VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** HOÀNG THỊ THU INVESTIGATING THE DIFFICULTIES IN READING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES EXPERIENCED BY THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (KHẢO SÁT NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP THÁI NGUYÊN) MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Hanoi - 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** HOÀNG THỊ THU INVESTIGATING THE DIFFICULTIES IN READING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES EXPERIENCED BY THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (KHẢO SÁT NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP THÁI NGUYÊN) MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: M.A Nguyen Minh Ha Hanoi – 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES viii PART ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims of the study Methods of the study Scope of the study Organization of the study PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature review The nature of reading 1.1 Definition of reading and reading comprehension 1.2 Reading process 1.3 Reading comprehension skills ESP reading 2.1 Definition of ESP 2.2 Reading skills in ESP 2.3 ESP reading materials Reading difficulties for non-native learners 10 3.1 Reading skills problems 10 3.2 Language problems 11 3.3 Cultural and background knowledge and reading difficulties 12 Summary 13 Chapter 2: Investigation into the current situation of teaching and learning ESP at TNUT 14 Introduction to Thai Nguyen University of Technology 14 Syllabus, materials and assessment 14 Teachers and methods of teaching 14 Students 15 Summary 15 Chapter 3: Research Methodology 16 Research questions 16 The participants 16 The data collection instrument 17 Procedure for data collection 18 Data analysis 18 Chapter 4: Findings and discussion 19 Students‟ attitude towards ESP reading 19 Students‟ opinion of ESP reading difficulties 20 2.1 In the area of vocabulary 20 2.2 In the area of grammar 22 2.3 In the area of discourse 24 2.4 In the area of reading skills 26 2.5 In the area of background knowledge 27 2.6 Rank order of ESP reading difficulties 28 The causes of difficulties 30 3.1 The reading materials 30 3.2 The teachers 31 3.3 The learners 31 Students‟ recommendations for improving reading 32 Summary 32 Chapter 5: Pedagogical implications 34 Making ESP reading interesting and useful 34 Developing ESP reading materials 34 2.1 Adjusting and improving reading exercises 34 2.2 Updating reading texts in the coursebook 35 Training students to become efficient readers 35 3.1 Making students aware of the nature of reading process 35 3.2 Making students fully aware of their purpose of reading 35 3.3 Teaching students a variety of reading strategies 36 3.4 Encouraging students to develop extensive reading habits 37 Improvement of teachers‟ teaching techniques in the classroom 37 4.1 Employing three phases in ESP reading lessons 37 4.2 Giving homework and checking the previous lessons frequently 38 4.3 Adjusting teaching time and imposing time limits 38 Summary PART THREE: CONCLUSION 39 40 Conclusion 40 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 40 References 42 Appendices APPENDIX A I APPENDIX B VIII APPENDIX C XII LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TNUT: Thai Nguyen University of Technology ESP: English for Specific Purposes FL: Foreign Language GE: General English L1: First Language L2: Second Language M: Mean SD: Standard Deviation LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Students‟ attitude towards ESP reading Table 2: The difficulties in the area of vocabulary Table 3: The difficulties in the area of grammar Table 4: The difficulties in the area of discourse Table 5: The difficulties in the area of reading skills Table 6: The difficulties in the area of background knowledge Table 7: The average mean of the items in each area of difficulties Table Learners‟ view of sources of difficulties Figure Schematization of the Top-down Approach Figure The vicious circle of the weak reader Figure Mean number of difficulties in the area of vocabulary Figure Mean number of difficulties in the area of grammar Figure Mean number of difficulties in the area of discourse Figure Mean number of difficulties in the area of reading skills Figure Mean number of difficulties in the area of background knowledge Figure Average mean number of areas of difficulties PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale Nowadays, English has become more and more important than ever when Vietnam integrated into the international arena The number of people who wants to learn English is increasing, they are trying to learn it with the hope that they can use it effectively In teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam, reading has always received a lot of attention for the reason that reading is not only an important means to get knowledge but also a means of further study Students at TNUT learn two semesters of GE in the first year After that they learn ESP in the third semester in the second year During the GE course, they learn all four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking However, when they learn ESP, reading skill is paid most attention to These students are future technical engineers so they have to learn ESP to make themselves familiar with technical materials Therefore, they will be able to handle subject-related written materials in English and work with modern technological equipment The ability to read English is an important skill to gain access to knowledge in technology However, in spite of the efforts of the teachers and students, the teachers often find their students‟ reading skill disappointing, which does not meet the requirements of the university There are many factors which affect the teaching and learning process such as: unsuitable teaching materials, inappropriate attitude of the teachers and students towards the subject, inappropriate teaching methods…etc For all the above reasons, I would like to find out the areas of students‟ reading difficulties at TNUT and the causes of their unsuccessful reading comprehension Hopefully, when the results of the study are stated, the students can have some suggestions to improve their reading skill and use their reading skill more effectively Aims of the study This study is designed to find out the areas of difficulties in ESP reading experienced by the second-year students at Thai Nguyen University of Technology and the causes of their unsuccessful reading comprehension The aims of the study are as follows: - To investigate the students‟ attitude towards ESP reading - To find out the students‟ areas of difficulty and the sources of difficulty - To examine the students‟ needs in terms of reading material and teaching methodology - To suggest ways to reduce the difficulties and help them to improve their reading comprehension Methods of the study To achieve the aims of the study, both qualitative and quantitative methods are used By means of qualitative method, the researcher has to refer to different materials, previous researches and relevant issues related to reading and ESP reading By means of quantitative method, a survey questionnaire is used The survey questionnaire is done on 100 second-year students at Thai Nguyen University of Technology Scope of the study Because of the size of this minor thesis, the study is only focused on investigating some linguistic and reading skills problems and background knowledge difficulties in ESP reading faced by the second-year students at Thai Nguyen University of Technology Organization of the study The thesis includes three parts The first part “Introduction” comprises a rationale for the study, the aims, the method, the scope of the study and the organization of the thesis The second part “Development” consists of five chapters: Chapter is concerned with the theoretical background related to the research topic such as the nature of reading, ESP reading and ESP reading difficulties for non-native learners Chapter examines the current situation of teaching and learning ESP reading at Thai Nguyen University of Technology Chapter presents the research methodology with the focus on the research questions, the participants, the instruments and data collection procedure Chapter analyzes the collected data and discusses the findings Chapter gives some suggestions to reduce difficulties and improve the teaching and learning of ESP reading The last part of the study “Conclusion” summarizes the findings, points out the limitations and suggests future research APPENDIX A A SAMPLE FOR THREE-STAGE LESSONS Unit Machines Tuning-in Task List the kinds of machines you know Compare the answer with your partner Reading Scanning a text Scanning is the best strategy for searching for specific information in a text Move your eyes up and down the text until you find the word or words you want Try to ignore any information which will not help you with your task Task Scan the text quickly to find out which of these machines are mentioned gear autopilot corkscrew automatic door wedge Machines What a saw and a computer have in common? Both are machines One is simple and the other is very complex, but both are tools that work for us Tasks that we would find difficult or even impossible to can be performed by machines You cannot cut through wood with your bare hands, for example, but it is easy with a saw Likewise, calculations that would take you an enormous amount of time can rapidly be done by a computer All machines need a source of energy Mechanical machines, such as a corkscrew, use the energy of movement A motor or a person‟s muscles drive the machine with a certain amount of force called the effort which is then applied by the machine to produce much large force called the load For example, your fingers operate a can opener, but the blade of the can opener moves with much more force than that produced by your fingers Many hand powered machines help us perform tasks for which we not have enough strength They use devices known as simple machines These include levers, gears, pulleys, and crews Lever A long stick propped up on a small object (a fulcrum) helps you move a heavy load The stick is the simple machine called a lever Pushing down on the farthest from the fulcrum raises the other end with greater forces helping you move the Figure 2.1 Lever load Other kinds of levers can increase either the force applied to, or the distance moved by, a load Automatic Machines Many machines not need to be operated by people These are automatic machines, which contain computers so that they can control themselves These machines may simply perform whenever it a is set task required Automatic doors, for example, open as people arrive Other machines are able to check their Figure 2.2 Autopilot panel of an older Boeing 747 aircraft own work and change the way they work in order to follow intructions One example is the autopilot of an aircraft, which guides the plane though the skies Task Vocabulary Choose the correct word in to fill in each blank Use each word only once Use capital letters where they are necessary tasks mechanical effort energy lever saw tools automatic calculations devices Machines perform that we would find difficult or even impossible to You cannot cut through wood with your bare hands, for example, but it is easy with a ……………… Likewise, a computer can rapidly that would take you an enormous amount of time Levers, gears, pulleys and screws are ……………… known as simple machines Both are machines One is simple and the other is complex but both are that work for us All machines need a source of machines, such as a corkscrew, use the energy of movement A motor or a person‟s muscles drive the machines with a certain amount of force called the …………………… machines not need to be operated by people They contain computer so that they can control themselves 10 A long stick propped up on a fulcrum helping you move a heavy load is called a ………………… Task New context Do this task like Task effort automatic computer task robots saw energy lever mechanical calculations ………………… is a kind of a manual machine with a bar which makes the lifting or raising of heavy things quite easy A tool that is moved backwards and forwards by hand or driven by electricity and is used for cutting wood or metal is called a ……………… By my ………………………., we made a profit of $20 000 last year Machines are the concern of …………………… engineers Our first …………… is to set up a communications system The steering wheel on car is an example of the wheel and axle The shaft turns with greater force than the needed to turn the steering wheel People are fascinated by Some of them look like simple dolls to play with Most of them look like other machines of today‟s high technology Bendix introduced the first …………… washing machine in 1937 He applied for a patent in the same year Solar ………………… can be converted into other forms of energy, such as heat and electricity 10 The development of ………………… has been one of the most important recent advances in technology Task Comprehension check Answer the questions What a saw and a computer have in common? What kind of tasks machines perform? Give example What all machines need? What is the effort? What simple machines are mentioned in the text? Why we need them? What is a lever? How can it help you move the load? What does the word “they” in the last paragraph refer to? When these machines operate? How can automatic machines operate? 10 Why does the author mention “the autopilot of an aircraft”? Task True or False Write T if the sentence is true, F if it is false Change the false sentences to make them true, or explain why they are false …… A saw isn‟t different from a computer …… A saw is very complex and a computer is simple …… Wood can not be cut through with bare hands …… A computer may take an enormous amount of time to some calculations …… Some machines needn‟t a source of energy …… Pushing down on the fulcrum helps you move the load …… Levers can increase only the force applied to the load …… Mechanical machines can contain a computer …… Even when it is not required, an automatic machine will perform a set task whenever …… 10 The autopilot of an aircraft guides the plane through the skies whithout a pilot LIST OF ACTIVITIES FOR EACH STAGE Unit 2: Machines Pre-reading stage - help students to get acquainted with some machines in the text While-reading stage recall new words in the text apply new words in new context Post-reading stage scan to find specific information - STAGE - READING check understanding - discuss in groups DETAILED PRACTICE Pre-reading Teacher divides the class into groups of five Then teacher shows the list of some machines and their names in English on the board and ask groups of students to match the picture with its name Which group has the most correct answer will be the winner saw computer lever pulley gear corkscrew While-reading - ask students to scan the text to find out the machines which are mentioned in the text (task 2) - ask students to read carefully to task 3, 4, 5, Post-reading The class is divided into groups of five as in the pre-reading stage Each group chooses one kind of machine and describes it in front of the class APPENDIX B SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This questionnaire is designed for my study to find out the difficulties that the second-year students at Thai Nguyen University of Technology often face in reading English for Electrical and Mechanical engineering and the causes of those difficulties There should be no right or wrong answers, only your own reflection and opinions Your input is not only invaluable data for the study but also a great contribution to the betterment of your own learning All information provided shall remain confidential Thank you very much for your cooperation! I BACKGROUND INFORMATION Please provide the necessary answers in the spaces provided or tick the appropriate option * Gender □ Male □ Female * Where you live? □ Rural □ Urban * Did you learn English before entering Thai Nguyen University of Technology? □ Yes □ No If Yes, when did you start learning English? If No, what language did you learn? * Level of your English skill □ Very good □ Good □ Barely acceptable □ Poor □ Very poor □ Poor □ Very poor * Level of your English reading skill □ Very good □ Good □ Barely acceptable * Your average mark of GE in the first year ………………………… …… II DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS? Please tick the appropriate option Reading is an important skill in learning ESP □ Strongly agree □ Agree □ Disagree □ Strongly disagree Reading ESP is very necessary for our future job □ Strongly agree □ Agree □ Disagree □ Strongly disagree □ Disagree □ Strongly disagree You like reading ESP very much □ Strongly agree □ Agree III LEVEL OF READING DIFFICULTIES The following are areas which might affect your reading comprehension Please indicate the level of difficulty you have by using the following = Very difficult = Difficult = Easy Level of Reading Difficulties = Very easy a Understanding new vocabulary stemming from new technology _ _ _ _ b Understanding and remembering professional technical words _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ b Understanding and using verb tenses, forms and verb phrases _ _ _ _ c Understanding and using noun phrases _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Vocabulary difficulties c Understanding and remembering idiomatic expression, verb phrases and noun phrases d Finding the appropriate meaning of words with several meanings e Others (Please indicate here)……………………… Grammar difficulties a Recognizing the word‟s part of speech: noun, verb, adjective… d Understanding and using unfamiliar syntactic structures and verb phrases e Understanding and identifying the types of sentences: simple or complex, passive or active f Understanding the relationship between clauses of compound and complex sentences g Others (Please indicate here)……………………… Discourse difficulties a Understanding the relationship between sentences/segments in a text _ _ _ _ b Understanding the relationship between paragraphs in a text _ _ _ _ c Understanding the graphs, diagrams, and figures _ _ _ d Identifying and understanding ellipsis (if so/ if not…) and _ substitution (one/ones, the same…) _ _ _ _ e Identifying and recognising conjunctions and discourse markers _ _ _ _ f Recognising functional values (explaining, reporting, describing) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ g Identifying organization of ideas: main ideas, supporting details, topic sentences… h Others (Please indicate here)……………………… Reading skills difficulties a Skimming to get the main ideas _ _ _ _ b Scanning to get specific information _ _ _ _ c Guessing new words and predicting the content of the text _ _ _ _ and conclusion (deducing) _ _ _ _ e Summarizing _ _ _ _ f Answering comprehension questions _ _ _ _ a Understanding knowledge of other technical fields _ _ _ _ b Understanding knowledge of new technology _ _ _ _ d Recognising implication and making inferences g Others (Please indicate here)……………………… Background knowledge c Others (Please indicate here)……………………… IV SOURCES OF DIFFICULTIES Please indicate what possible causes of your difficulties in reading ESP TRUE NOT TRUE a The texts are too long and full of new words □ □ b The texts are full of new and complex grammar structures □ □ c The teacher doesn't teach us sufficient reading strategies □ □ and vocabulary □ □ e The teacher is too strict and demanding □ □ f I lack confidence and motivation □ □ d The teacher doesn't give us sufficient practice of grammar g I lack vocabulary, especially technical vocabulary □ □ h I lack knowledge about the topic I am reading □ □ i Others (Please indicate here)……………………… V SUGGESTIONS 10 According to you, what should be done to reduce the above difficulties in terms of reading materials and teaching methodology? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………….… …………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for taking time to complete this questionnaire APPENDIX C PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA NGHIÊN CỨU Bảng câu hỏi nhằm mục đích nghiên cứu tìm hiểu khó khăn việc đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành kỹ thuật sinh viên năm thứ trường Đại học Kỹ thuật Công nghiệp nguyên nhân gây khó khăn Câu trả lời bạn nghiên cứu nguồn đóng góp q giá để hồn thiện việc dạy học đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành kỹ thuật Cảm ơn hợp tác bạn! I Xin bạn vui lịng cho biết: * Gia đình bạn sống đâu? □ Nông thôn * Trước vào TNUT bạn có học tiếng Anh khơng? □ Thành thị □ Có □ Khơng Nếu có bạn bắt đầu học ? Nếu khơng bạn học ngoại ngữ nào? … * Các kỹ (nghe, nói, đọc, viết) tiếng Anh bạn □ tốt □ tốt □ □ trung bình □ * Kỹ đọc tiếng Anh bạn □ tốt □ tốt □ □ trung bình □ * Điểm trung bình tiếng Anh học kỳ đầu …………… II Bạn có đồng ý với ý kiến sau không ? Đọc kỹ quan trọng việc học tiếng Anh chuyên ngành □ hoàn toàn đồng ý □ đồng ý □ khơng đồng ý □ hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cần thiết cho nghề nghiệp tương lai bạn □ hoàn toàn đồng ý □ đồng ý □ khơng đồng ý □ hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Bạn thích đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành □ hoàn toàn đồng ý □ đồng ý □ khơng đồng ý □ hồn tồn khơng đồng ý III Khó khăn thường gặp Dưới số khó khăn bạn thường gặp trình đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Bạn cho biết khó khăn mà bạn gặp theo mức độ Rất khó = Khó = Dễ = Rất dễ = a Hiểu nhớ từ có nguồn gốc từ kiến thức kỹ thuật _ _ _ _ b Hiểu nhớ từ chuyên ngành kỹ thuật (như analog, digital) _ _ _ _ cụm danh từ _ _ _ _ d Tìm nghĩa phù hợp từ đa nghĩa _ _ _ _ a Phân biệt từ loại: danh từ, động từ, tính từ _ _ _ _ b.Hiểu sử dụng động từ, dạng động từ cụm động từ _ _ _ _ c Hiểu sử dụng cụm danh từ _ _ _ _ d Hiểu sử dụng cấu trúc cú pháp không quen thuộc _ _ _ _ câu bị động, câu chủ động _ _ _ _ f Hiểu mối quan hệ mệnh đề câu phức _ _ _ _ Về từ vựng bạn gặp khó khăn việc c Hiểu nhớ nghĩa cụm từ thành ngữ, cụm động từ, e Các ý kiến khác:……………………………………………… Về ngữ pháp bạn gặp khó khăn việc e Hiểu phân biệt loại câu đơn, câu phức, g Các ý kiến khác:……………………………………………………… Về văn bạn gặp khó khăn việc a.Hiểu mối quan hệ câu đọc _ _ _ _ b.Hiểu mối quan hệ đoạn văn đọc _ _ _ _ c Hiểu biểu đồ sơ đồ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ d Hiểu phép giản lược (như if so/ if not), phép thay (như one/ones, the same)… e Xác định nhận biết từ nối (and, but) dấu hiệu văn (first, then, moreover) f Nhận biết mục đích học để giải thích, miêu tả _ _ _ _ g Xác định ý phụ, câu chủ đề đoạn văn _ _ _ _ _ _ h Các ý kiến khác:………………………………………………………… … Về kỹ đọc hiểu bạn thấy khó việc a Đọc lướt để lấy ý _ _ b Đọc nhanh để tìm thơng tin chi tiết _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ suy đoán kết luận _ _ _ _ e Tóm tắt đọc _ _ _ _ f Trả lời câu hỏi đọc hiểu _ _ _ _ c Đoán nghĩa từ đoán nội dung đọc dựa vào ngữ cảnh d Hiểu ý hàm ngôn (thông tin không nói rõ mà ngầm ám chỉ), g Các ý kiến khác:……………………………………………… …………… Vế kiến thức bạn gặp khó khăn việc a Hiểu kiến thức chuyên ngành khác b Hiểu kiến thức kỹ thuật mẻ c Các ý kiến khác…………………………………………………………… III Nguồn gốc khó khăn Bạn cho biết nguyên nhân gây khó khăn việc đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành kỹ thuật Đúng Không a Bài đọc chuyên ngành dài nhiều từ □ □ b Mật độ cấu trúc ngữ pháp đọc nhiều phức tạp.□ □ c Giáo viên không dạy chúng em kỹ đọc □ □ ngữ pháp □ □ e Giáo viên nghiêm khắc đòi hỏi cao chúng em □ □ f Em khơng có đủ tự tin động học tập □ □ g Em thiếu vốn từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành □ □ h Em thiếu kiến thức chủ đề học □ □ d Giáo viên không cho chúng em luyện tập đầy đủ từ vựng i Các ý kiến khác…………………………………………………… IV Kiến nghị 10 Theo bạn, có giải pháp để khắc phục khó khăn (về giáo trình phía giáo viên) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn bạn dành thời gian trả lời! ... STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (KHẢO SÁT NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP THÁI NGUYÊN) MINOR... into the current situation of teaching and learning ESP at TNUT Introduction to Thai Nguyen University of Technology Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT) has been operated for 45 years Its... students‟ attitudes towards ESP reading They were asked to choose among “strongly agree” (SA), “agree” (A), “disagree” (D), “strongly disagree” (SD) The results are presented in Table Questions Percent