a good one. This can add colors to an English lesson and motivate students to learn vocabulary, 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com especially ESP vocabulary. There is no reason for them to feel that learning vocabulary is dull. At my college, visual aids have been used to teach ESP vocabulary.
So I conduct this study to get an insight of the current situation of using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary at the Central Vocational College of Transport No. It is hoped that this study will be of some values to my colleagues and those who want to improve their ESP vocabulary teaching. Aims of the study To clarify the answer to the research question, the study aims at: ● Investigating the current situation of using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary at the Central Vocational College of Transport No. ● Exploring the difficulties facing teachers and students in teaching and learning ESP vocabulary through visual aids.
● Providing some solutions to those difficulties to help teaching ESP vocabulary through visual aids more effectively. Scope of the study Due to the time constraints and the scope of the study, the study only concentrates on how visual aids are used to teach ESP vocabulary to the students of the Shipbuilding Faculty at CVCOT. Significance of the study The study is significant for the following reasons: firstly, it studies current situation of using visual aids at CVCOT. Secondly it finds out difficulties in using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary.
Thirdly, it suggests recommendations to teach ESP vocabulary more effectively. So it is useful for both teachers and students of English. In addition, it would become a good 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com source of reference to those who are concerned with vocabulary teaching and learning. Methods of the study The method of this study is survey study because it was conducted by using questionnaires and classroom observation to collect data.
The data for the study came from two sources: teacher respondents and student respondents at the Central Vocational College of Transport No. Classroom observation was carried out to supplement the survey questionnaires, which is hoped to bring more reliable results for the study. Design of the study The study consists of five chapters: Chapter 1 is “Introduction”, which deals with the background, the rationale, the aims, the scope, the methods, the significance and the design of the study. Chapter 2, “Literature Review” presents a brief view on ESP, the theoretical background of vocabulary and ESP vocabulary, the overall view of some visual aids.
Chapter 3, “Methodology” mentions the setting of the study, the participants, the instruments, the data collection procedure, the data analysis procedure and a brief summary. Chapter 4, “Data presentation and discussion” presents the data collected from the survey questionnaires and class observation as well as the discussion of the data. Chapter 5, “Implication and Conclusion” presents the pedagogical implications in teaching ESP vocabulary through visual aids and the 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com conclusion of the study. Suggestion for further study is also given.
Finally, the appendix presents the survey questionnaires. 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter surveys the literature on some basic concepts related to ESP, vocabulary, ESP vocabulary and visual aids. Besides, the issue of teaching vocabulary and the benefits of using visual aids to teach vocabulary are presented to provide a theoretical background for the study.1 An overview of ESP 1.1 The Definitions of ESP The study of English for specific purposes (ESP) has had a long and interesting history. ESP became a vital and innovative activity within the teaching of English in the 1970s.
It really has had a relatively long time to mature. So there are a great number of definitions for ESP. A definition of ESP was offered by Hutchinson and Waters (1987:19) “ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and methods are based on the learners’ reason for learning”. They mean that ESP does not involve a particular kind of language, teaching material or methodology.
For them, the foundation of ESP involves the learners, the language required and the learning context which are based on the primary need in ESP. Strevens (1988) ESP consists of English teaching which is ● designed to meet specified needs of the learner; ● related to content (i. in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupation and activities; 5 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ● center on the language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc; ● in contrast with General English Dudley- Evans and St John share the same ideas and expose their revised view on the essence of ESP from two perspectives: absolute characteristics and variable characteristics. The division of ESP into absolute and variable characteristics, in particular, is very helpful in resolving arguments about what is and is not ESP.
To sum up, the definitions above show that ESP is an approach to language teaching which is directed by specific and apparent reasons for learning. It is not concerned with an exact discipline and we can teach ESP to learners at any age and at any English level. Classification of ESP The teaching of English is divided into several branches. Dudley Evans and St John (1998:54) divide ESP into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP).
EAP stands for English for Academic Purposes in which English for Science and Technology has been the main area. EOP (English for Occupational Purposes) includes professional purposes in administration, medicine, law and business, and vocational purposes for non-professionals in work or pre-work situations. Dudley Evans and St John (1998: 6) devise a tree diagram illustrated in figure 1 below for ESP which divides EAP and EOP according to discipline or professional area. 6 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com English for specific Purposes English for Academic Purposes English for Occupational Purposes English for English for English for English for English for English for Vocational (Academic) (Academic) (Academic) Management.
Professional Purposes Purposes Science and Medical Legal Finance and Technology purposes purposes Economics English for English for Pre - Vocational Medical Business Vocational English Purposes Purposes Purposes Figure 1: ESP classification by professional area Meanwhile, Robinson family’s tree of ESP (1991) divides it into EAP and EOP, a useful division of courses according to when they take place. In addition, David Carter (1983) classifies ESP into three types: ● English as a restricted language ● English for Academic and Occupational Purposes ● English with specific topics Furthermore, Hutchinson and Waters (1987:21) divide ESP into English for Specific Purposes and General English which have three main branches: English for Science and Technology (EST), English for Business and Economics (EBE) and English for Social Studies (ESS).