VIETNAM NATIONAL1 UNIVERSITY-HANOI vV COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POST GRADUATE STUDIES - HOANG THI HAI HANH A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AT FACULTY OF BROADCASTING TECHNOLOGY OF COLLEGE OF BROADCASTING I (NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA SINH VIÊN KHOA KỸ THUẬT PHÁT THANH - TRUYỀN HÌNH, TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẰNG PHÁT THANH- TRUYỀN HÌNH I TRONG VIỆC HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: METHODOLOGY Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi, December 2009 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POST GRADUATE STUDIES HOANG THI HAI HANH A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AT FACULTY OF BROADCASTING TECHNOLOGY OF COLLEGE OF BROADCASTING I (NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA SINH VIÊN KHOA KỸ THUẬT PHÁT THANH - TRUYỀN HÌNH, TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẰNG PHÁT THANH- TRUYỀN HÌNH I TRONG VIỆC HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: METHODOLOGY Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Duong Thi Nu, D.r Hanoi, December 2009 Hanoi, December 2009 vi Table of Contents Certificate of originality i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii List of Abbreviations iv List of tables figures and charts v Part I: Introduction 1 Rationale Aims of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study Part II: Development Chapter 1: Theoretical Background 1.1 Reading and reading comprehension 1.1.1 The nature of reading and reading comprehension 1.1.2 Reading process 1.1.3 Classification of reading according to the purposes of reading 1.2 ESP reading 1.2.1 Definitions of ESP 9 1.2.2 Reading skills in ESP 10 1.2.3 ESP reading materials 11 1.3 Problems in learning ESP reading 11 1.3.1 Reading skill problem 12 1.3.2 Language problem 12 1.4 Previous studies 13 1.5 Summary 13 Chapter 2: The current situation of teaching and learning ESP 14 reading at College of Broadcasting I (CB-I) 2.1 Introduction about CB-I learners 14 vii 2.2 The objectives of teaching and learning reading English in CB-I 15 2.3 Teachers and method of teaching 15 2.4 The ESP program at CB-I 16 2.5 Summary 17 Chapter 3: Research Methodology 18 3.1 Research questions 18 3.2 The participants 18 3.3 The data collection methods 18 3.4 Data analysis 19 3.4.1 Students’ attitudes towards ESP reading 19 3.4.2 The purpose of reading ESP in the views of the students 22 3.4.3 Students’ perception of ESP reading difficulties 23 *In term of grammar 24 * In term of vocabulary 25 * In term of discourse 26 * In term of reading skills 27 * Rank order of ESP reading difficulties 29 3.4.4 The causes of difficulties 29 * The reading materials 30 * The teachers 30 * The learners 31 3.4.5 Students’ expectations in term of material 31 3.4.6 Students’ expectations in term of methodology 32 3.5 Summary 34 Chapter 4: Some suggestions to improve learning ESP reading in 35 CB-I 4.1 Improving teachers’ classroom techniques for teaching 35 Broadcasting Technology reading 4.1.1 Applying different approaches to teach vocabulary 35 4.1.2 Supplying more grammar structures 35 4.1.3 Increasing students’ reading interest and motivation 36 4.2 Training students to become efficient readers 37 viii 4.2.1 Teaching students different reading strategies 37 4.2.2 Assigning and checking students’ completion of 38 homework 4.3 Training teachers 4.3.1 Improving Broadcasting Technology background 39 39 knowledge for teachers of English 4.3.2 Improving teaching methodology 39 4.4 Developing ESP reading materials 40 4.4.1 Developing topics 40 4.4.2 Adapting reading practice exercises 41 4.4.3 Simplifying highly specialized texts 41 4.5 Summary 41 Part III: Conclusion 42 Summary of the findings 42 Some conclusions 42 Limitations of the study and suggestion for further study 43 References 44 Appendices I Appendix 1: Some pictures about mixing desk and recording studio I Appendix 2: Unit 6- Making a recording IV Appendix 3: Bảng câu hỏi dành cho sinh viên V Appendix 4: Translated version of the questionnaire for students X iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CB-I: College of Broadcasting I ESP: English for Specific Purposes FBT: Faculty of Broadcasting Technology GE: General English v LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND CHARTS Figure 1: Schematization of the To-down approach Figure 2: The vicious circle of the weak readers Chart 1: Students’ perception about the importance of reading skill in ESP reading Chart 2: Students’ views about the role of ESP reading for their future job Chart 3: Students’ interest in ESP reading Chart 4: Purposes of reading ESP in the views of students Chart 5: Students’ views of sources of difficulties Table 1: The difficulties in term of grammar Table 2: The difficulties in the term of vocabulary Table 3: The difficulties in the term of discourse Table 4: The difficulties in the term of reading skill Table 5: The average source of the items in each area of difficulties Table 6: Students’ expectations in material Table 7: Students’ expectation in methodology PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Owing to the ongoing process of regional and global integration in Vietnam, the demand for English language learning across the country is increasing English has become a compulsory subject in every school, college and university with a considerable length of time To students, nowadays, English is not only a subject in the curriculum at university but also a key to gain access to the information world In Vietnam, there is a growing demand for English language teaching to meet the needs of a new generation of learners who want to learn English to “gain access to the required knowledge that is available, either exclusively or most readily, in English” (Munby, 1978:3) or to serve other different specific purposes That leads to the coming into being of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Being aware of the great demand for English in particularly and the importance of ESP in specially, officials in CB- I have adapted GE since 1990 and ESP since 1993 as compulsory subject It is aimed at broadening students‟ knowledge and achieving success in their career life as well As a technical college, one of the requirements for graduates is to be able to read professional documents in their field for further study or future jobs Therefore, ESP was first introduced into the syllabus about 10 years ago However, teachers and students at CB-I still face some of these problems: - There has been little or almost no research work touching upon ESP teaching methodologies to language students in Vietnam - Most teachers at CB-I lack experience in teaching ESP - There are no training courses for teachers of ESP - Students are not of equal level of English - The present course book at CB-I is not effective and relevant The foresaid reasons of ESP teaching and learning at CB-I have aroused my interest and made me find out the areas of students‟ reading difficulties at CB-I Once problems have been identified, it will be possible to make suggestions for the teachers and students to improve teaching and learning of ESP reading at CB-I Aims of the study This study aims to examine the areas of difficulties in ESP reading of the second-year students of Faculty of Broadcasting Technology (FBT) at CB-I The objectives of this study are: - to investigate the student attitudes towards ESP reading - to find out the students‟ reading difficulties and their causes - to investigate the students‟ needs in terms of material and methodology - to offer some recommendations to reduce the difficulties and help students to improve their reading skills Hopefully, the study will make some contributions to the improvement of teaching and learning ESP in CB-I Scope of the study Dealing with ESP learning difficulties is too broad for a study of this size It is impossible to cover all aspects of language theory and practice in this study Therefore, the focus of this study is to investigate some linguistic problems and difficulties in ESP reading skill experienced by the second-years students at Faculty of Broadcasting Technology in CB-I then recommend some techniques to help them improve their reading Methods of the study The theoretical background of the study mainly relies on many published books written by different authors on language of technology, communicative language teaching, English for specific purposes, approaches to ESP teaching and learning The major method used in the study is the survey one With the aim of finding out the difficulties in ESP reading of the second-year students of Faculty of Broadcasting Technology, this thesis uses the analysis of the statistics from the instruments including one questionnaire, informal interviews and small talks conducted with the teachers and students at CB-I Design of the study The study is organized into three main parts: the introduction, the development and the conclusion The first part introduces the rationale, aims of the study, method, scope of the study as well as design of the thesis The second part consists of four chapters: Chapter reviews the theoretical background of the research including Reading and reading comprehension, ESP reading and problems in learning ESP reading Chapter discusses the present situation of teaching and learning reading English in Faculty of Broadcasting Technology at CB- I Chapter presents the research methodology which focuses on the research questions, the participants, research method including data collection methods, data analysis process and some discussion and findings Chapter suggests some recommendations to reduce difficulties and to improve the teaching and learning of ESP reading The last part summarizes the issues addressed, presents some conclusions made on the basis of the findings, shows the limitations of the study and makes some suggestions for further research I Appendix 1: Some pictures about mixing desk and recording studio Inputting mixing desk with music recording II Inputting mixing desk with output devices III Recording studios IV Appendix 2: Unit 6: Making a recording THE TEXT: For professional recording, the process begins in the studio Each vocalist, instrument, or group of instruments is linked to a microphone Each microphone is plugged into one of up to 72 channels on a mixer or mixing desk The mixing desk allows the studio engineer to adjust the recording level for each channel This is shown by a VU meter or a bar graph where the indicator is a sequence of lights Two low a level results in background hiss; too high a level causes distortion The mixer also has EQ (equalization) controls which adjust bass and treble The output from each channel is fed to a track on a multi-track tape recorder After the music has been recorded on the multi-track, it is mastered down This means that it is fed back through the mixer to adjust the levels of vocalist and instruments in relation to each other At this time, effects can be used to alter the sound One of the most common is reverb (reverberation) which can make the music sound as if it was recorded in a very large building or a very small room The edited sound is recorded on a two-track mastering machine to produce a master tape The master is then used to make records, cassettes, CDs, or MDs V Appendix 3: Bảng câu hỏi dành cho sinh viên Bảng câu hỏi thiết kế nhằm mục đích thu thập thơng tin phục vụ nghiên cứu tìm hiểu khó khăn việc đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành sinh viên trường Cao đẳng Phát thanh- Truyền hình I nguyên nhân gây khó khăn Chúng tơi đánh giá cao giúp đỡ bạn việc hoàn thành phần câu hỏi phía Các câu trả lời mà bạn cung cấp quan trọng cơng trình nghiên cứu Dữ liệu điều tra sử dụng cho việc nghiên cứu, khơng mục đích khác ( Chỉ có người nghiên cứu biết câu trả lời bạn mong bạn trả lời theo suy nghĩ mình.) Cám ơn hợp tác bạn! Trước trả lời câu hỏi, xin vui lòng điền số thông tin cá nhân sau: Phần 1: Thông tin cá nhân Giới tính bạn: Nam  Nữ  Bạn học tiếng Anh rồi? a năm  b 4-5 năm  c 6-8 năm  d 10 năm  Hiện tiếng Anh bạn trình độ………………… a Dưới trung cấp  b Sơ cấp  c Trung cấp  Bạn đến từ đâu? a nông thôn  b thành thị  Phần 2: Quan điểm mục đích đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành 5.Bạn nghĩ kỹ đọc việc học tiếng Anh chuyên ngành? a Rất quan trọng  c Bình thường  b Quan trọng d Khơng quan trọng   e Hồn tồn khơng quan trọng  Bạn nhận thấy vai trò đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành công việc bạn sau nào? a Rất cần thiết  c.Bình thường b Cần thiết d.Khơng cần thiết    e Hồn tồn khơng cần thiết  Bạn thích đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành nào? a Rất thích  c Bình thường  e Khơng thích chút  VI b Thích  d Khơng thích  Bạn nghĩ mục đích việc học đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành gì? a Để có thêm kiến thức tiếng Anh sở tiếng Anh chuyên ngành  b Để học thêm thuật ngữ chuyên ngành tiếng Anh  c Để đọc tài liệu chuyên ngành  d Để du học  e Để tìm việc làm tốt tương lai  f Để đạt điểm cao kỳ thi  g Các ý kiến khác…………………………………………………………. Phần 3: Nhận thức sinh viên khó khăn gặp phải học đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Đây số khó khăn bạn gặp phải đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Hãy đánh dấu vào bạn chọn Rất khó: RK Dễ: D Khó: K Rất dễ: RD Các phạm trù gặp khó khăn Về ngữ pháp, bạn gặp khó khăn việc: a Phân biệt từ loại: danh từ, động từ, tính từ… b Hiểu sử dụng động từ, dạng động từ c Hiểu sử dụng giới từ cụm giới từ d Hiểu sử dụng cấu trúc ngữ pháp không quen thuộc e Hiểu phân biệt loại câu: câu đơn, câu phức, bị động, chủ động f Xác định thành phần câu đơn g Xác định mệnh đề phụ câu phức h Hiểu mối quan hệ mệnh đề câu phức i Xác định trật tự từ j Các ý kiến khác:……………………………………………… RK K D RD VII 10 Về từ vựng, bạn gặp khó khăn trong: a Nhớ phát âm từ dài b Hiểu nhớ từ kỹ thuật c Hiểu nhớ nghĩa cụm từ thành ngữ, cụm động từ, cụm danh từ d Tìm nghĩa phù hợp từ đa nghĩa e Hiểu từ đồng âm khác nghĩa (see & sea, pair & pear) f Các ý kiến khác:…………………………………… 11.Về văn bản, bạn gặp khó khăn việc: a Hiểu mối quan hệ câu đọc b Hiểu mối quan hệ đoạn đọc c Hiểu đồ sơ đồ d Hiểu phép giản lược phép thay e Xác định nhận biết từ nối dấu hiệu văn f Nhận biết mục đích đọc (để giải thích hay để miêu tả g Nhận biết cấu trúc đọc hỏi-trả lời, nêu vấn đề-giải , lý thuyết- thực tiễn h Xác định ý phụ, câu chủ đề đoạn văn i Các ý kiến khác:…………………………………………… 12.Về kỹ đọc hiểu, bạn thấy khó khăn việc: a Đọc lướt để lấy ý b Đọc nhanh để tìm thơng tin chi tiết c Đọc nhanh để tìm thơng tin thú vị d Đoán nghĩa từ đoán nội dung đọc dựa vào ngữ cảnh e Ghi thông tin quan trọng từ khố f Tóm tắt đọc g Hiểu ý hàm ngơn, suy đốn kết luận VIII h Trả lời câu hỏi đọc hiểu i Dịch khoá từ tiếng Anh sang tiếng Việt j Tìm ý khố đoạn văn k Các ý kiến khác:………………………………………… Phần 4: Nguyên nhân khó khăn 13 Ngun nhân Đúng Khơng 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 d Giáo viên không cho chúng em luyện tập đầy đủ từ vựng 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 i Chủ đề không làm em hứng thú j Em nghĩ khơng cần thiết cho cơng việc em tương lai k Các ý kiến khác Phần 5: Những vấn đề cần điều chỉnh theo quan điểm sinh viên 14 Để giúp việc đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành dễ dàng theo bạn giáo trình tiếng Anh chuyên ngành nên điều chỉnh bổ sung nào? IX Điều chỉnh Đúng Sai a Các học nên gần sát với nghề nghiệp b Các học nên ngắn gọn tạo hứng thú c Các học nên có lượng từ vừa phải d Các từ nên dạy theo tính kế thừa từ sang khác e Các tập nên phong phú đa dạng f Các ý kiến khác 15 Để giúp bạn học tiếng Anh chuyên ngành tốt bạn mong điều giáo viên việc dạy đọc? Điều chỉnh a Em muốn giáo viên giải thích kỹ tượng ngữ pháp đọc b Em muốn giáo viên giải thích cung cấp cho chúng em nghĩa tiếng Việt từ chuyên ngành c Em muốn giáo viên cung cấp thêm kiến thức theo chủ đề chúng em học d Em muốn giáo viên hướng dẫn cho chúng em thủ thuật đọc phù hợp với e Em muốn giáo viên hướng dẫn cho chúng em học theo cặp, theo nhóm f Em muốn giáo viên cho nhiều dạng tập giao tiếp để chúng em dễ nhớ từ vựng g Em muốn giáo viên kiểm tra chúng em nhiều dịch thuật h Các ý kiến khác Cám ơn hợp tác bạn! Đúng Sai X Appendix 4: Translated Version of the questionnaire for students This survey is designed to collect information for the study on: “A study on students’ difficulties in learning English for Special Purposes at Faculty of Broadcasting Technology of College of Broadcasting I”.Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated You can be certain that this is for research purpose only and that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Before answering the questions, please tick () the correct information: Part one: Personal information Your gender: M  F …………………… How long have you been learning English? 0-3 years  4-5 years  6-8 years  more than 10 years  Your English is at…………………………….level now a Elementary  b  c Intermediate  Where you come from? a rural  b urban  Part two: Attitudes towards ESP reading and purposes of learning ESP reading What you think about reading skill in ESP learning? a very important  c neutral b important d not very important   e not important at all How you find the role of ESP reading for your future job? a very essential  b essential  c neutral  d not very essential  e not essential at all  How you like reading ESP? a very interested  b interested    XI c neutral  d not very interested  e not interested at all  What you think about the purpose of ESP reading? a To have more knowledge about General English and ESP b To learn terminology in English c To read specific materials d To study abroad e To apply for a good job in the future f To get a high score in English exams g Others (please specify)………………………………………………………… Part three: Students’ perception of ESP reading difficulties Here are some difficulties you may encounter when reading ESP Please tick your choice Very difficult: VD Easy: E Difficult: D Very easy: VE Areas of difficulties VD In the area of grammar a Recognizing the word’s parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives… b Understanding and using verb tenses and forms c Understanding and using prepositions and preposition phrases d Understanding and using unfamiliar syntactic structures e Understanding identifying the types of sentences: simple or complex, passive or active voice f Identifying elements of simple sentences (S,V,O,A,C) g Identifying elements of complex sentences (main or subordinate clause) h Understanding the relationship between clauses of D E VE XII compound and complex sentences i Identifying the correct word order j Others (please specify_ 10 In the area of vocabulary a Pronunciation and remembering lengthy words b Understanding and remembering professional technical words c Understanding and remembering idiomatic expression verb phrases and noun phrases d Finding the appropriate meaning for poly-semantic words e Understanding homonyms (see & sea, pair & pear…) f Others (please specify)……………………………………… 11 In the area of discourse a Understanding relationship between sentences/segments in a text b Understanding relationship between paragraphs in a text c Recognizing larger textual patterns of a discourse (answerquestion, problem-solution, and hypothesis-practice) d Identifying and understanding ellipsis and substitution (one/ ones, the same) e Identifying and recognizing conjunctions and discourse markers f Recognizing functional values (explaining Describing) g Understanding graphs and diagrams h Identifying organization of ideas: main ideas, supporting details, topic sentence i Others (please specify)…………………………………… 12 In the area of reading skills a Skimming to get the main ideas XIII b Scanning to get the specific information c Scanning to get interesting information d Guessing new words in the context and predicting the content of the text e Takes notes for the text f Summarizing g Recognizing implication and making inferences and conclusion h Answering comprehension questions i Others (please specify)……………………………………… Part four: Sources of difficulties in ESP reading Question 13 In your opinion, what causes these difficulties? The texts are very too long and full of new words The texts are full of new and complex grammar structures The teacher doesn’t teach us sufficient reading strategies The teacher doesn’t give us sufficient practice of grammar and vocabulary Teachers are too strict and demanding I lack confidence and motivation I lack vocabulary especially ESP vocabulary I lack professional knowledge about the topic I am reading The topic doesn’t attract me 10 Others (please specify)………………………………… True False XIV Part five: Students’ expectations in material and methodology Question 14: What you think must be adjusted in the ESP Yes No Yes No material to make your ESP reading easier? a Reading text should be more related to my future job b Reading text should be shorter and more motivating c Reading text should be a limited number of new words d New words should be taught repeatedly from this unit to another e Grammatical exercises should be more various in forms f More materials should be provided for learners Question 15: To help you read better, what you think the ESP syllabus should be? a I expect the teacher to explain more carefully unfamiliar grammatical structures found in the texts b I expect the teacher to give and explain Vietnamese equivalents for the specific words not found in dictionary c I expect the teacher to provide us more background knowledge related to the topics we are working on d I want the teachers to help us to choose suitable reading strategies for each reading text e I want the teacher to help us to work in pairs or in small groups f I want the teacher to give us more communicative exercises to help remember vocabulary more easily XV g I want the teacher to check us more often about translation h I want the teacher speak both English and Vietnamese in class Thank you for your co-operation! ... Certificate of originality i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii List of Abbreviations iv List of tables figures and charts v Part I: Introduction 1 Rationale Aims of the study Scope of the study. .. defined “intensive reading means reading short texts to extract specific information This is an accuracy activity involving reading for details” The objective of intensive reading is to understand... understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as effectively as possible” Reading comprehension is considered as an important part in teaching and learning reading a