Factors affecting reading comprehension of English for computer science of the second year students at Vinh Technical Teachers' Training University = Những yếu

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Department of POST GRADUATE STUDIES @ Đinh ThỊ THU FACTORS AFFECTING READING COMPREHENSION OF ENGLISH FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE OF THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT VINH TECHNICAL TEACHERS’ TRAINING UNIVERSITY (Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến việc đọc hiểu tiếng anh chuyên ngành tin học sinh viên năm thứ hai trường đại học sư phạm kỹ thuật Vinh) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HANOI - 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Department of POST GRADUATE STUDIES @ Đinh ThỊ THU FACTORS AFFECTING READING COMPREHENSION OF ENGLISH FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE OF THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT VINH TECHNICAL TEACHERS’ TRAINING UNIVERSITY (Những yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến việc đọc hiểu tiếng anh chuyên ngành tin học sinh viên năm thứ hai trường đại học sư phạm kỹ thuật Vinh) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Dr Dương Thị Nụ HANOI - 2010 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VTTTU: Vinh Technical Teachers’ Training University GE: General English ESP: English for Specific Purposes CS: Computer Science IT: Information Technology L1: The first language L2: The second language v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure: Students’ background Table 1: Students’ attitudes towards ESP reading Table 2: Students’ preparation lessons before going to class Table 3: Students’ frequency of reading supplementary materials Table 4: Students’ evaluation of the texts in the current ESP reading material Table 5: The causes of the students’ difficulties in reading English for CS Table 6: Activities the teachers ask the students to at pre/ post-reading stages Table 7: Activities carried out by the teachers to motivate students in a reading lesson Table 8: The learners’ expectation in terms of ESP materials Table 9: The learners’ expectation in terms of teaching methodology vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ………………………………………………………………………………… i Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………ii Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………iii List of abbreviations……………………………………………………………………… iv List of figures and tables ………………………………………………………………… v Table of contents ………………………………………………………………………….vi Part A: Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 1 Rationale ………………………………………………………………………… Aims of the study ………………………………………………………………….2 Methods of the study……………………………………………………………… Scope of the study ……………………………………………………………… Organization of the thesis ………………………………………………………… Part B: Development …………………………………………………………………… Chapter 1: Theoretical background …………………………………………………….4 1.1 The nature of reading …………………………………………………………… 1.1.1 Definitions of reading and reading comprehension……………………… 1.1.2 Classification of reading according to purpose of reading ……………… 1.1.3 Reading in General English and in ESP ………………………………… 1.2 ESP reading ……………………………………………………………………… 1.2.1 Definitions of ESP ……………………………………………………… 1.2.2 Reading skills in ESP …………………………………………………… 1.2.3 Factors in teaching and learning ESP reading …………………………… 1.2.3.1 ESP teachers and their roles ……………………………………… 1.2.3.2 ESP students and their roles ……………………………………… 1.2.3.3 ESP materials and their roles ……………………………………… 10 1.3 ESP reading difficulties for foreign language learners …………………………10 1.3.1 Reading skills problems …………………………………………………11 vii 1.3.2 Language problems …………………………………………………… 11 1.4 Summary ……………………………………………………………………… 12 Chapter 2: Investigation into the current situation of teaching and learning English for Computer Science at Vinh Technical Teachers’ training University ( VTTTU ) 2.1 Introduction of the VTTTU …………………………………………………… 13 2.2 The teachers and their teaching methods ……………………………………… 13 2.3 The students and their background …………………………………………… 14 2.4 The teaching and learning English at VTTTU ………………………………… 14 2.5 The present ESP syllabus and materials …………………………………………15 Chapter 3: The study ………………………………………………………………… 16 3.1 Research questions ………………………………………………………………16 3.2 Participants ………………………………………………………………………16 3.3 The data collection method …………………………………………………… 16 3.4 The data collection procedure ………………………………………………… 17 3.5 Data analysis …………………………………………………………………… 17 3.5.1 Factors affecting reading English for Computer Science at VTTTU ………18 3.5.1.1 The participants’ background …………………………………………18 3.5.1.2 Students’ attitudes towards ESP reading …………………………… 19 3.5.1.3 The reading materials ……………………………………………… 21 3.5.1.4 The teachers and teaching methods ………………………………… 23 3.5.2 The learners’ expectation in terms of ESP materials ……………………… 25 3.5.3 The learners’ expectation in terms of teaching methodology ………………26 3.6 Summary ……………………………………………………………………… 28 Chapter 4: Recommendations to improve the quality of the teaching and learning to read English for CS at VTTTU …………………………………………………………29 4.1 Improving teachers’ classroom techniques …………………………………… 29 4.1.1 Increasing students’ reading interest and motivation …………………… 29 4.1.2 Applying different approaches to teach vocabulary ……………………… 29 4.2 Training students to become efficient readers ………………………………… 30 4.2.1 Training students with different reading strategies ……………………… 30 4.2.2 Encouraging students to develop extensive reading habits ……………… 32 4.2.3 Giving homework and checking the previous lessons frequently …………32 viii 4.3 Improving teachers’ background knowledge about CS and teaching methodology 4.3.1 Improving teachers’ background knowledge about CS ……………………33 4.3.2 Improving teachers’ teaching methodology ……………………………… 33 4.4 Developing E CS reading materials …………………………………………… 34 4.4.1 Adapting and improving reading exercises ……………………………… 34 4.4.2 Choosing supplementary reading materials ……………………………… 35 4.5 Summary ……………………………………………………………………… 35 Part C: Conclusion …………………………………………………………………… 36 Conclusions of the study ………………………………………………………… 36 Limitations of the study and Suggestions for Further study …………………… 37 References ……………………………………………………………………………… 38 Appendices ……………………………………………………………………………… I PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale English learning has been popular in Vietnam over the last few decades Especially, learning English has become a burgeoning need when Vietnam fosters its international relations Everyday an increasing number of people learn and use English for different purposes In teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has recently received a great deal of attention It has been introduced in the training curriculum at almost every university in Vietnam as recognition of the increasing importance of the language as a tool to help students access information and technological advancements of the world One of the main objectives of the ESP program is to develop the students‟ skills in accessing, analyzing, and evaluating critically the information available for their career purposes Therefore, being able to read in a foreign language, especially in English is often important to academic studies, professional success and personal development It is obvious that reading is given the most important account for the students of Information Technology That is because reading is not only the important means to get knowledge but also means of further study By means of English, the learners can take it professionally in their future work as well as reading their specialized materials It is completely true for the students of IT At VTTTU, after finishing three semesters of GE, the students of IT department begin to take 60 ESP periods of CS Being an ESP teacher of CS, the researcher has always been aware of the importance of developing the reading skills for IT students If the students read well, they are able to handle subjects related written materials in English and to work with modern technological equipments But in fact, despite of the effort of the teachers and students, the researcher finds her students‟ reading skills disappointed, which not meet the requirements of the college and they have a lot of difficulties in reading English for CS For all the above reasons, the researcher would like to find out the factors affecting reading comprehension of English for CS of the second year students at VTTTU It is hoped that the study will make some suggestions for teachers and students to improve the quality of teaching and learning English for CS at VTTTU Aims of the study The study aims to examine the factors affecting reading comprehension of English for Computer Science of the second year students at VTTTU To be more specific, the objectives of the study are: - To examine the students‟ attitudes towards ESP reading - To investigate the current situation of teaching and learning English for CS at VTTTU in order to find out the factors affecting reading comprehension of English for CS of the second year students at VTTTU - To investigate the learners‟ needs in terms of reading materials and methodology - To give some recommendations to improve the quality of teaching and learning English for CS at VTTTU It is hoped that the findings from this study will be of some benefits to teachers and students at VTTTU Method of the study In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, the methodologies adopted for this study are a survey questionnaire with 100 students which is used as the main method to collect the needed data from the learners and informal interviews and discussions with the teachers as well as the researcher‟s observation during the course Scope of the study The study mainly focuses on the investigation of factors most affecting reading comprehension of English for Computer Science of the second year students at VTTTU, and then suggests some techniques to help them improve their ESP reading Organization of the thesis This minor thesis consists of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion The first part concludes the rationale for the study, the aims, the methods, and the scope of the study as well as the organization of the thesis The second part consists of four chapters Chapter discusses the theoretical background to the nature of reading and reading comprehension and reading in ESP teaching and learning Chapter investigates the current situation of teaching and learning English for CS at VTTTU Chapter deals with the research methodology which covers the research questions, the participants, the data collection method, and the data collection procedure as well as the data analysis, findings and some discussion of findings Chapter offers some possible suggestions to improve the current situation of teaching and learning English for Computer Science at VTTTU The last part- Conclusion - summarizes the main issues of the study, points out the limitations and makes some suggestions for further research 32 - Time and order: pre- (before), prime- (first), post- (after), ante- (before) - Location: ex- (out), extra- (beyond), super- (over), inter- (between), trans- (across) - Size: semi- (half), mini- (small), micro- (very small), macro- (very big) + Suffixes: - Nouns: -ance, -ence, -ian –ness, -ation, -sion, -ity, -ment,- er, -or, -ist - Verbs:-en, -ify,-fy, -ize, -ate - Adjectives: -able, -ible, -ful, -ical,- ish, -less - Adverbs:-ly - Using context clues: Students can deduce the possible meanings of unfamiliar words or phrases by using the meanings of other words such as synonyms and antonyms in the same sentence or paragraph as a whole Predicting: Students can learn to make prediction on the basis of the title, subtitle, linguistic context, or non- linguistic context such as graphs, tables, diagrams, maps, and their knowledge of topic This skill not only activates their mind but also gives them a strong motivation to proceed to the next step of the lesson Inference: Making implications and inference was perceived by the students as the most difficult skill Therefore, it is the teachers‟ responsibility to teach this skill as comprehension involves understanding both explicitly stated things and implied ones Readers have to make inference based on what is stated and deduce what is implied 4.2.2 Encouraging students to develop extensive reading habits The results of this study have shown that most of students were in lack of necessary vocabulary related to the subject matters and their limited knowledge of the subject might hinder their reading comprehension Reading extensively outside the classroom can help the students increase the vocabulary, enrich their understanding of language and knowledge of the subject matter According to Nuttal (1996:168), “the best way to improve your knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among its speakers The next best way is to read extensively in it” Therefore, teachers should give students reading materials that are suitable for their levels, the source of these materials and the way to read effectively in order to motivate them to have extensive reading habit This can be a good way to improve reading speed and comprehension 4.2.3 Giving homework and checking the previous lessons frequently 33 In order to form a habit of frequent study for students, teacher should give them a variety of reading exercises such as answering the questions about the texts, translating, summarizing, finding new words in the texts, …with different levels of difficulty after each lesson Then, the given exercises must be checked as warm-up activities in the next class In this way, students would become more responsible for and interested in their learning If the teacher doesn‟t give homework and check the previous lessons frequently, the students will become lazier and their reading will go worse 4.3 Improving teachers’ background knowledge about CS and teaching methodology 4.3.1 Improving teachers’ background knowledge about CS As a matter of fact, teachers teaching English for CS are facing the traditional problems of ESP teachers, to be specific, their poor knowledge of subject matter As mentioned above, these teachers are teachers of GE who have unexpectedly found themselves required to teach students with special needs So they have to face to many difficulties, of which the gap of knowledge in the subject matter seems to be their major concern Although ESP teachers not need to be an expert in the subject matter, they are expected to have quite enough knowledge of computer science to perform well in class Therefore, without the basic knowledge of the fundamental principles of the target discipline, it is difficult for the teachers to avoid ineffective class performance in asking right questions, giving feedback to answers, explaining new terminologies or choosing supplementary materials for the students That is why teachers of English for CS should master the specialized content as much as possible Moreover, they should be provided with some further in-service training in CS field by CS specialists Besides, attending workshops or lectures given by the CS specialists and contacting with subject teachers and specialists are essential for teachers to improve their professional knowledge about CS These can help the teachers to become familiar with the course books, understand the subject matter better and build up self-confidence in class performance to handle the specialized content 4.3.2 Improving teachers’ teaching methodology It is necessary that CS English teachers should be trained in teaching methodologies applied to ESP classroom The role of ESP teachers in the teaching and learning process must be flexible The teacher is no longer expected to dominate all work in the classroom 34 by using Vietnamese to explain new terminologies to students or by translate the whole reading text into Vietnamese This way of teaching may create a passive habit of learning reading for students Thus, the teacher‟s task is to create conditions in the classroom in which the students can learn by engaging in activities or working on tasks One of the good ways to provide ESP teachers with methodological training is to get them involved in the material development As Long et al (1989: 147) suggests “the writing of materials is a very important aspect of teacher training It ensures that teachers will become more involved in the work of the course and will as a result teach the course materials with more understanding and confidence” In addition, it is better for the teachers to work together to share and exchange their teaching experience with each other They can share and discuss their lesson plans to find the best activities and to choose the most appropriate supplementary materials for their students‟ level of English Besides, they can work in groups to prepare necessary visual aids and to design exercises for further practice for a successful lesson These will motivate the students‟ interest and stimulate their thinking As well, it is a good idea for teachers to attend and observe their colleagues‟ lessons In this way, they can help and learn a lot from each other Added to these, having access to the Internet is a useful way to get more information for the lessons Teachers not only can find materials of authentic resources but also share teaching experience with other teachers around the world 4.4 Developing ECS reading materials As mentioned in Chapter 2, the CS reading material used at VTTTU included 12 units which were selected from “English for computer science” by VN – GUIDE (2002) and “Infotech – English for IT and Computer learners” by Santiago & Remacha Esteras (2001) Some adaptations could be made to these units as follows 4.4.1 Adapting and improving reading exercises + Reducing the highly specialized texts Both the teachers and students claimed that Unit 10 – Data transmission and Unit – Operating systems are difficult and too long as they contain too many terminologies with complicated expressions, so they should be replaced by some more proper reading texts Shortening the reading texts is another way to reduce the difficulty of the texts + Improving reading exercises 35 The exercises in this material were of various types They included guiding questions before reading, vocabulary exercises, comprehension questions, exercises on word usage, and follow-up writing, etc They were systematic and facilitated reading and mastering the language used in the texts However, some exercises were too difficult for our students‟ proficiency level Therefore, the teacher should leave out some too difficult tasks and give alternative exercises Also, as expressed by the students, teachers should give them extra reading which may not be confined to the core content required in the course, but related to current international and domestic issues to encourage extensive reading This will provide more up to date information about the rapid socio-economic changes worldwide and nationwide 4.4.2 Choosing appropriate supplementary reading materials It is clearly shown in the survey that both the teachers and students have not made full use of exploiting supplementary reading materials In fact, teachers may choose supplementary reading materials from real life or authentic texts such as from the Internet, but these texts should contain useful information, various exercises and help the students develop their reading skills Usually, the supplementary texts that are closely related to the topics they learn in the classroom are highly appreciated Because these texts consolidate more what they have learnt and also help provide knowledge they haven‟t known However, teachers should take care when choosing supplementary reading materials to teach They should consider whether their students like these supplementary reading materials, they are suitable for students‟ level of proficiency or not One more thing, the source of the information should also be taken into consideration, as it is sometimes unreliable 4.5 Summary In sum, this chapter has dealt with suggestions to improve the quality of teaching and learning to read English for CS A number of recommendations such as improving teachers‟ classroom techniques, training students to become efficient readers, improving teachers‟ background knowledge about CS and teaching methodology, and developing CS reading materials have been discussed 36 PART C: CONCLUSION I Conclusions of the study No one can deny the importance of reading English for Computer Science for IT students It is obvious that both teachers and students often encounter difficulties when teaching and learning English for CS The aims of this study is to provide an analysis of factors affecting reading comprehension of English for Computer Science perceived by the second year students at VTTTU and present some useful techniques for improving the quality of teaching and learning to read English for CS In order to find out the problems in teaching and learning English for CS, a survey was carried out with the participation of 100 second- year students of IT Department at VTTTU to examine their attitudes towards reading English for CS, the current reading materials, their reading difficulties, the teachers‟ and students‟ activities in a reading lesson and the learners‟ needs in terms of reading materials and methodology From the results of the study, it can be concluded that the teaching and learning English for CS is still far from satisfactory Although majority of the students are aware of the importance of reading English for Computer Science, many of them had a negative attitude towards reading it, which made their ESP reading more difficult Besides, the students are not equipped with necessary reading skills and strategies to become successful readers Moreover, the present course book are claimed to contain many difficult terminologies and not very interesting Additionally, inefficient teaching methods, classroom techniques and teachers‟ poor specialized CS knowledge are other problems Based on the results of the study, the researcher has presented some suggestions for both teaching and learning English for CS These include the way to make English reading more interesting and useful, to train students to become efficient readers, to increase students‟ reading interest and motivation, to encourage students to develop extensive reading habit, to develop the reading materials, and to improve teachers‟ professional knowledge about CS and teaching methodology It is hoped that the study will make a significant contribution to better the current situation of teaching and learning English for CS at Vinh Technical Teachers‟ Training University It is also hoped that the study will be worth reading for those who are 37 concerned with this problems Great as efforts have been, certain errors are inevitable The researcher would appreciate every reader‟s comments and tolerance for the shortcomings and deficiencies of the study II Limitations of the study and Suggestions for Further study As a matter of fact, nothing is perfect and limitations are inevitable The study in this thesis is of no exception Firstly, the researcher‟s practical experience in teaching to read English for CS and the knowledge of the subject matter are limited, therefore, the suggestions in the chapter are likely to be subjective and incomplete, leaving the issue open for debate Secondly, in terms of methodology, the study is limited in the fact that the data may not fully reflect all aspects of ESP teaching and learning of teachers and students at VTTTU Finally, due to the tie constraint and the limited knowledge of the writer, the study can not deal with other factors affecting the reading process such as the readers‟ language aptitude, intelligence, motivation and personality factors, etc These call for further research 38 REFERENCES Alderson, J.C & Urquhart, A.H (1984) Reading in a foreign language Essex: Longman Group Limited Alderson, R.C (1984) Handbook of reading research New York: Longman 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learning, 21, (107-115) I APPENDIX PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA NGHIÊN CỨU (DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN ) Bảng câu hỏi nhằm mục đích tìm hiểu yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến việc đọc hiểu Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Tin học sinh viên năm thứ hai trường ĐH SP KT Vinh Việc tham gia trả lời câu hỏi bạn nguồn đóng góp có giá trị để chúng tơi hồn thiện cách dạy học Tiếng Anh chun ngành Tin học Xin vui lòng trả lời câu hỏi cách trung thực xác Dữ liệu điều tra sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu, khơng mục đích khác Chúng đánh giá cao giúp đỡ bạn Xin bạn vui lòng cho biết: * Gia đình bạn sống đâu? Nơng thơn … * Giới tính Thành thị …… Nam …… Nữ ……… * Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu? (0 năm, 3-4 năm, 6-8 năm, 10 năm) ………… * Điểm trung bình mơn Tiếng Anh đại cương bạn bao nhiêu? ……………… Bạn đánh dấu √ vào câu trả lời phù hợp với bạn Bạn thích học Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Tin a Hoàn toàn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Khơng đồng ý d Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Đọc hiểu kỹ quan trọng việc học Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành a Hồn tồn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Khơng đồng ý d Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Đọc hiểu Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cần thiết cho tương lai nghề nghiệp bạn a Hoàn toàn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Khơng đồng ý d Hồn tồn không đồng ý Bạn chuẩn bị trước đến lớp? a Rất cẩn thận b Cẩn thận c Không cẩn thận d Không chuẩn bị II Bạn đọc tài liêu bổ trợ thêm lần? a.Thường xuyên b.Thỉnh thoảng c Hiếm d Không Bạn nghĩ đọc giáo trình TACN mà bạn học? a Khó b Thú vị c Phù hợp d Dễ tẻ nhạt Bạn cho biết nguyên nhân gây khó khăn việc đọc hiểu Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Tin bạn (Bạn có nhiều lựa chọn) a Bài đọc dài nhiều từ b Số cấu trúc ngữ pháp đọc nhiều phức tạp c Giáo viên không dạy kỹ đọc d Giáo viên không cho luyện tập đầy đủ từ vựng ngữ pháp e Em khơng có đủ tự tin động học tập f Em thiếu vốn từ vựng , từ vựng chuyên ngành g Em thiếu kiến thức chuyên môn chủ đề đọc h Các ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………… Giáo viên thường yêu cầu bạn làm trước đọc ? ( Bạn có nhiều lựa chọn ) a Tìm từ vựng thuật ngữ đọc b Nhìn vào chủ đề đọc liên hệ với kiến thức sẵn có c Thảo luận chủ đề đọc d Dự đoán ý đọc e Các ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………… Giáo viên thường yêu cầu bạn làm sau đọc xong bài? ( Bạn có nhiều lựa chọn ) a Tóm tắt lại nội dung đọc b Dịch đọc sang tiếng Việt c Thảo luận nội dung đọc d Học thuộc từ vựng , thuật ngữ cấu trúc e Các ý kiến khác: ……………………………………………………………… III 10 Giáo viên bạn thường làm để tạo tạo hứng thú cho bạn dạy đọc? ( Bạn có nhiều lựa chọn ) a Giúp bạn hiểu mục đích đọc b Cung cấp cho bạn từ cấu trúc mà bạn yêu cầu c Giới thiệu tổ chức số hoạt động thú vị trước yêu cầu bạn đọc d Yêu cầu bạn đọc e Dịch đọc f Các hoạt động khác: …………………………………………………………… 11 Để giúp việc đọc hiểu TA chuyên ngành dễ dàng hơn, theo bạn giáo trình TACN nên điều chỉnh bổ sung nào? ( Bạn có nhiều lựa chọn ) a Các đọc nên gắn sát với nghề nghiệp b Các đọc nên ngắn tạo hứng thú c Các đọc nên có lượng từ vừa phải (từ …… đến … từ mới/ đọc) d Các tập luyện nên phong phú đa dạng e Các ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………… 12 Để giúp bạn đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành tốt hơn, bạn mong điều giáo viên việc dạy học? (Bạn có nhiều lựa chọn) a Giáo viên cần giải thích kỹ tượng ngữ pháp đọc b Giáo viên cần giải thích kỹ cung cấp nghĩa từ chuyên ngành c Giáo viên hướng dẫn thủ thuật đọc cho phù hợp với d Giáo viên cần cho thêm tập đễ dễ nhớ từ vựng e Giáo viên cần kiểm tra nhiều từ vựng dịch thuật f Các ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn bạn dành thời gian trả lời câu hỏi ! IV APPENDIX TRANSLATED VERSION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed for my research into factors affecting reading comprehension of English for Computer Science of the second year students at Vinh Technical Teachers’ Training University Your assistance in completing the questionnaire is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is very important and is for research purpose only Thank you very much for your cooperation! Before answering the questionnaire, please fill in some information: * Where you live? Rural …… Urban …… * Gender Male …… Female …… * How long have you been learning English? (0 year, 3-4 years, 6-8 years, over 10 years) * What is your average mark of GE in the first two years?……………… Please tick the appropriate answers You like learning English for Computer Science very much a Strongly agree b Agree c Disagree d Strongly disagree c Disagree d Strongly disagree Reading is an important skill in learning ESP a Strongly agree b Agree Reading ESP is very necessary for your future job a Strongly agree b Agree c Disagree d Strongly disagree How you prepare your lessons before going to class? a Very carefully b Carefully c Not carefully d Without preparing How often you read supplementary materials? a usually b sometimes c rarely d Never How you think about the texts in the current ESP reading material? V a difficult b interesting c suitable d boring According to you, what are the causes of difficulties in reading English for CS? (You can choose more than one responses) a The texts are too long and full of new words b The texts are full of new and complex grammar structures c The teacher doesn’t teach you sufficient reading skills d The teacher doesn’t give you sufficient practice of grammar and vocabulary e You lack motivation f You lack ESP vocabulary g You lack knowledge about the topic you are reading h Others ……………………………………………………………………………… What does your teacher often ask you to before reading the text? (You can choose more than one responses) a To find out the new words and terminologies in the text b To look at the topic of the text, then relate to Ss’ background knowledge c To have discussions about the topic of the text d To guess the main idea of the texts e Others activities: ……………………………………………………………………… What does your teacher often ask you to after finishing reading the text? (You can choose more than one responses) a To summarize the content of the text b To learn by heart new vocabularies and structures c To translate the texts into Vietnamese d To have discussions about the text e Others activities: ……………………………………………………………………… 10 What does your teacher often to motivate you in every reading lesson? (You can choose more than one responses) a Help you understand the purpose of the text b Present some interesting tasks to you before asking you to read c Provide you with any new words and structures you ask for d Ask you to read the text immediately e Translate the text into Vietnamese VI f Others activities: ……………………………………………………………………… 11 To help you read ESP more easily, what in your opinion you expect from the reading materials? (You can choose more than one responses) a Reading texts should be more related to my future job b Reading texts should be shorter and more motivating c Reading texts should have a limited number of new words (from to…words/ a text) d New words should be taught repeatedly from this unit to another e Grammatical exercises should be more various in forms f Others ……………………………………… 12 To help you read ESP better, what in your opinion you expect from the teachers? (You can choose more than one responses) a I expect the teachers to give and carefully explain the ESP terminologies b I expect the teachers to explain more carefully unfamiliar grammatical structures in the text c I expect the teachers to help us choose suitable reading strategies for each reading text d I expect the teachers to provide more exercises to remember vocabulary more easily e I want the teachers to check us more often about the new words and translation f I want the teachers to provide more background knowledge of the topics they are reading g Others ……………………………………… Thank you for taking time to complete this questionnaire! ... questions: What are the factors affecting reading comprehension of English for Computer Science of the second year students at VTTTU? What are the suggestions to help the students improve their ESP reading. .. during the course Scope of the study The study mainly focuses on the investigation of factors most affecting reading comprehension of English for Computer Science of the second year students at VTTTU,... English for CS For all the above reasons, the researcher would like to find out the factors affecting reading comprehension of English for CS of the second year students at VTTTU It is hoped that the