A study on english vietnamese liaison interpreting in HIVAIDS programs of non govermental organizations in vietnam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES -*** LE THI THUY DEVELOPING SUPPLEMENTARY READING AND WRITING MATERIALS FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORED UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A NEEDS-BASED APPROACH PHÁT TRIỂN TÀI LIỆU ĐỌC-VIẾT BỔ TRỢ CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH THEO ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG LẤY NHU CẦU NGƯỜI HỌC LÀM TRUNG TÂM M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 HANOI - 2009 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES -*** LE THI THUY DEVELOPING SUPPLEMENTARY READING AND WRITING MATERIALS FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORED UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A NEEDS-BASED APPROACH PHÁT TRIỂN TÀI LIỆU ĐỌC-VIẾT BỔ TRỢ CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH THEO ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG LẤY NHU CẦU NGƯỜI HỌC LÀM TRUNG TÂM M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Vu Mai Trang, M.A HANOI - 2009 iv Tables of contents Candidate’s declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Tables of contents iv List of abbreviations vi List of figures, charts and tables vii INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study Aims and objectives of the study Significance of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study (An overview of the rest of the paper) CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Needs analysis 1.1.1 Definition of needs 1.1.2 The importance of needs analysis 1.2 Textbook evaluation and adaptation 1.2.1 The Role of Textbooks 1.2.2 Textbook evaluation 1.2.3 Textbook adaptation 1.3 Supplementary materials 1.3.1 The importance of supplementary materials 1.3.2 Definition of supplementary materials 10 1.3.3 Criteria of developing supplementary reading texts 11 1.4 Reading exercises and reading skills 12 1.4.1 Types of reading exercises 12 1.4.2 Reading skills 13 1.5 Creating activities based on reading texts 14 v 1.5.1 Skills integration in EFL teaching and learning 14 1.5.2 Creating writing activities from reading texts 14 1.6 Suitability of the present study in the research area 15 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 16 2.1 Description of the context 16 2.1.1 The current syllabus for the third-year students 16 2.1.2 The teaching staff 17 2.1.3 The students 17 2.2 Description of the participants 18 2.3 Methods of data collection 18 2.4 Methods of data analysis 20 2.5 Scope of the research 20 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 21 3.1 Personal evaluation of the coursebook New Headway 21 3.2 The attitudes of students and teachers towards the coursebook New Headway 22 3.3 Students’ preferences for a supplementary material 26 3.4 Teachers’ view on the teaching of reading and writing 30 3.5 Teachers’ view on where to use the supplementary materials 31 3.6 Conclusion 32 CHAPTER 4: DEVELOPING SUPPLEMENTARY READING AND WRITING MATERIALS FOR NON – ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS IN HULIS, VNU 33 4.1 Criteria of developing supplementary reading and writing materials 33 4.1.1 Criteria of selecting reading materials 33 4.1.2 Developing procedures 34 4.2 An overview of the developed sample material 34 4.2.1 General descriptions of the material 34 4.2.2 Purposes of the material 35 4.3 Recommendations 35 4.4 The sample of supplementary reading and writing materials for NEMS 37 CONCLUSION 38 REFERENCES 41 APPENDICES I vi LIST OF ABREVIATIONS VNU Vietnam National University HULIS Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies NEMS Non – English majored students ESP English for Specific Purposes B.A Bachelor of Arts vii LIST OF FIGURES, CHARTS, AND TABLES Figures Figure: A framework for material writing Charts Chart 1: Overall rating of teachers and students on the course book Chart 2: Students’ attitudes towards the course book’s layout and design Chart 3: Students’ attitudes towards the topics’ sequence Chart 4a: Students’ attitude towards the reading passages Chart 4b: Teachers’ attitude towards the reading passages Chart 5: Course book evaluation average marking – a comparison between teachers and students Chart 6: Respondents’ view on using the course book Chart 7: Students’ attitude towards the benefits of reading exercises Chart 8: Students’ preference of reading texts Chart 9: Favorite types of exercises Chart 10: Reading skills students would like to develop more Chart 11a: The frequency of practicing writing exercises Chart 11b: Students’ preference of writing exercises Chart 12 Advantages of using a reading text to teach writing Chart 13: Techniques used to employ reading texts to create writing activities Tables Table: An overview of the coursebooks New Headway INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem and rationale for the study The diversity of needs of English language learners has long been acknowledged (Tarone & Yule, 1989) Researchers also propose that teachers should identify correct learner expectations and attitudes about how languages are learned and also explain the reasoning behind classroom methods, in order to reduce any gap between learner and teacher beliefs (Horwitz, 1985; Wenden, 1986; McCargar, 1993; Kern, 1995; Peacock, 1999) A learning-centered approach to lessons, materials and syllabus design advocates the involvement of learners in contributing to this design Learners should be invited to express their views in their needs for learning the language, their preferred learning styles (Willing, 1988) These views can then inform the material design, and they should take part in assessing the materials once they are applied Therefore, when designing materials for NEMS, it is necessary that the teachers have reliable information about their learner variables so that syllabi, methods of teaching, and methods of testing match learners‟ needs as closely as possible According to Bachman and Palmer (1996): “needs analysis, or needs assessment, involves the systematic gathering of specific information about the language needs of learners and the analysis of this information for purpose of language syllabus design” (p.102) A pilot survey was done by the researcher with the aim of learning about the needs of the non-English majored students (NEMS) shows that while students want to get good marks at final exams (in the format of reading and writing), they also want to enhance their language competence including reading and writing skills For a majority of students coming from such departments as German, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and Chinese who had chance to learn English at high school, exercises in the coursebook New Headway bore them and discourage them from practicing their skills They really need something more challenging Students work with the ready-made-text in the coursebook because the text is seen as the main source of providing and acquiring knowledge for both teachers and students Supplementary reading texts are „sometimes‟ or „rarely‟ assigned to the students During the periods of reading skill, they concentrated only on practicing reading exercises of a unit in the coursebook and dealing with new words appearing in the text The study also indicated that most of the students would like to have a full pack of supplementary reading materials to meet the needs of the students Selecting or developing reading materials to enhance reading and writing skills has become a popular activity in English Department, HULIS, VNU However, a library search suggested that there have been very few researches on designing supplementary materials for NEMS in our university, especially those on the integration of reading and writing This fact urged the researcher to a research on the subject with the hope that the final product (supplementary reading and writing material) would benefit both teachers and NEMS in HULIS, VNU Aims and objectives of the study This study investigates NEMS‟ learning needs including their attitudes towards the New Headway coursebook, their practice of reading and writing strategies The first aim of this study is to examine some characteristics of the reading texts and exercises in the coursebooks „New Headway‟ (Elementary and Pre-intermediate) The second aim is to find out how well the coursebook matches the needs of students In addition, the research aims to analyzing students‟ preferences for the choice of topics and types of supplementary reading and writing exercises To help the students to be aware of the importance of integrating reading and writing skills is also an important aim More importantly, the researcher aims to develop a supplementary material to motivate the students and help them to reinforce reading and writing skills Specifically, this minor thesis would aim to develop a supplementary reading and writing skills to enhance these skills By that, the study would have to answer the following questions: What are students‟ views on the New Headway coursebooks? To what extent does the New Headway coursebooks satisfy students‟ needs? What are students‟ preferences for a supplementary Reading and Writing material? Significance of the study The findings of this research will provide teachers with insightful information on learners‟ needs and preferences as an input to materials design, focusing on reading and writing skills input to materials planning The study demonstrates the importance of a good understanding of learner variables at multi-faculty in HULIS Although the actual needs of English might vary among different multi-faculty universities, the applied process of questionnaire design, validation and data analysis can serve as a model or example for other NEMS in HULIS or in other universities in VNU Hopefully, the developed material would be a reference for both teachers and NEMS to use when teaching and learning the coursebooks New Headway (Elementary/ Pre-intermediate) Scope of the study The researcher has no ambition to touch upon every aspect of teaching both reading and writing skills but focuses mainly on selecting reading texts and creating writing activities based on reading texts In other words, the study is only aimed at guiding students to different kinds of writing exercises in which they can use reading texts as the springboard to generate ideas Therefore, more attention is given to reading exercises Writing, in this paper, is considered nearly like post-reading stage Additionally, due to the small scale of the study as well as the limitation of time and knowledge, the material designed will be applied to third year students learning in session two, including 10 units for 15 weeks, focusing on the integration of reading and writing, designing the supplementary the materials for developing listening and speaking skills will be the future research Methods of the study According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), the best methodology for studying the needs of any particular group of students is to use such methods as questionnaires, followup interviews, and collection of authentic texts Therefore, in order to find out answers to the above-mentioned questions, survey questionnaires - a typical time-saving and information- reliable method of quantitative approach will be exploited to collect opinions about the coursebook and teachers and students‟ attitudes towards the reading passages in New Headway coursebooks taught in the second session Through questionnaires, quantities data, truth value of persuasive statistics concerning the investigated issues, could be obtained In addition, information from other sources such as the Internet, journals, and books was collected, summarized, analyzed and synthesized Collecting information and analyzing data from other sources also equip the researcher with background knowledge and literature of the investigated issue In summary, through analyzing the information and data collected, the researcher have flexibly taken advantages of all the above mentioned methods as a source of evidence to enhance the persuasive value of the study An overview of the rest of the paper The paper includes four chapters altogether: Chapter - Literature Review reviews theoretical background on which the whole study is based, including the theoretical issues of supplementary reading and writing materials Chapter – Methodology describes in detail the methods and procedures the researcher uses in conducting this research Chapter – Data analysis and findings presents the results and discusses the findings as well as possible interferences from such findings Chapter – provides some criteria for developing supplementary reading and writing exercises for NEMS with Recommendations giving pedagogical suggestions for teachers and students when and how to use this material d The content of reading passages is up-todate e Reading passages widen students’ 94 background knowledge f The length of reading passages is appropriate g The coursebook include and focus on the skills that my students need to practice h The coursebook provides a variety of reading exercises i The layout and design is appropriate and clear j The coursebook encourages students’ self-study What are the strengths of the coursebook? _ _ What are the weaknesses of the coursebook? _ _ What is your choice? Please tick the box Yes No I would choose to teach this book again! B Teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of reading and writing What you think of integrating reading and writing when teaching English? i essential b optional c not necessary The advantages of using a reading text in the text book to teach writing may be: (you can have more than one answer) a Reading texts provide students with vocabulary, grammar structures, and ideas for them to write b To some extend, reading texts will help orient the styles and organization of students’ writing c Students’ language ability is improved to lead students in more communicative writing activities Other advantages: …………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… 95 Which types of writing activities below could you exploit from reading texts to teach writing skills for your students? a Rewriting the sentences without changing the original meaning b Reordering the given words to make a complete sentence c Using suggested words to make a complete sentence d Summarizing a reading text e Writing formal and informal letters f Writing on the given topic (paragraphs, essays) Other types: ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 If you were supposed to employ reading texts to create writing activities for your students in class, which techniques below would you choose? a Give students several topics based on the reading text and ask them to choose one of these topics to write themselves b Give students some guiding questions related to the specific topic to elicit ideas from them c Ask them to draw ideas, structures which might be useful for their writing, from the reading text then add their own ideas Other techniques: …………………………………………………………………………………………… …… 11 In your opinion, where should supplementary exercises be done? Please specify your reasons: j in class Reasons: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… k at home Reasons: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… l Other opinions: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! 96 90 PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA CHO SINH VIÊN Để giúp em phát triển kỹ đọc viết thông qua tài liệu bổ trợ, cần biết ý kiến em dựa phiếu điều tra Cảm ơn hợp tác em! A Đánh giá giáo trình Đây bảng tiêu chí đánh giá giáo trình New Headway, gồm 10 bài, từ 11-14 Elementary, Pre-intermediate Hãy đánh dấu √ vào ý kiến Tuyệt vời Tốt Bình thường Tồi Đánh giá chung giáo trình New Headway? Giáo trình thỏa mãn mức độ tiêu chí sau đây? (Lựa chọn ý kiến nhất) Tiêu chí a Hình thức trình bày b Thứ tự chủ điểm sách c Các chủ điểm đọc d Nội dung đọc e Độ dài đọc f Độ khó đọc g Loại đọc-viết h Các kỹ đọc-viết phát triển Hãy cho biết ý kiến đánh giá cụ thể giáo trình? Khoanh tròn ý kiến nhất! *Lưu ý: 10 _ Rất khơng Rất đồng ý đồng ý Tiêu chí đánh giá a Các chủ điểm thú vị thiết thực b Chủ điểm đa dạng c Nội dung đáp ứng nhu cầu chúng em d Thông tin có đọc cập nhật e Các đọc giúp mở rộng kiến thức f Độ dài đọc phù hợp g Giáo trình cung cấp tập trung vào kỹ em muốn luyện tập h Các dạng đọc đa dạng i Hình thức trình bày giáo trình hợp lý rõ ràng j Giáo trình khuyến khích khả tự học em 91 Giáo trình có ưu điểm gì? Giáo trình có nhược điểm cần khắc phục? Ý kiến em gì? Hãy đánh dấu vào lựa chọn phù hợp Đúng Sai Em chọn học giáo trình này! B Tìm hiểu nhu cầu, hứng thú sinh viên Theo em, tập đọc giúp em việc học tiếng Anh (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) a Làm giàu vốn từ vựng b Học thêm cấu trúc c Đọc nhanh hiều sâu d Mở rộng kiến thức e Yêu thích việc học tiếng Anh Các ý kiến khác: ……………………………………………………………………………………… … ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Đánh dấu vào cột biểu thị độ khó dễ dạng tập sau: (1 = khó nhất; …; = dễ nhất) Dạng Đúng/Sai Đa lựa chọn Trả lời ngắn Điền từ (không cho sắn) Điền từ (cho sẵn) Từ vựng Tóm tắt Nối Đánh dấu vào cột biểu thị hứng thú em dạng tập sau: Dạng Đúng/Sai Đa lựa chọn ĐỌC Trả lời ngắn Điền từ (không cho sắn) Điền từ (cho sẵn) Từ vựng Tóm tắt Nối 92 Viết lại câu cho nghĩa không thay đổi VIẾT Sắp xếp từ thành câu hoàn chỉnh Sử dụng từ gợi ý viết thành câu hồn chỉnh Tóm tắt Viết thư Viết theo chủ đề (viết đoạn, viết luận) 10 Các kỹ đọc em muốn củng cố thêm? a Đọc để lấy ý (skimming) b Đọc để lấy thông tin cụ thể (scanning) c Suy luận d Đọc hiểu loại từ thành ngữ e Tóm tắt f Đọc hiểu mục đích quan điểm tác giả g Đọc hiểu cấu trúc câu/ đoạn h Đoán từ Ý kiến khác: 11 Loại tập viết em thường luyện tập lớp? a Viết lại câu cho nghĩa không thay đổi b Sắp xếp từ thành câu hoàn chỉnh c Sử dụng từ gợi ý viết thành câu hoàn chỉnh d Tóm tắt e Viết thư f Viết theo chủ đề Ý kiến khác: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Loại tập viết em muốn đựơc luyện tập thêm? a Viết lại câu cho nghĩa không thay đổi b Sắp xếp từ thành câu hoàn chỉnh c Sử dụng từ gợi ý viết thành câu hồn chỉnh d Tóm tắt e Viết thư f Viết theo chủ đề Ý kiến khác: ………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………… ………………………………………… CHÂN THÀNH CẢM ƠN SỰ HỢP TÁC CỦA CÁC EM! 93 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS Thank you for taking part in this survey We highly appreciate your answers and comments as they will assist us to develop a supplementary reading and writing material This survey will take about 10 minutes Many thanks for your help A Coursebook Evaluation Here is a checklist for evaluating the coursebook New Headway, including units11-14 (Elementary) and units 1-6 (Pre-intermediate) Please tick √ the box Excellent Good Fair Poor What is your overall rating of the coursebook New Headway? How well did the coursebook meet the following objectives? (Choose the best option) Coursebook a Layout and design b Topics of the reading passages c Content of the reading passages d The length of the reading passages e Reading passages’ level of difficulty Types of reading and writing exercises g Reading and writing skills developed f How you specifically evaluate the coursebook? Circle the best option *Please note : Highly disagree Criteria a Topics are interesting and useful b There is sufficient variety in the topic and content of the coursebook c The content of the coursebook is relevant to my students’ needs d The content of reading passages is up-todate e Reading passages widen students’ 94 background knowledge f The length of reading passages is appropriate g The coursebook include and focus on the skills that my students need to practice h The coursebook provides a variety of reading exercises i The layout and design is appropriate and clear j The coursebook encourages students’ self-study What are the strengths of the coursebook? _ _ What are the weaknesses of the coursebook? _ _ What is your choice? Please tick the box Yes No I would choose to teach this book again! B Teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of reading and writing What you think of integrating reading and writing when teaching English? a essential b optional c not necessary The advantages of using a reading text in the text book to teach writing may be: (you can have more than one answer) a Reading texts provide students with vocabulary, grammar structures, and ideas for them to write b To some extend, reading texts will help orient the styles and organization of students’ writing c Students’ language ability is improved to lead students in more communicative writing activities Other advantages: …………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… 95 Which types of writing activities below could you exploit from reading texts to teach writing skills for your students? a Rewriting the sentences without changing the original meaning b Reordering the given words to make a complete sentence c Using suggested words to make a complete sentence d Summarizing a reading text e Writing formal and informal letters f Writing on the given topic (paragraphs, essays) Other types: ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 If you were supposed to employ reading texts to create writing activities for your students in class, which techniques below would you choose? a Give students several topics based on the reading text and ask them to choose one of these topics to write themselves b Give students some guiding questions related to the specific topic to elicit ideas from them c Ask them to draw ideas, structures which might be useful for their writing, from the reading text then add their own ideas Other techniques: …………………………………………………………………………………………… …… 11 In your opinion, where should supplementary exercises be done? Please specify your reasons: b in class Reasons: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… c at home Reasons: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… d Other opinions: ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! 96 ... approach to reading and applying reading-writing components Jeanette and Moseley state it in the preface of their book as: “ today the idea of integrating writing and reading instruction is gaining... richness and complexity of the English language as employed for communication but also turns English into a real means of interaction and sharing among people In addition, integrating the language... gap of a particular teaching and learning context, contextual and pedagogical realization is included in the model When designing a material, it is essential to take into account its layout and