An investigation into students’ conversational needs and some suggestions for a speaking syllabus to the 2nd year english bachel

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Part A: Introduction

The title of the study: An investigation into students’ conversational needs and some suggestions for a speaking syllabus to the 2 nd -year English Bachelor students at Nghe

An Junior Teachers’ Training College”

I The rationale for the study

Nowadays, English has been used over the world for communication It is necessary forevery body in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular to communicate in Englishwith people from other countries For many years, the teaching of English in Vietnamalways followed the frameworks of English Language Teaching (ELT), from the grammartranslation to audio-lingual methods which teaching and testing are focused mainly onwriting and reading so Vietnamese students of English had been very good at grammar butcould hardly speak English

To catch on with the above demand, Vietnamese teachers of English have been searchingfor a more suitable and effective method of teaching, and have come to decide on using theCommunicative Language Teaching Approach (CLT) at all levels As a result, speakingskills have gained their important roles in the curriculum of most English coursesnowadays

Many years ago, we taught general practice subject (integrated skills- Listening, Speaking,Reading, Writing skill) using the book HEADWAY (from pre-intermediate to upper-intermediate) for English major students during 2 school years in Nghe An Junior TeacherTraining College (JTTC) Nowadays, speaking skill has been taught not only in generalpractice subject but also in speaking subject (3 periods per week for English Bachelorstudents) in the first and second school years Nevertheless, there has not been anappropriate speaking syllabus for these students yet When teaching speaking subject forEnglish mayor students, teachers chose the speaking materials at random or make up theirown textbook without basing on any principles or the needs of their students The truth isthat the speaking topics are based only on the subjective thoughts of these teachers As aresult, in the teaching and learning process, there still appears several difficulties that theteachers and students must confront, among which is the lack of relevant topics or practice

In four recent years, Nghe An JTT College has had the three-year training courses forEnglish bachelors (non-teacher training students) with lower college entrance marks than

the ones required for teachers of English training’s courses (teacher training students).Ironically, the same syllabuses are applied to teach different groups of students Of course,they may share some characteristics For example, a large proportion of them come fromrural and remote areas of Nghe An province so their level of English proficiency is verylow, and especially, their pronunciation, listening and speaking skills are terrible; But thegoals of these two groups, teacher training students and non-teacher training students arequite different The former usually has an unclear purpose when entering the college Forsome of them, simply, they need a place to sit in after finishing school Additionally, they

do not have appropriate learning strategies or appropriate learning styles What they arefamiliar with is rote learning of vocabulary and rules They seem to prefer written workand private reading

Comparing the curriculums for these two groups, the only difference, which can be drawnout is that the one for training English Bachelors has one more Business English subjectwith two credits in the fifth semester Obviously, this curriculum with so few professionalchoices gives student very slim chances in employment

In present time to make some changes to the existing curriculum seems impossible Theonly one thing that, as teachers, we could do is to develop syllabuses based on the students’needs analysis in order to bring motivation to our learners and help them learn Englishmore effectively and efficiently

In our setting, teaching English for the English bachelor students is really challenging.Working with these students for some years in the speaking subject, I find that what we areteaching does not meet the students’ needs Trying to analyze their conversational needs todevelop an appropriate speaking syllabus for English bachelor students in Nghe An JTTCollege is the goal of this study

II The aims and objectives of the study

The main aims of this study are:

- To investigate the students’ conversational needs in learning speaking subject

- To give tentative suggestions for designing an appropriate speaking syllabus for thesecond-year English bachelor students in Nghe An JTTC It is hoped that there are somesuitable changes in teaching speaking subject for this group of students

To achieve the aims of the study, the following specific objectives and activities are carriedout:

- Firstly, to get overview of the basic theories relating to syllabus design

- Secondly, to find out the students’ needs, interests and expectation in learning English ingeneral and in the speaking subject in particular

- Thirdly, to look for ideas from teachers and the students’ opinions on the currentspeaking syllabus with reference to students’ needs and interests

- Finally, to suggest an appropriate speaking syllabus for 2nd year English bachelorstudents in the third semester

III Scope of study

This study should present the basic theories relating to syllabus designing, such asdesigning, implementing, teaching method and evaluating However, this study cannotcover speaking syllabus for all learners but it only focuses on a speaking syllabus for thesecond-year English bachelor students in Nghe An JTTC in accordance with the objectives

of the training program for English bachelor students and their needs

In this study, the research will only investigate English bachelor students who have justfinished the first year about their needs and interests in learning English in general and inspeaking subject in particular in Nghe An JTTC And then she will suggest a speakingsyllabus for the second-year English bachelor students in the following semester basing ontheir needs analysis and goal setting

IV Significance of the study

This study will be a reference report for syllabus designers so it may be very useful to theteachers and students who teach and learn English-speaking skill in Nghe An JTT Collegeparticular and other colleges and universities in general It is also helpful to those who areinterested in this field of study

V Methods of the study

To achieve the aims stated, the main method we apply to carry out the study is quantitativemethodology The data were collected by means of two instruments: questionnaires andinterviews and then analyzed quantitatively

After interviewing some experienced teachers in teaching speaking, we will use qualitativeanalysis to investigate the present situation, the problems of the teachers in teachingspeaking subject for English bachelor students at Nghe An JTTC In reviewing theliterature in the field of syllabus design, the main methods are descriptive and inductive.Besides, personal observation through some years of the researcher’s teaching at thecollege, discussion with colleagues, and talks with students are also the methods of thisstudy.

The survey was done on about 100 first – year English bachelor students (three classes) inNghe An JTT College to investigate their needs, interests and expectation in the speakingsubject and their evaluation on the current speaking course The findings from the dataanalysis were used as the main basis to develop a tentative syllabus to teach the speakingsubject to this group of students in their third semester

VI Design of the study

The study consists of three main parts, a list of reference, and appendices

1 Part A: Introduction presents the rationale, aim, scopes, significance, method of the

study and the design of the study

2 Part B: Development includes three important chapters:

- Chapter I reviews the literature related to ESP definition, needs analysis and syllabusdesign and speaking skills The literature is a theoretical background for designingsyllabuses on speaking skill

- Chapter II shows an overview of English teaching and learning at Nghe An JTT College,teaching staff perspectives to material and syllabus development, and students’ attitude tothe current speaking material

- Chapter III presents the study with summary of the findings based on needs analysis andsuggests a speaking syllabus to the 2nd – year English bachelor students at Nghe An JTTCollege in the third semester

3 Part C is the conclusion of the study, providing summary of the major findings,

conclusion, limitation and suggestion for further study

Focusing on the primary of needs in ESP related to the learners, Hutchinson and Waters(1987: 21) state that; “ESP is an approach to language teaching which aims to meet theneeds of particular learners” In another way, Munby (1978; 2) says that: “ESP courses arethose where the syllabus and materials are determined in all essentials by the prior analysis

of the communication needs of the learners”

In the late of 1960s, thanks to new developments in educational psychology, ESP shiftedits attention to the central importance of the learners and their attitudes to learning.Rodgers (1969) points out that learners have different needs and interests, which wouldhave an important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore on the effectiveness

of their learning The assumption underlying this approach is that the clear relevance of theEnglish course to learners’ needs would improve their motivation and thereby makelearning better and faster

Many researchers (e.g Kerr, 1977; Munby, 1978) agree that needs analysis should beconducted prior to course design and material development or selection, and that not onlythe syllabus, the material, but also teaching methodology should be adapted to the needs ofthe learners

However, Peter Stevens (1988:1) gave the clearest definition of ESP, in my opinion, asfollows:

a Absolute characteristics of ESP- ESP consists of language teaching, which is:

- Designed to meet specified needs of the learners

- Related in content (i.e in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines,

occupations and activities

- Centered on the language appropriate to these activities, in syntax, lexis,

discourse, semantics etc

- In contrast with general English

b Variable characteristics of ESP-ESP may be, but not necessarily:

- Restricted as to the language skills to be learned (e.g reading only, speechrecognition only, etc)

- Taught according to any pre- ordained methodology (i.e ESP is not restricted toany particular methodology- although communicative methodology is very often felt to bethe most appropriate)

It is noteworthy that those definitions imply two factors: (1) the broad meaning of the termpurpose and (2) the syllabus basing on learners’ needs analysis to determine the content ofthe syllabus, the material, and method of teaching to achieve these purposes

Steven’s definition does not only focus on the needs of the learners but also points out thefour absolute and two variable characteristics of ESP It revises and covers all theimportant features of ESP mentioned previously by other scholars Therefore, thisdefinition is made as a choice for the basic definition of this study

According to Yalden’s work (1984: 14) “The syllabus replaces the concepts of “methods”, and the syllabus is now seen as an instrument by which the teacher with the help of the syllabus designer can achieve a degree of “fit” between the needs and the aims of the learners (as social being and individual), and the activities which will take place in the classroom” " Robinson (1991:33-34) shares the same view with Yalden, a syllabus is “a plan of work to be taught in a particular course and is thus essentially for the teachers as a guideline and context for class content

On the common ground, Hutchinson and Waters (1987:80) considers a syllabus as “a document which says what will (or at least what should) be learnt”

1.2.2 Language Syllabus Design

According to Webb (1976), syllabus design is understood as the organization of theselected contents into an ordered and practical sequence for teaching purposes His criteriafor syllabus design is as follows:

- Progress from known to unknown matter

- Appropriate size of teaching units

- A proper variety of activity

- Teachability

- Creating a sense of purpose for the student

According to Stern, "syllabus design" is just one phase in a system of interrelatedcurriculum development activities

According to Munby (1984), syllabus design is seen as "a matter of specifying the contentthat needs to be taught and then organizing it into a teaching syllabus of appropriatelearning units."

From the above explanations on syllabus design, it can be concluded that syllabus design

involves a logical sequence of three main stages:

i, needs analysis,

ii, content specification

iii, syllabus organization

This follows very closely the general model advocated by Taba (1962) with the followingsteps:

• needs analysis

• formulation of objectives

• selection of content

• organization of content

• selection of learning activities

• organization of learning activities

• decisions about what needs evaluating and how to evaluate

• It is the intention of this paper to deal with the three main stages of syllabus design

as listed earlier

1.2.3 Approaches to syllabus design

There are probably as many different approaches to ESP syllabus design as there are manycourse designers

However, in this study, we just examine three main approaches to ESP syllabus designproposed by Hutchinson and Water (1987: 65): Language-centered, skills-centered andlearning centered

• The language-centered model gives no acknowledgement to factors, which mustinevitably play a part in the creation of any course

• The language-centered analysis of the target situation data is only at the surfacelevel It reveals very little about the competence that underlies the performance

In sum, it fails to recognize the fact that learners being people, learning is not astraightforward, logical process

1.2.3.2 Skills-centered approach

This approach aims at helping learners to develop skills and strategies, which will continueafter the ESP, course itself with its aim of not providing a specified group of linguisticknowledge but making the learners better processors of information

This approach is founded on two fundamental principles, one theoretical, the otherpragmatic

This approach, therefore, certainly takes the learners more into account than the centered model:

language-a It views language in terms of how the mind of the learner processes it rather than as anentity in itself.

b It tries to build on the positive factors that the learners bring to the course, rather thanjust on the negative ideas of ‘lack’

c It frames its objectives in open-ended terms, so enabling learners to achieves at leastsomething

In sum, in spite of its concern for the learner, the skills-centered approach still approachesthe learner as a user of language rather than as a learner of language

1.2.3.3 A learning centered approach

According to Hutchinson and Water (1987:72), “we would reject the term a centered approach in favor of a learning-centered approach to indicate that the concern is

learner-to maximize learning” because of the following reasons:

* The learner is the only one factor to consider in learning process

* Learning can and should be seen in the context it takes place

* Learning should be seen as an external process since learning is not just a mentalprocess, it is a negotiated process between individuals and society

This approach says that we must look beyond the competence that enables someone toperform, because what we really want to discover is not the competence itself, but howsomeone acquires that competence

Learning centered approach is an integration of two approaches above, considers thelearners at their full components at every stage of learning process: ‘syllabus and materialsevolve together with each being able to inform the other’ The learner’ needs as ‘users’ and

‘learners’ of the language are both met

In brief, the researcher will suggest an appropriate syllabus based on learning centeredapproach because of the advantages of this approach mentioned above

1.2.4 Three principle types of language syllabus

1.2.4.1 Structural syllabus

Wilkins (1976) regards structural syllabus as synthetic In structural syllabus, the teachermay use either a grammar-translation method or an audio-lingual one, or “eclectic”approach Whichever he uses, the constraints are the same: the content of the syllabus hasbeen determined by giving top priority to teaching the “grammar” or “structure” of thelanguage (Yalden,1983:22)

In structural syllabus, the vocabulary content is secondary in importance, i.e thevocabulary learning should not be held down until the major part of the grammaticalsystem has been learned.

The structural syllabus is very familiar to language teachers, and it has several advantages.However, structural syllabus has its shortcomings In teaching approaches based onstructural syllabus “meaning has been taught, of course, but it has been primarily themeaning of words and sentences as isolates, and not their meaning within stretches ofdiscourse” (Yalden, 1983:27)

According to Karl (1987), there are several weaknesses in using structural syllabus Themost important of these is the usability of structural knowledge He argues that structuralknowledge may be teachable, but it hardly affects behavior in language use to any greatdegree He explains: “many students do learn structural matter, and they can demonstratetheir knowledge on certain types of tests, but this knowledge does not seem to manifestitself during unmonitored language use Thus the knowledge is learnable, but the degree towhich it is usable is questionable”

Another weakness is a result of the sequencing or grading problems A strictly structuralsyllabus may prevent students from producing structures they have not been taught As aresult, students are severely limited or controlled in using the new language until theneeded structures have been taught Otherwise, errors must be tolerated or ignored until theappropriate instruction appears in the sequence

Furey (ibid) points out that a structural syllabus may be easier to teach, but it is not always

an effective approach to learning in comparison with a non- structural syllabus In otherwords, structural syllabus may in fact constitute a teacher- centered rather than a learner-centered approach

1.2.4.2 Situational syllabus

The situational syllabus is considered as one of two types of semantic syllabus: situationaland notional A semantic syllabus, in turn, is the production of the analytic approach.Situational syllabus is different from the other two types of syllabus (notional andstructural) in that its content is specified and ordered in non linguistic terms

Yalden (1983) mentions that in the situational syllabus the designer attempt to makelanguage learning content more relevant to student needs The designer of the situationalsyllabus attempts to predict those situations in which the learner will find himself and uses

there situations as a basis for selecting and presenting language content Situations in thistype of syllabus may be labeled like: at the post office, in a restaurant, making reservation

But there are still problems in designing and implementing a situational syllabus Thebiggest problem is what is meant by "situation" Moreover, in some physical situations,language does not always have to be related to the situation For example, one person may

go to the post office, not to buy a stamp but to complain about a non - arrival parcel.Making complaint is not typical intention of one's going to the post office Wilkin alsostates that there are probably no situations where we typically express possibility,probability, certainty, doubt or conviction (Wilkin, 1976: 17)

1.2.4.3 Notional - Functional syllabus

The notional - functional syllabus represents a shift in focus from the formal to thecommunicative properties of language, its central concern is with the teaching of meaningand the communicative use of patterns The notional - functional syllabus emphasizes whatspeakers communicate through language and derives its content from an analysis of thelearner's needs to express certain meaning (Wilkin, 1976) The notional - functionalsyllabus has been part of a larger trend focusing on the communicative aspects of languagelearning

According to Wilkins, functional - notional syllabus is potentially superior to thegrammatical syllabus because it will produce a communicative competence and it canensure that the most important grammatical forms are included It is also superior to thesituational syllabus, because it can cover all kinds of language functions, not only thosethat typically occur in certain situations

In designing a notional - functional syllabus, the linguistic content is planned according tothe semantic demands of the leaner, i.e on deciding what to teach, what we should takeinto consideration is what the learners should usefully be able to communicate in the

foreign language, only after this stage can we decide what are the most appropriate formsfor each type of communication.

Yalden (1983) argues that with the notional syllabus we can avoid the difficulties of bothgrammatical and situational syllabuses, that is why it has received a great deal of attentionsince the early seventies In a notional - functional syllabus, meaning must be approachedthrough the study of language in use, language in discourse Approaching language in thisway leads us directly to the study of communicative functions of language and theirrelation to grammatical form

Notional - functional syllabus is considered as belonging to analytic approaches as thestarting point is not the linguistic items to the taught (as in synthetic approach) It is ratherthe behavioral organization in terms of the purposes for which language is being learnt andthe kind of langue performance (in terms of language functions) necessary for suchpurposes

However, it does not mean that there are problems needed to the solved in designing andimplementing notional syllabus One of the problems is that we lack principled andsystematic means of ordering semantic and functional learning unit Further more, theconstruction of a syllabus along semantic and functional lines may lead to, to some extent,structural disorganization, because structures are introduced in the same learning unit, andsuccessive learning units may not be structurally linked For example, requests can beconsidered as high frequency in communication, so they should be presented early in alanguage program Nevertheless, request patterns can be quite difficult for beginninglearners

In conclusion, I would like to say that we would be wise to need Wilkin's (1981) advicethat a syllabus should incorporate different sort of language content: structural, situational,notional and functional - and that we take a balanced, multidimensional approach tosyllabus design

1.2.5 Essential steps in designing a language syllabus

There are many approaches to syllabus design that are mentioned above Correspondingly,steps in designing a syllabus are differently set up by language experts Long and Crookes(1993: 12) propose that tasks should be considered as the starting point of syllabus designwhile Hughes (1983: 7) suggests the important step must be the choice of aims andobjectives However, both of the two views above only rely on the subjective points of

those authors, not coming from the needs of the learners themselves According to Nunan(1988: 75) and Yalden (1983:9), the design of syllabus must start with Needs analysis.Nunan (1985:7) states that:

“Pedagogically, the most powerful argument in favour of needs-based course is amotivational one The need to motivate students has become a clich One way ofimproving motivation is to orientate content towards those areas that they perceive mostinterests by learners and which as being most relevant, and to develop methodologies,which enhance the learners’ self-concept rather than destroying it”

Therefore, according to this view, steps in designing a syllabus are illustrated as follows

Needs analysis-Objectives and aims-Sequencing–Teaching method–Testing and evaluation

As a result, analyzing the needs of learners is the first and the foremost step in designing asyllabus because it helps the designers identify the objectives and aims of the course sothat he/she can design a suitable syllabus to fit their needs

The second important step is defining the aims and objectives of the syllabus so as togovern the content of the whole syllabus In establishing aims, we should consider threeessential factors, such as: students’ background and motivation, students’ future career,special characteristics of the language According to Richards (2001:120), “the aims, incomparison, are broader than the objectives The objectives illustrate the aims of thesyllabus and are useful because they force the syllabus designers and teachers to be precise

in defining where they intend to go and what they intend to be about” Appropriateobjectives should be included in each unit to help the teacher to find suitable teachingmethods and remind them of the objectives, they have to reach at the end of each unit

1.2.5.1 Needs analysis

The question here is why we should mention need analysis as one of the essential steps indesigning a language syllabus The answer, according to Nunan (1988), is to provide theinput, which is relevant to the needs of given learners Moreover, need analysis is the mostcharacteristic feature of ESP course design This is a complex process, involving muchmore than simply looking at what the learners will have to do in the target situation

In a discussion about the significant role of need analysis, Nunan (1988: 75) stated “needsanalysis is considered as the initial process for specification of behavioral objectives and it

is from these objectives that detailed aspects of the syllabus such as functions, topics, lexis

and structures are derived” The information collected from a need analysis will be veryimportant for the designers to specify the objectives needed in the content of the syllabus.Thus, the researcher needs to know what kind of the necessary information in a needanalysis Many ESP experts concerned this question Especially, Hutchinson and Waters(1987:55) focused on two important kinds of needs namely, Target needs and learningneeds “Target need” is something of an umbrella term, which in practice hides a number

of important distinctions It is more useful to look at the target situation in terms ofnecessaries, lacks and wants’

The second important kind of needs is ‘learning needs’ which is considered as ‘the route’

To illustrate this, Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 61) say that “How are we going to getfrom our starting point to destination? This is learning needs” and they add, “The wholeESP process is concerned not with knowing or doing, but with learning” Thus, it is true to

say that target needs means what (the content) the learners should learn in ESP course and learning needs means how (the method or skills) they will learn that content Target needs

determine the destination It functions as a compass for direction on the route However,what really happens on the route matters more Like the vehicles and properties, learningneeds equip learners with necessary conditions (their knowledge, skills and strategies,learning facilities, etc) for their studies to achieve target needs

In conclusion, the researcher bases on the definition about target needs and learning needs

of Hutchinson and Waters to create form of needs analysis In this study, she wishes toinvestigate the students’ conversational needs that belong to their target needs Besides,learning needs are researched to achieve their conversational needs

1.2.5.2 Goal setting

Goal setting has become an important step in the development of a language program.Language is no longer seen as a discrete grammatical existing in isolation, but as a set ofresources and options for achieving a variety of goals outside the language classroom Inother words, language is perceived as a tool rather than as end in itself However, what asyllabus designer should start from in setting course goals From a survey of corps, Nunan(1985: 10) points out: " the course can reflect the sort of uses to which the targetlanguage will be put, the contexts and situation in which it will be used The skill thatwill be developed and the level at which the courses will be conducted"

The term "goal" refers to the general purposes for which a language program is beingtaught or learnt Setting goals requires judgment to ensure that the goals are appropriate,not only to learners' needs, but also to the constraint of the educational institution orsystem, and the length and scope of program based on the syllabus.

Goals can the analyzed according to their orientation on the process/product continuum.Product - oriented goals are mostly appropriate with general English courses Product -oriented goals can be derived directly from the learners themselves, that is, by asking thelearners why they are learning the language Learners are involved in the process ofestablishing goals This process can be as simple as asking students which of the macro -skills they wish to focus on or which content areas they would like to cover from a givenlist The learners' preferences are the arranged into a hierarchical order through a process

of negotiation between learners And the goals of language program are set based on theselearners' preferences The process - oriented goals are generally appropriate with specialpurpose courses, which are established by the teacher or course designer before the courseitself begins Syllabus designer can derive this kind of goals though a process ofintrospecting what the learner will achieve, what they should be able to perform because ofinstruction

1.2.5.3 Selecting the content

The next step, after the general goals of a course have best set, is to specify the ways inwhich the goals will be achieved This is a difficult task, the one which, over the years, hascaused a great deal of contention and controversy Recently most courses take amultidimensional approach, specifying and integrating functions, notions and structures insyllabus design This makes the task for the syllabus designer much more complex becausehe/she must select, sequence and integrate vertically (deciding which grammatical andfunctional items will be taught before which) and horizontally ( deciding which structures,functions, etc will be integrated and taught together)

Wilkin (1976) suggested that notional syllabuses would probably be best suited to a post beginner level In addition, in fact, most of the materials and courses based oncommunicative language learning principles are designed for students who have reached apre - intermediate level and therefore have enough grammatical knowledge to fulfillcommunications

-Selecting interesting and relevant content is a difficult task One of the problems indeveloping general courses for adults, in Nuan's opinion (1985: 23), is that the interests ofthe learners in a given group differ What is interesting to one learner can be uninteresting

to another However, this problem can be overcome through needs analysis and negotiatedgoal setting As selecting appropriate content is difficult, "it would seem that most coursebad material waters proceed on an intuitive basis when selecting content"

1.2.5.4 Grading the content

The next step that the syllabus designer has to is to grade the content In other words, he needsconsider how to grade the grammatical, notional, and functional components Grading isdescribed in the following way:

The arrangement of the content of a language course or a textbook so that is presented in ahelpful way Gradation would affect the order in which words, word meaning, tenses,structures, topics, functions, skills, etc are presented Gradation may be based on thecomplexity of an item, its frequency in written or spoken English, or its importance for thelearner ( Richard, Platt, and Weber 1986; 125)

1.2.5.5 Selecting and grading tasks and activities

First, we would like to mention here some definitions of “task” According to some appliedlinguists, task is a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for somereward Thus, examples of task including painting a fence, dressing a child, filling out a form,buying a pair of shoes, making an airline reservation…in other words by “task” is meant thehundred and one things people do in everyday life

Now, we find out that the different definitions of “task” lead to different approaches to theselection of tasks Candlin offers several criteria for good tasks A good task, as for him,should:

- promote attention to meaning, purpose, negotiation

- involve learner contribution, attitude, and effects

- be challenging, but not threatening, to promote risk - taking

- define a problem to be worked through by learners, centered on the learners but

guided by the teacher

- provide opportunities language practice

- promote sharing of information and expertise

(Adapted from Nunan, 1988: 45 - 46)

1.3 Speaking skill

Speaking skill in English is a priority for many second or foreign language learners and for themspeaking ability is considered to be the measure of knowing a language They regard it as themost important skill they can acquire and learners consequently often evaluate their success inlanguage learning as well as the effectiveness of their English course based on how well they feelthey have improved in their spoken language proficiency Therefore, opportunities to speakEnglish and motivation, which classroom activities bring to them, are extremely necessaryfor them to be successful in language learning Oral skills have hardly been neglected inEFL/ESL courses though how best to approach the teaching of oral skills has long been thefocus of methodological debate Teachers and textbooks make use of a variety ofapproaches, ranging from direct approaches focusing on specific features of oralinteraction (e.g turn-taking, topic management, questioning strategies) to indirectapproaches which create condition for oral interaction through group work, task work andother strategies (Richards 1990)

Speaking is fundamental to human communication Different linguists have differentconcepts of the term, but they all agree with these ideas

Brown (1994) defines speaking as an interactive process of constructing meaning thatinvolves producing, receiving and processing information In Brown and Yule’s opinions(1983), spoken language consists of short, fragmentary utterances in a range ofpronunciation Usually, there is a great deal of repetition and overlap between one speakerand another Speaker usually uses non-specific references They also add that spokenlanguage is made to feel less conceptually dense than other types of language such as prose

by using the loosely organized syntax, non-specific words, phrases and filters

Speaking has the following characteristics:

Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including theparticipants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and thepurposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving However, speech

is not always predictable Language functions that tend to reoccur in certain discoursesituations can be identified and charted Speaking requires that learners not only know how

to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary, butalso understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language

Speech has its own skills, structures, and conventions different from written language Agood speaker synthesized this array of skills and knowledge to succeed in a given speechact.

Bygate (1987) considers speaking as an undervalued skill in many ways The reason is thatalmost speakers can speak, and so take speaking skill too much for granted He also assertsthat speaking skill deserves attention every bit as much as literacy skills Learners oftenneed to be able to speak with confidence in order to carry out many of their most basictransactions He also highly appreciates speaking skill by stating that speaking is themedium through which much language is learnt

Numerous attempts have been made to classify the functions of speaking in humaninteraction Brown and Yule (1983) made a useful distinction between the interactionalfunctions of speaking (in which it serves to establish and maintain social reactions), andthe transactional functions (which focus on the exchange of information) According toBrown and Yule’s framework (after Jones 1996 and Burn 1998): talk as interaction, talk astransaction, talk as performance Each of these speech activities are quite distinct in terms

of form and function and require different teaching approaches

As can be seen from above, it is undeniable that speaking is the key to communication Byconsidering what a good speaker does, what speaking tasks can be used in class, andspecific needs learners report, teachers can help them improve their speaking and overallcompetence

Summary

To sum up, this chapter has pointed out the relevant theoretical basis for the study with theaim of designing an appropriate syllabus for language learners such as: ESP definition,definition of syllabus, types of syllabus, steps for syllabus design, need analysis, and somespeaking theories

The needs analysis is the main focus in this chapter as well as the whole study because it isthe starting point for carrying out any ESP syllabus design and it is a major stage for anESP course Needs analysis is one of the most important steps in an ESP course design,which inform us what and how to teach Thus, the analysis of needs can help to determinethe syllabus content, methodology and evaluation of the course In ESP field, needs ischangeable with learners, time and social development The 2nd year English bachelorstudents at Nghe An junior teachers’ training college will be chosen for the needs analysis

in the next chapter Moreover, Hutchinson and Water’s definition of target needs andlearning needs is selected to be the basic working definition for the researcher of this study

to create the form of needs analysis and from which a careful analysis of the students’needs will be carried out to form an appropriate syllabus

In terms of identifying the type for the syllabus, the researcher will incorporate differentsort of language content: structural, situational, notional and functional - and those we take

a balanced, multidimensional approach to syllabus design In addition, due to thediscussion about good points and bad points of approaches to syllabus design above, in thisstudy the researcher will use the learning-centered approach in designing speaking syllabusfor the 2nd year English bachelor students at Nghe An JTT College

Chapter 2: Situation analysisThis chapter will focus on teaching staff’s perspective to material and syllabus development, and students’ attitude to current speaking material at Nghe An JTTC.

One of the most important views in the design of any English language syllabus is anidentification of the learners, their likely contributions, and their needs, therefore, toidentify and give priority to what learners bring to the teaching-learning process in theform of his initial competence Only when you know the needs of the learner, can youspecify the aims and objectives of the syllabus to meet these needs

2.1 The English program for training students of English at Nghe An JTTC

Nghe An junior teachers training college was founded on 1960, located in Vinh city Nghe

An province, and has strongly developed for 48 years Up to now, it has become one of thefamous colleges in the centre of Vietnam as well as whole country There are variousfaculties such as Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Foreign Languages Departmentetc Annually, a number of 2000 students are admitted and a small number is adopted toForeign Languages Department (FLD) as English major students FLD has been re-founded since 1999 to train teachers of English for junior high schools in Nghe Anprovince However, in recent years, FLD has been training for English bachelor students,too The English training program is based on the English major curriculum for teachers’training as well as bachelor students set by MOET

The first or pre-intermediate level occupies the first year Students in this stage are taughtand drilled in the basic language structures with their four language skills.

The second stage or intermediate level is students at the second year And this is the lastyear, they are taught four language skills This stage aims at the perfection of the students’ability to communicate based on the language functions

The last stage covers the last /third year The students are expected to reach the intermediate level

upper-We use the “New Headway (pre-, inter-, upper-mediate)” for general practice subject,

“Listen carefully” and “Listen for it” for listening, “Causes and effects” and “Fasterreading” for reading and the current speaking material is subjectively selected by theteacher in charge of the subject, etc

2.2 The teaching staff’s perspective to material and syllabus development at Nghe An JTTC

Foreign languages department is staffed with 37 teachers at the age of 28 to 55, 6 of themare “reserved” Russian teachers The proportion of teachers who have M.A Degree is 5/37.Now other nine are studying for M.A Degree at VUNH and one in the United State

The teaching staffs are now coping with many difficulties such as lack of high-qualifiedteachers who can pioneer in teaching method innovation, no suitable syllabuses forsubjects, and worst of all it is a vague English curriculum for training the Englishbachelors Training the bachelor students is really a challenging job because we have nothad experience in this field and we do not have any proper guidance in administration aswell as detailed teaching program for each subject Additionally, in my opinion, thecurriculum applied for this group of students is not appropriate, since it gives so littleprofessional choice Of course, at present adjusting or improving it is beyond our duty andcapacity The only thing we can and should do it to develop appropriate syllabuses forlanguage subjects to surmount defects of the present curriculum and help the studentsachieve their goals Analyzing the students’ needs in order to adapt suitable materials ordevelop appropriate syllabuses is necessary in our present EFT context

When a survey has been done with several teachers in my group, it was interesting to seethat their views about the role of teaching materials, as well as their way of adaptingmaterials and developing syllabuses to meet the students’ need, differed widely and evencontradicted one another For example, one admitted the crucial role of teaching materials

but another denied it, claiming that the way teacher explored the material was much moreimportant Some others said the current teaching program should be adjusted and improved

to fit the particular students in each training course While most of them thought that itwould be unsafe, time-consuming, and troublesome

Up to now, I have been teaching the Speaking subject for the group of English bachelorsfor 4 years, but the only thing I have “dared” to do is to think of a list of lessons, which wethink is useful and interesting to students, and then selecting relevant texts and designactivities The terms such as syllabus design and learners’ needs analysis are really newand challenging to us

In our EFT context, designing syllabuses based on the learners’ needs analysis is a rightorientation to guarantee higher motivation for the students in learning English ESP-focused syllabuses, with the goal not only of “developing linguistic and academic skills,but also of preparing for the needs of a particular workplace environment” (Kasper),should be taken into consideration However, teachers of the English Department share thesame problems with many other ESP teachers in the world These problems are described

by Ewer (1976) when he writes about the difficulties that a teacher of English for GeneralPurposes may encounter when transferring to ESP These are “attitudinal, conceptual,linguistic, methodological and organizational” problem

2.3 The 2 nd -year English Bachelor students at Nghe An Junior Teachers’ Training College

2.3.1 The backgrounds

As mentioned above, the 2nd year English Bachelor students are the ones, who have hadone year of English at the first stage They come from different districts in Nghe Anprovinces such as Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Dien Chau, Con Cuong, etc and a few ofthem from other province such as Ha Tinh, and Thanh Hoa Most of them are femalestudents (85%) The average age is 19 There are 3 bachelor classes at the second year andeach class has 34 students They have 12 periods per week for four language skills (45minutes per one period), and 8 periods for general practice, and other subjects It meansthey have 45 periods for speaking subject per one semester

The students who entered the Foreign Languages Department are often equipped with quitegood knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing skills at school However,their ability at speaking is not good It is obviously, at school, little time is spent in