Integrating language and work skills through project based learning a case of english for tourism

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES ANDINTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIESPHẠM THỊ MINH PHƯƠNG INTEGRATING LANGUAGE AND WORK SKILLS THROUGH PR

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES ANDINTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

PHẠM THỊ MINH PHƯƠNG

INTEGRATING LANGUAGE AND WORK SKILLS

THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING – A CASE OF ENGLISH FOR TOURISM

(KẾT HỢP DẠY NGÔN NGỮ VÀ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NGHỀ NGHIỆP CHO SINHVIÊN THÔNG QUA HÌNH THỨC HỌC TẬP SỬ DỤNG CÁC BÀI TẬP LỚN – ÁP

DỤNG TRONG GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH DU LỊCH)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Methodology

Code: 601410

HANOI, 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES ANDINTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

PHẠM THỊ MINH PHƯƠNG

INTEGRATING LANGUAGE AND WORK SKILLS THROUGH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

– A CASE OF ENGLISH FOR TOURISM

(KẾT HỢP DẠY NGÔN NGỮ VÀ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NGHỀ NGHIỆP CHO SINHVIÊN THÔNG QUA HÌNH THỨC HỌC TẬP SỬ DỤNG CÁC BÀI TẬP LỚN – ÁP

DỤNG TRONG GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH DU LỊCH)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Methodology Code: 601410

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thu Lệ Hằng, M.A.

HANOI, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

KNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

Part I INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale for the study 1

2 Aims and objectives 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Significant of the study 3

5 Method of the study 3

6 Organization of the study 3

Part II DEVELOPMENT 5

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 An overview of ESP 5

1.1.1 Definition of ESP 5

1.1.2 Essential issues in teaching ESP 6

1.1.2.1 Needs analysis 6

1.1.2.2 Methodology for teaching ESP 7

1.2 The teaching and learning of English for Tourism as an ESP 8

1.2.1 English for Tourism as an ESP 8

1.2.2 Challenges in teaching English for Tourism 9

1.2.3 Towards an appropriate syllabus for English for Tourism 10

1.3 Project-based approach and the learning and teaching of EfT 11

1.3.1 An overview of PBL 11

1.3.1.1 What is a project? 11

1.3.1.2 What is PBL? 11

1.3.1.3 Merits and challenges of PBL 12

1.3.2 PBL approach and the ESP classroom 13

1.3.2.1 Rationale for implementing PBL in the ESP classroom 13

1.3.2.2 Process of project work 15

1.4 Summary 16

Chapter 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17

2.1 Background of the study 17

2.1.1 The course 18

2.1.2 The students 18

2.1.3 The teacher 18

2.2 Research questions 18

2.3 Research approach 19

2.4 Participants 19

2.5 Instrument 19

2.6 Procedure of data collection 20

2.7 Data analysis procedure 20

2.8 Summary 21

Chapter 3: THE PRACTICAL STUDY 22

3.1 Preliminary investigation 22

3.1.1 Data presentation of the preliminary questionnaires 22

3.1.2 Findings 26

3.2 Intervention 27

3.2.1 The design and aims of the travel guide project 27

3.2.2 Procedure of the project 28

3.3 Evaluation 29

3.3.1 Data presentation of the evaluation questionnaires 29

3.3.2 Findings 33

Chapter 4: DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 35

4.1 Research question 1 35

4.2 Research question 2 36

4.3 Research question 3 38

4.4 Summary 40

Part III CONCLUSION 41

1 Conclusion 41

2 Recommendations 41

3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 42

REFERENCES 44 APPENDICES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ESP: English for Specific Purposes

GE: General English

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

PBL: Project-based Learning

HTTC: Hanoi Teacher Training College

EfT: English for Tourism

Part I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

From early 1960s, ESP, or English for Specific Purposes, has grown to become one of themost prominent areas of EFL teaching today and gained a well-established position as acomponent of applied linguistics research (Dudley-Evans & St Johns, 1998) As the word

“specific” suggests, the nature of ESP is different from that of general English in a sense thatESP learners learn English for a certain professional or occupational purpose Therefore,teaching/learning ESP includes much more than the teaching of English through specificmaterials and content In fact, it combines the development of linguistic skills together with theacquisition of specific information Consequently, to ensure the success of ESP learning, thematerials should be wisely selected and adapted and learning activities should be carefullydesigned, and more importantly, an appropriate teaching method should be adopted

With regard to language learning approaches and methods, the concept of CommunicativeLanguage Teaching (CLT) have been developed and adopted by a number of scholars since1970s Closely allied to CLT are a number of concepts which reflect certain types of learningand teaching such as interactive learning, learner-centred instruction, task-based learning,content-based learning, and cooperative learning (Brown, 2001) These variations of CLT proveeffective in many contexts as students can not only learn the language but also develop certain

personal and social skills through learning Also originated from these learning types,

Project-based Learning is a “flexible methodology allowing multiple skills to be developed in an integrated, meaningful, on-going activity” As Thomas J W (2000) summarizes, research on PBL have shown clearly the benefits of PBL: (i) gains in student achievement, (ii)gains in students’ problem-solving capabilities, (iii) gains in students’ understanding of the subject matter, and (iv) gains in understanding relating to specific skills and strategies introduced in the project Given these merits and the nature of ESP, PBL will be an ideal choice for ESP teaching and learning.

In the recent years, the ESP movement in Vietnam has been rapidly developing due to theexistence of diverse needs of the learners Currently, all university students must learn the ESPthat suits their learning branches For example, students at economics universities have to learnEnglish for commerce, while students from the Information Technology universities have tolearn English for IT However, a lot of questions have been raised over the quality of ESPteaching and learning at university as many students studying ESP show quite poor performance

on four language skills and a lot of graduates can not use ESP in their work This results in anunsolved problems that ESP teachers are encountering: How to design appropriate syllabus andauthentic learning activities to enhance ESP learning?

English for Tourism is a new ESP for a relatively new course in Hanoi Teacher TrainingCollege, thus it is not surprising that both the administrators and the teachers are experiencingsome teething pains In search of an effective teaching method, the researcher of this study, also

as a teacher of this subject, has formed a hypothesis that: “Project-based learning would help students not only learn the language but also develop their future work skills” and this is the

reason why this study is carried out

2 Aims and objectives

As mentioned in the rationale, the study is aimed at exploring the benefit of project-basedlearning in the teaching and learning of English for Tourism: whether or not this learningactivity would allow teachers to integrate language and students‟ work skills in their teaching.The objective of the study is to work out the answers to the following research questions:

 What are the benefits of project work in learning EfT, as perceived by the teachers and the students involved?

 How can work skills be integrated in the syllabus for EfT at the department of

Foreign Languages, Hanoi Teacher Training College, by means of PBL method?

 What are the suggestions for effective project work in learning EfT, as recommended

by the teachers and students involved?

3 Scope of the study

Due to time constraint as well as the author‟s ability and working conditions, the study is limited to the following extents:

3.1 Participants:

 Students: One class of second-year English major students at Department of Foreign

Languages, HTTC Their main field of study is English for Business and Tourism

 Teacher: The team of English for Tourism staff consists of only 2 members including the

author of this study Therefore, only one teacher can take part in the interview conducted for the study

3.2 Form of project-based learning method:

PBL can have numerous variations in practice but the one studied in this thesis is group investigation and presentation.

3.3 Work skills:

Working in the tourism industry calls for a great number of skills However, in this study,only some most typical soft skills such as presenting, communicating, problem-solving andgroup work skills, etc, are mentioned

4 Significance of the study

The research, first of all, would enable the teaching staff at English Department, HTTC tograsp the real situation of their students‟ language competence and needs in learning EfT Withsuch a deep insight, they would be able to evaluate their current teaching method and thus makenecessary changes to improve the effectiveness of the teaching and learning of this subject.Moreover, if successful, the study would prove that PBL is a suitable and effective methodand it would be introduced to other teachers at the college Hopefully, PBL would be adoptedand implemented at larger scales with the purpose of developing students‟ future work skills

5 Method of the study

This is a qualitative action research carried out in the researcher‟s own class at HTTC, Hanoi The data was collected from preliminary questionnaire and evaluation questionnaire for students, semi-structured interview with another teacher from EfT team and the teacher’s notes and diary Data for the study was collected in the first term of the school year 2009 – 2010 and

then analysed by means of descriptive statistic devices and content analysis method Hopefully,with the combination of these instruments, the study would yield reliable findings

6 Organisation of the thesis

The thesis consists of three main parts: Introduction which provides an overview of the study, Development which is the main part and consists of 4 chapters, and Conclusion which

includes summary of the study, implication, limitations and suggestions for further study

Four chapters in the main part are as follows:

1 Chapter 1: Literature review

In this chapter, various research on English for Specific Purposes in general and English forTourism in particular, as well as Project-based Learning approach is reviewed to provide thetheoretical background for the study

2 Chapter 2: Research methodology

The methods and procedures of the study such as participant selection, data collectionmethods, data analysis methods, etc, are presented in detail in this chapter

3 Chapter 3: The practical study

Under this heading, the main stages of the study: Preliminary investigation, Intervention,Evaluation are presented

4 Chapter 4: Discussion of the findings

In this chapter, the findings from the evaluation questionnaires, the teacher‟s reflection andteacher interview will be integrated and discussed so as to find out the answer to the researchquestions

PART II: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will briefly present a theoretical background of the study which includes anoverview of English for Specific Purposes, the teaching and learning of English for Tourism as

an ESP, and an overview of Project-based Learning approach

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) see ESP as an approach rather than a product In this sense,ESP does not involve a particular kind of language, teaching material or methodology This

suggests that „the foundation of any ESP course, undoubtedly, is based on learner needs or the simple question: why does the learner need to learn a foreign language?‟ (pp 18-19) The

answer to this question has raised the importance of needs analysis in ESP teaching and ESP is

then an approach to language teaching in which “all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner’s reason for learning.” (p 19)

Strevens (1988) proposes a definition of ESP which makes a distinction between fourabsolute characteristics and two variable characteristics He thinks that ESP consists of EnglishLanguage Teaching which possesses some certain absolute characteristics and variablecharacteristics Likewise, being aware of the current confusion among the ESP community,Dudley-Evans (1997) proposes an extended definition in terms of absolutes and variablecharacteristics by improving Strevens‟ definition substantially

On the whole, each of these definitions has both validity and weaknesses; thus it would behard to find a satisfactory definition of ESP However, in general, most of these authors havecome to an agreement that an ESP course would have the following features:

1 It is purposeful and aimed at the successful performance of occupational or

educational roles by an individual or a group

2 It is based on an analysis of the students‟ needs and is tailor-made to meet these needs

3 It may differ from another language course in its selection of skills, themes, topics, situations, functions, language and methodology

1.1.2 Essential issues in teaching ESP

1.1.2.1 Needs analysis

The five key stages in ESP teaching include needs analysis, course (and syllabus) design,materials selection (and evaluation), teaching and learning, and evaluation Among these, needsanalysis is the very first and perhaps the decisive factor in the success of any ESP courses

According to Johns, while teaching ESP, “all language teaching must be designed for the specific learning and language use purposes of identified groups of students.”(Johns, 1991,

p.67) Teaching ESP is therefore determined by different - professional/ occupational, social andother - needs of the learners In Nunan‟s view, needs analysis is the initial process for thespecification of behavioral objectives It is from these objectives that detailed aspects of thesyllabus such as functions, topics, lexis and structures are derived Dudley-Evans and St John

believe that it is the “corner stone of ESP and leads to a very focused course” (p.122) Likewise,

in a definition of ESP course, Hutchinson and Water (1987) state that ESP is an approach tolanguage teaching which aims to meet the needs of particular learners Richards (1984) alsopoints out the significance of NA as follows:

“Needs analysis serves three main purposes: it provides a means of obtaining wider input into the content, design and implementation of a language program; it can be used in developing goals, objectives and content; and it can provide data for reviewing and evaluating an existing program.” (p.5)

Dudley-Evans and St John in their “Development in ESP” (1998) suggest that needs analysiscan be done through a variety of means such as pre-course information questionnaires,structured interviews, observation, analysis of authentic texts, discussion, and record-keeping.These suggested methods have their own strengths and weaknesses but if utilized appropriately,they can provide useful and reliable data for the process of needs analysis Hopefully, with asmooth beginning, the whole ESP course will run successfully

1.1.2.2 Methodology for teaching ESP

With respect to methodology for teaching ESP, it still remains a controversy as there aredifferent, even quite contradictory, arguments about this In fact, it is not easy to offer a specificmethodology for ESP teaching and thus a number of different arguments are generated

Martin (1992) considers task as the basic unit of ESP curriculum and methodological organisation In his view, tasks are the purposive activities within situations which “involve people undertaking communication work for a purpose” (p.189) Task may range from simple,

brief accuracy-focused language exercises to complex, lengthy simulation activities such asgroup problem-solving or decision-making (Breen, 1987) Therefore, tasks can be very useful inlanguage learning It can‟t be denied that the idea generated by Martin could be really valuable

to ESP teachers in the sense that in ESP classrooms, tasks can be devised and used as anefficient tool to promote learning

Another aspect of teaching methodology that is also commonly touched upon by linguists is

the combination of language and content in ESP teaching Generally, the ESP teacher has a

good knowledge and command of how language is used in different situations but is not an

“expert” in the students‟ specialist field Brennan M and Naerssen M in “Language and content

in ESP” (1989) highlight the importance of combining language and content in ESP teachingand suggest a solution that ESP teachers should coordinate closely with the content teachersthrough both formal and informal channels of communication Similarly, Coleman in his

“English teachers should attend” (Issues in ESP: p.x) focuses in particular on the question of

establishing the necessary degree of cooperation with the content teacher for whose instructionthe ESP course is a preparation

In summary, the discussion of some linguists‟ arguments about ESP teaching methodologycan be of great help in guiding the ESP teachers to choose an appropriate method for their own

teaching context Two important points that ESP teachers should bear in mind are: the combination of language and content in teaching and the use of various tasks of different levels

of difficulty especially those that reflect the learners‟ specialist world These ideas are quite

clearly reflected in course book design as it can be noticed that most ESP course books aredesigned under such approaches as content-based, task-based, situational, or the combination ofthese approaches

In practice, what classroom tasks or activities should be employed to promote ESP learning,and content/subject learning in particular? Dudley-Evans and St John suggest two particularexamples of subject learning approaches that have been adopted in ESP situations: case studyand project work These authors point out the main difference between case study and projectwork: in the former, the resource materials which generate language and skills development areoften given to students while in the latter students have to do this by themselves Thus, in a

project “the degree of involvement and ownership is much higher” (p 195) and obviously,

“project work can be very rewarding” (p.195) The issue of project work and its use in language

teaching will be dealt with in details in later parts of the thesis

1.2 The teaching and learning of English for Tourism as an ESP

1.2.1 English for Tourism as an ESP

ESP is often divided into EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and EOP (English forOccupational Purposes) Further sub-divisions of EOP are sometimes made into businessEnglish, professional English (e.g English for doctors, lawyers) and vocational English (e.g.English for tourism, nursing, aviation, etc) At the early development stage, ESP generallyreferred to EAP Recently, English has become really necessary to obtain a job, get promotedand perform effectively in the world of work Accordingly, this demand has generated theincursion of a new linguistic branch within the field of ESP, namely, English for Occupational

Purposes or EOP (Dominguez & Rokowski, 2005) EOP can be defined as “the portion of the curriculum which prepares students for gainful employment in occupations ranging from low- skilled to sophisticated jobs in technical fields” (Anthony, 1997, p.56).

Among the many vocational and professional areas that go to make up the world of Englishfor Specific Purposes, or more specifically EOP, English for Tourism must surely be one of themost attractive since all of us are tourists on countless occasions throughout our lives In otherwords, tourism is a popular and familiar field in people‟s daily life Therefore, EfT is somewhatdifferent from other ESP branches in a way that the type of English used in this field is not too

“specific” In English teaching, EfT teachers can bring their own real experience and opinions to

the language classroom

In the field of English for Tourism, there have been a few studies mostly focusing on theanalysis of the required skills and needs in workplace, adequacy and appropriateness ofinstructional materials and strategies, and involvement of students in the procedure of syllabusdesign However, as regard the teaching of EfT as an ESP, it seems that little has been done towork out an effective approach to enhance the development of EfT students‟ future work skills.This research, in an attempt to try out a solution to improving the teaching and learning of EfT,will focus on supplementary activities for EfT learning Before that goal can be achieved, athorough analysis of problems in teaching this subject should be done.

1.2.2 Challenges in teaching English for Tourism

The first challenge that EfT teacher often face is the lack of background knowledge about tourism industry Most teachers of English for Tourism have little, if not no, knowledge about

travel and hotel industry, nor do they have experience of working in this field This isunderstandable as most of them are just the General English teachers who have to shift to therole of an ESP teacher This causes great difficulties for them when getting accustomed with theterms or specific notions in the field For example, even though the teachers have to work withstudents on facilities in a five-star hotel, many have never been in such hotels and enjoyed suchfacilities Therefore, they cannot even tell the differences between a suite and a luxurious room

To overcome this challenge, some specialists have suggested that there should be some kind ofcooperation between ESP teachers, or EfT teachers, and the content/subject teachers or even thetourism companies (Afzali K (2009) ; Cubo B N (2008)) Yet in reality, few EfT teachers havetime to do so and even when they try that, it appears ineffective

The second drawback in teaching EfT is limited access to appropriate published teaching materials Though, at first glance, the materials appear quite abundant and could cover the

complexities in nature of the field However, upon carefully investigating the materials, it turnsout that the available material can only cater for the needs of training courses aimed at thosealready employed in the sector For those who teach English in one of the numerous tertiaryeducation establishments offering an initial qualification of a broader nature, the publishedcourse books may soon prove to be of only limited value The reason is that most of those aretoo job-specific; thus, they reduce ESP to a specialised foreign language phrase book (WalkerR., p.19) Furthermore, with regard to linguistic features, most books are designed at elementary

level while students nowadays often enter university with quite a high level of Englishproficiency Therefore, the use of these books can be highly demotivating for the tertiarystudents especially the more serious ones.

The last difficulty is inappropriate approach in course book design in most publications

on Tourism This limitation, to some extents, is connected with the second one in the sense that

most published materials are of little value for tertiary students Most are written under a single

functional approach, which seems to be mostly helpful to the vocational workers such as a

receptionist, a waiter, or a tour guide who need the minimum language needed to survive in afirst job or on industrial placement In fact, students of tourism need more than just the commonexpressions employed in the field; they need to widen their background knowledge about wider

issues of tourism; get to know about “the genres and discourse patterns used in the targeted professional settings” (Cubo N.B, p 287); and develop their learning as well as future work

skills Just like any other ESP branches, EfT requires an integrated syllabus which can helpstudents to develop multiple skills

1.2.3 Towards an appropriate syllabus for English for Tourism

In “Development of students‟ English for Special Purposes Competence in Tourism Studies

at Tertiary Level” by Luka I (n.d), a thorough analysis of theoretical literature concerningdifferent syllabus types, their advantages and disadvantages was done in order to choose themost appropriate syllabus for an ESP course for tourism students A conclusion was drawn out

that the integrated syllabus should be designed Topical syllabus was chosen as the leading

syllabus and situational, task-based and process syllabus was used as the supplementary ones.The use of topical and situational syllabus ensures its content correspondence to therequirements of the tourism industry The elements of the task-based syllabus help to developstudents‟ communication skills, creative thinking and problem-solving skills, but the elements

of process syllabus enable its innovative approach as the content teaching-leaning methods andteaching aids are selected in cooperation between students and an educator (pp 3-4)

1.3 Project-based approach and the teaching and learning of English for Tourism

1.3.1 An overview of PBL

1.3.1.1 What is a project?

Numerous authors have approached the definition of project by identifying the features andstructure of project work

Carter and Thomas (1986, p 196) characterized project work with three features referring to

the venue, the inter-disciplined characteristics and students‟ autonomy: i) it takes place outside the classroom; ii) is cross-curricular and; iii) allows learners to set their own targets as they proceed.

Thomas (2000) cited Jones, Rasmussen, & Moffitt (1997) and Thomas, Mergendoller, &Michaelson, (1999) to provide a definition of projects:

“projects are complex tasks, based on challenging questions or problems, that involve students in design, problem-solving, decision-making, or investigative activities; give students the opportunity

to work relatively autonomously over extended periods of time; and culminate in realistic products or presentations” (p.1)

From these definitions, it can be concluded that projects have two essential components: a

driving question or problem that serves to organize and drive activities and culminating product(s) or multiple representations as a series of artifacts, personal communication or

consequential task that meaningfully addresses the driving question (Brown & Campione,1994)

1.3.1.2 What is Project-based Learning (PBL) approach?

A number of definitions of PBL can be found in literature According to Harris & Katz (2001),project-based learning is an instructional method centered on the learners Instead of using a rigidlesson plan that directs a learner down a specific path of learning outcomes or objectives, PBLallows in-depth investigation of a topic worth learning more about Bransford & Stein (1993) seePBL as a comprehensive instructional approach to engage students in sustained, cooperative

investigation Donna, M & Duzer, V C (1998) defined PBL as “an instructional approach that contextualizes learning by presenting learners with problems to solve or products

to develop” (p.1) Accordingly, the essential feature of project-based approach is a tangible

result such as a product or a solution to a defined problem

Rooted in constructivism, constructionism and cooperative/collaborative learning, based learning has very strong theoretical support for successful achievement However, it isalso very important to note that PBL is not a pure constructivist model but a combination of

project-multiple methods of instruction Nowadays, PBL can be found under such names as project method, project approach, project-based instruction, knowledge in action, learning by doing, or experiential learning.

1.3.1.3 Merits and challenges of PBL

 Autonomous learning is promoted as learners become more responsible for their learning.

 There are learning outcomes - the ends of the projects are tangible and this can add more motivation to students‟ learning.

 The tasks are authentic and therefore, students‟ learning is connected with real world activities.

 Interpersonal relations are developed through working as a group.

 Content and methodology can be decided and negotiated between learners and the teacher so learning is more learner-centered.

 A break from routine

 A context is established which balances the need for fluency and accuracy

(Adapted from Haines, 1989)

* Challenges of PBL

Though PBL is considered a profitable learning strategy, its implementation faces several challenges as projects are complex endeavors involving many different activities In fact, there

still exists a lot of criticism concerning the successful use of project-based instruction Beckett

G H & Slater T point out that according to Eyring (1989)‟s study, the students from the

project class appeared to be “dissatisfied with the project approach to teaching ESL because they did not think that these tasks were worthwhile pursuits in ESL classes” (p 109) A similar finding was also uncovered in Beckett (1999) and Moulton and Holmes (2000) The reasons for

student dissatisfaction with the PBL are quite complex, reflecting potentially differentphilosophical, cultural and linguistic beliefs held by the teacher and the students

As for the students, a number of difficulties have been reported in Thomas (2000) The first

and most prevalent challenge is their lack of necessary skills to conduct a scientific study such as

initiating inquiry or generating meaningful research questions, managing complexity and time,analyzing data and developing a logical argument to support claims Another challenge to

students is access to technology and needed materials and the last difficulty pointed out by those studies reviewed in Thomas (2000) is ineffective groupwork, or the failure to work

collaboratively with other members in their groups

The teachers, likewise, encounter a number of difficulties during the implementation of the

project method which are described quite clearly in Marx et al (1997) These include time allocation, classroom management, balance of control, support of student learning, technology use, and assessment Obviously, projects are often long-term activities and they may take longer

than anticipated and classroom management will become much more complicated In addition,the PBL method places emphasis on enhancing students‟ autonomy in making their owndecisions; therefore, it can also be high-risk in maintaining control of the class Teachers must

be able to decide how much, when, and where they should control over students‟ learning.Furthermore, given the complex nature of project work, designing methods of assessment isn‟t

an easy task

In brief, designing a PBL course is such a highly demanding pedagogical task andchallenges are unavoidable for both teachers and students However, as long as the teachermakes careful planning and is flexible in his/her teaching, project work can bring learnerschallenging but exciting and meaningful experience

1.3.2 PBL approach and the ESP classroom

1.3.2.1 Rationale for implementing PBL approach in ESP classroom

Since the mid-seventies, as ELT has espoused principles of learner-centered teaching,learner autonomy, the negotiated syllabus, collaborative learning, and task-based learning,English language educators have explored and exploited the tradition of project work and it isnow part of the curriculum in many contexts Numerous advantages of using project work in theEnglish language classroom are well-documented in literature Fried-Booth (1997) feels thatproject work within ELT has gained currency in recent years as a way of encouraging students

to use “real life” language in authentic situations Zakari K in his article “Incorporating project

work into the classroom” points out some advantages of using project work in an ELTclassroom as follows:

 Motivation is increased

 All four skills are integrated

 Autonomous learning is promoted

 Tasks and language input are authentic

 Interpersonal relations are developed

 Content and methodology are negotiated

Fried-Booth in her “Project work” also describes in details the “layer approach” to show that

“project work can provide a useful way of integrating the four skills” (Fried-Booth, 1986, p.8).

She explains that however long or short the project may be, it will pass through certain stages ofdevelopment, each of which involves some or even the combination of all language skills Theinitial stages of the project, for example, may provide learners with an opportunity to developspeaking and listening skills rather than reading and writing However, once the project is underway, the learners will use all four skills simultaneously She also points out that project work

helps to “bridge the gap between language study and language use” (p.7) Therefore, it can be a

valuable means of extending the communicative skills acquired in the classroom

Beckett G H and Slater T in their article “The Project Framework: a tool for language,

content, and skills integration” believe that “project-based instruction is a valuable way to promote the simultaneous acquisition of language, content, and skills” (ELT Journal Vol 59/2

April 2005: 108) They even introduce a methodological tool called “the Project Framework”which is influenced by Mohan‟s Knowledge Framework (Mohan: 1986) with the purpose ofshowing students the language, content and skill development occurring through project work

In the previous parts of the thesis, it has been pointed out that an ESP course requires amethodology that allows the combination of language, subject matter, and communicative skillsnecessary for the learners‟ specialist field Obviously, taking a constructivist point of view,project work should be incorporated into the ESP class in general and EfT class in particular.

However, teachers should bear in mind that project work is not a “replacement for other teaching methods” but rather “an approach to learning which complements mainstream methods and which can be used with almost all levels, ages and abilities of students” (Haines,

1989, p.47)

1.3.2.2 Process of project work

Project work is multi-staged and the division of stages may vary from researcher toresearcher Stoller (2002) divides the process of project work development into five stages:

Selection of topic and idea generation, organisation of ideas and identification of areas of enquiry; research and information gathering; compilation and analysis of information; publication, presentation and evaluation of project Hedge (1998) gives very clear guidance on how to carry out a practical project which include six stages: orientation; preparation and planning; implementation; collation; presentation; and reflection Within the context of English

language teaching, I take Diana Curtis‟ view which divides the project into three phases:orientation and planning; research and implementation; sharing results

Phase 1: Orientation and planning

According to Curtis (2001), this phase involves initial discussion of a topic in certain groups.All students are involved by brainstorming, sharing ideas related to the topic, making the finaldecision During this phase, new issues and topics that are appropriate for language learningmay arouse (Moss & Van Duzer, 1998) and it is these ideas that help them to study the languagebetter Gallacher (n.d) proposes some guidelines that teachers can use to help their studentswork out their plan:

 What they want to include in the project

 An idea of the time it will take to introduce each part of the project

 Any material or resources they might need

Phase 2: Research and implementation

After making the final decision on the project topic and working out a plan for the project,students move on to the next phase This phase involves mostly such activities as research,fieldwork, sessions with experts and various aspects of gathering information, reading, writing,drawing, and computing (Curtis, 2001) This is an important stage for language learning andskill development as various skills will be needed for the completion of the project Althoughstudents work mostly on their own or in their group, the teacher must be aware of and performtheir role as an instructor, a consultant, a facilitator, and even a group member He/She mustdecide on when, where and how much he/she should support the students This support, in Mossand Van Duzer‟ s view, may take the form of language structures and skills, problem-solvingstrategies, and methods for developing plans (Moss and Van Duzer, 1998)

Phase 3: Sharing results

This is the final phase occurring when students have accomplished their project and it can be

in the form of group presentation or disseminating the results in the larger community (Moss

and Van Duzer, 1998) Hedge (1998) uses other terms, presentation and reflection, and makes a

clear distinction between these two ways of sharing results Students will „listen‟ to otherspresenting in the former and „read‟ other writing in the latter However, these authors and someothers such as Curtis (2001), Gallacher (n.d) share a belief that the most common way of sharingresults is the presentation of the project to an audience This is the last but not least importantstage as students, by giving their own presentation, can improve their presentation skills and, byattending other groups‟ presentation, can learn a lot from others

The teacher, again, plays an important role as it is he who will make a summary andcomment on the presentation By doing so, he will help enhance students‟ process of languagelearning and knowledge widening What‟s more, an evaluation will be made by the teacher afterthe presentation of the project and this is one of the main sources of motivation for students

1.4 Summary

This chapter has highlighted the key issues in teaching ESP and EfT as well as project-basedlearning approach The literature review shows that PBL, having quite a lot of potential benefits,can be an effective approach in teaching ESP in general, and in teaching EfT in particular Athorough review of the benefits of PBL also strongly supports the hypothesis that project work

could be utilized in teaching EfT as a tool to facilitate language learning and develop students‟work skills With this theoretical background, it is hoped that the study would yield satisfactoryresults.

Chapter 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents a detailed description of how the research was carried out includingthe background of the study and the methods and procedures of the study

2.1 Background of the study

2.1.1 The course

English for Business and Tourism is a newly-born course at Hanoi Teacher TrainingCollege, a reputational teacher training institution in Hanoi as well as nation-wide The coursecame into being in the school-year 2007 – 2008 with the objective of equipping students withthe most basic knowledge of business matters and hospitality industry through the medium ofEnglish Students attending this course must specialize in two major subjects throughout thewhole course (6 semesters): English for Business and English for Tourism

With regard to the course book, some books have been utilized such as “Be My Guests”,

“High Season”, “English for International Tourism”, among which the last one is used as the

main course book “English for International Tourism”, published by Pearson Longman Press, is

a multi-level series of course book for students who need English for professionalcommunication within the hotel and tourism industry In the previous year, a thorough analysis

of the course book was done by the teaching staff and it has been concluded that this book can

be adopted but adaptation must be made to some tasks/activities and supplementary materialsand learning activities should be added

2.1.2 The students

There are two most remarkable characteristics of the students who are attending the Englishfor Business and Tourism course: their English ability and their learning conditions andmotivation To begin with, those students‟ English level is, on average, not very high eventhough English is their main subject when preparing for the entrance examination Most of themattend this course because they did not pass the entrance examination into university and this isthe reason why some students are not highly motivated Some others may not concentrate ontheir study since they are also preparing for the next year entrance examination

However, these learners also possess some certain favorable conditions for learning Most ofthem are from Hanoi city where access to high quality education, the internet as well as othermodern facilities is not a problem Most are quite active and appear to be easily fascinated by theattraction of new knowledge about the different places and cultures, especially if assisted withthe computer and internet tools Therefore, they are likely to be more motivated and makeprogress if the teachers know how to design and implement appropriate learning activities.

2.1.3 The teachers

Hanoi Teacher Training College is small-sized so the number of teaching staff of thecollege, and of the department in particular, is not very big There are only about 18 teachers inthe Foreign Language Department so some teachers must be responsible for lots of specializedsubjects in English For this new subject, English for Tourism, only two teachers, including theresearcher of this study, are in charge of making the program, selecting the course book, andteaching the students None of them have ever taught ESP before and this is perhaps the firsttime they have been exposed to the use of English in tourism and hospitality industry It can besaid that they are taking on quite a hard task

However, both teachers possess some certain strengths to fulfill their task successfully First,they are quite young and they were even classmates when they studied at the college Therefore,they are getting on quite well and perhaps cooperating to work out a solution for the course isnot a big problem for these two teachers Furthermore, both are in favor of communicativeteaching approach and quite active and flexible in designing and selecting teaching materials Inthe previous year, the researcher herself asked her students of another class to do some sort ofgroup investigation and presentation with wall posters The experiment resulted in both benefitsand problems She then discussed with her colleague and they decided to continue to use projectwork in the next school year, but with some modification and improvement It is hoped that withthese efforts, the teachers can successfully utilize project work as a tool to promote EfTlearning

2.2 Research questions

Upon analyzing the context and carrying out the literature review, three research questionsarose:

 What are the benefits of project work in learning EfT, as perceived by the teachers and the students involved?

 How can work skills be integrated in the syllabus for EfT at the department of

Foreign Languages, Hanoi Teacher Training College, by means of PBL method?

 What are the suggestions for effective project work in learning EfT as recommended

by the teacher and students involved?

2.3 Research approach:

The study is carried out under the approach of action research as this is more of an approach

to problem-solving, rather than a single method for collecting and analyzing data This strategycan be considered a mirror reflecting the teacher‟s experience in teaching which serves as abasis for the continuous and on-going process of professional development

The action research cycle, as suggested by Nunan (1992), consists of seven steps, namely

initiation, preliminary investigation, development of research questions, intervention, evaluation, dissemination, and follow-up The study strictly follows the general steps of an

action research and the main steps will be dealt with in chapter three

2.4 Participants

The subjects of the study are 32 second-year students from Class 2B, Department of ForeignLanguages, HTTC Most of them come from Hanoi; the rest from some provinces around thiscity Their level of proficiency in English can be roughly attributed to Pre-intermediate

The study also involves another teacher in English for Tourism team She has been teachingthis subject for 2 years This teacher, along with the researcher, is making an attempt to find out

an effective teaching method to enhance students‟ learning as well as their motivation inlearning this subject

2.5 Instruments

In order to get sufficient data for the study, a number of methods were employed:

* Questionnaires: This “vital tool in the collection of data” (Gajendra, 1999, p.117) seems to

be the easiest and most effective method for collecting data from students Two sets of

questionnaires were designed: preliminary questionnaires which serve the purpose of needs

analysis, and evaluation questionnaires which help to reveal whether the method utilized

throughout the semester is effective or not

* Interviews: In Kvale‟s view, qualitative interviews are “attempts to understand the world from the subjects’ point of view” (Kvale, cited in Gajendra, 1999, p.50) This is the reason why

they were chosen as the second instrument for the research The interview was structured andconducted with the teacher from English for Tourism team and followed by informal discussions

to further elaborate on the matter The purposes of this interview and discussion are (i) to explore the teacher’ attitudes towards and habit in implementing PBL in teaching English for Tourism, (ii) to reveal the difficulties that she encounters in her teaching and (iii) to get some recommendations on how to carry out tourism projects successfully.

* Teacher’s notes and diary: Data was also collected by means of the researcher‟s notes and

diary during the implementation of the project The aim of this activity is to see the changes inthe students‟ behaviors and attitudes in the classroom Clearly, this method will help theresearcher to validate the findings she gets by means of the two above-mentioned instruments

In short, with the combination of these methods, it was expected that the researcher would

have “deeper understanding” and “broader perspective” of the information (Mertens, 2005,

p.21) so as to get more reliable results

2.6 Procedure of data collection

The process of data collection was carried out during the first semester of the school year2009-2010

At the beginning of the semester, the preliminary questionnaires were delivered to thestudents of K2B The researcher, and also the teacher in charge of this class, had a friendly talkwith the students about her study and asked them to help her with the data Students wereinstructed carefully on how to complete the questionnaires and explanations were given whennecessary The results were then analysed and students‟ English competence, their experienceand preference in PBL were revealed

After that, a semi-structured interview was conducted with the teacher and during thesemester, the researcher constantly had friendly chats with or emails to her colleague for furtherinformation and recommendations A careful record of students‟ changes in their attitude andbehaviors is also kept

At the end of the semester, when the tourism projects were completed, another set ofquestionnaires was delivered to students Based on the findings from the questionnaires and hernotes and diary, the researcher came to a conclusion about the effectiveness of PBL application

in the teaching of English for Tourism Recommendations were also made to facilitate futurestudy on this topic

2.7 Data analysis procedure

The data collected was analysed in different procedures:

 For the questionnaires: data was processed by means of descriptive statistical analysis

 For the teacher‟s notes and diary: a narrative reflection was written basing on these notes that the researcher has made throughout the implementation of the project

 For the interviews: A transcript was done and relevant information was integrated into sub-topics of the paper

2.8 Summary

In summary, chapter 2 has provided the most basic information about the study which hasalso been explained and justified properly The background of the study gives impetus to theresearcher‟s decision of carrying out the study The action research approach is adopted, giventhe nature of the study The other parts of this chapter help clarify other aspects of the studysuch as participants, data collection instruments and procedure and data analysis methods

Chapter 3: THE PRACTICAL STUDY

In this chapter, the main stages of this action research will be presented under the following

headings: Preliminary investigation (preliminary questionnaire), Intervention (the implementation of the travel guide project) and Evaluation (evaluation questionnaire).

3.1 Preliminary investigation

3.1.1 Data presentation of the preliminary questionnaires

3.1.1.1 Students’ language experience and competence (Question 1, 2, 3)

Question 1: How long have you been learning English as a compulsory subject at school and college?

For the first question, only 6% of the students said

that they have been learning English for quite a short

time (1-4 years) while well over half of them have

been learning for 5-8 years and 41% even have

experience of learning English for more than 8 years

Clearly, most students have been learning English for

their ESP learning at the college

Question 2: How do you rate your English language skills?

their language skills as “fair” and none rate their listening, speaking and reading skill as “verygood” Meanwhile quite a large number of students feel that their language skills are still “poor”

or “very poor”

Besides, it can also be noted that students‟ communicative skills (listening and speaking) aregenerally poorer than the other skills Very few students think that their listening and speakingskills are quite good (3.1% and 6.3% respectively) while many confess that their skills are stillpoor or very poor (56.3% for listening skill and 34.4% for speaking skill)

Question 3: How do you rate your following skills in English?

3.1.1.2 Students’ attitude towards the course book and their majoring field (Question

4, 5, 6, 7)

Question 4: How do you find the subject “English for Tourism”?

As can be seen from the chart, more than fiftypercents (59%) think that this subject is OK andnearly one-fourth (22%) appear more interested,thus choosing “quite interesting” option However,there still remains a number of students (19%)showing their dissatisfaction with this subject whenthey said that it is uninteresting

Question 5: The course book you are using (English for International Tourism)

is Concerning the course book that they are using, these students also show a

positive attitude Half of them choose “satisfactory” option and quite a large

number of other students (31 %) rate

it

as “quite good” and one student even say that it is

“very good” Only 16% think that the book is

poor and none choose the option “very poor”

Question 6: “The single use of the course book can provide me with enough background

knowledge about tourism industry?” What is your opinion of this statement?

Though students like the course book, for theabove-mentioned statement, only 16% agree while

a much greater number of students (69%) believethat the single use of the course book cannot caterfor their needs of background knowledge The rest(21%) are not sure whether this is true or not intheir case

Question 7: What would you like to add to the course?

Among various options, “a content

subject” seems to be the most needed

when 24 out of 29 students want to have it

added to their course Group presentation,

research tasks and written assignments are

chosen by almost the same number of

students (14, 13 and 11 respectively)

Only one student does not want to have

any extra subject or learning activity

3.1.1.3 Students’ attitudes towards PBL approach in learning EfT (Question 8, 9, 10)

Question 8: How familiar is project work (group investigation and presentation) to you at your department?

A, I have done some and I know how to carry out a

project now

B, I have done some but still don’t know how to

carry out a project.

D, I have never heard of it and I don’t want to try

it.

As can be seen from the chart, 91% of the students choose A and B, which means thesestudents have been familiarized with project work at the college However, 78% confess thatthey still do not know how to carry out a project while only 13% think that project work is not aproblem to them Surprisingly, there still remain 9% who even have no idea of what projectwork would be like but they would like to try it

Question 9: How would you like to carry out the project for the subject “English for Tourism”?

The chart indicates that most students (72%) prefer

to work in groups when doing tourism project whileonly 2 out of 32 students (6%), would like to work ontheir own Pairwork is favoured by 7 students whichaccounts for 22% This is understandable, given thenature of project work that it is often long-term andinvolves lots of out-of-class activities, thus calls for thecollaboration of some individuals

Question 10: How would you like to demonstrate your final product?

When asked about their preference of final

product demonstration form, about two-thirds of the

students choose “oral presentation with PowerPoint

slides” “Written assignment” is favored by 18.8% and “oral presentation with wall posters” is

the least attractive form with only 12.5% choosing it

3.1.2 Findings

The result of the survey reveals, first of all, that students‟ language competence can not meetthe demands of the course Although most students have been learning English for quite a longtime, their language skills are not very good and it seems that their communicative skills(speaking and listening) are not as good as the other skills This is perhaps due to their learningtradition at high school which is mostly grammar-based and mainly prepares students for theuniversity entrance examination In addition, their soft skills haven‟t been developed properly.Almost all students are not confident of their communication, presentation and problem-solvingskills in English Perhaps, the syllabus and teaching tradition do not put them in an authenticenvironment in which they can develop these skills This situation has raised the needs of ateaching and learning method which can help students to improve their language skills anddevelop their soft skills as well

Another finding from the preliminary questionnaire is EfT students‟ quite favorable attitudetowards the subject and the course book Nevertheless, they are not satisfied with the book andwould like to have more supplementary materials and activities Clearly, it is the teachers‟ job tomotivate students and make the EfT lesson more interesting and beneficial to them In otherwords, necessary adaptation to the course book and the design of meaningful learning activitiesare really vital in this case

The last finding is related to the use of project work in learning EfT In fact, PBL is not anew concept at the department as the students have done several projects both in Vietnameseand in English However, how to make a project successful is still a challenge to them.Considering the findings from the preliminary questionnaire, combined with the ideas from theteacher interview, the researcher decided to implement PBL in teaching EfT and the type of

project work chosen is group investigation and presentation After the projects were completed,

the researcher combined a lot of data collection methods to check if this learning approach reallyworks in her own context

of groups, and some additional activities during the implementation of the project The purpose

of these changes is to create a more authentic situation and motivate students with curiosity andfun in their learning The detail of the project will be dealt with in the following part

3.2.1 The design and aims of the project

Design:

The class is divided into 4/5-member-groups and each acts as a tourist company with its ownname, logo, and slogan selected or designed by group members The task that these “companies”have to perform is to work on a given topic which is based on the themes in the course book butwith some modifications to suit with Vietnam‟s tourism context The groups will search forinformation; make a written assignment to hand in and a PowerPoint presentation to be given atthe end of the semester Their final presentation should be like that of tourist guides and thusmust be informative, creative and persuasive to the tourists (the teacher and other groups)

3.2.2 Procedure of the project

Phase 1: Orientation and Planning (week 1,2)

As this learning activity is learner-centered and involves lots of out-of-class activities, the orientation and planning stage plays an essential role that can determine the success of the

projects This stage of the project takes place during the first two weeks of the semester and mayconsist of some following activities:

1 A needs analysis is done by means of mini survey questionnaires for students to explorestudents‟ language experience and competence, their evaluation of the course book, theirexpectations in learning EfT and in carrying out tourism projects This will be a foundation for theteacher‟s adaptation in teaching the course book and designing the travel guide projects

2 Students are instructed to form groups; choose their company names, logo, and slogan; and select their topics

3 Students are given clear instructions on how to carry out the project and how their

projects will be evaluated, what individual assessment will be like

Phase 2: Research and implementation (week 3,4,5,6,7,8)

This is the most important phase of the project and involves a variety of activities such asgroup work, individual research, teacher consultation, etc Students have to search forinformation individually, organize group meetings themselves, and have to be in agreementabout the outline, organization and content of their project Therefore, to make their projectsuccessful, students need to be active, creative and cooperative The teacher, likewise, needs to

be responsible and willing to support students when necessary He/she should devote time andenergy to scaffolding the students by giving comment, suggestions and helping them to get overpossible difficulties such as ineffective group work, lack of materials, etc

One important task that all students have to fulfill during this phase is completing the weeklyreview and having it signed by the teacher every week The aim of the students‟ weekly review

is twofold First, it helps the teacher to make sure that his/her students are really working andthey are going in the right direction Second, it helps students to make a habit of self-studyingand to progress in their study

Phase 3: Sharing result (week 9,10)

This is the last but not least important phase in which groups take turns to give presentation

to the whole class Their performance must be like that of tourist guides from certain touristcompanies and the teacher and other groups will act as the tourists Normally, each group hasabout one period for sharing results in which 30 minutes is for their oral presentation and therest (15 minutes) will be for class discussion and teacher‟s feedback and consolidation of the

topic Two most important objectives that all members need to achieve by the end of the project are as follows:

- report what their group has done to the whole class in a creative and persuasive way

- participate in other presentations and gain knowledge and experience from other groups For the teacher‟s part, he/she must be fully aware of their important role and the duties they

need to fulfill, not just playing the role of an audience

- Equip himself/ herself with sufficient knowledge about the project topics in order to giveaccurate and persuasive comments on the projects Also, with such knowledge, the teacher canconfidently lead the follow-up discussions which enable students to gain experience and knowledgeeffectively

- Design a good and reliable assessment tool so as to make students feel satisfied and more

interested in the future projects (see Appendices)

In short, if both the teacher and his/her students make every attempt to achieve theobjectives above, the success of the projects can surely be guaranteed and both can benefitgreatly from this learning activity

3.3 Evaluation

3.3.1 Data presentation of the evaluation questionnaires

3.3.1.1 Students’ evaluation of their project (Number 1, 2, 3, )

and I know how to carry out such a project 10.3% 72.4% 10.3% 6.9% 0%

2 After finishing the travel guide project, I

feel more interested in the subject “English

for Tourism”.

Note: 1:Definitely agree 2:Mostly agree 3:Neither agree nor disagree

4:Mostly disagree 5:Definitely disagree

The table shows students‟ general opinion of the projects that they have just finished As can

be seen from the table, the projects have yielded quite good results 72.4% mostly agree and10.3% even definitely agree that they know how to carry out a tourism project now 10.3% showtheir neutral attitude while only 2 out of 29 students still don‟t know how to do such projects.For the question whether the travel guide project motivate students in their learning, 24 out

of 29 students (82.8%) agree with different extents, 5 definitely and 19 mostly, while only 1student mostly disagree with it However, four students still show their neutral attitude, thuschoosing “neither agree nor disagree” option Clearly, the travel guide project appears attractiveand beneficial to most students

This is more confirmed when students are asked if they would like to do more projects in thefuture 21 out of 29 students (72.4%) say that they would like to do so and only 1 student isopposed to this idea Still, 7 students (24.1%) are not sure whether they want to do more projectwork or not

3.3.1.2 Benefits of project work in learning EfT (Statement 4, 5, 6, 7)

The benefits of project work will be discussed in terms of such aspects as language skillspractice, background knowledge, soft skills enhancement, etc

Statement No 4: In different stages of the project, I also had chance to practice such language

skill(s) as

All students believe that through doingproject work, they have chance to practicespeaking skill and possibly some other languageskills 18 out of 29 students think that the projecthelps them to practice listening skill as well Thesame numbers of students (17) choose readingand writing options

Statement No 5: The travel guide project help(s) me to imagine what a job in tourism

industry would be like.

As can be seen from the chart, 17% say that the

travel guide project greatly helps them to imagine