Designing an ESP reading syllabus for first year students of architecture at hanoi university of business and technology

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - - TRẦN NGUYỆT MINH DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF ARCHITECTURE AT HANOI UNIVESITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN THỨ NHẤT KHOA KIẾN TRÚC, TRƯỜNG ĐH KINH DOANH VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ HÀ NỘI M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng HA NOI – 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - - TRẦN NGUYỆT MINH DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF ARCHITECTURE AT HANOI UNIVESITY OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN THỨ NHẤT KHOA KIẾN TRÚC, TRƯỜNG ĐH KINH DOANH VÀ CÔNG NGHỆ HÀ NỘI M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Dr Ngơ Hữu Hồng HA NOI – 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii PART A INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………… 1 Rationale of the study Previous related studies 3 The aim of the study 4 Research questions Methodology Scope of the study Significance of the study Organization of the thesis PART B DEVELOPMENT…………………………………………………………………6 CHAPTER I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 English for specific purposes 1.2 Reading in ESL/EFL and ESP 1.3 Syllabus design 11 1.4 Needs analysis 15 CHAPTER II RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Research methods 17 2.2 Data collection instruments 17 iv 2.3 Data collection procedure 21 2.4 Method of data analysis 22 CHAPTER III DATA ANALYSIS 23 3.1 Target needs 23 3.2 Learning needs 29 3.3 Discussion of findings 36 CHAPTER IV THE PROPOSED ESP READING SYLLABUS 39 4.1 Introduction 39 4.2 The goals and objectives of the ESP reading course 39 4.3 Content selection and gradation 39 4.4 Suggested teaching methodology 41 4.5 Time allotment 42 4.6 A proposed ESP reading syllabus for first-year Architecture students at Hanoi University of Business and Technology 42 PART C CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………43 Conclusion 43 Research limitations and suggestions for further study 44 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………………I APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………….III APPENDIX FIRST-YEAR STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE III APPENDIX THIRD-YEAR STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE VI APPENDIX ARCHITECT QUESTIONNAIRE VIII APPENDIX INTERVIEW FOR ESP TEACHERS X APPENDIX Teachers’ suggested teaching techniques XII APPENDIX A proposed ESP reading syllabus XIV v LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Architects’ jobs, working places, and frequency of reading 24 Table 3.2 Text genres .25 Table 3.3 Source of materials 25 Table 3.4 First-year students’ expectations towards the ESP reading course 28 Table 3.5 First-year and third students’ purposes of attendance .31 Table 3.6 Word-attack strategies 33 Table 3.7 First-year students’ preferences on topics of reading text .34 Table 3.8 Third-year students’ attitudes towards the current reading syllabus for first-year students 34 Table 3.9 Third-year students’ suggestions for improving ESP training quality 35 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ELT English Language Teaching ESP English for Specific Purposes GE, EGP English for General Purposes HUBT Hanoi University of Business and Technology L2 Second language/foreign language vii PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Globalization has made English an international language of communication that is used by an increasing number of people from a wide range of occupational contexts Reading in English is particularly an essential skill for Vietnamese architects since a large number of high-quality specialist materials such as books and periodicals are written in this language Therefore, it is no doubt that ESP reading instruction of would-be professionals at the tertiary level is of great importance Hanoi University of Business and Technology (HUBT) is a private university founded in 1996 From the first days of establishment, the Management Board has given a top priority to English instruction Accordingly, the English program makes up a large proportion of the university’s curriculum for students from all departments, including students from Architecture Department The English program for Architecture majors is divided into two stages: General English (GE), and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) The GE stage is implemented in the first two academic years, while the ESP in the third-year It is the fact that the ESP syllabus plays a significant part in the whole English program However, from academic year 2013-2014, due to some factors, the whole time for the English program will be cut short to only two years If the ESP reading instruction lasts for one academic year only, it would not be a sufficient time to train students the language for Architecture purpose In addition, during the time teaching EGP and ESP to Architecture students, from first-year to third-year ones, the researcher recognizes two major issues First, whereas they are quite confident with English grammar exercises, they struggle a lot when dealing with the four language skills, particularly reading Third-year students prove to be ineffective readers, with weak reading skills although they have taken one academic year studying GE with a four-skill integrated course Secondly, quite a few teachers have made complaints about our Architecture students’ lack of focus and motivation in reading GE texts, mostly because they find them uninteresting and irrelevant, so the effectiveness of the class is often low In conclusion, it is the fact that the current syllabus has not yielded the teachers’ desired results and has proved inadequate in addressing the students’ needs To improve the students’ reading skills, it is suggested that a separate reading course should be introduced earlier from the first academic year, because reading takes considerable time and resources to develop, and it cannot be taught in one or two courses (Grabe, 1991) Apart from that, in order to make the syllabus accommodate the Architecture students’ immediate and long-term needs, an ESP approach to syllabus design should be adopted With consideration of the whole context, I decided to carry out the research entitled “Designing an ESP reading syllabus for first-year students of Architecture at Hanoi University of Business and Technology” 2 Previous related studies Together with the economic integration into the global market, the need of learning English and especially ESP is ever increasing So far, there have been a number of studies on ESP syllabus design for ESP courses Among those, there are ESP theses for different disciplines Among them are the ESP reading syllabuses designed by Doan Van Giao (2005, cited in Ha, 2008) for students of Civil Engineering, Tran Thi Dung for students of Urban Planning (2007), Dinh Thi Thu Ha for students Informatics (2008) and Dora Chostelidou for students of Accountancy (2010) They did a needs analysis suitable for the context at their working place Giao (2005) carries out a needs analysis on current students, ex-students, ESP teachers, teachers and employers This is expected to help improve the teaching and learning of ESP reading at his university However, he only uses questionnaires as a data collection instrument, which is not enough to achieve objective results of his students’ needs In Dung’s thesis, what is notable is an in-depth analysis of needs from various sources, including ESP teachers, subject teachers and second-year students However, the questionnaire items concerning reading skills and exercises are a bit too lengthy and complicated for the students Ha (2008)’s thesis was done with ex-students apart from ESP teachers, subject teachers and second-year students This helps the author get a wider view on what reading skills, types of English specialist materials learners should be in touch with at work, which is a reliable source about target needs What is emphasized in Chseostelidou (2010)’s study is that a needs analysis is a key to identifying learners’ needs, learning competence and competence required of them in their future job Therefore, needs analysis plays a crucial role in designing an ESP course A common feature of these studies is the use of needs analysis in the process of designing or redesigning an ESP syllabus Thanks for that, they are used by the writer of this thesis as an important source of reference Seeking to design an ESP syllabus appropriate for the first-year students of Architecture at HUBT, this study is also expected to contribute its distinguished features to the whole research scenario of ESP teaching in general The aim of the study The main aim of the study is to investigate the learning needs, wants and lacks of the first-year students of Architecture in ESP reading learning, and expectations of ESP teachers, which serve as the foundation for designing an appropriate ESP reading syllabus To achieve the aim, a needs analysis was done to identify the target needs and learning needs of the students because, as Basturkmen (2008) puts it, a key feature of ESP syllabus design is that the syllabus is based on an analysis of the needs of the students Research questions This study aimed to address the following research questions: What are the perceptions and attitudes of Architecture students, ESP teachers at HUBT, and architectural professionals towards ESP reading? The answer to question leads to the next question: Is it necessary to introduce an ESP reading syllabus to first-year students of Architecture at HUBT? And if yes, How should such an ESP reading syllabus be designed? Methodology Survey research is employed in this study with the use of questionnaire and interview as the means of collecting data about first-year Architecture students’ target needs and learning needs (For more details, see chapter II, Part B) Scope of the study The study is done based on the circumstances for first-year Architecture majors at Hanoi University of Business and Technology (HUBT) Due to the scope of the 12 Grabe, W (1991) Current developments in second language reading research TESOL Quarterly, 25(3), 375-406 13 Grabe, W (2002) Dilemmas for the development of second language reading abilities In J C Richard & W A Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching (pp 276-286) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 14 Ha, D T T (2008) Towards designing an ESP reading syllabus for the third-year students of Informatics at Hanoi University of Business and Technology Hanoi University, Hanoi 15 Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A (1987) English for specific purposes: A learningcentred approach Cambridge: Cambrige University Press 16 Munby, J (1978) Communicative syllabus design Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 17 Nunan, D (1988) Syllabus design Oxford: Oxford University Press 18 Nunan, D (1992) Research methods in language teaching Cambridge: Cambirdge University Press 19 Nuttall, C (1996) Teaching reading skills in a foreign language Oxford: Heinemann English Language Teaching 20 Richards, J C (2001) Curriculum development in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 21 Riejos, A M R., López, J S., & Mansilla, P Ú (2011) The Language of Architecture and Civil Engineering Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing 22 Robinson, P C (1991) ESP today: a practical guide London: Prentice Hall 23 Robinson, P C (2009) Syllabus design In M H Long & C J Doughty (Eds.), The handbook of language teaching: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 24 Thornbury, S (2006) An A-Z of ELT: A dictionary of terms and concepts used in English language teaching Oxford: Macmillan 25 Urquhart, A H., & Weir, C J (1998) Reading in a second language: Process, product and practice (1st ed.) London and New York: Longman 26 Williams, E (1996) Reading in the language classroom Hertfordshire: Macmillan Publishers II APPENDICES APPENDIX FIRST-YEAR STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT Bản điều tra nhằm mục đích tìm thu thập ý kiến sinh viên năm thứ khoa Kiến trúc, trường ĐH Kinh doanh Công nghệ Hà Nội, nhằm xây dựng chương trình dạy đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành phù hợp với mục tiêu đào tạo nhà trường đáp ứng nguyện vọng sinh viên Ý kiến bạn hữu ích nghiên cứu Xin trân trọng cảm ơn đóng góp bạn! Part A Bạn điền thông tin cá nhân vào mục Nam - Giới tính: Nữ - Age: - Years of learning English: Part B Theo bạn, việc học tiếng Anh có quan trọng khơng? ( khoanh tròn lựa chọn) A quan trọng B quan trọng C khơng rõ D khơng quan trọng Lí bạn: …………………………………………………………………………………… Mục đích học tiếng Anh bạn gì? Mục đích Tích (V) - Nghe nói Giao tiếp - Đọc hiểu tài liệu tiếng Anh - Nghe hiểu tiếng Anh - Viết văn tiếng Anh III Lí bạn: …………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn mong muốn từ chương trình học đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Kiến trúc cho năm thứ nhất? Được tiếp cận với tài liệu đọc chuyên ngành kiến trúc tiếng Anh Nắm vốn thuật ngữ tiếng Anh liên quan đến chuyên ngành kiến trúc Có khả dịch tài liệu chuyên ngành từ tiếng Anh sang Việt Luyện tập cấu trúc ngữ pháp Rèn luyện kĩ đọc hiểu hiệu Các mong muốn khác bạn: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Hãy lựa chọn (tích V) chủ đề đọc tiếng Anh mà bạn muốn tiếp cận Các ý tưởng kiến trúc (architectural concepts) Xây dựng Kiến trúc ngoại thất (kiến trúc cảnh quan) Kiến trúc nội thất Quy chuẩn, quy phạm kiến trúc xây dựng Phương thức trình bày vẽ CV (hồ sơ lí lịch xin việc) Các chủ đề khác bạn thích: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn thích tiếng Việt sử dụng lớp học? IV A Luôn sử dụng B Thường xuyên C Thỉnh thoảng D Không bao Khi gặp từ mới, bạn thường: muốn thầy cô giáo dịch sang tiếng Việt đoán nghĩa từ dựa vào văn cảnh tra từ điển ghi chép vào sổ từ phân loại Bạn thích hình thức hoạt động học tập nào? Hình thức học tập Lựa chọn (đánh dấu v) - Sử dụng dụng cụ học tập trực quan (tranh ảnh, phim, video) - Làm việc theo đôi - Làm việc theo nhóm - Làm việc độc lập - Thuyết trình Các hoạt động khác (vui lịng rõ): ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… V APPENDIX THIRD-YEAR STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ BA ************** Bản điều tra nhằm mục đích tìm thu thập ý kiến sinh viên năm thứ ba khoa Kiến trúc, trường ĐH Kinh doanh Công nghệ Hà Nội, nhằm xây dựng chương trình dạy đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành phù hợp với mục tiêu đào tạo nhà trường đáp ứng nguyện vọng sinh viên Ý kiến bạn hữu ích nghiên cứu tơi Xin trân trọng cảm ơn đóng góp bạn! Theo bạn việc học tiếng Anh có quan trọng khơng? (hãy khoanh trịn lựa chọn) A quan trọng B quan trọng C khơng rõ D khơng quan trọng Lí bạn: …………………………………………………………………………………… Mục đích học Anh bạn gì? Mục đích Tích (V) Nghe nói Giao tiếp Đọc hiểu tài liệu tiếng Anh Nghe hiểu tiếng Anh Viết văn tiếng Anh Lí bạn: …………………………………………………………………………………… VI Bạn nhận xét chương trình học đọc tiếng Anh cho năm thứ nhất? Kiểm tra kĩ dạy kĩ Dạng tập nhàm chán Khơng quan tâm đến trình độ sinh viên Bài đọc dài Sinh viên không hướng dẫn cách tiếp cận nhiệm vụ đọc hiểu Các nhận xét khác: ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn có đề nghị nhằm nâng cao chất lượng giảng dạy tiếng Anh chuyên ngành? Tài liệu tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cập nhật Hướng dẫn cách tiếp cận đọc nhiệm vụ đọc Xem xét đến hạn chế sinh viên Học ESP năm, năm thứ Đề nghị khác: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… VII APPENDIX ARCHITECT QUESTIONNAIRE PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA KIẾN TRÚC SƯ ********** Bản điều tra nhằm mục đích tìm hiểu việc đọc tài liệu chuyên ngành kiến trúc sư mơi trường cơng việc Kết điều tra phục vụ đắc lực cho nghiên cứu "Phát triển khung chương trình dạy đọc chuyên ngành Kiến trúc cho sinh viên năm trường Đại học Kinh doanh Công nghệ Hà Nội” Xin cảm ơn anh chị hợp tác tham gia! Anh/chị làm lĩnh vực cụ thể? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Anh/chị làm công ty nào? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Trong kĩ tiếng Anh (nghe, nói, đọc, viết), (những) kĩ hữu ích cho cơng việc anh/chị? (hãy tích V vào đáp án lựa chọn) Nghe Nói Đọc Viết khơng rõ Anh/chị có đọc văn chuyên ngành tiếng Anh thường xun khơng? (hãy tích V vào đáp án lựa chọn) khơng ít thỉnh thoảng thường xun VIII Loại văn chuyên ngành tiếng Anh anh/chị tiếp cận? (hãy tích V vào đáp án lựa chọn) thư điện tử bản mô tả thơng số kĩ thuật báo cáo thư tín CV (ngành nghề kiến trúc) bản hướng dẫn sử dụng Loại khác (vui lòng rõ) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Anh/chị đọc nguồn tài liệu tiếng Anh liên quan đến công việc? (hãy tích V vào đáp án lựa chọn) catalogue bản vẽ thiết kế kiến trúc Internet website sách Nguồn khác (vui lòng rõ): ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Xin anh/ chị vui lòng đề xuất chủ đề tài liệu đọc chuyên ngành tiếng Anh cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất! ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Xin trân trọng cám ơn! IX APPENDIX INTERVIEW FOR ESP TEACHERS Năm sinh: ………… Giới tính: Nam Nữ Trình độ học vấn: Đại học, chuyên ngành: ……………………………………… Thạc sĩ, chuyên ngành: ……………………………………… Tiến sĩ, chuyên ngành: ……………………………………… Số năm kinh nghiệm dạy tiếng Anh: - Kinh nghiệm dạy tiếng Anh thông dụng: ……… năm - Kinh nghiệm dạy tiếng Anh chuyên ngành: ……… năm Anh/chị đánh giá trình độ ngoại ngữ sinh viên năm nhất? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Theo anh/chị, kĩ đọc cần dạy cho sinh viên kiến trúc năm thứ nhất? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Theo anh/chị, chương trình dạy học tiếng Anh chuyên ngành có cần thiết cho sinh viên năm thứ khoa Kiến trúc khơng? Vì sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… X Nếu cần thiết, chương trình cần tập trung vào điều gì? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Anh/chị thường làm để có lớp học đọc hiệu quả, phù hợp với phong cách học sinh viên? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Anh/chị thường làm để nâng cao hứng thú học đọc tiếng Anh sinh viên Kiến trúc? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… XI APPENDIX Teachers’ suggested teaching techniques Way to conduct a reading lesson Pre-reading activities, as the interviewees admitted, are very important because it can activate background knowledge, give chance to discuss and make prediction about the topic of the text, and thus get L2 learners more involved in the reading task Some vocabulary can be explained explicitly where necessary In the while-reading phase, the teacher should explain the skills needed for reading comprehension, then work together with the learners in a quick-fire manner so that students feel more confident After that the students start working on their own A wide variety of activities can be adopted such as independent work, group work, and whole-class work Post-reading phase can be used to consolidate vocabulary and develop other skills Summary in oral or written forms and translation of the text into Vietnamese under the guide of teacher is suggested by three out of five teachers These activities, as they said, can help have the opportunity to use the learnt vocabulary and grammar structures and enable students to understand the text better In addition, four out of the interviewees said they often use the post-reading activity for vocabulary and grammar consolidation, entailing “vocabulary and grammar structures prove to be efficient if they are put in a specific context.” Ways to motivate Architecture students As experienced teachers, the interviewees suggest a lot of techniques But the idea that was shared among them is flexibility and diversity For Architecture students, activities should not be the same for a long time: they get bored very quickly A wide variety of activities and materials can help the lesson less boring, more interesting and thereby increase the learners’ motivation and instruction effectiveness Below are a number of their suggestions XII Give students the chance to make choices, for example, of the topics, activities, materials Provide background information prior to reading, to activate their background knowledge Show the students how the material might be useful to them in the future when possible Explain useful reading strategies for a certain reading purpose Guide them to read properly by modeling before they go on to reading independently In a multi-level class, the reading tasks should be adjusted to make sure that each student is given a chance to succeed Teachers are encouraged to use visual aids Architecture students like the use of pictures, they also like drawing Use various types of activities such as independent work, pair work, and group work XIII APPENDIX A proposed ESP reading syllabus Content Time Tasks Reading skills Topics Skimming Reference skill: W1 understanding and using Architectural concepts graphic presentation Grammar & vocabulary work (headings, subheadings, numbering) Skimming Reference skill: W2 understanding and using Architectural concepts graphic presentation Grammar & vocabulary work (headings, subheadings, numbering) W3 W4 Scanning Standards in Reference skill: using a Architecture and dictionary building construction Scanning Standards in Reference skill: using a Architecture and dictionary building construction XIV Grammar & vocabulary work Grammar & vocabulary work Skimming & scanning W5 Distinguishing the main ideas from supporting Exterior Architecture Project: building (Landscape and garden technical terms design) from w1-4 details Skimming, scanning & W6 reading intensively Guessing unfamiliar words Exterior Architecture (Landscape and garden design) Grammar & vocabulary work from context Skimming, scanning & W7 reading intensively Interior Architecture Guessing unfamiliar words Grammar & vocabulary work from context Skimming, scanning & W8 reading intensively Construction Grammar & vocabulary work Recognizing discourse markers Project: building W9 Mid-term test technical terms from w5-8 Skimming, scanning & W10 Architecture drawings reading intensively W11 Skimming, scanning & Standards in reading intensively Architecture and Reference skills: building construction XV Grammar & vocabulary work Grammar & vocabulary work understanding and using graphic presentation (headings, subheadings, numbering, table of contents) Skimming, scanning & W12 Architectural concepts reading intensively Skimming, scanning & W13 Exterior Architecture (Landscape and garden reading intensively design) Interior Architecture reading intensively Architecture drawings reading intensively W16 Grammar & vocabulary work technical terms from w10-14 Skimming, scanning & W15 vocabulary work Project: building Skimming, scanning & W14 Grammar & Skimming, scanning & Standards in reading intensively Architecture and building construction Grammar & vocabulary work Grammar & vocabulary work Skimming, scanning & Curriculum Vitae of an Grammar & reading intensively architect vocabulary work W17 Project: building W18 End-of-term test technical terms from w15-17 XVI ... entitled ? ?Designing an ESP reading syllabus for first- year students of Architecture at Hanoi University of Business and Technology? ?? 2 Previous related studies Together with the economic integration...VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - - TRẦN NGUYỆT MINH DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR FIRST- YEAR STUDENTS. .. and the 18th week students are asked to sit a mid-term test and an end -of- term test to get marks 4.6 A proposed ESP reading syllabus for first- year Architecture students at Hanoi University of