Designing a task - based English syllabus for students of tourism at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts = Thiết kế chương trình dạy học tiếng Anh theo nhiệm vụ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDies Faculty of Post Graduate Studies --- BÙI THỊ QUỲNH MAI DESIGNING A TASK - BASED ENGLISH SYLLABUS

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDies

Faculty of Post Graduate Studies

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BÙI THỊ QUỲNH MAI

DESIGNING A TASK - BASED ENGLISH SYLLABUS FOR STUDENTS OF TOURISM AT NGHE AN

COLLEGE OF CULTURE AND ARTS

THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH DẠY HỌC TIẾNG ANH THEO NHIỆM

VỤ CHO SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGÀNH DU LỊCH TRƯỜNG CAO

ĐẲNG VĂN HÓA NGHỆ THUẬT NGHỆ AN

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MINOR M.A.THESIS

Field: Methodology Code: 601410

Hanoi, 2010

PART II DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW

1.4.1 Defining “task” and task based language teaching 8

2.2.1 Needs analysis of Hotel staff and tourguides in Nghe An 22

English for Hotel Staff 22

3.5.1 A suggested English language syllabus for Hotel Staff 30 3.5.2 A suggested English language syllabus for tourguides 34 3.6 Underlying Methodology of Teaching and Assessment 38

PART I INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

The syllabus is often the initial communication tool that students receive as well as being the most formal mechanism for sharing information with students regarding any course ―The syllabus as contract can serve as the document by which the classroom practices, expectations, and norms are discussed and codified Any later ambiguities of meanings can be resolved by examining the contract that exists between the parties‖ (Danielson, 1995, p 8) One of the most popular types of syllabus is task-based syllabus which seemed to satisfy at least four of the rationales First, it promotes the eventual uses of the target language by emphasizing the real-world resemblance of the tasks with the purpose of preparing the students for the real-world tasks Second, tasks derived from the analysis of learners‘ needs increase learners‘ interest and motivation (Robinson, 2001, p 267) Third, while performing tasks, learners can learn the target language through contextualized and meaningful use of the language rather than learning sentence-level usage of the language Forth, tasks presented with gradually increasing complexity provide rich, elaborated, and comprehensible input for the language acquisition to occur (Doughty & Long, 2003, p 50 )

However, in my view, the current English textbooks of tourism in Nghe An College of Culture and Arts has certain disadvantages They may not reflect students‘ needs and interests because they are written for global markets Another drawback is that information is normally out-of-date By the time students work with the material, the information it provides might have changed Moreover, for ESP materials as English for tourism, some of the contents and language may vary according to specific situations in which learners are currently or will be working For instance, tour guides in Sapa will need some cultural knowledge and vocabulary different from those working in Nghe An It is, therefore, necessary to develop one‘s own materials to bridge the gaps

In addition to the material issue, I realize that most of our students of tourism face difficulty

in learning speaking and listening skills although their grammar is quite good One of the factors that result in the inefficiency in teaching and learning English at our institution is the method of teaching Many instructors still utilize grammar-translation method as it is easy for them, but not

necessarily effective for the students As a strong advocate of the Communicative Approach, I think that there should be a new blow of fresh air to our language teaching situation Among several versions of the Communicative Approach, I see that Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is gaining popularity and is very relevant to our educational purposes According to Skehan (1996: p.50), a task is ―an activity in which: meaning is primary; there is some sort of relationship to the real world, task completion has some priority; and the assessment of task performance is in terms of task outcome‖

TBLT provides a structured framework for both instruction and assessment Using tasks as the basic building blocks of syllabus design allows teachers to both sequence lessons and assess their outcomes, while at the same time creating reasonably authentic parameters within which students can communicate with each other for a purpose Most importantly, it allows them to focus on what it is that they are saying to each other, rather than on how they are saying it It is noted that the ultimate goal of an ESP course is to meet the needs of particular learners; thus, one

of the main tasks done by ESP teachers is concerned with designing appropriate syllabus for different group of learners Syllabus design is considered to be of great importance in deciding the success of learners

For the above-mentioned reasons, I have decided to design a task-based English syllabus for students of Tourism at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts Hopefully, the study, to which I will devote all my efforts, may contribute a considerable success for the improvement of English teaching at our institution

2 Aim and significance of the study

The main purpose of the study is to design a task-based English syllabus for students of tourism

at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts Specifically, the present study is aimed:

- To explore the current trends in task-based syllabus design

- To conduct an analysis of the needs of Nghe An Tourism Sector and a survey on Hotel Staff and Tourguides

- To propose syllabus contents, which are to be well-matched to the objectives of the course and the learners‘ needs at Nghe An college of Culture and Arts in particular and the needs of Nghe An Tourism Sector in general

3 Methodology

This study employed a quantitative methodology to achieve the above – mentioned aim A survey questionnaire was used to find out the target needs from the perspective of the tourism sector The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics

4 Structure of the study

The study begins with an introduction including the rationale, aims and significance of the study as well as the method and design of the study The subsequent chapters present the main body of the research Chapter I reviews the literature on syllabus design Chapter II consists of three sections i.e., situational analysis, needs analysis, and a proposed needs-based syllabus The Conclusion summarizes the main ideas of the study, and suggestions for the syllabus trialing and implementation

5 Summary

In this part, the rationale of designing a task-based syllabus for students of Tourism at Nghe

an College of Culture and Arts is presented Also, the aim, the methodology and the structure of the thesis are presented The following part, Part II, consists of three chapters: The Literature Review, Situational Analysis and Needs Analysis, and the Proposed Syllabus Next chapter is the Literature Review

PART II DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews the literature on syllabus design First, a definition of syllabus is provided, which is followed by a definition of syllabus design Next, types of syllabus as well as descriptions of these syllabi are reviewed The central part of the chapter is the review of task-based syllabus design, which is the cornerstone of the study

1.1 Definition of Syllabus

A syllabus is an expression of opinion on the nature of language and learning; it acts as a guide for both teachers and learners by providing some goals to be attained Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.80) hold that at its simplest level a syllabus can be described as a statement of what is to be learnt It reflects language and linguistic performance

This is a rather traditional interpretation of syllabus focusing as it does on outcomes rather than process However, a syllabus can also be seen as a "summary of the content to which learners will be exposed" (Yalden,1987, p.87) It is seen as an approximation of what will be taught and that it cannot accurately predict what will be learnt

1.2 Definition of Syllabus Design

The terms "syllabus", "syllabus design" and "curriculum" have given rise to confusion in terms of their definitions and use According to Stern (1983, p.45) the field of curriculum studies

is part of the discipline of educational studies In its broadest sense, it refers to the study of goals, content, implementation and evaluation of an educational system In its restricted sense, curriculum refers to a course of study or the content of a particular course or programme It is in this narrower sense of curriculum that the term "syllabus" is employed According to Stern,

"syllabus design" is just one phase in a system of interrelated curriculum development activities After having understood what the terms "curriculum" and language "syllabus" refer to, the next step would be to come to terms with what language "syllabus design" encompasses

According to Webb (1976, p.20), syllabus design is understood as the organization of the selected contents into an ordered and practical sequence for teaching purposes His criteria for syllabus design are as follows:

 Progress from known to unknown matter

 Appropriate size of teaching units

 A proper variety of activity

 Teachability

 Creating a sense of purpose for the student

Garcia (1976, p.116) expands on this and provides more comprehensive criteria which should

be taken into consideration when designing a language syllabus He says that "particulars concerning the social forces, the prejudices, the habits and the motives of the student population, the relation of student characteristics to what are considered universal concepts in language learning processes, contemporary insights into the nature of the language, and how it should be taught to non-native speakers and for what realistic purposes, must guide curricular decisions." According to Munby (1984, p 92), syllabus design is seen as "a matter of specifying the content that needs to be taught and then organizing it into a teaching syllabus of appropriate learning units." Maley (1984, p.77) sums it up when he says that syllabus design encompasses the whole process of designing a language programme Maley, holds that "the needs analysis which produces an order unit of items to be taught is organically related to a methodology consistent with the syllabus, a set of techniques consistent with the methodology, and evaluation procedure consistent with the whole."

The above discussion on syllabus design implies that syllabus design involves a logical sequence of three main stages, that is, i) needs analysis, ii) content specification, and iii) syllabus organization

1.3 Types of Syllabi

In keeping with the British tradition, White considers a curriculum to be the "totality of content taught and aims to be realized within one school or educational system" and further considers syllabi as the "content or subject matter of an individual subject"; however he suggests for many reasons that a curriculum should not be seen as an extended syllabus (1988, p4)

Syllabuses vary in many aspects Some are very short and barely readable, while others are lengthy and neatly bound (Taylor 1970, p.32 cited in White 1988, p.3)

According to White (1988, p.59), syllabi are divided into two types from the most generic perspective

Interventionist Non-interventionist

External to the learner Internal to the learner

Other directed Inner directed or self fulfilling

Determined by authority Negotiated between learners and teachers

Teacher as decision-maker Learner and teacher as joint decision

makers Content = what the subject is to the expert Content = what the subject is to the learner

Content = a gift to the learner from the

teacher or knower

Content = what the learner brings and wants

Objectives defined in advance Objectives described afterwards

Assessment by achievement or by mastery Assessment in relationship to learners'

criteria of success Doing things to the learner Doing things for or with the learner

Source: White(1998,p.59)

These two types of syllabi can be subdivided into six different sub-types of syllabus:

structural syllabus, notional/functional syllabus, situational syllabus, skill-based syllabus, content-based-syllabus, and task-based syllabus

In the structural (formal) syllabus, the content of language teaching is a collection of the forms and structures, usually grammatical, of the language being taught Examples include nouns, verbs, adjectives, statements, questions, subordinate clauses, and so on

Unlike the structural syllabus, the content of the language teaching in the notional/functional syllabus is a collection of the functions that are performed when language is used, or of the notions that language is used to express Examples of functions include: informing, agreeing, apologizing, requesting; examples of notions include size, age, color, comparison, time, and so on

In the situational syllabus, the content of language teaching is a collection of real or imaginary situations in which language occurs or is used A situation usually involves several participants who are engaged in some activity in a specific setting The language occurring in the situation involves a number of functions, combined into a plausible segment of discourse The primary purpose of a situational language teaching syllabus is to teach the language that occurs

in the situations Examples of situations include: seeing the dentist, complaining to the landlord, buying a book at the book store, meeting a new student, and so on

For skill-based syllabus, the content of the language teaching is a collection of specific abilities that may play a part in using language Skills are things that people must be able to do to

be competent in a language, relatively independently of the situation or setting in which the language use can occur While situational syllabi group functions together into specific settings

of language use, skill-based syllabi group linguistic competencies (pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and discourse) together into generalized types of behavior, such as listening to spoken language for the main idea, writing well-formed paragraphs, giving effective oral presentations, and so on The primary purpose of skill-based instruction is to learn the specific language skill A possible secondary purpose is to develop more general competence in the language, learning only incidentally any information that may be available while applying the language skills

In content-based-syllabus, the primary purpose of instruction is to teach some content or information using the language that the students are also learning The students are simultaneously language students and students of whatever content is being taught The subject matter is primary, and language learning occurs incidentally to the content learning The content teaching is not organized around the language teaching, but vice-versa Content-based language teaching is concerned with information, while task-based language teaching is concerned with communicative and cognitive processes An example of content-based language teaching is a science class taught in the language the students need or want to learn, possibly with linguistic adjustment to make the science more comprehensible In general, the six types of syllabi or instructional content are presented beginning with the one based most on structure, and ending with the one based most on language use Language is a relationship between form and meaning, and most instruction emphasizes one or the other side of this relationship

The task-based syllabus is considered to be very popular today Its content of the teaching

is a series of complex and purposeful tasks that the students want or need to perform with the language they are learning The tasks are defined as activities with a purpose other than language learning, but, as in a content-based syllabus, the performance of the tasks is approached in a way that is intended to develop second language ability Language learning is subordinate to task performance, and language teaching occurs only as the need arises during the performance of a given task Tasks integrate language (and other) skills in specific settings of language use Task-based teaching differs from situation-based teaching in that while situational teaching has the goal of teaching the specific language content that occurs in the situation (a predefined product), task-based teaching has the goal of teaching students to draw on resources to complete some piece of work (a process) The students draw on a variety of language forms, functions, and skills, often in an individual and unpredictable way, in completing the tasks Tasks that can be used for language learning are, generally, tasks that the learners actually have to perform in any case Examples include: applying for a job, talking with a social worker, getting housing information over the telephone, and so on

All these six types of syllabus reflect different views on language, language learning and language teaching Since the students of Tourism at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts are supposed to work in the Tourism Sector after graduation, they are actually learning English for occupational purposes In their future careers, they are expected to undertake various tasks using English Therefore, I believe a task based syllabus is more appropriate to these students than other types of syllabus As a result, only the task based syllabus is discussed in detail in subsequent sections

1.4 Task based Syllabus and ESP

1.4.1 Defining ‘Task” and Task-based Language Teaching

It should be noted that, most good studies start by defining their terms, and a study of

"Task-based syllabus" seems to require a definition of "task" as a priority Therefore, in this part,

a basic distinction between real world or target tasks, and pedagogical tasks, and different perspectives of TBLT is identified and discussed However, the notion of task is a somewhat fuzzy one, various definitions have been presented to describe it

Richards (2006, p.31) clarifies that task is something that learners do or carry out using their existing language resources, which involves a focus on meaning, and in the case of tasks involving more that one learner, the task calls upon the learners‘ use of communication strategies and interactional skills He states that tasks involve communicative language use in which the user's attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical form

Task also refers to a job responsibility or duty that is a specific part of a particular job that a person is asked to do For example, the job of an administrative assistant requires the task

of scheduling appointments for the supervisor Job can be ―task-analyzed‖ for personnel and training purposes (Smith, 1971, p.581) This general review of task again implies that the task is externally imposed on the person from outside

These two definitions of task defined are what that is called real world of target tasks, which has features of non-linguistics and even non-technical outcome but the real mental-oriented outcome that people intend to do everyday The conclusion of the distinction between target tasks and pedagogical tasks may refer to Nunan (1989, p.20) He supposes that target tasks, as the name implies, refer to uses if language in the world beyond the classroom; pedagogical tasks are those that occur in the classroom

1.4.2 Pedagogical Tasks

When they are transformed from the real world to the classroom, tasks become pedagogical in nature A pedagogical task can be defined as an activity or action which is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language (i.e as a response) For example, drawing a map while listening to a tape, listening to an instruction and performing a command may be referred to as tasks Tasks may or may not involve the production of language A task usually requires the teacher to specify what will be regarded as successful completion of the task The use of a variety of different kinds of tasks in language teaching is said to make language teaching more communicative … since it provides a purpose for a classroom activity which goes beyond the practice of language for its own sake (Richards, Platt and Weber, 1986, p 289)

In this definition, we can see that the authors take a pedagogical perspective Tasks are defined in terms of what the learners will do in class rather than in the world outside the classroom They also emphasize the importance of having a non-language outcome

A pedagogical task can also be seen as any structured language learning endeavour which has a particular objective, appropriate content, a specified working procedure, and a range

of outcomes for those who undertake the task 'Task' is therefore assumed to refer to a range of work plans which have the overall purposes of facilitating language learning - from the simple and brief exercise type, to more complex and lengthy activities such as group problem-solving or simulations and decision-making (Breen, 1987, p 23)

This definition is very broad, implying as it does, that just about anything the learner does in the classroom qualifies as a task It could, in fact, be used to justify any procedure at all

as 'task-based', and, as such, is not particularly helpful More circumscribed is the following from Willis (1996, p.173 cited in Willis and Willis, 2001) A classroom undertaking "…where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome" Here the notion of meaning is subsumed in 'outcome' Language in a communicative task is seen as bringing about an outcome through the exchange of meanings

1.4.3 Task-based Language Teaching

More detailed definition of task-based language approach of Nunan published in 2001 is the following (cited in Le Van Canh, 2004): a task based language teaching approach is characterized by:

a) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language b) The instruction of authentic texts into learning situation

c) the provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only in language, but also on the learning process itself

d) An enhancement of the learner‘s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning

e) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom (p.103)

My own definition is that a task is a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning, and

in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate form The task should also

have a sense of completeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right with a beginning, a middle and an end

While these definitions vary somewhat, they all emphasize the fact that tasks involve communicative language use in which the user's attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical form This does not mean that form is not important My own definition refers to the deployment of grammatical knowledge to express meaning, highlighting the fact that meaning and form are highly interrelated, and that grammar exists to enable the language user to express different communicative meanings However, as Willis and Willis (2001, p.101) point out, tasks differ from grammatical exercises in that learners are free to use a range of language structures to achieve task outcomes - the forms are not specified in advance

1.4.4 Characteristics of Task-based Syllabus

A task-based syllabus is based on task-based learning, an approach where learners carry out tasks such as solving a problem or planning an activity The language learnt comes out of the linguistic demands of the activity A task-based syllabus is structured around a series of these tasks In the classroom, various elements of the task-based approach are applicable to activities

in other methodologies For example, learners can see a model of the activity they are to do first, prepare a report of how they completed a task, or a project, and the teacher can record this report and analyse it for further work The tasks based syllabus characteristics are:

1 Task based instruction is powerful and widely applicable

2 Suitable for learners at all ages and backgrounds

3 Addresses the crucial problems directly by using active and real tasks as learning activities

4 Ability to perform the tasks is equivalent with the ability to use the language, so functional ability should be the natural outcome

5 It can be very affective when learners are engaged in similar out of class activities (social or academic)

6 Useful for learners who are not accustomed to traditional classroom

However, like any other type of syllabus, the task-based syllabus has its own advantages

and disadvantages Four major advantages of a task based syllabus include: Adequate

consideration of needs analysis, Authenticity of materials, Humanistic orientation, and Variety of tasks

The adequate consideration of needs analysis means that tasks are selected based on the

needs analysis of learners As a result, they can satisfy their demands Moreover, a task is a communicative activity that does not usually have a restrictive focus on a single grammatical structure It also had a non-linguistic outcome (Nunan, 2000) Consequently these authentic tasks can promote students‘ motivation and interest, which are of great importance to the second

language acquisition

The Authenticity of materials manifests itself in the fact that tasks involve authentic

materials targeted real-life contexts The authentic input, therefore, will facilitate students‘ foreign language acquisition In addition, authentic material and situations shall promote

learners‘ ability of coping with real problems

Regarding Humanistic orientation, students, in the process of completing the task, are encouraged to negotiate their meaning, to cooperate with other members in the group Consequently, their communicative competence is developed More importantly, they learn to be

a social man in the process of completing the task, which manifests the humanistic view of language education

Variety of tasks lies in the application of a repertoire of tasks, which is considered as a

practical means of broadening learners‘ potential to varied dynamic communicative situations or

dynamic social and occupational roles

As for the limitations of the task based syllabus, the biggest problem is the ambiguity of definition of task In spite of the many definitions provided by scholars such as Long (1985), Skehan (1998), Nunan (2000) etc, however, so far no agreement has been achieved on the nature

of ―task‖ Moreover, "no complete program has been implemented and evaluated which has fully adopted even the basic characteristics of TBLT much less the detailed principles for making materials design and methodological decisions (Long & Crookes, 1993).‖ So we have good reason to challenge the product based on unclear definition and inadequacy of empirical proof

The next limitation is that the task based syllabus tends to ignore other functions of

language From a multi—functional view of language, some people hold that task-based syllabus

may restrict the way in which language is used, causing learners to miss out on experiences that

maybe of crucial importance for successful language learning According to Yule (1997), most

of the tasks mentioned by the advocators are referential in nature And there might be some tasks involve the connative function such as the use of language to influence the actions of another person; or the metalingual as the use of language to communicate about the code itself, we still find that the poetic function remains unnoticed, which in accordance with Cook (1997, p.227) is

not conducive to the language acquisition

Personally, I think, this argument against task-based language teaching including task-based syllabus seems to be far-fetching and lack adequate evidence Actually, language function is realized through language itself We think as long as use of language is involved, all types of functions of language are realized at the same time It is not necessarily for task-based syllabus (in fact for any syllabus) to cover everything

The third limitation is the difficulty of grading the difficulty level of task In fact, it is hard

to grade the difficulty level of task Although many criteria of grading the task have been put forward as Nunan (2000), it still remains a difficult job as suggested by Widdowson (1968, pp.134-44) ―identification of valid, user-friendly sequencing criteria is one of the oldest unsolved problems in language teaching of all kinds‖ Naturally we found many scholars like Cheng (2002) hold the similar idea He further points out that ―the difficulty level of a certain task is not solely depend on the linguistic items, but it also has something to do with other factors such as the knowledge, the cognitive ability of the task performer and the objective of the task (p.30)‖ To make things even worse, Schinnerer-Erben claimed that ―natural sequences do not really exist in sufficient detail to be used as the basis for a precise order, nor have they been shown to facilitate

learning in a second language situation‖ (1981, p.11)

Scant attention to form is another concern about the task based syllabus Still some scholars

show their concern about potential tendency generated by task-based syllabus, that is, student will pay less attention to the form of language As suggested by Skehan (1996) excessive focus

on meaning during task completion will confine learners to the strategic solutions they develop and pay little attention to structural change or accuracy This has been echoed by Kellerman (1991) who argues that the widespread use of communication strategies will help the learner succeed with meaning while having the consequence of sometimes bypassing form ―As a result,

it may not be possible to rely on a task-based approach to automatically drive interlanguage forward, and it will be necessary "to devise methods of focusing on form without losing the

values of tasks as realistic communication motivators, and as opportunities to trigger

acquisitional processes" (Skehan 1996, p.42)

Finally, problems in practice have been highlighted by critiques of task based syllabus Task-based syllabus makes the teaching job demanding As we can see, task-based syllabus poses a great challenge to the proficiency level of the teachers, which might be a problem in the EFL situation Also the authentic data, the design of authentic tasks might become the obstacles

to the implementation of the syllabus

As mentioned earlier, students of Tourism at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts study English for occupational purposes Therefore, the English they need belongs to the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) category This type of English will be discussed below

1.4.5 How is ESP designed?

ESP has been defined differently by different authors Some regard it as ―an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner‘s reason for learning‖ (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p 19) Likewise, Strevens (1988, p 1) stated that ―ESP is a particular case of the general category of special-purpose language teaching‖ Most people (Streven, 1980; Robinson, 1980; Widdowson, 1983; Dudley-Evans and St John, 1997; etc.) have agreed that an ESP course would have the following features:

- It is purposeful and aimed at the successful performance of occupational or educational roles by an individual or a group

- It is based on an analysis of the students‘ needs and is tailor-made to meet these needs

- It may differ from another general language course in its selection of skills, themes, topics, situations, functions, language and methodology

Strevens (1988, p.84) produces a definition which covers more detailed characteristics of an ESP course ―English for specific purposes is a particular case of the general category of special-purpose language teaching The same principles apply no matter which language is being learnt and taught‖ From the definition, Strevens goes on to maintain that a definition of ESP needs to distinguish between absolute characteristics and variable characteristics The absolute characteristics of ESP are as follows:

+ ESP consists of English language teaching which is:

- Designed to meet specified needs of the learners;

- Related to content, to particular disciplines, occupations and activities;

- Centred on the language appropriate to those activities, in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc;

- In contrast with ―General English‖

+ ESP may be, but is not necessary:

- Restricted as to the language skills to be learned;

- Taught according to any pre-ordained methodology

With specific purposes in mind, the learners know clearly what they need to learn, and they will learn with high motivation what they find useful for their work later or at present For this reason, an ESP teacher should be aware of the learners‘ needs so as not to introduce irrelevant materials to the course

From the definitions and characteristics of task based syllabus and ESP, we can see that, task based syllabus can help ESP learners to achieve their goals Although task based syllabus has some shortcomings, tasks satisfy the practical needs of learners In case of students of Tourism, tasks are very necessary for them With tasks given, learners are not restricted in their use of language forms and tasks bear a relationship to real-world activities Authentic tasks are intrinsically motivating That is, students attempt them because they see that the task is, in itself, interesting and applicable to their work

CHAPTER 2 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS

AND NEEDS ANALYSIS

This chapter discusses Situational Considerations and Needs Analysis in syllabus design Since education is influenced by a variety of different factors, syllabus designers have to take into account factors such as learners, teachers, institutional conditions, etc All these factors will

be discussed in this chapter, which is followed by a discussion of needs analysis in the context of syllabus design

2.1 Situational Analysis

Five Situational Factors that need considering in syllabus design are the Educational Setting, Learner Factors, Teacher Factors, Institutional Factors, Assessment and Evaluation Requirements, and the currently used curriculum in which the syllabus fits

2.1.1 Educational Setting

Nghe An College of Culture and Arts is a public institution which enrolls students of Music, Art and Tourism disciplines Its three-year training program prepares students for working from different walks of life such as teachers of arts for elementary and junior high schools, artists, tourist staff, etc Students of tourism learn English for their future jobs with instructional schedules as follows

The first and second year students must complete three terms of basic English program which focuses on four skills including reading, speaking, listening and writing Lifeline Elementary book is the main syllabus of these terms The whole curriculum includes 120 periods

of 45 minutes including written exam for the first term and oral exam for other terms

The rest two terms focus on ESP, i.e., English of Tourism which takes 120 periods of 45 minutes including an oral exam Therefore, students will study totally 240 periods distributed in three years

As far as physical conditions and resources are concerned, each classroom is equipped with one blackboard, chairs and desks The average class size is 40 students, most of whom are

from the countryside In addition, there are several large classrooms equipped with electronic devices for power point presentation and a library with limited resources for learning English

2.1.2 Learner Factors

To be admitted to the college, students of tourism have to pass an entrance exam with three subjects including Literature, History and Geography It is impossible to measure their English levels because they do not have to take an exam of English before enrolling in the program Most of the students are from Nghe An and Ha Tinh Some of them are from rural and mountainous areas in which there are even no English teaching programs at secondary school Thus, the students‘ levels vary considerably

Often, some students have negative attitudes toward communicative practices because they have no means and no environment to practice Another factor that must be considered is the conventional teacher-centered instruction in college English education, where the teacher is the center of the classroom, giving instructions with little feedback from students All of the topics, materials, contents and activities are decided by the teacher without any reference to students‘ needs or the target needs The students have a few chances to choose what they like, which undermines their intrinsic motivation Another social point that needs to be taken into consideration is that Confucianism has a long history in Vietnam, which stresses modesty This attitude imposes a far-reaching impact on Vietnamese College students, as social members, often keep reserved and demonstrate less commitment to speak English in public, which demotivate themselves in learning oral English

Students should be involved in different task-based activities in their classroom whether

it is a guessing task, a describing exercise or conversation making For example, they can play roles as tour guide, receptionist or tourists Such activities also include games which especially focus on helping learners develop and use English in different contexts by making the lessons enjoyable

It is very necessary to develop critical thinking of students in colleges It develops and demonstrates critical thinking skills as students take positions in response to a question, consider other viewpoints, identify reasons in support of their positions, evaluate supporting reasons for truth and acceptability, and draw final conclusions based on discussion and it also takes responsibility for their own learning and for evaluating their own thoughts

2.1.3 Teacher Factors

Teachers and students are two parts in language teaching While students are the main body, teachers play a predominant role, because of students‘ ages, characters, psychology and lack of English knowledge Teachers‘ work is to motivate students‘ interest in English, cultivate students‘ sense of success, guide students to form good learning habits, enable them to communicate smoothly Teachers‘ guidance is the basis and premise for students to premise the goal These standards of teachers seem to be far from accomplishment because of some reasons: First, some students only learn English for their exams, others even have no motivation to learn English Second, to gain success in teaching English, teachers need modern teaching equipment which is not available in the school Instead, all their visual aids are conventional It takes much time not only for preparation but also in teaching process Third, teachers do not get well-paid to support their life and other material benefits are too low for individual and household survival needs to be met Some teachers have to do part time job, so they spend less time focusing on teaching career Fourth, with a big number of students, four teachers of English are not enough

So, it is necessary to look for other new teachers Consequently, the effectiveness of language teaching and learning is vague by lack of financial encouragements from the government

2.1.4 Institutional Factors

The English Division is part of the Department of General Education which consists of three main groups:

Group 1: the sciences of Maxist-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh ideology

Group 2: the sciences of society and humanity

Group 3: Practical subjects: foreign language (English), informatics and physical education

Seventy four % of the lecturers in our faculty hold a Master‘s degree and the rest are B.A graduates Besides the lecturers of the faculty, we also invite some lecturers from universities and colleges nearby to teach Members of the faculty have successfully finished General education programs and scientific research However, in my faculty, there are only four teachers

of English, three of whom hold a B.A degree None of these teachers were trained to teach ESP,

and neither were they trained in tourism-related content Therefore, the teachers of English have

to collect teaching materials and compile a book of tourism by themselves

In terms of the College‘s physical conditions, one of the problems facing students is the large class size and the arrangement of furniture, which makes movement during speaking activities almost impossible Many of students are unconfident in communicating English with others One of the main causes of this situation is that they do not have the communicative environment They often use Vietnamese when discussing, talking to their peers in the class Moreover, extracurricular activities such as games, contests, cultural exchanges related to English learning are hardly organized Also, my students have no chance to get access to modern mediums of communication There are no language labs, projectors, internet, and movies Some of the students ever said to me that ―we do like English, we want to practice as much as possible, especially we would like to talk with foreigners to improve our English and know their cultural aspects as well…‖ In fact, their expectations are yet to be responded because there are a few foreigners in the areas for them to talk to Besides, classroom environment with unavailable modern mediums prevent them from becoming good English speakers

To address these problems it is necessary to improve the school facilities and to create the target language environment for the students However, these are not realistic at least in the time

to come Hence, I believe that one possible solution is to design a task based syllabus instead of the current structural syllabus A task based syllabus, with its focus on specific tasks with simulate real life tasks, will give students opportunities to do something with the language inside the classroom This is expected to compensate for the shortage of facilities and the target language environment

2.1.5 Assessment and Evaluation Requirements

Testing and assessment are very important in learning activities because through assessment, two functions are achieved One is to get back and encourage and improve the teaching, another is to choose excellent students and find some problems in teaching and learning Through assessment, we should know what knowledge the students have mastered and what knowledge they haven‘t mastered The assessment can really help students to learn better

So, what way of assessment we adapt can lead to positive or negative results In my college, the way of testing and assessment does not motivate students to learn English for communicative

purposes The topics are not diversified, the oral tests do not force students to monitor their arguments This leads students to the thinking of the unimportance of speaking and listening

Many employers prefer to hire those who have mastered English communication skills, such as conversation, presentation, negotiation, and correspondence abilities For majority of students in the college, the absence of communicative assessments makes it hard to motivate the students to develop their communicative competence

As far as the importance of testing and assessment is concerned, testing four skills such

as reading, writing, listening and speaking should receive good attention To successfully adapt this issue, we should equip adequately necessary facilities for tests such as, cassette players or video players; well arrange time and improve the organization of classroom for communicative tests The most important thing is that we need to focus on teaching listening, writing, speaking and reading to students in combination of examinations and assessments on these four skills Especially, for students of Tourism, they should take oral tests and present topics related to Tourism

To be more specific, students should be assessed in terms of their ability to perform tasks

by using English their grammar and vocabulary

2.1.6 The Existing Curriculum

The existing curriculum is compiled by teachers of English of the faculty It is a structural syllabus, which emphasizes the acquisition of discrete grammatical structures and the ability to use those structures in some imagined target situations of use The contents of the book are collected from different sources The whole curriculum includes 120 periods including English

in Hotel This provides students system of vocabulary used in hotel and many situations are dealt everyday in the hotel

English for Tour guiding program focuses on many famous destinations in Nghe An in particular and in Vietnam in general The tour guiding program aims at providing students knowledge of beautiful sightseeing in Vietnam in English, help them to practice the skills needed for a tourguide so that they can be confident to serve their future job

However, after several years of being implemented, the syllabus has revealed many limitations The common concern among teachers in the department is that the syllabus fails to prepare the students adequately for their future jobs which require them the ability to use English

in carrying out a variety of tasks This motivates me to attempt to design a new syllabus which is more task-oriented

2.2 Task-based Needs Analysis

According to the task-based syllabus proposed by Long and Crookes (1992, p 26), TBLT adopts tasks as the analytic unit of the syllabus and organizes a course around different types of tasks Principles underlying TBLT also emphasize the importance of developing pedagogic tasks based on real-world tasks that learners need to perform using the target language after or during the course As a result, to develop a TBLT program, it is necessary to conduct a task-based needs analysis to identify real-world target tasks and to develop pedagogic tasks based on these Task-based needs analysis is assumed to enhance the real-world relevance of the course and increase student interest and motivation Robinson (2001) has noted:

Adopting tasks as the unit of analysis helps to ensure a high degree of real-world relevance, since they are based on a needs analysis of target performance objectives, thereby most likely increasing student interest and motivation in classroom pedagogic activities, and the possibility of direct transfer of the abilities developed in classrooms to similar situational contexts (p 292)

Task-based needs analysis (Long, 2005, p.45) is distinguished from a traditional needs analysis framework such as target situation analysis (Munby, 1978), present situation analysis (Richterich & Chancerel, 1980), and learning centered approach (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) in that the former adopts tasks as the unit of analysis and syllabus design while the latter have used linguistic categories (lexical, structural, notional, and/or functional) as the units of analysis Long (2005) also claims that task-based needs analysis has advantages over other traditional needs analysis approaches since: (a) task-based needs analysis provides more valid data on the target tasks by utilizing the knowledge of domain experts rather than outsiders‘ such as language teachers and applied linguists; (b) task-based needs analysis identifies the real-world uses of the target language, the dynamic qualities of the target discourse while traditional linguistically based needs analyses provide a list of decontextualized structural items; and (c) the results of task-based needs analysis can be readily used as input for the task-based or content-based course design

Following is a needs analysis of target situation tasks based on the responses to the questionnaire by the in-service hotel staff and tourguides

2.2.1 Needs Analysis of Hotel Staff and Tourguides in Nghe An

English for Hotel Staff

As part of curriculum development, a survey by questionnaires was conducted to find out what is needed in the teaching process of Nghe An College of Culture and Arts and necessary skills and knowledge that hotel staff and tourguides must be prepared for The questionnaire consists of open questions of three categories: Topics, Tasks and Skills Those questions were applied to 40 people who are now working in hotels and 30 tourguides in Nghe An province

The 40 people who are working in the hotels were asked about their common work in the hotel and the situations that they have to deal with everyday The result of survey is presented in table 2.1

Tasks

Self-reported frequency of target situation tasks

(No of responses)

Very often

8 Dealing with customers’

Table 2.1: Tasks that hotel staff are expected to perform (N=40)

All the figures collected above are the result of my survey questionnaires for hotel staff which support my study

The results of needs analysis serve as a guideline for syllabus design The contents of the curriculum are partly based on the frequency of the work done by respondents In other words, if

a majority of the surveyed people respond to very often and often columns, we consider it

necessary to include such contents in the syllabus As can be seen in the table, the hotel staff deal with work items 1 ―checking in‖ and 2 ―checking out‖ most frequently, with 80 and 82 % of them regularly involved in the work, respectively This indicates that language skills and knowledge for hotel reception are indispensible for would-be hotel employees Making room reservations by email/fax and telephone is also common with 50 % of the respondents often doing it by fax and/or emails and 45% receiving customers‘ room reservations by phone in comparison with only 12 % by face to face

For items 6,7,8 ―Dealing with customers‘ complaints‖, most of customers choose to do it

by phone (with 25% responses to very often and often) and 40 % do this work directly and only

45% do it by email Also, dealing with hotel service (37%) is more frequent than travel service (30%) while serving at a restaurant and at a hotel bar is common work for hotel employees Therefore, these skills should also be equipped for students of tourism

When asked about how they would apologize for poor services (emails and/or fax), ten people replied they never dealt with this situation Only six people always send apology to their

customers by fax or email This input is excluded from the syllabus as it is of marginal frequency

Based on the results of the survey, 8 topics, which are most frequently mentioned in the

survey, have been selected for this course book: Checking in, checking out, dealing with

customers’ complaints face-to-face, hotel services, serving at the hotel’s bar, serving at the restaurants, dealing with customers’ complaints by emails, and travel services

English for Tourguides

Due to time constraints of the English courses, we limit the contents of the syllabus to what students need most when they do the work The information about statistics of foreign tourists to Nghe An was obtained from the director of Nghe An Department of Tourism, who generously provided us with important details for our study According to the statistics of Tourism sector, the number of tourists to Nghe An has been increasing in the last three years Apart from inland tourists, there are also a great number of foreign tourists to the province A majority of them come from France, England, Canada, Australia, China, Thailand and some from other Asian countries

When visiting Nghe An, they considered it to be a very wonderful landscape and historical and cultural heritages One of the problems that they usually face to is the language barrier because the tour guides in Nghe An can not sometimes express successfully their ideas

As the administrator of Nghe An tourism sector, the director suggests that the tourguides must speak English fluently and have not only a good knowledge of Vietnamese culture but also the cultures of the countries the travelers come from so as to avoid culture bumps

In order to gain information about the tasks that a tour guide usually does, we conducted

a survey to 30 tour guides in the city Before designing the questionnaire, we interviewed five professional tour guides about their tasks, based on which we developed the items for the survey

As can be seen from the table, there are 12 main types of tasks that they suggested Due to time constraint of the syllabus, only nine most common tasks would be chosen to be included in the curriculum The 30 informants were those who have at least two years‘ experience as a tour guide The results are shown in the Table 2.2

The Table indicates nine most common tasks for a tour guide, namely items 1, 2, 3, 6, 7,

8, 9, 10, and 11 The three types of tasks that tour guides always do, including Welcoming

tourists, Announcing tour itineraries, and Acting as an interpreter While the first two items does

not require high level of proficiency since they usually follow certain language patterns, acting

as an interpreter is the most demanding job for a tour guide As our students are not intensively trained to become an interpreter, their language skills are generally not sufficient to do complicated interpretation Therefore, it would be a good idea to equip them with the language which is required most for them The interview with five professional tour guides revealed that they often have to interpret at museums and historical places which have their own on-site tour guides to introduce the premises Thus, language for museums and historical sites will be included in the syllabus to familiarize students with their future jobs

Language for item 3, Describe and explain points of interest on the tour, is somehow

similar to that of item 7 in that both are concerned with points of interests The difference is that for the former case the tour guide can control what he talks, i.e., he only talks what he is able to while the latter case requires him or her to interpret another person‘s words The tour guide can prepare in advance for task 3 before travelling This suggests that when teaching task 3, the teacher should require students to do the same way

It should be noted that task 10, Entertain tourists by telling stories, is a culturally

sensitive issue since tourists may not share the same background with the tour guide A story may sound funny in Vietnamese culture but may sound odd in another culture I have witnessed

an embarrassing experience in my department when a colleague of mine told a Vietnamese funny story in English but my American work mate found it weird She even said to me that it was ridiculous Therefore, the teacher should raise awareness for the students so that they can avoid potential culture shocks

Items 6, 8, and 9 are prefabricated discourse, that is, instructions about safety and

customs are what the tour guide can learn by heart and repeat it when he or she is on tour Item

11, Dealing with tourists’ questions, is a bit more challenging because the tour guide does not

know in advance what tourists want to ask Hence, the teacher should prepare students to cope with such situations Canale and Swain (1980) defined communicative competence in terms of

four components, namely Grammatical competence, Socio-linguistic competence, Discourse

competence, and Strategic competence

Table 2.2: Tasks that tourguides are expected to perform (N=30)

The Strategic competence means that when interlocutors encounter difficulty in communication, they resort to other means to make themselves understood The future tour

(No of responses)

4

Arrange entry to places such as

museums, government buildings

and exhibitions

9

Teach tourists about customs or

matter of etiquette that you think

tourists should be aware of (such as

at a temple or a museum)

guides should also be prepared for these situations When they do not understand tourists, they can make use of other means to understand their customers

Tourguides’ opinions about language skills

There are six language skills necessary for tour guides, namely listening, speaking, reading, writing, translating and interpreting Tourguides were asked to find out four of six language skills which are very necessary for their jobs The result is illustrated below:

Give information to tourists - speaking

Understand tourists‘ questions – listening

Help tourists communicate with local people - interpreting

Get information before the tour – reading and listening

For job skills, they considered that communication, organization, group management and problem solving skills are very important for a tourguide They use communication skills to communicate with different people from many different countries However, the cultures are not the same, so tourguides must have a wide knowledge of culture to deal with different situations Besides, a tourguide must organize different activities during the tour, so they need to have a good organizing skill Moreover, tourists may make many questions and everything may happen during the tour, therefore, problem solving skills are very necessary for the tourguide to solve with the problems in the tour

2.3 Summary

This chapter presents information about factors to be considered in syllabus design These factors include situational analysis and needs analysis Information about situational factors and the target needs are analyzed on the basis of the survey questionnaire data The next chapter presents the proposed syllabus as an outcome of these analyses