ESP materials development: Using situation-based vocabulary in composing an English handbook for Customs officers in Northwest region of Vietnam

ESP MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT: USING SITUATION-BASED VOCABULARY IN COMPOSING AN ENGLISH HANDBOOK FOR CUSTOMS OFFICERS IN NORTHWEST REGION Xây dựng tài liệu Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành: Sử dụng t

ESP MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT:

USING SITUATION-BASED VOCABULARY IN COMPOSING AN ENGLISH HANDBOOK FOR CUSTOMS OFFICERS IN NORTHWEST REGION

Xây dựng tài liệu Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành:

Sử dụng từ vựng dựa trên tình huống trong việc soạn thảo

Sổ tay Tiếng Anh cho cán bộ Hải quan vùng Tây Bắc

M.A THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology (Type 1)

Field Code: 8140231.01

HANOI - 2018

ESP MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT:

USING SITUATION-BASED VOCABULARY IN COMPOSING AN ENGLISH HANDBOOK FOR CUSTOMS OFFICERS IN NORTHWEST REGION

Xây dựng tài liệu Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành:

Sử dụng từ vựng dựa trên tình huống trong việc soạn thảo

Sổ tay Tiếng Anh cho cán bộ Hải quan vùng Tây Bắc

1

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “ESP materials development: using based vocabulary in composing an English handbook for Customs officers in Northwest region” is entirely my own research work and has not been taken from the

situation-work of others save and to the extent that such situation-work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work

Hanoi, 2018

Trần Thị Ngọc Mỹ

I would like to send my enormous gratitude to Dr Huynh Anh Tuan, my beloved supervisor, who had patiently guided me throughout the thesis process, for his insightful comments, invaluable guidance, thoughtful suggestions, and inspiration

I am profoundly grateful to all those who participated, the wonderful Customs officers

in Vietnam and English teachers at University of Languages and International Studies

- Vietnam National University, who acted as informants in my research I would also like to thank Ms Phan Thi Van Quyen, Ms Le Thi Hong Duyen, and Ms Vu Thi Nga, who have given me such many precious support and thorough collaboration during the study

I would like to make special mention of my mother, Ms Pham Thi Hang who has given me an unending supply of all sorts of help and whose support has made it possible for me to complete this study Special thanks to my friends including Quynh Trang, Thuy Linh, Thi Linh who have always been my full-time companions

Thanks also go to family and friends who are not mentioned here for their support and encouragement

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ABSTRACT

In the context of international and regional integration and exchange, English communication for work has become an essential requirement for cadres and civil servants in various professions It is in places where there is a lot of trade and interaction with foreigners Among them, the Northwest border customs is considered one of the places where cadres and civil servants have many opportunities to interact with foreigners coming from different countries Recognizing the importance of the English language as a tool of trade and exchange in the international environment, and

on the basis of practical needs of customs officers at the North West border gate, the Northwest program team decided to compile a handbook of typical English words and situations in Customs with the expectation of supporting the staff here in carrying out daily tasks, thereby improving the efficiency of work and bringing about Economic benefits for the North West area This study is an attempt to investigate the principles, strategies and procedures to compose an English handbook for Customs officers in Vietnam The research primarily focuses on the process of selecting situation-based vocabulary for the officers to utilize in their real-life circumstances In order to develop common situations and select appropriate English vocabulary in Customs, the team investigated the documents that are currently used in Nortwest border gates then conducted observations, interviews at a customs office of the Northwest region, and consulted experts in Linguistics and Customs to better modify the handbook In general, the vocabulary in the composed handbook has met the needs of Customs officers in terms of both quantity and quality The results gained from the finding and data analysis has contributed to the ESP material development process This study can help ESP developer of other fields know how to start and what to do during materials development procedures

Key words: Northwest Program, ESP materials development, Customs,

situation-based vocabulary

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 The rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 4

1.3 Research methodology 4

1.4 Scope of the study 5

1.5 Significance of the thesis 5

1.6 Organization of the thesis 5

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 ESP materials development 7

2.1.1 Definition of ESP 7

2.1.2 Principles and procedures of developing ESP materials 8

2.1.2.1 Pre-development: Needs analysis 9

2.1.2.2 While-development: Developed content and Real content 11

2.1.2.3 Post-development: On-going Evaluation 12

2.1.3 ESP materials evaluation 13

2.2 Situation-based vocabulary 13

2.2.1 The importance of vocabulary in ESP teaching and learning 14

2.2.2 Situation-based vocabulary 14

2.2.3 Strategies and principles of selecting situation-based vocabulary in developing ESP materials 15

2.2.3.1 Choosing words: how many and which ones 16

2.2.3.2 Learning tools for new vocabulary 17

2.2.3.3 Selection of vocabulary for developing ESP materials 18

2.3 Related Studies on ESP material development for Customs Officers 19

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research questions 24

3.2 Research Design 24

3.3 Research Context 25

v

3.4 Description of the informants 27

3.5 Data collection instruments 27

3.5.1 Document review 27

3.5.2 Observation 28

3.5.3 Interviews 29

3.5.4 Questionnaires 29

3.6 Data collection procedures 31

3.7 Data analysis procedure 33

3.8 Statement on how results were presented 34

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS 35

4.1 Pre-development: The needs of Customs Officers in the Northwest region of Vietnam 35

4.2 While-development: The process of selecting situation-based vocabulary in composing an English handbook 37

4.2.1 Choosing words: how many and which ones 37

4.2.2 Learning tools for new vocabulary 38

4.2.3 Selection of vocabulary for developing ESP materials 39

4.3 Post-development: The modifications of the handbook after reviewed 40

4.3.1 Evaluation of Language Experts 40

4.3.1.1 Strengths of the handbook 40

4.3.1.2 Weaknesses and modification of the handbook 41

4.3.2 Evaluation of Customs experts 44

4.3.2.1 Strengths of the handbook 44

4.3.2.2 Weaknesses and modification of the handbook 44

4.4 The English handbook for Customs officers in Northwest region 47

4.5 Discussion 48

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 50

5.1 Summary of the findings 50

5.2 Contribution of the research and ESP development implications 51

5.3 Limitations of the study and suggestions 51

REFERENCES 53

APPENDIXES 1

-Appendix 1: List of most common questions in Customs at Border gate - 1 -

Appendix 2: Observation field note - 26 -

Appendix 3: Questionnaires for reviewers - 27 -

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages ESP: English for Specific Purposes

EFL: English as Foreign Language

ESL: English as Second Language

GE: General English

L2: The second language

ULIS: University of Language and International Studies

VNU: Vietnam National University

1

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

This initial chapter states the research problem and rationale of the study Aims and objectives of this research are also highlighted together with the three research questions, and then the significance and scope of the study are introduced Lastly, it provides the organization of the study in order to guide readers into the right track of the paper

1.1 The rationale of the study

1.1.1 Northwest Program

Northwest Program or Tay Bac Program is a state-level key science and technology program in the 2013 – 2018 period titled "Science and Technology for the Sustainable Development of the Northwest Region" (called in short as the Northwest Program) This program, targeted at Northern midland and mountainous provinces in Bắc Kạn province, involved multiple stakeholders including the Bắc Kạn provincial People’s Committee, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education and Training in coordination with VNU

The Northern midland and mountainous region has great potential and tremendous advantages for development, but also has to confront with difficulties and challenges

in development realities Along with many target programs, the investment projects of economic, social, cultural and educational development for the Northwest, on 28th June 2013, implementing the directive of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Science and Technology signed Decision No 1746/QD-BKHCN on approval of the goals, content and expected product of the Northwest Program VNU was assigned to be in charge of the program and former VNU President Phùng Xuân Nhạ is the Chairman of the program

The Northwest Program is the concretization of the strategic policy of the Vietnamese Party and State: considering Science & Technology as the primary national policy to promote to the highest degree the intellectual resources and create an impetus for the

development of knowledge-based economy in the Northwest region of Vietnam By solving issues in the development realities of the region and of each locality, the program hopes to raise production capacity and competitiveness, promote the advantages, resources and potential, to create an impetus for the raising of overall growth level of the region and bring about the practical benefits to the community of ethnic minority groups living in the Northwest provinces, contributing to ensuring the national defense and security

1.1.2 The role of English in Customs at the border gate

English has been acknowledged by most countries in the world as an international language Consequently, English has to be used in international communication both orally and in written communication, for general as well as specific needs English’s role in the early development of modern technology has cemented its global importance In the context of rapid economic globalisation, Vietnam is now conducting international business with countries across the world As a result, English

is increasingly used as a lingua franca by Vietnamese people for foreign interactions and communication

The challenge of communicating at border gates is to create cohesion between culturally distinct workforces English, often considered a relatively neutral language, acts as a bridge that connects people across countries and cultures, providing a pathway for innovation As a result, English has been chosen as an agent language among countries English has all the capabilities to facilitate the innovation economy because it allows individuals and companies and organizations around the world to communicate, and therefore collaborate toward a common vision or goal

1.1.3 The necessity to conduct a study of composing an English handbook for Customs Officers

In the context of international and regional integration and exchange, English communication for work has become an essential requirement for cadres and civil servants in various professions It is in places where there is a lot of trade and

interaction with foreigners Among them, the Northwest border customs is considered one of the places where cadres and civil servants have many opportunities to interact with foreigners coming from different countries Recognizing the importance of the English language as a tool of trade and exchange in the international environment, and

on the basis of practical needs of customs officers at the North West border gate, the team learn and develop a handbook of typical English words and situations in customs with the expectation of supporting the staff here in carrying out daily tasks, thereby improving the efficiency of work and bringing about Economic benefits for the North West area

Working at the border gate means the major working environment of Customs Officers is international English becomes an important communication instrument thanks to its globalization Vietnam has a long border shared with Chinese, the use of English as agent language can limit the superiority of Chinese and Chinese language users in communication

In addition, the number of travellers heading up into this part of the country is increasing annually, due to the long-awaited opening of the border crossing into Laos near Dien Bien Phu As a result, foreign language is one of the basic requirements imposed by employers in most of the industries, including the customs service In this regard, the Customs Officer administration required an English handbook aimed to improve the knowledge of this language for their employees

With the support of Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training and specialists from University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, as a

part of Northwest program, the project “An English handbook for Customs Officers”

has been conducted The target group consists of officers working Customs major in general and Tay Bac Customs Officer Department in particular for communication with tourists, enterprises and partners

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

The aim of the project is to develop an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) material necessary for the efficient fulfilment of duties in customs, as well as facilitate cross-border communication

To achieve this aim, the following objectives are established:

- To get an overview of the strategies and principles related to ESP materials development to select vocabulary for Customs Officers in composing specialized situations

- To conduct a needs analysis to identify the Customs officers’ working situation, the officers’ need

- To propose an appropriate English handbook with appropriate vocabulary for the target students based on the relevant theories and the need analysis

- To investigate the opinions of experts and customs officers towards selected vocabulary

The objectives can be summarized by three research questions below:

1 What are the process and the principles of choosing best-suited situation-based vocabulary in composing an English handbook for Customs Officers in Northwest region of Vietnam?

2 What is the need of Customs officers in Nortwest regions of Vietnam?

3 What are the opinions of the Linguistics experts and the Customs experts towards the vocabulary used in the handbook?

1.3 Research methodology

To achieve the above aims, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used in this study, including secondary data collection, semi-structured interview, and

questionnaires First, relevant literature, studies and available materials were reviewed

in order to get in-depth information Second, the most common Vietnamese situations

in Customs field were collected from a Customs Department A semi-structured interview was conducted to find out the needs of targeted Customs officers The first draft of the handbook was produced based on the analysis of their needs Both open-ended and close-ended questions were administered to Customs experts and officers to find out their opinions towards the vocabulary and situation used in the handbook The results of the questionnaires led to the next modifications of the handbook

1.4 Scope of the study

The focus of the study is on the situation-based vocabulary selected for the English handbook for Customs officers; Customs experts and officers’ opinions towards the vocabulary and the possible modifications for the handbook There have been a

certain number of issues that worth digged into, such as the effectiveness of the handbook or a suggested process for designing an ESP material for other majors

However, they are not in the scope of this thesis because of the time limitation and hoped to be investigated in another research

1.5 Significance of the thesis

The researcher hopes that the findings of the study would help to generate a list of useful vocabulary for Customs officers and figure out the difficulties ESP designers may encounter while developing ESP materials Practically speaking, the utilization of the selected vocabulary is hoped to improve working effectiveness of Customs officers in situations using English The writer also expects strategies for composing more practical English handbooks with integrated situation-based vocabulary which can maximize the use of the material The finding also benefits a large number of customs officers who desires to use the handbook for self-study

1.6 Organization of the thesis

The thesis is composed of five chapters in total Following this introductory chapter with some significant background issues concerning the current study is Chapter II in

which the theoretical framework for analyzing and interpreting the data collected for the study, in coordination with related studies, is covered In Chapter III, the research site, research subjects, research instruments, the process of the field work as well as the methods of data analysis are explained Then in Chapter IV, with the guide of the theoretical framework and research questions, the results of the study are displayed Finally, in Chapter V, the concluding chapter, the findings of the study drawn from the research are summarized for related future work will also be presented

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

The aim of this research is to develop situation-based vocabulary for Customs officers

in the Northwest region of Vietnam, the theoretical framework was used is completely based on ESP materials development This chapter is concerned with the review of a theoretical base to develop a framework in which the study operates As a way of start, I will first explore the two notions, ESP definition, principles in developing ESP and material evaluation Then, I will present an overview of vocabulary, situation-based vocabulary and process of selecting situation-based vocabulary Last but not least, previous studies on ESP development are mentioned

2.1 ESP materials development

This section discusses the issues related to the ESP materials development All the ESP developers should take the following terms under consideration:

- What is ESP?

- What are the issues to consider in developing the ESP materials?

- What are the techniques used for material evaluation?

The reviewed term will set light on the way we conduct the research in composing a handbook for Customs Officers in Northwest regions of Vietnam ESP can be defined

as teaching and learning English as a second or foreign language for the purpose of using it in a particular domain

2.1.1 Definition of ESP

ESP has become a separated part of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) since 1960s owing the fact that English has become the contemporary lingua franca The growing demand for English as a medium of communication and the introduction

of governmental mass educational programs contributed to the rapid expansion of ESP

There have been a number of ESP definitions, “situations where the student has some specific reasons to learn a language” in the opinion of Harmer (1983, p.45) or “an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and methods are based on the learner’s reason for learning” by Hutchinson et al (1987, p.89) The same

idea is stated by Strevens in The Learner and the Teacher of ESP that “ESP is

particular case of general category of special-purpose language training.” (1988, p.132)

Ten years later, Dudley-Evans and St John (1998, p.1) state that “the main concerns of ESP have always been, and remain, with needs analysis, text analysis, and preparing learners to communicate effectively in the tasks prescribed by their study or work situation” They classify ESP into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) and claim these distinctions are very important as they will affect the degree of specificity that is appropriate to the course

As specified by Kim (2008, p.76), in more recent times, the following characteristics

of EOP have emerged: i) There is a clear purpose (e.g., business skills for presentations in English, business letter writing, etc.); ii) It addresses needs in proficiency, as revealed by a needs analysis, of workplace needs; iii) It tantamounts to responding to, and satisfying, educational needs; iv) The relevant vocabulary and expressions related to their workplace; and, v) It is more suited to immediate needs, and serves more practical purposes than GE in the workplace Those are the features that are adopted in this research as it draws an overview about EOP/ESP materials that are being developed

2.1.2 Principles and procedures of developing ESP materials

Given the characteristics of developed materials, design processes are always divided into steps and phases in order to make sure that checks and tests are carried out at the appropriate time to avoid any lengthy and costly time consuming modifications at the end ESP development involves the following three stages: pre-development, while-development and post-development Analyzing learners’ specific needs and evaluating the relevant existing materials is the first and foremost steps Then several

important factors need to be considered in the development process After finishing, developers also need to get a full understanding of the feedback from the materials users and experts

2.1.2.1 Pre-development: Needs analysis

According to Cunningsworth (2002), what makes ESP different from GE is that ESP is goal-oriented and based on the awareness of learners‘ needs Thus, identifying what learners need has a significant influence on the development of appropriate ESP materials

Since the begining stages of ESP (the 1960s and early 1970), needs analysis have consisted in assessing the communicative needs of the learners and the techniques of achieving specific teaching objectives Nowadays, the tasks of needs analysis is much more complex According to Angouri (2010), ESP seeks a congruent approach to provide learners with both content of the specialist and the linguistic knowledge to develope communicative skills necessary for work-related communication ESP has been defined as “viewing learners in terms of their work or study roles, not personal needs or general interest” (Basturkmen, 2010, p 3) The value of ESP and other content-related language teaching is that they are context specific and marry specific workplace needs with language learning This is important because “the linguistic proficiency in everyday settings is incommensurably different from the linguistic proficiency in classroom settings, even in classrooms that purport to be communicatively oriented” (van Lier, 2002, p 145) ESP prepares learners to be able

to use English in academic, professional or workplace settings (Mohammadi & Mouasvi, 2013)

For Robinson (1991), needs analysis may be a combination of both the target situation analysis (TSA) and present situation analysis (PSA) TSA aims at students‘ needs at the end of the course while PSA focuses on students‘ strengths and weaknesses at the start of the course Two divisions of need, target needs and learning needs, are also identified by Hutchinson & Waters (1987) Target needs are analyzed in terms of (i) what the learner has to know in order to

function effectively in the target situation, (ii) the gap between learners‘ existing proficiency and target proficiency, and (iii) learners‘ view as to what their needs are However, consideration of target situation needs alone is not enough since the target situation is not reliable in terms of what is needed or useful in the ESP learning context

Only after analyzing the students’ needs and determining the objectives of the language course, we can select a material that meets the needs of the students Therfore, needs analysis is the foundation on which we can develop materials that can lead to increasing the language users’ motivation and success Because ESP materials are based on needs analysis, the objectives are more obvious than would be in the case

of general ESL ones and it can be assumed that students will be more highly motivated in learning about topics and texts which are related to their study or work areas So, needs analysis and material evaluation are tighted together so that needs analysis determine the needs for a defined group of people and evaluation helps the ESP designers determine to what extent those materials meet the learners’ needs| (Stern, 1992, p.82)

In 1987, Hutchinson and Waters created a framework concerning the relevant information that a course designer needs to gather from an analysis of target needs and learning needs Hutchinson and Waters (1987) believed that asking question is a pathway to receive the assessment of target situation needs and learning needs What the learners have to do in the target situation (language use) are target situation needs, while language learning is how people study the language Below is the list of the target situation analysis framework:

- Why is the language needed?

- How will the language be used?

- What will the content areas be?

- Who will the learner use the language with?

- Where will the language be used?

- When will the language be used?

2.1.2.2 While-development: Developed content and Real content

Dudley-Evan & St John (2009) highlight that matching between developed content and real content should be taken into consideration in the process of preparing new materials Developed content can be defined as the subject matter used to teach the specific language whereas real content refers to the language or skill content of a language practice The former is usually found in ESP textbook or documents whereas the latter is the language tool used in real-life situations It would be considered to be a qualified material if those two are as similar as possible so that the language learners can apply what they have learned into their daily use and make the language knowledge their own Due to that relationship, Dudley-Evans & St

John then propose two possibilities in preparing new materials with the two types of content as shown in the graph below:

Process for Preparing New Materials

Starting point A

have some developed content

determine its real content

match real and developed

content to course framework

Starting point B

need material for specific objective

search for suitable developed content

Figure 1: Process for preparing new materials (Dudley-Evans & St John, 2009, p 177)

The first possible starting point is to have good developed content The next stage involves analyzing it to decide on the real content and think about how the real content can fit in The second possibility starts from where there is a need for some materials to reach the specific course objectives but there is no suitable one at first, so searching for the suitable developed content is necessary

Moreover, the ESP developers should pay careful attention to the clarity, conciseness and explicitness of the materials structure ESP materials should go with clear instruction and guideline so that users can use them for their self-study as well As recent research has shown (Frydrychova Klimova & Poulova, 2013), the ESP materials should be as follows:

 ESP materials should have a clear, concise, logical and simple structure (information in bullets is preferred)

 The materials should be comprehensible and up-to-date

 They should be easily navigated

 They should be interactive with appropriate multimedia components

Another factor in developing materials is the level of authenticity of the material itself designers should consider using real life, authentic materials that reflect the target audience specialization (Abudhahir, Mahdun and Md Nor, 2014) This will help language users who are weak in the English Language to at least comprehend reading text for example due to the background knowledge that they have Hence ESP materials should attach context in it, which is integrated with their field of study so that the background knowledge that they have will help them in understanding terms and jargons easily By using real life materials, users will be happy and will feel at ease when they are learning because they are familiar and comfortable with the materials

2.1.2.3 Post-development: On-going Evaluation

As stated by Mo (2003), last but not least, evaluation is a process of measuring which can help material designers work out the unsatisfactory features of the material and conduct on-going amendment Accomplishment of writing the material is not supposed to be the end Feedback from experts and users can also help writers of ESP materials with valuable ideas and useful information for continuous improvement

2.1.3 ESP materials evaluation

Evaluation plays a very essential role in the development of materials As stated by Tomlinson (1998, p.3), materials evaluation is defined as “a systematic appraisal of the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of learners using them” The major participants of evaluating stages are material users, experts and the developers themselves A lot of technique are used to evaluate materials as mentioned below:

- Questionnaires: the most popular methods of data collection that can collects comments on wide range of issues

- Interviews: take in-depth information on specific questions and provide the opportunity for extended exploration but time-consuming

- Observation: specialized work that can focus on specific aspect but requires careful preparation

- Document analysis: requires valuable sources

Under the circumstance of this study, the researcher applied the most appropriate method that suits the particular situation, that is questionnaires to evaluate the ESP outcome product

2.2 Situation-based vocabulary

The English handbook for Customs officers in Northwest of Vietnam consists of two main parts, which are situations and vocabulary This section discusses the selection process of choosing words in each situation that can facilitate the Customs officers in their real-life situations To set a basement for the process, the following questions need to be answered:

- What is the importance of vocabulary in using English?

- What are the characteristics of situation-based vocabulary?

- What are the process of choosing vocabulary for each situation?

2.2.1 The importance of vocabulary in ESP teaching and learning

Vocabulary is an element that draws a huge attention from many linguistics and language teachers As claimed by Jenkins and Dixon (1983), vocabulary is a core component of language and provides much of the basis for how learners speak, listen, read and write As claimed by Gardener (2009, as cited in Adger, 2002), vocabulary is not only confined to the meaning of words but also includes how vocabulary in a language is structured: how people use and store words and how they learn words and the relationship between words, phrases, categories of words and phrases

Undoubtedly, words do possess power that links fours skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing all together In order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately The power of words comes from the message they convey and when one wants to learn a language, learning vocabulary of that particular language is essential With its importance, both academic vocabulary and semi-technical vocabulary should be given priority in teaching by ESP teachers because, according to Dudley-Evans and St John (1998, p.83), this type of vocabulary is used in general life contexts but also has a higher frequency of occurrence in scientific and technical descriptions and discussions

As a consequence, in order to better the language proficiency of the Customs officers, enhancing their English vocabulary, both academic and semi-technical vocabulary, is

a must, especially words relating to their specific purposes in using the language Each type of the vocabulary plays different roles in different situations it is used in

definite features recognizable by all the users of a language In contrast, open situation

is virtually unlimited, lacks pre-established organization, and varies from individual to individual Within closed situations one detects a further dichotomy between positioned and unpositioned frames In preparing vocabulary for situation-based teaching, it is proper not only to organize subjective "open" situations according to age and interest, but also to take advantage of the fact of closed situations in language learning

Situation-based vocabulary is to simulate the real communication environment, So that the ESP users learn to use the new vocabulary, reproduction of the text in the plot, the maximum reduction of the text of the scene Traditional classroom teaching methods to a certain extent, it is difficult to stimulate students interest in learning English, but let students feel that learning is a boring process (Nation, 1990) Therefore, to help students in a short time to remember a large number of words Situation-based teaching method will be a series of words in a scenario, which

is for language users to learn a memory clue These memory clues are not boring, abstract, but interesting, vivid Through these memory trails, students are provided with a memory strategy to convey the contents of short-term memory to long-term memory In this research, situation is not only a set of scenario for Customs officers to

“read out loud” when it comes to reality, but it also is a way to help the officers to learn new English vocabulary

2.2.3 Strategies and principles of selecting situation-based vocabulary in

developing ESP materials

After choosing situations to introduce the vocabulary, approaches to the content are taken under consideration According to Romiszowksi (1986), there are three basic approaches to planning content, which are: (1) topic-orientated, (2) concept-orientated

and (3) task- or objective-orientated In the topic-orientated approach to content, the

topic is the first priority First, it is broken down into components or associated topics Most teachers find this method fairly easy to apply since it is so widely used in

sub-education On the other hand, concept-orientated approach is similar to the

topic-orientated one, but focuses on concepts rather than topics It is an approach that can

work well in concept-rich subjects (such as the sciences), but is difficult to apply to

subjects where the content is more open (e.g., tourism) Task- or objective-orientated

approach starts from the overall achievement that you wish your students to have and then break it down into learning objectives It then breaks down into its skills and knowledge components and the pre-requisite knowledge that the designer will assume when writing the materials Based on the need analysis and the characteristics of the material users, in this study, we choose topic oriented and objective oriented to choose the vocabulary in composing the handbook

2.2.3.1 Choosing words: how many and which ones

The needs of learners are in the center of all kinds of teaching, including vocabulary teaching Beginning to plan one’s vocabulary introduction, a language material developer evaluates how many words learners need in order to be able to use the target language in situations that they are likely to confront The situations most L2 learners are likely to encounter are usually not as diverse as those of a native speaker (Schmitt 2002), so it is not a necessity to learn as many words as a native speaker (Laufer & Nation, 2012) Most learners do not necessarily need as large a vocabulary But the more complex the subjects of conversations, texts and situations are, the more vocabulary the learner needs Many second language learners aim at being able to communicate in the target language and to read some authentic texts In second language learning, it has been estimated that the so called core vocabulary or threshold level for being able to operate in daily conversations is about 2,000-3,000 words (Thornbury 2007, Milton 2009, Schmitt 2002) Many studies suggest that learning the 2,000 or so most frequent words should be the centre of vocabulary teaching because they accumulate the learning of other words (Nation 2011, p.5)

In teaching and learning ESP vocabulary, it is essential to distinguish between different types of vocabulary because different types of vocabulary need different focus and treatment or some types of vocabulary will be given priorities and emphases

in teaching and learning according to learners’ different aims of learning There are several categories to classify vocabulary:

1) High-frequency words include many content words

2) Academic words include many words that are common in various kinds of

academic texts

3) Technical words are closely related to the topic and subject area in the text

4) Low-Frequency words include words like quarantine, phytosanitary,

automatated, tariff

2.2.3.2 Learning tools for new vocabulary

As stated by Nakata (2008), the two most common ways to present vocabulary are flashcards and wordlists beside puzzle, worksheet, and so on However, because of the level of feasibility and convenience, this project choose wordlist as the main way to elicit the vocabulary from the situations

The effectiveness of vocabulary lists has been proved by so many (Millington and Siegel, 2010; Sokmen, 1997; Schmitt and Schmitt, 2012) and several benefits have been ascribed to the use of vocabulary lists Millington and Siegel (2010) states, “the creation of vocabulary lists should be taken as an important duty that can have profound implications, assuming that students will invest time and effort attempting to acquire these lexical items, in addition to being evaluated on vocabulary tests” and they will probably acquire more knowledge about the target words since they spend considerable time engaged with new vocabulary

One of the problems with making use of a word list is that some learners focus solely

on working with the list alphabetically and they might not find the words in context in materials they are reading (Coxhead, 2011) Another problem that might arise is that students may never practice the words in any meaningful way if they focus only on the spelling and meaning of words, but not on using the words themselves in speaking and writing (Coxhead, 2011) Therefore, in order to get the real benefit from the wordlists, the material developers need to make sure that they provide users “frequent encounters with the words being taught” since it is crucial to vocabulary acquisition (Watts, 1995) As Stahl and Fairbanks (1986) suggest, when students are exposed to

the same words many times, the result will be a higher degree of learning, an increased ability to remember and use the word

Having considered all these, the study described in this paper use the situation-based wordlist to enhance the participants’ vocabulary knowledge as well as their attitudes toward the selected vocabulary

2.2.3.3 Selection of vocabulary for developing ESP materials

Preparing the vocabulary component for the handbook, the material designers should have the basic words to refer to and ‘they need to judge whether a particular word deserves attention or not’ (Nation, Warring, 1997) Given description of word lists suggest that large vocabulary word lists as the major source of vocabulary learning are preferable in the teaching and learning of the English vocabulary

2.2.3.3.1 Word lists at an early stage

According to GSL (West, 1953), UWL (University Word List) (Xue and Nation, 1984) and AWL (Academic Word List) (Coxhead, 1998), word lists contribute great help because they are derived from different corpora developed from millions of words They are high utility general academic words profitable to ESP learners Word lists show that they can not only help ESP materials developer to select those words worth attention and introducing but also enable learners to have a systematic study of specific words they need for specific purposes

2.2.3.3.2 Awareness of criteria in selection

Although the benefits of wordlist are undeniable, some criteria should be taken into account when words are selected for designing the material

Firstly, the word lists must contain words that are representative of the varieties of words they are intended to reflect For example, if we are to present vocabulary of Customs, we must first make sure that the word list we select should be based on the corpora with real situation data which show the representativeness of the words to be listed or learned

Secondly, the words selected should occur across a range of different situations The occurrence of a word in a wide range of circumstances will be beneficial to learners who major in different areas for specialized purposes

Thirdly, special concern should be shown to some vocabulary items with multi¬units whose meaning are not deducible from the meaning of the individual words

2.2.3.3.3 The use of concordances

The use of concordances in selecting words is a good way to promote vocabulary learning because of the following advantages Learners can meet the vocabulary in real contexts with a variety of aspects of knowing a word including collocates, grammatical patterns, word family members, related meanings and homonyms presented The use of concordances can challenge the learners to actively construct generalizations, note-patterns and exceptions’ ( Nation, 2001, p.111)

In composing a material for Customs officers, the designers have to be aware that the officers need to learn what specialist words mean, how they are used and how they are pronounced The choice of words in communication depends on the style and register used in a certain context, for example, Customs officer use different registers when talking to a entrepreneurs and when talking to officers from different countries

2.3 Related Studies on ESP material development for Customs Officers

To investigate areas in which ESP materials for Customs officers has been developed, the researcher has reviewed a number of relevant studies conducted in different parts

of the world and at different times

The need of ESP materials for Customs officers are worldwide recognized, which are shown in the following studies and documents Park (2015) conducted a research on needs analysis of English for Korean naval officers for English courses offered at the educational institutions of the Korean navy A comprehensive survey and interviews were conducted to identify the target situations and tasks for which Korean naval officers must use English Also investigated were their wants for the English courses

and their perceptions of their own use of English Fourteen Korean naval officers were then interviewed, and a survey of 64 Korean naval officers was administered A survey of three U.S naval officers was also administered to achieve triangulation of the data The research outcome states that none of them can avoid the use of English

in every situation, and that a naval officer’s sufficient command of English is an advantage not only to the individual officer but also to the Korean navy in many situations

This demand is also acknowledged in Thailand’s context, which is stated in “Needs and problems analysis in using English for international trade: a survey of Thai customs officers” The purpose of this study was to investigate the needs, problems and remedies of English for international trade of Thai customs officers regarding their English The study was conducted by means of questionnaires The research was limited to a sample of 100 Customs Technical Officers in Practitioner Level and Professional Level who worked at Suvarnabhumi Airport Cargo Clearance Customs Bureau This study indicates that reading international trade documents is the most necessary English usages of the officers The main barrier to the officers fỏ every skill

is the problem of lexis, that is vocabularies, slangs, idioms, choices of word and technical terms

Nguyen (2017), in her Ph D dissertation – “Aligning English for specific purposes (esp) curriculum with industry needs: language practices for Vietnam’s globalized workplaces” also investigated the language resources needed for communication in a large multinational import/export company and a customs office in an international airport in Vietnam The study was focused on the English language demands of the workplaces and the levels of the alignment with associated ESP courses To explore the communicative practices used in the two workplaces, the researcher employed methods of observations, semi -structured interviews, and document collection to collect data The findings showed how the workers’ mobile language repertoire was not tied to the criterion of linguistic accuracy, but rather favored the achievement of meanings and functions

To meet the demand of the ESP materials in Customs services, there have been numerous English handbooks for border guards all over the world that have been

developed One of them is “ESP - English for customs officers” composed by Arčnik

(2000) focuses on the use of English for specific purposes - English for custom officers The author intended to present material designed for English courses for customs officers and to stress the special needs required for designing these specialized courses and material The material was designed with authentic texts, a selection of specialist language (terminology and content), and exercise structures

In 2007, The Peacekeeping English Project of British government released a book named “Professional English for Border Officials” by Vaik and Buckmaster The book aims at improving the English language communication skills of the police and armed forces, and so improve international co-operation in 24 countries in central and eastern Europe and Central Asia The main approach of the book is guiding users to self-learn with authentic texts, exercises, mini-dictionary and assessment sheets Nevertheless, the book is written entirely in English, which can be an obstacle for those with low English proficiency

In 2011, Stepanovienė has design an English handbook which is a supplementary material English for Border Guards in Lithuanian The 66-page book was specially designed for the students of Law and State Border Guard and law enforcement officers as well as for other specialists and practitioners interested in this subject The author states that it can be used for classroom activities as well as for individual/distance learning It covers five units on different topics prepared on the basis of original texts and accompanied by specially designed tasks aimed at developing students’ reading, writing and speaking skills, outlines for spoken practice, extra materials and tasks for individual work and a list of bibliography The supplementary material is aimed at developing students’ understanding of the key features of law enforcement language, developing their awareness of different types of border law and law enforcement language discourse, as well as developing reading, writing and communicative skills based on target language

There is also an English book for Customs composed by Lobachevsky (2016), which consists of collection of texts for reading and tasks in the English language for students of the Institute of Economics and Entrepreneurship, students of the specialty Customs The book is a set of topic-oriented lessons of five most common topic used

in Customs in Russia The main purpose of the proposed manual is the provision of practical assistance to persons studying vocational-oriented English, which includes systematically repeating vocabulary on topics and actively using various communicative techniques However, the book mainly focuses on helping the users to learn English through the main texts on a specific subject of customs, and textual lexical and grammatical exercises accompanied by a translation into Russian

After recognizing the need of ESP materials for Customs officers, the process of ESP materials developments is taken under the consideration Mo (2013) stated that ESP material writers in China are ESP teachers who may have rich experience in teaching ESP but not have been trained for developing ESP materials They are either specialty majors with little knowledge of ESP theories and methodology or English majors with little background of particular subject areas, with the result that the production of ESP materials is unlikely to suit the target learners’ needs It is noteworthy that many ESP materials are produced on the basis of the writers’ assumption rather than the analysis

of learners’ real needs and expectations In compiling the ESP materials, many writers focus much on language usage instead of language in use (Chen, 2004; Liang, Chen & Lu, 2006; Wang, 2004)

In 2006, Cai, in his research: Problems and solutions (2006), gave out the conclusion that ESP material development problems in Chinese universities lie in the lack of theoretical guidance among ESP material writers after the evaluation of 268 nationally published Business English course books She further argues that the majority of business English course books investigated fail to demonstrate the theoretical principle their books are based upon

To meet the demand of Customs officers, the General Department of Vietnam Customs, composed a training material of English for Customs as an English course

book for students in Vietnam Customs School (Tran et al., 2017) The book consists

of 18 Units divided into 3 main parts: i) Trade Related Documents; ii) Customs Procedures and Facilitation, iii) Enforcement and Compliance Each unit includes extensive reading about different topic in Customs There is a glossary with Vietnamese equivalents after each reading and problem-solving tasks at the end of each unit The book is designed for English specialized students in internal circulation

of the department so the instructions and tasks were entirely written in English Hence, the book users need instructor’ guidance to properly use the book

After investigating multiple ESP materials in Customs, the researcher realized that there are none English books designed for Customs officers to self-study Most of the studies either have focused on class-based tasks, or they aim at different country which means they haven’t had Vietnamese equivalents Hence, they demand a high English proficiency to use More notably, the available literature does not help to fully understand the various aspects of Customs officers’ needs in their workplaces in Vietnam For that reason, none of these studies offer sufficient reliability of the research findings Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a specific needs analysis in order to gain more practical and reliable information about Customs officers’ needs for English, especially in the context of Vietnam mountainous border area The findings of this needs analysis would also give useful implications for selecting situation and situation-based vocabulary in composing an English handbook for Customs officers to self-study in Northwest region of Vietnam

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

In the preceding chapter, the literature on the research topic was briefly reviewed for the theoretical basis of the study This chapter describes in detail the methodology applied in conducting this research, including the research method, the research subjects, as well as the procedures of data collection and analysis

3.1 Research questions

1 What are the process and the principles of choosing best-suited situation-based vocabulary in composing an English handbook for Customs Officers in Northwest region of Vietnam?

2 What is the need of Customs officers in Nortwest regions of Vietnam?

3 What are the opinions of the Linguistics experts and the Customs experts towards the vocabulary used in the handbook?

3.2 Research Design

To formulate the research design for this study, careful consideration was given to the five major research purposes adapted from Johnson and Christense (2004), namely: exploration, description, explanation, prediction, influence Considering the three objects of the study, it was determined that the exploration and description were the primary nature of the study This exploratory and descriptive nature demand the use of combined data collection methods, which can investigate not only the breadth but also the depth of the strategies and procedures related to situation-based vocabulary selection in composing an English handbook for Customs officers in the Northwest region of Vietnam

 Exploration: using primarily inductive methods to explore a concept, construct, phenomenon or situation in order to develop tentative hypotheses or generalization;

 Description: identifying and describing the antecedents, nature and aetiology of

a phenomenon;

It was apparent that a single method could hardly answer the three research questions above to achieve the study pre-designed objectives Therefore, a mixed methods approach was employed, which included both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods

In the process of collecting and analyzing data, quantitative research could be constructed as a research strategy with an emphasis on quantification This strategy entails a deductive approach to the theory-research relationship with a focus on theory testing By contrast, qualitative research emphasis on words instead of numbers The former can facilitate comparison and statistical aggregation of the data while the later can produce rich data and detailed information about a small number of people and cases, and therefore increase the depth of the cases and situations studied (Patton,

2002, p.14)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of composing an English handbook for Customs officers, from analyzing their needs, creating stimulated situations to selecting best-suited vocabulary; therefore, it is a descriptive, exploratory study and the methods used were both qualitative and quantitative Four data collection instruments were used to achieve the triangulation (Creswell, 2002) This research strategy would help to “give a fuller picture and address many different aspects of phenomena” (Silverman, 2000, p.50)

Following is the description of the research context, sample or subjects or participants, instrumentation, data collection process or procedure, and data analysis of the study

3.3 Research Context

Northwest region located in the mountainous northwestern part of the country It consists of six provinces: Điện Biên, Lai Châu, Sơn La, Hòa Bình, Lào Cai and Yên Bái and shares the border with Laos and China In the general border of Vietnam, it can be said that the North West is the most difficult area This region converges all

three elements: mountainous, highland and border Border trade in the North West is considerably important to Vietnam’s economy because the mountainous provinces in this region occupy a large area with potential and advantages of agriculture, forestry, hydropower, minerals, tourism and border gate economy

The study was conducted in Customs Branch of a border gate in North West area which is the target of the Tay Bac Program Located in Lai Chau province - a mountainous provice sharing the border line with Yunnan (China), Ma Thu Lang Border Gate is one of the main border gates between Vietnam and China According

to the People’s Committee of Lai Chau Province, Lai Chau Province is bordering with and is 9,068 square kilometres with 265.095 km border

After 10 years of establishment, the province has the attention and support from the government, thus the infrastructure of the economic zone of Ma Lu Thang has been upgraded to meet the demand for export and import and trading of businesses and local people Besides, the manpower factor is now taken under consideration and Tay Bac Program was born to help improve the officers working along the border The subject of the study is Customs Branch in Ma Lu Thang border gate where five Customs officers are working in four fields: border guard station, customs office, quarantine board and border gate economic department that are divided into the following fields:

1 Border: human management

2 Customs sub-department: goods management and people on exit and entry

3 Quarantine board: quarantine goods, animals, food

4 The border-gate economic section: to collect means of transport

In four rooms: Registration, Tax, Inspection and Supervision

1 Registration: Receipt of applications to open the declaration

2 Taxes: tax on import and export goods

3 Inspection: inspection of goods

4 Supervision: supervision of the inspection and the lead

3.4 Description of the informants

The target handbook users were pre-experience learners who were senior college students of Customs Schools or Departments in Vietnam They had definite subject knowledge as they had learned Customs subjects in Vietnamese for three to four years From the first year to the last year they had a compulsory general English course To become a Vietnam government officer, the majority had achieved A2 level

in CEFR, which means that their English was at the pre-intermediate level They can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment) They also can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matter

or describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need

3.5 Data collection instruments

3.5.1 Document review

The first instrument was document review, often used in combination with other qualitative research methods as a means of triangulation - “the combination of methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon” (Denzin, 1970, p 291) As a research method, document analysis is particularly applicable to qualitative case studies - intensive studies producing rich descriptions of a single phenomenon, event, organization, or program (Stake, 1995; Yin, 1994) Documents can serve a variety of purposes as part of a research undertaking Firstly, documents can provide data on the context within which research participants operate so the researcher can use data drawn from documents, for example, to contextualize data collected during interviews Secondly, information contained in documents can suggest some questions that need to be asked and situations that need to be observed as part of the research

Document analysis helped generate new interview questions, and participant observation at community events provided opportunities to collect documents (Goldstein & Reiboldt, 2004, p 246) Third, documents provide supplementary research data Fourth, documents provide a means of tracking change and development Where various drafts of a particular document are accessible, the researcher can compare them to identify the changes, as stated by Atkinson and Coffey (1997, 2004) In sum, documents provide background and context, additional questions to be asked, supplementary data, a means of tracking change and development, and verification of findings

In this study, documents review was used to investigate the topics and situations Customs officers in Northwest region may encounter in their daily workplace Then it established the foundation for the interview questions and choosing the best-suited vocabulary to present and how to present in each field Finally, it is the reflection for the author to make any further modifications for the list of vocabulary

3.5.2 Observation

Observation is considered an instrument to collect factual information since it gives researchers opportunity to “observe actions/interactions, behaviors and listen to the conversations while simultaneously observing the context” (Bloor, & Wood, 2006, p.71) In this study, I will play the role of a privileged observer who “has access to the cultural scene and events under study but does not act as a participant” (Jackson,

2000, p.245) In order to get “a spontaneous picture” of the participants’ “naturalness and completeness of behavior”, “non-controlled observation” in which “no attempt is made to use precision instruments” (Kothari, 2004, p.97) was used The observations conducted were non-obtrusive because it gave officers opportunity to act as naturally

as they could and the presence of the researcher did not affect the officers’ activities The focus of the observations is only on five chosen officers This instrument is certain to increase the validity of the findings because this instrument generates more objective data about how collected data is actually used The Customs department was informed in advanced regarding my presence and before the workday started I had asked for officers permission to take note during the observation

3.5.4 Questionnaires

As questionnaires save time and effort for both researchers and participants, in this research, questionnaires for language experts and Vietnam Customs officers are employed as one of instruments for data collection Moreover, the anonymity of the respondents can encourage partcipants to share their honest opinions and experiences without any pressure The questionnaires will be delivered both through email and

directly to the participants because face-to-face questionnaire emerges as the best choice for us to explain any wondering and confusion for participants immediately

In this research, the questionnaire for Customs officers and language experts is designed to find out the information about their own perspective toward the handbook product and the role of selected vocabulary used in Customs situation Besides, they are also asked to give some suggested solutions to deal with these problems This was designed for two research, that is this research and another contemporaneous study The questionnaires began with a brief greeting, introduction of the research topic and

a request for personal information with a promise of confidentiality They were written in Vietnamese The questionnaire consisted of four open-ended questions regarding the participants’ perspective towards the handbook (section 1, 3, 4, 5) and

20 Likert-type scale questions (section 2) from 1 to 5 equivalent to “Strongly disagree”, “Disagree”, “Neither/nor agree”, “Agree” to “Strongly disagree”

 The first five questions asked for the participants’ preference about the format

of the handbook according to five categories namely logicality, consistency, clarity and user-friendly interface The answer contributed to the modifications

of the handbook’s format, a part of research question 3

 The next seven questions regarded the level of relevance and practicality whether the language experts and Customs officers think the handbook has met the demand of Customs officers in terms of vocabulary and related topics These questions are emphasized to seek the answers for all three research questions

 The following three questions concerning the attitude of the language reviewers

on the convenience of the product in use, which helps answer the second research questions

 The ensuing five questions belongs to the other research that was mentioned above

3.6 Data collection procedures

Phase 1: Preparation for the observations and interviews

In this phase, the researchers called for authentic source of document related to Customs field Everyone in the group searched for documents, collect communication situations related to border customs At the beginning of this stage, the authors started with some common processes at Customs workplace collected from Customs books written in Vietnamese and on Customs counselling websites More than 20 common border-gate customs situations were collected along with some procedures for customs clearance at border gates Then one of the officers in Northwest region sent a list of

300 questions commonly used in Customs, as a foundation for next steps: interviews and observation The authors conducted two meetings to finalized the topics and list of questions to ask in the interview One of the authors contacted the border gate customs regarding the required paperwork

Phase 2: Observations

After getting the chance to talk with the officers, the researchers come to Lai Chau Customs department to observe real-life situations Customs office The researcher observed the language of officers according to six criteria, namely

- Why is the language needed?

- How will the language be used?

- What will the content areas be?

- Who will the learner use the language with?

- Where will the language be used?

- When will the language be used?

To avoid influencing officers’ reactions during their working time, the observer sat at the back simply to take notes of the activities conducted during the work day