Tài liệu hạn chế xem trước, để xem đầy đủ mời bạn chọn Tải xuống
1
/ 60 trang
THÔNG TIN TÀI LIỆU
Thông tin cơ bản
Định dạng
Số trang
60
Dung lượng
257,09 KB
Nội dung
!""#
I certify my authorship of the Field Study Report submitted today entitled
in terms of the Statement of Requirement for Theses and Field Study Reports in Masters’
Programmes issued by the Higher Degree committee.
Lam Thi Lan Huong
!"##$
%&
This Field Study Report has come to fruition as the combination of
knowledge drawn from all the lectures, reading, and discussion with friends
during my M.A. course (TESOL) atthe Postgraduate Department atthe
College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University. Therefore, I
would like, first of all, to express my gratitude to all my lecturers atthe
College.
I wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement of the Postgraduate
Department, especially Mr. Le Hung Tien, the Director of the Department
I would like to emphasize the fact that I am indebted to Mr. Bui Duc Thuoc,
my supervisor for his valuable guidance, criticism, comments, correction
and for his kind encouragement during the development of this study. His
suggestions and recommendations, genuine interest, endurance, patience in
editing this thesis are highly appreciated.
I am grateful to the leaders of HanoiWaterResources University, especially
Professor Le Kim Truyen, our Rector for granting me the scholarship and
time forthe thesis. Without their support and assistance this study could not
have been completed.
My thanks also go to my colleges atHanoiWater University, especially Mr
Le Van Khang, Dean of Department, for their encouragment and
understanding.
Finally, this thesis is dedicated to 210 students atHanoiWaterUniversityfor
their time, patience and cheerful acceptance of the task of completing the
questionnaires and those who have kindly advised and helped me towards
the completion of my research.
%
This research study was carried out with an attempt to answer the question “ What is the
learners’ evaluation of thecurrentESPcourseatHanoiWater Resources?”
In order to achieve the aims of the study the following specific objectives
were established:
- Firstly, to find out what the learners think of thecurrentESPcourse with
reference to their needs and interests.
- Secondly, to find out the learners’ comments on thecourse organisation;
- Thirdly, to offer some suggestionsandrecommendationsforthe improvements of
the course to make it more relevant to the learners’ needs and interests.
The results of the study show that the learners at HWRU find theESPcourse
useful and relevant to their subject matter although they are not satisfied
with thecourse very much. The study suggests that in order to bridge such a
gap it is necessary to develop ESP materials, to improve some classroom
techniques and to train our students to become active learners.
'
:
1.1. Rationale 1
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study 1
1.3. The background andthe scope of the study 2
1.4. The significance of the study 2
1.5. Methodology 2
1.6. The design of the study 2
2.1. An overview of ESP 3
2.1.1. How ESP is understood? 3
2.1.2. Types of ESP 5
2.2.3. Linguistic features of register in WaterResources 6
2.2. Material andcourse evaluation 9
2.2.1. Why course evaluation 10
2.2.2. Material andcourse evaluation framework 11
2.2.3. Criteria for material andcourse evaluation 14
2.3.4. Learners as course evaluators 16
3.2. The teaching and learning situation at HWRU 17
3.3. Resourcesand Administrative constraints 18
3.4. The target students 18
3.5. The teaching staff of English session 19
:
4.1. Research methodology 21
4.1.1. Subjects of the study 21
4.1.2. Instruments 21
4.2.Data analysis and discussions 22
4.2 1. Learners’ ranking of the purposes in learning ESP 22
4.2.2. Learners’ evaluation of thecurrentESPcourse 23
4.2.3. Learners’ evaluation of theESP classroom activities 27
4.2.4. Learners’ wants and needs of theESPcourse 31
4.3. Conclusion 32
:
5.1. Summary of the findings 34
5.2. Recommendationsandsuggestionsforthe teaching and learning
ESP at HWRU. 34
5.2.1. Developing ESP material 34
5.2.1.1. Developing topics 34
5.2.1.2. Adapting practice exercises 35
5.2.1.3. Improving the layout of the material 36
5.2.2. Improving teachers’ classroom techniques 37
5.2.2.1. Adjusting teaching time and efforts 37
5.2.2.2. Solving the problems 37
5.2.3. Training students to become active readers by encouraging their
extensive reading habits 39
5.2.4. Summary 40
41
Reference
!"!#$%
I.1. Rationale of the study
The ongoing process of regional and global integration in Vietnam has resulted in
an increasing demand for English language teaching across the country. Students in
universities are taught English with a considerable length of time. Some of the graduates
are able to use English in their work: reading documents, writing articles or reports,
communicating or attending international conferences… However, some others who also
have certificates or degrees find it hard to use it in their daily work. It should be noted
that the syllabuses for non – gifted students at these universities have not brought real
effects for learners. Therefore, the quality of English training courses doesn’t often come
up to the expectation.
English has been taught to undergraduates of HanoiWaterResourcesUniversity
for many years. As a technical university, one of the requirements for graduates is to be
able to read professional documents in their fields for further study, or future jobs.
Therefore, ESP was first introduced into the syllabus nearly ten years ago. However, the
current course is not well – received by the learners because of its failure to match their
needs, interests, and learning preferences. This reality makes it necessary to have the
course evaluated by the learners. If appropriate, modifications are to be necessary made
for the improvement of thecourse quality.
I.2. Aims and objectives of the study
In this field study, an answer to my research questions: “ What is the students’
evaluation of thecurrentESPcourseatHanoiWaterResources University?” is
intensively sought.
The major aims of this study are:
To identify what the students think about thecurrentESP course, the inadequacies
in terms of thecourse content and delivery methods of thecourse with reference
to the learners’ needs and expectations.
From the findings, hopefully the teachers at HWRU will be informed of how to
improve thecourse by making thecourse more appropriate to learners’ needs and
raising the quality of ESP teaching at HWRU.
In order to achieve the aims of the study, the following objectives and activities were
established:
Firstly, to find out the learners’ opinion on thecurrent teaching material with
reference to their needs and interests.
Secondly, to find out what learners think about the time allocation andthe
delivery method of the course.
Thirdly, to offer some suggestionsandrecommendationsforthe improvement of
the course to make it an effective coursefor learners.
I.3. The scope of the study:
This study is to provide information on HanoiWaterResources students’
evaluation of thecurrentESP course. The information is intended to be used as the base
for improving thecurrentESPcourseat HWRU, making thecourse more effective.
Also, the findings from this study will help ESP teachers atthe college meet the
learners’ expectation by narrowing the gap between teaching and learning. Any other
purposes would be beyond the scope of the study.
I.4. Method of the study
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims and to make my thesis both
academic and practical, data were collected by means of survey questionnaires and then
analyzed quantitatively. The survey was done on 210 Learners in their second year at
HWRU to investigate their evaluation of thecurrent English for Specific Purpose course.
Beside the survey, more information needed in the process of materials selection
has been gathered from document analysis.
I.5. The design of the study
The study is comprised of four chapters:
Chapter One, the introduction, provides information on the background, the scope, the
significance andthe aims of the study.
Chapter Two reviews the literature related to ESP, material andcourse evaluation. This
literature review is aimed at establishing a theoretical background for evaluating and
adapting material.
Chapter Three presents an overview of ESPat HWRU, and then devotes to the research
methodology and data analysis.
Chapter Four presents the summary of the findings and some recommendationsand
suggestions forthecurrentESPcourseat HWRU.
Chapter Two(
))*+*%
II.1.1. How ESP is understood?
ESP has been defined with different emphasis on a variety of elements that
characterizes ESP. Different researchers and scholars have different views of what it is
that counts in ESP.
First, Fitzjohn in Robinson (1980:9) takes the time factor as a characteristic
feature of ESP. He notes:
“ The very concept of “ special purposes” implies that foreign language study is a
subsidiary contribution to another, main interest, and that there will normally be pressure
to achieve the required level of linguistic competence in a minimum of time”.
When Fitzjohn considers ESP as a subsidiary contribution to another main
interest, he focuses on ESP as having an immediate, utilitarian purpose, not simply
pleasure, or a long-term purpose. There is usually a very clearly specified time period for
the course. This means that objectives should be closely specified and their realization to
the timetable. This also requires the collaboration of those involved in the course:
organizers, teachers, sponsors, and learners.
Second, the age of the learners is also a criterion of ESP. Most of ESP learners are
likely to be adults, not children. Normally, they are students in tertiary education or
experienced members of the workforce. In this regard, Robison cited in Long (1980:9)
points out: “ By and large these people have been students in tertiary education, and
adults”.
Because the learners are adults, their background knowledge and their way of
learning are quite different from those of children. For example, adult learners often learn
by “problem solving” not by mimicry or repetition which young children enjoy. For this
reason, in teaching an ESP course, the teacher should take the learner’s age into account
so as to find out appropriate materials and methods of teaching to suit the age of the
learners.
Thirdly, the learners’ needs are considered the most important factor in ESP.
Brumfit (1997:7) states that:
“ First, it is clear that an ESPcourse is directly concerned with the purposes for
which learners need English, purposes for which are usually expressed in functional
terms. ESP fits firmly within the general movement towards ‘ communicative’ teaching
of the last decade or so”.
Many researchers (for example Kerr, 1977; Munby, 1978) take Brumfit’s above
position that need analysis should be conducted prior to course design and material
development or selection. For them, not only the syllabus, the materials, but also teaching
methodology should be adapted to the needs of the learners. Strevens (1988:1) also
produces a definition that covers more detailed characteristics of an ESP course. He states
that:
“ ESP is a particular case of the general category of special - purpose language
teaching. The same principles apply no matter which language is being learnt and taught.
French for specific purposes, Russian for specific purposes, Chinese for specific purposes
– all of these exist and are constructed on the same basis as English for specific purposes.
The vastly greater demand for English makes ESP more common that FSP, RSP or CSP,
but the principles are the same”.
From the above definition, Strevens goes on to maintain that in defining ESP,
there needs to be a distinction between absolute characteristics and variable one. The
absolute characteristics of ESP are as follows:
ESP consists of English language teaching that is:
Designed to meet specified needs of the learners.
Related in content (i.e. in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines,
occupations and activities.
- centered on the language appropriate to those activities, in syntax, lexis,
discourse, semantics, etc.
- In contrast with “ GE”
According to him, ESP may, but not necessarily be characterized as being:
[...]... as the need to develop our own criteria for our own context In this case this is an evaluation of ESP program atHanoiWaterResourcesUniversityThe evaluation of existing materials can provide the teachers and material writers here with a good source of ideas (of what to avoid and what to do) and techniques For the target situation of this research, a checklist of the material andcourse evaluation... content and delivery methods will be properly adapted Chapter three This chapter provides background information about ESPatHanoiWaterResourcesUniversityThe information presented here includes the reality of English language teaching and learning, the learners and teachers’ profile, and a description of thecurrentESPcourse of theUniversity III.1 The English teaching and learning situation at HWRU... inclusively: the aim the content and method needs of the learners the reality of learning and teaching ESPat HWRU II.2.4 Learners as course evaluators ESP is accountable teaching Learners who invest in thecourse want to see the results of their investment of time or money Therefore, ESP learners themselves are responsible for evaluating how appropriate, relevant and useful thecourse is Evaluation from... wants and needs of thecourse organization in terms of the time allocation in theESP course, suitability of thecourse arrangement, the class size and provision of extra materials The questionnaire was then delivered to the learners while they were in the classrooms They were asked to answer the questions in about 30 minutes After they finished, the teachers collected the questionnaire and get the data... be because they thought that their English was still poor It is happy to see that all the students take thecourse purposefully; there is no one who took thecourse without any purposes IV.2.2 Learners’ evaluation of thecurrentESPcourse In this section the information on learners’ evaluation theESPcourse in terms of its relevance and usefulness, the material, the classroom activities, the practice... course meets their needs much and only 9 informants are satisfied with thecourse It can be proved that thecourse as well as the materials and the syllabus were not quite appropriate and interesting for the learners Topic / Content areas As can be seen from the table, most of the informants (60% - 126 informants) found the topics acceptable, the other 44 informants found them interesting and only a... thecurrentESP course; • Report on the learners’ evaluation of the classroom activities; • Report on learners’ wants and needs of thecourse organization IV.2.1 The learners’ ranking of the assumed purposes in learning ESP As mentioned above, the learners are the second-year students who had finished GE atthe pre-intermediate level They then moved on to theESPcourseandatthe time the survey being... of ESPat HWRU, it can be clearly seen that thecourse fails to satisfy both teachers and students attheuniversityThe reason for this was simple: thecourse was not designed on the basis of a solid target situation needs analysis and a well-designed syllabus In order to develop a proper ESPcourseat HWRU, this study aims to identify the learners’ needs through their evaluation of thecurrent course. .. Evaluation of theESPcourse as a whole With respect to theESPcourse as a whole, the table above shows that most of the informants were not satisfied with thecourse Of the total 210 informants, 129 (account for 61,4%) including 44 (62,8%) from group 1, 40 (58,8%) from group 2, 45(62,5%) from group 3 find that thecourse doesn’t meet their needs, while 50 out of 210 informants think that the course. .. evaluation, then, can save a lot of expense and frustration With any language course thecourse itself and the learners’ performance are necessarily assessed The results of the evaluation helps to assess whether thecourse works as what it was designed to do, enables teachers and learners to decide whether to use the materials again and how much adaptation and amendment is required to make the materials .
evaluation of the current ESP course. The information is intended to be used as the base
for improving the current ESP course at HWRU, making the course. information on the background, the scope, the
significance and the aims of the study.
Chapter Two reviews the literature related to ESP, material and course