Investigating the difficulties in reading english for specific purposes experienced by the second year students at thai nguyen university of technology

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** HOÀNG THỊ THU INVESTIGATING THE DIFFICULTIES IN READING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES EXPERIENCED BY THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (KHẢO SÁT NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP THÁI NGUYÊN) MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Hanoi - 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** HOÀNG THỊ THU INVESTIGATING THE DIFFICULTIES IN READING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES EXPERIENCED BY THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (KHẢO SÁT NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT CÔNG NGHIỆP THÁI NGUYÊN) MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: M.A Nguyen Minh Ha Hanoi – 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims of the study Methods of the study Scope of the study Organization of the study PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature review The nature of reading 1.1 Definition 1.2 Reading p 1.3 Reading c ESP reading 2.1 Definition 2.2 Reading s 2.3 ESP readi Reading difficulties for non-native learners 3.1 Reading s 3.2 Language 3.3 Cultural a Summary Chapter 2: Investigation into the current situation of teaching and learning ESP at TNUT Introduction to Thai Nguyen University of Technology Syllabus, materials and assessment Teachers and methods of teaching Students Summary Chapter 3: Research Methodology Research questions The participants The data collection instrument Procedure for data collection Data analysis Chapter 4: Findings and discussion Students’ attitude towards ESP reading Students’ opinion of ESP reading difficulties 2.1 In the area of vocabulary 2.2 In the area of grammar 2.3 In the area of discourse 2.4 In the area of reading ski 2.5 In the area of background 2.6 Rank order of ESP reading difficulties The causes of difficulties 3.1 The reading materials 3.2 The teachers 3.3 The learners Students’ recommendations for improving reading Summary Chapter 5: Pedagogical implications Making ESP reading interesting and useful Developing ESP reading materials 2.1 Adjusting and improving 2.2 Updating reading texts in Training students to become efficient readers 3.1 Making s 3.2 Making s 3.3 Teaching 3.4 Encourag Improvement of teachers’ teaching techniques in the classroom 4.1 Employin 4.2 Giving h 4.3 Adjusting Summary PART THREE: CONCLUSION Conclusion Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study References Appendices APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C ABSTRACT As we all know, reading is one of the most effective ways to obtain knowledge For students at Thai Nguyen University of Technology, in learning English, especially English for electrical and mechanical engineering, it is an important skill which is paid more attention than other skills because they will have to read English materials related to their future jobs However, they encounter a lot of difficulties when reading and not get good marks So what are the difficulties that they face during reading ESP materials? And what hinders their reading comprehension? This study aims to explore the areas of difficulties in ESP reading experienced by second-year students at Thai Nguyen University of Technology and the causes of their unsuccessful reading comprehension To collect data for the study, a survey questionnaire was done on 100 second-year students randomly chosen from K45 The results of study have shown that our students have difficulties in such areas as vocabulary, grammar, discourse, and reading skills and background knowledge Their sources of difficulties are: inadequate linguistic knowledge, unsuitable reading materials, the teaching methods of teachers and negative attitude of students This study also suggests some ways to reduce their difficulties when reading ESP materials to get better results Thank you for evaluating AnyBizSoft PDF Merger! To remove this page, please register your program! Go to Purchase Now>> AnyBizSoft PDF Merger  Merge multiple PDF files into one   Select page range of PDF to merge Select specific page(s) to merge Extract page(s) from different PDF files and merge into one  ... Students? ?? attitude towards ESP reading Students? ?? opinion of ESP reading difficulties 2.1 In the area of vocabulary 2.2 In the area of grammar 2.3 In the area of discourse 2.4 In the area of reading. .. Literature review The nature of reading 1.1 Definition 1.2 Reading p 1.3 Reading c ESP reading 2.1 Definition 2.2 Reading s 2.3 ESP readi Reading difficulties for non-native learners 3.1 Reading s 3.2... So what are the difficulties that they face during reading ESP materials? And what hinders their reading comprehension? This study aims to explore the areas of difficulties in ESP reading experienced