The effects of online dictionaries on facilitating vocabulary learning a case study at an english center in ba ria vung tau province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA - VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY - MASTER’S THESIS OF TESOL SECOND YEAR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AT LAM DONG MEDICAL COLLEGE PHẠM MINH HIỀN Student’s code: 18110088 Supervisor: TRƯƠNG THỊ MỸ VÂN, Ph.D BA RIA-VUNG TAU, 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY - MASTER’S THESIS OF TESOL SECOND YEAR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING COMPETENCE IN ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AT LAM DONG MEDICAL COLLEGE Pham Minh Hien Student’s code: 18110088 Supervisor: Trương Thi My Van, Ph.D BA RIA-VUNG TAU, 2021 DECLARATION The thesis titled “Second year students’ speaking competence in English for specific purposes at Lam Dong Medical College.” was conducted under the supervision of Ph.D Truong Thi My Van, senior lecturer of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Dalat University I hereby declare that the information reported in this study is the result of my own work, except where due reference is made The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted to any candidature for any other degree or diploma Candidate’s name: Pham Minh Hien Ba Ria – Vung Tau, 2021 i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS My name is Pham Minh Hien, being a M.A candidate of Tesol at Ba Ria – Vung Tau University I accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of my study deposited in the Library I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of theses Candidate’s name: Pham Minh Hien Ba Ria – Vung Tau, 2021 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I wish to express my gratitude to the following people without whom I could never have accomplished this thesis I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, PhD Truong Thi My Van, for giving me guidance throughout the process of conducting my thesis and giving me valuable comments, greatly inspiring me in the learning process as well as in completing the thesis I acknowledge my gratitude to the lecturers of Ba Ria - Vung Tau University (BVU) for their dedication to teaching me during my study time I would like to express my sincere thanks to my participants including my students, my colleagues and all members of the training department of Lam Dong Medical College, without whose unconditional participation, this research could not have been completed I am grateful to my workplace, the leaders, the board of directors, all members of Department of Medicine – Basic Science, Lam Dong Medical College for the support of time and other favorable conditions for me to complete my thesis Sincerely thank you! iii ABSTRACT Speaking is one of the most important skills that needs to be focused on and enhanced because it is an effective means of communication It is an important aspect to acquire when learning a second or foreign language, and the success of learning the language is measured from the performance of learners to speak the language learned because students who can speak English well will have the self-confidence to face and even interact with English native speakers However, this skill is also considered one of the most difficult aspects of the language learning process Many students find it difficult to fully express their thoughts in English; they are afraid of communicating in English even though they have learnt this language continuously for many years Some students understand English texts but they cannot speak English fluently I am working in the medical field in tertiary level, and I would like to focus on the challenges faced by nursing students in Lam Dong Medical College (LMC) in learning speaking English for specific purposes (ESP) classes and the factors affecting students’ speaking competence in my research The purposes of the study are to investigate the challenges and the factors affecting medical students’ learning speaking ESP The research method used in this study is qualitative Data collection instruments are surveys, interviews and class observation One hundred students of the Nursing department in Lam Dong Medical College were involved in answering a questionnaire, three interviews conducted with three nursing students and three other interviews for three groups of nursing students selected purposively in order to support the research aims The findings of the study revealed that there were several major problems and many factors affecting students’ speaking competence that hindered students' development of ESP English speaking ability and led to their low quality output in the context of LMC Key words: Speaking skills, communicative skills, English for specific purposes, Medical English iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .xii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Research Objectives of the Study 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Scope of the research 1.6 Significance of the research 1.7 Organization of the Thesis This thesis includes chapters as follows: CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Communicative competence 2.1.1 Definition 2.1.2 Characteristics of speaking competence 2.1.2.1 Fluency 2.1.2.2 Accuracy 10 2.1.2.3 Pronunciation 10 2.1.2.4 Vocabulary 11 2.1.3 The methods of teaching English speaking skills 11 2.1.4 Factors affecting English speaking learning 15 2.1.5 The challenges of Speaking Deficiency among EFL Students 17 v 2.1.5.1 Linguistics problems 17 2.1.5.2 Motivation for learning 19 2.1.5.3 Psychological problems 20 2.1.5.4 The problems relating to topical knowledge 22 2.1.5.5 The environment of speaking 22 2.1.5.6 Fluency 22 2.1.5.7 Mother tongue use 23 2.1.5.8 Low or uneven participation 23 2.2 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) 24 2.2.1 Definition of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and types of ESP 24 2.2.2 Characteristics of English for Specific Purposes 28 2.2.3 English for Medical Purposes (EMP) 29 2.2.4 The Problems in Teaching ESP amongst EFL Students 30 2.2.4.1 Difficulties Related to Students 31 2.2.4.2 Difficulties Related to Teachers 33 2.2.4.3 Difficulties Related to environment and others 34 2.3 Theoretical framework 35 2.4 Previous studies 36 2.4.1 Review of studies related to the speaking problems faced by EFL learners 36 2.4.2 Review of studies related to the problems faced by EFL learners in learning ESP in general and in learning English of Medical Purposes 38 2.5 Chapter summary 41 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 42 3.1 Research questions 42 3.2 Research design 42 3.3 Research site 43 3.4 Research participants 44 3.4.1 The students 44 3.4.2 The teachers 45 vi 3.5 Research instruments 45 3.5.1 Questionnaire 46 3.5.2 The semi-structured interview 47 3.5.3 Class observation 49 3.6 Data analysis methods 50 3.7 Chapter Summary 51 CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 52 4.1 Research question 1: What are the challenges faced by the second-year students at Lam Dong Medical College in English speaking classes? 52 4.1.1 The description of ESP teaching and learning at Lam Dong Medical College 52 4.1.2 The challenges in teaching and learning ESP English speaking skill in Lam Dong Medical College 54 4.1.2.1 The quality of admissions on the training process 54 4.1.2.2 Motivation on studying speaking skills in ESP classrooms 54 4.1.2.3 Psychological issues 54 4.1.2.4 The abuse of the mother tongue in ESP speaking 55 4.1.2.5 Students’ speaking abilities 56 4.1.2.6 Other problems students faced when learning ESP speaking skills 58 4.2 Research Question 2: What are the factors affecting the students’ English speaking competence? 62 4.2.1 Mass entry admission 62 4.2.2 Perceptions of teaching and learning Medical English 63 4.2.3 Unreasonable distribution of training programs 64 4.2.4 Little time being spent on studying speaking medical English 65 4.2.5 Time to self - study medical English of students 66 4.2.6 Teaching and testing methods of lecturers 68 4.2.7 Textbooks and materials 70 4.2.8 Facilities for teaching and learning specialized English 73 4.3 Chapter summary 73 vii CHAPTER V CONCLUSION 74 5.1 Conclusions 74 5.2 Implications 75 5.2.1 Recommend for administrators 75 5.2.2 Recommend for teachers 75 5.2.3 Recommend for students 75 5.3 Limitation of the research 77 5.4 Suggestions for further research 77 REFERENCES 79 APPENDICES 89 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONAIRES 89 APPENDIX B: SEMI – STRUCTURED INTERVIEW 99 APPENDIX C: CLASS OBSERVATION 101 viii APPENDICES APPENDIX A: QUESTIONAIRES QUESTIONAIRES ON STUDYING SPEAKING SKILLS IN ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CLASSROOM (For students before the course) Dear all students of the Nursing Department - Lam Dong Medical College In order to have a basis for assessing the current situation of teaching and learning, and proposing solutions to improve the quality of teaching and learning Medical English for all of you, the Faculty of Medicine - Basic Science suggests you to cooperate by answering on this survey Your cooperation is to contribute to the reform and improvement of the training quality on Medical English in our college Thank you very much for your cooperation! Question You are currently: -Student course: -Major: Question You learn English at high school in: a) Urban areas b) Rural areas c) Semi-urban areas Question You evaluate the importance of Medical English according to the following level: a) Very important b) Important c) Not important d) Not necessary 89 Question You are going to study 60 periods of Medical English, you evaluate of the duration of training of this module: a) Highly suitable b) Suitable c) Not very suitable d) Not suitable Question What factors may affect your English speaking skills? a) People who not speak English in the college b) I feel ashamed c) I don't like English d) I know a few vocabulary Question Motivation for you to study Medical English a) Classmates and others who speak English b) I feel motivated and comfortable c) English speaking skills are necessary for my job in the future d)English language is compulsory Other reasons: Question Please tell us the difficulties of studying Medical English a) Due to the lack of English input level b) Inability to learn English c) Lack of motivation to learn d) Requires high training programs e) All of the above comments 90 Question Please answer the following questions: Questions Yes No Do you think English is a better medium of instruction than Vietnamese when you study English speaking in the ESP class? Does your college require you to speak English frequently in the language class? Do you often speak English with fellow students? Question What are the problems you think you will face in learning speaking skills in the ESP classroom? …………………………………………………………………………………… Question 10 What can be the causes for the problems you have mentioned above? ……………………………………………………………………………………… If you have other opinions, please specify: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! 91 QUESTIONAIRES ON STUDYING SPEAKING SKILLS IN ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CLASSROOM (For students after the course) This survey is conducted to collect information for the study “Second year students’ speaking competence in English for specific purposes at Lam Dong Medical College.” Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated You can be certain that this is for research purpose only and that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Your identity will be kept in confidence and there is no chance to capture and disclose your personal information Your valuable responses will help the study to investigate the practice of learning English speaking skills in an ESP classroom Please read the statements carefully and tick the statements that best fit your opinions Thank you for your time Question The time you spend on studying English during the day is: a) 15 mins b) 30 minutes c) 45 mins d) More than an hour Question Your evaluation on teaching methods of your lecturers a) Highly suitable b) Suitable c) Not very suitable d) Not suitable Question Your evaluation on curriculum, materials to support learning a) Highly sufficient b) Sufficient c) They’re only at the basic level d) Lacking 92 Question Evaluation of facilities for specialized English learning a) Highly sufficient b) Sufficient c) They’re only at the basic level d) Lacking Question 5: Mark the problems which you faced while learning speaking skills in an ESP classroom: a) I lack a good and clear motivation b) I lack confidence c) My knowledge of vocabulary and grammar is not good d) I can't pronounce correctly e) I feel shy f) I don't have many opportunities to speak English Other issues: Question 6: The reasons why you don't speak much English while learning speaking skills in your ESP class: a) I lack confidence b) I feel shy c) My vocabulary and grammar knowledge is poor d) My listening skills are not good Other reasons: Question 7: What you want to improve your speaking skills in your ESP class? a) Good motivation b) Appropriate speaking environment c) Confidence d) Vocabulary and grammar knowledge Others: 93 Question 8: What you want your teachers to to improve your speaking skills in the ESP class? a) Use appropriate teaching methods in the class of speaking skills Please specify: b) Give more English speaking opportunities to every student in the class of speaking skills c) Give feedback on speaking activities in a positive way d) Use English as a primary means in teaching speaking skills Other: Question 9: Please answer the following questions: Questions Yes No 1.Do you think that English is a better teaching medium than Vietnamese when you learn speaking skills in the ESP class? Does your teacher often use English as a mean of teaching speaking skills in your ESP class? Does your teacher often speak Vietnamese while teaching speaking skills in your ESP class? Do you often respond in English? Does your college require you to speak English regularly in a language class? Do you often speak English with your classmates? Question 10: Do you evaluate the effectiveness of your speaking skills in the ESP class? Effective It doesn't work at all Less effective Moderate Very effective Extremely effective 94 Question 11 What are your recommendations and suggestions to improve your speaking skills in classroom of ESP ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY! 95 QUESTIONAIRES ON TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (For the training staff and the English lecturers) Dear all members of the training Department and the English lecturers of Lam Dong Medical College! In order to assess the current situation of teaching and learning, and propose solutions to improve the quality of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes, Faculty of Medicine - Basic Science would like to suggest you cooperate by answering on this survey Your cooperation helps to contribute to the reform and improvement of the training quality of the college Sincerely thank you for your cooperation! You evaluate the importance of speaking skills in ESP according to the following level: a) Very important b) Important c) Not important d) Not necessary Assessment of the duration of training of ESP a) Highly suitable b) Suitable c) Not very suitable d) Not suitable Evaluation of the teaching methods of lecturers a) Highly suitable b) Suitable c) Not very suitable d) Not suitable 96 Evaluation of training curriculum and materials to support learning ESP a) Highly sufficient b) Sufficient c) Basic d) Lacking Evaluation of facilities teaching speaking skills of ESP a) Highly sufficient b) Sufficient c) Basic d) Lacking Please tell us about the issues you may get in managing and teaching speaking skills of ESP a) The student's level of input is not good b) High program compared to students’ level c) Students not have good motivation to study ESP d) Lacking of the learning environment f) All of the above comments If you have any other opinions, please specify: ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… The causes of the difficulties that you find on teaching ESP speaking skills are: a) Students lack motivation b) Students’ psychology: students lack self-confidence when speaking English c) Students have too little time to practice speaking skills in ESP classroom d) The knowledge of English and English skills of students are too poor Other opinions: 97 What are your recommendations and suggestions for improving teaching activities in the ESP classroom? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Is there anything you would like to say before we end the interview? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! 98 APPENDIX B: SEMI – STRUCTURED INTERVIEW This is a set of predetermined questions, which may lead to supplementary questions for clarification during the students’ interview PART 1: Interview questions for students (pre-course) Q1 Do you think you may face problems in learning ESP speaking? If yes, what may be such problems? Q2 What you think can be the causes for those problems? Q3 What you expect in learning English speaking of the ESP class? Q4 What you think will affect your study of speaking in ESP course? Why? Q5 What you think can help you study speaking skills in ESP course well? Explain PART 2: Interview questions for students (post-course) Q1 How much time you usually spend on self-studying speaking Medical English at home? Q2 What were the methods or activities that your teacher applied to teach you speaking skills in the ESP class? Do you think they were effective? Explain Q3 What language(s) of instruction did your teacher use in teaching speaking? Do you think the teacher’s use of Vietnamese to instruct you was effective or not? Explain? Q4 Did you have any problems in studying speaking skills in the ESP course? If yes, what were they? Q5 What were the causes of your problems? Do you think they were subjective or objective? Or both? Can you explain? Q6 What you want the teachers to to improve your English speaking competence in the ESP class? Q7 What factors you want to have to improve your English speaking competence in the ESP class Q8 What factors affecting your speaking ability in ESP classroom Q9 Is there anything you would like to say before we end the interview? 99 This is a set of predetermined questions, which may lead to supplementary questions for clarification during the lecturers’ interview Interview questions for lecturers (post-course) Q1 Do you think the speaking skills in the ESP course is very important? Why? / Why not? Q2 Did you face any problems when teaching speaking skills to the medical students in the ESP class? If yes, what were the problems? Q3 What could be the causes for each problem? Q4 What problems you think can be solved? How? Q5 What problems you think are hard to be solved? Why? Q6 Can you suggest some teaching strategies that you have applied effectively into teaching medical English in the ESP classroom? Q7 What approaches or strategies did you find not effective in the ESP speaking class Q8 What is your evaluation on curriculum, materials and facilities for teaching and learning speaking skills in the ESP course? Q9 What are your suggestions to improve teaching speaking activities in the ESP classroom? Q10 Is there anything you would like to say before we end the interview? 100 APPENDIX C: CLASS OBSERVATION Class Observation Protocol Part 1: Background information Observation date: Observation start time: Length of the observation (minutes): Observation end time: School name: District: Lecturer name: Class: Number of students Number of boys: Number of girls: Average student age: Teacher’s stated goals for the lesson Physical arrangement Technology Part 2: Excellent Good Average Poor Totally Comments Observation notes lacking Structure of the lesson Interactions between the lecturer and students Interactions among students Classroom learning environment Application of teaching methods 101 Ways of giving feedback Students’ extent of participation in classroom activities Interaction of students in English Other observation Part Classroom activities Teacher Students Comments Activity 1: Activity 2: Activity 3: Activity n: Other comments: - 102 Part 4: Reflection on the lesson Did the students seem to be clear on the procedure of the activities or confused? How did the students respond to the lecturer’s instruction? (Did they seem bored, interested or involved, etc.?) What language(s) of instruction did the teacher use? What can be the percentage of using English/ Vietnamese? What was the level of difficulty of the ESP speaking materials? What other reflections about the lesson? 103 ... for any other degree or diploma Candidate’s name: Pham Minh Hien Ba Ria – Vung Tau, 2021 i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS My name is Pham Minh Hien, being a M .A candidate of Tesol at Ba Ria – Vung. .. stopped their language learning and performance abilities DeaAriesFitriani, Rahayu Apriliaswati and Wardah (2015) Indonesia - students had no idea when speaking although they actually had many ideas... two functions: interactional and transactional Much of our daily communication are interactional in order to keep social relationships and to pass information and ideas This table is synthesized