Tìm hiểu những trở ngại trong hoạt động thuyết trình với tiếng Anh thương mại của sinh viên tiếng Anh không chuyên thuộc Khoa kế toán năm thứ nhất, trường Đại h

1 Vietnam national university-Hanoi University of languages and international studies Faculty of post-graduate studies - NguyÔn ThÞ Thu Thđy An investigation on the difficulties in making business English oral presentation of the first year non – major English students at Faculty of Accounting at Dai Nam University and some solutions (Tìm hiểu trở ngại hoạt động thuyết trình tiếng Anh thương mại sinh viên tiếng Anh không chuyên thuộc khoa Kế toán năm thứ nhất, trường Đại học Đại Nam vài giải pháp) M.A Minor program thesis Field : Methodology Code : 60.14.10 Hµ néi – 2010 Vietnam national university-Hanoi University of languages and international studies Faculty of post-graduate studies - Ngun ThÞ Thu Thñy An investigation on the difficulties in making business English oral presentation of the first year non – major English students at Faculty of Accounting at Dai Nam University and some solutions (Tìm hiểu trở ngại hoạt động thuyết trình tiếng Anh thương mại sinh viên tiếng Anh khơng chun thuộc khoa Kế tốn năm thứ nhất, trường Đại học Đại Nam vài giải pháp) M.A Minor program thesis Field : Methodology Code : 60.14.10 Supervisor: Ngun Thu LƯ H»ng, M.A Hµ néi – 2010 Abbreviations BE Business English CLT Communicative Language Teaching DNU Dai Nam University ELT English Language Teaching ESP English for Specific Purposes GE General English L2 Second Language/foreign language IT Information Technology ML(E) Market Leader (Elementary) List of tables Page Table Teachers‟ difficulties when teaching business English presentation skills… 22 Table Students‟ difficulties when learning business English presentation skills… 23 Table Students‟ reasons for learning English…………………………………… .25 Table Teacher pedagogical practices in teaching oral presentation skill…………….28 Table Students‟ opinions on inappropriate teacher pedagogical practices in English oral presentation lessons…………………………………………………… …29 Table Teachers‟ English communicative competence……………………………… 31 Table of contents Acknowledgements Abstract List of Abbreviations List of Tables Page Part A: Introduction 1 The background of the study……………………………………………………… The method of the study ………………………………………………………… The aims of the study …………………………………………………………… Research questions ……………………………………………………………… Scope of the study ………………………………………………………………… The design of the study …………………………………………………………… Part B: Development Chapter I: Literature review ……………………………………………… I.1 Business English ………………………………………………………………… I.1.1 The overview of business English ………………………………………… I.1.2 The characteristics of language of business ………………………………… I.1.2.1 Sense of purpose ………………………………………………… I.1.2.2 Social aspects …………………………………………………… I.1.2.3 Clear communication …………………………………………… I.1.2.4 Business and General Courses …………………………………… I.2 Oral presentation ………………………………………………………………… I.2.1 What is oral presentation …………………………………………………… I.2.2 Procedure of oral presentation ……………………………………………… I.2.3 Advantages of oral presentation toward ESP students ……………………… I.2.4 Some problems of presentation making …………………………………… 8 I.3 Difficulties in learning business English oral presentation skills …………… 1.3.1 Difficulties about business knowledge …………………………………… I.3.2 Difficulties about language knowledge, culture and perceptions …………… I.3.3 Difficulties from teachers …………………………………………………… 11 I.3.3.1 Inappropriate teacher pedagogical practices ……………………… 11 I.3.3.1.1 The amount of teacher talk ………………………………11 I.3.3.1.2 Teacher correction ……………………………………… 11 I.3.3.1.3 Input theory ………………………………………………12 I.3.3.1.4 Teacher-learner relationship ………………………………12 I.3.3.2 Teacher deficiency in English communicative competence ……… 12 I.3.3.3 Teacher deficiency in business English and teaching skills ……… 13 I.3.4 Difficulties from external factors …………………………………………… 14 Chapter II: Methodology 15 II The research context …………………………………………………………… 15 II.1.1 Description of Dai Nam University, English course and its objectives …… 15 II.1.2 Description of the first year students of the Accounting faculty at DNU … 16 II.1.3 Description of the teachers at DNU ………………………………………….17 II.1.4 Description of Market Leader textbook and business related presentation topics II.1.4.1 The coursebook Market Leader Elementary ……………………… 17 II.1.4.2 The objectives …………………………………………………… 18 II.1.4.3 Strengths and weaknesses of the coursebook …………………… 18 II.1.4.4 The topics for the oral presentation ……………………………… 18 II.2 Methods of the study …………………………………………………………… 19 II.3 Research design ………………………………………………………………… 20 II.3.1 Sample and sampling ……………………………………………… 20 II.3.2 Research instruments ……………………………………………… 20 II.3.3 Data collection …………………………………………………… 21 II.3.4 Data analysis ……………………………………………………… 21 Chapter III: Findings and Discussion 22 III.1 Difficulties from students ………………………………………………… 22 III.1.1 Past educational experience ……………………………………… 23 III.1.2 Lack of background, business, cultural and social knowledge …… 24 III.1.3 Low motivation for learning English ……………………………… 24 III.1.4 Low level of general English proficiency ………………………… 26 III.1.5 Negative personal trait s ………………………………………… 26 III.1.6 Traditional cultural beliefs ……………………………………… 27 III.2 Difficulties from teachers ………………………………………………… 27 III 2.1 Lack of knowledge about business English and oral presentation skills 27 III.2.2 Inappropriate teacher pedagogical practices ……………………… 28 III.2.2.1 Too much teacher talking time ………………………… 29 III.2.2.2 Unsuitable mistake correction …………………………… 30 III.2.2.3 Incomprehensible teacher input ………………………… 30 III.2.2.4 Too distant teacher-learner relationship ………………… 31 III.2.3 Teachers‟ deficiency in English communicative competence …… 31 III.3 External factors …………………………………………………………… 32 III.3.1 Multilevel class …………………………………………………… 32 III.3.2 Textbooks ………………………………………………………… 33 III.4 Suggestions from teachers and students in minimizing difficulties …… 34 Part C: conclusion 36 Suggestions for minimizing the difficulties in teaching presentation skills 36 1.1 Pedagogical practices ………………………………………………… 36 1.2 Training students to become efficient learners ……………………… 37 Some suggestions for learning presentation skills ………………………… 38 2.1 Personal development and non-verbal communication ……………… 38 2.2 Choosing and Using Visual Aids …………………………………… 39 2.3 Preparing and delivering forms of spoken exercise ………………… 40 2.3.1 Seminar papers ……………………………………………… 40 2.3.1.1 Tutor-led seminar ………………………………… 40 2.3.1.2 Student-led seminar ……………………………… 41 2.3.1.3 Guest speakers …………………………………… 41 10 2.3.1.4 Tutorials ………………………………………… 42 2.4 Formal presentation ………………………………………………… 42 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 43 Summary of the study ………………………………………………… 43 Limitations and suggestions for further studies ……………………… 44 References Appendices Appendix 1: Questionnaire for teachers Appendix 2: Questionnaire for students Appendix 3: Interview questions for teachers Appendix 4: Interview questions for students 11 Part A: Introduction I The background of the study English is obviously very important, and it has long been considered the international language in many different fields of the modern life: science and technology, business and commerce, international relations and diplomacy and so on As a result, English is now the foreign language that are most widely used and taught in all over the world and in Vietnam, with the national policy of renovation and expansion of international relations, learning English has been a remarkably increasing need However, how to understand students‟ difficulties and how to teach the language effectively to enable students to use the language successfully in international communication are really a big question facing all teachers of English Most of the learners of English agree that the ability to express themselves freely in communication is of great importance for their future career, especially in modern societies where contacting with foreigners often occur However, there still exist many difficulties in learning and teaching English in Vietnam in general and at Dai Nam University (DNU) in particular Many Vietnamese learners can write and read English quite well but they cannot speak it correctly and fluently in real-life communication as well as in specific situations Surely, there are many reasons for this reality After teaching the non-major English at the Accounting Department for the first year students at DNU for three courses, I recognized some big obstacles that prevent English language teachers and learners from achieving their aims These obstacles are teachers‟ teaching method, heterogeneous classes, lack of background, business, cultural and social knowledge, students‟ low level of English language proficiency, students‟ low motivation and some others Unfortunately, this is not only the situation in our university but also the case for many other non-language colleges and universities in Vietnam That is the circumstance that has inspired me with a research entitled “An investigation on the difficulties in making business English oral presentation of the first year non – major English students at Faculty of Accounting at Dai Nam University and some solutions.” I conduct the research with the hope that it will contribute to the improvement of teaching and learning business English presentation skills at the Accounting department as well as at my university 12 II Method of the study The methods used in this research are mainly two survey questionnaires and interviews They aim at finding out the difficulties which the teachers and students at the Accounting Department at DNU facing in the teaching and learning of business English presentation skill All comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusion in the study are based on the data analysis III Aims of the study The study aims at: Investigating the difficulties for the first-year non-major English students at the Accounting Faculty at Dai Nam University in learning business English oral presentation skills Giving suggestions on how to improve oral presentation teaching and learning at Dai Nam University IV Research questions The above aims can be realized through the following research questions: What difficulties the learners at DNU encounter in learning business English presentation skills? What should be done to minimize the difficulties in teaching business English presentation skills to non-English major first years students of the Accounting Department at DNU? V Scope of the study To improve business English presentation skills for the first-year students of the Accounting department, many different aspects of teaching and learning must be taken into consideration However, within the scope of this study, the author would only like to take into account some difficulties of the business English oral presentation, on that basis, suggest some techniques and skills which may better business English oral presentation skills at DNU VI Design of the study The thesis consists of three main parts: The first part is Introduction, which provides a brief introduction of the reasons for choosing the topic, the method, the aims, research questions, the scope of the study, and the design of the study 13 The second part, Development, is divided into three chapters: Chapter I, Literature Review, surveys the literature on the basis concepts that underlie the whole study such as Business English, Oral presentation and difficulties from learners Chapter II, Methodology, is the presentation of the subjects and factual data collected from the questionnaires and interviews The principal purpose of this chapter is to study about the presentation in use and difficulties facing teachers and students in teaching and learning presentation skill Chapter III, Findings and Discussion, on the basis of the data collected in the previous parts, will present and discuss findings of the difficulties in teaching and learning oral presentation skills of non-major students and objective factors The third part, Conclusion, gives some suggestions for both teachers of English and students comprising some coping strategies and classroom techniques and presentation skills in decreasing those difficulties What follows is the conclusion of the study, which presents the overview of the study Besides, the limitations of the thesis are pointed out and the areas for further study are proposed ... thương mại sinh viên tiếng Anh không chuyên thuộc khoa Kế toán năm thứ nhất, trường Đại h? ??c Đại Nam vài giải pháp) M.A Minor program thesis Field : Methodology Code : 60.14.10 Supervisor: Ngun Thu... English oral presentation of the first year non – major English students at Faculty of Accounting at Dai Nam University and some solutions (Tìm hiểu trở ngại hoạt động thuyết trình tiếng Anh thương. .. teacher has to master the level of each student to assign him/her a suitable topic based on their level of English proficiency as well as help them him/her accomplish their work Additionally, he