Designing some theme based english units of finance for esp students at quang binh economic school

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES  DOAN THI PHUONG NGA DESIGNING SOME THEME-BASED ENGLISH UNITS OF FINANCE FOR ESP STUDENTS AT QUANG BINH ECONOMIC SCHOOL MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2013 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES  DOAN THI PHUONG NGA DESIGNING SOME THEME-BASED ENGLISH UNITS OF FINANCE FOR ESP STUDENTS AT QUANG BINH ECONOMIC SCHOOL MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Dr TRAN VAN PHUOC HUE, 2013 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ  ĐOÀN THỊ PHƢƠNG NGA THIẾT KẾ MỘT SỐ BÀI HỌC TIẾNG ANH TÀI CHÍNH DỰA VÀO QUAN ĐIỂM CHỦ ĐỀ DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH Ở TRƢỜNG TRUNG CẤP KINH TẾ QUẢNG BÌNH LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60140111 NGƢỜI HƢỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS TS TRẦN VĂN PHƢỚC HUẾ, 2013 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in this thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere Author Doan Thi Phuong Nga iii ABSTRACT The study attempted to design some theme-based English units of Finance which might be used as a suggested teaching material for the ESP course of Finance at Quang Binh Economic School (QBES) Hence, the research focuses mainly on exploring the students‟ needs in learning English for Finance (EF), examining the reality of teaching and learning EF at QBES, and highlighting some suggestions and solutions to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning EF at QBES A combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches was employed in this study The data collection methods included questionnaires, interviews and experimental teaching The subjects of the study consisted of 100 students, ESP teachers and 10 content teachers at QBES The findings revealed that EF should be taught not only as a subject in the training curriculum but also as a crucial tool to support students for their future jobs The results from students‟ needs analysis enabled the researcher to design a themebased syllabus of Finance and two sample units with the balance of the integrated language skills and language elements in a unit to provide them with the opportunities to improve their language competence and professional knowledge as well On the basis of the findings, some pedagogical implications for making ESP course of Finance more effectively were suggested, limitations of the study were pointed out and further researches were also proposed The study was conducted with the hope of making contribution a significant part to the development of ESP course of Finance at QBES iv Foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Tran Van Phuoc, for his professional guidance, insightful comments, helpful suggestions and constant encouragement in the preparation and completion of this thesis I would like to convey my sincere thankfulness to Dr Bao Kham, Assoc Prof Dr Truong Vien and Assoc Prof Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong for their valuable advice to my thesis I am indebted to the lecturers who gave me precious instructions during my M.A course for their precious lectures at Hue College of Foreign Languages and the reference materials’ authors whose ideas inspired me throughout the writing process I am also grateful to my colleagues, especially the leaders of Quang Binh Economic School, where I have been working for their assistance, support and encouragement during the time I carried out this study Last but not least, I would like to devote my special thanks to my beloved family who created favourable conditions and v supported me both spiritually and materially to implement this thesis v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS SUB COVER PAGE i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi LIST OF TABLES xii LIST OF FIGURES xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the research 1.2 Research purposes 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research significance .3 1.5 Scope of the research 1.6 Structure of the thesis .4 CHAPTER 2:LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .5 2.1 English books for Finance in Vietnam and other countries .5 2.1.1 English books for Finance in Vietnam 2.1.2 English books for Finance in other countries 2.2 Concepts and key terms 2.2.1 What is ESP? 2.2.2 What is English for Finance? 2.3 Syllabus 10 2.3.1 Definitions of syllabus 10 2.3.2 Types of syllabus 11 2.3.3 Theme-based syllabus 13 2.3.3.1 Definition of theme-based syllabus 13 vii 2.3.3.2 Characteristics of theme-based syllabus 14 2.3.4 Syllabus design and principles for designing an ESP syllabus of Finance 16 2.3.4.1 Syllabus design 16 2.3.4.2 Principles for designing an ESP syllabus of Finance 17 2.4 Materials design 19 2.4.1 Principles for designing materials 19 2.4.2 A framework for materials design 20 2.4.3 Selecting materials 20 2.4.3.1 Selecting themes 20 2.4.3.2 Selecting contents 21 2.5 Needs analysis 22 2.5.1 Definitions of needs analysis 22 2.5.2 Types of needs 24 2.5.2.1 Target needs 24 2.5.2.2 Learning needs 24 2.6 The current syllabus at Quang Binh Economic School 25 2.7 Summary .26 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 Research approach 27 3.2 Participants .28 3.3 Instruments for data collection .28 3.3.1 Questionnaires 28 3.3.2 Interviews 30 3.3.3 Experimental teaching 30 3.4 Data analysis 30 3.5 Procedure 31 3.6 Summary .32 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 33 4.1 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions on learning EF .33 4.1.1 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ responses to the purposes of learning EF 33 viii 4.1.2 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of the importance of EF to students‟ future careers 35 4.1.3 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ responses to the necessity of improving language skills and language elements in the ESP course of Finance 36 4.2 The current issues on teaching and learning EF at QBES 38 4.2.1 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ evaluation on the currently used ESP materials of Finance 38 4.2.1.1 General assessment on the currently used ESP materials of Finance .38 4.2.1.2 Assessment on vocabulary, reading texts and grammatical structures 41 4.2.2 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ evaluation on the use of teaching techniques in ESP class of Finance 43 4.2.2.1 Responses to the use of teaching aids .44 4.2.2.2 Responses to the application of classroom activities 45 4.2.2.3 Responses to the use of teaching approaches 46 4.2.3 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ responses on the difficulties in teaching and learning EF 48 4.3 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ suggestions to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning EF at QBES 50 4.3.1 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ opinions about the necessity of redesigning the ESP course book of Finance 50 4.3.2 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ opinions about themes of Finance 51 4.3.3 Criteria of a good theme-based ESP course book of Finance 53 4.3.4 ESP teachers‟ and students‟ suggestions to improve the quality of ESP course of Finance at QBES 55 4.4 The preliminary experiments: two sample theme-based English units of Finance for ESP students at QBES 57 4.4.1 Description of the sample units 57 4.4.2 Two sample theme-based English units of Finance (see Appendix 4) 57 4.4.3 Students‟ feedbacks on the two experimental units 58 4.5 Summary .59 ix CHAPTER Here is a sample of an English check Look at the sentences provided below and then match them with the suitable places on the check by writing the number The name of the payee goes on the first line If you want to withdraw money from the bank, just write cash or self Your check is personal to you Each check is printed with your name and account number The check is only valid if it is dated and your signature is in the bottom righ hand corner Keep a record of how much you have spent Some checkbooks have stubs or counterfoils, on which you can write the details of your transactions Each check has its own number Each bank branch has its own number called a bank sort code Write the amount clearly in ink in words and in figures 01 01 01 20th November 2013 Miami Fashion Ltd Old Balance 570.66 PAY Deposits Total  570.66 This 364.00 Cheque New 206.66 Balance 806938 Shoestring bank limited Morgantown Branch Date: 20th November 2013 OR ORDER Miami Fashion Ltd Three hundred and sixty-four pounds only £ 364.00p Peter Moore Peter Moore 806938 01 01 01 105 03343473 UNIT CHAPTER SECTION C SPEAKING In pairs, take turns to ask and answer the following questions Find the answers on the bank statement below What month is the statement for? How much money was in Maria‟s account at the beginning of the month? How many deposits did Maria make during the month? When did Maria withdraw money from the ATM? How many checks did the bank pay? When did the bank pay check #4645? How much money did Maria put into her account on January 27th? How much money was in her account on January 31st? How many withdrawals and fees was her account deducted? 106 UNIT CHAPTER San Diego Federal Banks 1234 Main Street San Diego, CA 92150 MONTHLY STATEMENT Member No 717488 Ending Date 1-31-03 Maria Lopez 1617 Law St San Diego, CA Data Transaction Description Checking Account Account #2 JAN03 JAN04 JAN04 JAN04 JAN04 JAN06 JAN12 CHECK 4643 CHECK 4644 MONTHLY SERVICE FEE ATM WITHDRAWAL – SAN DIEGO FEDERAL CHECK 4645 CHECK 4647 ATM WITHDRAWAL – FIRST NATIONAL BANK JAN12 JAN17 JAN19 JAN21 JAN23 JAN27 ATM WITHDRAWAL FEE CHECK 4648 DEPOSIT EKSON GAS STATION CHECK 4646 DEPOSIT JAN31 NEW BALANCE CHK # DATE 4643 JAN03 4644 JAN04 4645 JAN06 4646 JAN23 4647 JAN06 4648 JAN17 Amount Charge Previous Balance 600.00257.999.0040.0032.9876.0120.001.501.0029.11973.2921.7319.8645.00- Balance 1.752.76 152.76 894.77 885.77 845.77 812.79 736.78 715.28 714.28 685.17 1658.46 1636.73 1616.87 1661.87 1661.87 AMOUNT 600.00 257.99 32.98 19.86 76.01 29.11 DEPOSITS DATE JAN19 JAN27 TOTAL DEPOSITS AMOUNT 973.29 45.00 1018.29 WITHDRAWALS AND FEES DATE AMOUNT JAN04 40.00 JAN04 9.00 JAN12 21.50 JAN12 1.00 JAN21 21.73 TOTAL WITHDRAWALS AND FEES 93.23 Adapted from Financial Literacy Lessons for ESL Students 107 UNIT CHAPTER Discuss the following question in groups and then report to the class Is the method of recordkeeping between savings accounts and checking accounts same or different? Explain your choice? SECTION D TRANSLATION Translate the following sentences into English Séc lệnh viết mà chủ tài khoản yêu cầu ngân hàng toán tiền cho người công ty ghi tên tờ séc Sổ séc sổ nhỏ với tờ séc in sẵn mà bạn ký sử dụng thay tiền để tốn cho dich vụ mua sắm bạn Khi bạn viết séc cho người thụ hưởng, bạn nên điền vào cuống séc để làm chứng từ lưu giữ cho thân Nếu ngân hàng nhận lệnh hoãn chi từ chủ tài khoản séc khơng tốn séc viết thu khách hàng khoản phí Nếu số dư tài khoản bạn lại $200.000 bạn viết tờ séc với lượng tiền $220.000, điều có nghĩa bạn viết séc vượt qua số dư tài khoản Trong trường hợp ngân hàng đóng dấu vào tờ séc cụm từ “Lượng tiền khơng đủ”, trả lại thu bạn khoản tiền phạt Useful language: - stop payment order (n) lệnh hoãn chi - overdrawn (adj) vượt số dư - insufficient fund (n) lượng tiền không đủ - penalty (n) tiền phạt 108 UNIT CHAPTER  LISTENING SECTION E BEFORE YOU LISTEN Work in pairs: Discuss the following questions Have you got an account in the bank? What bank accounts did you open? How much money should you leave in your account to get the services free of charge? Listen and repeat deposit paycheck balance transfer interest certificate of deposit loan safety deposit box WHILE YOU LISTEN Listen to Anna’s talking and then choose the best answer A, B, or C for the following questions What did Anna go to the bank to yesterday?  A to open an account  B to close a savings account  C to open a checking and savings account How much money does she deposit into her savings account every month?  A $300  B $400  C $500 How can Anna get the services free of charge from her checking account?  A if she maintains a maximum balance of $25 in the account  B if she maintains a minimum balance of $25 in the account  C if she maintains a minimum balance of over $25 in the account 109 UNIT CHAPTER Which statement is true about the certificate of deposit?  A The certificate of deposit pays a same rate of interest to other accounts  B The certificate of deposit pays a lower rate of interest than other accounts  C The certificate of deposit pays a higher rate of interest than other accounts What does she rent a safety deposit box at the bank for?  A storing her valuables  B storing her belongings  C storing her assets Listen again and fill in the gaps with the missing Anna wants to _ money each month in her _ to save money for major purchases or unexpected expenses Her _ is deposited directly into her _ She issues _ to pay her _ The amount of _ automatically _ from my checking account to my savings account on a monthly basis She needs _ to plan on taking out a student _ to pay for college tuition AFTER YOU LISTEN Anna says that she deposits money into her savings account to save money and earn some interest, even very little Do you agree and disagree with her? Exchange your ideas with your partner Take turns to talk about Anna‟s plan after opening the account 110 UNIT CHAPTER SECTION F GRAMMAR PASSIVE VOICE Find and underline the passive verbs in the reading passage in Section A.II Example: A monthly statement is used to record all transactions of a checking account holder with the bank I FORM AND USE Form S + to be + V_ p.p + O The passive can be used in various tenses The passive forms of a verb are created by combining a form of the “to be verb” with the past participle of the main verb Use We use the passive when: o we want to make the active object more important o we not know the active subject Example: - President Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald - My wallet has been stolen II PRACTICE Rewrite the sentences below using the correct form of the passive Omit the agent if it isn’t important David Kent set up the bank in 1980 To begin with, Kent and his board divided the bank into five departments Since then, they have expanded the bank into six departments A manager heads each department The bank now employs the total of 2,000 people They are building a new head office with the number of 1,000 staff They will complete the new building next year Adapted from Intelligent Business 111 UNIT ANSWER KEYS UNIT SECTION A: READING 1 term deposit account current assets/ fixed assets the high rate of interest assets/ liabilities withdrawal slip Because many customers get their paychecks on Fridays and they come to the bank to deposit them A customer needs a passbook to record all his transactions Customers often forget to endorse their checks and sign with all the parties in a joint account They much of the work that the tellers used to They are able to accomplish more difficult tasks and help the tellers serve the customers better Because the bank is solvent and growing SECTION B: VOCABULARY PRACTICE 1 solvent deposit slip passbook window party liabilities teller rate of interest 10 assets balance sheet Please fill in this piece of paper You should remember to sign on the slip The bank makes a great effort to accommodate all its customers In order to cash and deposit money you must endorse this check What is the current rate of interest on savings accounts? SECTION D: TRANSLATION Nếu khách hàng muốn tích lũy tiền nơi an tồn kiếm lãi, mở tài khoản ngân hàng tài khoản gọi tài khoản tiết kiệm 112 Ngày nay, loại tài khoản tiết kiệm khác chẳng hạn tài khoản tiết kiệm thông thường, chứng tiền gửi, tài khoản tiền tệ, v.v có sẳn hầu hết ngân hàng để phục vụ cho nhu cầu khác khách hàng Điều quan trọng khách hàng nên lựa chọn loại tài khoản mà thỏa mãn nhu cầu tài họ Chứng tiền gửi loại tiền gửi có kỳ hạn mà thường trả lãi suất cao loại tài khoản tiết kiệm thông thường khác Khi khách hàng giao dịch với tài khoản tiết kiệm, họ cần sổ sổ gọi sổ tiết kiệm Sổ sử dụng để ghi chép toàn hoạt động giao dịch họ với ngân hàng chẳng hạn tiền gửi, tiền rút, tiền lãi số dư Mỗi lần khách hàng đến ngân hàng để gửi rút tiền, nhân viên ngân hàng đưa cho anh tờ phiếu tờ phiếu gọi phiếu gửi rút tiền Khách hàng yêu cầu để điền đầy đủ thơng tin vào tờ phiếu SECTION E: WRITING £20 £160 £52 £160.35 £106.20 Date: June 15th, 2013 140 Notes: £20 £10 25 £5 £1 Coins: 50p Silver Bronze 85 Total of cash 165 85 Total of checks 365 35 To add up 531 20 Date: June 15th, 2013 Notes: £20 140 £10 £5 25 £1 Coins: 50p Silver Bronze Account holding branch: The Parade, Morgantown 85 Total of cash 165 85 Total of Checks 365 35 To add up 531 20 Account in name of: Jane Carson A/c No 9 Paid in by: 113 (1)Hello My name Jane Carson (2) I've just opened a savings account to get some interest and my account number is 9963482 (3) The branch is in The Parade, Morgantown (4) Yesterday was on June 14th in 2003 and I got my salarycheque (5) Now I'm in the bank to pay this money into my account (6) I have twenty-pound notes; five-pound note and 85 pence (7) I don't have any silver coins but I have bronze one (8) In addition to cash, I would like to deposit a check of £365.35 into it (9) Now I am filling in the paying-in slip, but I don't know how to write the money Can you help? SECTION F: GRAMMAR My father isn't used to working in these bad conditions How did you get used to working in the middle of this mess? Did you use to eat a lot of sweets when you were a child? I need some time to get used to living in this city That building is now a cinema It used to be a hotel She‟ll get used to living in the extremely cold winter of Siberia My father didn‟t use to drink much wine But now he has become addicted to it There used to be a lot of trees in this forest They have all been cut down UNIT SECTION A: READING 2F 3T 4T 5T 1F A customer needs at least $50 or $100 to open a checking account Some personal data that a bank asks to a customer when he opens a checking account are his address, phone number, social security number and a photo ID The purpose of a signature card or form is to provide an official signature that the bank can compare to the signature written on checks 114 It shows checks, withdrawals, deposits, beginning and ending balance, service charges or other fees, interest The account checking holder should reconcile a bank statement after receiving a bank statement SECTION B: VOCABULARY PRACTICE 1J O I N T A 6C C O U N T 3D E 8D N C E R B A I N T S H 2F E 7W C I K T 4B H O 5D R E P E A O 10S K I L I A T U C 9T A G A W N C A A T L T I U O R N E S 115 01 01 01 20th November 2013 Miami Fashion Ltd Old Balance Deposits 570.66  PAY Total Shoestring bank limited Morgantown Branch Miami Fashion Ltd Date: 20th November 2013 OR ORDER Three hundred and sixty-four pounds £ 364.00p only 570.66 This 364.00 Cheque New 206.66 Balance 806938 Peter Moore 3 806938 01 01 01 Peter Moore 03343473 SECTION C: SPEAKING The statement is for January Money in Maria‟s account at the beginning of the month was 1.752.76 The total of deposits that Maria made during the month was 1018.29 Maria withdrawed money from the ATM on January 4th and January 12th There are checks that the bank paid The bank paid check #4648 on January 17th Maria put 45.00 into her account Money in her account on January 31st was 1661.87 93.23 SECTION D: TRANSLATION A check is a written order that an account holder asks a bank to pay money to a person or company named on the check A checkbook is a small book of printed checks that you can sign and use instead of money to pay your purchases When you write a check to a payee, you should keep an own record by filling in the counterfoil 116 If a bank receives a stop payment order from a checking account holder, it will not pay a written check and charge him a fee If the balance in your checking account remains $200,000 and you write a check for $220,000, it means that you are overdrawn In this case, the bank marks the check “Insufficient funds”, returns it and charges a penalty SECTION E: LISTENING 1C 2A 3B 4C 5A deposit / savings account $100/ transferred paycheck/ checking account money/ loan checks/ bills Tapescript: Yesterday, I went to a bank to open up a savings and checking account I deposit about $300 every month in my savings account to save money for major purchases or for a rainy day when I have unexpected expenses My paycheck is deposited directly into my checking account, and I write out checks to pay my bills My checking account is free if I maintain a minimum balance of $25 in the account I also have about $100 automatically transferred from my checking account to my savings account on a monthly basis The accounts earn very little interest, but it's better than earning nothing Therefore, I also have a certificate of deposit that earns a higher rate of interest, but I can't withdraw the money from the account for one year Actually, I need money because I'm planning on taking out a student loan to pay for college tuition Also, I rent a safety deposit box at the bank and store my valuables there including important documents, some coins and jewelry, and the deed, or ownership record, to my house Finally, I can exchange my money into the currency of other countries, or I can buy traveller's checks before I depart on a trip http://www.dailyesl.com/bank-services.htm 117 SECTION F: GRAMMAR The bank was set up in 1980 by David Kent To begin with, the bank was divided into five departments by Kent and his board Since then, the bank has been expanded into six departments Each department is headed by a manager The total of 2,000 people is employed now A new head office is being built with the number of 1,000 staff The new building will be completed next year 118 APPENDIX EVALUATION FORM What are your general assessments about the two units? What you think about the content of the lessons and the unit structures? Which parts in the two units are you most interested in? Please state the reasons? What you think about the teaching facilities used in your ESP class? Would you like to make any changes to the two units (layout of unit, parts in a unit, learning materials, activities/ tasks, teaching facilities, teaching techniques, etc.)? 119