(LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ) An investigation into English clause patterns - advances employable for the teaching of speaking skills to Vietnamese Seamen

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY,HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - VŨ THỊ PHƢƠNG THẢO AN INVESTIGATION INTO ENGLISH CLAUSE PATTERNS: ADVANCES EMPLOYABLE FOR THE TEACHING OF SPEAKING SKILLS TO VIETNAMESE SEAMEN ( Nghiên cứu mơ hình câu đơn tiếng Anh : Những thành tựu sử dụng cho việc dạy kỹ Nói cho thuyền viên Việt Nam ) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr VÕ ĐẠI QUANG Hanoi - 2010 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com iv Table of contents Page Table of contents Acknowledgment Abbreviations List of tables PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims and objectives Scope of the study Methodology Design of the study Significance of the study PART B : DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical background 1.1.1 Clause patterns 1.1.2 Clause elements 1.1.2.1 Subject 1.1.2.2 Object 1.1.2.2.1 Direct object 1.1.2.2.2 Indirect object 1.1.2.3 Verb and its Classification in English 1.1.2.4 Complement 1.1.2.4.1 A subject complement 1.1.2.4.2 An object complement 1.1.2.4.3 A verb complement 1.1.2.5 Adverbials 1.1.2.6 Vocatives 10 1.1.3 Simple sentences 10 1.1.3.1 Definition of simple sentences……………………………………… 10 1.1.3.2 Intransitive Verbs in Simple Sentences…………………… 12 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com v 1.1.3.3 Transitive Verbs in Simple sentences …………………… 12 1.1.3.4 Linking Verbs in Simple Sentences……………………… 12 1.1.4 Sentences classified in accordance with purposes of communication……… 13 1.1.4.1 Statements 13 1.1.4.2 Questions 13 1.1.4.3 Commands 13 1.1.4.4 Exclamations 13 1.2 Review of previous works……………………………………………………… 14 CHAPTER 2: SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH CLAUSE ELEMENTS 16 2.1 Subject………………………………………………………………………… 16 2.1.1 Syntactic features…………………………………………………… 16 2.1.1.1 Realization………………………………………………… 16 2.1.1.2 Position……………………………………………………… 16 2.1.1.3 Possible transformation…………………………………… 16 2.1.2 Semantic roles………………………………………………………… 16 2.2 Direct object…………………………………………………………………… 17 2.2.1 Syntactic features.…………………………………………………… 17 2.2.1.1 Realization………………………………………………… 17 2.2.1.2 Position.…………………………………………………… 17 2.2.1.3 Possible transformation 18 2.2.2 Semantic roles 18 2.3 Indirect object…………………………………………………………………… 19 2.3.1 Syntactic features.…………………………………………………… 19 2.3.1.1 Realisation 19 2.3.1.2 Position 19 2.3.1.3 Possible transformation 20 2.3.2 Semantic roles………………………………………………………… 20 2.4 Complement…………………………………………………………………… 20 2.4.1 Syntactic features…………………………………………………… 20 2.4.1.1 Realization………………………………………………… 20 2.4.1.2 Position……………………………………………………… 20 2.4.1.3 Typical features …………………………………………… 20 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com vi 2.4.2 Semantic features…………………………………………………… 20 2.5 Adverbial……………………………………………………………………… 21 2.5.1 Syntactic features…………………………………………………… 21 2.5.1.1 Realization………………………………………………… 21 2.5.1.2 Position……………………………………………………… 21 2.5.1.3 Typical features…………………………………………… 21 2.5.2 Semantic features 21 CHAPTER 3: ADVANCED METHODS OF IMPROVING SEAMEN’S SPEAKING SKILLS TO IN VOSCO VIA ENGLISH CLAUSE PATTERNS 23 3.1 The Vosco Crewing Centre and its training requirement……………………… 23 3.1.1 Vosco Crewing Centre (VCC)……………………………………… 23 3.1.2 Training requirement………………………………………………… 23 3.1.2.1 Seamen……………………………………………………… 24 3.1.2.1.1 Seamen’s background of English before entering VCC 24 3.1.2.1.2 Seamen’s attitudes towards learning English ………… 24 3.1.2.1.3 Current speaking activities done by Seamen in class… 26 3.1.2.2 Teachers …………………………………………………… 27 3.1.2.2.1 The role of teachers in speaking activities…………… 27 3.1.2.2.2 Teachers’ teaching experiences ……………………… 27 3.1.2.2.3 Teachers’ opinion on teaching speaking skills……… 29 3.1.2.3 Difficulties that lead to seamen’s mistakes………………… 29 3.1.2.3.1 Psychological difficulties …………………………… 30 3.1.2.3.2 Cultural difficulties…………………………………… 31 3.1.2.3.3 Difficulties in linguistic competence………………… 33 3.2 Common mistakes made by Vietnamese seamen in Vosco and possible solutions……………………………………………………………………………… 33 3.2.1 SVC and SVA clauses types………………………………… 34 3.2.2 SVOC clauses type………………………………………… 35 3.2.3 SV clauses type……………………………………………… 36 3.2.4 SVO clauses type…………………………………………… 38 3.2.5 SVOO clauses type…………………………………………… 39 PART C: CONCLUSION 40 Recapitulation…………………………………………………………………… 40 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com vii Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research …………………… 42 REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX I SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE II TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, FIGURES AND CHARTS Page ABBREVIATIONS Vosco: Vietnam Ocean Shipping Company VCC: Vosco Crewing Centre IMO: International Marine Organization EFL : English functional language FIGURES Figure 1: Verbs classified according to the functions performed by the elements in the verb phrase Figure 2: Verbs classified in accordance with the types of complementation Figure 3: Verbs classified according to the number of constituents CHARTS Chart Seamen’s English experiences before entering Vosco …………… 23 Chart 2: The frequency of interaction with foreigners……………………… 24 Chart 3: Seamen’s attitude towards learning English ……………………… 24 Chart 4: Current speaking activities done by seamen in VOSCO…………… 25 Chart 5: Teachers’ teaching experiences …………………………………… 27 Chart 6: Psychological difficulties faced by seamen of VCC……………… 29 Chart 7: The difficulties in linguistic competence …………………………… 30 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com PART A : INTRODUCTION This chapter starts with the rationale, aims and objectives of the study It then continues with the research questions The next section is the scope and the methodology This chapter ends with the design and significance of the study Rationale English has undoubtedly become an international means of communication in the global integration today As the spread of English to almost corners of the world, people are getting more and more aware of the importance of the language For many people in Vietnam, English is considered as a very necessary means in order to get a good job, especially a job in a foreign company Thus, there is a growing demand to learn the language for communication The English language program at the VCC is aimed at enabling the Vietnamese seamen to use basic English successfully in their job However, these seamen, who often work in the international environment, find it is very difficult to communicate in other countries because of different culture and religion In such situations, English is a unique mean which can help them to express their ideas In order to meet the need of many international shipping agencies, they need to have good speaking skills for their work purposes These oral skills are quite basic, but they contain many different genres After years of conversation practice and experiences, many Vietnamese seamen are still unable to engage in genuine conversations in target language Many of them satisfied themselves with “Yes / No answers” or use body language to express their ideas during the conversation In fact, if they had taken the initiative to say a bit more, they would have fulfilled their task better than they did For all the reasons I have mentioned above, speaking English fluently and accurately is an urgent task for both English teachers and seamen in VCC How to teach and learn speaking skills in most effective methods is our big question Understanding students‟ need and goal help teachers to classify and lead students gain their purpose In the real state of some Vietnamese Ocean Shipping companies, at the moment, using English clause patterns to improve conversational skills is one of the most effective ways to make seamen get progression in English And finding out the advanced methods employable for teaching speaking skills for Vietnamese Seamen is indispensable Aims and objectives TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com My specific objectives are:  To investigate the syntactic and semantic features of English clause patterns  To suggest advanced methods of improving seamen‟s speaking skills via English clause patterns Scope of the study The study focuses on the advanced methods of improving seamen‟s speaking skills in Vietnam Ocean Shipping Joint- Stock Company via English clause patterns Methodology In order to complete the minor thesis, the quantitative research was used to achieve the aims mentioned above: - A survey questionnaire was given to one hundred seamen The data was collected from the seamen‟s answers and their self- evaluation and feelings, which are quite difficult for teachers - The informants were asked to give feed back to each question mostly by sticking and choice With the seamen‟s serious working attitude, the questionnaire was successfully done without any discussion or cribbing The survey was carried out in the classroom context to ensure the truthfulness of the feedback - The fingers and charts were used to analyze the data - Through the analysis and discussion of the finding, some possible applications would be made towards the improvement speaking skills of the Seamen of VCC at Vosco The research questions The objectives of the research can be elaborated via the following research questions:  What are the syntactic and semantic features of English clause patterns?  What are the viable ways of improving seamen‟s speaking skills via English clause patterns? Design of the study The minor thesis is composed of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion Part one introduces the rationale, aims and objectives, the research questions, scope of the study, methodology, and design of the study as well as the significance of the study Part two contains four chapters: - Chapter one reviews the literature related to the English Clause Patterns This chapter includes: (1) Theoretical background; (2) Review of previous works - Chapter two describes syntactic and semantic features of English clause elements TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com - Chapter three is an investigation into the current situation of teaching and learning speaking at VCC It also shows the survey questionnaire administered to one hundred seamen The settings, the participants, the results and analysis of the findings are also mentioned in this chapter - Chapter four shows some viable implications for teaching English clause patterns to Vietnamese seamen in VCC In this chapter, the common mistakes made by Vietnamese seamen and possible solutions are mentioned Part three includes the conclusions on the objectives, implications and suggestions for further research Significance of the study This study plays a crucial role for enhancing teaching method of speaking to Vietnamese seamen at Vosco Its implemented recommendations will make the application of CLT at VCC successful and effective TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com PART B : DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW The main aim in this chapter is to present some theories related to English clause patterns The first section overviews the theoretical background of English clause patterns, then comes clause elements Next step is the analysis of simple sentences vs complex sentences Then, the sentence types are mentioned The chapter ends with the review of previous works which related to clause patterns in English language 1.1 Theoretical background 1.1.1 Clause patterns According to David Crystal (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, p 221) there are only seven basic types of English clause patterns (i) S-V-O (ii) S-V-C (iii) S-V-A (iv) S-V-O-O (v) S-V-O-C S: Subject Od: Direct Object V: Verb Co: Object Compliment Oi: Indirect Object Ca: Adverbial Compliment (vi) S-V-O-A (vii) S-V Cs: Subject Compliment Some Examples of the Seven Clause Patterns in English S V Oi Od SVC The weather is SVA The kids were SVO Emily is playing SVOO My father SVOC We consider her SVOA I will put the book SV Tom Cs Co Ca cold here cards will send my sister his money the best away is eating 1.1.2 Clause elements TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 30 teachers‟ main purpose is not to give seamen English lessons but to develop their competences in using target language for a wide range of communicative purposes As a result of the development of our country, the importance of teaching speaking as well as communicational skills are more firmly asserted in our society which is an industrial and modern one 3.1.2.3 Difficulties that lead to seamen’s mistakes In order to enter VOSCO, all crewmembers of the VCC had acceptable results in competitive examination and passed the entrance interview Being aware of the importance and usefulness of learning English, they take every chance to practise English during the course Most of them studied English hard so that they will be able to use the language in some common situations such as: communicating with ship agents, chatting with coworkers on board, or asking with pilots or conducting professional correspondence Of all language skills, speaking is the most important and usually paid more attention to Although they are very eager for learning and have positive attitude to practising English, their speaking skill is still not very good They must deal with some difficulties that prevent them from speaking English Some main problems will be enumerated as followings: 3.1.2.3.1 Psychological difficulties From my point of view, psychological issues are the real difficulties for most learners when learning foreign languages As an illustration, psychological barrier usually prevent learners from speaking in class Hence, the table below will point out some psychological factors that most of seamen often cope with when speaking In addition, researcher hopes the result of this survey will help teachers to select appropriate activities to enable seamen‟s conversational abilities By the same methods, a questionnaire was designed and delivered to 100 seamen in order to find the psychological difficulties faced by seamen of VCC Question 5: What psychological difficulties you have to cope with when speaking? TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 31 Chart 6: Phychological difficulties faced by seamen 80 75 65 70 55 60 70 58 53 50 40 27 30 15 20 10 A B C D E F G H Chart 6: Psychological difficulties (Question 5) The data in chart shows that the most psychological problems faced by seamen in VCC is getting embarrassed if partners laugh when they make mistakes while speaking (75 % of the participants have this problem) 70 % of seamen don‟t seem like open- minded ones when they are not used to speaking out their ideas in front of others Majority of seamen find it is more interesting to speaking English with teachers: 65 %, and more advanced seamen: 58 % Beside, 55 % of participants feel afraid of being asked questions and 53 % seamen say that they like to keep quiet The result also shows only 27 % of seamen say that they enjoy speaking with seamen of their ability while only 15 % of them like speaking English with less advanced ones because they think that they can easily make progress when talking with advanced level people of English It is obvious from the result of question5 that to encourage seamen of different levels to practise English in class is still a big problem faced by teachers of VCC 3.1.2.3.2 Cultural difficulties To my way of thinking, the cultural differences of various countries have negative affected to the process of developing of learners‟ communication skills, special for seamen who usually work in international environment They usually get stuck on the questions about cross-culture or customs of foreign countries because they can‟t share all the TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 32 background knowledge as well as cultural identity with foreigners Therefore, the cultural differences either make the seamen not know what to say or say a little or lead to misunderstanding Some pictures given below are considered as an illustration for cultural difficulties faced by seamen Examples: The picture and show the Easter Day and Halloween Day, which the Vietnamese people don‟t understand much about Hence, these pictures may cause the difficulties of seamen who don‟t have enough background knowledge about them As a result, seamen are not interested in these topics and that prevents them from speaking in class Picture 1: The Easter Day Picture 2: The Halloween Day 3.1.2.3.3 Difficulties in linguistic competence Question 6: What difficulties in linguistic competence you have to cope with when speaking? TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 33 Chart 7: Seamen's difficulties in linguistic competence 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 90 76 60 35 25 A B C D E Chart 7: The difficulties in linguistic competence (Question 6) The result in chart shows that the biggest linguistics problem that 90 % of seamen have to cope with when learning speaking is the lack of vocabularies relating to speaking topics They need to use related vocabularies as many as possible in order to present their topic well and perfectly Majority of them: 76 % of participants find it is ver y difficult to express their ideas in English They can easily the outlines by Vietnamese; however, they can‟t be able to translate them into English because there are not many equal structures and expression between two languages Because they don‟t understand much about the English grammar, 60 % of seamen daren‟t make sentences because they are afraid of making mistakes Lacking time for speaking preparation is the reason of 35 %, and 25 % of them don‟t know how to start and finish the topics Briefly, what I‟ve mentioned above is the real factors relating to VCC With the hope that we can understand the conditions in which English is taught, the teachers, the learners, the methodology, the learning requirements and the material they use in order to get the better teaching materials and more advanced methodology to improve the speaking skills of seamen in VCC This chapter has looked at these issues with the view to identify appropriate approaches to the problems 3.2 Common mistakes made by Vietnamese seamen in VOSCO and possible solutions TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 34 This study deals with a number of persistent types of errors in English made by Vietnamese seamen, who often work in international environment It should be noted that these seamen are all learners of English as a foreign or second language I will share my analysis of these particular errors and then make a recommendation on how to help Vietnamese seamen overcome these errors It appears that these errors tend to occur when the syntactical structures of Vietnamese and English are strikingly different In the scope of this paper, I will analyze the errors that Vietnamese seamen persistently make in the following areas of English, which involve the handling of seven kinds of simple sentences, such as: 3.2.1 SVC and SVA clauses types (1) Errors from the lack of linking verb “be” in SVC and SVA The Vietnamese equivalent of the English linking verb “be” means “thì, là, ở” However, “be” is rarely used to link a subject with its predicative adjective in Vietnamese We may assume that Vietnamese adjectives have their own “built-in” verbs or that they function like “stative verbs.” Errors reflecting this Vietnamese syntactic feature are found in the followings: Example (a) In Vietnamese → [ He hungry ] “Nó đói ” ↓ ↓ Subject Predicate Example (b) In Vietnamese → [ My children in the garden ] “Bọn trẻ nhà vườn” ↓ ↓ Subject Predicate Solution: In these cases, the verb “be” and its usage in English must be instructed thoroughly by English teachers so that the learners can use it correctly The learners should be taught that the „liking verb‟, which links descriptive information back to the subject or connects a subject to a subject complement which identifies or describes the subject, can‟t be omitted in SVC and SVA As an illustration, in sentence (a), the linking verb "is" link the subject "He" to the identifying phrase "hungry” which is called a subject complement TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 35 Therefore, in English, the sentence (a) “Nó đói” must be said: (a) → “He is hungry” ↓ ↓ ↓ S V C and the sentence (b) “Bọn trẻ nhà vườn” must be said: (b) → “My children are in the garden” ↓ ↓ ↓ S V A (2) Errors from the subject - complement concord of number (but not of person) which exists between S and C in clauses of type SVC Focus on example (c) [ The child was angels ] ↓ ↓ ↓ Sub (singular NP) Cs V (plural NP) Solution: It is easy to realize that sentence (c) is unacceptable in English because there is no subject - complement concord of number between S and C The subjects compliment „angels‟ is a plural noun which is not concordant with the singular subject „The child‟ This is a common mistake made of seamen in Vosco because Vietnamese grammar, compared with English grammar is really quite simple There are no verb conjugations, no plurals, and no articles It is the reason why most of seamen have troubles when speaking SVC clauses type Therefore, example (c) must be said: (c) → “ The child was an angel ” ↓ ↓ ↓ Sub (singular NP) V Cs (single NP) 3.2.2 SVOC clauses type (1) Errors from the concord between object and object complement in SVOC clauses: Example (d) TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 36 He thinks these girls the best dancer ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ S V O Co (plural NP) (singular NP) Solution: Example (d) shows that there is no concord between object and object complement As an illustration, the Co „dancer‟ is a singular noun which is not concordant with the O „these girls‟ which is a plural noun In this case, „the best dancers‟ must be replaced to make sentence correct We have: “He thinks these girls the best dancers” (2) Error from the excessively use of verbs in SVOC clauses Example (e) In Vietnamese → Solution: We considered him be our friend Chúng coi anh bạn ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ S V O (V) C Sometimes in English, a single English verb may be equivalent to a combination of the verb + preposition or auxiliary verbs in Vietnamese For example: call = gọi… là; consider = coi …như; elect = bầu …làm Therefore, sentences (e) can be translated “chúng coi anh bạn vậy” We may consider “call = gọi… là” or “consider = coi …như” or “elect = bầu …làm” are „correlative verbs‟ which include verbs and adjunct in Vietnamese This is the reason why seamen often make this kind of mistake when speaking English “We should call him be / to be a doctor” Or “She considered me be / like her brother” So the sentence (c) must be said: (e) → “ We considered him our friend ” ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ S V O Co 3.2.3 SV clauses type: Errors from the unnecessarily use of the linking verb “be” in SV Focus on example (f) TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 37 In Vietnamese → [The bird is sings] “ Con chim hót” ↓ ↓ ↓ S (V) V Solution: The above phenomena are common mistakes made by Vietnamese seamen in Vocso It is obviously realized that the example (f) is unacceptable in English language because the verb “is” is used unnecessarily In these cases, the learners should be taught that a simple sentence includes a single subject and a single predicate which form a single clause Therefore, sentences (f) must be said in the followings: (f) → “ The bird sings ” ↓ ↓ S V 3.2.4 SVO clauses type: Errors from the excessively use of lexical verbs in SVO Focus on sentence (g) [ The storm did fell the trees down ] “ bão làm đổ xuống ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ S (V) V O → In Vietnamese Solution: In this sentence, it is obviously realized that S can be considered is an instrumental one, and „fell‟ is the main verb In English active voice, the verb phrase „fall … down‟ means that „làm …đổ xuống‟ Therefore, the simple past tense verb „did‟= „làm‟ is not necessary to add in sentence (g) (g) → “ The storm fell the trees down ” ↓ ↓ ↓ S V O 3.2.5 SVOO clauses type In SVOO clauses type, the seamen are acquainted with the form whose indirect object (normally animate) is positioned first, and then is a direct object (normally concrete): Example (h) and (i) TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 38 (h) → (i) → He gave the girl a ball ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ S V Oi Od He bought the girl a white hat ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ S V Oi Od However, indirect object can usually be replaced by a corresponding prepositional phrase, which normally follows the direct object It is the reason why most of seamen must deal with difficulties when they don‟t know how to use some verbs which allow the indirect objects to be replaced by a corresponding prepositional phrase In other hand, they feel puzzled when choosing the prepositions which can go with these verbs Solution: In order to solve this problem, seamen should be taught the order of objects, indirect objects, and particles in SVOO There is a free interchange between the two orderings  Oi + Od ↔ Od + prepositional phrase (j) → (j) → The twins told mother all their secrets ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ S V Oi Od The twins told all their secrets to mother ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ S V Od prep Oi We list some common verbs which allow the indirect object to be replaced by a prepositional phrase, the prepositional concerned being indicated: Ask (a question) of (John); bring to; (a favor) for; (a disservice) to; find for; give to; leave for/to; lend to; make for; offer to; owe to; pay for; pour for; promise to; read to; save for; show to; teach to; tell to; throw to… In summary, the reasons for seamen‟s weakness were represented through the analysis of some difficulties that prevent them from speaking English well Some main problems such as psychological, cultural and linguistics difficulties are the reasons why they often make mistakes when speaking Besides, the striking differences between the TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 39 syntactical structures of Vietnamese and English also cause the errors of seamen This study analyzed a number of persistent types of errors which involve the handling of seven kinds of English clause patterns This is an attempt to help Vietnamese seamen to overcome these errors and speak more confidently by analyzing of these particular errors and then makes a recommendation on how to help seamen solve their own problem when speaking TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 40 PART C: CONCLUSION This chapter begins with the recapitulation It then raises the limitations of the study The chapter ends with some suggestions for the further research Recapitulation The study aims to investigate the implications for teaching English speaking skills to Vietnamese seamen in Vosco via English clause patterns Based on the instrumentations such as the questionnaires, this research has discovered the significant findings with a help to improving teaching speaking skills at VCC The study begins with the theoretical background related to English clause patterns and elements In this chapter, the writer briefly presents an overview on the structure and features of clause patterns Then, simple sentences vs complex sentences are mentioned The differences between simple and complex sentences according to (Hopper 1999: 212); (Quirk et al 1985: 991); (Justice and Ezell 2002: 217) and (O'Dwyer 2000: 200); (Jacobs 1995: 67) Next, sentences classified in accordance with purposes of communication are given Finally, it is previous work of the teaching of speaking skills via English clause patterns In the chapter 2, the researcher briefly gives the semantic and syntactic features of English clause elements In this chapter, many simple examples are given to illustrate these features so that the learners can easily understand and use them accurately Chapter is the analysis of the current situation in VCC, common mistakes made by seamen and possible solutions Some set of questionnaires were made to find out Seamen‟s background of English; seamen‟s attitudes towards the learning English; current speaking activities done by seamen in class; the role of teachers in speaking activities; teachers‟ experiences of teaching and opinion on teaching speaking skills The informants here are the seamen who work for Vosco Each set of questions was organized to serve a certain purpose All these comments and finding are based on the analysis of the data collected in order to indicate more clearly the result of the survey Then, some difficulties that lead to seamen‟s mistakes, their common mistakes and some viable methods of improving seamen‟s speaking skills via English clause patterns are represented The finding of the study deals with a number of seamen‟s difficulties, the persistent types of errors in English and some implications for the teaching of speaking skills to Vietnamese seamen via English clause patterns TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 41 The difficulties confronted by the seamen are psychological, cultural and linguistic ones The date showed that psychological barrier usually prevents learners from speaking in class The psychological problems faced by seamen in VCC involve in embarrassment; shyness; fear of being asked questions; and lack of enjoyment when speaking English Besides, the cultural differences of various countries have negative affected to the process of developing of learners‟ communication skills, special for seamen who usually work in international environment Most of seamen get stuck on the questions about cross-culture or customs of foreign countries because they can‟t share all the background knowledge as well as cultural identity with foreigners Therefore, the cultural differences either make the seamen not know what to say or say a little or lead to misunderstanding The difficulties in linguistic competence are the main problems lead to seamen‟s mistakes The biggest linguistics problem that 90 % of seamen have to cope with when learning speaking is the lack of vocabularies relating to speaking topics As an illustration, most of them find it is very difficult to express their ideas in English These difficulties have been preventing seamen from speaking correctly and competently The author shares the analysis of these particular errors and then makes a recommendation on how to help Vietnamese seamen overcome these errors It appears that these errors tend to occur when the syntactical structures of Vietnamese and English are strikingly different In the scope of this paper, the analysis of errors that Vietnamese seamen persistently make in some areas of English involves the handling of seven kinds of simple sentences The errors from each kind of English clause patterns are analyzed thoroughly The corrections for these mistakes are given successively so that the learners can recognize their errors and correct them easier Although the researcher has made effort toward conducting this minor thesis, it still exists some limitations such as the small number of subjects, small scope of the subjects (seamen in Vosco)…Readers‟ comment and contributions will be highly appreciated Limitations of the study and suggestions for the further research Some limitations of the research concern the data collection Firstly, the instrument was only the survey questionnaire, which affects the reliability of the data collected Moreover, only the data of the seamen‟s perception, self-evaluation and their feelings were collected which may allow for some possible mistaken analysis related to the aim of using English clause patterns to increase the speaking skills for seamen of VCC Secondly, the TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 42 size of the population (N= 100) was rather small, preventing the researcher from collecting more data and enriching even more discussion and the data analysis A replication study with a greater number of subjects is needed in order to obtain more reliable and generalizable results Thirdly, the participants with the same level of proficiency are chosen for using English clause patterns to develop the speaking skills for seamen at different levels of proficiency Last but not least, the application of the English clause patterns in improving other skills for seamen such as reading, writing and listening was not mentioned in this study For the seamen of VCC, these skills are also important More research into this field in necessary This research focuses on the implications for teaching English speaking skills to Vietnamese seamen in VOSCO via English clause patterns There are some suggestions for further research to be conducted with a view to gaining more benefits for teaching speaking skills in Vosco  More research with different methods is needed in terms of researcher‟s observation  Research should be conducted to improve other language skills: writing, listening, reading, and grammar  It would be interesting to conduct more research with a larger population so that the more in-depth data can be collected helping the researcher more for the aim of using the English clause patterns to increase the speaking skills for Vietnamese seamen  More research should be carried out with the seamen at different levels of proficiency so that a clearer picture for the possibility of using the English clause patterns to improve the seamen‟s speaking skills can be obtained  Further research into how useful of memorizing and practicing clause patterns to developing other skills for seamen such as writing, reading, and listening is necessary so as to provide a bird eyes‟ view into the possibility of applying English clause patterns in VCC TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 43 REFERENCES Breen, S & Cardlin, D (1980).Universal Grammar in Adult Language Learning New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Brown, S (1994) An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Sterling Publishing House Cardlin, D (1980) The essentials of a communicative curriculum in language teaching Cornell University Press Celce, M (2002) An ESL / EFL‟s Teacher‟s Course Newbury House David, C (1999) How Linguistics has Influenced School Teaching in England Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ellis, G & Cele, M (2002) An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research Sterling Publishing House Florenz, J (1999) Common Errors in English Usage Cornell University Press Florez, H (1999) Teaching English Grammar in a Communicative Approach Newbury House Fotos, J (2001) New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classroom Newbury House 10 Harmer, D (1991) The Practice of English Language Teaching Newbury House 11 Krashen, S (1982) Principles and practice in second language acquisition New York: McGraw-Hill 12 Kumaravadivelu, B (1999) Teaching English Grammar in a Communicative Approach Cambridge University Press 13 Littlewood , P (1981) Communicative Language Teaching Cambridge University Press 14 Nassiji, D & Sandra, S (2000) Integrating Form- Focused Instruction in Communication Context (ESL and Applied Linguistics Professional Series) Cambridge University Press 15 Pennington, R (2002) Teaching English grammar in communicative approach Cambridge University Press 16 Quirk, G (1985) A comprehensive grammar of the English language (Longman 1985) New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 44 17 Ramelan, R (1991).The use of cue cards in teaching spoken descriptive text Cambridge University Press 18 Randolph,Q & Sidney, G (1984) A university Grammar of English Cambridge University Press TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ... for; give to; leave for/ to; lend to; make for; offer to; owe to; pay for; pour for; promise to; read to; save for; show to; teach to; tell to; throw to? ?? In summary, the reasons for seamen? ??s weakness... possibility of using the English clause patterns to improve the seamen? ??s speaking skills can be obtained  Further research into how useful of memorizing and practicing clause patterns to developing other... level of proficiency are chosen for using English clause patterns to develop the speaking skills for seamen at different levels of proficiency Last but not least, the application of the English clause