Needs analysis for improving esp teaching and learning at hcmc university of technical education

The results of the study showed that ESP learning needs of the students should be taken into consideration in ESP course design, and needs analysis should be the starting point of ESP le

I

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

NEEDS-ANALYSIS FOR IMPROVING ESP TEACHING AND LEARNING

AT HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION

In terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued

by the Higher Degree Committee

HoChiMinh City, November 25th, 2005

PHẠM THỊ NGỌC ÁNH

II

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Phạm Thị Ngọc Ánh, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited

in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan and reproduction of theses

HoChiMinh City, November 25th, 2005

PHẠM THỊ NGỌC ÁNH

III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Đoàn Huệ Dung, who provided valuable comments, criticisms and support in the preparation and completion of this thesis

My special thanks to the organizers of this thesis, Mr Nguyễn Huỳnh Đạt, Head of the Department of English Linguistics and Literature, HoChiMinh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ms Nguyễn thị Hồng Thắm, who gave me useful guidelines in the thesis

Last but not least, I would like to thank my husband, who helped

me with designing the thesis and always encouraged and supported me during the time I did my thesis; and my colleagues, who were dedicated

to support me so that I could devote my time to complete the thesis

IV

ABSTRACT

ESP learning at universities in general and at HoChiMinh City University of Technical Education in particular today is considered not very effective and attracting to students In reality, ESP competence of technical workers who were graduated from technical universities or vocational training centers is not adequate for their jobs As parts of the effort to look for possible solutions for improving ESP learning and teaching, this study focused on identifying and analyzing ESP learning needs of technical students with the aim of making some suggestions for upgrading ESP learning quality at the UTE

Two hundreds and sixty four present students, ninety former students, twenty eight subject teachers and ten ESP teachers of the UTE participated in the study A questionnaire with 16 questions was delivered to each teacher and collected after three days; another questionnaire with 20 questions was also handed

to the former and the present students with an explanation about the purpose of the study to encourage them to voice their opinions about their ESP learning needs The informal pocket interviews to those ten ESP teachers was conducted at the UTE for gathering qualitative data to assist the interpretation of the data obtained from the questionnaires and to look for some solutions for better ESP teaching and learning

The results of the study showed that ESP learning needs of the students should be taken into consideration in ESP course design, and needs analysis should

be the starting point of ESP learning process for maximizing ESP learning effectiveness The analysis of the questionnaires proved that the two factors affecting students’ ESP learning needs the most were the ineffectiveness of the traditional method of teaching applied in ESP classes and the inappropriate curriculum at universities nowadays Besides, the analysis of the interviews suggested that needs analysis should be taken not only at the beginning of ESP courses but also during the whole process of ESP learning for the most practical benefit of the students

From this viewpoint, needs analysis for enhancing ESP learning is recommended to improve the effectiveness of ESP learning and teaching at the UTE

EVP : English for Vocational Purposes ELT : English Language Teaching EMT : English as a Mother Tongue ESL : English as a Second Language TSA : Target Situation Analysis

PSA : Present Situation Analysis UTE : University of Technical Education CLT : Communicative Language Teaching

VI

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 : Needs analysis: summary (Jordan, 1997:29) 11

Figure 2.2 : The tree chart of ELT (Hutchinson, 1987: 17) .13

Figure 2.3 : Factors affecting ESP course design (Hutchinson, 1987: 22) 14

Figure 5.1 : Students’ assessment of ESP learning 32

Figure 5.2 : Students’ expectations of ESP learning 33

Figure 5.3 : Factors that have the strongest influence on ESP learning needs .33

Figure 5.4 : Students’ opinions about current ESP teaching methodology 34

Figure 5.5 : Students’ opinions about ESP effective teaching methodology 35

Figure 5.6 : Students’ opinions about useful classroom activities in ESP learning .35

Figure 5.7 : Suggested studying style in ESP classes 36

Figure 5.8 : Suggested learning style in ESP classes .37

Figure 5.9 : Students’ opinions about current ESP syllabus 37

Figure 5.10 : Students’ opinions about the tasks given in ESP textbooks 38

Figure 5.11 : The materials students liked to study 38

Figure 5.12 : Teaching aids needed for enhancing ESP learning 39

Figure 5.13 : Logical time for ESP training in the curriculum 39

Figure 5.14 : Suitable point of time to register for ESP 40

Figure 5.15 : Suitable class size for ESP learning 40

Figure 5.16 : Students’ opinions for ESP orientation .41

Figure 5.17 : Students’ opinions about the grades 42

Figure 5.18 : Students’ assessment about their ESP proficiency 42

Figure 5.19 : Students’ opinions for improving ESP learning .43

Figure 5.20 : Students’ opinions about the role of needs-analysis in ESP learning 43

Figure 5.21 : The role of needs analysis in ESP teaching and learning 46

Figure 5.22 : Factors causing students’ unsuccessfulness in ESP learning .47

Figure 5.23 : Factors affecting students’ attitudes of ESP learning 47

Figure 5.24 : Factors that have the strongest influence on ESP learning needs .48

VII

Figure 5.25 : Suggested teaching approach for ESP teaching 48

Figure 5.26 : Teachers’ assessment of classroom activities .49

Figure 5.27 : Teachers’ assessment of current ESP syllabus .49

Figure 5.28 : Students’ assessment of ESP textbooks 50

Figure 5.29 : Teachers’ assessment of teaching aids for improving ESP learning .50

Figure 5.30 : Logical time for ESP training in the curriculum 51

Figure 5.31 : Suitable point of time to register for ESP 51

Figure 5.32 : Suitable class size for applying new teaching method 52

Figure 5.33 : Teachers’ opinions for ESP orientation 52

Figure 5.34 : Teachers’ opinions about testing system 53

Figure 5.35 : Suggested solutions for improving ESP teaching and learning 53

Figure 5.36 : Teachers’ training of the issue of needs analysis 54

Figure 5.37 : A positive learning cycle (Hutchinson, 1987: 47) 62

Figure 6.1 : The pre-plan (Harmer, 1991:265) 66

Figure 6.2 : A learning-center approach to course design (Hutchinson, 1987: 74) 72

Figure 6.3 : Teacher roles 73

VIII

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: The failing rate of the ESP exam of the students of different faculties at the

UTE in the academic year of 2004 - 2005 1

Table 1.2: The failing rate of the final exams of some specialized subjects of the

students at the UTE in the academic year of 2004 -2005 2

Table 5.1: The number and percentage of the students participating in the survey 31

Table 5.2: The results of the responses to the questionnaires collected from the

present and the former students 31

Table 5.3: The number and percentage of the teachers participating in the survey 45

Table 5.4: The results obtained from the questionnaires’ responses of the teachers 45

Table 5.5: The gap between ESP learning needs of the teachers and the students in

terms of the factors that could mostly affect ESP learning 55

IX

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of Originality I

Retention and Use of the Thesis II Acknowledgements III Abstract IV List of Abbreviations V List of Figures VI List of Table VIII Table of Contents IX

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background 1

1.2 The problem 1

1.3 Statement of purpose 3

1.4 Research questions 3

1.5 Significance of the study 3

1.6 Assumptions 4

1.7 Delimitations 4

1.8 Limitations 4

1.9 Methodology 5

1.10 Organization of the study 6

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Language learning needs 7

2.1.1 Classification of language needs 7

2.1.2 Needs analysis in language learning 9

2.1.3 Approaches and terms used in needs analysis 10

X

2.2 ESP learning needs 12

2.2.1 What is ESP? 12

2.2.2 The categorization of ESP 13

2.2.3 Factors affecting ESP learning needs 14

2.2.3.1 Syllabus design 15

2.2.3.2 Methodology 16

2.2.3.3 Evaluation 17

2.3 Summary 17

CHAPTER 3: OVERVIEW OF THE ESP TEACHING AND LEARNING AT THE UTE 3.1 Description of physical setting 18

3.2 Description of the English courses 18

3.2.1 The descriptions of English syllabus .18

3.2.2 The descriptions of the course books .19

3.2.3 The descriptions of classroom activities 19

3.3 Characteristics of the students 20

3.3.1 General English level at entry 20

3.3.2 ESP learning needs .20

3.4 Characteristics of the teaching staff 21

3.4.1 General information 21

3.4.2 ESP teaching competence 21

3.5 Summary 21

CHAPTER 4: DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 4.1 Research setting 23

4.2 Research design 24

4.2.1 The questionnaires 24

4.2.1.1 Selection of samples 24

4.2.1.2 Administration .25

XI

4.2.1.3 Coding and relevant categories 25

4.2.2 The observations 28

4.2.3 The interviews 29

4.3 Summary 29

CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 5.1 Findings 30

5.1.1 Questionnaires to present and former students: 30

5.1.1.1 Students’ background information 30

5.1.1.2 Students’ ESP learning needs 32

5.1.2 Questionnaires to ESP and subject teachers 44

5.1.2.1 Teachers’ background information .44

5.1.2.2 Teachers’ opinions about students’ ESP learning needs 46

5.1.3 Interviews with teachers 55

5.1.3.1 Teachers’ opinions about students’ ESP learning needs 55

5.1.3.2 Teachers’ opinions about ESP teaching and learning 56

5.1.3.3 Teachers’ opinions about improvements for satisfactory ESP courses 56

5.2 Analysis 56

5.2.1 Students and teachers’ background information 57

5.2.2 Students and teachers’ opinions towards factors affecting ESP learning needs .57

5.2.2.1 Students and teachers’ opinions towards teaching methodology 57

5.2.2.2 Students and teachers’ opinions towards syllabus design 58

5.2.2.3 Students and teachers’ opinions towards testing .59

5.2.2.4 Students and teachers’ opinions towards training management 59

XII

5.2.3 Solutions for improving ESP learning 60

5.2.3.1 Updating with new teaching methodology 60

5.2.3.2 Updating with needs–based syllabus 61

5.2.3.3 Changing testing format 62

5.3 Summary 63

CHAPTER 6: SUMMARY, IMPLICATIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 Summary of the study 64

6.2 Implications for teaching 65

6.3 Conclusions of the study 70

6.4 Recommendations for improving ESP teaching and learning at the UTE 71 6.4.1 To the students 71

6.4.2 To the ESP teachers 71

6.4.3 To the subject teachers 73

6.4.4 To the administrative staff 73

BIBLIOGRAPHY 75

APPENDICES APPENDIX 1A: Questionnaire to students in Vietnamese 78

APPENDIX 1B: Questionnaire to students in English 80

APPENDIX 2A: Questionnaire to teachers in Vietnamese 82

APPENDIX 2B: Questionnaire to teachers in English 85

APPENDIX 3: Interview list 88

APPENDIX 4: The statistics of the ESP learning results 89

APPENDIX 5: End-of-Term Test 90

APPENDIX 6: Sample unit of washing machine 94

technical students should have been analyzed at all levels to give ESP teachers a

good idea of how to provide a program of balanced activities that will be most motivating and most beneficial to the students (Harmer, 1991:265) Next, basing on

some large-scale projects of training highly qualified ESP teachers for vocational educational networks throughout the country which has been recently approved by the Ministry of Education, a greater improvement on ESP teaching and learning at the UTE has been requested Furthermore, it may help to find out some possible solutions to erase the gap, if any, between what students is provided at universities and what they really need to be provided to meet with the increasing technical manpower requirements of the labour market All these are emerging needs that should be recognized and acted upon This requires conscious effort from different sides - faculties of the UTE as a whole, and teachers of the English Department in particular

1.2 THE PROBLEM

The motive for this thesis formation is originated from the unexpected reality of the students’ ESP proficiency at the UTE The failing rate of students in the ESP exam of the school year of 2004-2005 can probably raise a great deal of concern among ESP teachers The true statistics is clearly given in the table below

Chapter I: Introduction 2

Those statistics will really make sense when they are compared with the failing rate of the students in the final exams of other specialized subjects of the same school year because the failing rate of ESP exam is much higher in comparison with that of other specialized subjects

Table 1.2: The failing rate of the final exams of some specialized subjects

of the students at the UTE in the academic year of 2004-2005

Among many possible influences on ESP learning results, this thesis focuses on ESP learning needs of the students because it is very likely to be one of

the main factors affecting training effectiveness Theoretically, learners are seen to

have different needs and interests, which will have an important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore on the effectiveness of their learning (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987) because it is supposed that a student will learn best what he wants to learn, less well what he only needs to learn, less well still what he neither wants nor needs to learn (Bowers, 1980) In reality, although students’ opinions are very important data base for educational leaders, they are totally ignored in course design and in learning process resulting in the low effectiveness of training at universities [ý kiến sinh viên là nguồn dữ liệu quan trọng đối với các nhà quản lý, nhưng hiện nay hoàn toàn không được sử dụng trong quá trình thiết kế cũng như thực hiện các chương trình đào tạo, dẫn đến hậu qủa là sự kém hiệu quả tại các đơn vị đào tạo] (Vũ thị Phương Anh, 2004:56) So, needs analysis might be a

matter of great urgency for better ESP learning at the UTE This is of major

Chapter I: Introduction 3

importance as it enables teachers to set up data base for necessary improvement of ESP course design and therefore of ESP teaching and learning

1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is (1) to identify ESP learning needs of present and former students of the UTE; (2) to evaluate current ESP teaching and learning activities, and (3) to suggest some implications for better ESP teaching by determining the suitable type of syllabuses, content, materials, teaching and learning methodology which are more enjoyable, beneficial and satisfying to technical students of the UTE

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study guided by the following questions:

1 What is ESP learning needs of present and former students of the UTE?

2 How are students’ perceptions towards these needs different?

3 Does ESP teaching at the UTE satisfy students’ needs?

4 What can be improved to make ESP teaching more satisfying and beneficial

to students?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Needs analysis is for the aim of maximizing the potential of learning

situation It is for encouraging the students and the staff to voice their opinions and

gradually change their attitudes towards ESP learning

Identifying ESP learning needs of present and former students can help to adjust current ESP teaching performance in order to make it more satisfying to students’ needs Thus, this study of needs analysis on ESP learning is significant for several reasons:

First, the study aims at helping both present and former students, who have already encountered language difficulties in ESP learning, but are not really addressing them, identify their real needs and search for specific and ultimate solutions to improve their ESP competence

Chapter I: Introduction 4

Secondly, aiming at identifying ESP learning needs of both present and former students, the study leads ESP teachers to seeking an efficient method for better ESP teaching in the hope of having technical students to become more qualified for their jobs afterwards

Thirdly, the study can also provides administrative staff with necessary and useful information of ESP learning needs to design suitable ESP courses to students

of the UTE

Hopefully, this study will shed some light on needs analysis in ESP teaching and further researches will solve all problems related to the topic Besides, the findings in this study can help some way ESP teaching and learning at other colleges and universities

1.6 ASSUMPTIONS

The study starts with the following methodological assumptions First, the sample target groups represent their majority of students of the UTE Second, the responsive informants are interested in these issues and willing to cooperate in sincerely responding to the questions and giving true information Finally, the informants have no difficulties in understanding the items in the questionnaires and

do not misunderstand the meaning of the questions given in the questionnaires

1.7 DELIMITATIONS

Initially, this research confines itself to investigating ESP learning needs of the present and former students, and the perceptions of the ESP and subject teachers towards these needs Due to the time limit, the paper may not analyze all the needs relating to ESP learning However, it can help to solve the problems which are pop

up from ESP teaching and learning at the UTE

1.8 LIMITATIONS

The study results may not be applied to ESP teaching and learning at other universities because the solutions suggested can probably be only possible in the context of ESP teaching and learning at the UTE In addition, it is not supposed that teachers have to satisfy all of these needs right after conducting the survey because

Chapter I: Introduction 5

the fact that a student need has been identified, however, does not necessarily mean that all decisions about course design and planning can be taken immediately (Hamer, 191: 26)

1.9 METHODOLOGY

This study was a descriptive research The data were collected mainly through well-structured questionnaires, lesson observation and pocket interviews to both students and teachers of the UTE because they all decide what ESP learning needs are

The study was done with qualitative-quantitative method with separated questionnaires to teachers and students, lesson observation and some informal interviews to teachers for achieving triangulation in action to prove the validity of the research

The questionnaires to students and teachers were used to identify students’ ESP learning needs They were given to 354 former students and present students of five different academic faculties at the UTE, including Faculties of Information Technology, Electronics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Garment and Food Technology, and Automotive Engineering Ten teachers of English Department and eighteen teachers of other Academic Faculties of the UTE were also invited to participate in the survey The questionnaires were also used to determine which aspects of students’ needs were the most important in order to help teachers establish proper methods for ESP teaching performance

In addition to the quantitative, the qualitative paradigm with observations was also carried out With this paradigm, students’ ESP learning needs could be observed in ESP classes with the permission of the teachers

Along with observations, individual pocket interviews to teachers were necessary and significant in getting more reliable and truthful information about ESP learning and teaching at the UTE Firstly, it helped with gaining additional insights into students’ ESP learning needs Secondly, this kind of work could allow the researcher to make discoveries about the teachers’ perceptions to the students’

Chapter I: Introduction 6

ESP learning needs which were of great importance to students’ ESP learning improvement and teachers’ ESP teaching performance

1.10 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

The study is divided into six major segments Besides chapter I presenting the introduction, Chapter II reviews the relevant literature and research to the study Chapter III provides readers with an overview of ESP learning and teaching at the UTE Chapter IV describes the research design and methodology Chapter V

discusses and analyzes the research findings Finally, chapter VI consists of a

summary, implications and conclusions for the improvement of ESP learning and teaching at the UTE

Chapter II: Literature Review 7

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter one has provided readers with an overview of the study reported in this thesis including the background, the problem, the purpose, the data collection, the methodology and the significance of the study In this chapter, the literature review of the study is presented with the purpose of reviewing the findings of other researchers about needs analysis in ESP teaching and learning It can also offer an opportunity to look in greater detail at the relationship between needs analysis and ESP teaching and learning This chapter consists of two main parts including (1) language learning needs and (2) ESP learning needs

2.1 LANGUAGE LEARNING NEEDS

2.1.1 Classification of language needs

Linguists have suggested several classifications of language needs Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 55) classify needs into “necessities” – ‘what the learners have to know to function effectively in the target situation’; and “wants”-

‘what the learners feel they need’ They stress that learners are seen to have different needs and interests, which will have an important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore on the effectiveness of their learning In other words, Hutchinson and Waters (1993: 54-60) made distinguishing between target needs and learning needs by defining target needs as the ones that ‘the learner needs

to do in the target situation’, including necessities, lacks, and wants; and ‘what the learner needs to do in order to learn’ as learning needs ‘Necessities’ would involve obtaining information about the situations in which the language will be used, e.g lectures, seminars, etc., and the discourse and linguistic features commonly used in them, e.g functions, structures, vocabulary, etc ‘Lacks’ represent the gap between the target proficiency and what the learner knows already Generally, the necessities that the learner lacks can form the basis of the language syllabus: this is often

referred to as deficiency analysis Both ‘necessities’ and ‘lacks’ can be regarded as

being objective and called objective needs At last, bearing in mind the importance

of learner motivation in the learning process, learner perceived wants which is also called subjective needs of the learner cannot be ignored because if we accept that a

Chapter II: Literature Review 8

student will learn best what he wants to learn, less well what he only needs to learn, less well still what he neither wants nor needs to learn, it is clearly important to leave room in a learning program for the learner’s own wishes regarding both goals and processes (Bowers, 1980)

In fact, learners may feel they have certain ‘wants’ which may conflict with the view of course designers For example, a language course may focus on reading technical document because that will be the core of the ESP courses the students will be attending The students, however, may feel they want to develop their spoken English more, as this is their weakest skill or this is very necessary skill for getting a good job They may want to function actively in the English language environment around them It is not easy to have exact answer to this problem though it is important that these views are taken into consideration for better teaching and learning Similarly, Hutchinson and Waters (1993) agree that the relationship between necessities as perceived by ESP teachers; and what the learners want or feel can be at extreme poles Therefore, he suggests that learners’ perceived wants and wishes should be considered carefully, and due to objective and subjective reality of needs, each learning situation should be considered uniquely and systematically

The concepts of objective and subjective needs are made clear in Brindley (1984: 31) Objective needs are those that can be diagnosed by teachers on the basis

of personal data of learners along with information about their language proficiency and pattern of language use, whereas subjective needs are often wants, desired, expectations of a lack which can not be diagnosed easily, or, in many cases, even stated by learners themselves In the other hand, he also stated that educational needs can be defined in terms of deficiencies of knowledge, skills and attitudes and can be addressed through educational means; and non-educational needs require administrative action, such as policy changes, purchase of new equipment or alterations in staffing patterns

Lately, Nunan (1999: 149-150) describes other kinds of needs such as content needs and process needs Content needs includes the selection and sequencing of such things as topics, grammar, function, notions, and vocabulary

Chapter II: Literature Review 9

which are traditionally considered as the domain of syllabus design while process needs refer to the selection and sequencing of learning tasks and experiences which are traditionally seen as the domain of methodology

2.1.2 Needs analysis in language learning

Needs analysis is described as the process of determining the needs for which a learner or group of learners requires a language and arranging the needs according to priorities (Jordan, 1997: 20) Knowing the students (who the students are, what they bring to class and what their needs are) will give the teacher a good idea of how to provide a program of balanced activities that will be most motivating and most beneficial to the students (Harmer, 1991: 265)

Needs analysis, in other word, is also defined as sets of tools, techniques, and procedures for determining the language content and learning process for specified group of learners to make learning more effectively (Nunan, 1999: 149) Because when teaching method can respond effectively to the student academic needs, student learning is significantly increased and misbehavior is dramatically decreased (Jones, 1990)

The overall aim of the needs analysis is the identification of the elements which will lend themselves to training (Gillet, 1973) Therefore, the analysis is undertaken to help language teachers to determine teaching strategies which can satisfy their students’ learning needs This analysis can be undertaken at any stage

of learning process However, it can generally be undertaken at the start of the course, during the course or at the end of the course Brindley (1984: 31) stated that initial needs analysis is that carried out before a course begins In most educational systems, this is often beyond the control of the teacher, being determined by curriculum specialists, subject panels, and the like; while on-going needs analysis refers to the relatively informal analysis carried out by teachers once a course has begun

Meshesha (1990) reports that needs analysis is defined as a making process that provides information about the necessity and feasibility of education It can be said that a need is a discrepancy between an existing set of circumstances and some desired set of circumstances

decision-Chapter II: Literature Review 10

Needs analysis, in general, is considered as one of the elements of ESP teaching and learning (Brain 1980)

To conclude, needs analysis should be the starting point for devising syllabuses, courses, materials and the kind of teaching and learning that takes place (Jordan, 1997: 22)

2.1.3 Approaches and terms used in needs analysis

Linguists have suggested different approaches for conducting the analysis

Jordan (1997: 23-29) briefly summaries some main approaches as follows: Target -

situation analysis (TSA) is the approach developed by Munby It focuses on the

students’ needs at the end of a language course, and target-level performance In contrast, another approach is provided by Richterich and Chancerel (1977/80) who

propose a present – situation analysis (PSA) The PSA ascertains the students’ state

of language development at the beginning of the language course Additionally,

learning–centered approach which is advocated by Hutchinson and Waters (1987:

65-75) proved to be preferred to learner–centered approach Learner–centered infers that learning is totally determined by the learners; whereas learning – centered involves learning as a ‘process of negotiation between individuals and society’

(including teaching, syllabus, methods, materials, etc.) Strategy analysis is also one

of important approach in needs analysis It focuses on the methodology employed to implement language programs (Nunan 1998b) This involves not only method of teaching but also methods of learning In other words, it is observing the preferred learning styles and strategies of students There is another approach which is seen as

an important strand in the development of needs analysis This approach has been

called means analysis (Holliday and Cooke, 1982) and involves a study of the local

situation, i.e the teachers, teaching methods, students, facilities, etc to see how a language course may be implemented The importance of this approach is that it starts from a positive premise, in other words, what might be achieved with certain, given factors In brief, Jordan (1997) has made an attempt to summarize the various approaches and terms used in needs analysis in the following figure

Chapter II: Literature Review 11

EMPLOYER/SPONSOR

COURSE DESIGNER

AND TEACHER

demands product-oriented PSA and TSA language audits

(subject/department)

needs: target, future,

objective

target-centered goal-oriented aims

necessities TSA learning analysis

needs: present,

current, subjective, felt, learning

learner-centered, wants/likes lacks deficiency analysis, PSA

process-oriented

Figure 2.1: Needs analysis: summary (Jordan, 1997: 29)

Chapter II: Literature Review 12

2.2 ESP LEARNING NEEDS

2.2.1 What is ESP?

In broad view, English for Specific Purposes is a way of teaching/ learning English for specialized subjects with some specific vocational and educational purpose in mind There are different needs for different purposes and learners of English e.g English for Economics, English for Business, English for Secretaries, English for Technicians and others (Berner)

Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 19) consider ESP an approach to language learning, which is based on learner needs It is also considered as an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learners’ reason for learning Therefore, it needs to be intrinsically motivating and should satisfy their needs as learners as well as their needs as potential target users

of the language Learners’ reason here refers to learners’ needs which include their needs, lacks and wants (Berner) In other word, ESP should meet the needs of learners who need to learn a foreign language for use in their specific fields, such as science, technology, medicine, leisure, and academic learning (Yildiz)

Strevens’ (1988) definition of ESP makes a distinction between four absolute characteristics and two variable characteristics The absolute characteristics are that ESP of English Language Teaching which is designed to meet specific needs of the learners; related in content to particular disciplines, occupations and activities; centered on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse semantics and so on, and in contrast with General English The variable characteristics are that ESP may be restricted as to the learning skills to be learned;

or may not be taught accordingly to any pre-ordained methodology

Robinson (1991) also accepts the primacy of needs analysis in defining

ESP One of the key criteria in her definition is that ESP is ‘normally goal-directed’

However, Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) suggest that ESP teaching does not necessarily have to be related to content but it should always reflect the underlying concepts and activities of the broad discipline They believe that a

Chapter II: Literature Review 13

definition of ESP should reflect the fact that much ESP teaching, especially where it

is specifically linked to a particular profession or discipline

2.2.2 The Categorization of ESP

The relationship between ESP and EST with two different branches of EAP and EOP is briefly presented below with the simplified tree chart of ELT (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987: 17)

EBE

Learning

Figure 2.2: The tree chart of ELT (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987: 17)

Having tracked further down the tree chart, EST is one branch of ESP However, ESP courses taught at universities can generally be regarded as EAP, although it is hard to make a clear-cut distinction between EAP and EOP AT university, ESP is usually referred to as EAP of the EST branch where students of computer sciences or other scientific disciplines need to be able to read articles and textbooks about those subjects in English; whereas, in reality, it should be referred

Chapter II: Literature Review 14

to as EOP of the EST branch where technical students should learn English to function well in their target situations

Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 16) do note that problem as they point out that people can work and study simultaneously; it is also likely that in many cases the language learnt for immediate use in a study environment will be used later when the student takes up, or returns to, a job In other words, the end purposes of both EAP and EOP are the same, since both of them prepare for employment in the end However, the means and ways to achieve the end purpose may differ from each other due to the different scope and focus in the teaching area

2.2.3 Factors Affecting ESP Learning Needs

In general, there are many factors that can affect ESP learning needs As a result, the badly- affected elements can kill students’ learning interests and motivation and therefore prevent effective learning because students can only learn well what they really want to learn Once their needs are satisfied, their motivation

of learning will be more specific and thus their engagement on learning process will

be more positive The figure about factors affecting ESP course design (Hutchinson, 1987:22) can help to show the relationship between syllabus design, teaching methodology and needs analysis Determining ESP learning needs and working on factors affecting ESP learning can help to make necessary change for more effective learning

syllabus methodolog HOW?

WHAT

Language descriptions

Figure 2.3: Factors affecting ESP course design (Hutchinson, 1987:22)

Chapter II: Literature Review 15

2.2.3.1 Syllabus Design

Many researchers have focused on the fact that course designers must be aware of the learners’ lacks, defined as the gap between the existing proficiency and the target proficiency of learners Among those, Hutchinson and Alan are considered as leading researchers of this very specific field

The purpose of an ESP course is to enable learners to function adequately in a target situation, that is the situation in which the learners will use the language they are learning, then the ESP course design should proceed by first identifying the target situation and then carrying out a rigorous analysis of the linguistic feature of that situation The identified features will form the syllabus of the ESP course (Hutchinson

& Alan 1987: 12)

In an ESP classroom, selection of specialist text cannot and should not in itself make a course an ESP course What is more important is a demonstrated need, which may be for specialist text or for some other kind of material What we are really involved in as ESP teachers is teaching English to specified people In this way teachers should follow student’s target situation needs and learning needs, or as Ellis and Johnson (1994: 26) say we are supposed to focus on the systems, procedures and products that are at the heart of what the students do in English and

to be able to deduce from this knowledge the language needs of each type of learners

The relationship between needs analysis and syllabus design is highly stressed that one of the greatest contributions of ESP to language teaching has been its emphasis on careful and extensive needs analysis for course design (Johns, 1991)

Despite the fact that the term needs analysis is used, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) maintains it is lacks rather than needs that come to determine curriculum since what is really interested in is the gap between the target proficiency and the present proficiency of the learners

However, what the analysis cannot do is showing how the expert communicator learnt the language items, skills and strategies that he/ she uses

Chapter II: Literature Review 16

(Smith 1987) Analyzing what people do tells you little, if anything Yet, the whole ESP process is concerned not with knowing or doing, but with learning (Hutchinson, 1987: 61) Therefore, teaching methodology can be counted as one of the affecting elements to ESP learning needs

However, teaching and learning are seen as an important step towards the development of learners’ autonomy which should help students ‘to transfer school knowledge into action knowledge’ (Little 1995, 1997, Krijgsman 1997) As a result, ESP teaching and learning should be based on an understanding of the process of language learning

Our concern in ESP is not with language use – although it will help to define the course objectives But our concern is with language learning

We cannot simply assume that describing and exemplifying what people

do with language will enable someone to learn it If that were so, we would need to do no more than read a grammar book and a dictionary

in order to learn a language A truly valid approach to ESP must be based on an understanding of the processes of language learning (Hutchinson & Alan 1987:14)

Teaching ESP is more than just presenting language items or skills and strategies It is not just the content of what is learnt that is important but also the activity through which it is learnt The learning process should be seen as an enjoyable and satisfying experience where the learners need success to develop their language competence (Berner)

Chapter II: Literature Review 17

Trying to find suitable activities for each specific situation is like taking the first steps towards a recognition of needs for a particular group of

students and ‘ESP can be viewed as a narrowing of these needs’

(Holmes, 1996:3)

2.2.3.3 Evaluation

Needs assessment as well as evaluation are an integral part of good training (Meshesha, 1990) In reality, the content of the training course is emphasized so needs analysis and evaluation are often neglected in teaching Actually, needs analysis should be considered as the first step towards successful teaching and learning; and the test content and the test methods should be derived from an analysis of a specific language use situation (Douglas, 2000: 1)

In detail, two aspects of ESP testing that may be said to be distinguish it from more general purpose language testing are authenticity of task and the interactions between language knowledge and specific purpose content knowledge Authenticity of task means that the ESP test tasks should share critical features of tasks in the target language use situation of interest to the test takers (Douglas, 2000: 2)

In brief, the assessment results can also be used to develop course objectives and to aid facilitators in developing content that will best meet the needs

of the identified target groups

2.3 SUMMARY

This chapter has presented a literature review of language learning needs in general, in contrast with ESP learning needs in particular Various approaches and terms used in needs analysis are made clear with the focus on the important role of needs analysis in ESP teaching and learning In addition, ESP categorization and the relationship of factors affecting ESP learning needs such as syllabus design, teaching methodology and evaluation are discussed in detail To conclude this

chapter, needs analysis should be considered as key of ESP learning and identifying

needs can help to determine suitable materials and methodology for each type of learners

Chapter III: Overview of ESP Teaching and Learning at the UTE 18

CHAPTER III: OVERVIEW OF THE ESP TEACHING AND

LEARNING AT THE UTE

In this chapter, an overview of ESP teaching and learning at the University

of Technical Education is presented with the purpose of providing sufficient data

for understanding the problems motioned in the thesis It consists of four main parts

as follows:

1 Description of physical setting

2 Description of the English courses

3 Characteristics of the teaching staff

4 Characteristics of the students

3.1 DESCRIPTION OF PHYSICAL SETTING

There are no fixed rooms for English learning All the classrooms are

designed for lecture lessons The seating is arranged orderly in front of the teachers;

and the classroom equipment is only the chalkboard Most of classes at the UTE

have big class size with about 65 to over 85 students

There is an audio-visual laboratory which is well equipped with 48 cabins,

an over head projector, a slide projector and a videocassette recorder All are

available for supporting teaching, but teachers hardly use them

3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGLISH COURSES

3.2.1 The descriptions of English syllabus

For the first stage of training, there are totally 180 periods for General

English training which is scheduled by 4 periods a week and lasted during the first

three terms with four-skill practice of the “New Headway” English courses –

Elementary, and Pre- intermediate by John and Liz Soars Meanwhile, there are

only 45 periods for ESP to be scheduled with 3 periods a week and lasted for the

exceeding term Most of students can go to foreign language centers for extra

courses of EGP However, ESP courses are not available there for students to

improve their ESP competence

Chapter III: Overview of ESP Teaching and Learning at the UTE 19

There are different ESP course books for various faculties at the UTE “The

Fashion Handbook – A guide to your visual image” by Shareon Lee Jate and Mona

Shafer Edwards is taught to students of the Faculty of Garment and Food

Technology “Oxford English for Computing” by Keith Boeckner and P Charles

Brown is taught to students of the Faculty of Information Technology “Oxford

English for Electronics” by Eric H Glendinning and John McEvan is for the

Faculties of Electronics Engineering and Electricity Engineering “Oxford English

for Electrical and Mechanical Engineering” by Eric H Glendinning and Norman

Glendinning is for Mechanical Engineering The materials for other faculties are

designed by some teachers of the UTE Students’ achievement is accessed only one

time by an end-of term test

3.2.2 The descriptions of the course books

The ESP course books, in general, is professionally designed for technical

English learning with various tasks such as reading, language learning, writing,

word study and so on These tasks are divided into six parts as follows:

1 Tune in: various to the particular topics

2 General reading: information transfer; contextual guess and so on

3 Technical reading: reading diagrams, components value and so on

4 Language study: describing functions, time clauses, cause and effect, etc

5 Word study: word formation, technical and non-technical words, etc

6 Writing, speaking or listening: describing, ordering components, etc

The ESP materials designed for internal use of other faculties and the

“Fashion Handbook” for Department of Garment and Food Technology are not

professionally designed to facilitate technical English learning with the lack of

learning activities though their content is very informative

3.2.3 The descriptions of classroom activities

In general, ESP lessons happen in the same mode at other universities in

HCMC ESP learning often included activities for grammar and vocabulary

consolidation, and sometimes with reading translation activity (Vuõ thò Phöông Anh,

Chapter III: Overview of ESP Teaching and Learning at the UTE 20

2004: 61) At the UTE, in particular, is on the same track ESP classes are likely

those of technical reading comprehension Students have seldom been practicing the

skills of listening, speaking and writing Instructional technology has not been

applied in ESP teaching Most of teaching is progressed in class with a blackboard

and some chalks Therefore, the atmosphere of the ESP classes is very formal,

rather passive and somewhat boring

3.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STUDENTS

Information relating to the characteristics of the students is very necessary

because the purpose of the study is to identify students ESP learning needs for

better ESP teaching and learning Full data base of students’ characteristics can help

to create good lesson plans for the most benefit of the students

3.3.1 General English level at Entry

All of the students have learned General English for at least 180 periods in

the first three semesters at the UTE Their English levels are supposed to be

identical after they finish this training stage However, lots the students who enter

ESP classes are not ready for ESP learning because many of them failed in one of

the exams of General English Some of them even failed in all exams of General

English The failing rate of EGP exams is still dramatically higher than that of other

foundation subjects of the first training stage

3.3.2 ESP Learning Needs

First of all, students have to learn ESP for their exams because it is an

obligatory subject Second, ESP is considered a “golden key” to help them enlarge

their technical knowledge and update the latest information for their major because

at the university level, most of technical books are written in English, and the

translation surely can not catch up with the rapid speed of technological

information In theory, a little translation has been done, but translation as a large

– scale policy is not feasible because of the cost and the fact that many texts would

be out of date before the translation could be made available (Higgins, edited in

Swale, 1985: 30) Third, a good ESP competence can help them to find a good job

Chapter III: Overview of ESP Teaching and Learning at the UTE 21

because ESP is one of the most important requirements that both foreign and

state-owned companies require of high-quality technical workers

3.4 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TEACHING STAFF

3.4.1 General Information

There are 14 English teachers at the English Department of the UTE and 8

regular visiting teachers The youngest is 28 and the oldest is 52 Only four of them

have been to English speaking countries Over half of the staff have been trained

from the part-time B.A courses and have never discussed the issue of needs

analysis in ESP learning However, seven of them have had M.A degrees in

TESOL The others are taking M.A courses of TESOL and Comparative

Linguistics All of them have been teaching General English for at least five years

3.4.2 ESP teaching competence

Although there are totally 14 teachers of English, only 10 teachers

experienced ESP teaching No one has been trained to be a professional ESP

teacher All of them are not specialized in engineering, either However, they are in

charge of teaching ESP to five main technical fields including English for

Electronics, English for Mechanical Engineering, English for Electrical

Engineering, English for Textile and Garment Engineering, English for Nutrition,

and English for Computing The others are only responsible for teaching General

English to students in the first stage of university training outline Therefore, it

might be a big burden on the shoulders of the ESP teachers when they are in charge

of teaching ESP to about 45 classes of ESP with over 8,000 students That burden is

believed to be heavier to the teachers when the UTE becomes the only address of

ESP teachers training that provides ESP teachers for the whole vocational networks

throughout the country in the coming years

3.5 SUMMARY

This chapter has presented an overview of the English training at the UTE

The fact that ESP is getting more important in this stage of the country development

results in firstly, its indispensable role in the universities; and secondly, students

needs for well functioning at their target workplace Therefore, needs analysis

Chapter III: Overview of ESP Teaching and Learning at the UTE 22

should be urgently undertaken for ESP learning improvements to meet the

increasing demands not only of the students but also of the society Hopefully, more

opportunities of professional ESP training are offered to help ESP teachers fulfill

their lack of ESP methodology and therefore to make ESP teaching more enjoyable

and satisfying to students’ learning needs; and ESP courses can early be edited to

help equip technical students with ESP competence needed for their functions at

work

Chapter IV: Research Design and Methodology 23

CHAPTER IV: DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

The rationale of this study is based on analyzing ESP learning needs of the present and former students with the aim of finding possible solutions to make ESP teaching at HCMC University of Technical Education more satisfying and beneficial to students This needs-analysis is very necessary to help ESP teachers

face with the continual emergence of new needs that may arise either from within or outside the university (Meshesha 1990: 28) Thus the methodology that is

eventually adopted should reflect the purpose of the study and should answer the following research questions

1 What is ESP learning needs of present and former students of the UTE?

2 How are students’ perceptions towards these needs different?

3 Does ESP teaching at the UTE satisfy students’ needs?

4 What can be improved to make ESP teaching more satisfying and beneficial to students?

4.1 RESEARCH SETTING

This is a descriptive study consisting basically of quantitative-qualitative methods of questionnaires and interviews The data of this study were collected primarily by means of observations, questionnaires and pocket interviews The quantitative-qualitative techniques employed in this study aimed at a full analysis of the descriptive data related to the expectation of ESP teachers and students in leading ESP teaching and learning to the requirements of the high–quality manpower today

The study was carried out at the UTE Primary and secondary data were collected from the English Resource Center at HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the library of English Faculty at HCMC University of Agriculture and Forestry, and some web pages on the Internet The questionnaires were conducted to 10 ESP teachers, 18 subject teachers, 264 present students and 90 former students

Chapter IV: Research Design and Methodology 24

Most of students had not taken in this kind of needs analysis survey They felt interested in very practical questions of the survey and took it as a chance to voice their opinions on ESP learning Both ESP and subject teachers considered the questionnaires as a good chance to share experience and to build up cooperation in upgrading ESP teaching

4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

It is very persuasive that not only students but also teachers would have interesting things to share about ESP learning needs In addition, when being viewed from different perspectives, these needs can be better recognized and defined and thus provide a more objective data-base So, two different questionnaires were designed and administered to different groups of target population The questionnaires were firstly designed to investigate teachers’ perceptions towards ESP learning needs of technical students at the UTE Actually, the teachers can function as the monitors of learning so their opinions are of high value They were, secondly, designed to investigate students’ ESP learning needs for practical usage in real-life situations to guarantee that learners are always the

center of learning process, especially in ESP learning because ESP is for the needs

of particular group of students

4.2.1 The questionnaires

They were used (1) to identify ESP learning needs of present and former students (2) to evaluate current ESP teaching and learning (3) and to find possible solutions for effective ESP learning at the UTE by determining the type of syllabus, content, materials and teaching/ learning methodology which are most beneficial to students

4.2.1.1 Selection of samples

In order to implement this study, all the target groups of population that can affect ESP learning needs were chosen They are ESP teachers, subject teachers, present students, and former students The selection of sample was designed as follows:

Chapter IV: Research Design and Methodology 25

- Selection of faculties: the method of purposive sampling was applied to

five different academic faculties, including Faculty of Information Technology, Faculty of Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Garment and Food Technology, and Faculty of Automotive Engineering

- Selection of teachers: the method of purposive sampling was applied to

10 ESP teachers from English Department and 18 subject teachers from the Academic Departments Subject teachers were also suggested to be questioned because they can actually play very important role in building students’ knowledge base of their specialized subjects Both of these target groups were invited to do the questionnaire for teachers

- Selection of students: the methods of cluster (whole class) and

convenience sampling (class with teacher who agreed to do the research) were applied to 5 classes with 264 present students, and 90 former students They were all encouraged to do the questionnaires for students

4.2.1.2 Administration

The questionnaires were handed to each volunteer student and teacher The survey questions were in Vietnamese to guarantee that their meaning was not misunderstood Although the questionnaire for students was collected in the classes after 15 minutes, the response rate was not 100% but only about 80% because this was supposed to be a confidential survey The responses from the teachers were collected after three days and the response rate was 100%

4.2.1.3 Coding and relevant categories

The items in the questionnaire to the ESP teachers and subject teachers comprised of the following parts: (1) teachers’ perceptions of the role of needs-analysis in ESP learning, (2) teachers’ perceptions of factors affecting ESP teaching and learning needs regarding syllabus design, methodology, and evaluation and training management, (3) teachers’ suggestions for better ESP learning The items

in the questionnaire were consists of two main parts with 16 questions, each of which serves a particular purpose

Part I: General Background Information to investigate teachers’ personal information

Chapter IV: Research Design and Methodology 26

Part II: ESP Learning Needs to investigate teachers’ perceptions towards factors affecting ESP learning needs at the UTE including syllabus design, methodology, evaluation, and training management with 16 questions as follows:

Question 1 relates to the teachers’ perception on the importance of needs

analysis in ESP learning in the background of ESP study at the UTE

Question 2 relates to the teachers’ exploration of students’ difficulties in

ESP learning

Question 3 relates to the teachers’ perception on subjective factors affecting

students’ attitudes to ESP learning This information can help ESP teachers apply suitable ESP learning strategies to create positive attitudes to students in ESP learning

Question 4 relates to the teachers’ perception on objective factors affecting

ESP learning needs This information can help teachers identify what to be improved to make ESP learning more effective

Question 5 relates to the teachers’ views on ESP teaching methodology Question 6 relates to the teachers’ views on ESP classroom activities They

should be changed if they are not very attracting to students because they can not help students to communicate well in their working areas

Question 7 relates to the teachers’ remarks on current ESP syllabus It

should be updated if it can not attract students’ interests

Question 8 relates to the teachers’ remarks on textbooks It should be

updated if it can not help students both with getting latest technical information and developing communicative skills needed for usage in target situation

Question 9 relates to the teachers’ views on using ESP teaching aids

Question 10 relates to the teachers’ view on total time spending on ESP

training at university compared with that on General English training in the curriculum

Question 11 relates to the teachers’ view on the suitable time to start ESP

teaching

Question 12 relates to the teachers’ view on suitable class size for

estimating the possibility of applying communicative method to ESP teaching

Chapter IV: Research Design and Methodology 27

Question 13 relates to the teachers’ views on ESP orientation to meet with

the new requirements of manpower today

Question 14 relates to the teachers’ views on ESP testing It should be

changed if it shows limitation in encouraging students’ improvement of ESP

competence for practical usage

Question 15 relates to possible solutions suggested for improving ESP

learning, concerning ESP syllabus, methodology and evaluation

Question 16 relates to the teachers’ research on needs analysis in language

teaching

The questionnaire for present and former students is much more important than that for teachers because a more reliable source of information of students’ ESP learning needs should be from the students themselves To identify these needs, this questionnaire was designed much more in detail The items in the questionnaire were consists of two main parts with 20 questions, each of which serves a particular purpose

Part I: General Background Information to investigate students’ personal information

Part II: ESP Learning Needs to investigate factors affecting ESP learning needs regarding syllabus design, methodology, evaluation and training management with 20 questions as follows:

Question 1 relates to students’ attitudes towards ESP learning

Question 2 relates to students’ purpose of ESP learning

Question 3 relates to the objective factors affecting ESP teaching and

learning This information can help to identify what to be improved to make ESP learning more effective

Question 4 relates to the students’ remarks on current methodology applied

in ESP teaching today

Question 5 relates to the students’ opinions about expected ESP teaching

methodology

Chapter IV: Research Design and Methodology 28

Question 6 7, 8 relates to the students’ views on useful ESP classroom

activities They should be changed if they are not very attracting to students and for developing students communicate skills

Question 9 relates to the students’ remarks on current ESP syllabus

Question 10 relates to the students’ views on the challenge of the tasks of

the syllabus They should be renewed if they failed in providing students with practical ESP skills for their jobs

Question 11 relates to the students’ views on materials preference It should

be updated if it is not very satisfying to students’ ESP learning needs

Question 12 relates to the students’ views on teaching aids needed for better

learning

Question 13 relates to the students’ views on total time for ESP training in

the curriculum

Question 14 relates to the students’ view about the right point of time to

register for ESP learning

Question 15 relates to the students’ views on suitable class size

Question 16 relates to the students’ views on ESP orientation to meet with

the requirements in the context of present social development

Question 17 relates to the students’ views on ESP grading It should be

changed if it shows limitation in encouraging students’ improvement of ESP competence for practical usage

Question 18 relates to the students’ views on their ESP proficiency

Question 19 relates to possible solutions suggested for improving ESP

learning by determining the type of syllabus, methodology and evaluation which is for the most benefit of the students

Question 20 relates to teachers’ perceptions towards the role of needs

analysis in ESP learning

4.2.2 The observations

Data collection was implemented through observation to aim at perceiving

students’ ESP learning difficulties because what students find most difficult can

only be discovered by observing them at work (James, 1984) Moreover, as