MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI NGOC HUYEN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE NEEDS FOR LEARNING ESP BY CONSTRUCTION STU- DENTS AT HUE SCHOOL OF TRANSPORT MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI NGOC HUYEN ANINVESTIGATION INTO THE NEEDS FOR LEARNING ESP BY CONSTRUCTION STU- DENTS AT HUE SCHOOL OF TRANSPORT MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60. CAO LE THANH HAI HUE, 2016 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------- NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC HUYỀN ĐIỀU TRA NHU CẦU HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA SINH VIÊN XÂY DỰNG Ở TRƢỜNG CAO ĐẲNG GIAO THÔNG HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƢỜI HƢỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. CAO LÊ THANH HẢI HUẾ, 2016 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
Date: /6/2016 Signature Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huyen iii ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the needs for learning ESP of Construction students at Hue School of Transport (HST). The study focused on: (i) exploring Construction students‟ attitudes towards learning ESP at HST, their evaluation on the importance of ESP learning, the difficulties faced by students in learning EGP course in HST and their needs for ESP learning in order to apply for appropriate jobs in the future (ii) investigating and analyzing Construction students‟ needs of ESP learning at HST in terms of their communication patterns, language skills and area, class activities, materials, topics in order to figure out students‟ interest (iii) collecting English language lecturers‟ opinions in order to help students satisfy their ESP learning needs, and (iv) providing suggestions for the building of a tenta- tive ESP course/textbook at HST. The subjects for the study included 60 second-year students of Construction, 20 former Construction students who are working in domestic and foreign compa- nies in Hue, 3 English lecturers and 3 Construction lecturers who are teaching at HST. The data were collected through the means of questionnaires and interviews.
The findings showed that there was a pressing demand for learning ESP among Construction students at HST and a Needs Analysis was important to find out the techniques and strategies that give the lecturers a better idea about stu- dents‟ needs. The study also revealed important suggestions by students on various facets of language skills, language functions, and topics; and the information would be used as a fundamental framework for designing a future ESP course/textbook. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv Above all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervi- sor,Dr. Cao Le Thanh Hai, who gave me invaluable suggestions, warm support and excelent insights during the writing process.
I am really thankful that she has spent a great deal of her valuable time meeting with me, and giving comments and feedback. Second, I am so grateful to all the participants at HST whosewillingnessto take part in the study is indespensible in its comple- tion. Third, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my headmas- ter,my Head of department and my colleagues who helped me in many ways so that I could have peace of mind for my study. Last, I would like to show my deep gratitude to my family, espe- cially my husband, and my friends for their love, understanding and support during the time I was busy working on this study.
v TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages SUB COVER PAGE. i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi LIST OF FIGURES.
ix LIST OF TABLES. x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Background of the study. Significance of the Study.
Research setting and participants. Organization of the study. Issues of EGP and ESP. Definition of EGP.
Definition of ESP. The relationship between EGP and ESP. What is English for Construction?. Definition of Needs.
Definition of Needs Analysis. Methods of Needs Analysis. Previous Studies Related to the research. Research Orientation and participants.
Instruments for Data Collections. Data collection process. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Students‟ perceptions of the importance of learning English.
Current Construction students‟self-assessment ofthe English language skills. Students‟ difficulties in learning English. Students‟ and lecturers‟ opinions about the necessity of an ESP course. The reasons for teaching and learning English for Construction at HST.
The frequency of using English language skills at work of former Construction students at HST. The frequency of using ESP for former Construction students‟ job. The important language skills for a tentative ESP course. Students‟ suggestions for the topics that should be included in future ESP textbook for Construction.
Learners‟ preference for learning activities. What English language lecturers should do to help Construction students satisfy their ESP learning needs. Summary of the findings. For students of Construction.
For English language lecturers. For Construction lecturers. For administrators at HST. 53 APPENDICES viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 (a): Current Construction students‟ perceptions of the importance of learning English .1 (b): Former Construction Students‟ perceptions of the importance of English to their current jobs .2: Current Construction students‟ assessment of the English language skills .3 (a): Current Construction students‟ difficulties in learning English .3 (b): Former Construction students‟ difficulties in learning English .4 (a): Current Construction students‟ opinions about the necessity of an ESP course .4 (b): Former Construction students‟ opinions about the necessity of an ESP course .5 (a): Current Construction students‟ reasons for learning English for Construction .5 (b): Former Construction students‟ reasons for learning English for Construction .6: The frequency of using English language skills at work of the former Construction students .7: The frequency of using ESP for Former Construction Students‟ job.8: Current Construction students‟ preference for learning activities.
45 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: The important language skills for a tentative ESP course .2: Current Construction students‟ and former Construction students‟ suggestions for the topics that should be included in future ESP textbook for Construction.3: Current and former Construction Students‟ suggestions for English language lecturers to help them satisfy their ESP learning needs. 46 x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. ESP : English for Specific Purposes 2. EGP : English for General Purposes 3.
HST : Hue School of Transport 4. NA : Need Analysis xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1. Overview This chapter presents the background, the rationale and the significance of the research. In addition, the research aims, research questions, research design of the study are also given.
Finally, the organization of the study will be presented. Background of the study In the context of a globalized economy, joining in WTO in 2007 has created many opportunities and challenges for Vietnam. As for the advantages, Vietnam‟s production, business, trade, tourism and investment for socio-economic develop- ment have been achieving new milestones with the golden opportunities that are brought to by this fact. Along with the chances, joining in WTO also creates many requirements and challenges for Vietnam.
The economy of Vietnam is facing very harsh competition from other economies. In order to compete and co-operate with foreign partners, our labor forceneeds to be well-prepared not only in terms of qualification with profes- sional knowledge but also with foreign languages, especially English language. It is undeniable that English is the official language in a large number of coun- tries. English is used as the language of science aviation, computers, diplomacy, tourism and many other fields.
It is estimated that the number of people in the world that use English to communicate on a regular basis is 2 billion. Knowing English creates many opportunities for people in general and students in particular. Better yet, knowing English in specific fields of trades or occupations can bring people with more benefits, and one of which is the chances to get good jobs in foreign companies. As a part in the effort to prepare for the competitiveness of the workforce, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) have been taught in several education institu- tions across Vietnam.
However, it is not the case in Hue School of Transport. Rationale Hue School of Transport (HST) is one of the vocational and professional train- ing schools of People Committee of Thua Thien Hue Province, situated on Dien Bien Phu Street in Hue. HST was founded in 1990 with the initial task was to train driving workers for Thua Thien Hue Province. Today, HST has become a training centre with multi-sectors, multi-levels, supplying the manpower for Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Region and Tay Nguyen.
New facilities have been invested constantly to ensure the basic requirements of both theory and practice, which helps reach the training scale of nearly 30,000 primary students and 800 intermediate stu- dents peryear. In the period of 2010 - 2014, HST has made efforts to expand and diversify its training and training co-operations. Car driving training activities are developed in different districts of Hue city and the areas of Vietnam. Besides, HST also cooperated with Tra Vinh University, University of Science and Technology - The University of Danang in order to train intermediate students who are obtaining their Bachelor degrees inRoad and Bridge Construction, Mainte- nance and repair of car, Business Accounting, Industrial and Civil Construction, Civil and Industrial power, Finance - Bank, Communication and Network System, Technology of Mechatronics Engineering, Haulage Trading/Business.
This coopera- tion not only creates opportunities for intermediate students but also contributes to satisfy the learning needs of the community. In general, most of the students at HST come from rural areas in Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue where they did not have the opportunities to ap- proach advanced technologies, new knowledge, and modern teaching methods. As for English, they usually were provided with only basic knowledge of grammar, reading comprehension, and writing. They rarely had the chances to practice speak- ing and listening skills at secondary and high schools.
That is one of the reasons why they are lack of the knowledge necessary to conduct oral communication. As a result, when they become students in HST, they are inconfident with their ability to learn English. Consequently, they develop negative attitudes towards studying Eng- lish because they do not feel competent enough, especially with the learning of 2 speaking, listening and writing in English. Although much effort has been made by teachers and students, the quality of learning English as a subject is still very low in general.
Besides, HST is a vocational and professional training school whose training programs cover a wide range of specific areas such as Road and Bridge Construc- tion, Maintenance and repair of car, Business Accounting, Industrial and Civil Con- struction, Civil and Industrial power, Finance - Banking, Communication and Net- work System, Technology of Mechatronics Engineering, Haulage Trading/Business. In order to be prepared for their future jobs, the students need not only general Eng- lish knowledge but also English for Specific Purposes. However, at present, stu- dents at HST are taught general English only as a compulsory subject. As an effort to partly satisfy students‟ needs, English language teachers in HST usually get random lesson plans from different sources.These lesson plans, however, do not provide students with sufficient language skills and the language areas needed for communication at the work place.This derives from the fact that most teachers have never participated in any ESP training program.