INTRODUCTION
Rationale for the study
For the last few decades, together with Vietnam‟s international economic integration, English has become the foreign language used widely in enterprises, organizations, hotels, restaurants , and also a compulsory subject at most schools in our country People learn English for a number of purposes: to communicate with foreigners, to read materials or documents in English to support their jobs, to enlarge their knowledge of the world, to pass exams at schools, and to get certificates of proficiency in international English language tests To keep up with that trend, over the past few years, the Ministry of Education and Training has paid more attention to teaching and learning foreign languages, especially English than ever before It is stated in the project entitled “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, period 2008 – 2020” , which can be known as “National Foreign Languages Project 2020” According to this project, most Vietnamese students graduating from vocational schools, colleges and universities must have capability of using a foreign language, especially English, confidently in communicating, studying and working in an environment of integration by the year 2020 (Decision No 1400/QĐ – TTg approved by the Prime Minister on 30/9/2008)
In reality, many English language learners in Vietnam, especially students at vocational schools, colleges and universities, as well as employees in enterprises and organizations are now requested to possess certificates of proficiency in English Among many types of certificates of proficiency in English such as IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, SAT, GRE, etc; TOEIC, which stands for Test of English for
International Communication, is considered the most popular certificate that many schools, enterprises and organizations demand their students or employees to achieve The TOEIC test was developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS) in
1979 at the request of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Japan It is the worldwide standardized test of workplace English proficiency for non-native English speakers With its widest score range from 10 to 990, TOEIC can measure all English levels from beginning to advanced which is proper for all working positions, from basic jobs to management; thus this is the preferred English language assessment tool to measure the progress of learners and help them to achieve their set-goals in their careers For the time being, the TOEIC test is becoming more and more popular in South East Asia Each year, businessmen spend thousands of dollars preparing for the TOEIC test in the hope of achieving more than 900 points, because they consider this as a key to success in the international business environment Consequently, studying and preparing for the TOEIC test is a growing trend for students and employees in South East Asia countries Like many other international standardized tests, the TOEIC test covers all four skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing It is divided into three tests
The TOEIC Listening and Reading test is a paper-based one that provides an accurate measurement of the English capabilities of non-native speakers in listening, reading, and grammar The TOEIC Speaking and Writing tests are internet-based tests that measure a person‟s ability to speak and write in English in the workplace, using key expressions and common, everyday vocabulary However, in Vietnam, the TOEIC Listening and Reading test, which can be known as the traditional one, is more popular than the TOEIC Speaking and Writing tests
According to IIG Vietnam, the ETS‟s officially authorized country representative in Vietnam, the TOEIC Listening and Reading test-score is being used as the benchmark for graduation at more than 127 universities, colleges, vocational schools, as well as a human resources evaluation tool in more than 350 enterprises
To keep up with the needs of English learners who desire to acquire high scores in the TOEIC test, the English centre TiengAnh.com.vn continually organizes offline classes to equip learners with necessary knowledge before taking the real TOEIC test There is a grammar-vocabulary course which was constructed as the foundation for the learners before they enter the TOEIC preparation course As a teacher of English in this centre, the researcher is responsible for teaching both the grammar-vocabulary course and the TOEIC preparation course She is also in charge of designing syllabuses for these courses However, she herself finds that the current grammar-vocabulary syllabus does not really fit the requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of grammar and vocabulary In her point of view, it is necessary for the teachers to equip learners with adequate amount of vocabulary as well as grammatical structures so that at the end of the course they will feel confident enough to enter the TOEIC preparation course Moreover, the centre always encourages teachers to improve the content of the courses to update the latest trends in teaching and learning English For all the reasons mentioned above, the author is encouraged to choose the study: “Designing a grammar-vocabulary syllabus as the foundation for students before taking the TOEIC preparation course at the English centre TiengAnh.com.vn in Hanoi” , as it is practical, applicable and suitable for her to proceed.
Aims of the study
The main aim of the study is to provide students foundational grammar-vocabulary knowledge to help them perform better in the TOEIC test.
Research questions
The study aims at finding out answers to the following questions:
1) What are some main requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of grammar and vocabulary?
2) What items should be included in the grammar-vocabulary syllabus as the foundation for the TOEIC preparation course?
Scope and significance of the study
The study focuses solely on designing a grammar-vocabulary syllabus which is applicable for the purpose of equipping learners with an appropriate amount of vocabulary and grammatical structures before taking the TOEIC preparation course
Within the scope of this minor thesis and because of time limit, the researcher just carries out the study on the traditional TOEIC Listening and Reading test and she is going to use the term “the TOEIC test” as the short form of “ the TOEIC Listening and Reading test”
The TOEIC test includes two sections: Listening Comprehension Section and Reading Comprehension Section (details in figure 2)
+ For studying some main requirements in terms of grammar: Of the 4 parts in Listening Section and the 3 parts in Reading Section, part 2 in Listening and part 5& 6 in Reading are chosen to be investigated because they focus much on testing grammar
+ For studying some requirements in terms of vocabulary: Parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 are explored
The other parts focus more on skills, so they should be studied in further research which may aim to design the syllabus for the TOEIC preparation course
Once finished, hopefully the study will be useful for not only English teachers in the English centre TiengAnh.com.vn but also for other English teachers and course designers.
Methods of the study
In order to achieve the aims of the study mentioned above, the study will utilize both quantitative and qualitative research method The quantitative method is used to collect data by means of two statistics The first one is conducted in parts 2, 5, 6 of 10 actual TOEIC tests to find out the occurrence frequencies of grammatical points in the TOEIC tests The second one is conducted in parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of 10 actual TOEIC tests to find out the occurrence frequencies of some vocabulary topics in the TOEIC tests It aims at investigating some main requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of grammar and vocabulary The qualitative method is used to collect in-depth data through informal interviews with 5 teachers at TiengAnh.com.vn.
Design of the study
The study consists of three main parts:
Part I (Introduction) provides the basic information of the study such as the rationale for the study, the aims, the research questions, the scope and significance, the methods and the design of the study
Part II (Development) includes three chapters: Chapter 1, Literature Review, which looks at relevant theories for syllabus designing to form the theoretical ground for the study Chapter 2, The Methodology, presents the setting, the methodology used in the study, subjects, data collection instruments (statistics and interviews) and data collection procedure Chapter 3, Data analysis, Findings and Suggestions, reports the results of the study and discusses the main findings according to the research questions A grammar-vocabulary syllabus as the foundation for students before taking the TOEIC preparation course is also proposed in this chapter
Part III (Conclusion) , which summarizes the findings, presents the limitations of the study as well as some suggestions for further study.
DEVELOPMENT
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter presents the theories relating the syllabus design, especially grammar- vocabulary (structural-lexical) syllabus design, and it also introduces an overview of the TOEIC test
1.1 An overview on syllabus design 1.1.1 Definition of syllabus
The syllabus is an essential factor in the achievement of communicative competence in second language learning It also plays an important role in the success of the teaching and learning There are some dissimilar ways in defining the notion of
“syllabus” on the views of different scholars They define “syllabus” on the narrow approach and the broad approach to syllabus design
Widdowson (1984), a narrow view language specialist, believes that:
The syllabus is simply a framework within which activities can be carried out: a teaching device to facilitate learning It only becomes a threat to pedagogy when it is regarded as absolute rules for determining what is to be learned rather than points of reference from which bearings can be taken
Widdowson (1984: 26) Sharing the same viewpoint as Widdowson, Nunan (1988: 6) points out, “A syllabus is a statement of content which is used as the basis for planning courses of various kinds, and that the task of the syllabus designer is to select and grade this content.” He also states, “Syllabus design is seen as being concerned essentially with the selection and grading of content, while methodology is concerned with the selection of learning tasks and activities.” Nunan (1988: 5) Yalden (1987: 87) refers to syllabus as a “summary of the content to which learners will be exposed.”
In short, the scholars following the narrow approach share the opinion that it should be made a clear distinction between syllabus design, which is concerned with the
“what” of a language programme, and methodology, which is concerned with the
On the other hand, Yalden (1984), a broad view scholar, assumes:
The syllabus replaces the concept of “method”, and the syllabus is now seen as an instrument by which the teacher, with the help of the syllabus designer, can achieve a degree of “fit” between the needs and aims of the learner (as social being and as individual), and the activities which will take place in the classroom
According to Yalden‟s definition, he considers the teachers as the assistants of the syllabus designer The teachers can adjust the syllabus to fit the learner‟ needs and aims in the classroom Hutchinson and Waters (1993: 90) support the broad view as well, “A syllabus is a document which says what will (or at least what should) be learnt, it should state out the goals, content, and activities to be carried out in a particular, and well-defined context.” Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 80) also define syllabus as at its simplest level “as a statement of what is to be learnt” In conclusion, the broad view supposes that a language teaching syllabus should involve the combination of subject matter (what to teach) and linguistic matter (how to teach) It actually performs as a guide for both teachers and learners by providing some goals to be accomplished In fact, it deals with linguistic theory and theories of language learning and how they are utilized in the classroom
To sum up, there are many dissimilar viewpoints in syllabus design Each one has its own strong and weak points Therefore, syllabus designers should take into account the objectives and the learner‟s needs to design an appropriate syllabus that meet the requirements of the course
Syllabuses are not totally distinct from each other All actual language teaching syllabuses are integrated products of two or more of the types of syllabuses For a particular course, one type of syllabus usually dominates, while other types of content might be integrated with it In fact, the way in which the instructional content is employed in the real teaching procedure is the determining element in choosing a syllabus In this thesis, I am going to follow Nunan‟s point of view to classify syllabuses According to Nunan (1988: 27), there are two major types of syllabuses: product-oriented syllabuses and process-oriented syllabuses: “…the product syllabuses are those in which the focus is on the knowledge and skills which learners should gain as a result of instruction, while process syllabuses are those which focus on the learning experiences themselves.” In other words, the product- oriented syllabuses focus on the end products or results of the teaching and learning process, while the process-oriented syllabuses focus on the process through which the outcomes are to be brought out Besides, I am going to add one more type of syllabus that is lexical syllabus (Willis, 1990: 129-130) into the list of syllabuses here
Figure 1 Classification of syllabuses (Nunan, 1988)
Traditionally, grammatical syllabus is the most common syllabus type due to the fact that grammatical forms are the key to master a language Grammatical syllabus focuses on teaching learners the forms of parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc), sentence patterns, verb tenses, clauses, voices, and other grammatical rules In grammatical syllabus, it is assumed that language is made up of “a finite set of rules which are combined in a various ways to make meaning”
(Nunan, 1988: 29) This is why Wilkins (1976: 2) calls this type of syllabus planning a “synthetic approach” He describes the “synthetic approach” in the following terms:
A synthetic language teaching strategy is one in which the different parts of language are taught separately and step by step so that acquisition is a process of gradual accumulation of parts unit the whole structure of language has been built up
According to Nunan (1988: 28), grammatical syllabus is “the most common syllabus type was, and probably still in, one in which syllabus input is selected and graded according to grammatical notions of simplicity and complexity.”
Nevertheless, he also points out that:
….grammatical complexity does not necessarily equate with learning difficulty In other words, what is grammatically complex will not necessarily be that which is difficult to learn, and that which is grammatically simple will not necessarily be that which is easy to learn
The strong point of this syllabus is that the strategy of teaching based on the principle of working from the familiar to the unfamiliar, and using the familiar to teach the unfamiliar so that learners find easy to learn As McDonough (1981: 21) states, “The transition from lesson to lesson is intended to enable material in one lesson to prepare the ground for the next; and conversely for material in the next to appear to grow out of the previous one.” Besides, the weak point of this syllabus type is that only one aspect of language-formal grammar is concerned In reality, there is more than one aspect of language to be taken into consideration Thus, this syllabus type helps learners to understand the grammatical rules to describe a language, but it does not always help them use the language, especially in actual communicative situations
In contrast with the grammatical syllabus, functional-notional syllabus emphasizes the real communicative function of language The content of the language teaching is a collection of the functions that are performed when the language is used
Many teachers, on first encountering the terms „function‟ and „notion‟ find them confusing In general, functions may be described as the communicative purposes for which we use language, while notions are the conceptual meanings (objects, entities, states of affairs, logical relationships, and so on) expressed through language
In other words, with this syllabus type, the content of the language teaching is a collection of the functions that occur in daily life, such as: greeting, introducing, informing, apologizing, requesting, inviting, etc; and the notions of language relating to size, shape, age, color, time, etc
THE METHODOLOGY
2.1.1 An introduction of TiengAnh.com.vn and the grammar-vocabulary course
The English centre TiengAnh.com.vn was founded in 2008 with the base of the largest online forum for English learners in Vietnam Over the past six years, the centre has been organizing thousands of offline English courses with more than 20,000 learners At TiengAnh.com.vn, there are a number of English courses for many types of learners from kids to adults such as the English-for-kid course, the general English course for beginners, the grammar-vocabulary course, the TOEIC preparation course divided into 3 levels: TOEIC A, TOEIC B, TOEIC C; and some other supplementary courses for TOEIC preparation course Besides, there are several English communicative-approach courses such as English pronunciation course, English communicative courses from elementary level to intermediate level which are taught by native English teachers Each course often lasts 20 periods (one and a half hour for each period), except for the grammar-vocabulary course which lasts 40 periods The teaching and learning facilities are invested quite a lot Each classroom in the centre is equipped with a television, a stereo, and a cassette
Moreover, most teachers have their own personal computers so that it is very convenient for us to apply new methods in teaching and learning procedure
The grammar-vocabulary course is considered the foundational course for the learners who expect to join the TOEIC preparation course in the centre Most learners at the beginning level take part in this course to be covered all the matters in English grammar as well as equipped with an appropriate amount of vocabulary before joining the TOEIC preparation courses Normally, the number of learners in each class is not too many, from 20 to 30 learners; so the teachers can easily implement activities in class to motivate learners to join the lessons At
TiengAnh.com.vn, the number of learners signing up for grammar-vocabulary course is rather high, so each month around 4 to 5 classes are organized
2.1.2 The current grammar-vocabulary syllabus (Appendix 1)
TiengAnh.com.vn compiles its own course books from many textbooks and other sources, and the course book for grammar-vocabulary course is not exceptional
There are two teachers who specialize in compiling course books and designing syllabuses for all the courses in the centre One teacher is in charge of compiling course books and designing syllabuses for communicative-approach courses, and the other - the researcher - is responsible for compiling course books and designing syllabuses for grammar-vocabulary course and TOEIC preparation course For grammar-vocabulary course, we divide the grammar-vocabulary course into two phases: phase one is basic grammar-vocabulary and phase two is advanced grammar-vocabulary In the basic grammar-vocabulary phase, learners deal with a number of grammar points, such as parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles, prepositions, conjunctions) and all verb tenses
Besides, they are introduced a wide range of vocabulary, for example, vocabulary themes about jobs/occupations, office, appearance, characters, feelings, clothes, food, weather, animals, etc After completing the basic phase, learners can move to the advanced grammar-vocabulary one which equips them with more complex grammatical structures such as verb forms, clauses, passives, inversions, subjunctive mood, etc; and other vocabulary themes, such as work, relationships, sports, health and medicine, global problems, clothes and fashion, money, etc The course lasts 40 periods with one and a half hour per period There are two progress tests and a final test at the end of each phase so that the teacher can see the improvement of the learners during the course However, in the author‟s point of view, the course lasts too long and covers so many grammatical issues that may not be really useful for the TOEIC test The vocabulary section in the syllabus does not really fit the TOEIC requirement as well
Most of our learners are students from colleges and universities and employees from enterprises There are only a few high school students The learners are at different ages, normally from 17 to 35 Most of them have been learning English from secondary school or earlier, but they have admitted that they didn‟t pay much attention to English when they were at school Many students come from rural areas and they learnt very little English at school, and some of them learnt French or Russian instead Only when they entered the universities and were fully aware that English is really important for their future careers, did they start to learn English carefully Employees from enterprises and organizations are even more motivated to learn English because it is necessary for their jobs In fact, both university students and employees need to learn English to get a certificate of proficiency in English to support their study or their job TOEIC is the most common kind of certificate which is used as the benchmark for graduation from colleges and universities and also the evaluation tool to employees in enterprises However, in order to get a good score in the TOEIC test, learners must prepare carefully Joining the grammar- vocabulary course is the good choice for the beginners to start the route of conquering the TOEIC test
There are nine young teachers in the centre, aged between 23 and 35 Six of them are Vietnamese and they are in charge of teaching grammar-vocabulary and TOEIC preparation courses There are also three native English teachers specializing in teaching communicative-approach courses Among six Vietnamese teachers teaching grammar-vocabulary and TOEIC preparation courses, two have M.A degrees from Victoria University, Australia; two are studying for M.A degrees at Vietnam National University, Hanoi - University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS, VNU); and two have Bachelor Degrees from Hanoi University
Most of them have been teaching English for at least 2 years All teachers are very enthusiastic and helpful to each other in exchanging experience and documents during teaching process They are also eager to teach English and improve their knowledge in English teaching
The first subject in this study is 10 actual TOEIC tests taken from the books
“Economy TOEIC RC1000 Volume 1” (Lori, 2013) and “Economy TOEIC LC1000 Volume 1” (Lim and Noh, 2013) The second subject is 5 teachers who are responsible for teaching both grammar-vocabulary course and TOEIC preparation course
In order to collect data for the study, the author utilizes two statistics to investigate some main requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of grammar and vocabulary
She also uses five informal interviews for five teachers to ask for their opinions about the new syllabus
According to businessdictionary.com, “a statistic is a single quantity contained or computed from a set of data” This method is chosen because it is easy to process and it is suitable with the study To gain the data for the research, two statistics have been conducted on 10 TOEIC tests
According to Robinson (1991), “interview is a way in which the interviewee is guided by the interviewer through a questionnaire” The advantage of interview is that it allows deep exploration of issue, free response, and flexibility However, it can only feasible for a small group of subjects In this study, the researcher carries out informal interviews which aim to get some opinions from the teachers about the proposed syllabus Five informal interviews have made and their answers are very helpful for the study
+ For grammar section, the researcher carries out 2 steps:
Step 1: Some TOEIC books “Rainbow TOEIC part 1, 2, 3, 4” (Byeon, 2008),
“Rainbow TOEIC part 5, 6” (Choi, 2008), “Rainbow TOEIC part 7” (Choi, 2008),
“Big Step TOEIC 1” (Kim and Park, 2008-2013), “Grammar and vocabulary for the TOEIC test” (Gear and Gear, 2010) are explored to find out some grammatical points that the TOEIC test often cover
Step 2: A statistic on the occurrence frequencies of these grammatical points in parts 2, 5, 6 of 10 TOEIC tests is carried out by the researcher to find out some main requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of grammar
+ For vocabulary section, the researcher carries out 3 steps:
Step 1: Two books “Grammar and vocabulary for the TOEIC test” (Gear and Gear,
2010) and “600 essential words for the TOEIC - 3 rd edition” (Lougheed, 2008) which are considered the most popular ones in terms of vocabulary preparation for the TOEIC test are explored to choose 18 vocabulary topics that the researcher finds suitable with the grammar-vocabulary course as well as the beginners‟ level
Step 2: For each topic, the author chooses from 13 to 15 words
Step 3: A statistic is carried out by means of word-count application in Microsoft
Word 2007 in parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of 10 TOEIC tests to find out 10 words that occur the most frequent out of 13-15 words chosen in each topic to find out some main requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of vocabulary
After constructing the new syllabus, 5 informal interviews are made with 5 teachers to get their opinions about the syllabus.
DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND
This part deals with the results from the statistics on the occurrence frequencies of grammatical points and some vocabulary topics in 10 TOEIC tests It also presents teachers‟ opinions about the proposed syllabus via five informal interviews The findings from these results will lead to the suggestions to construct an appropriate grammar-vocabulary syllabus
3.1 Data analysis 3.1.1 The occurrence frequencies of grammatical points in 10 TOEIC tests
As mentioned in the scope and the methods, the statistic is carried out on part 2 in Listening Section which contains 30 items and parts 5 and 6 in Reading Section which contains 52 items of 10 TOEIC tests These parts focus much on testing grammar so they are chosen to be investigated
Table 1 List of grammatical points collected from 5 TOEIC books
Table 1 lists 12 grammatical points that are collected from the book “Grammar and vocabulary for the TOEIC test” (Gear and Gear, 2010), “Rainbow TOEIC part 1, 2,
3, 4” (Byeon, 2008), “Rainbow TOEIC part 5, 6” (Choi, 2008), “Rainbow TOEIC part 7” (Choi, 2008) and “Big Step TOEIC 1” (Kim and Park, 2008-2013)
GP1 Word forms (nouns/verbs/adjectives/adverbs) GP2 Verb tenses & passives
GP3 Questions GP4 Adjectives, adverbs & comparisons GP5 Modals
GP6 Prepositions GP7 Referring to nouns (demonstratives/quantifiers/articles) GP8 Pronouns
Relative clauses GP11 Conditional sentences GP12 Verb + verb patterns (v + to inf /v + -ing/ v + bare inf.)
According to these writers, those grammatical points are normally tested in the TOEIC test and should be learned carefully by test takers before taking the real test
Chart 1: The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 1&2
Chart 2: The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 3&4
GP1 GP2 GP3 GP4 GP5 GP6 GP7 GP8 GP9 GP10 GP11 GP12
GP1 GP2 GP3 GP4 GP5 GP6 GP7 GP8 GP9 GP10 GP11 GP12
Chart 3: The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 5&6
Chart 4: The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 7&8
GP1 GP2 GP3 GP4 GP5 GP6 GP7 GP8 GP9 GP10 GP11 GP12
GP1 GP2 GP3 GP4 GP5 GP6 GP7 GP8 GP9 GP10 GP11
Chart 5: The occurrence frequencies of grammar points in tests 9&10
Five charts above show that there are some grammatical points occurring frequently in TOEIC tests and the others occasionally occur It can be seen clearly that grammar point 3 (GP3) - Questions - has the highest occurrence frequency, normally from 24 to 30 items This grammar point belongs to part 2 in Listening Section, which can be known as Question - Response In this part, test takers have to listen to 30 questions or statements and three responses for each one Their task is to select the best response to the question or statement To get high score in this part, test takers must be familiar with all types of questions: yes/no questions, wh- questions, tag questions, embedded questions, etc So this point should be the emphasis for the course designer to put in the syllabus
The grammar point that occurs the second most frequent is grammar point 1 (GP1) - word forms, which occurs from 9 to 15 out of 52 items in Reading Section In this point, examinees are tested the ability to identify forms of the words: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs Sometimes, test takers do not need to know the meaning of
GP1 GP2 GP3 GP4 GP5 GP6 GP7 GP8 GP9 GP10 GP11 GP12
Test 9Test 10 the word; however, they still can choose the correct answer based on realizing the correct form of the word needed to fill in the sentence
The next two grammar points that are often tested in part 5&6 of Reading Section in the TOEIC test are GP6 - prepositions and GP9 - conjunctions with the occurrence frequency from 1 to 8 out of 52
GP2 - verb tenses and passives - is also a frequently tested point with the occurrence frequency from 2 to 5 Traditionally, verb tenses are usually the starting point for beginners to learn English In parts 5 and 6 of the TOEIC test, verb tenses and passives is not the frequent point, yet it should be learned carefully because it also occurs in other parts of the test
GP4 (adjectives, adverbs, and comparing), GP8 (pronouns), GP10 (relative clauses) GP11 (conditional sentences) and GP12 (verb + verb patterns) are grammar points that should be prepared carefully as well Though their occurrence frequencies are not very high, only from 1 to 5, learners had better not skip them if they want to get high score
The rest ones including GP5 (modals) and GP7 (referring to nouns) have low occurrence frequencies in the TOEIC test, or even they do not occur However, if learners can cover all the issues, they may have better score
3.1.2 The occurrence frequencies of some vocabulary topics in 10 TOEIC tests
As mentioned in the data collection procedure, the author studies two books
“Grammar and vocabulary for the TOEIC test” (Gear and Gear, 2010) and “600 essential words for the TOEIC - 3 rd edition” (Lougheed, 2008) which are considered the most popular ones in terms of vocabulary preparation for the TOEIC test to choose 18 vocabulary topics that she finds the most suitable with the grammar-vocabulary course as well as the beginners‟ level 18 vocabulary topics and the number of words chosen for each topic are introduced in the following table The detail of words in each topic can be explored in Appendix 2
Table 2: List of vocabulary topics chosen from 2 TOEIC books
A statistic is then carried out by means of word-count application in Microsoft Word 2007 in parts 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of 10 TOEIC tests to find out 10 words that occur the most frequent out of 13-15 words chosen in each topic The result is shown in the following table
Topic 1: Applying for a job Topic 2: Business documents
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) apply 15 document 6 applicant 6 email 90 career 3 fax 21 experience 12 memo 15 manager 30 report 54 position 12 folder 3 interview 24 file 15 employment 12 attachment 3 payment 18 confidential 3 skill 9 electronic 15
Topic 3: Business planning Topic 4: Business trips
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) address 17 conference 31 complete 20 exhibition 7 demonstrate 3 receptionist 6 develop 23 register 11 development 12 cancellation 9 evaluation 4 brochure 2 group 24 reserve 15 plan 67 reservation 23 require 7 accommodation 9 show 29 facility 25
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) attract 6 store 65 compare 4 display 18 competition 21 order 75 consumer 6 purchase 39 current 3 stock 9 market 54 refund 11 productive 3 sale 90 satisfy 7 receipt 10 promote 40 register 14 offer 38 merchandise 15
Topic 7: Customer service Topic 8: Banking
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) relationship 4 account 30 satisfaction 7 deposit 9 expectation 5 bank 32 guarantee 8 balance 4 deal with 3 interest 21 reliable 4 transfer 4 client 45 invest 7 feedback 5 credit 15 complaint 6 check 35 commitment 6 financial 27
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) route 3 advertisement 30 urban 6 commercial 6 transportation 4 media 24 commute 9 poster 4 vehicle 10 budget 18 traffic 12 agency 17 crowded 5 campaign 21 rush hour 2 brand 4 parking space 5 promotion 7 congestion 2 publicity 2
Topic 11: Contracts Topic 12: Dining out
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) accept 4 restaurant 27 vacation 6 waiter 4 term 9 cafeteria 6 condition 6 appetizer 2 cancel 36 drink 6 party 7 tip 7 fire 6 recommend 12 regulation 4 recommendation 5 signature 5 dessert 2 notice 18 beverage 3
Topic 13: Meetings Topic 14: Office supplies
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) item 30 equipment 10 idea 10 cabinet 2 solution 9 printer 4 propose 6 fax machine 2 proposal 4 copy machine 3 vote 3 safe 18 issue 3 scanner 3 schedule 54 laptop 3 approval 7 label 2 discussion 15 paper 16
Topic 15: Presentations Topic 16: Air travel
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) topic 2 ticket 33 screen 5 baggage 4 audience 5 security 15 summary 2 flight 15 handout 3 delay 22 outline 2 passenger 5 projector 3 passport 4 microphone 2 check-in 3 computer 6 board 20 speaker 56 plane 11
Topic 17: Company structure Topic 18: Salaries and benefits
Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) Vocabulary Occurrence frequency (times) profit 26 basis 2 partner 4 be aware of 5 partnership 2 benefit 10 merge 10 delicate 2 department 35 eligible 3 director 22 flexible 4 management 19 negotiate 2 product 117 negotiation 3 corporation 5 retire 6 raise 3 retirement 7
Table 3: The occurrence frequencies of 18 vocabulary topics in 10 TOEC tests
From the statistic figures above, it can be seen that all 180 words appear at least two times in the 10 TOEIC tests Some vocabulary topics contain many words that have high occurrence frequencies in the tests such as “Applying for a job”, “Business documents”, “Business planning”, “Shopping”, “Banking”, “Advertising”, etc
However, it should be noted that the statistic has been conducted in five parts of the tests The words can also occur in the other parts Therefore, it is necessary for the learners to be equipped with these words before entering the real test
3.1.3 Teachers’ opinions about the proposed syllabus
As mentioned in the methodology, after identifying some main requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of grammar and vocabulary, the researcher constructs a proposed syllabus and asks five teachers who teach both grammar-vocabulary course and TOEIC preparation course in the centre for their opinions of the new syllabus
CONCLUSION
Summary of the findings and suggestions
The study has been set out with the aim of designing a grammar-vocabulary syllabus as the foundation for students before taking the TOEIC preparation course at the English Centre TiengAnh.com.vn in Hanoi It utilizes a combination of quantitative method and qualitative method and different data collection instruments, namely statistics and informal interviews The subjects of the research are ten TOEIC tests and five teachers in the English Centre TiengAnh.com.vn
The data analysis, which is presented in chapter 3, suggests that there are some main requirements of the TOEIC test in terms of grammar and vocabulary which should be prepared carefully by the students in the process of conquering the TOEIC test
Based on the study‟s findings, the designer has constructed a proposed grammar- vocabulary syllabus which consists of ten grammatical points as well as eighteen vocabulary topics that the real TOEIC test normally covers The proposed syllabus is considered suitable with the purpose of the course as the foundation for TOEIC preparation course as well as the students‟ level Through this syllabus, the designer hopes to help students at the beginner level build a good base in terms of grammar and vocabulary which is very useful for them on the way to conquer the real TOEIC test.
Limitations of the study
The researcher has made a great attempt in studying the process of syllabus design and working out an innovative framework for grammar-vocabulary syllabus, which hopefully will be beneficial to both teachers and students However, limitations in the study are inevitable
Firstly, on account of the limited time and within the scope of a minor thesis, the number of the subjects is small Only 10 TOEIC tests have been chosen to conduct statistics The findings would be more reliable if the author conducted statistics on more tests Secondly, not all the parts of the 10 TOEIC tests are investigated to find out the requirements of the TOEIC test Only some parts of the tests are the subjects to be explored Thirdly, the study is carried out on the traditional TOEIC test which only covers two skills: listening and reading Finally, the study follows the narrow approach by Nunan (1988), Yalden (1987) and Widdowson (1984) to syllabus design, so it only focuses on designing the content of the syllabus The teaching methodology, assessment procedures or activities are not the ones investigated in the study.
Suggestions for further study
Due to the limitations mentioned above, it is suggested that more subjects should be investigated into in a future research on syllabus design to get more reliable results
Future study should be made to conduct a syllabus that covers not only the content but also teaching methodology, assessment procedures as well as possible activities for the course Besides, a syllabus that covers the grammar and vocabulary items which are the requirements of the TOEIC test of all four skills is also a good choice for syllabus designer to challenge
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Unit Grammar focus Vocabulary focus
1 Sentence patterns and introduction of parts of speech
2 Present simple & present continuous Topic 2: Jobs/ Occupations
3 Present perfect & present perfect continuous Topic 3: Office
4 Past simple & past continuous Topic 4: Appearance
5 Past perfect & past perfect continuous Topic 5: Character
6 Revision: present tenses & past tenses
9 Action verbs & stative verbs Topic 7: Clothes
11 Questions Topic 9: Fruit and Vegetables
12 Subject-verb agreements Topic 10: Farm Animals and Pets
14 Nouns Topic 11: Wild and Zoo Animals
Unit Grammar focus Vocabulary focus
3 Verb + verb patterns Topic 1: Work
5 Passives Topic 3: Health and Medicine
6 Passives (special cases) Topic 4: Crime
8 Clauses Topic 5: Belief and Opinion
9 Noun clauses Topic 6: Global Problems
10 Relative clauses Topic 7: Money – Buying, Selling and Paying
11 Reduced relative clauses Topic 8: Clothes and Fashion
12 Adverb clauses Topic 9: The Press and The Media
13 Conjunctions Topic 10: Success, Failure and
16 Inversions Topic 11: Movement and Speed
17 Reported speech Topic 12: Like, Dislike and
18 Subjunctive mood Topic 13: The Natural World
18 vocabulary topics chosen from 2 TOEIC books in detail