VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES ************************* NGUYỄN THỊ THANH HÀ TÓM TẮT LUẬN VĂN DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AT THE WATERWAY TRANSPORT VOCATIONAL COLLEGE NUMBER 1 THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ 2 NGÀNH QUẢN TRỊ KINH DOANH TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG NGHỀ GIAO THÔNG VẬN TẢI ĐƯỜNG THUỶ 1 M.A MINOR THESIS Field: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi - 2011 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 THANH HÀ DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AT THE WATERWAY TRANSPORT VOCATIONAL COLLEGE NUMBER 1 THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ 2 NGÀNH QUẢN TRỊ KINH DOANH TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG NGHỀ GIAO THÔNG VẬN TẢI ĐƯỜNG THUỶ 1 M.A MINOR THESIS Field: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: NGUYỄN THỤY PHƯƠNG LAN, M. Hanoi - 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………….
vii LIST OF TABLES. viii PART I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………. Aims and objectives……………………………………………………………. Scope of the study………………………………………………………………….
Methods of the study………………………………………………………………. Overview of the thesis……………………………………………………………. 3 PART II: DEVELOPMENT…………………………………………………………. 4 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………… 4 1.
An overview of ESP……………………………………………………………. An overview of syllabus design………………………………………………. Definition of syllabus………………………………………………………. Approaches to ESP syllabus design…………………………………….
Language-centred approach………………………………………………….Skill-centred approach…………………………………………………………. Learning-centred approach………………………………………………. Types of syllabus …………………………………………………………… 7 1. The structural-grammatical syllabus……………………………………….
The situational syllabus………………………………………………………. The functional/notional syllabus……………………………………………. The task-based syllabus…………………………………………………. 9 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
The topic-based syllabus………………………………………………… 9 1. The skill-based syllabus…………………………………………………. Steps to design a syllabus…………………………………………………… 10 1. Theories of reading………………………………………………………….
Reading in ESP……………………………………………………………… 11 1. Reading skills and strategies in ESP………………………………………. 14 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY…………………………………………………………. The teaching and learning English situation at the WTVC Number 1…….
The target students…………………………………………………………. The teaching staff of the English group………………………………………. Instruments for collecting data……………………………………………. The administering of the questionnaires…………………………….
The conducting of the interviews………………………………………. Needs perceived by the teachers of the English group. Needs perceived by the subject teachers……………………………………. Needs perceived by the target students………………………………….
Needs perceived by the ex-students of Business Administration………. 28 CHAPTER 3: DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AT THE LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com vi WTVC NUMBER 1……………………………………………………………………. Aims and objectives of the reading syllabus………………………………. Selecting the type of ESP syllabus………………………………………….
Sequencing the content and the tasks in the syllabus………………………. Selecting the content……………………………………………………. Topics in the syllabus…………………………………………………………. Reading skills and reading exercises……………………………….
Grammar and structures……………………………………………………. Grading the items in the syllabus…………………………………………. The organization of the syllabus…………………………………………. Quantity and structures of the syllabus…………………………………….
Designing tests for the ESP reading course…………………………………. The proposed syllabus for the second-year students of business administration at the WTVC number 1……………………………………………… 35 3. 35 PART III: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………. I LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EAP: English for Academic Purposes EGP: English for General Purposes EFL: English as a foreign language ELT: English Language Teaching EOP: English for Occupational Purposes ESP: English for Specific Purposes GE: General English The WTVC Number 1: The Waterway Transport Vocational College Number 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Teachers’ expectations of the ESP reading course…………………………….XII Table 2: Teachers’ opinion of topics relating to Business Administration …………….XIV Table 3: Teachers’ ranking of grammar and structures needed for the syllabus…………XV Table 4: Reading skills and exercises needed for reading comprehension perceived by the teachers…………………………………………………………………….XVI Table 5: Students’ expectations at the end of the course………………………………XVIII Table 6: Students’ opinion of topics relating to Business Administration……………….XX Table 7: Reading skills and exercises needed for reading comprehension perceived by the students………………………………………………………………………………….XXI LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1 PART I: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale Nowadays, English plays a significant role in our lives. It is not only an international means to communicate but also a useful tool to acquire scientific and modern technological information. In fact, people learn English because of many different reasons, among which the most common might be preparing for their future career. To fulfill this demand, ESP (English for specific purposes) is put into the curriculum of many colleges and universities.
At the Waterway Transport Vocational College Number 1, different ESP courses are taught to students of different majors. Students of Business Administration, after finishing a 120-period General English course, will progress to the ESP stage which consists of 60 periods, namely English for Business Administration. At this stage, teachers of the English section, especially those who are asked to teach English for Business Administration, encounter many problems due to the lack of an appropriate ESP syllabus. Since no really suitable published material is available for the identified needs, they have no choice but to provide their own material for the course.
Being one member of the ESP teachers who are directly involved in this challenging task, I realized that designing an appropriate ESP reading syllabus is of great necessity and significance. At present, there are many different kinds of English textbooks written by the English - native authors. Their content and construction are good and verified. However, to some extent, they are not suitable for our students' specific purposes, their conditions, their cognitive ability, their language competence, their aims or objectives, their interests, time allocation for the syllabus and so on.
From the reasons above, I have decided to choose the project of designing an ESP reading syllabus for the second-year students of Business Administration at the Waterway Transport Vocational College Number 1(the WTVC Number 1) for my thesis. Hopefully, when the syllabus based on the theory of designing an ESP reading course and the careful consideration of the characteristics of teachers and students at WTVC Number 1 is successfully designed, it will bring about positive improvements to the current ESP teaching practice at the WTVC Number 1, which will expectedly lead to the students‟ desired learning outcomes. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Aims and objectives The main purpose of the study is to design an appropriate and practical reading syllabus for the second year students of Business Administration at the WTVC number 1.
Therefore, the following objectives are set up: (1) to build a theoretical background which is necessary for designing an ESP syllabus. (2) to find out the needs of the ESP teachers, ESP students, the subject teachers and the ex- students to create a suitable reading syllabus for the target students. (3) to design a workable reading syllabus based on related theories and the needs analysis. Research questions This study is carried out to answer the following questions: 1.
What are the learning needs as perceived by the second-year students of Business Administration, the ex-students, the teachers of English as well as the subject teachers at the Waterway Transport Vocational College Number 1? 2. What should be included in the ESP reading syllabus for the second-year students of Business Administration at the Waterway Transport Vocational College Number 1 as perceived by the teachers and the students? 4. Scope of the study This study is started from a critical need to design an appropriate ESP syllabus for the second year students of Business Administration at the WTVC Number 1. Within the scope of a minor thesis, this research paper focuses on the designing process itself; only the basic theories related to reading skill, ESP and syllabus design are offered.
The study‟s major participants are the teachers of the English group, the subject teachers, the second year students of Business Administration and the ex-students of Business Administration at the WTVC Number 1. Methods of the study This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. In order to identify the needs for the ESP syllabus from a broad view, the quantitative method was employed by means of questionnaires. The questionnaires were carried out to collect data from the teachers of English group and the second year students of Business Administration at the WTVC Number 1.
In addition, to collect in-depth data, the qualitative method was applied through LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 3 interviews with subject teachers of Business Administration and through discussions with the ex-students and colleagues. Overview of the thesis This thesis is composed of three main parts: Part I- Introduction presents the rationale, aims and objectives, research questions, scopes, methods and the overview of the thesis. Part II- Development, which is the main part of the study, consists of three chapters: Chapter 1 reviews the literature concerning ESP, syllabus design, needs analysis and reading theories. Chapter 2 describes in details the study including its background, subjects, instruments for collecting data and findings of the study.
Chapter 3 proposes a reading syllabus for the second-year students of Business Administration at the WTVC Number 1. Part III- Conclusion offers a summary of the study, limitations and suggestions for further research. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4 PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. An overview of English for specific purposes (ESP) From the early 1960s, ESP has grown to be one of the most prominent areas of English foreign language (EFL) teaching as it became increasingly aware that General English courses frequently did not satisfy learners or employers wants.
In Vietnam, ESP is a developing branch of EFL. Therefore, the design of an ESP syllabus that serves a particular group‟s interests and needs has become a matter of urgent concern among Vietnamese ESP practitioners. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) see ESP as an approach rather than a product, by which they mean that ESP does not involve a particular kind of language teaching material or methodology. They suggest that the foundation of ESP is the simple question: Why does this learner need to learn a foreign language? The answer to this question relates to the learners, the language required and the learning context, and thus establishes then primacy of need in ESP.
According to Jack C. Richards (2001), in contrast to students learning English for General purposes for whom master of the language for its own sake or in order to pass a general examination is the primary goal, the ESP students is usually studying English in order to carry out a particular role such as a doctor, a lawyer, a mechanic, a businessman or a ship master. Robinson (1991) claims “ESP is normally goal directed”. That is, students study English not because they are interested in the English language as such but because they need English for study or work purposes.
An ESP course is based on a needs analysis, which aims to specify as closely as possible what exactly it is that the students have to do through the medium of English. Also in Hutchinson & Waters‟ opinion, ESP is divided into three divisions: English for Science and Technology, English for Business and Economics, and English for Social Science and then when coming to upper level, each branch is further divided into sub- divisions according to learners‟ needs: for study as English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and for work as English for Occupational Purposes (EOP). LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 5 Munby (1978:55) also shares the same view that ESP could be divided into two broad areas: EAP “ where the participant needs English to pursue part of his studies” and EOP “where the participant needs English to perform all or part of his occupational duties”. At the WTVC Number 1, EOP is taught for the students who need to use English as part of their work.
Especially, with the students of Business Administration, ESP plays a significant role in their future jobs.