An evaluation of the ESP course for third-year students at Industrial Economics and Technology College. M.A Thesis Linguistics: 60 14 0

This study attempts to evaluate the Business and Economics course in the 4 aspects: Function of content, roles of the instructor, responsibilities for learning, and processes and purpose

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

ĐẶNG THỊ MINH HUỆ

AN EVALUATION OF THE ESP COURSE FOR THIRD-YEAR STUDENTS

AT INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE

Đánh giá một khóa học tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cho sinh viên năm 3 tại

trường Cao đẳng Công nghệ và Kinh tế Công nghiệp

M.A MINOR PROGAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

Hanoi, 2015

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

ĐẶNG THỊ MINH HUỆ

AN EVALUATION OF THE ESP COURSE FOR THIRD-YEAR STUDENTS

AT INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE

Đánh giá một khóa học tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cho sinh viên năm 3 tại

trường Cao đẳng Công nghệ và Kinh tế Công nghiệp

M.A MINOR PROGAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

SUPERVISOR: DƯƠNG THU MAI, PhD

Hanoi, 2015

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DECLARATION

I hereby certify that this thesis is entirely my own work I have provided fully documented references to the others' work The material in this thesis has not been submitted for assessment in any other formal course I also accept all the requirements of ULIS relating to the retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library

Thai Nguyen, September, 2014

Dang Thi Minh Hue

Secondly, many thanks also go to my classmates in K21- University of Languages

& International Studies- VNU, Hanoi for their support, and suggestions during the thesis

Thirdly, I am grateful to my colleagues and students at Accountancy Faculty at Industrial Economics and Technology College for their willingness to participate in the research without whose support I could not complete this project

Last but not least, a special note of appreciation goes to family who always supported me with their sympathy and encouragement to complete this study

Thai Nguyen, September 2014

Đặng Thị Minh Huệ

iii

ABSTRACT

Course evaluation in light of learner-centered teaching approach is found to be significantly important at Industrial Economics and Technology College where no evaluation of the ESP course has been conducted This study attempts to evaluate the Business and Economics course in the 4 aspects: Function of content, roles of the instructor, responsibilities for learning, and processes and purposes of assessment in the perspective of students and teachers To fulfill such objectives, the study employed the instruments of questionnaires and interviews administered for 80 students and 09 English teachers respectively The data collected from the questionnaires was analyzed in graphs, tables, charts meanwhile information collected from the interview was summarized interpretively After comparing the data collected from students and teachers, inferences were made regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the course The findings show that purposes and processes of assessment were done well, some parts in responsibilities for learning and roles of the instructor should be strengthened, content of the course should be reconsidered about amount of knowledge Finally, some recommendations for improving the course's effectiveness were introduced

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES viii

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Aims and objectives of the study 2

3 Research questions 3

4 Scope of the study 3

5 Methods of the study 3

6 Organization 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 6

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

1.1 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) 6

1.1.1 Definitions on English Specific Purposes 6

1.1.2 Characteristics of ESP courses 8

1.1.3 The approach in teaching ESP 9

1.2 Course evaluation 12

1.2.1 What is Course Evaluation? 12

1.2.2 The importance of course evaluation 13

1.2.3 The framework used for evaluation 14

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 22

2.1 The practical background of the study 22

2.1.1 Research site 22

2.1.2 ESP course 23

2.2 Participants 24

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2.2.1 Students 24

2.2.2 Teachers 24

2.3 Data collection 24

2.3.1 Data collection instrument 24

2.3.2 Data collection procedure 27

2.3.3 Data presentation and analysis procedure 28

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 30

3.1 Course evaluation in terms of learner-centeredness from the perspective of students 30

3.1.1 Function of content 30

3.1.2 Role of the teacher 32

3.1.3 Responsibility for learning 34

3.1.4 Purposes and processes of assessment 35

3.2 Course evaluation in terms of learner-centeredness from the perspective of teachers 37

3.2.1 Function of content 37

3.2.2 Role of the teacher 39

3.2.3 Responsibilities for learning 39

3.2.4 Purposes and processes of assessment 40

3.3 Discussion 41

3.3.1 Function of the content 41

3.3.2 Roles of the teacher 42

3.3.3 Responsibilities of the learner 44

3.3.4 Purposes and processes of assessment 45

PART C: CONCLUSION 47

1 Summary of findings and discussions 47

2 Recommendations 48

3 Limitations 50

4 Suggestions for further research 50

vi REFERENCES 51 APPENDICE I

vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ESP: English for Specific Purposes

IETC: Industrial Economics and Technology College

viii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Comparison of Teacher-learner teaching and Learner-centered teaching

on five key elements (Saulnier et al., 2008; Weimer, 2002)

Figure 3.1: Students' evaluation of the course's content

Figure 3.2: Student's evaluation of the teacher's role

Figure 3.3: Students' evaluation on their learning responsibility

Figure 3.4: Students' evaluation on the opportunities to develop self and peer assessment skills

Figure 3.5: Students' evaluation on enhancing their potential to promote learning by many assessments

Figure 3.6: Students' satisfaction about the course's content of the ESP course

Figure 3.7: Students' satisfaction about the role of teacher in the ESP course

Figure 3.8: Students' satisfaction about responsibilities for learning

Figure 3.9: Students' satisfaction about the purposes and processes of the assessment

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PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

With the globalization of trade and economy and the continuing increase of international communication in various fields, the demand for English for Specific Purpose is increasingly expanding, especially in universities and colleges where they desire to provide their students some line knowledge Then, English-teaching teachers are required to design ESP courses The core components of an ESP course include needs analysis, course goal and objectives; materials design and finally assessment and evaluation, which must be developed from the learner's targets, needs, abilities, situation,

Evaluation of an ESP course is especially important Evaluation is defined as "a whole process which begins with determining what information to gather and ends with bringing about change in current activities or influencing future ones" (Evans,

1998, p.128) Evaluation could be performed in any fields, any projects because it could help the insiders and outsiders understand how the thing is and give out improvement or innovation where it is needed It is essential in our daily life, in education also With learners, it is to judge, make comments on the teaching and learning activity to adjust their own learning Addition to that, "evaluation of the learners is unlikely to indicate exactly where a fault lies, but it will at least indicate the existence of a fault somewhere" (Hitchinson and Waters, 1987, p.145) With teachers, they need evaluation "because it can provide a wealth of information to use for the future direction of classroom practice, for the planning of the courses, and for the management of learning tasks and students" for to “confirm the validity

of the classroom practice” when any partial elements of the course are satisfactory and “form a basis” for changes when they are not" (Germaine et al., 1992)

Among many frameworks which could be used for course evaluation, this study used the learner-centered teaching approach which has been increasingly appreciated highly in education in Vietnam In addition, it is one of the most

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appropriate frameworks for evaluating an ESP course when with an ESP course, the core element is the learners who are "active participant in learning and co-constructors of knowledge" (Meece, 2003) In other words, in a learner-centered course, it is the learner who must be responsible for their learning, the instructor just acts as a mentor and an advisor to encourage students' participation in active learning Interactions between the instructor and their students facilitate the learning process through discovery, inquiry and problem solving (Law, 2007)

In the context of teaching English for Specific Purposes, the evaluation of a course

is significantly important at Industrial Economics and Technology College given the context described hereafter Every year, Industrial Economics and Technology College provides several ESP courses in the fields of accountant, finance and banking, mechanics, electricity, information technology for total of around 1,500 students before they leave the College The College does that to equip the necessary knowledge on their line areas in English so that they could be sufficiently confident

in their latter job To prepare for those courses, English-teaching teachers at the College decide the targets, purposes, develop their materials, design syllabus and create tests on their own without any guidance, instruction or framework from the higher management levels After teaching the course, there is no comment from their learners Their teaching is just evaluated by the test done by their students after learning rather than any other methods In other words, there has not had any evaluation on how the course is, how the content is, how students inquiry knowledge and skill for their future life, their coming job Therefore, an evaluation

of the ESP course for third-year students at Industrial Economics and Technology College under the guide of learner-centered teaching approach is important for the English-teaching teachers to have some improvement or renovation for their better training activities

2 Aims and objectives of the study

The study is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of the English for Economics and

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Business course To achieve this aim, the study tries to:

Evaluate the English for Economics and Business course towards learner-centered teaching approach in the perspective of students

Evaluate the English for Economics and Business course towards learner-centered teaching approach in the perspective of teachers

4 Scope of the study

The study was conducted with the assistance from non-English third-year students after they fulfilled two General English classes, English for communication purpose

at Industrial Economics and Technology College

Among several ESP courses conducted annually at Industrial Economics and Technology, only the course of English for Economics and Business was chosen for evaluation

The evaluation focuses on the learner-centeredness of the course of English for Economics and Business since it is one of the most appropriate approaches in teaching ESP and evaluation is done in only 4 aspects: the function of content, role

of teachers, responsibilities for learning, and purposes and processes of assessment

5 Methods of the study

In this study, different techniques were employed Firstly, an appropriate framework has been selected which is developed by Blumberg (2009) for the course evaluation Secondly, to achieve the aims, the qualitative and quantitative approach utilizing

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survey questionnaires and interview were used to collect the data The method used

in this study was summative evaluation In common, the data for the study could be obtained through the following instruments:

The questionnaire was delivered to 80 third-year students at Industrial Economics and Technology College to understand how they marked their learning in four aspects

The interviews were used to get the feedback from the 09 lecturers of the course with the same question items which were delivered in the questionnaire used for students but with deeper and additional information

After comparing the data collected from the questionnaires and interview, the study could provide teachers another view on the course from the perspective of students, and help them to infer the strengths and weaknesses of the course

6 Organization

The thesis is under the title: "The evaluation of the ESP course for third-year students at Industrial Economics and Technology College" The study will include 3 main parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion

The first part of Introduction is a brief overview of the study with more detail about rationale of the study, aims and objectives, research questions, scope, methods as well as the organization of the study

The second part of the Development includes 3 chapters Chapter 1 refers to literature review which provides the theoretical background for the study In this part, some important definitions of ESP, course, evaluation are mentioned with their characteristics, importance, and components respectively Importantly, the framework for the evaluation is introduced Meanwhile Chapter 2 deals with methodology utilized for the study including: participants, studying methods, data collection procedure and data analysis procedure The chapter 3 focuses on findings and discussion from the study In this chapter, evaluation's results of the course in

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

To provide a good theory background for the study, this part will focus on two main parts The first is English for Specific Purposes including its definitions, characteristics, and its components The second is course evaluation which consists

of definitions, importance of course evaluation and importantly, the framework used for evaluating an ESP course

1.1 English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

With the globalization of trade and economy and the continuing increase of international communication in various fields, the demand for English for Specific Purpose is increasingly expanding Johns & Dudley-Evans (2001, p.115) state that,

"the demand for English for specific purposes continues to increase and expand throughout the world" Coming back the past, it could be seen that English for Specific Purposes arose as a term in the 1960s as it became increasingly aware that General English courses frequently did not meet learners' and employers' wants Hutchinson and Waters (1987) gave three reasons for the emergence of ESP, the demands of a brave new world, a renovation in linguistics and a new focus on the learner From the outset, the term ESP was an issue of many arguments as to what exactly ESP?

1.1.1 Definitions on English Specific Purposes

To resolve argument what is and is not ESP, the division of ESP into absolute and variable characteristics was initially helpful The first person who defined ESP into absolute and variable characteristics is Strevens (1988) Streven's definition of ESP makes a distinction between 4 absolute characteristics and 2 variable ones Four absolute characteristics are (1) ESP is designed to meet specified needs of the

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learner; (2) it is related in content (this is in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupations and activities; (3) it is centered on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics and so on, and analysis of the discourse; and (4) it is in contrast with "General English" Two variable characteristics mention to: (1) it may be restricted as to the learning skills to be learned (for example reading only); and (2) it may not be taught according to any preordained methodology Those characteristics are then developed by Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) with 3 absolute characteristics and 4 variable ones Absolute characteristics are that (1) ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learner; (2) ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the disciplines it serves; (3) ESP is centered on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these activities Meanwhile 4 variable characteristics mention to (1) ESP may be related to or designed for specific discipline; (2) ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of General English; (3) ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation It could, however, be used for learners at secondary school level; and (4) ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students Most ESP courses assume basic knowledge of the language system but it can be used with beginner

Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.19) define ESP as an approach rather than a

product- meaning that ESP does not involve a particular kind of language, teaching

material or methodology The basic question of ESP is: Why does this learner need

to learn a foreign language? The purpose of learning English became to core ESP, therefore, "is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning"

Lorezo (2005, p.1) reminds us that ESP "concentrates more on language in context than on teaching grammar and language structures" He also points out that as ESP

is usually delivered to adult students, frequently in a work related setting, that

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motivation to learn is higher than in usual English as a Second Language contexts Carver (1983, p.134) believed that self-direction is important in the sense that an ESP course is concerned with turning learners into users of the language

In short, how ESP is defined, the core of ESP is the specific learner The learner's needs are analyzed before designing the ESP course, training objectives and the reasons for studying are set, methodologies are done based on the learner's reason for learning, In other words, it is a way of teaching/learning English for specific subjects with some specific vocational and educational purposes in mind Therefore, ESP is "as an approach rather than a product" (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987) For further understanding, the next part will focus on the characteristics of an ESP course

1.1.2 Characteristics of an ESP course

Characteristics of ESP courses could be also seen in the above definition of ESP by Dudley-Evans and St John with 3 absolute characteristics and 5 variable characteristics Absolute Characteristics mean that ESP meets specific learners' needs, uses "underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves" (Dudley- Evans and St John, 1998, p.4) and is centered on language appropriate to these activities in terms of "grammar, lexis, register, skills, discourse and genre" (p.5) Variable Characteristics mean that ESP may be designed for specific disciplines, may use "a different methodology from that of General English, is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level or in a professional work situation" (p.5) and assumes some "basic knowledge of the language system" (p.5) This movement has led to the production and the use of English courses aimed at specific disciplines; for example, English for Medicine, English for Engineering, English for Business, etc, Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.19) argue that "ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning"

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Carter (1983) states that there are three features common to ESP courses: authentic material, purpose-related orientation and self-direction If one accepts Dudley-Evans' (1997) claim that ESP should be offered at an intermediate or advanced level, then the use of authentic learning materials is entirely feasible Indeed, the use

of authentic content materials, modified or unmodified in form, is one feature of ESP, particularly in self-directed study and research tasks Meanwhile, purpose-related orientation refers to the simulation of communicative tasks required of the target setting A sample activity associated with purpose-related orientation might include simulation of a conference Students would read papers written by others, practice note-taking, prepare papers, practice networking with conference participants, etc Finally, self-direction is a characteristic of ESP courses in that the

" point of including self-direction is that ESP is concerned with turning learners into users" (Carver, 1983, p.134) In order for self-direction to occur, the learners must have a certain degree of freedom to decide when, what, and how they will study Facilitating this freedom might include teaching specific learning strategies related to the discipline or occupation as "there must be a systematic attempt by teachers to teach the learners how to learn by teaching them about learning strategies." (Carver, 1983)

Understanding the characteristics of the ESP course is very necessary with the English-teaching teachers because out of being as a General English teacher, the ESP teacher must work as a collaborator, a course designer and materials provider,

a researcher and an evaluator The role of an ESP teacher could be seen more clearly in the next part: components of an ESP course

1.1.3 Components of an ESP course

In general, ESP course also has its same components of a General English course including objectives of the course, teaching methods, training materials, syllabus, content, assessment, but they are also various when ESP is a relatively new discipline within Applied linguistics that employs a new learner-centered approach

to English language teaching whose methodology is based on the specific needs of

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the learner Kennedy and Bilitho (1984, p.3) point out that ESP is based on "an investigation of the purposes of the learner and the set of communicative needs arising from those purposes" Therefore, needs analysis is a requirement for an ESP course

Needs analysis

Needs analysis and needs assessment are often used interchangeably Some authors claims that "assessment involves obtaining data whereas analysis involves assigning value to those data" (Grave, 1996, p.12) Need analysis involves the assessment of the needs for which the learners require language In designing an ESP course, it is imperative to carry out a need analysis to determine the specific reasons for learning the language (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) According to Nunan, "Techniques and procedures for collecting information to be used in syllabus design are referred to as

a need analysis" (Nunan, 1988, p.13) Therefore, investigation of the needs analysis

or needs assessment is vital in an ESP course when it is usually followed by syllabus design, selection of course materials, teaching/learning a course and its evaluation

Aims and objectives

Aims and objectives are generally regarded as important because without aims to provide direction, it is possible to be lost in the attempt to satisfy a range of short-term objectives After needs analysis is done, aims and objectives of the course are set to develop the skills and knowledge for the learners

Material

After analyzing learner needs and setting objectives for the course, the ESP teacher has to select materials that will help students to achieve the course objectives (Ellis and Johnson, 1994) These materials should also relate to the learner's specific skills, the needs of the learners in relation to their future and present jobs The materials should focus on the appropriate topics and include "tasks and activities" for full exploitation of the material as well as learner's motivation

Syllabus

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Allen claims that "the syllabus is subpart of curriculum which is concerned with a specification of what units will be taught (Allen, 1984, p.61) whereas for Yalden (1987, p.26) "it is primarily a teacher's statement about objectives and content" Meanwhile Nunan (1986, p.6) takes a wider non-specific view of "a framework within which activities can be carried out; a teaching device to facilitate learning" Therefore, syllabus is important for teacher to have plan how to perform their teaching activities

Teaching methods

ESP teachers are required to have considerable flexibility, be willing to listen to the learners, take interest in the disciplines or professional activities which the students are involved in In addition to being as General English teacher, ESP instructor must take some risks in their teaching when their main area is language rather than specific area In comparison with teachers of General English, effective ESP teachers require more experience, additional training, extra effort and fresh commitment

Assessment

Assessment is very important in teaching/learning Self-assessment and peer assessment result in increasing motivation, involvement, progress into learning Achievement assessment can be used to examine the extent to which learners have learned what has been taught Furthermore, the result of the assessment can inform teachers about individual learner's achievement of the learning objectives as well as provide the feedback on the effectiveness and quality of this course (Brown, 1996)

On the whole, all components of an ESP course must act towards the specific learners Needs analysis must be done first to understand the targets, needs, abilities, situation of the learner Then, needs analysis is usually followed by setting aims and objectives, designing syllabus, selecting materials, conducting teaching/learning performance and implementing assessment

be seen that though there are some differences in the definition of evaluation, they all share some important commonalities Firstly, evaluation is viewed as a systematic process It should be conducted as a planned and purposeful activity Secondly, evaluation involves collecting data regarding questions and issues about the program, course, textbook, syllabus, Thirdly, evaluation is a process of enhancing knowledge and decision making, whether decisions are for improving or refining a program, process, product or for determining what is good, what is required to do some improvement Finally, the notion of evaluation use is either implicit or explicit in most definitions Ultimately, evaluation is concerned with asking questions about issues that arise out of everyday practice It is a means of gaining better understanding what we do and the effects of our actions

In the educational context, "evaluation is a purposeful activity that includes the collection of relevant information, interpretation of that information, and making decisions about teaching and learning" (Genesee and Upshur, 1996, p.256) As

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Hutchinson & Waters (1989, p.152) "Course evaluation also plays a useful social role, by showing the various parties involved (teachers, learners, sponsors, ) that their views are important A sponsor may also wish to be supplied with clear information about the suitability of the course and may well base decisions as to further investment and support on the results Mary Neary (2000, p.147) states "the evaluation of a course will serve two functions First, it will be a focus for the student Second, the information obtained through evaluation will assist in the management of the current courses and the development of future ones In addition, Donalt V McCain (2005, p.31) claims that course evaluation "assesses the extent to which the participants have mastered the knowledge, skills, and abilities; applied them on the job; and the subsequent impact on the organization"

1.2.2 The importance of course evaluation

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) gives the reason for evaluation "Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose" and

" Evaluation helps to show how well the course is actually fulfilling the need" In addition to that, Germaine et al (1992, p.10) gives two reasons for evaluation Evaluation is considered as the confirmation of the practice if it is good meanwhile

if practice is not good, evaluation is for consideration of measures to innovate, to change the practice for the better one

Evaluating a course, which includes evaluation of the teacher's methodologies, syllabus design, training procedure, training facilities, , is important with teachers, one of the main subjects in education Teachers might do evaluation to check the effectiveness of the course materials, of the classroom activities, of the students' learning, of their teaching methods, the purposes and objectives of the course and so

on With course evaluation, a teacher can find out the way to "develop courses and modify existing ones" "in ways that reflect her experience and the values and priorities that are products of her experience as well as the prevailing wisdom around her" (Graves, 2006, p.1-2)

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Evaluating a course is also especially important with students, another main subject

in education Marsh pointed out four purposes of students' evaluations of university teaching in the HEA conference on May 19th, 2011 First, it is a diagnostic feedback to teachers about the effectiveness of their teaching that will be useful for the improvement of teaching Second, it is a measure of teaching effectiveness to be used in personnel decisions Third, the evaluation gives information for students to use in the selection of courses and teachers Finally, it is an outcome or a process description for research on teaching Among them, the first purpose is nearly universal but the next three are not

In short, evaluation is important with both teachers and students so evaluation must

be done in a well-planned valid way because the evaluation would "confirm the validity of the classroom practice" when any partial elements of the course are satisfactory and "form a basis" for changes when they are not (Germaine et a 1992)

1.2.3 The framework used for evaluation

1.2.3.1 Learner-centered teaching approach and its principles

For ESP is a relatively new discipline within Applied Linguistics that bids a new learn-centered approach to English language teaching whose methodology is based

on the specific needs of the learner, learner-centeredness approach is one of the most appropriate framework for evaluating an ESP course

Learner-centeredness is an approach that is increasingly being encouraged in higher education It has been widely applied in educational practices across a variety of subject fields such as accounting (Adler et al., 2000), information systems (Law, 2007), business statistics (Lockwood et al 2007), social sciences (Watters et al., 1998), and distance learning (Duffy and Kirkley, 2004; Eastman and Swift, 2001), and has been successfully implemented to reform education in countries such as Thailand (Khemmani, 2006) Many educators incorporate learner-centered teaching philosophy in developing leadership capabilities (Orr, 2007), and strategies contributing to expertise in classroom practice (Thompson et al., 2003)

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Traditionally, instructor was the center of the learning process which focused on what teachers did rather than what the students were learning so it was the instructor who provided the information for the students However, this approach has been increasingly inappropriate with the strong development of technology because this approach could make students be passive in their learning process meanwhile they must be/should be the ones who are in charge of their own learning In learner-centered teaching approach, the teacher acts as a facilitator to help students access and process information This may mean that the teacher works less in class as students are directed to solve carefully, constructed tasks by themselves and collaborated with their peers but work more outside the class for preparation and evaluation of students' work They do not employ a single teaching method but "a variety of different types that shift the role of the instructors from givers of information to facilitating student learning." (Blumberg, 2009)

Another phrase which is similar to the learner-centered in the study is centered This learning model places the student (learner) in the center of the learning process Collins & O'Brien, 2003 could give us thoroughly the description

student-of student-centered instruction which could be used for student-centered teaching: Student-centered instruction is an instructional approach in which students influence the content, activities, materials and pace of learning On the other hand, the instructor provides students with opportunities to learn independently and from one another and coaches them in the skills they need to do so effectively The student-centered instruction approach includes such techniques as substituting active learning experiences for lectures, assigning open-ended problems and problems requiring critical or creative thinking that cannot be solved by following text examples, involving students in simulations and role plays, and using self-paced and/or cooperative learning Properly implemented student-learning instruction can lead to increased motivation to learn, greater retention of knowledge, deeper understanding, and more positive attitudes towards the subject being taught

of content, the roles of the instructor, the responsibility for learning, and the purpose and processes of assessment Then, based on the framework constructed by Weimer, Phyllis Blumberg developed a clear-cut framework for transitioning to learner-centered teaching In next part, details of the learner-centered teaching approach constructed by Weimer (2002) and developed by Blumberg (2009) will be summarized

1 2.3.2 Course evaluation in terms of learner-centered teaching approach

* The framework constructed by Weimer (2002)

Weimer (2002) described five learner-centered practice areas that need to change to achieve learner-centered teaching: The Functions of content, the role of the instructor, the responsibility for learning, the processes and purposes of assessment, and the Balancer of power

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The function of content

The function of content in learner-centered teaching includes giving students the strong knowledge foundation, the ability to apply the content, the ability to learn independently In addition to providing the learning foundation, the content is used

to develop learning skills which include the learning skills and others to sustain learning across a career and a lifetime More importantly, the content of learner-centered teaching is used to create an awareness of the self as a unique, individual learner Then, students know why they need to need and how to learn the content and they need to be actively engaged in their learning

The role of the teacher

The role of the teacher focuses on helping students learn In learner-centered teaching, the teachers are guides, facilitators and designers of learning experiences rather than the main performer who must work harder than everyone else in the class They should create an environment in which students can learn The teaching and learning methods that teachers use should be appropriate for students learning goals

The responsibility for learning

The responsibility for learning is of students meanwhile teachers should proactively assist their students to take responsibility for their learning by creating situations that make students to understand and accept their responsibilities that belong to them They come to the class not because of the attendance requirement but because

of the activities, events in the class, because of their important contributions to their learning When they assume responsibility for their own learning, they become self-directed, lifelong learners who are aware of their own abilities to learn

The purposes and processes of assessment

The purposes and processes of assessment include not only grade but also continuum feedback to assist students' improvement Learner-centered teaching integrates assessment with feedback as a part of the learning process To do all the evaluation activities, not only the teacher but also the peers and the learners

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themselves are involved in Then, the students could learn and strengthen their ability to self-assess accurately and constructively judge the work of peers

The balance of power

The balance of power requires the teacher to share some decisions about the course with the students such as the teacher and the students collaborate on course policies and procedures The balance of power is maintained to be appropriate between the teacher and the students when students are given the opportunities to learn and some control over expressing perspectives and their methods of learning and assessment Hereafter is the comparison of teacher-learning teaching and learner-centered teaching on five key elements for easy understanding The study just focuses on learner-centered teaching approach

Table 1.1: Comparison of Teacher-learner teaching and Learner-centered

teaching on five key elements (Saulnier et al., 2008; Weimer, 2002)

Teacher-Centered Teaching Learner-Centered Teaching

Function of content

The lecture is the primary delivery

methodology Lectures determine the

boundary of teaching and learning

Content plays a dual function in center teaching: establishing a knowledge base and promoting learning Faculty should develop course content not to cover everything, but to develop learning skills and learner awareness

learner-Role of instructor

Instructors are the center of the teaching

and learning processes Students listen to

the instructors and often follow orders

Faculties are conceived primarily as

disciplinary experts who impart

knowledge by lecturing

Instructors guide and facilitate learning, not forcing the learning, by sometimes stepping aside from the center of classroom activities and empowering students to discover knowledge and learn from each other in an encouraging and but controlled learning environment

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Responsibility for learning

Instructors are agent who delivery

knowledge; while students are viewed as

passive vessels, ingesting knowledge for

recall on tests

Faculty should aim to create environments with fewer rules and requirements, which are conductive to learning, to encourage students to learn effectively, and to support the learning efforts of others Students are motivated

to build autonomy and responsibility in learning and receive timely feedback from faculty

Purposes and processes of Assessment

Assessment is used to monitor learning

Emphasis is on right answers Desired

learning is assessed indirectly through

the user of objectively scored tests

Traditional tests measure declarative

knowledge: learned recitations and

applications to small problems They do

not necessarily address depth of

understanding or the skills the students

have acquired

Learner-centered methodology deploys a variety of assessment items Instead of using a single grade as the sole evaluation tool, faculty should use evaluations to enhance students' potential to promote learning and to give them opportunities to develop self-and peer-assessment skills Evaluations and assessment should be less stressful and motivates students to reinforce their knowledge

Balance of Power

The professor's role is to be primary

information giver and primary

evaluator

Power is shared by faculty and students Faculties do not make all decision for students without student input Power is usually redistributed to students in amount proportional to their ability to handle it

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* The rubrics developed by Phyllis Blumberg (2009) based on the Weimer's framework

Since the five practices constructed by Weimer are broad abstract categories, they

do not identify specific learner-centered behaviors for many instructors Phyllis Blumberg defined each practice into specific components and incremental steps between instructor-centered and learner- centered teaching Incremental steps allow instructors to make changes gradually over time Then, she organized these incremental steps into rubrics which could be a tool to evaluate the status of a course on the continuum from instructor-centered to learner-centered for Weimer's five learner-centered practices

Here is an example on rubrics:

Table 1.2:

The rubric role for the role of the instructor dimension of learner-centered

Teaching (Blumberg P., 2009) The Role of the instructor Component Employs

centered approaches

instructor-Transitioning to centered approaches

Employs centered

learner-approaches Lower level of

transitioning

Higher level

of transitioning

approach or approaches throughout the course even if the students are not learning

Instructor does not focus on creating a learning

environment but students

do learn

Instructor creates a learning environment through use

of one out of subcriteria

Instructor creates

a learning environment by using subcriteria: through

organization and use of material that

accommodates different learning styles

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Since the rubrics could be used as an assessment tool in the process toward centered teaching and to determine the status on the learner-centered continuum, the study used items in rubrics for making questionnaire and interviewing- the important instruments to obtain data for the study meanwhile principles mentioned

learner-in Weimer's (2002) would be used for analyzlearner-ing data

Among 6 components of an ESP course mentioned above, this study which based

on Weimer's frame and Blumberg's rubric just focused on 5 learner practice areas including course's content, teaching methods and assessment, objectives of the course in some extent Needs analysis is understood to be remarkably important in

an ESP course but it is done before implementing the course meanwhile the study focused on in-while the course

Summary: This chapter presented the theoretical background for the study

including two main elements and their related concept, that is, ESP and course evaluation From the part of ESP, the study clarified that in an ESP course, the learner is the center of the course, every components of an ESP course must be developed based on learner's targets, needs, abilities, Then in the part of course evaluation, the learner-centered teaching framework of Weimer (2002) and rubrics

of Blumberg (2009) were introduced to develop evaluation The presentation of this chapter will be the foundation for the next chapters, especially chapter 3 in which findings and discussion were analyzed

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents an overview of teaching and learning situation, ESP course at IETC, participants of the study, data collection and analysis In this part, Data collection instrument, questionnaire format and content, the process of data collection and data analysis will be described carefully

2.1 The practical background of the study

2.1.1 Research site

The study was conducted at IETC, a college under Ministry of Industry and Trading

in Thai Nguyen with about nearly 4,000 students per year IETC has a history of 46 year development since its foundation in 1968 The main training areas at IETC are accountant, business management, mechanics, electricity rather than English Therefore, English in IETC is not the main subject, it is just a compulsory one required by the Government Training Curriculum Fortunately, students in the college understand fully the importance of English in communication, in their line area and then their future jobs Therefore, it could be said that their motivation to learn English is sufficient to get the high training results However, it could not be denied that it is not easy to develop English in a place without English reality practice like a district in Thai Nguyen where the college is located

Each student studying at IETC must participate in 3 English-related courses in which 2 first English courses are General English, English for communication When they are third-year students after getting most of knowledge about their major field in Vietnamese and completing 2 English communication courses, they study the ESP course which provides the knowledge in English about their major and strengthen some English skills for them Enrolling 2 English communication courses is a requirement with students because ESP course requires students to have some deep knowledge in English

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2.1.2 ESP course

In each line area including English for business, English for Electrical engineering, English for Constructing, English for Information Technology, English teaching teachers at IETC developed course-related things such as developing training goals and objectives, analyzing training needs, developing training syllabus, and training material In this thesis, the author would like to choose an ESP course, that is English for Business to do evaluation

The reason why the course "English for Economics and Business" is chosen for evaluation is from huge number of students studying in this field at IETC When the number of students is high, it is easy to choose samples for the objective evaluation

On the other hand, only with this field, all 09 English-teaching teachers at IETC got experience in teaching, then they could give out their comments for the interview The overall goals and objectives of the ESP course made by teachers at IETC are that students then would read the English- written textbooks, newspapers about economics and business through developing reading skill, improving understanding the meanings of words and grammar, and that students would be more confident with English for economics and business

To gain those goals and objectives, in each unit, students must answer the text- related questions and fill in blanks with the words mentioned in the text The aim of those activities are providing the common vocabulary in the line field and strengthening reading skill for students In addition, grammar is also introduced to students so that their understanding in English context could be improved and training course is more effective when the learning environment is changed It means that when developing teaching materials for ESP course, English-teaching teachers at IETC would like to focus on vocabulary development rather than grammar, reading skill rather than three others However, Translation is also required with non-English students to have the equivalent Vietnamese words The aim of translation is to ensure students' understandings both in English and Vietnamese so that then they could think and communicate in English