A study on using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary for the students of the Shipbuilding Faculty at the Central Vocational College of Transport NoII sử dụng

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES BUI THI PHUONG THAO A STUDY ON USING VISUAL AIDS TO TEACH ESP VOCA

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

BUI THI PHUONG THAO

A STUDY ON USING VISUAL AIDS TO TEACH ESP VOCABULARY FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE SHIPBUILDING FACULTY AT THE CENTRAL VOCATIONAL COLLEGE OF TRANSPORT NO II

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG GIÁO CỤ TRỰC QUAN ĐỂ DẠY

TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN KHOA ĐÓNG TÀU TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG NGHỀ GIAO THÔNG VẬN TẢI

TRUNG ƯƠNG II)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60.14.10

HANOI - 2012

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

BÙI THỊ PHƯƠNG THẢO

A STUDY ON USING VISUAL AIDS TO TEACH ESP

VOCABULARY FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE SHIPBUILDING FACULTY AT THE CENTRAL VOCATIONAL COLLEGE OF

TRANSPORT NO II

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG GIÁO CỤ TRỰC QUAN ĐỂ DẠY

TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN KHOA ĐÓNG TÀU TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG NGHỀ GIAO THÔNG VẬN TẢI

TRUNG ƯƠNG II)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: VŨ THỊ THU THỦY, M.A

HANOI - 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Page number

Declaration……… i

Acknowledgement……… ii

Abstract ……… iii

Table of contents……… iv

List of abbreviations……….……….…… viii

PART 1: INTRODUCTION……… 1

1.Rationale of the study……… 1

2.Research questions and aims of the study……… 2

3.Scope of the study……… 2

4.Significance of the study……… 2

5. Methods of the study……… 3

6.Design of the study……… 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT……… 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW………

1.1.An overview of ESP……… 5

1.1.1.The definitions of ESP……… 5

1.1.2.Classification of ESP……… 6

1.2.Vocabulary in ESP teaching……… 7

1.2.1 Definition of vocabulary……… 7

1.2.2 Classification of vocabulary and ESP vocabulary….… 8

1.2.3 The issue of teaching ESP vocabulary……… 9

1.2.3.1 Selection of vocabulary for teaching……… 9

1.2.3.2 Stages in teaching vocabulary……… 10

1.2.3.2.1 Presenting……… 10

1.2.3.2.2 Practicing……… 11

1.2.3.2 3 Revising……… 12

1.3 Visual aids in teaching and learning vocabulary………… 12

1.3.1 Boards……… 12

1.3.2 Overhead-projectors……… 13

1.3.3 Pictures……… 13

1.3.4 Objects……… 14

1.3.5 Gestures, mine, actions and performance……… 14

1.4 Benefits of using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary…… 15

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY……… 16

2.1 Situation analysis……… 16

2.1.1 Learning situation……… 16

2.1.2 Textbook……… 16

2.1.3 Students……… 17

2.2 Research methodology……… 17

2.2.1 Research questions……… 17

2.2.2 The participants……… 18

2.2.3 The instruments……… 18

2.2.3.1 Instrument A – Survey questionnaires……… 18

2.2.3.2 Instrument B – Class observation……… 19

CHAPTER 3: DATA PRESENTATION AND DICUSSION OF MAJOR FINDINDS……… 20 3.1.Data presentation……… 20 3.1.1 Data from the survey questionnaires……… 20 3.1.1.1 The teachers’ and the students’ attitudes towards the

use of visual aids in teaching and learning vocabulary………… 20

3.1.1.2 The teachers’ and the students’ opinion on purposes

of teaching and learning vocabulary in shipbuilding……… 21 3.1.1.3 Frequency of visual aids used in teaching

vocabulary and students’ impression of visual aids………

22 3.1.1.4 The stages at which visual aids are often used and

the students’ response……… ………

25 3.1.1.5 Benefits of using visual aids to teach and learn

vocabulary in shipbuilding……… ……

26 3.1.1.6 The teachers’ and students’ difficulties in teaching

and learning vocabulary in shipbuilding through visual aids……

28

3 1.1.7 The suggestions made by the teachers for using

visual aids to teach vocabulary in shipbuilding……… 31 3.1.2 Data from the classroom observation……… 32 3.2 Discussion of major findings……… 34

3 2.1 The situation of current teaching and learning ESP

3.2.2 The kind of visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary…… 34

3.2.3 The frequency of using visual aids to teach ESP

vocabulary……… 35

3.2.4 The stages at which visual aids are used most often in ESP vocabulary lessons………

35 3.2.5 The difficulties in using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary………

35 PART 3: CONCLUSION……… 36

1. Implications……… 36

2. Conclusions……… 37

3 Limitations of the study……… 37

4 Suggestions for further study……… 38

REFERENCES……… 39

APPENDICES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

GE: General English

ESP: English for Specific Purposes

EST: English for Science and Technology

EBE: English for Business and Economics

ESS: English for Social Studies

EAP: English for Academic Purposes

EOP: English for Occupational Purposes

M.A: Master of Arts

CVCOT: Central Vocational College of Transport No II

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Vocabulary teaching is one of the most important components of any language class The main reason is the fact that it is a medium, which carries meaning; learning to understand and express the meaning is what counts in learning languages There has been increased focus on teaching vocabulary

recently, “If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is

vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh” (Harmer 1993:153)

Vocabulary functions as a cornerstone without which any language could not exist Speaking would be meaningless and perhaps impossible having only structure without vocabulary A good mastery of vocabulary is essential for learners, especially for those who learn for specific purposes The main objective of English for specific purposes has always been the teaching of highly specialized vocabulary to specialists in various domains

I myself have experienced 10 years of working as a teacher of English at the Central Vocational College of Transport No.II where students will be future technicians and workers Most of the students here find learning ESP vocabulary the most challenging to them in acquiring English Our students’ biggest obstacle in learning ESP vocabulary is that it is difficult for them to identify the meaning of, to understand the use of and to remember the words belonging to technical terms In fact, the students’ problems always haunt the teachers, which urge them to find a suitable solution to ESP vocabulary teaching and learning at the college to satisfy the students’ need

The idea of using visual aids in teaching vocabulary is a good one This can add colors to an English lesson and motivate students to learn vocabulary,

especially ESP vocabulary There is no reason for them to feel that learning vocabulary is dull At my college, visual aids have been used to teach ESP vocabulary So I conduct this study to get an insight of the current situation of using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary at the Central Vocational College

of Transport No.II It is hoped that this study will be of some values to my colleagues and those who want to improve their ESP vocabulary teaching

2 Aims of the study

To clarify the answer to the research question, the study aims at:

● Investigating the current situation of using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary at the Central Vocational College of Transport No.II

● Exploring the difficulties facing teachers and students in teaching and learning ESP vocabulary through visual aids

● Providing some solutions to those difficulties to help teaching ESP vocabulary through visual aids more effectively

3 Scope of the study

Due to the time constraints and the scope of the study, the study only concentrates on how visual aids are used to teach ESP vocabulary to the students of the Shipbuilding Faculty at CVCOT

4 Significance of the study

The study is significant for the following reasons: firstly, it studies current situation of using visual aids at CVCOT Secondly it finds out difficulties in using visual aids to teach ESP vocabulary Thirdly, it suggests recommendations to teach ESP vocabulary more effectively So it is useful for both teachers and students of English In addition, it would become a good

source of reference to those who are concerned with vocabulary teaching and learning

5 Methods of the study

The method of this study is survey study because it was conducted by using questionnaires and classroom observation to collect data The data for the study came from two sources: teacher respondents and student respondents at the Central Vocational College of Transport No.II Classroom observation was carried out to supplement the survey questionnaires, which is hoped to bring more reliable results for the study

6 Design of the study

The study consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1 is “Introduction”, which deals with the background, the rationale,

the aims, the scope, the methods, the significance and the design of the study

Chapter 2, “Literature Review” presents a brief view on ESP, the theoretical

background of vocabulary and ESP vocabulary, the overall view of some visual aids

Chapter 3, “Methodology” mentions the setting of the study, the participants,

the instruments, the data collection procedure, the data analysis procedure and

a brief summary

Chapter 4, “Data presentation and discussion” presents the data collected

from the survey questionnaires and class observation as well as the discussion

of the data

Chapter 5, “Implication and Conclusion” presents the pedagogical

implications in teaching ESP vocabulary through visual aids and the

conclusion of the study Suggestion for further study is also given Finally, the appendix presents the survey questionnaires

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter surveys the literature on some basic concepts related to ESP, vocabulary, ESP vocabulary and visual aids Besides, the issue of teaching vocabulary and the benefits of using visual aids to teach vocabulary are presented to provide a theoretical background for the study

1.1 An overview of ESP

1.1.1 The Definitions of ESP

The study of English for specific purposes (ESP) has had a long and interesting history ESP became a vital and innovative activity within the teaching of English in the 1970s It really has had a relatively long time to mature So there are a great number of definitions for ESP

A definition of ESP was offered by Hutchinson and Waters (1987:19) “ESP

is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and methods are based on the learners’ reason for learning” They mean that ESP does not involve a particular kind of language, teaching material or methodology For them, the foundation of ESP involves the learners, the language required and the learning context which are based on the primary need in ESP

According to P Strevens (1988) ESP consists of English teaching which is

● designed to meet specified needs of the learner;

● related to content (i.e in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupation and activities;

● center on the language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc;

● in contrast with General English

Dudley- Evans and St John share the same ideas and expose their revised

view on the essence of ESP from two perspectives: absolute characteristics and variable characteristics The division of ESP into absolute and variable

characteristics, in particular, is very helpful in resolving arguments about what is and is not ESP

To sum up, the definitions above show that ESP is an approach to language teaching which is directed by specific and apparent reasons for learning It is not concerned with an exact discipline and we can teach ESP to learners at any age and at any English level

1.1.2 Classification of ESP

The teaching of English is divided into several branches Dudley Evans and

St John (1998:54) divide ESP into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) EAP stands for English for Academic Purposes in which English for Science and Technology has been the main area EOP (English for Occupational Purposes) includes professional purposes in administration, medicine, law and business, and vocational purposes for non-professionals in work or pre-work situations

Dudley Evans and St John (1998: 6) devise a tree diagram illustrated in figure 1 below for ESP which divides EAP and EOP according to discipline

or professional area

English for specific Purposes English for Academic Purposes English for Occupational Purposes

English for Management

Finance and Economics

English for Professional Purposes

English for Vocational

Purposes

English for Medical Purposes

English for Business Purposes

Pre - Vocational Purposes

Vocational English

Figure 1: ESP classification by professional area

Meanwhile, Robinson family’s tree of ESP (1991) divides it into EAP and EOP, a useful division of courses according to when they take place In addition, David Carter (1983) classifies ESP into three types:

● English as a restricted language

● English for Academic and Occupational Purposes

● English with specific topics

Furthermore, Hutchinson and Waters (1987:21) divide ESP into English for Specific Purposes and General English which have three main branches: English for Science and Technology (EST), English for Business and Economics (EBE) and English for Social Studies (ESS)

Although there are differences concerning the types of ESP among Dudley Evans & John, Robinson, David Carter and Hutchinson & Waters, the two categories of EAP and EOP in ESP are widely accepted nowadays in ESP teaching area

1.2 Vocabulary in ESP teaching

1.2.1 Definition of vocabulary

There have been different definitions of vocabulary by linguists depending on the criteria that they consider the most important in terms of linguistics, semantics, lexicology, etc Richards and Platt (1992: 400) define that vocabulary is “a set of lexemes including words, compound words and idioms” This statement indicates that vocabulary is “the total number of words in a language” (Hornby, 1995: 1331) We can conclude that vocabulary

is a single word or a group of words from two or more words expressing an idea to multi-word idioms which can be only understood in the sentence or in the context

1.2.2 Classification of vocabulary and ESP vocabulary

Vocabulary can be classified in different ways based on different criteria, features or functions

Semantically, it can be divided into notional words which are objects, actions, qualities, etc and functional words which are those whose meanings are grammatical Grammatically, vocabulary can be divided into different parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, etc Methodologically, there are two kinds of vocabulary classification They are active vocabulary and passive vocabulary Active words consist of words which the learners can understand and pronounce the words correctly and use them constructively in speaking or writing Passive vocabulary includes words which the learners can recognize and understand while they are reading or listening to someone speaking, but they do not use the words in speaking or writing

Recently, some methodologists of the Communicative Language Teaching approach have split vocabulary into productive and receptive vocabulary The productive vocabulary is concerned with the words that a learner can use effectively to express his/ her ideas both in speaking and in writing forms

The receptive vocabulary refers to the words that help a learner to receive and understand information in listening and reading

There are different types of ESP vocabulary presented by Simon Fraser

(2005).They are general vocabulary, academic vocabulary and technical

vocabulary General vocabulary consists of words remaining after technical and academic words have been extracted Most of these will be high frequency words that are used in daily life as well as in a specific field Academic vocabulary consists of words used which are common in the academic world, irrespective of the subject Technical vocabulary is most obviously associated with specialized texts or discourse These words have their specific meanings and they seem to be very uncommon to people who

are not related to their fields of meaning It can be further divided in to fully

technical vocabulary, crypto technical vocabulary, lay- technical vocabulary

Fully technical vocabulary comprises those words whose meanings are clearly technical They are specific to the field and not likely to be known in general language Crypto technical vocabulary consists of polysemous words like

transmitter and relaxation which could be said to be “cryptic” in that they

have a hidden technical meaning Lay technical vocabulary comprises those terms which are obviously technical but are likely to be known by a layperson Dudley Evans and St John (1998) are of the opinion that teaching ESP vocabulary is the same as teaching English for general purposes The only distinction that should be made is between the vocabulary for comprehension and the vocabulary for production

1.2.3 The issue of teaching ESP vocabulary

1.2.3.1 Selection of vocabulary for teaching

The initial step that ESP teachers have to do is making decision on which words to teach Gairns and Redman (2003) emphasize the principles of need and level Authors of teaching material and teachers should also take into account the criteria of learnability and teachability Harmer (1991:154-156) confirms that “one of the most common principles of vocabulary selection is

to teach at first concrete words and gradually abstract words” Concrete words are easily presented and explained because students can see and imagine the real thing which the words present On the contrary, abstract words are more difficult to explain There are also words that concerned each other in theme Words that have this kind of word thematic relationship are said to belong to the same lexical field After selecting words to teach, it is essential for teachers to determine what to teach about each naming unit According to Thornbury (2002:15), knowledge of a word involves knowing its meaning (meanings in context, sense of relation “synonyms/antonyms”), its form (spelling and pronunciation affixes, parts of speech), grammar (plural, countability, past simple/participle form) and its usage (collocations and appropriate register)

1.2.3.2 Stages in teaching vocabulary

There are three stages in teaching vocabulary namely presenting, practicing and revising

1.2.3.2.1 Presenting

The main aim of presenting vocabulary is to introduce the meaning, the form and appropriate usage There are quite a lot of methods and techniques to present the form and meaning of vocabulary It depends on teachers who decide which form of presentation is the most suitable for a particular topic

According to Gairns and Redman (2003:73), a variety of ways can be used in introducing vocabulary such as:

● Visual technique: visuals, demonstrating

● Verbal technique: illustrative situations (oral or written), synonyms and antonyms, definitions and explanations, scales, example of the type, translation, guessing from the context (matching / labeling)

1.2.3.2.2 Practicing

Students often need a little time for the new lexical items to “sink in” Gower, Phillips and Waters (2005) pointed out that learners may recognize new item but often delay putting it into active use In this case, the use of planned activities for recycling and reactivating the new vocabulary is necessary Thornbury (2002:93) states that “practice makes perfect” There are many practice activities that include repeating of the new vocabulary to fix the new words in the learners’ memory The practice activities are divided into two main groups: receptive and productive In receptive practice, the learners do not really produce the target words Receptive practice includes four activities: identifying, selecting, matching, sorting, ranking and sequencing

In productive practice, the productive skills (writing or speaking) are incorporated in the vocabulary teaching Receptive practice includes two types: completion and creation or controlled practice and free practice Controlled practice has to come first because controlled activities require the students to produce a certain structure The second phase, which demands productive use of vocabulary, is free practice Free practice is aimed at fluency and is productive However, Gairns and Redman 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 learners

All above, practice promotes fluency and improves pronunciation, it helps the memory to store words, and retrieve them later It can not be denied that conversations in English are very motivating and help build learners’ confidence so learners can expect to get the opportunity to practise new

1.3 Visual aids in teaching and learning vocabulary

Visual aids are defined by Dictionary of English and Culture (1998: 1490) as

“something that people can look at to help them understand, learn, remember, etc such as a picture, a map, a photograph, or a film Visual aids are often used as materials in education” Here are some typical types of visual aids

1.3.1 Boards

Boards are found in most classrooms They are chalk boards and white boards

● Chalk boards are usually black or green They are easy, cheap to use and very adaptable Some chalks boards are magnetized allowing pictures, word cards, etc to adhere to the surface if magnets are placed on top of them

● White boards are rather common nowadays They are more expensive than chalk boards Special pens must be used White boards are easier to keep

clean and to stick pictures and cards to their surface with sticky or adhesive plastic than chalk boards

It is obvious that boards are common and very important They can serve different purposes As they can be used to present vocabulary, spelling, giving

a model More importantly, teachers can draw on the board to present new words Also, by that way they can create visual aids and make their lessons much more interesting

1.3.2 Overhead projectors

Nowadays, overhead projectors are always in the hands of language teachers because they are one of the most useful tools a language teacher can have Teachers can prepare their lessons in advance which saves time and helps teachers to be better organized Teachers can control the quantity they want to give to students Teachers can use the transparencies again and again and, at the same time, can adapt and create images of many kinds

● Wall chart is a large diagram or picture display card Wall chart consists of both visual and verbal materials Most of wall charts can be used for picture composition

● Flash cards are pieces of paper in which words or sentences are written or pictures are drawn Flash cards can be divided into picture flash cards and

word flash cards Picture flash cards are normally used by the teachers in oral work for cueing responses to questions or in more open communicative work, for stimulating conversation, story-telling Meanwhile, word flash cards are principally used in the teaching of reading and writing

● Work cards and worksheets: are for individual student use or for use by students working in small groups They provide an extremely useful basis for the development of not only reading but also all other skills without the teachers’ immediate involvement

● Representational objects are objects that can replace real objects in case the teachers and students can not prepare realias for use in classroom Using representational objects can lead to misunderstanding of word meanings so teachers should make a choice carefully and prepare well

1.3.5 Gestures, mine, actions and performance

According to Billow (1961:147), actual representation of an action or performance, dramatically, represents the action and performance better than any picture This proves the importance of dramatization, mime, gesture, facial expression, etc in language class room This kind of visual aids costs the teachers nothing but some energy to mime, make gestures or express his/her face Although they are the cheapest visual aids, they can have big effects on teaching vocabulary

1.4 Benefits of using visual aids to teach vocabulary

Vocabulary is an aspect of a language Thus, most teachers notice that using visual aids to teach vocabulary will certainly bring a lot of benefits

First and foremost, using visual aids can create real situation It helps to make language used in the classroom more lively and interesting Doff (1988) indicated that “having something to look at keeps the students’ attention, and make the class more interesting” Visual aids can help teachers clarify the meanings of the words used Visual aids can quickly and effectively demonstrate ideas that are difficult to explain verbally Many sciences and arts can only be effectively taught by showing students as well as, or instead

of, simply telling them the meaning Therefore, the students can have a feeling of reality as visual aids help them make the meaning of words clearer and more understandable

Moreover, visual aids can be used as a tool to help students memorize vocabulary more easily What students see will be imprinted in the mind better than what they hear According to Chamberlain (1980), 83% of the

information received by the brain through sight and only 11% comes through

hearing It is obvious that what students see has a great influence on their

learning process With the assistance of visual aids teachers can save time, energy and add interest They can improve students understanding of vocabulary and they allow for different learning styles

This chapter has briefly reviewed literature such as vocabulary and ESP vocabulary and visual aids that best suits the scale of the study It is seen as the ground for the study In the next chapters, the presentation and discussion

of the data collected from the questionnaires and class observation served to answer the research questions will be given

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the research methodology chosen for the achievement of the aims and objectives of the study will be discussed in detail

2.1 Situation analysis

2.1.1 Teaching and learning situation

The Central Vocational College of Transport No.2 is located in Kien An district, Hai Phong city Founded in 1965, it is one of the colleges that have trained a lot of shipbuilders and technical workers for Hai Phong city At present, there are 76 classes with 1520 students placed into different faculties They are 7 faculties at CVCOT More than a half of students are at the Faculty of Shipbuilding There are 15 English teachers here but only ten of them teach both GE and ESP, the rest only teach GE Students at the Central Vocational College of Transport No.2 need English for their future job In order to read English drawings, documents written in English to improve their career-related knowledge or work with foreigners, they have to learn English well, especially ESP

2.1.2 Textbook

English is taught for the first year and the second year students at CVCOT Textbook for all the first year students is Lifeline It is the course of General English Students start the course with the beginners’ level of English and are supposed to obtain the elementary level in the end to gain basic knowledge of English grammar and vocabulary to prepare for the following course of ESP ESP courses are courses for all the second year students Textbook for second year students depends on which faculty they are in The textbook entitled

“English for Shipbuilding” which is edited by Do Thai Binh and other

members in Van Phong group has been used in ESP course for the students in Faculty of Shipbuilding It consists of 30 lessons Each lesson is divided into

a reading comprehension and a translation task Each lesson is discovered in both grammar and vocabulary aspects in which vocabulary accounts for a bigger percentage and are mostly technical terminologies in shipbuilding

2.1.3 Students

Students who learn at CVCOT do not have to pass an entrance exam They enter the Vocational College by their marks of three years at high school So their level is low Besides, their English knowledge is very different because they are from different parts of the countries where living conditions are poor and English is not paid much attention to Generally, their English proficiency

is not high When studying at CVCOT they have to take part in GE course and then ESP course Vocational students do not have any problems in getting knowledge about their profession but ESP vocabulary It is difficult for them

to remember English words related to machines, tools and equipment because these words are not used in everyday conversations The technical terminologies are often long and difficult to spell and pronounce Moreover, some students have negative attitudes to studying English They suppose that English is not necessary for their future career They often argue that they will not need to use English as shipbuilders or technical workers Vocational students with a lack of motivation and some learning difficulties with acquiring ESP vocabulary is a challenge for English teachers at CVCOT

2 2 Research methodology

2.2.1 Research questions

The main purpose of the study as mentioned in chapter one can be realized through the questions:

1 What are the teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward the use of visual aids in teaching and learning vocabulary in shipbuilding?

2 How do teachers use visual aids to teach vocabulary in shipbuilding?

3 What are the difficulties of teachers and students in using visual aids to

teach and learn vocabulary in shipbuilding?

4 What should be used to teach ESP vocabulary through visual aids more

effectively?

2.2.2 The participants

The questionnaires have been prepared for two groups:

The first group includes ten English teachers All of them had taught English

for at least five years at CVCOT and are experienced in teaching ESP courses

for the students of Shipbuilding Faculty Among ten English teachers, five of

them are Masters of Arts in English and three of them are attending M.A

courses The other two are Bachelors of Arts

The second group involves one hundred second year students at the

Shipbuilding Faculty at CVCOT They all have finished GE course with the

textbook “Lifelines” and are taking part in ESP course with the textbook

“English for Shipbuilders”

2.2.3 The instruments

2.2.3.1 Instrument A- Survey questionnaires

In this study, in order to collect the data, two sets of survey questionnaires

were administered to get information about the use of visual aids in teaching

and learning vocabulary in shipbuilding One is designed for teachers and

another for students to investigate the aims and the objectives of the study

Nine questions are delivered to ten English teachers and eight ones are for one

hundred second year students at the Faculty of Shipbuilding In order that the respondents could be free to express their specific thoughts about the items raised in questionnaires, some questions have free answer put at the last choice of the answer The questionnaires for students aim at finding out their attitudes towards the use of visual aids in learning vocabulary in shipbuilding, what they think of the way in which teachers use visual aids to teach vocabulary and their difficulties in learning vocabulary in shipbuilding through visual aids The questionnaires for teachers aim at discovering their attitudes towards the use of visual aids in learning vocabulary in shipbuilding, collecting information about how visual aids are really used in teaching vocabulary in shipbuilding in class, teachers’ difficulties and suggestions for better use of visual aids to teach vocabulary

2.2.3.2 Instrument B - Class observation

Parallel with survey questionnaires, class observation was carried out before and during the time the questionnaires were conducted It was applied in this study to test what students had revealed in the questionnaires and also clarify the validity of information about using visual aids at CVCOT Class observation was employed among three classes which are at the Faculty of Shipbuilding Each class was picked up randomly from its group The observation was done three times during the school year 2011-2012, each of which lasted for 45 minutes