(Luận văn thạc sĩ) a study on second year navigation students difficulties in learning ESP vocabulary at haiphong poli technical college

1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THÁI SƠN A STUDY ON SECOND-YEAR NAVIGATION STUDENTS’ Difficulties IN LEARNING ESP Vocabulary at Haiphong poly-technical college (NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI NGÀNH ĐIỀU KHIỂN TÀU BIỂN TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG NGHỀ BÁCH NGHỆ HẢI PHÒNG) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 HANOI - 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THÁI SƠN A STUDY ON SECOND-YEAR NAVIGATION STUDENTS’ Difficulties IN LEARNING ESP Vocabulary at Haiphong poly-technical college (NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI NGÀNH ĐIỀU KHIỂN TÀU BIỂN TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG NGHỀ BÁCH NGHỆ HẢI PHÒNG) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 SUPERVISOR: MAI THỊ LOAN, M.A HANOI- 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration of originality i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv List of abbreviations vii List of tables and charts viii Part 1: Introduction 1 Rationale of the study Aims of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Significance of the study Design of the study Part 2: Development Chapter 1: Literature review 1.1 English for Special Purposes 1.1.1 Definition of ESP 1.1.2 Classification of ESP 1.1.3 Maritime English 1.1.4 The requirements for ESP teachers 1.2 Terminology 1.2.1 Definition of terminology 1.2.2 Characteristics of terminology 1.3 Vocabulary 1.3.1 Definition of words 1.3.2 Classification of words 1.3.3 Four strands in learning vocabulary 1.4 Factors affecting vocabulary acquisition 10 1.4.1 Learner styles and learner strategies 10 1.4.2 Materials 11 1.4.3 Pronunciation and spelling 12 1.4.4 Prototypes 12 1.4.5 Contextualization 13 1.4.6 Learner autonomy 13 1.5 Strategies to enhance students‟ vocabulary 14 1.5.1 Developing a variety of techniques for the teaching of meaning 14 1.5.2 Encouraging the development of effective strategies 14 1.5.3 Exposing learners to vocabulary through reading and training lexical inferencing 14 1.5.4 Teaching the effective use of dictionaries 14 1.5.5 Evaluating the vocabulary component of course books 15 1.5.6 Teaching vocabulary explicitly through a range of activity types 15 1.5.7 Developing resources for vocabulary teaching 15 1.6 Summary 15 Chapter 2: Methodology 16 2.1 Context of the study 16 2.2 Research question 16 2.3 Subjects of the study 17 2.4 Data collection instruments 17 2.4.1 Questionnaire 17 2.4.2 Test 17 2.4.3 Interview 18 2.5 Data collection procedure 18 Chapter 3: Data analysis, major findings and suggested solutions 19 3.1 Data analysis 19 3.1.1 Questionnaire 19 3.1.2 Test 26 3.1.3 Interview 30 3.2 Major findings 32 3.2.1 Lack of necessary GE knowledge 32 3.2.2 ESP vocabulary pronunciation and meanings 32 3.2.3 Inappropriate materials 32 3.2.4 Lack of effective strategies for learning ESP vocabulary 33 3.2.5 Difficulties in teaching ESP words 33 3.2.6 Lack of learner autonomy 33 3.3 Suggested solutions 34 3.3.1 Enhancing the necessary GE knowledge 34 3.3.2 Developing resources for ESP vocabulary teaching and learning 34 3.3.3 Encouraging the development of effective vocabulary learning strategies 35 3.3.4 Developing the effective ESP vocabulary teaching 36 3.3.5 Encouraging students to form their learning autonomy 36 Part 3: Conclusion 37 Summary of the study 37 Limitations of the study 38 Suggestions for further study 38 References 39 Appendices I Appendix 1: Questionnaire I Appendix 2: Test IV Appendix 3: Answer keys to the test VII Appendix 4: Interview questions for ESP teachers VIII ... VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THÁI SƠN A STUDY ON SECOND- YEAR NAVIGATION STUDENTS? ?? Difficulties IN LEARNING. .. vocabulary pronunciation and meanings 32 3.2.3 Inappropriate materials 32 3.2.4 Lack of effective strategies for learning ESP vocabulary 33 3.2.5 Difficulties in teaching ESP words 33 3.2.6 Lack... strategies 14 1.5.3 Exposing learners to vocabulary through reading and training lexical inferencing 14 1.5.4 Teaching the effective use of dictionaries 14 1.5.5 Evaluating the vocabulary component