Aims of the study
The study aims at investigating the use of simulation tasks to improve vocabulary among the second year students at Automotive Engineering Technology Department (AETD), SDU The main purposes of the study are summarized below:
1 To investigate the difficulties encountered by the second year students at AETD, SDU when learning ESP vocabulary
2 To find out the techniques that teachers at SDU used in teaching ESP vocabulary
3 To find out how far the use of simulation tasks improved ESP vocabulary for the second year students at AETD, SDU.
Research questions
1 What difficulties do students of Automotive Engineering Technology Department face with during the process of acquiring vocabulary?
2 What are the techniques that teachers at SDU employ in teaching ESP vocabulary?
3 How can simulation tasks improve ESP vocabulary for the second year students at AETD, SDU?
Research methodology
The study primarily employs a survey questionnaire to find answers for the research questions and is conducted mainly with the descriptive - quantitative method Data is collected through pre - task survey questionnaires and post – task survey questionnaires delivered to
170 students at SDU Besides, informal interviews with students are carried out to collect more information.
Scope of the study
Due to the limitation of time and scale of a minor thesis, it is impossible to cover every aspect of language theory and practice in this study Thus, the study focuses on examining the use of simulation tasks to improve ESP vocabulary for the second year students at AETD, SDU Last but not least, the term “ESP vocabulary” is restricted to “vocabulary in English for Automotive Engineering”.
Design of the study
The study is designed with 3 parts
Part A: “Introduction” presents the rationale for study, aims of the study, the scope of the study, methods as well as research questions
Part B: “ Development” consists of three chapters Chapter one “Literature review” displays the theoretical background of the research related to vocabulary theory (definition, classification, roles) and simulation tasks (definition, characteristics, advantages) and the discussion of simulation tasks in ESP vocabulary teaching
Chapter two “Research Methodology” presents the methodology performed in the study: subjects of the study, the data collection method, instruments as well as process of data collection and data analysis
Chapter three “Data analysis and findings” deals with documentation, data analysis This focuses on presenting, analyzing and discussing the results obtained from the study based on the pre – task survey questionnaire, the post – task survey questionnaire ,interviews
Part C: “Recommendations and conclusion” summarizes the findings, implication, recommendations and future directions for further research.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Simulation
Simulation is a kind of potential activity that shows much effectiveness to language proficiency The term “simulation” is defined by many researchers and the latest definitions can be found in “Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics” by Jack C Richards & Richard Smith(2002, p.487) as follows
“classroom activities which reproduce or simulate real situations and which often involve dramatization and group discussion… In simulation activities, learners are given roles in a situation, tasks, or a problem to be solved, and are given instructions to follow (for example, an employer–employee discussion over wage increases in a factory) The participants then make decisions and proposals Consequences are “simulated” on the basis of decisions the participants take They later discuss their actions, feelings, and what happened.”
This definition seems to cover three definitions of following researchers
Maley and Duff (1978) call simulation "an attempt to place learners in circumstances resembling as closely as possible, those they will actually meet with in daily life" Through this definition, they recognize simulations as involving overt role-playing On the other hand, Livingstone (1983) declares that simulation is often a problem-solving activity to which the student brings his own personality, experience and opinions while Stephen M
Smith (1984) defines a simulation as " a means of activating the knowledge and language associated with topics you and your students are studying.”
However, Dougill (1987) in “Drama Activities for Language Teaching” states that
“Simulation can be defined as a structured set of circumstances that mirror real life and participants act as instructed” Meanwhile, in “Simulations in Language Teaching” it is defined as “reality of function in a simulated and structured environment” Jones, K (1982, p5) This definition shows three essential elements in simulations: reality of function, simulated environment, and structure The researcher further states that reality of function is the key concept in simulation
The two definitions agree in that simulation “mirror real life” and “reality of function in a simulated and structured environment”, which means that simulation is not real life, it is only a type of simulating real life in a simulated environment
Jones (1989) draws the characteristics of simulation as follows:
This covers not only what the participants say and do, but also what they think They must mentally accept the function the simulation requires of them They must stop thinking of themselves as students, and avoid standing one step away from their own activities They must step inside the function mentally and behaviorally, and do the best they can to carry out their duties and responsibilities in the situation in which they find themselves
The most important part of simulations is having participants accept the reality of function (role and duties) fully, not thinking as students but taking the role; otherwise the simulation simply will not work Acceptance of the reality of function means that a participant who has the function of doctor must examine the patient, communicating effectively to do the job The role of students in simulations, therefore, is (1) taking the functional roles such as reporter, survivor, or customer as a participant, (2) stepping into the event, and (3) shaping the event, carrying out their duties and responsibilities (as citied on Lyu, Y, 2006, p13)
The environment must be simulated; otherwise it is not a simulation A learner - driver under instruction on the roads, or a student-teacher involved in classroom practice, or a medical probationer examining patients are not in a simulated environment
There is real traffic, real pupils, real patients and real interaction In order to fulfill the essential condition of being a simulated environment, there must be no contact, interaction or consequences between the participants and the world outside the classroom
A simulation requires a structure It must be a structure built around some problems, and the structure must be sufficiently explicit to preserve reality of function The essential
“facts” of the simulation must be provided, not invented, by the participants
The cohesion of structure means that a simulation is more involved and involving than a single transactional episode, such as a shopper returning a broken teapot, or a traveler asking for the time of the next train
In practice, a simulation can be thought of as a case study, but with the participants on the inside, having the power and responsibility to shape the event and tackle the problem
Jones (1989) draws the advantages of simulations as follows: a) Simulation removes the teacher, who as controller, is in an ideal position to monitor the language and behavior b) Simulation provides realism of both action and (usually) documentation c) Simulation contains built-in motivation, and language which is cohesive in action, focusing on points of duty and function d) Simulation helps break the ice and be used for cross-cultural purposes e) Simulation is an excellent means of assessing language ability
Doff (1990) describes the benefits of using simulation in the language classroom as follows: a) They are fun b) They help to prepare students for real-life communication by simulating reality in situations In this sense, they bridge the gap between the classroom and the world outside the classroom c) They can be used for assessment and feedback purposes at the end of a textbook unit d) They can consolidate learning and allow students the opportunity to discover their own level of mastery over specific language content e) By simulating reality, they allow beginning students and EFL students to feel that they are really using the language for a communicative purpose f) They heighten students’ self-esteem and improve their ability to work cooperatively g) They allow students to experiment with language they have learned h) They allow students to express who they are, their sense of humor, and their own personal communication style i) They offer good listening practice j) They provide an opportunity for practicing the rules of social behavior and the various sociolinguistic elements of communication k) They engage the learner physically This involves the learner more fully and can be an aid in language retention l) They can be liberating for many students who may enjoy expressing themselves through a role or a mask but may be inhibited about expressing themselves otherwise during the class m) They provide a context for understanding attitudes, expectations, and behaviors related to the target culture n) They may be used as a stimulus to discussion and problem solving o) They can be extensions of more controlled practice using dialogues
Furthermore, Sam (2008) has drawn the advantages of using simulation as the teaching technique in ELT as follows: a) Stimulates authentic conversations b) The fluency activities c) Suitable for consolidation d) Creates sensitivity and a sense of awareness e) Increases motivation f) A break from routine g) Prepare students for real life and unpredictability
To mention advantages of simulation, these three linguists agree that simulation offers high motivation, a useful assessment method, a practical communicative environment, as well as fluency practice, etc
1.1.4 Criteria for applying simulation tasks
Simulation tasks require some teaching procedures in implementing them in ELT classroom
According to Littlewood (1988), steps in applying simulation are as follows:
1) The students are asked to imagine themselves in a situation which could occur outside the classroom, such as a series of business negotiations
2) The students are asked to adopt a specific role in the situation In some cases, they may simply have to act as themselves In others, they may have to adopt a simulated identity
3) The students are asked to behave as if the situation really existed, in accordance with their roles
Furthermore, Joyce and Weil in Savage (1996) draw a complete simulation phase as follows:
Vocabualry
Jones (1989) particularly emphasizes that the procedure of simulation should include the following steps:
1) Decide on the priority of aims – icebreakers, assessment and so on
2) Estimate the interactive language competence of the students
3) Search a wide area, including simulation literature
4) If the language level is suitable, then examine the mechanics of the simulation: time, numbers, hardware, space, organization and so on
5) If it seems suitable, then participate in it personally
6) Consider whether it needs adapting, but bear in mind that over adaptation can kill a good simulation by removing or altering elements which help the simulation to run smoothly in practice
Vocabulary is defined differently by many linguistics depending on the field that he specialized such as semantics, lexicology, etc…According to Pyles and Algeo (1970, p.96)
“When most of us think about language we think first about words It is true that vocabulary is the focus of language with its sound and meaning, which interlock to allow us to communicate with one another, and it is words that we arrange together to make sentences, conversation and discourse of all kinds” It implies that vocabulary is the essence of learning a language
Ur (1996, p.60) defines “vocabulary is words we teach in the foreign language” However, she explains in detail that words are not just single ones but may be a compound of two or three words or multi word idioms In addition, the Longman dictionary of language and linguistics defines vocabulary is “a set of lexemes, including single words, compound words and idioms” These two definitions are similar in the point that vocabulary consists of not only single words but also phrases, idioms, chunks, etc
From the mentioned definitions, it can be concluded that vocabulary is a number of words or a bunch of words that should be familiar with someone and have in his/her mind In other words, vocabulary is the word capacity of someone when he is writing or reading a text, or when he or she is expressing own ideas in practical communication So, it would be impossible for one who does not have enough vocabulary to communicate his ideas as clearly as he would like either in oral or written
There have been different ways of classifying vocabulary according to different criteria
Semantically, vocabulary items are divided into notional or lexical words and functional or grammatical words Notional words form a large amount of the speakers’ vocabulary and address objects, actions, qualities and have meaning in themselves while functional words only have their meaning in relation to other words with which they are used Particles, articles, prepositions, etc belong to that category
Grammatically, vocabulary items are classified into different parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, etc Each part of speech has it own position complying with certain grammatical rules and relating to others
Morphologically, vocabulary is separated into simple words, derived words and compound words Simple words consist of a root morpheme; derived words comprise of a root and one or more derivational morpheme and compound words have at least two roots with or without derivational morphemes
However, methodologically, vocabulary is categorized into active and passive vocabulary or productive or receptive vocabulary The words which learner can understand, pronounce correctly, use effectively in speaking and writing are active words The words which learner can recognize and understand when they occur in a context, but which he cannot produce or use correctly himself even when he wants to are passive words
A foreign language teacher should understand these classifications in order to choose the most relevant words that suit the learners’ level of proficiency so that they can enlarge their vocabulary actively and productively
1.2.3 The role of vocabulary in language learning
Regarding the function of vocabulary in language teaching and learning, Wilkins (1972, p.11) stresses that “vocabulary is one of the three dimensions of a language (phonetic, grammar, vocabulary) Without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed” To talk about the importance of vocabulary McCarthy (1990: viii) also states that no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wider range of meanings, communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way It can be seen that one can use grammar correctly, but he cannot express himself properly because word source is inadequate Reed (2000, p 1) agree that words are the basic building blocks of language, the units of meaning from which larger structures such as sentences, paragraphs and whole texts are formed Thus, to become a successful communicator in a foreign language, it is important to master the meaning as well as the use of a word
Wallace (1982) further emphasizes that “failure to find the words one needs to express himself is the most frustrating experience in speaking another language” Without having sufficient vocabulary, it is impossible to communicate effectively in English Increasing the size of one’s vocabulary, also called vocabulary building, is generally considered to be an important part of both learning a language and improving one’s skills in a language in which one is already proficient Therefore, it is highly essential for English teachers to help their students in mastering vocabulary
Nation (2001) divides word knowledge into three areas: knowledge of form, knowledge of meaning and knowledge of use It is clear that words enable learners to convey any of language skills and can be a key of success of language learning Introducing or teaching new vocabulary is not an easy task, therefore, the instructor should provide his learners with its form, meaning, and use simultaneously
In learning a language, learners need to know how to pronounce and write the words correctly That means the word’s oral form (pronunciation) and written form (spelling) should be carefully, accurately presented and learned However, there exist so many exceptions in English pronunciation It is really difficult for foreign language learners to tackle the pronunciation of new vocabulary because of the complex relationship between sound and spelling
In addition, grammar of a new word should be instructed, for example, the grammatical function, the unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical context, the regularity and irregularity, the singular and plural forms of the new word Therefore, Nation (2005) recommends quick ways of drawing attention to the form of the word, e.g (a) writing the word on the board, (b) showing how the spelling of the word is like or unlike the spelling of known words, (c) giving stress pattern of the word and its pronunciation, (d) getting the learners to repeat the pronunciation of the word, and (e) pointing out any spelling irregularity in the word
According to Nations (2001, cited in Milton, 2009, p.14) word meaning can be divided into three parts The first sub-division, form and meaning, is the part most of us will think of in terms of knowing a word It involves being able to link the form, however it occurs, to a meaning, and often in a foreign language this involves forming a link between a foreign language word and its translation in the native language Languages are not exactly parallel to each other in the way they use their vocabulary, however The other sub-divisions, concepts and referents and associations, indicate, therefore, that a word in one language might require several translations or carry subtly different meanings and associations in another language A word such as “fat” carries very negative connotations in English when describing a person, and native speakers should use this word with some care
It should be noted that meaning of words is closely related to each others There are various such relationships as synonyms, antonyms, hyponym, chunks of language, etc
Thus, the teacher is required to select and decide on which meaning and how many meanings of a word to teach in a given class time to help learners avoid confusion
Techniques in vocabulary teaching
1.3.1 Techniques in presenting and practicing new words 1.3.1.1 Presenting techniques
The main aim of presenting vocabulary is to insert the meaning, the correct form and appropriate usage of the new word into the student’s memory There are quite lots of methods and techniques to present the form and meaning of new lexical items It depends on teachers to decide which form of presentation is the most suitable for the particular topic According to Gairns and Redman (1986, p.73), there are some traditional methods and techniques used to present new vocabulary: a) Visual techniques:
Visuals – photographs, flashcards, blackboard drawings, pictures, videos, wall charts, pictograms and real objects; they are useful for teaching concrete words
Demonstrating: mime/facial expression and gesture – useful for teaching action verbs b) Verbal techniques:
Illustrative situations (oral or written ) – this technique is helpful when the words are more abstract
Synonyms and antonyms – using the words students have already known to teach them similar words
Definitions and explanations – appropriate for intermediate learners To make definition of words can be difficult, especially at elementary levels
Scales – if students know 'big' and 'small', for example, other steps could be to teach 'short' and 'long' etc
Examples of the type – give examples of words you want to introduce
Translation – it has been the most widespread activity used for presenting the meaning of a word in classes
Guessing from the context, matching/labelling – learners match words to words or sentences or pictures It belongs to so called discovery techniques: they activate the learner’s previous knowledge of a language and initiate the work with the new vocabulary Discovery techniques demand the autonomous students with higher knowledge of English
Taking into consideration the specific factors of ESP vocabulary teaching, we can see
“many of the techniques traditionally used in ELT work can be exploited in ESP vocabulary teaching especially at the early stages when both subject and linguistic content are at an elementary level” (Kennedy and Bolitho, 1984, p.59) Consequently, presenting
ESP vocabulary can be fully realised by methods and techniques mentioned above Often even translation may be useful, necessary and appropriate because of the level of students at the vocational secondary schools and to avoid the fatal misunderstanding During presentation vocabulary, teachers have a great opportunity to explain the purposeful meaning of a word in the context of the real life and work at the school workshops
However, this kind of presentation should be simple, interesting and amusing to motivate and encourage students’ interest
Presenting a word in the class does not secure that it will be remembered for a long time
There are many practice activities that include repeating the new vocabulary to fix the new words in the learners´ memory The practice activities are divided into two main groups: receptive and productive
According to Thornbury (2002, p.94-99) receptive practice (the learner does not really produce the target words) includes these following types:
Identifying – means finding words in a text or listening, e.g underline specific words or expressions in the text, or tick, put in the correct column or list items that you hear
Selecting – means recognizing words and making choices among them, e.g circle the odd word in the line
Matching – includes recognizing words and then pairing them with their synonym, antonym, definition, pictures to words etc It can be intended to match parts of lexical items to create collocations
Sorting – putting the lexical items into different categories, e.g put these adjectives in two groups – positive and negative
Ranking and sequencing – putting the lexical items in some kind of order, e.g ordering items chronologically, ranking items according to personal preference etc
Productive practice (the productive skills – writing or speaking – are incorporated in the vocabulary teaching,) includes these types (Thornbury, 2002, p.100): completion and creation
Completion tasks (context is given), often called gap-fills, are widely used not only in practice but also in revision stages They include open gap-fills or closed gap- fills (multiple choice activities), crosswords
Creation tasks: the learner use the word in a sentence or a story, in writing, speaking or both forms, use affixes to build new naming units from given words
Generally speaking, vocabulary practice is divided into controlled and free Controlled practice has to come first, because controlled activities require the student to produce a certain structure, they practice accuracy and fix the pattern The second phase, which demands productive use of vocabulary, is free practice The specialists point out the usage of free practice in the class, because according to Lewis (1993, p.151-152) “to know a word means how to use it in the real life to be able to communicate” This is a typical example of the lexical approach where there is a primary role of words which determine grammar Free practice is aimed at fluency and is productive However, Gairns and Redman (1986, p.137) warn against “a certain degree of stress involved in productive practice” According to them, practice should be challenging, but not frustrating or stressful for the learner They give several arguments in favour of productive practice of vocabulary in the classroom; above all, it promotes fluency and improves pronunciation, it helps the memory to store words, and retrieve them later, conversation in English is very motivating and it builds learner’s confidence Learners expect to get the opportunity to practise new language
Another division includes spoken and written practice Many vocabulary activities used in the class are based on discussions, dialogues, descriptions, role-play activities, or different written tasks
Most learners acknowledge the importance of vocabulary acquisition According to Thornbury(1) “the acquisition of new words is the process which never stops” To build a good storage of vocabulary is the first and one of the most important steps when starting to learn a new language People learn new words permanently and identify their meaning
Vocabulary learning does not officially belong to the language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) but there is no way of making advance in language without building vocabulary that can be applied into grammar structures and make meaningful utterances It is difficult for students to communicate without creating and developing their own lexicon
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) represents a specific reason for learning a foreign language There are distinguishedly two types of ESP: English for Specific Purposes and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) At present these streams include a lot of other fields, e.g English for Technicians According to Hatch and Brown (1995, p.312), “special lexical items are present in nearly all professions, and each branch has special vocabulary to cover abstract concepts” Kennedy and Bolitho (1984, p.56 - 58) distinguish these word categories for teaching technical vocabulary:
• Technical Abbreviations, Symbols and Formulae: they partly cause the problems
Teachers´ role is to explain patiently their form and meaning, and students should practise them in spoken and written exercises
• Sub - technical vocabulary: words which are not directly a part of specific technical branch, but they occur generally in scientific and technical texts - e.g derivation, conversion, dense and isolation
• Highly technical vocabulary: words that have a close thematic relationship and belong to the specific technical field
The fundamental problem which has to be solved by authors’ designing technical teaching materials is that: English non - major students at most vocational schools, colleges or universities have little knowledge of ESP This fact reflects in these two factors: teaching material should be managed by students in both the language and specialization Hatch and Brown (1995, p.370) stress that “the specificity of any individual’s knowledge about a word depends on the person and his or her motivation, desires, and needs for the word”
There is also an important role of teachers to facilitate learning of technical vocabulary
The students should be encouraged to think about the importance of the word, therefore the examples in context are highly useful Moreover, this approach must be focused predominantly on learners, each unit has to have clear aims, motivating topics and challenging practical activities The appropriate issues must be presented in the context of the real life In this way, teachers can support the naturalness of learning vocabulary, and in such an enriched atmosphere, learners find ideal authentic reasons for learning a foreign language
According to Morgan and Rinvolucri (2004, p.7) the new words are not learned mechanically, but associatively Therefore, the most progressive methods in ESP vocabulary teaching should be sorting words by process or activity, by categories (materials: rigid and brittle), by word families (to assemble, assembly), by theme/topic (interior car parts exterior car parts) and synonyms/ antonyms Vocabulary tasks should be revised thematically Moreover, it allows learners to work independently on vocabulary areas that they are interested in
ESP vocabulary can be practised and consolidated by similar methods and techniques used for practising and consolidation of general vocabulary Writing tasks can include reports and different instructions for car processing, making summaries from technical journals, describing processes and techniques, labelling diagrams and pictures, describing graphs and comments on charts etc
1.3.3 Simulation tasks in ESP vocabulary teaching 1.3.3.1 Simulation tasks
Methodologically, tasks are often the central part of the practical learning activity
According to Oxford (2006, p.97), in second language teaching and learning, task is now often viewed as an outcome oriented instructional segment or as a behavioral framework for research or classroom learning
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1 English teaching and learning context in SDU – background information
2.1.1 The course objectives and the textbook “English for Automotive Engineering”
At SDU, English is a compulsory subject in the curricula During a four - year course, English - non majors have 180 periods of EGP (from Elementary to Pre - Intermediate) in the first academic year English for Automobile Engineering (EAE) has been taught to the second - year students of AETD in their third semester so their English proficiency is at Pre-Intermediate level, which enables them to improve their professional English
The course book is redesigned basing mainly on the combination of the textbooks:
“Technical English 1” by David Bonamy and Christopher Jacques, Pearson Longman 2008 and its Automotive Industries worksheets by the teachers of the English Division (ED), Tourism and Foreign Language Department (TFLD) It is suitable “for students with a basic knowledge of general English who now require an elementary course in English for specific purposes” (http://pearsonlongman.com/technicalenglish/level1/index.html) The course book consists of twelve units and each unit divided into three sub – themes The total number of teaching periods is 60 Therefore, with the limitation of class teaching, it requires students 90 hours for self – study and preparing new lessons
To help students in using English at their workplace in the future to read manuals, specifications, instructions or describe a process or working method, ect., the objective of the course book is to provide students with necessary English words, structures, expressions about technical fields in general and automotive engineering in particular
After taking the course, they can become familiar with different rhetorical functions of technical English and develop their ability to communicate in English about common and professional situation
2.1.2 The students’ English background and vocabulary learning
The majority of students of SDU come from rural areas and only a small number of students come from cities and town In addition, it cannot be denied that most of them failed the entrance examination to well – known national universities Most of these students are at primary level of English although they have learnt English since they were at secondary schools They learn English because it is a compulsory subject to complete the course; therefore, they always think that mark five is good enough and it is a waste of time to learn impractical subjects
What is more, it is characterized that all the students in AETD are male students who are not considered to be talented for social subjects, especially for English Therefore, in two courses of EGP (as mentioned, consists of 180 periods), they are provided with basic knowledge of grammar and vocabulary used in everyday life However, through two end – of – course tests, all the teachers find that students get rather low mark at vocabulary exercises They have problems in learning vocabulary It will become harder when they take EAE course because many technical words are strange to them as they encounter for the first time These technical terms will be easily forgotten due to low frequency of use
2.1.3 The teachers and current ESP teaching methods
The number of English teachers in TFLD of SDU is 20 whose age ranges from 23 to 48
All the teachers graduated from universities of foreign languages and five of them have Master degree, and the other five are taking MA courses Among them, there were 3 males, and 17 females Half of the teachers have experienced in English teaching for more than five years and the rest have taught English for one to five years
In teaching ESP, the teachers have been faced up with difficulties because of the lack of appropriate teaching methodology, knowledge and authentic materials about the field In addition, students’ mixed level of proficiency in large class, their low motivation as well as the time constraints are problems that the teachers encounter Therefore, most teachers at SDU usually introduce words through word lists with Vietnamese equivalent showing on the projector Vocabulary practice and consolidation base mainly on some kinds of exercises such as gap filling, word matching, technical terms and definitions matching, word – picture matching It can be seen that most exercises and activities focus on forms
The teachers centre the class by explaining and translating and students listen and take note passively Therefore, students’ motivation, interaction and communicative competence in the class are limited
Realizing the problems, teachers in ED are encouraged to apply teaching techniques and activities that can deal with their existential shortcomings
The study was conducted with the participation of 170 male - students of three classes from AETD They completed two courses of EGP when they were the first year students
ESP is taken in the first semester of the second year They are supposed to be at pre – intermediate level of English proficiency 15 out of that number were interviewed for more information to supplement the study
The study primarily employs a survey questionnaire to find answers for the research questions
To support the questionnaire data, interviews are carried out to obtain further information
The data is analysed quantively and qualitatively
To find answers to the research questions, the study collects data from pre – task survey questionnaires and post – task survey questionnaires for the students These questionnaires include both closed and open questions and are used as the primary data collection instrument and constructed in reference to “Questionnaire design” written by Eric Potter and Peter Spratt from Dakin University, 1995
The pre - task survey questionnaire for students including 11 questions was administered to
170 students It was designed with four main parts
Part 1 (question 1, 2) is expected to gather information about the students’ perception and purpose of learning ESP vocabulary
Part 2 (question 3, 4) is aimed to collect information about the students’ attitudes and their evaluation of ESP vocabulary in their course book
Part 3 (question 5, 6) is designed to find out the difficulties and the factors causing these difficulties that students often deal with when they learn ESP vocabulary
Part 4 (question 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) is intended to investigate the techniques employed by the teachers in teaching ESP vocabulary from students’ view
The post - task survey questionnaire was established with 10 questions and was designed
Part 1 including 4 questions (question 1, 2, 3) was given in order to explore the impact of simulation tasks on students’ interest and participation
Part 2 (question 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) was designed to discover the benefits of simulation tasks and measure, evaluate the effectiveness of simulation tasks toward ESP vocabulary learning
Part 3 (question 9, 10) was about the preferences and expectations of the teachers’ methodology
The author conducted an interview after the administration of student questionnaire in each class The interview was carried out in Vietnamese between the researcher and the students In each class 5 students were randomly selected for the interview, total number of interviewees is 15 The questions in the interview were basically based on those in the questionnaires, but they were extended to cover more open-ended questions to get thorough understanding of the reasons behind each choice Each conversation lasted for about 5 to 10 minutes
The procedures of the study were done through the following steps:
The researcher taught 3 classes of 170 students in two weeks to gain the basic information about their proficiency level and their attitude toward ESP learning, then asked them to complete the pre-task survey questionnaire
Some of the activities given in the course book were adapted by supplementing simulation tasks After three periods of applying simulation tasks, the author distributed post - task survey questionnaire to these students to investigate the effectiveness of the use of simulation tasks toward ESP vocabulary improvement of students
Data collected from the students’ pre – task questionnaire and from interview were used to find out the answers for the two first research questions: difficulties encountered by students when learning ESP vocabulary, the techniques employed by the teachers in teaching ESP vocabulary To find the answer for the most focus question on the use of simulation tasks to students’ ESP vocabulary improvement, data obtained from the students’ post – task questionnaire and from interview were exploite.
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
This chapter analysed the collected data from the pre – task survey questionnaires, the post – task questionnaires and the interviews to find the answers for the research questions
3.1 Data analysis of the pre - task survey questionnaires
The data obtained from the students’ pre – task questionnaires will be discussed to find out students’ evaluation of the course book, their difficulties in learning ESP vocabulary as well as the current techniques exploited in teaching ESP vocabulary before the application of simulation tasks
3.1.1 The students’ perception and purpose in learning ESP vocabulary 3.1.1.1 The students’ opinion of the important role of ESP vocabulary learning
Figure 1: Students' opinion of the importance of ESP vocabulary
Source: Question 1, pre - task questionnaire
As can be seen in figure 1, most students state ESP vocabulary learning is very important or important to their language learning which account for 45.88%, 48.24% respectively
Only 5.88% of the students have opposite ideas with that point of view Thus, the majority of the students realize the importance of ESP vocabulary in their language learning
3.1.1.2 The students’ purpose in learning ESP vocabulary
As mentioned above, students in SDU consider English a compulsory subject and most of them set their goal to get mark five, so passing the final exam is the important goal of great proportion of 82.34 % Few of them (7.06 %) learn ESP vocabulary for communicating in English in their field In addition, the number of students whose purpose in learning vocabulary to read specialized material in Automotive Engineering is rather low (8.24 %)
However, only 2.36 % of the students want to enrich vocabulary with technical term It can be concluded that students just want to reach their temporary goals They have no ambition of using English at their future workplace
Figure 2: Students' purpose in learning ESP vocabulary
Source: Question 2, pre - task questionnaire
3.1.2 Students’ evaluation of vocabulary in the coursebook English for Automotive Engineering 3.1.2.1 How many terminologies?
Figure 3: Students’ evaluation of the number of ESP terminologies
Source: Question 3, pre - task questionnaire
A To communicate in English in their field
B To pass the final exam
C To read specialized material in Automotive Engineering
D To enrich vocabulary with technical terms
Data in figure 3 reveals the quantity of terminology in the course book of English for Automotive Engineering It is clear that students have different evaluation of the amount of ESP terminologies introduced in their textbook More than half of the surveyed students (55.88%) find there are many words in the course book while 9.41 % of them voice that too many new words are presented It can be thought of the topics in ESP which are different from the topics in GEP and unfamiliar with the students Only a small proportion of 5.29 % of students report that amount is not much The rest of 29.42 % shows that amount is suitable to their English knowledge
3.1.2.2 How difficult is the terminology?
Figure 4: Students’ evaluation of the difficulty level of ESP terminologies
Source: Question 4, pre - task questionnaire
When asked about their opinion of how difficult the ESP vocabulary is, 61.6 % of the students agree that the terminology in the textbook is difficult Thus, the reason why so many students state that the terminologies are variable and not easy should be taken into consideration
As mentioned about, the course book was redesigned basing on the Technical English 1 (Longman) which is suitable “for students with a basic knowledge of general English who now require an elementary course in English for specific purposes” Therefore, it can be concluded that students’ basic knowledge of EGP is not good enough and the teachers’ method is unsuitable
3.1.3 The students’ difficulties in learning ESP vocabulary 3.1.3.1 Difficulties encountered by students when learning ESP vocabulary
Figure 5: Students’ difficulties in learning ESP vocabulary
Source: Question 5, pre - task questionnaire
To investigate difficulties encountered by students when learning ESP vocabulary and the factors causing that problem, two multiple – choice questions are designed Therefore, the result is presented in percentage based on options chosen
It is factual that students face many problems in leaning ESP vocabulary As seen in the above part, students find vocabulary difficult It is clearly shown in figure 5 that different learners have different difficulties 75 29 % of the participants claim that pronunciation is the most difficult item when learning ESP vocabulary Besides, 68.82 % of the learners reveal that word meaning troubles them much They easily forget the words they have learnt even though they spend much time on learning new words The next ranked difficulty (39.41%) is how to use the words in correct contexts The fact shows that many learners complain that they know a certain number of words but they cannot use them in exact situations Figure 5 indicates that respondents have little trouble in word spelling
None of the participants claims other difficulties in their vocabulary learning process
Figure 6: Factors caused students’ difficulties in learning ESP vocabulary
Source: Question 6, pre - task questionnaire
Referring to factors that lead to their difficulties, 69.41% of the students state they do not have a chance to practice vocabulary in the class Maybe, this factor troubles students’ pronunciation much To pronounce a word correctly, it is necessary to look up its transcription in the dictionary, then listen to the tape and repeat It also requires learners to a have basic knowledge of phonetic rules However, time constraints as well as large classes do not permit the teachers to carefully teach pronunciation Besides, most students (57.56%) also admit that their vocabulary learning method is ineffective The author has interviewed the students to find out the ways they learn new words They usually write down the words and the meaning or make a word list It can be concluded that they only pay attention to spelling They find it hard to remember word meaning or the word usage
It is noticeable that over a quarter of the students (25.29%) say that the lesson is boring It is understandable as 34.12% of the students have the idea that the terminologies appear longer, stranger and more difficult to pronounce and memorize than GEP vocabulary
Other prominent opinion reports that the teachers do not check vocabulary regularly so they have little motivation to learn words, or the teachers do not provide them some proper vocabulary learning strategies Therefore, vocabulary teaching methods should be considered
A Your vocabulary learning method is ineffective
B You do not have chance to practice vocabulary in the class
C You find the lesson boring
D The terminologies are strange and rather different from the meaning in EGP
3.1.4 Techniques exploited by the teachers in teaching ESP vocabulary 3.1.4.1 Techniques exploited by the teachers in presenting ESP vocabulary
Figure 7: Frequency of techniques used in presenting ESP vocabulary
Source: Question 7, pre - task questionnaire
Findings from figure 7 indicate that a large number of students (95.29.5%) report that their teachers often translate terminologies in Vietnamese, the second technique that the teachers employ frequently is visual aid (79.41%) and 7.65% of the students say their teachers usually present ESP words by using learned language such synonyms, antonyms It can be explained that these activities are time saving and are the most traditional techniques
Illustrating situation and using definitions of explanation in the dictionary are not used frequently It is reasonable that it is difficult to illustrate situations in presenting ESP vocabulary while the teachers have the knowledge of language solely and do not know much about automotive engineering field It also can be seen that all the five listed activities are exploited by the teachers but less regularly
Figure 8: Students’ preference toward vocabulary presenting technique
Source: Question 8, pre - task questionnaire
According to data in figure 8, 62.35% of the sample prefers the teachers’ giving examples in presenting ESP vocabulary to giving related words/ lexical sets/ collocation/ word family (26.47%) or giving isolated words then students repeat in chorus and individual (11.18%) It can be thought that through examples, word retention will be improved and learning words in relation will be a great help in enriching vocabulary None of the respondents wants the teacher to use the target language to define new words
3.1.4.2 Techniques exploited by the teachers in practising ESP vocabulary
Figure 9: Students’ preference toward vocabulary practising technique
Source: Question 9, pre - task questionnaire
B Giving related words/ lexical sets/ collocation/ word - family
C Giving isolated word then students repeat in chorus and individual
D Using the target language to define new word
D Guess the meanings from the context
The figure above clearly indicates that teachers’ using vocabulary exercises such as multiple choices, gap filling, word matching attracts most of the participant (80.59%) It is relevant to the respondents’ purpose of learning ESP vocabulary as showed in question 2: they are interested in practising those types of exercises to pass the final exam Guessing meaning from context and doing crossword gain the proportion of 2.35% and 9.41% respectively It can be seen that besides achieving their goal, students highly appreciate a relaxing learning environment in the classroom
3.1.4.3 Techniques exploited by the teachers in consolidating ESP vocabulary
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Figure 10: Students’ preference toward vocabulary consolidating technique
Source: Question 10, pre - task questionnaire
