This introductory chapter provides an overview of the thesis. It is arranged in five main sections. First, the background to the study is briefly introduced, followed by the rationale explaining the reason why the study was conducted. The third section illustrates the objectives of the study while the fourth presents the research questions. The chapter continues with the scope of the study followed by the significance of doing this research. It ends by presenting the thesis structure. 1.1. Background Integration and globalization have brought people closer than ever regardless of geographical barriers. Almost everyone at any corners of the world can get acquainted culturally, politically and socially thanks to the medium of English. English gains its dominance among various languages by heading the expansion of science, technology and economy. It is accepted as the international communication language in the role of a first, second or foreign language (Cahill, 2005; Cameron, 2002). In successful pursuit of this competitive commercial world, most nations, especially developing countries where English is not spoken as the first language such as China or Thailand, innovate their educational programs including English language education as part of equipping their human resources with professional skills (Biggs, 2006; Graddol, 2006; Kasiphar, 2003; Longworth, 2003; Naknonhan, 2004, as cited in Hart-Rawung, 2008). As a part of the Asian region, Vietnam is not an exception when the government has realized the challenges in this ever changing and competitive world. Economic and educational reforms have been made to accommodate rapid changes in globalized commercial context. The implementation of the Đổi Mới (renovation) reforms started in 1986 has brought about a longstanding consensus across Vietnamese society on the importance of education. Along with this, Vietnam has recently integrated deeply into the world economy and increasing globalization of world trade such as joining in the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 and Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement (which has been currently known as CPTPP - the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership signed on 8 March 2018). The wideranging integration is expected to boost Vietnamese economic growth in terms of creating jobs; enhancing innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raising living standards; reducing poverty; and promoting transparency, good governance, and strong labor and environmental protections (Nhân Dân Online, 2015). In addition to these benefits, Vietnam also faces considerable challenges in preparing workforce for a global market economy. Vietnam needs to do more to develop the „skills‟ or „quality‟ of the workforce - one of the three breakthrough goals of the country‟s ten-year socio-economic development strategy for 2011 to 2020 (Vietnam Development 2014-Main report). Under the impact of globalization in terms of economy, culture and society, English has been prioritized as the number one foreign language taught at all education levels in Vietnam (Le, 2007; Nguyen, 2011; Pham, 2013; Wright, 2002, as cited in Pham, 2015, p.53). With the purpose of enhancing the quality of the foreign language teaching and learning (primarily English) in the national education system, the MOET has launched a language project namely Teaching and learning foreign languages in the state-run educational system for the 2008-2020 period (which is often called the 2020 Project) according to Decision 1400 dated 30 September 2008 by the Prime Minister. This is considered the largest project with the biggest budget so far of nearly 9.4 trillion VND in order to improve the nation‟s English teaching and learning (Hoang, 2010). The goal of National Foreign Language 2020 Project is: by the year 2015 a vivid progress on professional skills, language competency for human resources, especially at some prioritized sectors; by 2020 most Vietnamese students graduating from secondary, vocational schools, colleges and universities will be able to use a foreign language confidently in their daily communication, their study and work in an integrated, multicultural and multi-lingual environment, making foreign languages a comparative advantage of development for Vietnamese people in the cause of industrialization and modernization for the country. (Vietnamese Prime Minister‟s Office, 2008) According to the goal of the project 2020, more than 80,000 English language teachers would be retrained to advance their qualifications. In addition, the objective of the project is to enhance English learning for students in orientation of meeting social demands. Among many objectives regarding foreign language
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES HO THI QUYNH NHU DESIGNING A VOCATIONAL ENGLISH CURRICULUM FOR HUE INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABTRACT LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.2 Rationale 1.3 Research objectives 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the research 1.7 Structure of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Introduction 10 2.2 Language curriculum design 10 2.2.1 Definition of the term curriculum 10 2.2.2 Difference between syllabus and curriculum 11 2.2.3 Model of language curriculum design 12 2.2.3.1 Environment analysis 14 2.2.3.2 Needs analysis 14 2.2.3.3 Following principles 15 2.2.3.4 Setting goals 16 2.2.3.5 Content and sequencing 17 2.2.3.6 Format and presentation 17 2.2.3.7 Monitoring and assessing 17 2.2.3.8 Evaluation 18 2.2.4 Curriculum approaches in language teaching 19 2.2.4.1 Forward design 20 2.2.4.2 Central design 20 iv 2.2.4.3 Backward design 21 2.3 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) 22 2.3.1 ESP 22 2.3.1.1 Development and definition of ESP 22 2.3.1.2 Characteristics of ESP 24 2.3.1.3 ESP types 25 2.3.2 English for Business Purposes (EBP) 26 2.3.3 ESP and needs analysis 29 2.3.4 ESP needs 31 2.3.5 Approaches to ESP curriculum design 35 2.3.5.1 Language-centred approach 35 2.3.5.2 Skills-centred aproach 36 2.3.5.3 A learning-centred approach 37 2.3.6 Theory to language instruction 37 2.3.6.1 Communicative approach 37 2.3.6.2 Task-based approach 39 2.3.6.3 Theme-based instruction 40 2.4.The current English curriculum at HUEIC 47 2.5 Previous studies related to the current research 49 2.6 Chapter summary 52 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 53 3.1 Introduction 53 3.2 Research design 53 3.3 Data collection 55 3.3.1 Participants 60 3.3.1.1 Business administration students 61 3.3.1.2 Business administration employees 62 3.3.1.3 ESP teachers and content teachers 63 3.3.1.4 HUEIC administrators 64 3.3.2 Instruments 65 3.3.2.1 Document study 65 3.3.2.2 Placement testing 66 3.3.2.3 Questionnaires 70 v 3.3.2.4 Interviews 74 3.3.2.5 Curriculum evaluation 78 3.4 Data analysis 79 3.5 Reliability and validity 81 3.6 The role of the researcher 84 3.7 Ethical issues 85 3.8 Chapter summary 85 Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 86 4.1 Target needs analysis 86 4.1.1 Employers‟ expectations of their employees‟ English competence 86 4.1.2 Language requirements at work 88 4.1.3 Language skills for job contexts 91 4.1.4 Frequency of English communicative activities 94 4.1.5 Communicative topics at work 96 4.1.6 Types of problems in English use encountered by BuAdmin employees 98 4.1.7 BuAdmin employees‟ suggestions to students‟ English preparation 100 4.2 The students‟ English learning needs analysis 102 4.2.1 Students‟ purposes of learning English 102 4.2.2 Students‟ English proficiency 104 4.2.3 Students‟ assessment of their English language competence 108 4.2.4 Students‟ accessibility to learning facilities 111 4.2.5 Perceptions about English teaching and learning 112 4.2.5.1 Students‟ perceptions of English courses at HUEIC 112 4.2.5.2 Students‟ perceptions of language skills needed for communication 114 4.2.5.3 The frequency of communicative activities conducted in English 117 4.2.5.4 Preference for ESP materials 119 4.2.5.5 Preference for learning approach 121 4.3 The development of a new vocational English curriculum for HUEIC 125 4.3.1 The sample vocational English curriculum design 125 4.3.1.1 Overview of the program 126 4.3.1.2 Target students 129 4.3.1.3 ESP teachers 129 4.3.1.4 Physical environment and resources 129 vi 4.3.1.5 Approaches 129 4.3.1.6 Goals and objectives 130 4.3.1.7 Knowledge and skills 130 4.3.1.8 Course framework 135 4.3.1.9 Teaching methodology 141 4.3.1.10 Teaching materials 142 4.3.1.11 Testing and assessment 143 4.3.2 The evaluation of the sample ESP curriculum 143 4.3.2.1 The alignment of the new curriculum to the identified needs 143 4.3.2.2 The college‟s evaluation of the new curriculum 149 4.4 Chapter summary 150 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 151 5.1 Introduction 151 5.2 Summary of key findings 151 5.3 Implications 154 5.4 Contributions of the research 156 5.4.1 Theoretical contributions 156 5.4.2 Pedagogical contributions 158 5.5 Limitations of the present study and directions for future studies 160 THE AUTHOR‟S PUBLICATIONS 161 REFERENCES 162 APPENDICES i Appendix A: QUICK PLACEMENT TEST i ANSWER KEYS TO THE QPT xi MARKING KIT xi Appendix B: QUESTIONNAIRES xii B1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYEES xii Appendix B2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS xviii Appendix C: INTERVIEW SCHEDULES xxvi Appendix C1: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE WITH ESP TEACHERS xxvi Appendix C2: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE WITH CONTENT TEACHERS xxvii Appendix C3: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE WITH ADMINISTRATORS xxviii Appendix C4: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE WITH STUDENTS xxix vii Appendix C5: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE WITH BUADMIN EMPLOYEES xxx Appendix C6: INTERVIEW SCHEDULE WITH EMPLOYERS xxxi Appendix D: TRANSCRIPTS OF INTERVIEWS xxxii Appendix D2: SAMPLE INTERVIEW WITH CONTENT TEACHERS xxxiv Appendix D3: SAMPLE INTERVIEW WITH HUEIC ADMINISTRATORS xxxvi Appendix D4: SAMPLE INTERVIEW WITH STUDENTS xxxvii Appendix D5: SAMPLE INTERVIEW WITH COMPANY MANAGERS xxxviii Appendix D6: SAMPLE INTERVIEW WITH EMPLOYEES xl Appendix E: STATISTICS xlii Appendix E1: BuAdmin employee questionnaires xlii E1a: BuAdmin employees‟ demographic data xlii E1b: Reliability Statistics of the BuAdmin employee questionnaires xlv Appendix E2: BuAdmin student questionnaires xlix E2a: Demographic data about the students xlix E2b: Reliability Statistics of the BuAdmin student questionnaires l Appendix E3: Factor analysis results liii E3a Questionnaires for BuAdmin employees liii E3b Questionnaires for BuAdmin students lv Appendix F: CURRICULUM EVALUATION FORM lxi Appendix G: DECISION ON ASSESSING THE NEW CURRICULUM AND THE PANEL‟S EVALUATION lxiii viii LIST OF ABREVIATIONS Ad Administrator BuAdmin Business Administration CBI Content-based Instruction CEF/CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages CLT Communicative Language Teaching CNP Communication Needs Processor CO Company CT Content teacher EAP English for Academic Purposes EBP English for Business Purposes EE Employee EFL English as a Foreign Language ELT English Language Teaching EOP English for Occupational Purposes EPP English for Professional Purposes ESP English for Specific Purposes ET ESP Teacher EVP English for Vocational Purposes FL Foreign Language GE General English GIL/GIS Guided independent learning/study HUEIC Hue Industrial College L1 First Language LCPP Language and Communication Courses for Professional Purposes LSA Learning Situation Analysis M Manager MOET Ministry of Education and Training MOTI Ministry of Trade and Industry NA Needs Analysis NNS Non-native Speaker ix NS Native Speaker PSA Present Situation Analysis QPT Quick Placement Test SD Standard Deviation SL Second Language SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences St Student TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language TESL Teaching English as a Second Language TSA Target Situation Analysis x LIST OF TABLES Table 2.2 Stevens‟s list of ESP characteristics 24 Table 2.3 Dudley-Evans and St John‟s list of ESP characteristics 25 Table 2.4 The framework proposed by Hutchinson and Waters for needs analysis 34 Table 2.6 Time distribution in English Courses at HUEIC 46 Table 3.1 Data collection for needs analysis 57 Table 3.2 The data collection methods 57 Table 3.3 Information of workplace sites 62 Table 3.4 Teacher participants‟ information 64 Table 3.5 QPT conversion table 68 Table 3.6 Placement testing results 70 Table 3.7 Pilot study 74 Table 3.8 The codes of the interviews 78 Table 3.9 The framework for data analysis 80 Table 3.10 Factor analysis results of the questionnaires for BuAdmin employees 82 Table 3.11 Factor analysis results of the questionnaires for BuAdmin students 83 Table 3.12 Cronbach‟s Alpha reliability statistics of the questionnaires 83 Table 3.13 Cronbach's Alpha reliability statistics of the clusters 84 Table 4.1 English standards required in the employers‟ recruitment policies 86 Table 4.2 Language requirements at work 88 Table 4.3 Frequently used language skills for job contexts 91 Table 4.4 English texts and discourse for BuAdmin employees 93 Table 4.5 Frequency of communicative activities conducted in English 94 Table 4.6 English communicative topics that BuAdmin employees were involved in 96 Table 4.7 BuAdmin employees‟ English language difficulties 98 Table 4.8 Students‟ purposes of learning English 103 Table 4.9 Students‟ assessment of their English language competence 109 Table 4.10 Students‟ accessibility to learning facilities 111 Table 4.11 Students‟ perceptions of English courses 113 Table 4.12 Students‟ perceptions of language skills needed for communication 114 Table 4.13 The frequency of communicative activities conducted in English 117 xi Table 4.14 Students‟ preference for ESP materials 119 Table 4.15 Students‟ preference for English learning approach 121 Table 4.16 A summary of the needs analysis findings 123 Table 4.17 Time allotment for the English program 128 Table 4.18 Mapping the language content of the curriculum 132 Table 4.19 Course framework of English for Business administration 135 Table 4.20 Course framework of English for Business administration 139 Table 4.21 The alignment of the new curriculum to the students‟ identified needs of English for vocational purposes 145 Table 4.22 The panel of curriculum evaluation 148 xii provide necessary professional 866 knowledge and skills develop all of my language 856 skills include clear instructions, attractive illustration and 845 appropriate arrangement include sufficient activity books 840 and CDs inlude various types of practice exercises enable me to be independent user of English include various topics of general and professional knowledge Presentations in English Finding and using information from different English sources English textbooks, journals, Internet resources Writing job applications and CV’s in English Telephoning in English 825 812 791 876 791 796 789 lvi Writing English e-mails CV’s, job applications English presentation AV’s Social situations (meeting friends, teachers, supervisors; small talk, etc.) English emails, letters English essays, summaries, reports Itineraries use English materials related to professional knowledge design skillintegrated lessons 778 765 738 712 693 681 615 761 759 supply students with exercises and activities towards using 699 English independently use appropriate testing and assessment 685 methods encourage discussions in 680 English in class use various teaching aids 662 frequently apply studentcentered teaching 639 methods in class lvii have a lot of knowledge of specialized 573 contents I learn English for 780 entertainment I learn English to follow English-based 736 training programs I learn English to attend English-based 694 forums and conferences I learn English to conduct professional 670 correspondenc e I learn English for other 602 purposes I like the methodology used by 892 English teachers I like the coursebooks being used in the current 862 English courses I like the testing and assessment in the current 732 English courses lviii The current English courses at college 739 adequately adress my needs Writing skills needed for 854 communication Reading skills needed for 784 communication Speaking skills needed for communication Listening skills needed for 731 communication I find the learning environment well-equipped at my college I learn English to translate English 737 language sources I learn English to 724 communicate I learn English to read job- 695 related materials I learn English to pass English exams I learn English to apply for a job lix I like to study English with 615 project-based activities I like to study English in the 806 whole class I like to study English in groups I like to study English 894 individually I like to study English in pairs I like to study English with 834 lectures from teachers Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization a Rotation converged in 17 iterations lx Appendix F: CURRICULUM EVALUATION FORM BỘ CÔNG THƯƠNG CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM TRƯỜNG CĐ CÔNG NGHIỆP HUẾ Độc lập - Tự - Hạnh phúc BẢN NHẬN XÉT NỘI DUNG CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐÀO TẠO Thơng tin chung chương trình: - Tên chương trình : Số tín chỉ: Thành viên nhận xét: - Họ tên: Chức danh hội đồng: Nhận xét: 3.1 Nội dung chương trình: TT I … … II III Chương/Mục Chương… Mục… … Chương… Mục… … Chương… Mục Nội dung cần chỉnh sửa Ghi 3.2 Mức độ phù hợp mục tiêu nội dung chương trình đào tạo: Ý kiến khác: lxi Ghi chú: - Phần “Nội dung cần chỉnh sửa” Ghi nội dung cần điều chỉnh, bổ sung để đáp ứng mục tiêu - Phần “Mức độ phù hợp mục tiêu nội dung chương trình đào tạo” ghi rõ phần mục tiêu chưa đáp ứng so với chương trình đề - Phần “ý kiến khác” nhận xét ý kiến chưa trình bày nội dung bổ sung ý kiến ngồi để góp phần xây dựng hồn thiện thêm cho giáo trình Ngày tháng năm 20 Người nhận xét (ký, ghi họ tên) lxii Appendix G: DECISION ON ASSESSING THE NEW CURRICULUM AND THE PANEL’S EVALUATION lxiii lxiv lxv lxvi lxvii lxviii lxix lxx ... a small part of the total school programme Curriculum is a far broader concept Curriculum is all those activities in which children engage under the auspices of the school This includes not only... beginning with primary language education (starting from grade 3, then 4, onward to grade 12 of high school education) throughout the country Within the context of this Decision, The MOET has delivered... No.01/2014/TT- BGDĐT on a national framework of reference called Khung lực ngoại ngữ sáu bậc dành cho Việt Nam – Six-level framework for foreign language proficiency in Vietnam (hereafter six-level