UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES **************************************** HOÀNG THỊ HẢI ĐƯỜNG TEACHERS’ LINGUISTIC AND PEDAGOGICAL C
Trang 1UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
****************************************
HOÀNG THỊ HẢI ĐƯỜNG
TEACHERS’ LINGUISTIC AND PEDAGOGICAL
CHALLENGES IN TEACHING ESP VOCABULARY TO THE THIRD – YEAR STUDENTS OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING AT HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF
INDUSTRY BASED IN THANH HOA
(NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN VỀ NGÔN NGỮ VÀ SƯ PHẠM TRONG VIỆC DẠY TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ BA CHUYÊN NGÀNH ĐIỆN
TỬ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH CƠ SỞ
THANH HÓA)
MINOR M.A THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10
HÀ NỘI, 2011
Trang 2UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
****************************************
HOÀNG THỊ HẢI ĐƯỜNG
TEACHERS’ LINGUISTIC AND PEDAGOGICAL
CHALLENGES IN TEACHING ESP VOCABULARY TO THE THIRD – YEAR STUDENTS OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING AT HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF
INDUSTRY BASED IN THANH HOA
(NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN VỀ NGÔN NGỮ VÀ SƯ PHẠM TRONG VIỆC DẠY TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ BA CHUYÊN NGÀNH ĐIỆN
TỬ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH CƠ SỞ
THANH HÓA)
MINOR M.A THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: VŨ MAI TRANG, M.A
HÀ NỘI, 2011
Trang 3TABLE OF CONTENTS
Candidate’s statement ………i
Acknowledgements ……….ii
Abstract ……… …iii
Table of contents ………iv
List of abbreviations ……….vii
List of tables ………viii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ……… 1
1.1Rationale……….1
1.2 Aims of the study ……… 1
1.3 Research questions ……… 2
1.4 Scope of the study ………2
1.5 Methods of the study ………3
1.6.Design of the study ……… 3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ……… 4
2.1 An overview of ESP ……….4
2.1.1 The Concepts of ESP……… 4
2.2.1 Classification of ESP……… 4
2.2 Teaching ESP vocabulary……….4
2.2 1 What is ESP and EEE vocabulary……… 5
2.2.1.1 What is ESP vocabulary……… 5
2.2.1.2 What is EEE vocabulary………5
2.2.2 Important aspects of ESP vocabulary teaching……… 5
Trang 42.2.2.1 Word formation ……….5
2.2.2.2 Word - form ……… 6
2.2.2.3 Grammar………6
2.2.2.4 Aspects of meaning………6
2.2.2.5 Pronunciation and spelling……….7
2.3 Terminology……… 8
2.3.1 Definition of terminology………8
2.3.2 Characteristics of terminology……… 8
2 4 Methodology in vocabulary teaching……… 9
2.4.1 The grammar- translation method……… 9
2.4.2 Direct Method………10
2.4.3 The communicative approach (CLT)……… 10
2.4.4 Audio-lingual method………11
2.5 ESP teaching vocabulary challenges for teachers……… 11
2.5.1 The roles of ESP teachers……… 11
2.5.2 Teachers’ linguistic challenges in ESP vocabulary……… 13
2.5.3 Teachers’ pedagogical challenges in teaching ESP Vocabulary………… 14
2.6 Summary……… 15
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………16
3.1 The context of teaching and learning vocabulary at Ho Chi Minh university of industry……… 16
3.1.1 Brief introduction of Ho Chi Minh City University of industry based in Thanh Hoa……… …16
3.1.2 The teachers and teaching methods……… 16
3.1.3 The students and their background ……… 17
3.2 The course book……… 18
3.2.1 The textbook……… 18
Trang 53.2.2 Book content……….18
3.3 Methods and procedures ……… 19
3.3.1 Research questions ……… 19
3.3.2 The participants ………19
3.3.3 Data collection instruments ……… 19
3.3.4 Data collection procedure ………20
3.3.5 Data analysis ………21
3.4 Findings and discussion .21
3.4.1 The teachers’ questionnaire ……….21
3.4.1.1 The teachers’ linguistic challenges in teaching EEE vocabulary …… 21
3.4.1.2 The teachers’ pedagogical challenges in teaching EEE vocabulary ….23 3.4.1.3 The teachers’ personal view of sources of their challenges in teaching EEE vocabulary ……… 24
3.4.1.4 The teachers’ suggestions to improve their EEE vocabulary teaching……….26
3.4.2 Findings from the interviews and journal writings……… 27
3.4.2.1 The teachers’ linguistic challenges in teaching EEE vocabulary ……27
3.4.2.2 The teachers’ pedagogical challenges in teaching EEE vocabulary 30
3.4.2.3 The teachers’ suggestions to improve their EEE vocabulary teaching 31
CHAPTER 4: SOLUTIONS……….33
4.1 Ways of training EFL Teachers for ESP teaching……… 33
4.2 Improving teachers’ professional knowledge……….34
4.3 Improving teacher’s activities in teaching vocabulary……… 34
4.3.1 Sample activity 1: Guess the meaning……….….35
4.3.2 Sample activity 2: Brainstorming………35
Trang 64.3.3 Sample activity 3: Group-work ……… …… 35
4.4 Teaching word formation………37
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS……….39
5 1 Summary of the study………39
5 2 Limitations and suggestions for further studies ………40
REFERENCES ……… 41 APPENDICES ……… I APPENDIX 1 ……… I APPENDIX 2 ……… IV APPENDIX 3………VI
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TEACHERS’ LINGUISTIC AND PEDAGOGICAL CHALLENGES IN TEACHING ESP VOCABULARY TO THE THIRD – YEAR STUDENTS OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING AT HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY BASED IN
THANH HOA
Chapter1: Introduction
1.1 Rationale
Nowadays, the English language has been widely used in many areas such as politics, economics, tourism, telecommunication, culture, science, technology, so on Since Vietnam carried out the open door policy towards the regional and global integration, the English language has become more and more important for people of all ages and careers nationwide Therefore, there is great demand for teaching and learning English throughout the country for different purposes
In teaching English for Specific Purposes, however, no one argues that the scope of specialized vocabulary is a primary goal Up to now, teaching ESP, particularly teaching vocabulary, has still been far from satisfaction With many similar characteristics and a number of different features in comparison with General English, ESP is viewed as something hard to teach for language teachers
In the context of Ho Chi Minh University of Industry ( HUI ) based in Thanh Hoa province, students are taught English as a compulsory subject In addition, students of Electronic Engineering have to learn English for electronics at the beginning of the third academic year In fact, with a short duration of 30 periods, one of the most important aims of ESP course for these students is achieving basic ESP vocabulary However, in reality, the teacher researcher has seen students have troubled during their English learning process In the first place, most of the students said that they had to deal with a wider range of unfamiliar words and cope with their growing specialized vocabulary Consequently, it is hard for them to study with their limited knowledge of vocabulary They often learn vocabulary passively through their teachers‟ explanation There are also too many new words given in each lesson, too little time spent on memorizing and recycling those words
As a teacher of English for Electronics Engineering (EEE), the teacher herself finds out many difficulties during teaching vocabulary At first, in her opinion, the difficulties probably arise from the lack of specialized knowledge, which makes teachers fail to provide every reasonable explanation Moreover, the target students at HUI based in Thanh Hoa province are at lower levels
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in comparison with those at colleges or universities on the ground of needs, interest and motivation In addition, it is difficult for teachers to understand a lot of terminology, complicated structures and countless expressions
Facing this problem, the teacher researcher of English of HUI made an attempt to do something to change the ways of teaching and learning vocabulary in order to improve the students' learning effectiveness to help them succeed in their future job In this study, therefore, the
teacher researcher has conducted a research namely: “Teachers’ linguistic and pedagogical
challenges in teaching ESP vocabulary to the third-year students of Electronics Engineering
at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry based in Thanh Hoa province”
1.2.Aims of the study
The study aimed at:
- Giving a brief overview about ESP, vocabulary and its relevance in teaching English for Electronics Engineering at HUI
- Finding out Teachers‟ linguistic and pedagogical challenges that ESP teachers at HUI are facing in teaching English vocabulary to students of Electronics Engineering
- Suggesting some solutions to the teaching of vocabulary to students of Electronics Engineering effectively
1.3 Research questions
The research is carried out with an attempt to find out the answer to the following research questions:
- What are the main teachers‟ linguistic and pedagogical challenges experienced by teachers who are teaching ESP vocabulary to students of Electronics Engineering at HUI?
- What solutions should be offered to help teachers to find out the effective ways to teach ESP vocabulary to students of Electronics Engineering at HUI?
1.4 Scope of the study
Dealing with all types of teaching ESP vocabulary is too large for studying this size Thus, this study focuses on investigating linguistic and pedagogy challenges that the teacher encounters in teaching ESP vocabulary to students of the third-year students of Electronics Engineering at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry based in Thanh Hoa province
Therefore, proper teaching methods can be adopted to help them overcome the difficulties The solutions are also provided to help to improve teaching and learning English in general, teaching and learning English Electronic vocabulary in particular at HUI
1.5 Methods of the study
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In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, the study was designed to use varieties of methods including interview, questionnaire and teaching journal analysis The data were recorded both formally and informally The survey questionnaire to teachers is to get more information to support the study
1.6 Design of the study
The thesis consists of five chapters, with a list of references, and appendices
Chapter I: “Introduction”, presents the rationale, objectives, research questions, scope as well
as methods of the study
Chapter II: “Literature review”, deals with the theoretical background for the study The
focus of this chapter is vocabulary and ESP vocabulary, some important aspects of ESP vocabulary teaching, some techniques currently used in teaching vocabulary and ESP vocabulary
Chapter III: “Methodology”, is the main part of the study It gives a brief introduction on the
context of teaching ESP vocabulary at HUI, the data collection methods and procedures In addition, the data will be analyzed and the findings will reveal the difficulties in teaching ESP vocabulary to the third-year students at HUI Some suggestions to improve the teaching of ESP vocabulary will be given in this chapter
Chapter IV: „Solution”, deals with ways to improving the teaching ESP vocabulary at HUI Chapter V: “Conclusions”, summarizes the findings, refers to some limitations of the study,
and offers suggestions for further studies
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 An overview of ESP and English of Electronics Engineering
2.1.1 The Concepts of ESP
2.1.2 Classification of ESP
2.2 Teaching ESP vocabulary
2.2.1 What is ESP and EEE vocabulary
2.2.1.1 What is ESP vocabulary
2.2.1.2 What is EEE vocabulary
2.2.2 Important aspects of ESP vocabulary teaching
2.2.2.1 Word formation
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2.2.2.2 Word - form
2.2.2.3 Grammar
2.2.2.4 Aspects of meaning
2.2.2.5 Pronunciation and spelling
2.3 Terminology
2.3.1 Definition of terminology
2.3.2 Characteristics of terminology
2.4 Methodology in vocabulary teaching
2.4.1 The Grammar- translation method
2.4.2 The Direct Method
2.4.3 The Audio-lingual method
2.4.4 The Communicative approach (CLT)
2.5 Teachers’ linguistic and pedagogical challenges in teaching ESP vocabulary
2.5.1 The roles of ESP teachers
2.5.2 Teachers’ linguistic challenges in ESP vocabulary
2.5.3 Teachers’ pedagogical challenges in teaching ESP vocabulary
2.6 Summary
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 The context of teaching and learning vocabulary at Ho Chi Minh University of Industry
3.1.1 Brief introduction of Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry based in Thanh Hoa Province
3.1.2 Teachers and teaching methods
3.1.3 Students and their background
3.2 The course book
3.2.1 The textbook
After finishing the course of General English, the students are taught English for Specific
Purpose Students of Electronics learn the book “English for Electronics” which was written by
Eric H Glendinning &John Mc “English for Electronics” aims to provide students with basic knowledge and skill to work in electronic environment
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Actually, this book consists of 30 units, designed in harmonious combination with EEE topics
to enable students to develop both their language skills in EEE world, from low to higher Clearly, each unit is divided into five parts, and each part lays a focus on grammar, function or vocabulary
As a result, in each unit, students have more opportunities to learn and develop their knowledge in categories of grammar, vocabulary, communication skill, and pronunciation through practice activities of, reading, writing, and speaking
3.2.2 Book content
The whole course for the third year EE students consists of 6 units from unit 1 to unit 6 in the first semester The syllabus consists of 30 periods (45 minutes per period) and is delivered within 6
weeks covering 6 topics as follows: Unit 1: Electronics in the home -Unit 2: Component values-Unit 3: Making a recording - values-Unit 4: Remote control-values-Unit 5: Alarm systems -values-Unit 6: Radio
The following unit structure is used throughout the book with some variation among 9 units:
1 Tuning-in : introducing the topic through picture description or fact discussion
2 Language study: revise structures and grammatical points necessary for students to deal with electronic documents in English i.e Actions in sequence, If sentences, Reduced time clauses
3 Word study: developing students ‟knowledge of electronic terms, vocabulary use and word form, i.e Prefixes, Word pairs, Transitive verbs
4 Technical reading: providing practice through various kinds of tasks as well as expanding students‟ vocabulary repertoire, i.e Understanding diagrams, Resistor values, Capacitor values, Diode codes
5 Writing: Provide practice in writing skills, i.e Describing diagrams, a process, a system
It is very effective to work with this book as it provides students with a great deal of technical terms and develops their reading comprehension and writing electronic documents However, the teachers and students have found it difficult in teaching this course book because of the following reasons
First, as each unit has five periods the students usually do not have enough time to practice in class Second, the vocabulary teaching integrated with other skills meaning that no separate vocabulary lesson is provided Consequently, the teacher have to decide themselves how to teach vocabulary, when and how much to teach as well Next, there are a lot of difficult abbreviations
and too many difficult and long terms in a task e.g R(1K)/ a one kilohm resistor: C (5-65PF)/a five-to-sixty-five-picofarad capacitor, BZX55C2V4./ a silicon zener diode which has 5%
tolerance and 2,4 V zener voltage