Developing ESP supplementary reading exercises for second year students at faculty of nursing, phu tho medical college

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PHAN THỊ THU HÀ DEVELOPING ESP SUPPLEMENTARY READING EXERCISES FOR SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF NURSING, PHU THO MEDICAL COLLEGE XÂY DỰNG CÁC BÀI TẬP ĐỌC BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TẠI KHOA ĐIỀU DƯỠNG, TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG Y TẾ PHÚ THỌ MINOR PROGRAM THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 HANOI, 09-2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PHAN THỊ THU HÀ DEVELOPING ESP SUPPLEMENTARY READING EXERCISES FOR SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF NURSING, PHU THO MEDICAL COLLEGE XÂY DỰNG CÁC BÀI TẬP ĐỌC BỔ TRỢ TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TẠI KHOA ĐIỀU DƯỠNG, TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG Y TẾ PHÚ THỌ MINOR PROGRAM THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Dr Dương Thị Nụ HANOI, 09-2012 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS - ESP: English for Specific Purposes - PTMC: Phu Tho Medical College - EMP: English for Medical Purposes - L2: Second Language - U.S: United States - U.K: United Kingdom - EFL: English as a Foreign Language - T: Teachers - S: Students - N: number of the teachers/ students - P: percentage of the teachers/ students LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Exercises believed to be suitable to develop ESP reading skills (Grellet, 1981: 4-5) Table 2: Exercise types in ESP reading skills (Kenedy and Bolitho, 1991: 74-84) Table 3: Types of reading exercises in each unit in the currently used teaching coursebook Table 4: Teachers and students’ perception of students’ difficulties in terms of reading exercises Table 5: Teachers and students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of using supplementary exercises in reading lessons Table 6: Teachers and students’ perceptions of exercise types to be included in the ESP supplementary reading exercises Table 7: The proposed supplementary reading exercises LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Teachers and students’ perceptions of the reading exercises in the currently used teaching coursebook Figure 2: Teachers and students’ perceptions of the necessity of ESP supplementary reading exercises Figure 3: Teachers and students’ perceptions of exercise types accompanying the reading texts in the currently used teaching coursebook Figure 4: The frequency of the teachers and students in using supplementary reading exercises Figure 5: Teachers and students’ perceptions of the place of using supplementary reading exercises TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………… ii ASTRACT ………………………………………………………………… iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ………………………………………… iv LIST OF TABLES ………………………………………………………… v LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………… vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study …………………………………………………… Objectives of the study…………………………………………………… Research questions……………………………………………………… Scope of the study………………………………………………………… Research Methodology…………………………………………………… Significance of the study ………………………………………………… Design of the study……………………………………………………… PART B : DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 An overview of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for Medical Purposes (EMP) ………………………………………………… 1.1.1 ESP …………………………………………………………………… 1.1.2 EMP ………………………………………………………………… 1.2 An overview of materials development in language teaching 1.2.1 Materials and materials development……………………………… 1.2.1.1 Definition of materials……………………………………………… 1.2.1.2 Materials development ………………………………………… 1.2.2 Materials evaluation and its criteria ………………………………… 1.2.3 Supplementary materials ……………………………………………… 1.3 An overview of reading comprehension in teaching ESP 1.3.1 Definitions of reading and reading comprehension…………………… 1.3.1.1 What is reading? 1.3.1.2 What is reading comprehension? 10 1.3.2 Types of ESP reading exercises…………… ………………………… 11 1.4 Summary 13 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 Settings 14 2.2 The study 15 2.2.1 The subjects 15 2.2.2 Instruments for collecting the data 15 2.2.3 Data collection procedures 16 2.2.4 Data analysis and major findings 17 2.2.4.1 An overview of the currently used teaching textbook 17 2.2.4.2 Class observation 19 2.2.4.3 Data from survey questionnaires 20 2.2.4.4 Major findings 31 2.3 Summary 33 CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 Suggested exercises for the ESP supplementary reading 34 3.2 Guidance for the teachers and students 36 3.2.1 Guidance for the teachers 36 3.2.2 Guidance for the students 37 3.3 Summary 37 PART C: CONCLUSION Recapitulation 38 Conclusions 38 Limitations of the study 39 Suggestions for further study 40 REFERENCES I APPENDICES III APPEN DIX III APPEN DIX VI APPEN DIX X PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study It is undeniable that English now is one of the most commonly used languages throughout the world In Vietnam, with the changes and the development of the economy and society, as well as the implementation of the open-door policy, English has been used more and more widely Importantly, it has influenced on our education curriculum as a compulsory subject In recent years, there has been a global increase in the number of language teachers who are required to teach English to students from various fields such as engineering, information science, medicine, accounting, etc to enable them to cope with their academic work This type of English is called English for Specific Purpose (ESP) Since ESP was introduced, it has attracted the attention of many language instructors Furthermore, the idea of ESP has been welcomed by staffs of universities who have seen the great benefits of learning ESP In addition, it is to meet the learners’ needs for better reading of specialized books in English and for more successful job performance in the future The English language program at Phu Tho Medical College (PTMC) is designed to be composed of two major stages The first stage is called English for General Purposes, focusing on developing students’ ability to communicate in English at a very simple level The second stage is ESP, emphasizing the development of students’ linguistic skills that are linked to their future occupational purposes After having taught English at PTMC for years, the researcher finds that although the currently used teaching coursebook for ESP has shown a great deal of improvement, it still has some problems with reading exercises Some are too easy for students whereas some make students bored Therefore, it does not help students improve their reading skill much In this case, the main task for the teachers is developing teaching materials to improve students’ reading skill In order to this, the teachers need to evaluate every unit to see what the problems are and then, try to think of the ways to improve them There are many things that the teachers can to improve the units They can be looking for supplementary materials from different sources, changing the procedures of teaching, designing activities to motivate the students, etc One of the effective ways is developing supplementary materials The above mentioned reasons lead me to my choice of the study: Developing ESP Supplementary Reading Exercises for second-year students at Faculty of Nursing, Phu Tho Medical College Objectives of the study The study aims to: - develop a theoretical framework which is appropriate for the development of ESP supplementary reading exercises for second-year students of nursing, PTMC - investigate and analyze the needs of ESP students of nursing and ESP teachers, PTMC to serve as a practical base for developing ESP supplementary reading exercises - propose ESP supplementary reading exercises for second-year students at Faculty of Nursing, PTMC, which can meet both teachers and students’ needs Research questions On carrying out the research, the following research questions are to be answered: - What are the reading needs of the nursing students at PTMC? - Which reading exercises should be supplemented for second-year students at Faculty of Nursing, PTMC? Scope of the study As the current coursebook is compulsory, this study is intended to focus on supplement only In the scope of this study, only ESP supplementary reading exercises, which are suitable for the local situation of PTMC, are proposed Moreover, they are intended for only the second-year students of nursing Research Methodology The study is based on a survey research, which involves a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to obtain its objectives To begin with, an body Exercise 3: Fill in the table with the information from the text Words related to each system The circulatory system: heart, atria, ventricles, blood, cardiac muscles The digestive system: _ The skeletal-muscular system: The nervous system: The integumentary system: _ Exercise 4: Label the figures 12 10 The main bones of the legs are the _(1) _, _(2) _ and _(3) _ The bone that is at the middle of the leg is the _(4) _ When you breathe out, your _(5) , the muscle under your chest, moves up to squeeze air out We have about 300 million alveoli (air sacs) in each _(6) _ At the shoulder, there are two bones that form the shoulder joint: the _(7) _ and the scapula Most people have 12 pairs of _(8) _ Your _(9) _ is the strongest muscle The largest gland in the body is the _(10) _ The _(11) _ secretes insulin into the blood 10 The _(12) _ communicates with the rest of the body through the spinal cords and nerves Exercise 5: Complete the summary The human body is a _(1) _ complex and _(2) _ machine It takes in and _(3) _ oxygen through the _(4) _ system Then the _(5) _ enriched _(6) _ is distributed through the _(7) _ system to all _(8) _ The _(9) _ system converts digestive food to energy and disposes of the rest The _(10) _ system gives form to the body And covering almost the entire mass is the _(11) _, the largest organ of the body The skin and its associated structures make up the _(12) _ system Liquid wastes are eliminated through the _(13) _ system Closely associated with the urinary system is the _(14) _ system, by which human life is carried on to future generation However, the most important system in human body is the _(15) _ system It controls all other systems and bodily movements APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ESP TEACHERS The only purpose of this questionnaire is to gather the ideas of ESP teachers at Phu Tho Medical College to develop ESP supplementary reading exercises for second-year students at Faculty of Nursing Your answers to the questions will be of great significance to develop this ESP supplementary reading exercises So, please response to each question and fulfill all of them as frankly as possible All the information you give will be used for research purposes only Thank you very much for your kind co-operation! Section I: Difficulties in terms of reading skills (Please put a tick (√) in the appropriate boxes The term “N/A” used in this section means “not applicable” It is a suitable answer if you have never had your students a certain kind of exercise.) How difficult your students find in terms of reading exercises? 5- Very easy 4- Easy No Skimming Scanning Identify the main ideas Recognizing text organization Inferring Utilizing text information Comprehensi on questions Other exercises Section II: Opinions on developing ESP supplementary reading exercises for second-year students In your opinion, the reading exercises in the currently coursebook used for the ESP course is A interesting B difficult C relevant D boring E others (please specify) _ Do you think it is to develop ESP supplementary reading exercises for the second-year students at Faculty of Nursing? A very necessary B necessary C not very necessary D unnecessary E others (please specify) _ What you think about the exercise types accompanying the reading texts in the current coursebook? A various B useful C inadequate to improve reading skills D monotonous (repeated patterns) E others (please specify) _ To improve your students’ reading comprehension skills, how often you use supplementary exercises? A always B often C sometimes D never Where you use supplementary exercises? A at class B at home What you think of the benefits of using supplementary exercises in reading lessons? Supplementary reading exercises make the less boring help improve reading skills give worldwide knowledge improve motivation for reading Section III: Exercise types to be included in the ESP Supplementary reading exercises Please tick exercise types that you think should be practised with supplementary reading exercises enhance your students’ reading ability and add more of your own if according to you it is necessary No Skimming Scanning Identify the main ideas Recognizing text organization Inferring Utilizing text information Comprehension questions Other exercises Others (please specific) APPENDIX PHIẾU HỎI Ý KIẾN (DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN) Mục đích phiếu hỏi nhằm thu thập ý kiến sinh viên năm thứ hai trường CĐYT Phú Thọ phục vụ cho việc xây dựng tập đọc bổ trợ tiếng Anh chuyên ngành phù hợp với mục tiêu đào tạo nhà trường đáp ứng nhu cầu sinh viên năm thứ hai khoa Điều Dưỡng Những ý kiến đóng góp em góp phần quan trọng nghiên cứu Xin chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác em! Phần I: Những khó khăn kỹ đọc (Em đánh dấu (√) vào ô tương ứng dạng tập đọc hiểu Kí hiệu “N/A” đươcc̣ sư dungc̣ co nghia la chưa đươcc̣ lam Nó câu trả lời thích hợp em chưa tưng lam loaịbai tâpc̣ đo ) Em cho biết ý kiến em dạng tập đọc hiểu 5- Rất dễ ̀ 4- Dễ chưa làm ST T Đọc lướt để lấy ý Đọc lướt để lấy thơng tin cụ thể Nhận biết ý Nhận biết cấu trúc khóa Suy luận Sử dụng thơng tin có khóa Các loại câu hỏi đọc hiểu Các dạng tập khác Phần II: Ý kiến xây dựng tập đọc bổ trợ tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cho sinh viên năm thứ hai Theo ý kiến em, đọc giáo trình sử dụng cho học phần tiếng Anh chuyên ngành A thú vị B khó C phù hợp D nhàm chán E ý kiến khác (đề nghị ghi rõ) _ Em có nghĩ để xây dựng tập đọc bổ trợ tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cho sinh viên năm thứ hai Khoa Điều Dưỡng? A cần thiết B cần thiết C không cần thiết D không cần thiết E ý kiến khác (đề nghị ghi rõ) _ Em nghĩ dạng tập kèm theo đọc giáo trình tại? A phong phú B hữu ích C khơng phù hợp để cải thiện kỹ đọc D đơn điệu (lặp lặp lại) E ý kiến khác (đề nghị ghi rõ) _ Để cải thiện kỹ đọc hiểu của, em có thường xuyên sử dụng tập bổ trợ không? A luôn B thường thường C D không Em sử dụng tập bổ trợ đâu? A lớp B nhà Em nghĩ lợi ích việc sử dụng tập bổ trợ học đọc? Các tập đọc bổ trợ làm cho đọc đỡ nhàm chán giúp cải thiện kỹ đọc sinh viên cung cấp cho sinh viên nhiều kiến thức giới cải thiện động lực đọc sinh viên Phần III: Các dạng tập cần thiết phải có tập bổ trợ tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Vui lòng đánh dấu vào dạng tập em nghĩ nên thực hành với việc đọc bổ trợ để nâng cao khả đọc bản thân em Bổ sung thêm ý kiến riêng em em cho cần thiết STT Đọc lướt để lấy ý Đọc lướt để lấy thơng tin cụ thể Nhận biết ý Nhận biết cấu trúc khóa Suy luận Sử dụng thơng tin có khóa Các loại câu hỏi đọc hiểu Các dạng tập khác Ý kiến khác (vui lòng ghi rõ) ... reading exercises for second- year students of nursing, PTMC - investigate and analyze the needs of ESP students of nursing and ESP teachers, PTMC to serve as a practical base for developing ESP supplementary. .. and students 3.1 Suggested exercises for the ESP supplementary reading The ESP supplementary reading exercises are for the second- year students of nursing who want extra practice in reading exercises. .. necessary) thought that ESP supplementary reading exercises were of great importance Optimistically, all the students also saw the importance of ESP supplementary reading exercises 60% of the students