NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ SỰ HIỆU QUẢ CỦA VIỆC HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH KINH TẾ VỚI SINH VIÊN ĐÃ TỐT NGHIỆP KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH, ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HA NỘI

In this fast-paced life, all over the world people have become highly economic minded. It is believed that the study of economics can provide a solution to many economic and social problems. In any capacity all inhabitants are playing a role as economic agents such as a consumer, an investor or a merchant. It is undeniable that regardless what jobs people do, the Economic knowledge is never futile. The purpose of this study is to identify the effectiveness of English for Economics to FELTE graduates and solutions for its betterment. Quantitative and qualitative methods as survey questionnaires and face-to-face interviews are used to inspect the graduates’ attitudes towards the effectiveness of English for Economics. These include three major findings. Firstly, although FELTE graduates work in a wide range of jobs, their jobs demand some certain Economics knowledge. Secondly, the purposes of learning English for Economics diversify among FELTE graduates; however; the importance of this subject in practice is undeniable. Last but not least, an appropriate combination of student’s presentations, material provision and exercise rectifying may be suggested as a new method meeting all the learners’ demands. A theoretical analysis, backed by analysis of data collection, indicates that English for Economics plays an important role in equipping students at FELTE, ULIS, VNU with necessary Economic background knowledge in their job performance. Some suggestions given to have good results in EC course are: working hard work, being willing to widen knowledge and in-depth understanding about all the lessons. Based on the findings from the research, further studies and future implications may be conducted in a larger population and field to study other relating matters.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LEARNING ENGLISH FOR ECONOMICS AS PERCEIVED BY GRADUATE

STUDENTS AT FELTE, ULIS, VNU

Supervisor : CẤN THỊ CHANG DUYÊN Student : NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC TÚ Course : QH2010.F1.E4

HÀ NỘI - 2014

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮKHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ SỰ HIỆU QUẢ CỦA VIỆC HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH KINH TẾ VỚI SINH VIÊN ĐÃ TỐT NGHIỆP KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH, ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HA NỘI

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: CẤN THỊ CHANG DUYÊN Sinh viên: NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC TÚ

Khóa: QH2010.F1.E4

HÀ NỘI – 2014

Signature

I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to my advisor, teacherDuyen Can Thi Chang, you have been a whole-hearted mentor and a great supporterfor me I would like to thank you for encouraging my research and spare yourprecious time giving comments and instructions on my research paper Your pieces

of advice on research as well as on my career have been priceless My classmates,especially my three great friends Chi, Thuy Anh and Quynh Anh have been greatsupporters and inspiring companions The time I spend being with them is alwaysthe most enjoyable I would also like to thank my graduate friends andacquaintances who have helped me in doing the questionnaire and answering myinterview questions

A special thanks to my family Words cannot express how grateful I am to myfamily for supporting me during the hard time when I was carrying out the research

At the end I would like to express appreciation to my best friends Kim Ngan, Mata,Cindy and Ngoc Dang who have been with me and encouraged me when I neededthem the most

In this fast-paced life, all over the world people have become highly economicminded It is believed that the study of economics can provide a solution to manyeconomic and social problems In any capacity all inhabitants are playing a role aseconomic agents such as a consumer, an investor or a merchant It is undeniable thatregardless what jobs people do, the Economic knowledge is never futile

The purpose of this study is to identify the effectiveness of English for Economics

to FELTE graduates and solutions for its betterment Quantitative and qualitativemethods as survey questionnaires and face-to-face interviews are used to inspect thegraduates’ attitudes towards the effectiveness of English for Economics Theseinclude three major findings Firstly, although FELTE graduates work in a widerange of jobs, their jobs demand some certain Economics knowledge Secondly, thepurposes of learning English for Economics diversify among FELTE graduates;however; the importance of this subject in practice is undeniable Last but not least,

an appropriate combination of student’s presentations, material provision andexercise rectifying may be suggested as a new method meeting all the learners’demands A theoretical analysis, backed by analysis of data collection, indicates thatEnglish for Economics plays an important role in equipping students at FELTE,ULIS, VNU with necessary Economic background knowledge in their jobperformance

Some suggestions given to have good results in EC course are: working hard work,being willing to widen knowledge and in-depth understanding about all the lessons.Based on the findings from the research, further studies and future implications may

be conducted in a larger population and field to study other relating matters

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS viii

PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Statements of research questions 2

3 Scope and significance 2

4 Method of the study 2

5 Design of the study 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 5

1.1 An overview of ESP 5

1.1.1 Definition & Classification of ESP 5

1.1.2 The development of ESP 8

1.2 Evaluation 9

1.2.1 Formative 9

1.2.2 Summative 9

1.2.3 History of two evaluations 10

1.3 Jobs performance 12

1.3.1 Overview of Performance Improvement 12

1.3.2 Purposes for Job Performance evaluation 14

1.4 Effectiveness and evaluation 13

1.4.1 What is “effectiveness”? 13

1.4.2 Evaluating the effectiveness of Learning Interventions 14

CHAPTER 2 AN OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH FOR ECONOMICS AT FELTE,

ULIS, VNU 16

2.1 THE TEACHING AND LEARNING SITUATION OF ENGLISH FOR ECONOMICS AT FELTE, ULIS, VNU. 16

2.2 A DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT ESP PROGRAMS AT FELTE, ULIS, VNU. 16

2.3 THE GRADUATES OF ULIS 17

CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY 19

3.1 METHODOLOGY 19

3.1.1 Participants 19

3.1.2 Data collection instrument 19

3.1.3 Procedure of data collection 21

3.1.4 Procedure of data analysis 21

3.2 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 23

3.2.1 Graduate students‟ job variety using knowledge relating to ESP programs 23

3.2.2 Graduate students’ job performance in applying knowledge relating to ESP programs 23

3.2.3 Graduate students ‟ evaluation on the effectiveness of ESP programs 30

3.3 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF ESP PROGRAM-ENGLISH FOR ECONOMICS 32

PART III: CONCLUSION 40

I Summary of findings 40

II Limitations of the current study 42

III Significance of the findings 43

IV Suggestions to better learning ESP program-English for Economics 44

REFERENCES 46

APPENDICES 49

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EC: English for Economics

IT: Information Technology

ESP: English for Special Purposes

EMT: English Mother Tongue

ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESL-EAL: English as a second language - English as an additional language EGLP: English for general legal purposes

EGAP: English for General Academic Purposes

EGOP: English for General and Occupational Purposes

EAP: English for academic purposes

ESAP: English for Specific Academic Purposes

EBE: English for Business and Economics

ESS: English for the Social Sciences

EST: English for Science and Technology

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS

Figure 1: An ELT Family

Figure 2: The necessity of learning EC

Figure 3: The variety of participants’ current jobs

Figure 4: Purposes of learning EC

Figure 5: Economics knowledge application in graduates’ jobs

Figure 6: EC knowledge used in jobs

Figure 7: The application of EC in performing jobs

Figure 8: The usefulness of EC

Figure 9: Frequency of using EC

Figure 10: The most used EC knowledge in jobs

Figure 11: Evaluation on current teaching method

Figure 12: Satisfaction towards graduate’s needs

Figure 13: Factors in terms of EC knowledge need improving

Figure 14: Preference on teaching method

Figure 15: The usefulness of presenting news reports, theories and case studies Figure 16: The effectiveness of teaching EC from graduates’ perspective

Figure 17: Suggestions to improve EC course from graduates’ perspectives.

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1 RATIONALE

English for Economics is among the compulsory subjects for the junior andsenior ULIS students who major in Linguistics and double-major program As beknown, Economics is about choice and is at the heart of all decision-makings.Individuals, businesses and governments are all faced with making choices insituations where resources are scarce As a result, Economics is applicable in a widerange of fields, including business, finance, administration, law, local and nationalgovernment and, indeed, most aspects of everyday life In studying Economics,learners will examine topics of obvious importance to human well-being.Increasingly, policy debate in all areas is being cast in economic terms Knowingthis importance, English for Economics is taught in ULIS, VNU aimed at equippingstudents with sufficient Economic knowledge From that, this raises a question:

“How effective that English for Economics brings to them after they graduate andget a job, and how to apply it to perform their jobs most efficiently?” In thisresearch, I will carry out a research to analyze this matter and find out what thespecific advantages are

There are a number of researches that have discussed the importance of thissubject and the evaluation of the usefulness of the topics

In ULIS, VNU, some recent related researches have also mentioned about

the importance of this subject: The Role of Needs Analysis in English for Specific Purposes by Custi Astika Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana Salatiga, Should Students’ Language Needs Influence How We Teach? By Charito Aglaua,etc.

Among those, “An evaluation of ESP programs at FELTE, ULIS, VNU” by Bui

Thi Bich Thao is the one that provides the most insightful information relating tothis matter This study means to evaluate and improve the ESP program forEconomics at FELTE, ULIS, VNU

Most of the researches, however, only focus on the influence of the subject

on current students Therefore, this research will take a step forward to find out the

positive impacts and advantages of English for Economics on graduate students,and hence propose several suggestions to better the program.

2 STATEMENTS OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Focused Research Question(s):

This research seeks to understand how English for Economics benefits graduatestudents and how they apply the theory into their jobs The research, therefore, iscarried out to answer the following research questions:

1 What is the jobs’ background of graduate students? (The variety of theirjobs)?

2 How does the knowledge that they have accumulated from learning Englishfor Economics help graduate students perform tasks in their jobs?

3 From graduate students’ perspectives, how should the subject English forEconomics be improved to be more effective?

Specific Objectives:

Specific objectives are to:

• quantify the students’ job fields after graduating respectively

• determine the advantages of the subject applying into their jobs

• give advice for students learning this subject in the future

• arouse the interest and passion of students in the subject

3 SCOPE AND SIGNIFICANCE

This research studies the outcome of 60 graduate students in recent yearsshown in their jobs’ performance

By studying the benefits that ESP program has brought to graduate students,the researcher will help teachers and learners gain better insights in the

subject Therefore, students can receive better orientations to study thissubject.

In addition, based on the results of the research, ESP teachers can adjust aswell as reform the program to best fit the students’ purposes and jobs’demand

I intend to gather and organize information that will compose a discerningand educational study in learning and using English for Economics for jobpurpose/ future intention of graduate FELTE students

In short, speaking of specific objectives, this research is carried out to helpsenior students at FELTE, VNU as well as lecturers on ESP program getcloser to their goals at mastering this course both at learning and teaching

4 METHOD OF THE STUDY

To fulfill this study, both the quantitative method and the qualitative methodare applied

In the article “Qualitative and Quantitative Research” extricated from BritishLibrary website, some advantages of two methods are shown as followings.The quantitative method will help the researcher deeply understand thebackground knowledge, measure the incidence of various views and opinions

in FELTE graduate students on the benefits of ESP programs Thequestionnaires and surveys with set questions and answers that respondentstick from a predefined selection

This form of research is very flexible in terms of how it is carried out such asthrough the post or online

Besides, the qualitative method which includes survey questionnaires anddocument analysis uncover prevalent trends in thought and opinion of thechosen sample

Qualitative method is largely led with discussion around certain concepts orideas with open questioning Attendees are encouraged to explain or describetheir reasons for having certain responses which can reveal underlyingmotivations, associations and behavioural triggers.

The qualitative method consists of focus groups or one by one interview,conducted face to face or over the telephone

The subjects of the study are samples of 60 FELTE graduates at ULIS, VNU.Firstly, the survey questionnaire and interviews are applied

Secondly, the stage of collecting and analyzing the data is conducted

5 DESIGN OF THE STUDY

This thesis is composed of main parts: introduction, development andconclusion

The introduction presents the rationale, aims and significance, researchquestions, method of the study, scope of the study and the design of thestudy

The development consists of 3sections:

Part I: Introduction

Part II: Development

Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 (Literature review) lays the theoretical foundationsfor the whole study including the definition of key terms as well as a concisereview of related studies

Chapter 3 (The study) elaborates on the research methods, participants,instruments, data collection procedure and data analysis methods

(Results and Discussion) presents the results of the research and givesinterpretation and analyses of major patterns found in data

Part III (The Conclusion) summarizes the major findings and puts forwardseveral recommendations to give students deeper insights and understanding

on the importance of the course: English for Economics especially in jobperformance.

Summary

The chapter has provided the rationale for the study by stressing the importance of learning term in ESP course as well as exposing the research gap The framework of the paper has also been elaborated on four research questions and clearly defined scope These elaborations have not only justified the major content and structure of the study but will also work as the guidelines for the rest of the paper.

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter aims to provide a theoretical base to develop an operationalframework for ESP program

1.1 AN OVERVIEW OF ESP

1.1.1 Definition & Classification of ESP

ESP stands for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) ESP is not to beconfused with specialized English, is a sphere of teaching English languageincluding Business English, Technical English, Scientific English, Englishfor medical professionals, English for waiters, English for tourism, Englishfor Art Purposes, etc

There are many definitions of ESP stated by researchers and linguists According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 19):

ESP all essentially emphasizes to language centered approaches and to give adefinition of ESP we need to establish a context about how ESP at thepresent time relates to the rest of ELT

- According to the definition of ESP (Dudley-Evans, 1997)

Absolute Characteristics

1 ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners

2 ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline

it serves

3 ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms ofgrammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre

Variable Characteristics

1 ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines

2 ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology fromthat of General English

3 ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary levelinstitution or in a professional work situation It could, however, be forlearners at secondary school level

4 ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students

5 Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systemsThe definition Dudley-Evans offers is clearly influenced by that of Strevens(1988), although he has improved it substantially by removing the absolutecharacteristic that ESP is "in contrast with 'General English'" (Johns et al.,1991: 298), and has included more variable characteristics The division ofESP into absolute and variable characteristics, in particular, is very helpful inresolving arguments about what is and is not ESP

From the definition, it is evident that ESP can but is not necessarilyconcerned with a specific discipline, nor does it have to be aimed at a certainage group or ability range ESP should be seen simple as an 'approach' toteaching, or what Dudley-Evans (1997) describes as an 'attitude of mind'

This is a similar conclusion to that made by Hutchinson et al (1987:19) whostate, "ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as tocontent and method are based on the learner's reason for learning".

The analogy of a tree above show what ESP isn't as follows:

a ESP is not a matter of teaching ''specialized varieties'' of English becausethe fact that language is used for a specific purpose There are severalfeatures which can be identified as ''typical'' of a particular context of use,and which the learners is more perhaps to meet in the target situation

b ESP is not just a matter of science words and grammar for scientist, etc.The ELT tree family is supported by a complex underlying structure

c ESP is not different in kind from any other form of language teaching Itbased on the principles of effective and efficient learning Even though thecontent of the learning is different; the processes of learning should be anydifferent for the ESP learner than for the general English learner

ESP is different from the form of ELT because ESP must be seen as anapproach not as a product ESP is not a particular kind of language ormethodology, nor does it consist of a particular type of teaching material

ESP is an approach to language learning, which is based on the learners' need Therefore, it is concluded that ESP is an approach to language

teaching based on the learners' reason for learning

1.1.2 The development of ESP

From the early 1960's, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown tobecome one of the most prominent areas of EFL teaching today Itsdevelopment is reflected in the increasing number of universities offering an

MA in ESP and in the number of ESP courses offered to overseas students inEnglish speaking countries

There is now a well-established international journal dedicated to ESPdiscussion, "English for Specific Purposes: An international journal", and theESP SIG groups of the IATEFL and TESOL are always active at theirnational conferences English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is now wellestablished as an important and distinctive part of English LanguageTeaching Since the late 1980s ESP has changed in two very significantrespects Firstly, English for Business Purposes has become an increasinglysignificant, even dominant, area of ESP Secondly, the work of discourse andgenre analysis on the one hand and the results of computer-based analysis onthe other provide a fuller understanding of how specific texts, both writtenand spoken, work It provides an update of these major developments in ESPand a summary of where the discipline is now It is practical and accessiblewhile covering a wide range of both theoretical and methodological topics Italso charts how ESP has been influenced by new ideas in the areas ofmanagement training, human resource development, sociology andintercultural training.

Thus, formative evaluations are basically done on the fly They permit thedesigners, learners, and instructors to monitor how well the instructionalgoals and objectives are being met Its main purpose is to catch deficiencies

so that the proper learning interventions can take place

Formative evaluation is also useful in analyzing learning materials, studentlearning and achievements, and teacher effectiveness Formative evaluation

is primarily a building process which accumulates a series of components ofnew materials, skills, and problems into an ultimate meaningful whole.Wally Guyot (1978)

1.2.2 Summative

A summative evaluation (sometimes referred to as external) is a method ofjudging the worth of a program at the end of the program activities(summation) The focus is on the outcome

All assessments can be summative (i.e., have the potential to serve asummative function), but only some have the additional capability of servingformative functions Scriven (1967)

The various instruments used to collect the data are questionnaires, surveys,interviews, observations, and testing The model or methodology used togather the data should be a specified step-by-step procedure It should becarefully designed and executed to ensure the data is accurate and valid.Questionnaires are the least expensive procedure for external evaluations andcan be used to collect large samples of graduate’s information Hence, in thisresearch, the questionnaire is used to collect data The questionnaire is trialedbefore using to ensure the recipients understand their operation the way theresearcher intended The guidance is given clearly for its completion

1.2.3 History of the Two Evaluations

Scriven (1967) first suggested a distinction between formative evaluation andsummative evaluation when describing two major functions of evaluation.Formative evaluation was intended to foster development and improvementwithin an ongoing activity (or person, product, program, etc.) Summative

evaluation, in contrast, is used to assess whether the results of the objectbeing evaluated (program, intervention, person, etc.) met the stated goals.Scriven saw the need to distinguish the formative and summative roles ofcurriculum evaluation While Scriven preferred summative evaluations —performing a final evaluation of the project or person, he did come toacknowledge Cronbach's merits of formative evaluation — part of theprocess of curriculum development used to improve the course while it isstill fluid (he believed it contributes more to the improvement of educationthan evaluation used to appraise a product).

Later, Misanchuk (1978) published a paper on the need to tighten up thedefinitions in order to get more accurate measurements The one that seems

to cause the greatest disagreement is the keeping of fluid movements orchanges strictly in the prerelease versions (before it hits the targetpopulation)

In Paul Saettler's (1990) history of instructional technology, he described thetwo evaluations (pp 430-431) in the context of how they were used indeveloping Sesame Street and The Electric Company by the Children'sTelevision Workshop CTW used formative evaluations to identify anddefine program designs that could provide reliable predictors of learning forparticular learners They later used summative evaluations to prove theirefforts (to quite good effect I might add) While Saettler praises CTW for asignificant landmark in the technology of instructional design, he warns that

it is still tentative and should be seen more as a point of departure rather than

a fixed formula

Saettler defines the two types of evaluations as: 1) formative is used to refinegoals and evolve strategies for achieving goals, while 2) summative isundertaken to test the validity of a theory or determine the impact of aneducational practice so that future efforts may be improved or modified

Thus, using Misanchuk's defining terms will normally achieve more accuratemeasurements; however, the cost is quite high as it is highly resourceintensive, particularly with time because of all the pre-work that has to beperformed in the design phase: create, trial, redo, trial, redo, trial, redo, etc.;and all preferably without using the target population.

However, most organizations are demanding shorter designing times Thusthe formative part is moved over to the other methods, such as through theuse of rapid prototyping and using testing and evaluations methods toimprove as one moves on Which of course is not as accurate but it is moreappropriate to most organizations as they are not really interested in accuratemeasurements of the content but rather the end product — skilled andknowledgeable workers

Misanchuk's defining terms basically puts all the water in a container foraccurate measurements while the typical organization estimates the volume

of water running in a stream

Thus people like vendor, researcher, or need highly accurate measurementswill probably define the two evaluations in the same manner as Misanchuk

If it is necessary to push the training/learning out faster and highly accuratemeasurements are not important, then the CTW example can be definedcloser to how most organizations do and Seattledoes

1.3 Jobs performance

1.3.1 Overview of Performance Improvement

Job Performance refers to the way people do their jobs and the results oftheir work

Organizations seeking to solve a performance problem frequently implement

a specific intervention, such as training, without fully understanding thenature of the problem or determining whether or not the chosen intervention

is likely to succeed Just as often, professionals with a high level of expertise

in a specific intervention area see every problem as an opportunity to plytheir trade In fact, there are a number of methods for improving theperformance of organizations, teams and individuals Organizationaldevelopment, industrial engineering, training and development, qualityassurance, and human resources development address performance gaps inparticular ways Performance Improvement differs from these approaches byusing a systematic methodology to find the root causes of a performanceproblem and then implement an intervention (or “fix”) that applies to thatspecific performance deficit

Certain factors need to be in place for workers to be able to perform well ontheir jobs:

- Clear job expectations

- Clear and immediate performance feedback

- Adequate physical environment, including proper tools, supplies andworkspace

- Motivation and incentives to perform as expected

- Skills and knowledge required for the job

When a performance factor is missing and a gap in performance hasoccurred, a solution, or intervention, usually becomes clear For example, ifworkers lack information about what is expected of them, obviousinterventions would include implementation of written policies, jobdescriptions or verbal directions Likewise, if workers do not have sufficientknowledge in their jobs, they cannot perform the work well

In this research, the researcher particularly focuses on the factor: Skills and knowledge required for the job that are assumedly accumulated from

university

1.3.2 Purposes for job performance evaluation.

Based on job performance evaluation, employers can see how well theiremployees were trained From that, they can assess the quality of theemployees’ qualifications as well as the effectiveness of the practicalknowledge learnt at university

1.4 Effectiveness and evaluation

1.4.1 What is “effectiveness”?

According to Wikipedia, “Effectiveness” is the capability of producing adesired result When something is deemed effective, it means it has anintended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression

The origin of the word "effective" stems from the Latin word effectīvus,which means creative, productive or effective It surfaced in Middle Englishbetween 1300-1400 A.D

Related terms

Efficacy, efficiency, and effectivity are terms that can, in some cases, beinterchangeable with the term effectiveness The word effective is sometimesused in a quantitative way, "being very effective or not very effective".However, neither effectiveness, nor effectively, inform about the direction(positive or negative) and the comparison to a standard of the given effect.Efficacy, on the other hand, is the extent to which a desired effect isachieved; the ability to produce a desired amount of the desired effect, or thesuccess in achieving a given goal Contrary to the term efficiency, the focus

of efficacy is the achievement as such, not the resources spent in achieving

the desired effect Therefore, what is effective is not necessarily efficacious,and what is efficacious is not necessarily efficient.

Another source of confusion regarding the term effectiveness is itsrelationship with the term effectiveness Due to the similarity in the waythese two words are spelled, they are often confused with each other andused incorrectly The term effectiveness (noun) is derived from the root wordaffective (adjective) meaning concerned with arousing emotions or affection

or relating to moods, attitudes or feelings Simply stated, effective meansoutcome and efficiency means output

Learning effectiveness is evaluated in the context of the learning goals of thecourse (short term learning), and in the context of the overall educationalprogramme and future working life (long term learning)

1.4.2 Evaluating the Effectiveness of Learning Interventions

The question of how to evaluate the effectiveness of learning interventions is

a problematic one That is, how do people determine whether a change to acourse has been successful in improving student learning

Surprisingly, it was not able to find a standard instrument in the literature forevaluating learning effectiveness Literature searches and web searchesrevealed very few standard instruments of any kind for course evaluation Itwould appear that most institutions develop their own course evaluationinstruments to suit their own purposes

- The effectiveness of any educational programme can only be sensiblyassessed in the context of its learning goals Learning goals are defined as

“particular knowledge, skills or attitudes that participants should have atthe end of the learning episode” Three different types of learning goalsare distinguished below:

- Knowledge: “what facts and concepts participants should understand”

- Skills: “what tasks participants should be able to perform”.

- Attitudes: “what attitudes, beliefs and motivation participants shouldpossess”

Learning is an ongoing process University courses are not undertaken inisolation, but in the context of some larger educational programme (e.g auniversity degree or diploma) and in preparation for working life Whilelearning can be evaluated within the context of the objectives of a particularcourse, it should also be evaluated in the wider context It is categorizedbetween the following concepts: Short term learning (internal validity): Wasthe course successful in achieving its stated learning goals? This relates tothe effectiveness of the course as a standalone unit of education

- Long term learning (external validity): The course contributes to thestudent’s overall learning experience This addresses the issue

of relevance- a course may be effective in achieving its learning goals,

but the learning goals themselves may be of little long term value

Determinants of Learning

A number of causal relationships were hypothesized between the constructs

in the theoretical model (Daniel L Moody, 2003)

Knowledge + Skill + Attitude Learning Effectiveness

Learning Effectiveness  Long Term Learning

In this research, the researcher focuses on studying about long-term learning

to define which benefits that ESP courses have brought to ULIS students inperforming their jobs

CHAPTER 2: AN OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH FOR ECONOMICS AT

FELTE, ULIS, VNU 2.1 THE TEACHING AND LEARNING SITUATION OF ENGLISH FOR ECONOMICS AT FELTE, ULIS, VNU.

Faculty of English Language Teacher Education (FELTE) was originallyfounded in 1958 and took the current official name in 2009 after many times

of changes FELTE provides full-time undergraduate programs of EnglishLanguage Teacher Education and Translation and Interpreting, doublemajors and double degrees, second degrees, etc and other responsibilities setVietnam National University and Ministry of Education and Training

The Faculty consists of seven divisions, among which is Division of Englishfor Specific Purposes Division of ESP provides economic backgroundknowledge for students General English is the main course and then Englishfor Economics is taught in the second term of the third year with thematerials composed by Ass Prof., Dr Nguyen Xuan Thom, the Head of theDivision of ESP

2.2 A DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT ESP PROGRAMS AT FELTE, ULIS, VNU.

In the research “Difficulties facing ULIS’s students in approaching terminology in English for Economics’ course”, the researcher has already

studied thoroughly about the ESP programs According to the research,originally, the Head-master of ULIS- Professor Nguyễn Đức Chính raised

an idea to teach ESP in ULIS Prof Mr Nguyen Xuan Thom, a linguisticsexpert, and also has profound understanding in economics to compose thebook Receiving support from the Dean of English Faculty, the textbook wasfirst introduced in 1996

ESP was a new branch in ELT although it did not have a long-term history asELT; however, learning ESP was a need in the context of globalization.ULIS’s teachers with a long-term vision recognized the importance of the

ESP branch, which could be the motivation to form the very first ESP sector

in ULIS Moreover, ULIS became the first university in Vietnam launchingESP course The ESP textbooks of ULIS were very first ESP materialcomposed by Vietnamese professor to serve studying purpose Whenprofessor Nguyễn Đức Chính, a principal of ULIS at that time, he intended tocompile textbooks for 19 different branches of ESP to teach in ULIS Exceptthe English for Economics, and English for Finance and Banking, all otherESP textbooks which encountered the difficulty in composing process, or inthe piloting period, cannot exist till today

The textbook “English for Economics” is widely used in FELTE, ULIS, andalso becomes the learning material for many other universities

2.3 THE GRADUATES OF ULIS

The participants in the research are graduates from English LanguageTeacher Education aged mostly 23 and a small number of 24 and 25, andmost of whom are at the age of 23 They have been learning English for morethan fifteen years Moreover, as studying English Language TeacherEducation, they have great advantages in learning English for Economics.From that, it utterly can be stated that all graduates have adequate Englishcompetence Therefore, they can take advantage of this point to study ECand working in English related jobs more conveniently

Nonetheless, those graduates also have some disadvantages in learningEnglish for Economics The most noticeable one is their backgroundknowledge in Economics Because their major is language teaching, mostlyfor general English learners such as high school students, rarely do they useEconomics in their lessons Therefore, some graduates overlook theusefulness of the course Furthermore, put in comparison with graduatestaking part in double degrees in economics and Translation andInterpretation graduates, students whose major is English Language Teacher

Education tend to find understanding the terms and related knowledge moredifficult However, the majority of the graduates claimed that they completedthe course without difficulty

This investigation in participants’ background gives the researcher somesuggestions on how teaching methods and techniques can be improved forcurrent and future English Language Teacher Education students

In a nutshell, chapter 2 provides a sketch of English for Economics atFELTE, ULIS, VNU with the teaching and learning situation, a description

of current ESP program and the graduates These realities are the foundationfor this study to be developed

CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY

This chapter presents a description of the methodology applied to collect datafor this thesis

3.1.1 Participants

The study will be conducted among graduate students from FELTE, ULIS,VNU This research only involved graduate students from classes whosemajor is English language teacher education

Graduates from ELTE mainly from QH2008 and QH2009 were chosen due

to two reasons: 1) They graduated from ULIS only a few years ago;therefore, their knowledge of ESP may be better than ones who are fromQH2007 and the like; 2) Their recommendations will be more useful forcurrent students as well as ones who are going to take this course

The most challenging problem that the research encountered is the largenumber of graduates from QH2009 and QH2008 In addition, there are agreat number of students returning to their hometowns to settle down andwork It would be onerous to contact all of them directly or interview.Therefore, the research decided to choose 60 of them to involve in thesurvey These 60 students were chosen via ULIS Facebook and youth unionnetwork The graduates were sent the questionnaire via email or Facebookmessages in the form of Google docs After that, all the data would be sentimmediately to the researcher and even already analyzed

3.1.2 Data collection instrument

By administering surveys, questionnaires, and interviews among graduatestudents in recent years, the author will chart the variety of job amongFELTE and Economics students, the benefits that they achieve after takingthat course

Survey

Surveys represent one of the most common types of quantitative, socialscience research In survey research, the researcher selects a sample ofrespondents from a population and administers a standardized questionnaire

to them The questionnaire, or survey, can be a written document that is

completed by the person being surveyed, an online questionnaire, a face interview, or a telephone interview According to Angus and Katona,

face-to-(1953) "It is this capacity for wide application and broad coverage whichgives the survey technique its great usefulness " (p 16)

In this research, using surveys to collect data from a population of 60graduates will be a very convenient and strong tool

The face-to-face interview, also called an in-person interview, is probably

the most popular and oldest form of survey data collection It has continued

to be the best form of data collection when the researcher wants to minimizenonresponse and maximize the quality of the data collected By far, the mainadvantage of the face-to-face interview is the presence of the interviewer,which makes it easier for the respondent to either clarify answers or ask forclarification for some of the items on the questionnaire Using the face-to-face-interview will help enhance the effectiveness of collecting data in thestudy

- Questionnaires are easy to analyze Data entry and tabulation for nearly allsurveys can be easily done with many computer software packages.

- Questionnaires are familiar to most people, especially with FELTE studentswho have studied Research Methodology course

- When a respondent receives a questionnaire in the mail, he is free tocomplete the questionnaire on his own time-table The respondent is notinterrupted by the research instrument

3.1.3 Procedure of data collection

The procedure of collecting data could be divided into three main phases

- Phase 1: Management of data collection and designing the data collectioninstrument

The initial phase is designing student survey questionnaire In any methodapplied, personal information of all participants was ensured to be keptconfidential and anonymous The first draft of the questionnaire wasdesigned with reference from a research by Bui Thi Bich Thao (2012)

- Phase 2: Data Processing

After the questionnaire had been adjusted, the official questionnaires werefinalized and ready to be distributed The process of data collection wasperformed in more or less 1 week

Finally, after processing data collected from questionnaires, the researchercarried out the next step, which was designing interview checklist Theresults found out in the questionnaires would disclose the effectiveness inlearning English for Economics

- Phase 3: Reporting and analyzing data

The data were guaranteed to be released in a carefully planned andsystematic manner that provides for full disclosure while protecting theconfidentiality and rights of data providers is taken into consideration Thedata was meticulously examined and used to answer the research questions.

3.1.4 Procedure of data analysis

Firstly, responses from questionnaire were calculated into numerical form.Descriptive statistics were used to display the findings from the survey Secondly, the collected data were classified corresponding with the researchquestions

Due to the fact that almost all the data drawn from questionnaires werenumerical statistics, these data were put in categories based on the literaturereview and then principally transferred to percentages illustrated in charts forthe researcher to examine and make comment in such an easier way

Data collected from interviews were also summarized as a supportive source.The researcher with the hope that it would help provide some possiblesolutions for improving ESP course in the future

Summary

This chapter has justified the methodology of the study by elaborating on the participants including ULIS graduates as well as the data collection method Clarification has also been given to the data analysis methods and process The presentation and interpretation of findings from such analysis are going

to be made clear in the next chapter

In the previous chapter, the methodology applied to conduct this study has been presented with descriptions and justifications of the choice of participants, research instruments as well as the process of data collection and data analysis In this chapter, all the collected data will be analyzed and discussed according to 18 survey questions in 3 sections Charts and graphs are made use of for better presentation and elaboration

3.2 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

3.2.1 Graduate students’ job variety using knowledge relating to ESPprograms

Before the findings are presented, a glance at the students’ perceptiontowards the overall effectiveness of learning English for Economics wouldreveal their motivation and attitude to learn this course 60 responses arecollected and evaluated

Section 1: The variety of graduates’ jobs.

The need of learning EC