Characteristics of communicative English A study on application of English teaching for non language major classes at Quang Binh University

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES  LE THI HANG Characteristics of communicative English: A study on application of English teaching for non- language major classes at Quang Binh University Academic field: Applied linguistics Ref No: 62.22.01.05 DOCTORAL THESIS IN PHILOLOGY HANOI, 2014 This research was completed at GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Name of supervisors: Assoc Prof Dr Vu Thi Thanh Huong Reviewer 1: Prof Dr Nguyen Van Khang Reviewer 2: Prof Dr Mai Ngoc Chu Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof.Lam Quang Dong This dissertation will be defended to academic evaluation committee of the Graduate academy of social sciences, held at: at…… am, October 2014 The thesis can be found at: National Library of Vietnam Library of Graduate academy of social siences Library of Institute of linguistics PREAMBLE Rational The tendency towards communicative language teaching (CLT) appeared in 1970s, since then this learning - teaching approach has developed worldwide and brought about highly educating and training effects for the learner However, there is no one specific model applicable to all trained subjects and instructing environment nor are there any studies to understand the nature of CLT and the way to adapt this approach to teaching non-major English at univerities in Vietnam That is the main reasons urging us to select the thesis title ‘Characteristics of communicative English: A study on application of English teaching for non- language major classes at Quang Binh University’ Review of previous studies 2.1 Previous studies in the world CLT has so far developed and expanded in its different aspects, the British and American initiators considered it as the way or approach to gain the target communicative competence Curriculum development, syllabus design, materials and facilities, learning-teaching activities were researched and applied basing on the fundamental characteristics of communicative language and theories of second or foreign language acquisition process of human beings Teaching activities and techniques are designed and created to enhance excitement and motivation for learning and help the learner to use language in natural communication contexts or in connection with real life Nevertheless, the primary tenets and approaches of CLT have mainly been studied in English speaking countries or those in the Council of Europe It is, therefore, neccessary to carry out research with the aim of understanding more thoroughly the nature of CLT and how to adapt it to specific trained subjects and educating environment 2.2 Previous studies and application of communicative English teaching for non-major language university students in Vietnam Our preliminary survey shows that there were not many studies on characteristics of communicative English and application of communicative English teaching to non English major students in Vietnam There was only ‘an investigation into the application of communicative language teaching to non-English major students in Thai Nguyên College of Economics and Finance, school year 2007-2008 A Vietnamese Experience’ studied by Nguyen Thi Minh Thu The results indicate the effectiveness and importance of adapting this approach to teaching English speaking skills for students Most studies focused on searching for the causes of low English teaching results and solutions to the problems Aims, questions and contents of the study 3.1 Aims of the study The author’s study purpose is to further the understanding of the nature of CLT and learn how to teach English effectively for non English major students at Quang Binh University 3.2 Research questions In order to achieve the study bjectives, the thesis poses three research questions as follows: What are characteristics of communicative English? and what characteristics English learning classes in communicative approach have? What are properties and conditions of English teaching at Quang Binh University? Which of those have/have not met requirements of CLT? How to teach communicatve English writing for non English major students at the Quang Binh University? 3.3 Contents of the study To answer each research question we will respectively carry out the research contents as follows: a, Analysis and synthesize previous studies of theory and reality on properties of English under the context of communication theory, and characteristics of English learning classes in communicative approach b, Investigate the reality of teaching-learning, and needs analysis written English learning of non-language majors students of courses 49 to 52 at Quang Binh University c, Teach pedagogical experiment in communicative English writing for nonlanguage majors students of courses 49 to 53 to find out the appropriate ways to apply CLT effectively to teaching English for non-language major students at Quang Binh University Objects and scope of the study The objects of our study are properties of communicative English and applying it to learning-teaching English Subjects whom are applied to this teaching approach are non-language major students at Quang Binh University In this study, we will only focus on the application of teaching of communicative English writing and carry out investigations, verification, and experiment with non-language major students of courses 49 to 53 Research Methodology The researcher has used the following research methods: - Description, - Analysis and synthesis, - Observation, - Testing - Podagogical experiment - Questionnaire - Interview - Comparison and contrast - Statistical procedures New contributions of the thesis - Theoretical contributions: the reasearcher analyzed, synthesized, and linked a wide range of relatively new resources to draw out some basic characteristics of communicative English and make sense of the nature of communicative language teaching - Practical contributions: the autor initially identified appropriate ways to apply teaching communicative English writing to subjects of the study Organization of the thesis Besides introduction, conclusion, references, and appendixes, the thesis consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: Theoretical background Chapter 2: Reality of English teaching-learning and needs analysis of learning English writing of non-language majors at Quang Binh University Chapter 3: Pidagogical experiment in teaching of communicative English writing for non-language majors at Quang Binh University CHAPTER THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Characteristics of communicative English The term communicative English in this thesis refers to the English style in association with communication function which is used to exchange and negotiate meanings 1.1.1 Transactional model of communication process To better understand the characteristics of English communication, we will revise the transactional model of communication process of DC Barnlund (1970) Looking at the chart 1.1, we can see that the participants not merely mean to send and receive from one person to another and then feedback to each other, but rather they are building a common meaning through this process Shared meaning lies in the area where the two ovals intersect with each other The keys to communicate successfully are not only to master conventions of using codes or transmitting intact contents of a message but also to pay attention to a wide rang of other related problems such as non-verbal cues, context, cultural values, noise, styles and preferences of the listener or reader to have a communication strategy accordingly Two dimensions Commuincator A Social systems Commuincator B Channel Field of Field of experience Code interactions over time experience Meaing Shared meaning Meaing Shared field of experience Feedback Noise Message Context Chart 1.1 Transactional model of communication adapted from DC Barnlund’s viewpoints 1.1.2 Characteristics of communicative English 1.1.2.1 Primary characteristics Like all languages, communicative English has six following basic properties: duality, displacement, productivity, discreteness, arbitrary, and cultural transmission The first four properties force the learner or the user to use English flexibly and creatively One meaning can be expressed in a variety of language forms and one word can be combined with other words in different ways to express different meanings Displacement probably help people use language with 'poetry function', for example, they may use rhetorical forms to indicate other latent meanings Productivity and discreteness can help users express and understand meanings of sentences they never heard before thanks to their mastering grammar and reasoning skills Therefore, learners have to learn to memorize common conventions of using codes such as the rules of syntax, pragmatics, semantics and phonetics The arbitrary, and cultural transmission make students learn to grasp the cultural characteristics of the target communities as norms, habits - customs, beliefs, attitudes and values which rule over their communication behaviors 1.1.2.2 Functional characteristics The main function of English is a means of communication to express meanings, for example, expressing gratitude, asking for directions, verbalizing the knowledge of certain topics, etc However, one meaning can be expressed and interpreted in different ways, so the dual function of communicative English is means to exchange and negotiate meanings with the aim of achieving a common meaning or any communication purposes Besides, English has got fuction of a foreign language used to meet the communication needs of the social community groups whose first language is not English With the role of international communication language, English has both the functions of the first language and those of a language of intercultural and international communication 1.1.2.3 Characteristics of stylistics and register In terms of style, English can be varied from the ritual, the formal, the negotiating, the casual to the intimate in order to accommodate the user achieve their communication goals Register is governed by the relationship of three elements: topics, roles of participants and communication channels Therefore, the language always associates with the communication environment and the user’s needs Based on the topics regularly referred to, situations of context, roles of participants, and communication channel, English can be classified into a variety of types such as General English, Academic English etc Stylistics and register have reciprocal relationship impacting and governing each other Depending on the type of English taught, conventions of style and selection of register such as vocabulary, grammar, genre will be designed to facilitate the goal of that teaching 1.1.2.4 Socio-cultural characteristics where the language is used To communicate naturally and effectively, people must be harmoniously combined elements dominating communicative activities in languages Those contain setting and scene, participants, ends, act sequence, key, instrumentalities, norms, and genre Defining the content of those elements depend entirely on the social context where the language is used Relying on the communication context, the purpose of the action, social norms, type of the text in question, the participants will establish their social roles and those of their partners, then they select and use appropriate language Therefore, communicative English always indicate sociocultural features in which it is used 1.2 Communicative approach in second languages teaching Putting of English teaching in communicative approach into practice of a foreign language classroom concern a number of problems Its primary process is probably perceived from the sytematic model of syllabus design adapted from Brown that you can see in the feagure 1.5 Of those, needs analysis to determine syllabus objectives, testing and evaluation take up vitally important stages in CLT process Needs analysis Objectives Testing Evaluation Materials Teaching Chart 1.5 Sytematic model of syllabus design (adapted from Brown, 1996) 11 2.3 Research and propose solutions application of teaching communicative English writing 2.3.1 Review of some theoretical matters related to teaching communicative English writing 2.3.1.1 Communication by written English Writting communication is a communication activity where people use writing language symbols to exchange meanings with one another, but the other non-verbal means can be used to support, illustrate, and supplement meaning of the message 2.3.1.2 The nature of writing Writing is an action that has got both material and spiritual characteristics At the most basic scope, writing is a physical act to transfer ideas on a certain means, it may be the pictograms on leather or an electronic message typed on the computer On the other hand, writing is also a brain-related activity to reflect in the creation of the ideas, to think of ways to express them, and to align them into statements and passages which are clear with the readers 2.3.1.3 Developing proficiency in written communicative English for lower learners When learning to write, there are two major matters that emerge and parallel with each other: learn to understand the knowledge for serving of communication activities also known as communicative competence and learn to have the ability of conscious communication, also known as communicative performance Rivers (1975) called them respectively: support-skill/skill-getting and skill-using For students at low level, teaching communicative English writing focuses more on skill-getting But Savignon, a scholar of communicative approach, confirmed that learners can perform activities to obtain communcation ability from the beginning, and that it is not necessary to learn the language structures in such a mechanical and traditional manner 12 To balance the skill-getting and skill-using, the best solution is to limit code consolidation activities by selecting the substitute activities contextually, in order to express personalized meannings and design exercises using language in a full context For example, simple description with illustrations, spelling, fill out the form or creative writing activities with free writing practices Free writing practices can be applied for students at this level by writing daily news journal, diary, or cinquain poem 2.3.1.4 Principles for teaching English writing at non-language major universities in Vietnam Based on the communicative English teaching method, the author Hoang Van Van (2010) proposed six principles of teaching English at Universities in Vietnam as follows: Although communication English teaching method is divided into four skill areas (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and aspects of language (phonology, grammar, vocabulary); these areas should not be treated (taught) separately Consequently, if the writing is central of a lecture, it must be supported by other skills While learning writing skill, students must perform tasks as many as possible The role of the teacher is to guide and organize the writing activities for learners, and to monitor and promote those activities The learners must work together through activities in pairs or in groups Discuss importance in generating ideas and organizing ideas, and to discover what they want to express, even when the individuals carry out writing activities When students work in pairs or in groups, teachers must monitor carefully to ensure that this work is carried out smoothly Make corrections and give tips can be made when necessary Although self-assessment must be conducted, the students often want the teacher’s assessment on what they wrote, but this work should be done after the students have tried to correct their writing 13 The learners must discuss with classmates about the writing so that they become reader of one another This is an important part of writing experience because by reponding as a reader, the students learn to develop their awareness of the fact that the writer produces something for others to read And through reading the products of others, students will develop the ability to read their writing in a critical way While making corfections for the students’ writing, the teachers must: - introduce the system correction symbols; each symbol is used for a type of error; for example, sp for spelling errors, voc for vocabulary errors, gr for grammatical errors, t for the tense error, and a for agreement error, etc.; - focus on the general error, should not focus on the small errors; that is, to focus on errors that cause big misunderstanding rather than those casing not or less misunderstanding; - show the students about their progress by giving a short comment but generalize their progress Depending on the real requirements and characteristics of each specific class, teachers can deploy it in a flexible manner Although the teaching – learning principles above are based on communicatve approach, applied sobjects have reached level a2 and continue to learn level B1 or higher There is no study on describing the principles of teaching communicative English writing for students whose levels of proficiency lower A2 2.3.1.5 Testing and evaluating competence of communicative English writing The evaluation of communicative English ability of students includes multiple elements, depending on the requirments of qualification level The assessment includes the evaluation of written products based on analysis criteria and overall criteria 14 2.3.2 Propose solutions for teaching teaching communicative English writing for non-language majors at Quang Binh University 2.3.2.1 Syllabus design For apply teaching communicative English writing for students in credit system, we proposed to design program based on competence as the key factor by transforming a number of goals into teaching – learning tasks 2.3.2.2 Testing and evaluating competence of communicative English writing The examination and assessment are implemented the same as in Section 2.3.1.5 However, in experimental time, we have not found criteria and grading scale to evaluate a writing product, so we based on the evaluation criteria introduced by Cyril Weir, we have organized group seminars to make recommendations for grading scale 2.3.2.3 Use of teaching-learning resources and facilities Textbooks and reference materials that serve teaching include materials and documents for communication English at the level A1 - A2 (equivalent to the primary level and intermediate level) Among them, the main textbook will be English for Life and New English File, in which, a number of lessons will be added with language aspects, or combined and recompiled from a number of duplicated contents to suit the students’ needs and program 2.3.2.4 Teaching- learning activities for commuinicative English writing Contents of a lesson focus on developing the capacity to write sentences or to write a language category including main activities as described in the diagram 2.3 Pre-communicative activities Structural activities Quasi-communicative activities 15 Communicative activities Functional communication activities Social interact ional activities Diagram 2.3 The process of teaching a lesson given by William Littlewood (1981) Pre-writing activities of communicative language includes those to help students understand knowledge of communicative language such as vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, styles, and structures of target language, etc These activities will help functional communication activities or social interaction activities become flexible and creative later The communication activities require students to work in pairs or groups This type of operation is composed of two types: functional communication activities and social interaction activities The first type is based on the reality that people often communicate to express meaning or to get information The second type of activity related to social interaction requires students to pay attention to the kind of language, let alone English context, the role of the parties, the purpose of communication, from which they will select the language to communicate knowledge to achieve objectives consistent communication Learning vocabulary and grammar means learning how to grasp knowledge of codes, it is related to channels of communication: listening, speaking, reading and writing Due to limited class hours and and adult students, we mainly help them self-study At the beginning of the course, in addition to reviewing some grammar points we guide the students how to learn vocabulary and grammar Each week students will be provided with a certain amount of vocabulary which they need to know how to use to prepare for the 'skill using' stage With the same grammar content, most of the main grammar has been learned in high school, so that the teacher only provide references for self-study, self-study according to the students’ needs and instruction of the teachers In class, we only focus on “skill using” 16 At the beginning of the classes containing a part of writing ability development, lecturers set aside from 15 to 20 minutes to implement activities for practising speed, fluency and dictation Activities outside the classroom such as exercises selected from the student workbooks or teacher workbooks The teachers guide students how to write dialogue journals and to make cinquain poetry Each week, in addition to the homework, the students will be required to write three short paragraphs (journals) 2.3.2.5 Learning strategies In addition to the usual learning strategies, the teachers guide students to use the "super-cognitive strategies" and "social strategies" to help them apply knowledge about “skill-getting” activities in “Skill using” activities CHARP PEDAGOGICAL EXPERIMENT IN TEACHING COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH WRITING FOR NON-LANGUAGE MAJORS AT QUANG BINH UNIVERSITY 3.1 Aims and contents of the experiment 3.1.1 Aims of the experiment The empirical purposes is to verify reliability and feasibility of the proposed solutions for applying written communicative English for teaching students of Pedagogy and Social Sciences fields at Quang Binh University 3.1.2 Contents of the experiment As described in Chapter and Chapter 2, after identifying program objectives, assessment forms, sellecting the teaching - learning materials and means, designing teaching - learning activities, we conduct empirical teaching for groups proposed chapter 3.2 Selection of participants To carry out empirical teaching – learning, we have chosen the participants as follows: 3.2.1 Selection of teacher The author of the thesis on Primary Pedagogy and another experienced teacher who participates to teach Mathematics Pedagogy class 17 3.2.2 Selection of student Two experimental classes (EC) and two control classes (CC) are chosen radomly in course 52 start learning English in accademic year 2011-2012 Total number of students of experimental classes and control classes classes are similar (see table 3.1) Table 3.1 Learning subjects in experimental classes and control classes Experimental class Class Primary Pedagogy C52 Mathematics Pedagogy C52 No of students 22 40 Control class Class Chemistry Pedagogy C52 Mathematics Pedagogy C53 Students 20 39 3.3 Assessment contents and criteria, verification of experimental results 3.3.1 Assessment contents Although the learning program of experimental class has been supplemented and adjusted compared with the general program compiled by the Faculty of Foreign Languages, to ensure objective comparison between results of experimental classes and those of control classes, the evaluated contents must exist in learning program of experimental classes and control classses Contents of the exam include two or more writing products at the end of English II and English III In the final semester exam, there will test for assessing grammar and vocabulary ability We want to assess whether the language knowledge such as vocabulary and grammar affects the competence of communicative English writing 3.3.2 Assessment criteria 18 We organized seminars in team and build grading scale based on analytical and holistic criteria of CEFR to assess whether the students have achieved the English proficiency level A2 3.4 Experimental process 3.4.1 Experimental steps To carry out the experimental process on schedule, we carried out the following steps: Step 1: Deploy pre-experimental plan Step 2: Organize experimentalwork Step Process the experimental results 3.5 Results of teaching experiment and discussions 3.5.1 Compare the abilityof communicative English writing of students at experimental classes and control classes After 15 weeks of empirical deloyment, we examined and evaluated the students We obtained quite satisfactory results; All tests in experimental classes obtained higher results than that in control classes, especially for communicative English writing in the two experimental classes Evaluation results are summarized in Table 3.2 below Table 3.2 Compare English grades at stage I of experimental classes and control classes Assessment contents Excellent Good Average Weak (%) (%) (%) (%) EC CC EC CC EC CC EC CC Writing 45 27 10 15 14 13 73 Grammar 43,5 36 43,5 38,5 13,5 12 32 21 10 24 32 26 Vocabulary 47 At the English III test (stage II of empirical process), we obtained difference results of communicative English writing as well as grammar ability between students in experimental classes and those in control classes, 19 which was greater than the difference in stage I (See table 3.3) Table 3.3 Compare English grades at stage II of experimental classes and control classes Assessment contents Excellent Good Average Weak (%) (%) (%) (%) EC CC EC CC EC CC EC CC Writing 42 21 12 11 26 81 Grammar 15 35 12 43,5 24 6,5 57 Compare with criteria of level A2 for communicative English writing, we found that 74% of students in experimental classes passed level A2 and 26% did not pass level A2, while 19% of students in control classes passed level A2 and 81% did not pass level A2 (see digram 3.4 and 3.5) 20 3.5.2 Compare the abilityof communicative English writing of students before and after the experiment Results of assessing the competence of communicative English writing of students show that more than 85% of students did not pass level A1 and less than 15% of students passed level A1 After 15 weeks of experimental program, the results show that 74% of students in empirical class passed level A2 and oly 26% did not pass While in control classes, only 19% of students passed level A2 and 81% did not pass communicative English writing level A2 These results confirmed the effectiveness of the experimental method: written English ability of the students in experimental classes is not only better than those in control classes but also much better than their own results before the empirical process 3.5.3 Dicussion about the experimental results Initially, the experimental results showed the effectiveness of teaching communicative English writing After the group discussion and direct interviews, the autor found that activities for fluency, especially taking dictations, self-study, writing practice through homework together with high-level of language interaction significantly influenced on the ability of the student’s English writing The students were really excited by activities developing fluency and cinquain poems CONCLUSIONS-IMPLICATIONS-SUGGESTIONS 1.CONCLUSIONS The study results helped us identify basic characteristics of communicative English related to group of language’s aspects-the primary properties, functions, stylistics and register, socio-cultural features These characteristics associate with the use of communicative language of the learner and user 21 The first group concerns six most primary properties of a language, of which, properties like duality, displacement, productivity, discreteness make the learner use English flexibly and creatively Properties like arbitrary and cultural transmission indicate that the language used in communication is dominated by the socio-cultural conventions, it itself is culture’s product and affected by the cultural values of the target community Therefore, learners of communicative English learn not only to master language structures, but also to understand the cultural features of the target community governing communication behaviors The second group shows that the main functions of English as a means in order to express, exchange and negotiate meanings Moreover, English with the role of a international foreign language has functions satisfying the needs of communication and cultural exchange of community groups whose first languages are not English The third group related to stylistics and register shows that relying on the participants’ roles, communication purposes and topics, the speaker or writer will have to choose how to process language in completely different ways Styles of communicative English use can change from the ritual, the formal, the negotiating, the casual to the intimate Based on register, communicative English is probably classified into General English, English for Office Services, Business English etc The fourth group shows that communicative English always carry socio-cultural features where language is used, because if partcipants want to communicate naturally and effectively, they have to process harmonically basic elements: setting and scene, participants, ends, act sequence, key, instrumentalities, norms, and genre These elements are governed by the situation of context where communication event takes place In summary, with characteristics of communicative English that the author elicited above, we can see language in communication as a special signal system with particular conventions on how it is used This requires 22 learners not only to use language accurately, but also use it appropriately, flexibly, and creatively, with strategies to achieve their communication goals In order to apply teaching English as a foreign language communicative approach, apart from basing on the characteristics of English under the points of communcation functions, we must take into account the issues in theories of second language acquisition of human beings, especially those in the theory of working memory of Alan Bladdley and consider it as the most important factors The studies verifies that the process of language acquisition experience certain stages of development, so General English has been designed according to each level of proficiency At each level of proficiency, knowledge of communicative competence and performance is designed in accordance with the needs and abilities of users Of those, English learning and acquiring are considered as two different processes Learning resembles encoding stage, students need to mechanical exercises by practising and using repetitively new language structures in parallel with understanding the meaning of those structures English acquiring requires learners to reason and process knowledge of communicative competence quickly, flexibly, creatively and accurately, in accordance with the practical requirements of activities of complicated and diversified communication Learners learn to develop not only accuracy but also speed and fluency in using language English belongs to the system of sound based languages and is governed by our minds; therefore, similar to the evolution of other channels of communication, the evolution of communicative English requires learners to practice both pre-communicative activities and communicative activities It is neccessary for students to learn the way to memorize the knowledge of written communicative language such as vocabulary, grammar, cohesive devices, spelling, punctuation, and conventions of text tyle and style, socio-cultural context, roles, verbal and nonverbal strategies 23 In addition, learners have to practise regularly written communicative activities Through such processes, learners will acquire the ability of using a foreign language flexibly and creatively with the aim of expressing and negotiating meanings to gain their communication goals Before writing, students should aim to answer the question 'Who am I writing to ? What are the purposes of writing? ',' What is communication context like? ',' What are the rules of text type ?, 'What are my role and my partner’s role? , What are strategies for my communication goals? ' PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS The proposed empirical application in communicative English teaching for students at Quang Binh University initially showed high feasibility and effectiveness, especially in communicative English writng Therefore, we recommend Quang Binh University to allow applying the proposed groups in teaching English in order to enhance the English education effectiveness To apply communicative English writing, all stages from syllabus design, evaluation, teaching methods, teaching-learning facilities, and learning strategies need to be studied and applied to ensure the tenets and approches of communicative English teaching To identify progame objectives and contents in accordance with English ability of non English major students, Faculty of Foreign Languages should regularly check the ability of input language of students and analyze their learning needs so that the teachers could capture which should be taught for each groups of students Accordingly, the teachers can develop appropriate and detailed program, identify outcome standard and orientation to ensure that the students achieve that standard The tests should be designed to evaluate all skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as this will help the students orient their learning strategies to achieve better communication ability The university should pay more priority in the procurement of appropriate equipment and facilities for communicative language eduation The teachers 24 should strengthen communication activities in classrooms, using pictures, internet and other means to create more opportunities for the students to communicate in English about real life topics The number of class hours for English in a week should not be less than hours because less time leads to little opportunity to interact and contact with English This will limit the development of memory, fluency, and confidence in communication among the students, and their learning outcomes will be limited It not only requires attention and implementation of the teachers and students but also requires attention and implementation of the managers and policy makers The research on‘Characteristics of communicative English: A study on application of English teaching for non- language major classes at Quang Binh University’ is a difficult topic The author has not gained much experience and knowledge related to the subject, while thesis requires a lot of knowledge related to other disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, education pedagogy, and communication science These subjects are sometimes beyond the knowledge of the author However, after all, the author actually feel joyness and happiness with the knowledge gained from this research It is really useful for the author's career as a teacher in the near future SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY Due to limited time, the thesis covers empirical education of written communicative English only We assume that there should be further studies to verify our results which are presented in this thesis, and in particular, it iss necessary to have more studies on applying English education in listening, reading , and speaking skills PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC PAPERS RELATED TO THE THESIS Le Thi Hang (2012), An Investigation into needs analysis of the learning of non-English majors at Quang Binh University, Journal of science and technology No – Quang Binh University Le Thi Hang (2013), Communicative syllabus design for non-language major universities, Journal of Language and Life, No 8- 8/2013 Le Thi Hang (2013), An Investigation into needs analysis of the learning English writing skill of non-English majorsat Quang Binh University, Journal of Linguistics, No10- 10/2013 Le Thi Hang (2014), An overview of the research and application of communicative language teaching, The summary report of internation conference on the linguistic of Vietnam in the context of renovation and integration 2013 ... LEARNING ENGLISH WRITING OF NONLANGUAGE MAJORS AT QUANG BINH UNIVERSITY 2.1 Reality of teaching and learning non- major English at Quang Binh University 2.1.1 Characteristics of English taught for non- language. .. Vietnam That is the main reasons urging us to select the thesis title ? ?Characteristics of communicative English: A study on application of English teaching for non- language major classes at Quang. .. learning English writing of non- language majors at Quang Binh University Chapter 3: Pidagogical experiment in teaching of communicative English writing for non- language majors at Quang Binh University