PART IL: INTRODUCTION 1.Rationale of the study
English is a compulsory subject at Vinh Technical Pedagogical University , as a consequence ESP is also an importantly compulsory subject for students who passed the GE courses Having a good knowledge of GE and especially ESP is considered to be necessary means for any graduates who wish to find a good job, better in foreign companies Therefore, there is a growing and wide demand to learn English at universities
As for the 2™ year students at VTPU, English in general, and ESP in particular is extremely important because the students are expected to become engineers in the future and these people are going to access many modern machines and technologies Thus, the job orientation in a curriculum for students are very important In fact, this can be considered to be the most important factor when teachers choose texts in developing the book for students
The English for Mechanical engineering at VTPU is a teacher-made curriculum It derived from the real demand of teachers and students at the university at first for the students at the college level With the characteristics of a teacher-made curriculum, is it a really high job-oriented one? For example, does it provide students with suitable grammatical items which concern the real knowledge of working contexts? Does it help students to build and improve a certain amount of the language exercises in vocabulary and grammar ? etc These are really difficult questions to answer for the teachers at our university who are assigned to teach ESP for Mechanical engineering and to develop the curriculum at first Because the aim of the course is to develop the students’ reading skill of technical texts, so that learners would be able to read job-oriented text fatherly outside the books
Designing ESP courses is always found at hand challenging and difficult with many tasks need to be done like defining the specific target needs of learners’ subject area, deciding the approach to be followed, etc Thus, analyzing and directing the characteristics of a good ESP curriculum is an essential work that as a first step for both teachers and students to find out the goals of the ESP courses and participate with more enthusiasm in improving the learning and teaching ESP materials
2.Significance of the study Practically
This thesis is an investigation into the job orientation in an ESP program for Mechanical Engineering for 2" year students at VTPU The study would help the teachers to work more effectively in improving the current materials And as a consequence, the
Trang 2students are those who benefit the most These are the first prerequisites that lead teachers to make the learning process of students motivating and exciting and for the most important students can apply what they have learnt to the future jobs after graduation
Theoretically
We hope to make some contributions to the task of designing ESP courses for the Mechanical in particular and Vocational in general with several specialties We also wish to bring out an issue of interest to other researchers and many teachers at VTPU
3.Organization of the study
-The study is organized into three main parts:
Part I: Introduction
This part introduces briefly to the background, the objective, the significance and the organization of the study It also includes a section of methodology addressing the aims of the present study, the research questions and giving an outline of the research design including data collection instruments, selection of subjects, procedures of data collection
Part II: Development
The development part of the study consists of three chapters, as follows: Chapter 1: Literature review
This chapter reviews the theoretical materials and findings relating to the study Firstly, the definition of ESP Then, the job-orientation in ESP courses Thirdly, characteristics of an ESP text Finally, the characteristics of ESP course for Mechanical Engineering at VTPU
Chapter2: Data analysis
This chapter brings out an outline of analytical framework The collected data from such instruments as the questionnaires for students and the interview to the teachers are analyzed one after another The findings from the data collected are presented and discussed also in this chapter
Part III: Conclusion and implications
Trang 3This study aims to investigate (1) the job orientation in English Text book for Mechanical Engineering at VTPU (2) provide some useful implications for teachers for modifying the currently used text book to a higher level with better job orientation
4.2 The research questions
The study addresses two research questions as follows:
1.Is the English specific texts for Mechanical Engineering at VTPU really job-
oriented?
2 How are the job orientations displayed in the current textbook?
To answer the research questions, careful investigation into the factors created the job orientation in the syllabus for students at VTPU is required
4.3 Data collection instruments
Questionnaires and interviews were used for collecting the data for the study According to the author of the study, using questionnaires is the best way to secure the desired information All subjects were given questionnaires at the same time and collected data are relatively uniform, standard and accurate
4.3.1 Questionnaires for the students
150 copies of the questionnaires were given to 150 ESP students of Mechantcail Engineering at VTPU The purpose of the survey was to investigate the student attitude towards the current ESP textbook for Mechanical Engineering The questionnaires were in Vietnamese in order to make it easy for the students to answer
The questionnaires include of 12 questions, which required the subjects to mark responses, to select among a number of alternatives in order to supply the information about the current ESP textbook for Mechanical Engineering
4.3.2 Questionnaires for the graduate students
These participants had graduated from VTPU and now working in factories and companies in different provinces in Central Vietnam
50 copies of the questionnaire for engineers and technicians were distributed to investigate learners’ attitude and evaluation of the ESP text book that they had used at VTPU The questionnaires also include of 10 questions for the subjects to mark responses, or to select among a number of alternatives in order to supply the information about the content of the textbook for Mechanical Engineering
4.3.3.Interview with teachers of English at VTPU
Trang 4advantage for the research was that the subjects who took part in the interviews all work at the same university, so they met very often and they shared their ideas with the researcher
The interview focused on the teachers’ opinions about the current ESP textbook used in ESP teaching and learning at VTPU and their expectations for improving the current text book to make it more job-oriented
4.4 The subjects of the study
The experienced teachers teaching ESP and 150 students of Mechanical Faculty and 50 ex-students are chosen as the subjects of this study for these students has finished an English for Mechanical engineering course and many of them has been using the ESP knowledge for their real job
4.5.Procedures
First, the 150 subjects were asked to do the questionnaires Some students had small, friendly talks with the researcher The teachers were interviewed individually to show their opinions on the current syllabus to talk out whether it is job-oriented or not They were asked about 12 questions
Trang 5PART II
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1.An overview of ESP 1.1.1.Definition of ESP
ESP has been defined in different ways by different authors Hunchinson and Waters (1987) consider ESP as an approach rather than a product, they state that it is “an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner’s reason for learning ” Strevens (1988) see ESP as a particular case of general category of special purpose language teaching Widdowson(1983) agued that the definition between ESP (English for Specific Purposes ) and EGP (English for general purposes) 1s not the problem of specificity of purpose but “the way in which purpose is defined and the manner of its implementation” For 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 flight attendant, a mechanic, or a doctor
Most of the ESP teachers and researchers perceive that an ESP course would have at least three following features:
Firstly, it is purposeful and aimed at the successful performance of occupational or educational roles by an individual or a group
Secondly, it is based on an analysis of the students’ needs and is “tailor-made” to meet these needs
Thirdly, it may differ from another general language course in its selection of skills, themes, topics, situation, functions, language and methodology
Also, Dudley Evan and St John (1998) suggest absolute and variable characteristics of ESP as follows:
1 Absolute characteristics:
*“ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learner;
*ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the disciplines it serves; *ESP is centered on the language, skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these
Trang 62.Variable characteristics:
*ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;
*ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of general English
*ESP 1s likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation It could, however, be used for learners at secondary school
level;
*ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students Most ESP courses assume basic knowledge of language system, but it can be used with beginners
In our opinion, these characteristics may be considered to be basic criieria to assess ESP syllabus to make sure that it is job-oriented
1.2 Job- orientation in ESP texts 1.2.1.Definition of texts
Texts can be defined in different ways We may understand the concept of text in the simplest way like this: text is a sort of super-sentence Sarkie (1995) defined that a text is the “verbal record” of a communicative act with two main points to limit
*The presentation of a text which is presented for discussion may in part, particularly where the written presentation of a spoken text is involved, consist of a prior analysis of a fragment of discourse by the discourse analyst presenting the text for consideration
*Features of the original production of the language, for example shaky handwriting, are somewhat arbitrarily considered as features of the text rather than features of the context in which the language is produced
Towards the definition of text, Halliday has different point of view, according to him, a text is really made up of meanings; it is a semantic unit which is coded in something in order to be understood
The text is a product in the sense that it is an output, something that can be recorded and studied, having a certain construction that can be represented in systematic terms It is a process in the sense of a continuous process of semantic choice, a movement through the network of meaning potential, with each set of choices continuing the environment for a further set.(Halliday 1985:10)
Trang 7Understanding the definition of “text” would be a helpful background knowledge that help researchers to find out the important issues relating to the concept of a text and studying the specific texts for different purposes
1.2.2.The features of an ESP text
In teaching and learning ESP there can be written or spoken texts (Chris Kennedy and Rob Bolitho, 1984) Like all types of texts, an ESP text concerns with the relationships between functions, grammatical forms and the way they are linked together to produce a coherent texts (Chris Kennedy and Rob Bolitho, 1984)
Chris Kennedy and Rob Bolitho has presented an example of the language that 1s usually exist in an ESP text
1.Function Form Structural category
(a)definition An X isa Y which Z Defining relative clause An X1sa Y used for Z Reduced relative clause An X can be defined as Y Passive with auxiliary eg A thermometer is an instrument “there is ”
which measures temperature “there are” There are two kinds of X X are of present simple
two sorts
Eg there are two kinds of metals
1.Notion Form Structural category
(a) probability | A deposit may be left in the beaker May (modal auxiliary)
(b)location/mot It is likely that a deposit will be left It is + adj + subordinate
ion in the beaker clause
The beaker is on the tripod On, behind, towards, into
(prepositions)
Tablel: Certain grammatical forms in EST
(Chris Kennedy and Rod Bolitho, 1984)
As we may have known there are usually two types of texts in ESP, those are “authentic” and “simplified” texts Kennedy and Bolitho states that a “simplified” text is one which grammatical, lexical and rhetorical elements have been made less complex to render the learning of language more effective “an “authentic” is one written for a specific audience (not language learners) and its purpose is communication of subject content rather than language form” How those texts are used by students should be reflected in the strategies and skills which the language teachers attempt to foster Of course, the teachers should make sure that the text is relevant to the students by getting learners to bring in texts
Trang 8or portions of texts that they have found difficult in their subject area and to work on such
texts
We may point out some features of an ESP text according to the analyzing of Kennedy and Bolithe (1984) as follows:
Grammar:
*certain grammatical forms are frequently mentioned (especially the use of passive, reduced relative clause,etc)
*there are always relationships between functions, grammatical forms Connections:
There are usually three types of linguistic marker which are usually used in texts expressing a logical train of thought
*First, the markers of coherence (act as connectors linking sentences) *Second, logical connectors (form links within sentences)
*Finally, cohesive devices (link sentences by grammatical means) Vocabulary:
*There is an amount of technical abbreviations *There are symbols and formulate
*There are highly technical vocabularies *There are also sub technical vocabularies *There are other specialist vocabularies
The content of an ESP text is usually quite specific and will always be determined by the students’ needs and objectives Intelligent syllabus designers should know to choose the texts that can fulfill the above criteria which may gives students opportunities to satisfy their immediate needs for English
1.2.3 The job orientation in a common ESP text
Trang 9The subject matter is the most important thing in the so-called “job-orientation” in an ESP text And that is displayed as mentioned above with the difference in grammar, vocabulary, and activity from those in GE Kennedy and Bolitho (1984) states that in learning and teaching ESP, teachers should know what texts are used in subject areas or in jobs, and what topics are covered, and how they are used Thus, we may perceive that an ESP text must have the real content in it for example, a business letter may be a suitable text for use in a course, but the way it is used by the sender is very different from its use by the recipient books which he recommends to the students
1.2.4 The job-orientation in an ESP text for Mechanical Engineering
Similarly, an ESP text for Mechanical Engineering includes all the characteristics of a common ESP text However, the aim of an ESP for Mechanical Engineering course is usually to develop students’ reading skills of Mechanical and technical texts, so that they can read job-oriented texts The job orientation in ETME is expressed in terms of topics relating to the subject matter that is the mechanical area Maria, (1984) In fact, there may be texts of a semi-technical nature to be chosen to which students of different specialities would be able to contribute and which would provide practice in a set of skills, structures, functions and semi-technical vocabulary which the students will meet in their specialist studies
1.3.The English texts for Mechanical engineering At VTPU
English for Mechanical engineering is a compulsory subject in training program for teachers and higher technicians at VTPU It is designed for students of Mechanical faculty who have completed 300 class periods of GE 60 periods of ESP is taught in second semester of the second academic year The current used syllabus is teacher-generated and is considered to be the text book for students to follow during the course It consists of 12 units with 12 topics concern Mechanical Engineering with various types of exercises and language focus The content of the textbook is designed and created base on materials published by Oxford, Stam, Longman, etc Apart from 12 main topics, the textbook recommends some supplementary texts extracted from other materials in mechanical area
Despite the deficiencies of the book It was accepted positively by the teachers and students with the following table of contents in detail of the course
Credits | Unit | Topics Functions Grammar Vocabulary
Trang 10
Safety Gear | talking about | -Present simple | -Manufacturing safety equipment | tense Safety field and some | -Contextual -Transitional accidents in | reference markers workshop and | -Passive voice -Suffixes factories -Word formation
Mechanics’ | Using -Passive voice -Mechanical tool Tool Kit mechanics’ tool | -Word formation | field
kit -Contextual -Verb phrases
reference
Nuts and/| Describing and | -Present simple | Lists of type of Bolts using types of | -Relative nuts and bolts
nuts and bolts pronouns -Contextual reference
Materials Talking about | -Prepositions -Materials an their | materials in | -Passive voice -Time references features Mechanics and | -Modal verbs - Connectors
what they are used for
Operators’ | Talking about | -Passive voice -Materials
task how to operate a -Time reference
machine -Connectors
Input and | How to check the | -Present simple | Electrical terms
out put input and out put | -Phrasal verbs
electricity electricity in operating
machines
Pillar drills | Describing -Passive voice -Drilling machine drilling machines | -Word formation | components
-Drilling tasks Centre lathe | Describing center | -Passive voice -Lathe
lathe and its | -Word formation | components
components -Verb phrases
Trang 11
9 Welding How to — use | -Phrasal verbs Welding terms welding -Compound machines nouns
4 10 Car Talking about car | Word formation | -Car components
components | components and
their positions
11 Faults in a| Describing some | -Relative clauses | -Nouns
car usual faults in a | -Plural nouns -Suffixes car 12 Automotive engines Talking about | -There is/ there | Adjectives kinds of | are automotive -Comparative engines adjective
Table2: Content of English for Mechanical Engineering at VTPU
To investigate detail about the job orientation in content of the text book for Mechanical Engineering is the task of this study In addition we also investigate the linguistics characteristics of 8 other texts out side the text book for students at VTPU The extra texts are of the following topics: No Topics Source
1 MIG, FCA or GMA Lehrerhandbuch, Works on metal, Stam: 1996
2 Welding Robot Lehrerhandbuch, Works on metal, Stam: 1996
3 Precision Lehrerhandbuch, Works on metal, Stam: 1996
4 Cutting tool and machines Jeremy Comfort, Steve Hick, Allan Savage, basic technical English, OUP:1982
5 Materials Jeremy Comfort, Steve Hick, Allan Savage, basic
technical English, OUP:1982
Trang 12In summary, the above reviewing of literature guarantees us a background for the thereafter analyzing and concluding These opinions of different linguists and materials from different resources will be carefully examined and analyzed to find out the answers
for study and to help the researcher in getting information more precisely and meaningfully
Trang 13CHAPTER 2: DATA ANALYSIS
In the previous chapter, we have reviewed and discussed different terms concern job- orientation in ESP texts This part presents the results derived from the analysis of the data collected from the two questionnaires and the interviews, and discusses the topics, vocabulary, notions, grammatical items and types of exercises that emerge in a typically job-oriented text in learning and teaching ESP for Mechanical Engineering at VTPU 2.1 Questionnaires for students
2.1.1 The analytical frame work of the questionnaires for the students
The students’ questionnaires were cormpleted in class in the second term of the academic year of 2005-2006 150 questions were delivered and 120 were returned The content of the questionnaires for students go to following categories:
a learners’ motivation for learning ESP for mechanical Engineering
b learners’ satisfaction with English job-oriented knowledge of Mechanical engineering c learners’ perception on the job-orientation in learning ESP through the current text d learners’ expectation of improving the textbook
2.1.2 The students’ motivation for learning ESP for Mechanical Engineering
The result of Question 1 in the students’ questionnaire shows that most students (108 students-90%) thought that ESP is useful and necessary, while 6 students (5%) considered ESP as unnecessary and also 6 students (5%) had no idea
However, in question 2, when asked about the activities that students organize themselves for further studying outside classroom was not really good 38 students (31%) responded that they spent only some times studying at home with the given text book by teachers, 10 students (8%) participate in learning in group but it is very rare
20 students (18%) study at home on their own and with friends at the library.52 students (43%) students never spent time learning by themselves in any styles apart from class time This result proves a fact that students haven’t had a good learning habit and autonomy This problem will be brought out in the suggestion section in this thesis
2.1.3 Learners’ satisfaction with English job- oriented knowledge of Mechanical engineering
Questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 aimed at investigating the job orientation in English specific texts for Mechanical for students at VTPU through students’ opinion and perception We may say that these questions and responses of students are the most important data and information among the whole questionnaires
Trang 14They aimed at investigating the job-oriented features existing in the current text book for students of Mechanical via the students’ attitude and perception towards the term
The results show that the majority of students think of the current textbook with a positive attitude which helps them to understand and exploit all the existing texts effectively The job orientation is displayed clearly in the field of vocabulary provided in the book with highly mechanical vocabulary (82% of students agree), a good amount o f basic technical vocabulary (68% of students agree), and all the vocabulary of word formation and definitions (87% of students agree) Although there are still some % of students don’t feel satisfactory with the technical vocabulary of the text book, we may say that the texts used in the book have an amount of job-oriented vocabulary concerning the subject matter of students’ specialist To get more detail about the subject matter as well as the mechanical topics and content using in the book, we will discuss it in the following sections
There are 82 students (68 %) who thought that the grammatical items presented and taught are useful and relevant while 38 students (32%) felt it difficult and various However, most of the students like helpful structures and predominant existing grammatical phenomena to exploit the job-oriented text (75%, 82%)
Towards job situations, the responses of students indicated that there are not highly job-oriented situations for students to deal with and practice (31 %, 58%) And especially, there are not many communicative activities (50%) Fortunately, the problem of creating real situations and communicative activities concern much more on the teacher’s teaching method rather than the problem of mner Imeuistics, thus it may be adjusted by teachers during the course so as to help students access the real content and job context more vivid and dynamic
Also in the same table that we present below, high percentage of students agreed that the job-orientation is expressed clearly through the expertise knowledge occur in the text book, 68 % of students thought of the texts which provide them with the suitable Mechanical Engineering knowledge with not too many topics (just 15% of students responded that there are too many topics), helpful update expertise knowledge (79 %), and basic technical knowledge (85%)
Other important features to create the job- oriented characteristics were positive accepted by the students They are good supplementary reading texts (77 %) , relevant language exercises in vocabulary and grammar (85%), and many supplementary reading excerpts from instructional manuals, technical brochures, and product advertisement (43%) Only 43 % of students agreed with the suitable supplementary reading excerpts from outside resources expresses that students were not satisfied with the material they are
Trang 15
provided They may want more materials like real instructional manuals, technical brochures and etc
Job orientation in the mechanical texts Responses _ | Total:
for students at VTPU 120
=%
Vocabulary
Highly mechanical vocabulary 98 82
Basic technical vocabulary 82 68
Vocabulary of word formation and definitions 105 87
Grammatical items
Useful and relevant 82 68
Helpful structures to exploit job-oriented text 90 75
Difficult and various 105 87
Just predominant existing grammatical phenomena 99 82
Job situations
Real job situations 38 31
Communicative activities concerning mechanical tasks 60 50 Real contact with machine at school workshop 70 58
Expertise knowledge
Suitable Mechanical Engineering knowledge 82 68
Too many topics 18 15
Helpful update expertise knowledge 95 79
Basic technical knowledge 102 85 Others Good supplementary reading texts also provided in the 93 77 text book Relevant language exercises in vocabulary and grammar 102 85 52 43
Many supplementary reading excerpts from instructional
manuals, technical brochures, and product advertisements
Table 4: Students’ subject matter as the job orientation
Trang 162.1.4 Learners’ perception on the job-orientation in learning ESP through the current text book
Questions 8, 9 aimed at investigating the learners’ perception on the job-orientation in learning ESP through the current text book
Question 8 gave a discussion on linguistic characteristics that show clearly the job- orientation of the specific texts for mechanical engineering in the text book for mechanical students at VTPU The students chose all the given items Their choices were arranged from the highest percentage to the lowest as shown in table 3
Statement No =120 %
- Common mechanical vocabulary 105 87
- Basic technical vocabulary 102 85
- Vocabulary of machining tools 99 83
- Grammatical structures 94 78
- Vocabulary and language exercises of a concrete job (for | 80 67 example of welding, automotive repairing, etc.) 50 4I
- Language for real job situations 48 40
Table5: Job- oriented linguistic features
The results of this question were examined with the view of linguistic features that supply students with texts which are fraught with both concise linguistic and job-oriented content Looking at the table 3, we may say that the text book provided students with good common mechanical vocabulary (87%), basic technical vocabulary (85%), vocabulary of machining tools (83%) and grammatical structures (78%) However, towards vocabulary of concrete job (for example welding or automotive engineering), students expressed that they didn’t really satisfy (41%) and similarly, only 40 percent of students put a tick for language for real job- situations These results show that there isn’t a range of technical terms of concrete job and real job situations in the text book for students
2.1.5 Learners’ expectation of the job-oriented content of ESP texts
Although students accepted the current teacher-made texts book they wish to have some changes and improvement to the texts that they are using as the core course materials for ESP
Question 10, 11, 12 aimed at students’ expectation of the job-oriented content of ESP texts Question 10 asked students about their expectation of the job-oriented content of ESP texts before they officially study the subject.90% of students responded that they expected to learn ESP with high willingness and with a hope and belief of being provided
Trang 17helpful knowledge Questions 11, 12 investigate the topics and job-oriented linguistic features that students wish to improve
ESP Topics Responses Total: 120 = %
-Safety Gear
-Mechanics’ tool kit 12 10
-Nuts and Bolts 15 12
-Materials and their features 12 10 -Operators’ tasks 0 0 -Input and output electricity -Pillar drills 17 14 -Centre lathe 13 11 -Welding 21 18 -Car components 5 4 -Faults in a car 32 27 -Automotive engines 43 36 6 5 Linguistics items
- Common mechanical vocabulary 15 13
- Basic technical vocabulary 25 21
- Vocabulary of machining tools 31 26
- Grammatical structures II 9
- Vocabulary and language exercises of a concrete job (for | 87 73
example of welding, automotive repairing, etc.)
- Language for real job situations 94 78
Table 6: Topics and linguistic items changes and improvement
Looking through the table above we may see that majority of students didn’t wish to change the topics existing in the texts Only a low percentage of students wanted other things outside the topics provided in the text book Most of the students like studying topics such as welding, materials and their features, safety gear,
Low percentage of students wanted to change the topics: Safety gear (10%), Mechanics’ tool kit (12%), Nuts and Bolts (10%), Materials and their features (0%), Operators’ tasks (8%), Input and output electricity (14%), Pillar drills (11%), Centre lathe (18%), Welding (4%), Car components (27%) Similarly, only few students wished to
Trang 18change the linguistic items: Common mechanical vocabulary (13%), Basic technical vocabulary (21%), Vocabulary of machining tools (26%), Grammatical structures (9%), Vocabulary and language exercises of a concrete job (for example of welding, automotive repairing, etc) (73%), Language for real job situations (78%) High percentage of students wanted to change the vocabulary and language exercises of a concrete job and language for real job situations denote that the book seems to lack these two factors and that they need to be improved
2.2.Results from questionnaire for ex-students
This section investigates the ex- students’ benefit of learning ESP in target situation (question 13) and their evaluation of the ESP text book for mechanical engineering (questions 14,15, 16) and finally their idea for identifying linguistics content of the ESP that need to be developed (question 17, 18)
In questions 13, the participants were asked what they can benefit for their present jobs from ESP knowledge that they were taught at school.99 students (82, 5%) stated that they used the ESP knowledge to read materials of their specialist area Base on the students’ answer, we may say that students in some ways can exploit the knowledge of ESP in some tasks at their job like communicating with foreign colleagues (39%), writing specific papers (30 %), reading technical instructions (85,8 %), and working abroad (10%)
Statement No=45 %
Ex-students’ benefit of ESP
- Reading materials of their specialist area 99 82,5
- Communicating with foreign colleagues 47 39
- Writing specific papers 36 30
- Reading technical instructions on machines 103 85,8
-Working abroad 12 10
Table7: Ex-students’ benefit of ESP
To investigate more detail about the job-oriented texts that graduate students used, and their evaluation on the job-orientation of the text book we designed questions 14, 15 Responses to the questions were different 21 students (44 %) thought that ESP textbook for Mechanical engineering provided them with topics relating to their basic specialities Many students agreed that the textbook provided them with necessarily vocabulary, terms and expressions for mechanical engineering (81%), 48 percent of students found the texts book gives them meaningful situations and communicative activities and exercises The students evaluate highly the job-oriented content of the English specific texts for mechanical Engineering with formal definitions of technical and mechanical terms which
Trang 19are simple and easy to understand (70,8 %), typical grammatical phenomena (passive
voice, conditional sentences, suffixes, etc) (87,5 %), pictures to illustrate machine
components and operating movements (93, 75%), index of technical terms (83, 3 %) Thus, we may positively say that the current text book that students are using as well as the graduate students have used perform many characteristics of a typical text for technical in general and for mechanical in particular Statement No=48 | % The English specific texts for mechanical engineering provided you with
-Right topics concerning your specialist areas 21 44
-Mechanical structural patterns 19 39
- Necessarily vocabulary, terms and expressions for Mechanical | 39 81 engineering
- Meaningful situations and communicative activities and exercises 23 48
The English specific texts for mechanical Engineering consist of
-Formal definitions of technical and mechanical terms which are simple | 34 70,8
and easy to understand
-Typical grammatical phenomena (passive voice, conditional sentences, | 42 87,5
suffixes, etc)
- Pictures to illustrate machine components and operating movements 45 93,75
- Index of technical terms 40 83,3
Table 8: Ex- students’ evaluation on the text book
To upgrade a syllabus is a difficult but essential thing for teachers With the real environment of performing both vocational and ESP knowledge, Ex- students’ may be helpful with some personal ideas Questions 16, 17, 18 aimed at investigating things that the ex- students’ offer to make the current syllabus better The results showed that students were really interested in what involve their career Thus, when being asked to offer some changes and addition to the given items for the text book, their responses are as follows: add supplementary topics (52%), add topics relating concrete job (85%), add update information on old topics (67%), more language of communicating at technical working environment (40%), more subject- oriented vocabulary (19%), organizing workshop
Trang 20excursion (81%), real or simulative machine observation (89%), communicating games (93%) Statement No=48 % Topics
-Add supplementary topics 25 52
-Topics relating concrete job 4] 85
-Add update information on old topics 32 67
Language focus
-Language of communicating at technical working environment 19 40
-Subject- oriented vocabulary 14 19
Activities
-Organizing workshop excursion 39 81
-Real or simulative machine observation 43 89
-Communication games 45 93
Table 9: Some offer for changes of Ex-students 2.3.Interviews with teachers of English at VTPU
The researcher of this study have interviewed 8 teachers of English and 2 teachers of training department at VTPU The interview aimed at getting the teachers’ opinions about the current ESP text book used for students of mechanical engineering at VTPU, and their expectations of the benefits that students may get in the future job for they have been provided with a job-oriented textbook The interviews were conducted during the academic year 2005-2006 Table 10 shows the results from the interview
Teachers’ ideas about the job orientation in text book Agreement (%)
-Variety of mechanical and technical terms 90%
- Topics are relevant to the students’ needs 87% -The content meets training goal of the university for the course 97%
-Various job-situations practice 85%
-Language use is clear and simple enough 89%
Table 10: Teachers’ ideas about the job orientation in text book
From the table above we can see that the current textbook of mechanical engineering for students at VTPU is a rather perfect syllabus for students at current condition However, the practical content of the syllabus were not mentioned and practiced much The majority of teachers agree that the current text book consists of variety of
20
Trang 21mechanical and technical terms (90%), relevant topics for students (87%), relevant content to training goal of the university (97%), necessary and sufficient language use (89%)
Although the current text book is positively accepted by teachers and students, the teachers who deal with mechanical English area hope to modify and upgrade the book to make it better Things that teachers wish to add the most is the English for job-oriented situations which would help students a lot in apply the ESP knowledge in their future career Teachers also want to add more pictures to illustrate the machines as well as the technical component and mechanical operating movement
Teachers’ opinion for modifying the current text book Choosing (% )
-More pictures to illustrate 97%
-More real manuals and brochures 92%
-More language for real job-situations 89%
-Less grammatical exercises 83%
-More communication activities 95%
Table 11: Teachers’ opinion for modifying the current text book
2.3.The analysis of extra ESP texts from other resources for mechanical engineering There are 7 texts with more than 7 topics to be analyzed in this subsection The chosen texts are typical for mechanical engineering that have been used as _ the supplementary materials for students at VTPU With different topics like:1) MIG, FCA, GMA, 2) welding robot, 3) precision, 4) cutting tool and machines, 5)materials, 6) personal safety fault finding, industrial processes, 7) manual operations, generators, petrol engines
These texts were analyzed firstly to find out whether they follow the features of ESP and features of ESP texts and secondly they are job-oriented as adapted for mechanical students at VTPU
2.3.1 The seven texts with features of ESP 2.3.1.1.Absolute characteristics:
These texts were derived from books and materials which were typically designed to meet specific needs of the learner Especially, the attracted texts were carefully chosen to fit the needs of students of mechanical engineering at VTPU with 100 percent of the content suited for learners
They make use of the underlying method and activities of the disciplines it serves; The text are centered on the language, skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these activities
2.Variable characteristics:
The texts were relating to specific disciplines which are the subject matter of mechanical for students at VTPU
Trang 22They may use, in specific teaching situations of VTPU, and the teaching of them may be conducted with a different methodology from that of general English and for other schools
They are designed for adult learners with a professional work situation
*The texts derived from the course book designed for intermediate or advanced students However, most ESP courses assume basic knowledge of language system, but it can be used with beginners
2.3.1 The seven texts with features of an ESP text for Mechanical engineering
There are some predominant features of an ESP text and of an ESP text for mechanical engineering We analyzed these features basing on the framework by Chris Kennedy and Rod Bolitho (1984) and the typical functions of language use in an ESP texts that the designers usually focus on This table is created on the basis the book “Basic English for science ” (Oxford University Press: 1985)
Language Topic of texts Examples
functions:
(1)To describe: 1)MIG, FCA, GMA | 6) The car engine valve in Fig.20.2 should
Pictures 2)Welding robot, be forged, as machining produces too 3)Precision much swarf
4)Cutting tool and | However, the ball-bearing race in Fig.20.3 machines should be machined, since forging or
5)Materials casting are not accurate enough 6)Personal safety fault finding, industrial processes, 7)Manual operations, generators, petrol engines
Shapes 2)Welding robot 4)The cutting angle is the angle between 3)Precision the upper and lower surfaces of the tool 4)Cutting tools and | point
machines
Trang 23
Simple process 6)Personal safety, Fault finding, Industrial processes 7)Manual operations, Generators, Petrol engines
6) Tearing of the plate occur when the rivets are too close together
7)In the petrol engine, the movement of the pistons between the bottom and the top of the cylinder is termed the piston stroke Experiment Phenomenon
Qualities of | 1I)MIG, FCA, GMA The precision robot RT 280 has 6 revolute materials 2)Welding robot axles in rigid aluminium cast construction It is suited for upright and suspended assembly
Position 1)MIG, FCA, GMA_ | 7)The highest position of the piston is 2)Welding robot called the Top Dead Centre (TDC) 3)Precision position When the piston is in_ this 4)Cutting tools and | position, the volume between the cylinder machines head and the top of the piston is known as 6)Personal safety | the clearance volume fault finding, industrial processes, 7)Manual operations, generators, petrol engines
Movement and | 3)Precision 3) By inserting metal stock into the slot action 6)Personal safety | that fit it best, you can identify the gauge
fault finding, | of that piece of metal
Trang 24classification and 2)Welding robot, most industrial metals are alloys industrial processes, 7)Manual operations, generators, petrol engines
definition 3)Precision 4) There are different types of chisel for
4)Cutting tool and | metal work and for woodwork Woodwork machines chisels have a smaller angle at the point of
5)Materials the tool 6)Personal safety fault finding, industrial processes, 7)Manual operations, generators, petrol engines
(3)to give | 1)MIG, FCA, GMA | 6)Always keep hair short since long hair
instruction and | 2)Welding robot, can be caught in moving machinery
explanation 3)Precision 3)To measure very thick stock or 4)Cutting tool and | irregularly shaped objects you can take machines various types of calipers-inside and
5)Materials outside callipers They can be used with a 6)Personal safety | steel rule for simple measurements of fault finding, | width or diameter
7) Turn the gear wheel anticlockwise to raise the drill
Turn the bolt clockwise to tighten it 5) Brass is an alloy whereas aluminium is a pure metal
Table 12: Linguistic features of seven extra texts
To sum up, we have analyzed two important sorts of data for the study that is analyzing job-oriented features concerning ESP textbook for mechanical engineering students at VTPU and the seven extra texts which can be adapted as the supplementary materials for the students These two analyses help us to find out many ideas on the so-called “job- orientation” in English specific texts for different concrete tasks of the mechanical profession From the findings that will be shown in the next section we do hope to give some suggestions for the syllabus designers for mechanical engineering at our university This could not be an easy and comfortable task but we hope with the view from the analysis in this thesis, the teachers who are teaching ESP for general purposes and teachers
Trang 25who teach English for mechanical engineering in particular would have a more profound understanding of their students and all the texts for them
Trang 26CHAPTER 3: SOME FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS In this chapter, the general findings of the study will be presented and discussed Those findings can be considered the basis for any suggestions on syllabus designing for the students in the future
3.1.Findings
3.2.1.The job-orientation in English specific texts for mechanical engineering for
students at VTPU
Through the ihe data gathered by means of the questionnaires for students and ex- students, and the interview with the teachers, we may positively clarify that the ESP text book for mechanical students at VTPU is a highly job-oriented syllabus It shows certain careful preparation and intellectual investment to the designing syllabus work of the teachers at our university Students feel motivated while learning’ the subject at the university and benefit a lot when they graduate All the topics in the text book are relevant to students’ learning needs as well as the needs for real professional target situations The high job-oriented feature makes the course exciting and attracting to the students We may touch to the feeling of motivation of students when they start the ESP course although it is really challenging for them since they are the ones who have a low English starting level which sometimes really make the ESP learning become an obstacle However, teachers who designed the textbook have intelligently set the topics adhered with different linguistic items reasonably this makes students feel less strain while learning a large amount of ESP knowledge because the topics are from general to particular from easy to difficult
The current text book is used for students of mechanical in general but in fact there are at least three particular mechanical professional areas in mechanics for instance: Welding, Forging, Automotive repairing, moreover, nowadays there are some more new concrete job in mechanics At our college all the students of different jobs at mechanical faculty study the same syllabus, the same text book and materials With their best effort, the syllabus designers tried to sort the text book into two main part: general English for technical and English for typical job of mechanics but the second part was so light that students don’t feel they are filled with a real professional knowledge as well the different use of language for technical tasks This can be considered to be the limitation of the textbook according to the author of this thesis
3.2.2.The performance of job-orientation of English specific texts for mechanical
students at VTPU
Trang 27As we have mentioned above, the ESP text book for mechanical engineering of VTPU and the seven extra texts are job-oriented In accordance with the previous analyses, the job-oriented characteristics are constructed by the following factors:
Firstly, the job-oriented features occur in the topics of the lesson The topics show the subject matter of the students’ specialities
Secondly, an amount of the technical and mechanical terms shows us the predominant content of each text which provided students with different professional vocabulary and sentence paiterns
Thirdly, the activities consist of communicating contexts which are closely related to the real —job working situations
Fourthly, the predominant grammatical phenomenon in the texts for mechanical are passive Passive is constantly used in most of the sentence existing in the text
Especially, all the texts are the performance of typical language functions Because these fexts are used for mechanical engineering and for technical working environments The language functions are to
-Describe machines, machining actions and stages; describing materials, positions, simple process, movement, shapes, phenornena, experiment, and etc
-Give definitions and classifications -Giving instructions and explanation
We may say that, majority of ESP texts for mechanical engineering are of the above characteristics They are easily realized with the above features And the texts for students at VTPU are typically created by those features as well
3.2.Suggestions for teaching ESP for mechanical for students at VTPU
At present, one unique textbook for mechanical engineering (teacher-generated) 1s used by students of different vocations Thus, both the teachers and students cannot help facing with some difficulties in learning and teaching ESP In accordance with the survey questionnaires for students, we see that there is a big demand of students for the materials relating to their future job such as Welding Welding students sometimes see no point and feel challenging in learning the topic such as “repairing a car” because this topic doesn’t closely concern their target situations Thus, in our opinions we should find materials out of the text book for students of different profession Of course they have to complete the units in text book for students
3.2.1.Suggestions for teachimg the current textbook for mechanical engineering at
VTPU
Trang 28To make the learning and teaching more effective, the teachers should know to divide the text book in to two main parts: General technical English and Special English for concrete job General Technical Activities Language functions | Others Topics GT Subtopic | GT Subtopic 2 GT Subtopic 3 Special Topics Welding, Forging Automotive repairing With the current text book for different specialties of mechanical engineering, teacher cannot do in another way but teaches all the presented things and topics existing in the book Then whenever come to any sub special topics, teacher provides students with supplementary materials like the one attracted to be analyzed as the extra text of this thesis
To make the teaching and learning ESP more motivating, exciting and interesting, the teachers should give students typically detailed language functions in each unit and realistically contextualize language practice because the students always need to know how lexis or grammar applies to their real career contexts
3.2.2.Suggestions for the future
In the future, when the foreign language department of VTPU is considered to be a dependant faculty and when the numbers of students with different specialties of mechanical engineering grow larger, we would like to create an ESP course for mechanical engineering with separate syllabus for each concrete job relating to mechanical engineering in order that both students and teachers would find it easy to use for learning and teaching and for reference
Trang 29GT Subtopic 3 Special Topic: Welding Subtopic! for welding Subtopic 2 for welding Subtopic 3 for welding Syllabus 2:detail content General Technical Activities Language functions | Others Topics GT Subtopic | GT Subtopic 2 GT Subtopic 3 Special Topics Automotive Repairing Subtopic 1 for AR Subtopic 2 for AR Subtopic 3 for AR and etc
Thus, for each concrete job for like welding technicians or automotive repairing
technicians, the learners will find it more concise and concrete to learn the ESP for the
future job It may help them feel more convenient in finding materials when they want to get reference to the subject
Trang 30PART 3: CONCLUSION
1.Conclusion
Nowadays, along with the development of trends of vocational training and education, there is an increase for the need of learning ESP with the real value that the ESP knowledge may bring to the learners At VTPU, thousands of students specialize in different fields of technology are in need of doing courses in ESP Therefore, a study on the job orientation in the field of mechanics has been conducted with a hope to bring teachers and students and who are interested in, useful suggestions to make the learning and teaching process better and more effective
The thesis has been conducted with best effort of the author through careful examining to the fields relating to the study Important data has been collected from 19 texts analysis and 148 questionnaires for students and interviews with teachers All the questionnaires and interviews were thorough analyzed and some findings have been reached We would like to present the research results in this section to have a brief and clear piece for the readers to see how the work has been done and resulted
From the very beginning to the end of the thesis we tried to answer the two questions about the job orientation in English specific texts for mechanical students at VTPU Those are: Are the texts job-oriented and how are job-oriented features displayed? By careful examining to the inner features of the 12 texts in the textbook for students at VTPU and survey the students and teachers’ ideas about the text, we have a reach to the job-oriented features of the texts for students at VTPU from two perspectives: linguistic and professional
Linguistically
By referring to the theory of different linguists, we have found that the ESP texts for students at VTPU is a highly job-oriented materials with sufficient features of typical language functions for ESP in general and for ESP for mechanical engineering in particular The language of the texts are clear and neat They display the features of the language used for technical and mechanical terms which are usually short and succinct The predominantly grammatical phenomenon are: passive voice and order sentences There are many sentences which are definitions and instructions And different types of sentences to express typical actions, movements or processes
Linguistically, the chosen texts guarantee a reasonable knowledge of English for mechanical engineering which helps students in their future job The language use in the texts can be a means for students to exploit some mechanical English books, brochures,
Trang 31manuals and etc to serve their needs Thus, the texts show their feasibility in linguistic functions
Professionally
Majority of the topics as subject matter occur in the texts satisfy the demand of students for ESP course at VTPU In accordance with the analyzing data from 148 questionnaires for students and ex- students we may conclude that the content and topics of the texts have clear job orientation with knowledge of mechanical expertise which benefit students both in language use in job situation as well as the professional knowledge This is not an easy task for the designers when editing the syllabus and seeking the source for mechanical engineering in particular and technical fields n general However, there stil exist some problems that would make the texts better if they are improved The activities for practice both language use and professional knowledge as used in the target situations seerm to be dim Sincerely, there are too little space and instruction for communicating activities relating to the real working environment This fact may remind teachers to contribute their effort to make learning and teaching ESP more helpfully exciting and motivating
2 Suggestion for further research
Due to the limitation of 40 pages of a course work, the research cannot cover all the other things relating to the other important factors that contribute to the job orientation of ESP texts for mechanical engineering Further research should extend the scope of the study to the students of different locations and provinces Another research may study more profoundly the discourse features of English for Mechanical texts to find out other different linguistic features of typical ESP texts for mechanical engineering
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