Designing an ESP reading syllabus for the students of the Tour-guiding program at Tourism Faculty, Quang Ninh College of Arts, Culture and Tourism.

Vietnam national university, Hanoi UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC ANH DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE TOUR-GUIDING PROGRAM AT TOURISM FACULTY, QUANG NINH COLLEGE OF ARTS, CULTURE AND TOURISM (THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NGÀNH HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA DU LỊCH TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG VĂN HÓA, NGHỆ THUẬT VÀ DU LỊCH QUẢNG NINH) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HANOI - 2012 Vietnam national university, Hanoi UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY of post - graduate studies NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC ANH DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR THE STUDENTS OF THE TOUR-GUIDING PROGRAM AT TOURISM FACULTY, QUANG NINH COLLEGE OF ARTS, CULTURE AND TOURISM (THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NGÀNH HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA DU LỊCH TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG VĂN HÓA, NGHỆ THUẬT VÀ DU LỊCH QUẢNG NINH) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Dr DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ HANOI - 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION…………………………………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………… ii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………… iv LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES…………………………………………… vii PART I: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………… 1 Rationale of the research……………………………………………………… Aims of the research ………………………………………………………… Research questions…………………………………………………………… Methods of the research……………………………………………………… Scope of the research ………………………………………………………… Design of the research………………………………………… PART II: DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………… CHAPTER 1: LITERARTURE REVIEW 1.1 An overview of ESP………………………………………… 1.1.1 Definition of ESP…………………………………………… 1.1.2 Types of ESP……………………………………………… 1.2 An overview of syllabus design…………………………… 1.2.1 Definition of syllabus……………………………………… 1.2.2 Types of syllabus…………………………………………… Content-based syllabus………………………………… 1.2.2.1.1 Structural syllabus……………………………………… 1.2.2.1.2 Situational syllabus……………………………………… 1.2.2.1.3 Notional/Functional syllabus…………………………… 1.2.2.1.4 Topic syllabus 1.2.2.1 1.2.2.2 Skill-based syllabus……………………………………… 10 10 iv Method-based syllabus………………………………… 10 1.2.3 Approaches to ESP syllabus design………………………… 11 1.2.4 Steps to design a syllabus…………………………………… 12 1.2.5 Needs analysis……………………………………………… 14 1.3 Theories of reading…………………………………………… 15 1.3.1 Reading in ESP…………………………………………… 15 1.2.2.3 1.3.2 Reading skills and strategies in ESP……………………… 1.4 Summary……………………………………………………… 17 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 The teaching and learning ESP situation at Quang Ninh College of Art, 17 Culture and Tourism…………………………………………… 18 2.2 The teaching staff of the English Division………………… 18 2.3 The students………………………………………………… 19 2.4 The study………………………………………………… 19 2.4.1 The subjects………………………………………………… 19 2.4.2 Instruments for collecting data…………………………… 19 2.4.3 Procedures………………………………………………… 2.4.4 The findings……………………………………………… 2.4.4.1 Needs perceived by the teachers of English Faculty 2.4.4.2 Needs perceived by the teachers of Tourism Faculty 2.4.4.3 Needs perceived by the Tour-guiding students 2.5 20 21 Summary……………………………………………………… CHATER 3: DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR THE 26 STUDENTS OF THE TOUR-GUIDING 26 3.1 Aims and objectives of reading syllabus………………………………… 26 3.2 Selecting types of ESP syllabus………………………………………… 27 3.3 Sequencing the content and the tasks in the syllabus 28 3.4 Designing tests for the ESP reading course 29 3.5 The proposed syllabus for the students of the Tour-guiding at Tourism v Faculty, Quang Ninh College of Art, Culture and Tourism 31-40 3.6 Summary 29 PART III: CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………… Recapitulation 30 Conclusions 30 Limitations of the study 31 Suggestions for further study 31 REFERENCES APPENDICES ……………………………………………………… vi I-XXI LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1: ESP classification by experience Figure 2: ESP classification by Professional area Figure 3: A language-centered approach 13 Figure 4: A skill-centered approach 14 Figure 5: A learning-centered approach 15 Table 1: Teachers’ expectations of the ESP reading course XI Table 2: Teachers’ ranking of topics related to Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourist attractions XII Table 3: Teacher’s ranking of grammar and structures needed for the syllabus .XIII Table 4: The teachers’ attitudes to reading skill and exercises needed for reading comprehension in the syllabus XIV Table 5: The students’ rating of the objectives of the syllabus XVI Table 6: Students’ assessment of the topics about Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourist attractions XVII Table 7: Students’ opinion of the reading skills and exercises needed in the syllabus vii XVII PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale English for Specific Purposes (ESP) plays an important role in a global community of people speaking different languages People with good English proficiency are extensively needed in many areas, such as business, banking, telecommunications, tourism, etc With the globalization of trade and economy and the continuing increase of international communication in various fields, the demand for ESP is expanding, especially in countries where English is taught as a foreign language In Vietnam, ESP has really become a necessary and indispensable branch in English language teaching The students who want to get the best preparation for their future career are paying more and more attention to the learning of ESP Therefore, ESP is introduced in many colleges and universities as a compulsory subject in curriculum Students learning ESP in Vietnam mainly get access to popular documents written in English through reading Hence, skills in reading texts are obviously of special significance in teaching and learning ESP At Quang Ninh College of Arts, Culture and Tourism, different ESP courses are taught to students of different majors After completing a 90-period General English, students of the tour-guiding program at Tourism faculty will progress to the ESP stage Teachers of English Division who are asked to teach ESP have a lot of difficulties because of the lack of an appropriate ESP teaching syllabus The materials for the course are not available so that the teachers have to spend much time searching, considering and choosing the most suitable ones to for their students I realized that designing a proper syllabus is of great necessity This is the main reason why “ Designing an ESP reading syllabus for the students of the Tour-guiding program at Tourism Faculty, Quang Ninh College of Arts, Culture and Tourism” is chosen for my thesis Aims and objectives of the study This study aims at designing an ESP reading syllabus for the students of the Tour-guiding program at Tourism Faculty, Quang Ninh College of Arts, Culture and Tourism To achieve this aim, the following objectives are established: - To develop a theoretical framework related to a reading syllabus for English for Tourism in Vietnam - To identify the needs of the ESP teachers, the ESP students of the Tourguiding program at Tourism Faculty, Quang Ninh College of Arts Culture and Tourism - To propose a reading syllabus based on the relevant theories and the needs analysis Research questions The study answers two questions: What are the target needs from the perspective of the ESP students and the ESP teachers? What is the content of the syllabus? Methods of the study This survey research is both qualitative and quantitative The first method by means of questionnaires aims at identifying the needs for the ESP syllabus from the ESP students of the Tour-guiding program The second one is used to collect various ideas through interviews Scope of the study This study is limited to design an appropriate ESP reading syllabus about the famous destinations in Quang Ninh and Vietnam for the second-year students of the Tour-guiding program at Quang Ninh College of Arts, Culture and Tourism Design of the study The study contains three main parts: Part I: Introduction present the rationale, aims, research questions, methods, scopes, and the design of the study Part II: Development consists of three chapters: - Chapter reviews the literature related to ESP, ESP syllabus design and reading theories - Chapter describes the study including its background, subjects, and instruments for collecting and analyzing data for the findings of the study - Chapter proposes a reading syllabus based on the findings of this study Part III: Conclusion provides recapitulation, conclusions, limitations of the study and suggestions for further research PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERARTURE REVIEW There are many previous studies about tourism Some of them were carried out to develop the materials for the English for tourism Some others were designed to improve students’ speaking skill that is very necessary for tour guides However, no research so far has been implemented to design a reading syllabus for the students of Tour-guiding program which is expect to contain information on most popular sites of Vietnam and Quang Ninh Therefore, it is an urgent need to a research to put these ideas about this reading syllabus with suitable task into practice In this chapter, an attempt is made to review the theories related to all basic aspects for designing and ESP reading syllabus, including theories of ESP (definitions and types), theories of syllabus (definitions, types and approaches to ESP syllabus design) and theories of reading (reading skills and strategies) 1.5 An overview of ESP 1.5.1 Definition of ESP It is not easy for most teachers and students of English to give an exact definition of ESP Even great scholars of language define ESP from various approaches Hutchinson and Waters (1987) defined ESP as follows: English for specific purposes (ESP) is one important branch of the EFL/ ESL (English as a Foreign Language/ Second Language) system that function as the main branch of English Language Teaching (ELT) Therefore, ESP is not a particular kind of language or methodology, but rather an approach to language learning whereby the content and method are based on the learners’ particular needs to learn the language Richards, Platt and Webber (1994) affirm that ESP course “is fixed by the specific needs for a particular group of learners” Likewise, Widdowson (1983) argued that the distinction between ESP and EGP (English for General Purpose) is not the problem of specificity of purpose but “the way in which purpose is defined and the manner of its implementation” Strevens (1988) works out a more detailed definition of ESP, which make a distinction between four absolute characteristics and two variable characteristics The absolute characteristics are that ESP consists of ELT which is: chương trình đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Những ý kiến đóng góp bạn hữu ích cho nghiên cứu tơi Xin chân thành cám ơn hợp tác bạn! Phần 1: Các yêu cầu sinh viên chuyên ngành Hướng dẫn khoa Du lịch cần đạt vào cuối kì hai mơn tiếng Anh chun ngành trường Cao đẳng Văn hóa, Nghệ thuật Du lịch Quảng Ninh Hãy đánh dấu vào mục tiêu theo thứ tự từ quan trọng quan trọng (từ đến 6) viết thêm mục tiêu khác có Vào cuối học kì hai mơn tiếng Anh chun ngành, sinh viên … Mục tiêu giới thiệu nét bật du lịch Việt Nam Quảng Ninh cho du khách dịch cách tài liệu có liên quan đến điểm du lịch hấp dẫn Quảng Ninh Việt Nam tích lũy thuật ngữ tiếng Anh điểm du lịch hấp dẫn nước địa phương ôn tập củng cố cấu trúc ngữ pháp sử dụng khóa chuyên ngành địa điểm tiếng Việt Nam hiểu tài liệu có liên quan đến điểm du lịch hấp dẫn Việt Nam tham gia buổi hội thảo thảo luận điểm du lịch Quảng Ninh Việt Nam V Thứ Thứ Thứ Thứ Thứ Thứ hai ba tư năm sáu Phần 2: Các chủ đề cần có chương trình tiếng Anh chuyên ngành điểm du lịch hấp dẫn Quảng Ninh Việt Nam Hãy đánh dấu vào chủ đề cần phải có chương trình đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành ghi thêm chủ đề cần thiết khác theo ý kiến bạn Chủ đề Các nét đặc trưng Quảng Ninh Vịnh Hạ Long Bãi biển Bãi Cháy Đảo Tuần Châu Đền Cửa Ơng Khu di tích Yên Tử Núi Bài Thơ Sa Pa Thủ đô Hà Nội 10 Rất cần thiết Vườn quốc gia Phong Nha Kẻ Bàng 11 Hoàng thành Thăng Long 12 Thành nhà Hồ 13 Quần thể di tích Cố đô Huế 14 Phố cổ Hội An 15 Thánh Địa Mỹ Sơn 16 Công viên Quốc gia Ba Bể 17 Điện Biên Phủ 18 Đảo Cát Bà 19 Đà Lạt 20 Nha Trang 21 Mũi Né 22 Vũng Tàu 23 Đảo Phú Quốc 24 Đồng sông Cửu Long 25 Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh VI Cần thiết Tương đối cần thiết Không cần thiết Phần 3: Các kĩ đọc hiểu dạng tập cần có chương trình tiếng Anh chuyên ngành điểm du lịch hấp dẫn Quảng Ninh Việt Nam Hãy đánh dấu vào kĩ đọc hiểu dạng tập mà bạn muốn củng cố luyện tập chương trình học a Bài tập chọn chủ để phù hợp với khóa 1.Kĩ đọc b Bài tập chọn ý cho đoạn văn lướt để lấy ý c Bài tập ghép tiêu đề phù hợp với đoạn d Bài tập chọn tranh thích hợp minh họa cho khóa Kĩ đọc a Bài tập đọc lướt để tìm từ khóa có thơng lướt để lấy thông tin chủ đề nêu khóa tin cụ thể b Bài tập đọc lướt để lấy thông tin cụ thể Kĩ xác a Bài tập chọn câu chủ đề thích hợp cho định chủ đề đoạn đoạn b Bài tập chọn câu chủ đề thích hợp cho khóa Kĩ trả lời a Bài tập câu hỏi lựa chọn loại câu hỏi b Bài tập câu hỏi mở đọc hiểu c Bài tập chọn đúng-sai a Bài tập điền vào chỗ trống động từ thời Kĩ làm tập ngữ pháp thích hợp b Bài tập dựng câu c Bài tập viết lại câu mà không thay đổi ý nghĩa d Bài tập mạo từ e Bài tập từ nối a Bài tập cấu tạo từ b Bài tập chọn từ điền vào chỗ trống Kĩ củng cố từ vựng c Bài tập nối từ cụm từ cho với định nghĩa chúng d Bài tập tìm từ đồng nghĩa trái nghĩa Kĩ đoán a Bài tập dùng tiêu đề tranh ảnh để nói trước suy luận khóa VII b Bài tập dùng từ khóa cho trước để nói khóa c Bài tập đốn nghĩa từ dựa vào tiền tố, hậu tố, đồng nghĩa, trái nghĩa từ chức Các kĩ a Bài tập tóm tắt khóa khác b Bài tập dịch c Bài tập tranh luận thảo luận Appendix 3: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS OF TOURISM FALCULTY Thầy/ Cô/ dạy học phần điểm du lịch tiếng Việt Nam Quảng Ninh rồi? Thầy/ Cơ/ nghĩ học phần này? Thầy/ Cô/ sử dụng phương pháp đề giảng dạy học phần này? Theo thầy/ cô/ phương pháp hiệu nhất? Vì sao? Thầy/ Cơ/ giới thiệu phương pháp phù hợp để dạy học phần tiếng Anh cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Hướng dẫn khoa thầy/ cô/ không? Thầy/ Cơ/ mong sinh viên đạt sau học phần này? Theo thầy/ cô/ chủ đề cần phải có chương trình đọc hiểu tiếng Anh chun ngành điểm du lịch hấp dẫn Việt Nam Quảng Ninh dành cho sinh viên ngành Hướng dẫn khoa thầy/ cô/ ? VIII Appendix Table 1: Teachers’ expectations of the ESP reading course 1st Objectives introduce the most popular features of Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourism to tourists 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 40% 30% 30% 0% 0% 0% 20% 10% 10% 30% 30% 0% 40% 40% 20% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10% 0% 10% 40% 40% 50% 30% 20% 0% 0% 0% 10% 0% 0% 30% 40% 20% translate materials related to Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourist attractions at the basic level build up a wide range of English terms about nationwide and local tourist attractions review and consolidate basic grammatical structures used in specialized texts for Vietnamese famous spots comprehend written materials related to Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourist attractions participate in seminars, workshops on destinations in Vietnam and Quang Ninh Appendix Table 2: Teachers’ ranking of topics related to Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourist attractions Topics Very Necessary necessary Quang Ninh’s typical features Slightly Not necessary necessary 80% 20% 0% 0% Ha Long Bay 70% 30% 0% 0% Bai Chay Beach 0% 50% 50% Tuan Chau Island 0% 60% 40% 0% Cua Ong Temple 0% 0% 20% 80% 0% 30% 60% 10% 10% 40% 20% 30% Yen Tu Cultural and Historical Relics Bai Tho Mountain IX Sapa 40% 30% 10% 20% Hanoi Capital 40% 60% 0% 0% 20% 40% 40% 0% 30% 30% 40% 0% 30% 30% 30% 10% 60% 40% 0% 0% 10 11 12 13 Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park Thang Long Imperial Citadel Ho’s Dynasty Citadel Hue Complex of Monuments 14 Hoi An ancient town 50% 50% 0% 0% 15 My Son Sanctuary 20% 50% 20% 10% 16 Ba Be National Park 20% 0% 20% 60% 17 Dien Bien Phu 0% 0% 30% 70% 18 Cat Ba Island 0% 20% 0% 80% 19 Da Lat 30% 30% 20% 20% 20 Nha Trang 40% 30% 20% 10% 21 Mui Ne 40% 20% 20% 20% 22 Vung Tau 30% 10% 30% 30% 23 Phu Quoc Island 30% 30% 0% 40% 24 Mekong Delta River 10% 50% 40% 0% 25 Ho Chi Minh City 50% 20% 0% 30% X Appendix Table 3: Teacher’s ranking of grammar and structures needed for the syllabus Grammar-Structures Very important Important Not important Uses of tenses 10% 20% 70% Passive voice 40% 60% 0% Conditional sentences 30% 40% 30% Relative Clauses 30% 70% 0% Comparison of Adjectives 60% 20% 10% Word formation 40% 40% 20% Subject and Verb agreement 40% 50% 10% Linking words 20% 50% 30% Articles 10% 30% 60% Appendix Table 4: The teachers’ attitudes to reading skill and exercises needed for reading comprehension in the syllabus a Choosing one of the title that fits the 60% text best b Choosing the main ideas of the 1.Skimming reading passage c Matching headings with paragraphs d Choosing pictures that illustrate the text 70% 20% 50% a Scanning the bibliography and pick Scanning out the texts which are likely to gain information on the topic in a given text b Scanning the text for specific information Identifying the topic of a paragraph 90% a Deciding which sentence fits into which paragraph XI 70% 70% b Choosing the topic sentence a Choosing the best answer for the question (multiple choice questions) Answering questions b Answering questions (open-ended questions) c Deciding whether the statements are true or false a Filling in the blanks with the corrects tenses of verbs in brackets Reviewing grammar b Building the sentences c Rewriting the sentence without changing the meaning 80% 40% 60% 80% 20% 30% e Choosing suitable connectors 40% words vocabulary 60% d Choosing suitable articles a Giving the correct form of the given 6.Consolidating 80% b Filling in the gap c Matching the words or phrases with their definitions 70% 70% 50% d Synonyms and antonyms/ Finding synonyms and antonyms of words and 30% phrases used in the reading text a Using the title and pictures to talk Recognizing and interpreting cohesive devices about the text b Using key words to talk about the text 50% 60% c Guessing the meaning of unknown words from their prefixes, suffixes, roots, synonyms, antonyms and word 30% functions Others a Writing a summary 40% b Translating 30% XII Appendix Table 5: The students’ rating of the objectives of the syllabus 1st Objectives introduce the most popular features of Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourism to tourists 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 54% 30% 10% 6% 0% 0% 42% 24% 18% 6% 6% 4% 25% 14% 37% 10% 12% 2% 7% 2% 19% 27% 36% 9% 67% 10% 12% 10% 0% 1% 8% 10% 2% 7% 14% 59% translate materials related to Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourist attractions at the basic level build up a wide range of English terms about nationwide and local tourist attractions review and consolidate basic grammatical structures used in specialized texts for Vietnamese famous spots comprehend written materials related to Vietnamese tourist attractions participate in seminars, workshops on destinations in Vietnam and Quang Ninh Appendix Table 6: Students’ assessment of the topics about Vietnam and Quang Ninh tourist attractions Topic Very Necessary necessary Quang Ninh’s typical features Slightly Not necessary necessary 50% 44% 6% 0% Ha Long Bay 68% 15% 20% 0% Bai Chay Beach 4% 10% 26% 60% Tuan Chau Island 35% 16% 24% 25% Cua Ong Temple 10% 33% 8% 51% Yen Tu Cultural and 25% 36% 18% 21% Historical Relics Bai Tho Mountain 21% 47% 12% 20% Sapa 45% 18% 19% 18% XIII Hanoi Capital 10 Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park 11 Thang Long Imperial Citadel 12 Ho’s Dynasty Citadel 51% 32% 14% 3% 27% 39% 23% 11% 23% 41% 13% 23% 34% 19% 28% 18% 13 Hue Imperial City 36% 32% 14% 18% 14 Hoi An ancient town 31% 24% 29% 16% 15 My Son Sanctuary 29% 31% 16% 24% 16 Ba Be National Parl 17% 8% 12% 63% 17 Dien Bien Phu 4% 24% 15% 57% 18 Cat Ba Island 12% 6% 22% 60% 19 Da Lat 39% 39% 0% 22% 20 Nha Trang 31% 27% 18% 24% 21 Mui Ne 18% 36% 12% 34% 22 Vung Tau 12% 27% 30% 31% 23 Phu Quoc Island 16% 43% 13% 28% 24 Mekong Delta River 28% 31% 29% 12% 25 Ho Chi Minh City 22% 61% 10% 7% Appendix 10 Table 7: Students’ opinion of the reading skills and exercises needed in the syllabus a Choosing one of the title that fits the text best 1.Skimming b Choosing the main ideas of the reading passage d Choosing pictures that suit the text 63% 72% 11% a Scanning the bibliography and pick out Scanning the texts which are likely to gain information 12% on the topic in a given text b Scanning the text for specific information XIV 66% Identifying the a Deciding which sentence fits into which topic of a paragraph paragraph b Choosing the topic sentence 47% a Multiple choice questions 85% b Open-ended questions 77% c True-False statements 69% Types of questions a Fill in the blanks with the correcttenses of verbs in brackets b Sentence building Grammar exercises Vocabulary exercises 54% 21% 39% c Rewrite the sentence without changing the meaning 57% d Article exercises 12% e Connector exercises 53% a Word formation exercises 44% b Gap-filling 67% c Match the words or phrases with their definitions d find synonyms and antonyms of words and phrases used in the reading text Recognizing a Using the title and pictures to talk about and interpreting the text cohesive devices b Using key words to talk about the text 78% 45% 18% 24% c Guessing the meaning of unknown words from their prefixes, suffixes, roots, 51% synonyms, antonyms and word functions Other a Writing a summary 7% exercises b Translation 45% c Debate and discussion 18% Appendix 11: A Sample Unit XV UNIT 2: HALONG BAY I Pre - reading a Match the pictures with their English names XVI Chopstick Islet Virgin Grotto Man’s Head Islet Rooster and Hen Island Wooden Stakes Cave Heaven Palace Grotto b When was Ha Long Bay recognized as the World Heritage for the first time? Tell any legends attaching to Ha Long you know II While - reading a Reading passage A Situated in the North-East region of Vietnam, Ha Long Bay belongs to the Gulf of Tonkin comprised of regions of Ha Long City, the township of Cam Pha, and a part of the island district of Van Don It borders Cat Ba Island in the southwest, the East Sea in the east, and the mainland, creating 120 km coastline B Ha Long Bay is made up of 1,969 islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names There are two kinds of islands, limestone and schist, which are concentrated in two main zones: the southeast and the southwest This densely concentrated zone of stone islands, world famous for its spectacular scenery of grottoes and caves, forms the central zone of Ha Long Bay C View from above; Ha Long Bay resembles a geographic work of art While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands There is Man’s Head Islet, which resembles a man standing and looking towards the mainland Dragon Island looks like a dragon hovering above the turquoise water La Vong resembles an old man fishing There are also the islands of the Sail, the Pair of Roosters and the Incense Burner, which all astonishingly resemble their namesakes The forms of the islands change depending on angle of the light and from where the islands are viewed D The name Hạ Long is derived from the Sino-Vietnamese meaning "descending dragon" According to local legend, when Vietnamese had just started to develop into a country, they had to fight against invaders To assist Vietnamese in defending their country, the gods sent a family of dragons as protectors This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the XVII invaders Under magics, numerous rock mountains abruptly appeared on the sea, ahead of invaders' ships; the forward ships struck the rocks and each other After winning the battle, the dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the Earth, and then decided to live in this bay The place where the mother dragon descended was named Hạ Long, the place where the dragon's children attended upon their mother was called Bái Tử Long island (Bái: attend upon, Tử: children, Long: dragon), and the place where the dragon's children wriggled their tails violently was called Bạch Long Vỹ island (Bạch: white-color of the foam made when Dragon's children wriggled, Long: dragon, Vỹ: tail) b Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from A to D Ha Long Bay’s Legend Location Unique Beauty of Ha Long Bay Overview c Read the passage and answer the questions Where is Ha Long Bay? How many named islands are there in Ha Long Bay? Do all the islands resemble their namesakes? According to local legend, what jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay? What was the place where the dragon's children wriggled their tails called? III Post - reading a Here are some facts about Ha Long Bay Read and fill in the blanks with the given words spent most many plays destinations costs legend characterized limestone boat Ha Long Bay is one of the …………… beautiful places in Vietnam and is the top tourist …………… the Northern part of the country A United Nation Heritage Site, Ha Long Bay is …………… by thousands of beautiful …………… mountains rising out of water Not only being an amazing natural wonder, Ha Long Bay also …………… a main role in the …………… of the Vietnamese’ origins XVIII Ha Long Bay is about 100 kilometers south east of Hanoi and is about a 3-hour ride from the capital Most trips which …………… from 20 USD to 200USD can be easily arranged in the …………… travel agencies Trip to Ha Long Bay can last from to days which are …………… exploring the many islands on a traditional junk boat If you prefer, you can also just be on the …………… by day and then stay in a hotel in Ha Long City at night b Fill in the blank with the correct form of the words in brackets Hey, look at the magnificent grotto in front of you! This recently discovered grotto is one of the most (1.beauty) …………… ones in Ha Long Bay Heaven Palace Grotto is (2.situation) …………… on the southwest side of the bay, 4km from the wharf outside Ha Long City It is (3.locate) …………… in a small range of islands that resemble a throne (4.embracing) …………… two superb grottoes at its core The way to Heaven Palace Grotto is (5.perilousness), covered on both sides by thick forest After entering a (6.narrowness) …………… gate, the …………… grotto open up XIX magnificent, 130m (7.lengthen)