A need analysis of an interactive website to enhance learning autonomy for undergraduates majored in english for electrical engineering and electronics

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERISTY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRƯƠNG MINH CHÂU A NEED ANALYSIS OF AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE TO ENHAN

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERISTY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TRƯƠNG MINH CHÂU

A NEED ANALYSIS OF AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE TO ENHANCE LEARNING AUTONOMY FOR UNDERGRADUATES MAJORED IN ENGLISH FOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND

ELECTRONICS

(Phân tích nhu cầu của website hỗ trợ cho việc tự học cho sinh viên học

tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Điện – Điện tử)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

HANOI – 2020

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERISTY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TRƯƠNG MINH CHÂU

A NEED ANALYSIS OF AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE TO ENHANCE LEARNING AUTONOMY FOR UNDERGRADUATES MAJORED IN ENGLISH FOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND ELECTRONICS

(Phân tích nhu cầu của website hỗ trợ cho việc tự học cho sinh viên học

tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Điện – Điện tử)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Minh Trâm, Ph.D

HANOI – 2020

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DECLARATION

I, Truong Minh Chau, hereby certify that my thesis submitted to the Faculty of Post- Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Ha Noi is my own work Documented references have been fully provided I have not submitted this thesis for assessment in any other training institutions

Hanoi, 2020

Truong Minh Chau

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to express my special and sincere thanks to my supervisor, Ph.D Nguyen Thi Minh Tram, who gave me enthusiastic instructions, precious support and critical feedback on the construction of the study

Second, I also express my profound gratitude to all doctors, lecturers and staff members of the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their valuable lectures and useful advice that is of a great help for me to fulfil the thesis

Next, I would like to send my deep sense of thanks to the 17 undergraduates, 2 lecturers of the course English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics, and other lecturers from School of Foreign Languages, Hanoi University of Science and Technology and other 5 alumni of the technical English-majored programs for their cooperation and the valuable information they provided in my research field Then, I am also thankful to many writers whose ideas are useful hints for the development of this thesis

Finally, I desire to give special thanks to all of my family members, colleagues and friends who inspire and encourage me side-by-side throughout working on the research

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ABSTRACT

This research, taken place in a technical university in Hanoi, aims at investigating the technical English-majored undergraduates’ needs in learning English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics (EEEE), then to propose some specifications of an interactive website to enhance their learning autonomy Qualitative data was collected from in-depth interviews with EEEE undergraduates, graduates and lecturers The first section of in-depth interviews was conducted with 17 undergraduates from a technical university in Hanoi to collect data about the learners’ difficulties, their needs of an interactive website Moreover, the needs of the undergraduates from academic institute and workplace perspectives are studied with other two sections of the interviews with lecturers and graduates The findings show that the undergraduates’ difficulties were associated with their knowledge of technical areas, memorization of technical terms, communicative skills and information analysis skills Regarding the specifications, the website need a balance between learning and working environment and some other features such as vivid illustration and interactive between the users Lastly, some key features and design

of the website are provided based on the expected learning outcomes for the learners

to learn and work effectively with the necessary competencies, the assessment of the website and the instructional plans for an interactive website Some suggestions and recommendations for constructing an interactive website namely bilingual news reading comprehension, exercises for improving knowledge, memorizing technical terms, improving communicative skills are included in the conclusion The researcher hopes that the result from the study could help the ESP course developers, lecturers and education website constructors in the process of an interactive website design to enhance the undergraduates’ learning autonomy

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ABBREVIATIONS

EEE Electrical Engineering and Electronics

EEEE English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics

Under_EEEE Undergraduates having experienced the course English for

Electrical Engineering and Electronics Under_FM Undergraduates learning at first year, have not experience the

course English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics

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CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

ABBREVIATIONS iv

CONTENTS v

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the research 2

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 2

1.5 Method of the study 3

1.6 Significance of the study 3

1.7 Organization of the study 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 English for Specific Purpose 5

2.1.1 Overview of ESP 5

2.1.2 English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics 7

2.2 Needs Analysis 8

2.2.1 Overview of Needs Analysis 8

2.2.2 Needs Analysis Frameworks 9

2.3 Learning autonomy 11

2.3.1 Overview of learning autonomy 12

2.3.2 Principles for a website design in developing learners’ autonomy 13

2.4 Application of technology in enhancing learning autonomy in ESP 15

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2.4.1 Overview 15

2.4.2 Application of technology in the process of learning language 16

2.5 Summary 17

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19

3.1 Context of the study 19

3.2 Participants 19

3.3 Research design 20

3.4 Data collection instruments 21

3.5 Data collection procedure 21

3.6 Data analysis methods and procedure 22

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 23

4.1 Difficulties in learning English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics 23 4.1.1 Difficulties in researching and analyzing necessary information 23

4.1.2 Other difficulties in learning EEEE 25

4.1.3 Conclusion 27

4.2 Key EEEE competencies and their learning preferences 27

4.2.1 Key EEEE competencies 27

4.2.2 Learners’ preferences of learning activities 28

4.3 Undergraduates’ needs of an interactive website 31

4.3.1 Reason for taking the course 32

4.3.2 Expectation towards the course 33

4.3.3 Difficulties in the workplace 35

4.3.4 Needs of an interactive website 37

4.4 Summary 38

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4.4.1 Expected learning outcomes 38

4.4.2 Assessment on the website 40

4.4.3 Instructional plans 41

a) Content of the website 41

b) Interface of the website 45

4.5 Conclusion 45

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 47

5.1 Implications 47

5.2 Limitations of the study 48

5.3 Suggestions for further study 48

REFERENCES 49

APPENDICES I

APPENDIX 1: The grade of undergraduate participants I

APPENDIX 2: The highlighted information about the graduates II

APPENDIX 3: The application of Hutchinson and Waters (1987)’ learning needs analysis framework in developing the research instruments III

APPENDIX 4: The application of Hutchinson and Waters (1987)’ target situation analysis framework in developing the research instruments VII

APPENDIX 5: Descriptions of participants in interviews IX

APPENDIX 6: Questions for in-depth interview 1 – Undergraduates XI

APPENDIX 7: Questions for in-depth interview 2 – Lecturers XIII

APPENDIX 8: Questions for in-depth interview 3 – Graduates XV

APPENDIX 9: Summary of significant findings - Undergraduates XVII

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study

With the growing need of using English internationally in the fields of science and technology, English for Specific Purpose (ESP) in general, and English for Science and Technology (EST) in particular have already marked their role in the multilingual and digital world of exponential developments for some recent decades Importantly, according to Huhta, Vogt, Johnson and Tulki (2013), the matter of ESP “should be redirected away from foreign language education and towards training in communication for professional purposes… The content of ESP course should be based on evidence, not teacher intuition” This means, ESP should not be regarded as the process of “reading” or “translating” the ESP documents, but the development of productive skills namely written and oral communication in ESP Moreover, the content development for ESP course should be deeply grounded from the research findings with relevant stakeholders rather than only based on the institute decisions from the course designers’ or lecturers’ In addition, the needs of English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics (EEEE) in EST, especially the application of EEEE in Vietnam is still under-researched

On the other hands, for ages, learning through the Internet have developed, especially learning through a specific website due to its large amount of information and data with diverse appearance attracting the learners Experiencing the course by herself, the researcher thoroughly comprehended and shared the difficulties in learning EST with the technical English-majored undergraduates in learning EEEE in the research context Therefore, the growing needs of a specific website to research and study technical knowledge has been the desire of many technical English-majored undergraduates who are overwhelming with a large, diverse but unsuitable-with-purpose amount of information on the Internet Moreover, in the situation when the effect of Covid-19 is spreading throughout the world, E-learning and blended learning can be beneficial Thus, the growing needs of a majority of schools, colleges, universities and other education institutions in Vietnam on planning to contribute a system of E-learning, website to serve for blended learning in the future have been mushrooming As a role of a technical university, applying blended learning and the

in order to explore the undergraduates’ needs in learning EEEE for the proposal of an interactive EEEE website with its distinctive features, functions and contents for more effective learning and workplace preparation

1.2 Aims of the research

The aim of the study is to explore the technical English-majored undergraduates’ needs of learning EEEE for the development of an interactive website to enhance their learning autonomy Specifically, the objectives of the study are:

- To investigate the difficulties that the undergraduates have encountered in learning EEEE

- To investigate their needs to develop an interactive website to stimulate the learners’ learning autonomy

1.3 Research questions

In order to achieve the objectives stated above, the following research questions are

as follows

1 What are difficulties that the undergraduates have experienced in the process

of learning English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics?

2 What are necessary EEEE competencies and learning activities to enhance their learning autonomy?

3 What are the undergraduates’ needs of an interactive website designed to enhance the undergraduates’ autonomy in learning English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics?

1.4 Scope of the study

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The present study only investigates the learners’ difficulties in learning EEEE and their needs of an interactive website from the perspectives of technical English-majored undergraduates, graduates and lecturers In addition, the research was only conducted at a technical university in Hanoi Besides, this website only aims at helping the learners develop their EEE competencies for more effective learning and future workplace Therefore, a website for other purposes is out of the scope of inquiry

1.5 Method of the study

In-depth interviews with English-majored undergraduates, graduates and lecturers were conducted in a qualitative research design to gain the insights into their difficulties, and needs of an interactive website in learning EEEE The participants include 17 undergraduates, 2 lecturers and 5 graduates from technical English majority program in a university in Hanoi The recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analysed qualitatively using qualitative data analysis techniques

suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994)

1.6 Significance of the study

The study aims at providing an investigation on the needs and a suggestion proposal the development of an interactive website Therefore, the result of the study with recommendation for website construction are also included and highlighted in order

to support further research of English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics, English for Science and Technology in practical and for English for Specific Purpose

in general

1.7 Organization of the study

The study is divided into six chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction, the researcher provides an overview of the research with specific information about rationale, aim and objectives of the research, the research questions, the scope, the methodology and the structure of the research

Chapter 2: Literature review, the researcher reviews the literature related to the abstract: English for Specific Purpose, English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Learning autonomy, Needs Analysis and the application of technology

in the current situation

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Chapter 3: Methodology, the researcher gives a detailed discussion of the method used in the study It presents the context of the study, participants, data collection instrument and data analysis methods and procedures

Chapter 4: Data analysis and Findings, the researcher give a detail description of data analysis and discussion of the findings of the study This focuses on analyzing and discussing the results gained from the study based on the in-depth interviews Chapter 5: Recommendation, this chapter provides some suggestions for the development of the website in the future

Chapter 6: Conclusion, the researcher summarizes the key points in the study, represents the recapitulation of the main points presented in the research and concluding remarks This chapter also includes the limitations of the study and some recommendation for further research

The definition of ESP has been mentioned according to Hutchinson & Waters (1987), which is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner’s reason for teaching In addition, Strevens (1998, p.1) also defines ESP as a particular case of general category of special purpose language teaching Moreover, Belchers shares the thinking that the matter of ESP is

to address learners’ own specific language purposes

Hutchinson and Water (1987) classify ESP into two branches: English for Scientific Study (EST), English for Business and Economics, English for Social Study, which made up to English for Academic Purposes and English for Professional Purposes Besides the Trichotomy of Hutchinson & Waters, Jordan (1997) is also divided ESP into two main branches, which are English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP)

Figure 1: Jordan (1997) ESP Dichotomy

To extend the matter of ESP, Rahman (2015) has also mentioned the area of English for Science and Technology (EST), which is considered as the focal area, whereas the EOP involes work-related needs and training However, English for Medical Purposes and English for Legal Purposes have always gained their places More recently, English for Management, Finance and Economics has increasingly been important to Master of Business Administration course According to Robinson

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(1991, p.21), EOP involves work-related needs and training EOP includes professional purposes in administration, medicine, law and business, and vocational purposes for non-professional in work or pre-work situation (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998) In the research, due to the time constraint, the researcher decides to follow the classification of Jordan (1997), which mainly focuses on the matter of English for Science and Technology (EST) as English for Academic Purposes, taking consideration in the process of academic situation of a technical university in Vietnam

Regarding the specific features of ESP, according to Strevens (1980), Robinson (1991), Dudley-Evans and St John, (1997), etc., who have agreed that an ESP course should have the following absolute and variable features:

Absolute features:

 ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learner

 ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the disciplines it serves

 ESP is centered on the language (grammar, lexis, and register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate

to those activities

Variable features:

 ESP may be related to or designed for a specific disciplines, which based on the needs of the learners

 ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, in different methodology from “General English”

 ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation

 ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced learners Most ESP courses assume basic knowledge of the language system, but it can be used with beginners

With the specific purposes in mind, the learners should know clearly what they need

to learn and they will learn with high motivation what they find useful for their work later or at present However, in some situations, the learners may not realize and distinguish the matter of what they are interested in and what they need for their future careers As a result, consideration for professional purposes in collaboration with teacher intuition should be improved to develop an ESP course In other words, the developers should consider the aim of their learners’ successful performance of occupational roles by exploring their needs as well as, the differences between ESP and general language course regarding its selective skills, themes, topics, situation, functions, language and methodology

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2.1.2 English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics

Although English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics (EEEE) is included in the process of learning EST, its definition of EEEE is not available yet in the literature Other fields may be included in EST along with EEEE should be English for Mechanical Engineering and Materials, English for Information Communication Technology, English for Environmental Science, etc Based on the current course-book relating to EEEE of Glendining (1980), Sinclair & Dunton (2007) and the course-book of a technical university in Hanoi, Vietnam (School of Foreign Language, 2016), some common features are as follows

(1) The course-books are mainly developed according to content-based approach, which focus on providing information for the learners on the Electrical-relating topics such as Electrostatic forces, the structure of matter, electric current, electromotive force, electric circuits, DC generators & motors, etc

(2) The course-books concentrate on developing the two main areas: technical terminology and reading comprehension Although Glendining (1980) includes some grammatical exercise and the course- book of the technical university in Hanoi includes communicative and listening skills, it still focuses

on the matter of accumulating technical terms and knowledge rather than developing communicative skills

The course of EEEE mainly focuses on delivering the knowledge rather than skills, especially the basic knowledge of Electrical Engineering and Electronics for the learners in order to create a foundation for them in future careers However, the research about the learning needs of the undergraduates have not been conducted thoroughly and officially, the teachers or the lecturers mainly contribute the course-books based on their experience rather than the undergraduates’ needs about the course Therefore, in the current study, the undergraduates’ competencies including knowledge, skills and attitude (Council of Europe, 2001) in EEEE will be explored for better understanding of their needs

In conclusion, under the situation when ESP is widely regarded under vocational orientation rather than academic one, the matter of EEEE, which is still mainly considered as content-based orientation should be improved In addition, EEEE should be regarded based on the needs of learners In other words, studying on

a focuses course Strevens suggests that NA is a necessary first step for specific purposes language teaching In addition, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) also argue that “any language course should be based on needs analysis”, Hamp-Lyons (2001) opines that needs analysis is a fundamental component to and ESP approach in term

of course design

According to Hutchinson & Waters (1987), the matter of designing an ESP course lies towards inter-relationship among three elements: (1) Methodology, which is reflected by Learning theories, (2) Syllabus, which is reflected by the language description and (3) the nature of particular target, which is reflected by Need Analysis The main concentration of the researcher is to research the literature relating to the development of an interactive website to enhance the autonomy for learners in the process of learning the course English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics As regarded from the previous part in the analysis, both the conclusions

of developing an ESP course and enhancing learners’ autonomy relate to the matter

of Needs Analysis, in which the research should investigate on the needs, necessities, difficulties, wants, etc of the learners before developing a website as a supplement tool in the process of learning Hence, the understanding of the researcher towards the matter of Need Analysis is necessary in order to adapt both the development on the content of the website and the motivation of learners in the process of self-

studying

2.2.1 Overview of Needs Analysis

The term “analysis of needs” first appeared in the 1920’s in West Bengal, a province

of India when Michael West introduce the concept of “needs” to cover what learners will be required to do with the foreign language in the target situation and how learners might best master the language during the period learning (Rahman, 2015)

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Regarding to the definition, Dudley-Evans and St John (1997) defines NA as “the

process of establishing the what and how of a course” They argue that “need analysis

in neither unique to language teaching-needs assessment For example, in the basic

of training programs and aid-development, programs- nor, within language training,

is unique to Language for Specific Purpose and thus to ESP”

Dudley-Evans and St John (1997) also stress three aspects about the aim of NA is to know: (1) learners as people, as language users and as language learners, (2) how language learning and skills learning can be maximized for a given learner group and (3) the target situations and learning environment As a result, the data can appropriately be interpreted

2.2.2 Needs Analysis Frameworks

Different components of language needs analysis are employed to investigate different focuses and issues in language planning, development, teaching and learning There are also several ways in which NA approaches are classified depending towards the concept of needs or the purposes of the learners For example, Munby (1978) provides “Communication Needs processors” to identify the communication needs of the target learners The outcome of this framework is the profile of needs of the learners It is regarded to have tendency on the design of communicative syllabus However, the needs is not taken from different standpoint and does not relate to other elements, but take learners as the only sources In addition, the framework produces an unordered list of linguistics features, which make the researcher unable to decide what should be focused on Moreover, the interrelationship among the linguistic features are not reflected thoroughly

Another framework, which is developed from the result of Munby’s work, provides the used of an integrated procedure for NA by McDnough (1984) (as cited in Rahman, 2015) This framework occurs the limitations that it does not mention the lacks, wants, etc in the procedures

To extend the work of McDonough (1984), Hutchinson and Waters (1987) expand

NA into the matter or Target Situation and Learning needs analysis Therefore, the two components Target Situation Analysis (TSA) and Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) should be focused on in the research

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a) Target Situation Analysis

The TSA approach is initially adopted in the early stage of NA in ESP (Dudley-Evans

& St John, 1998) Accordingly, the purpose of TSA was to identify he tasks and activities the learners will use English for professional communication information

In addition, they also explain as “TSA includes objective, perceived and oriented needs The objective and perceived needs are derived by outsiders from facts, from what is known and can be verified Therefore, “to be able to spell English words correctly” is an objective / perceived need Product-oriented needs are derived from the goal or target situation” Robinson (1991) conclude that “a needs analysis, which focuses on learners’ needs at the end of language course, can be called a TSA” Before designing a course, learners should know why they are taking the course an how they will apply that learning Also English language teachers or lecturers should know what kind of task and activities learners will be using Eglish for (Kandil, 2003) (as cited in Abu-Rizaizah, 2005) In order to investigate the matter of TSA, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) suggested the following questions as a start-point to uncover relevant information

product- Why is the language needed?

 How will the language be used?

 What will the content areas be?

 Who will the learners use the language with?

 When / Where will the language be used?

(Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p.63)

The suggested questions from Hutchinson and Waters can be adapted differently and flexibly depending upon each research and the objectives of the researcher For example, in this research, the researcher mainly focuses on two first questions “why

is the language needed?” and “How will the language be used?” to figure out the application of the course EEEE and EEE in workplace

b) Learning Needs Analysis

According to Robinson (1991, p.8) “Learning needs analysis (LNA) seeks to establish what the learners are like at the start of their language course, investigating their strengths and weaknesses in language, skills and learning experiences” Whereas Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) believe that LNA estimates strength and

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weaknesses in language, skills and learning experiences Jolly and Bolitho, 1998, also share this ideas by stating that TSA refers to learners’ language difficulties, their learning objectives, their styles of learning In conclusion, tt can be said that the matter of LNA relates to the learners (their learning experience, cultural information, reasons and expectation, their attitudes to English) and learners’ current skills, as well

as, language use environment There are some questions recommended by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) for the researcher to analyse the matter of LNA as follow:

 Why are the learners taking the course?

 How do the learners learn?

 What resources are available?

 Who are the learners?

 When / Where will the course take place?

(Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p.63)

The development of the detailed research questions in order to study the needs of the learners may depend on the researcher and the current situation of the research In this research, the researcher only obsolete the last question about the time and place the course would take place, but adapt the first four questions

Under consideration on the purpose of the research, the framework of Hutchinson and Waters (1987) is applied in the present study regarding to the set of questions of target situation and learning needs analysis framework for some reasons Firstly, the framework provides a list of questions for learning needs analysis, which is useful and suitable for the process of developing the research instruments Secondly, the research purpose is conducted with a sequence of questions for an in-depth intervew Thus, the framework by Hutchinson and Waters (1987), which provides the detailed questions for learning needs and target needs analysis seem to be the most comprehensive and suitable for the aim and objectives of the research

2.3 Learning autonomy

Due to the fact that ESP, at some extent, is developed according to the learners’ needs, the role of learning autonomy and self-studying should be regarded in the process of developing ESP course and enhanced in the process of learning In the current situation that the time in class is limited and the undergraduates in Vietnam should

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has to enhance their learning autonomy since English for EEE is complicated with excess of knowledge along with communicative skills for future careers, understanding on learning autonomy is necessary

2.3.1 Overview of learning autonomy

The idea of learner autonomy was first developed at the Centre de Recherches et d’Applications Pédagogiques en Langues (CRAPEL), University of Nancy, France

in the early 1970s

According to Little (1991), learner autonomy has been a central concern among theorists of adult education for well over two decades Holec (1981, p3) defines the term as “the ability to take charge of one’s own directed learning” Little (2003) points out more precisely that “the practice of learner autonomy requires insight, a positive attitude, a capacity for reflection, and a readiness to be proactive in self-management and in interaction with others” In addition, the three basic pedagogical principles underlying autonomy in language learning should be learner involvement (engaging learners to share responsibility for the learning process), learner reflection (helping learners to think critically when they plan, monitor and evaluate their learning) and appropriate use of target language (using the target language as the principal medium of language learning) In this sense, Holec (1981), Allwright (1990) and Little (1991) share the agreement that autonomous learners decide what to learn, when and how to learn it by taking responsibility for their learning and are willing to learn and interact with each other in the process of studying The process of personal responsibility in monitoring their own progress entails the use of self-assessment as one of the instruments to determine their level of knowledge and skills (Gardner, 1999)

In addition, Holec (1981) regards autonomous learning as a double process On the one hand, it relates to the matter of learning the foreign language, on the others, it is the matter of learning how to learn Holec (1981)’s definition entails that an autonomous learners could flexibly use their knowledge and skills outside the immediate context of learning Hence, autonomous learning could extend beyond a school context, which is considered as a life-long process of constantly developing awareness

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According to Najeeb (2013), independence and autonomy can be encouraged by giving the learners tools for success in their future study These tools include helping the learners to understand their real goals to develop skills to enable them to find the answers and information they need in order to be successful in reaching these goals Learners need to be able to be aware of and understand their own learning style and

to use these as their advantages At the same time, they should be willing to adapt to

a more autonomous method of learning

2.3.2 Principles for a website design in developing learners’ autonomy

There are some recommendation for the design of course in order to enhance learners’ autonomy The principles that are to design the completed course for enhancing learners’ autonomy, can be used to apply into designing a website as an extensive source supporting for the main course

Reinders (2010) introduces a framework starting from the learners and their actions, which can be encouraged, modelled and monitored by the teachers The framework runs through eight stages: (1) identifying needs, (2) setting goals, (3) planning learning, (4) selecting resources, (5) selecting learning strategies, (6) practice, (7) monitoring progress and (8) assessment and revision

In addition, Cotterall (2000, p.113) has once developed a principle for course which can develop learning autonomy as follow:

 The course reflects learners’ goal in its language, tasks and strategies: Cotteral (2000) has developed

a survey that aims to measure learners’ readiness for autonomy which can be a starting point for determining how much preparation learners are going to need

 Course tasks are explicitly linked to a simplified framework of the language learning process

 Course tasks either replicate real-world communicative tasks or provide rehearsal for such tasks – is linked to the first principle

 The course incorporates discussion and practice with strategies known to facilitate task performance – is interconnected with extending the choice of learning strategies

 The course promotes reflection on learning – is connected to ability to reflect critically on one’s learning and to evaluate the effectiveness of one’s learning progression (as cited in Cotteral, 2000, p.113)

From the both framework of Reinders (2010) and Cotterall (2000), it can be, at some extent, concluded that the framework of Cotterall (2000) explains for the step of Reinders (2010) For example, the process of investigate the learners’ goal in

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language, task and strategies by survey reflects the matter of identifying needs of learners The development of course tasks relating to the matter of goals, planning learning, selecting the resources, practice and monitoring process lie in the development of developing discussion and practice with strategies And both frameworks conclude with evaluation and assessment the learners’ learning progression

Particularly, the framework of Cotterall (2000) and Reinders (2010) can be generalized by the principles of Backward Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 2006) which is reflected as follows in conducting research and constructing an interactive website to enhance learners’ autonomy As a result, some steps are carried out based

on Backward Design (Wiggins and McTighe, 2006) as follows

(1) Identify the desired results from the participants

(2) Determine acceptable evidences

(3) Plans learning experiences and instruction to deal with the needs of the participants, which is the conclusion for the design of the website

The design of an interactive website does not aim at developing a completed course, but as an extensive source supporting for the main course In brief, in order to develop

a course that could enhance the autonomy for the learners, their learning needs and target needs analysis should be followed It means that the interactive website should relate to both the learners’ learning situation and working environment in the future The specifications for the website should be considered based on (1) expected learning outcomes of the course, (2) assessment and (3) instructional plan (teaching and learning activities and materials) Although the research does not concentrate on developing a course, but an interactive website, the research on the three necessary elements is still important By researching on the needs of the graduates, the ideas and comments from undergraduates and lecturers from a technical university in Vietnam, the expected learning outcomes are confirmed, then, the assessment and instructional plans for the interactive website as a supporting tool for undergraduates focusing on EEEE are concluded Under the consideration on the objectives and aims

of the research, in order to identify the learning outcomes, assessment and

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instructional plans necessary for contributing a website, backwards design appears to

be the most comprehensive and suitable framework

2.4 Application of technology in enhancing learning autonomy in ESP

Nowadays, ICT (Information and Communication Technology) has been used in almost all fields of life, including education Online learning refers to teaching and learning, mediated by a computer connected to the Internet Many terms such as web-based training, internet-based training, E-learning, advanced distributed learning, and distance education are used to describe online learing (Gagne, Wager, Golas & Keller, 2005, as cited in Celebic & Rendulic, 2011) E-learning is an effective process since it promotes student-centered or active learning It also facilitates anytime-anyplace learning which is of special benefit to adult learners and non-traditional-learners As a result, after experiencing some courses relating to English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics and with the desire of developing and interactive environment for the self-studying process of the learners, the researchers decide to study the matter of E-learning and construct an interactive website

& Nahlik, 2009); Celebic & Rendulic, 2011) Its concept, however, is narrowed down

to mean any learning that is internet-enabled or web-based (LARose, Gregg & Eastin,

2003 as cited in Abbad et al., 2009)

E-learning brings about many benefits for learners, teachers and education institutions Firstly, e-learning benefit learners by improving access to education and training (Alexander, 2001; as cited in Gilbert, Morton, & Rowley, 2007); giving them adaptive time, place and pace of learning providing them with unrestricted repetition

of lectures; and creating multimedia environment with video, audio and text (Celebic

& Rendulic, 2011) Besides, for teachers and educational institutions, it reduces costs

of conducting teaching, enables educational staff to implement the respective education in a short time and allows simple upgrade of materials

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However, there are several obstacles emerging during application of e-learning in education courses It is difficult to assess a reliable e-learning resources due to knowledge’s limitation of scientifically evaluative standards (as cited in Gilbert, Morton, & Rowley, 2007) In terms of e-learning employment, whether learners get benefits or be hindered from e-learning environment is under questioned

On the other side, interactive website could be considered as one elements contributing to the concept of E-learning It is considered as a new version of world-wide-web, interactive website or Web 2.0 It was first introduced in 1999 and then popularized in 2004 by DiNucci and O’Reilly A web 2.0 site allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to Websites where people are limited to the passive viewing of content We can name some examples of Web 2.0 such as social networking sites, blogs, wikis, folksonomies, video sharing sites, hosted services, Web application, and mashups In more simple words, an interactive website allows the users or visitors to participate and edit the content on it An effective interactive website is defined by its ability to engage the users in an immersive experience that delivers satisfaction It can be said that Web 2.0 is now having a great impact on our social life: the way we communicate to each other and the way we approach to a vast information available on the Internet

2.4.2 Application of technology in the process of learning language

On agreement with the beneficial effect of interactive website, Vu Tuong Vi (2005) shows the points of computer network’s advent in teaching and learning language as follow

(1) The computer-networked environment facilitates the language teaching and learning by providing a valuable source of material

(2) Computer network can be seen as a communication tool and web-based learning can improves communication skills of users

(3) Network environment offers a new way of teaching and learning language in modern life: distance learning

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In addition, according to Dashtestani & Stojkovic (2015), the application and integration of technology in ESP contexts may pose challenges and create opportunities which might be different from the ones in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Their research goes deeper on analysing the use of technology in ESP instruction They believe that the specific merits of using technology in ESP instruction comprise providing interactive and communicative activities related to professions, majors, or specific purposes of learners, appreciating the socio-cultural dimensions of the language and the specific content, nourishing learners with adequate specific input

Although, the above research could point out the importance and wide application of technology in the process of learning for learners, there seems to be some limitation

in the research such as the learners still have to choose among many sources on the Internet as the supporting tools in the process of learning In addition, the resources

on the Internet are diverse and complicated with the collaboration of both General English and ESP In addition, there seems to be no specific source to support the ESP learners

As a result, the research of need analysis of undergraduates who have experienced the course English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics is necessary in order to construct a specific interactive website to support the process of self-studying, which enhance the learning autonomy for learners

2.5 Summary

This study was conducted to explore the focus and aims of the previous research studies on the topics relating to the development of an ESP course, as well as the development of the course enhancing learning autonomy, the conclusion may come

to the needs analysis upon the learners In addition, the interrelationship among learning, need analysis and learning autonomy in the process of contribute an interactive website supporting for English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics should be put under consideration

E-ESP has always been concerned with specific English language needs of the target learners Under the modern situation, it has been considered as an innovative and distinct field EEEE should be regarded as a field among ESP, which helps learners

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help specific knowledge in both academic and vocational purposes Despite its challenges, the process of learning among the learners and the development of learning materials have some limitation The researcher focuses on the matter of enhancing autonomy for learners in the process of the studying Both ESP and enhancing autonomy for learners leads to the concept of Need Analysis, which is the specific “needs” of the learners In other words, it is regarded as the collaboration of many elements such as teachers, school, and the learners (their wants, difficulties, interests, etc.) Along with the study of needs analysis, the role of E-learning in the development of supporting tools could be considered as a possible and necessary approach for the learners Although there are many sources available in supplement for the process of self-studying for learners, the specific sources for ESP learners have not been paid much attention As a result, a need analysis among learners in order to contribute the content for the website to create an interactive learning environment is necessary

The conclusion from the review of literature is expected to help the researcher explore more thoroughly in this field and start the process of collecting data at the later research to contribute the website In addition, the researcher desires that the results from the review of literature could support for the research in the relating areas

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Context of the study

The research took place in a technical university in Hanoi, Vietnam where the technical English-majored undergraduates experience the courses on English for Science and Technology, the course on English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics is one element in the segmental courses The course usually takes place

at the fourth semester (the second year) of the undergraduates The course, which accounts for 2 credits, is considered as the fundamental course for undergraduates in order to learn the technical translation and interpretation in later semesters Before the course, the undergraduates have been equipped with the four basic skills (reading, writing, listening and communicative skills in the General English) at B1-level in Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001) Moreover, it is supposed to create opportunities for undergraduates to reinforce and cultivate practical teamwork skills, discussion skills and presentation skills (School of Foreign Languages, 2016)

In addition, the course is believed to equip the undergraduates with knowledge vocabulary and practical language skills in EEE field It should create a firm foundation for specialized knowledge and language for the translation and interpretation modules and later careers of the undergraduates Moreover, it creates opportunities for undergraduates to reinforce and cultivate practical teamwork skills, discussion skills and presentation skills

The course-book is developed by the School of Foreign Language with 12 Units stretching through 12 basic fields of Electrical Engineering and Electronics Each unit consists of three parts The first part is reading comprehension, which provides technical terms, technical knowledge by a set of vocabulary and reading text with some questions for comprehension The second part is further practice, which provides some further knowledge about the topic, other two skills: listening and writing skill The last part is provided at the end of the course, which is presentation

on a chosen topic in 12 units

3.2 Participants

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The chosen participants consisted of technical English-majored undergraduates, lecturers from a technical university in Hanoi, Vietnam, along with technical English-majored graduating from the current program of that university

Firstly, 17 English-majored undergraduates from a technical university in Hanoi, Vietnam agreed to participate in semi-structured interviews Their ages ranged between 19 and 21 Among them, 12 out of 17 ones had already experienced the course EEEE and got their results after the course, whereas other 5 were freshmen, who would experience the course in the next semester The collection of the participants’ results were reflected in the grades of the undergraduate participants (See Appendix 1)

Secondly, five English-majored graduates from that technical university were invited

to participate in other semi-structured interviews Their ages ranged from 24 to 25 All of them have experienced the course in the university Currently, they are working

in EEE or technical relating areas (See Appendix 2)

Lastly, the participants of the research included two lecturers teaching English for EEE in that university They got M.A degree in English teaching methodology and have had over 15 years of experience in teaching as well as developing the EEEE program for technical English-majored undergraduates and basic EEEE for technical undergraduates

3.3 Research design

Qualitative research was chosen as the most suitable research design for the study According to Strauss and Corbin (1990), qualitative methods are collecting and analysing non-statistic data mainly by means of interviews and observations Qualitative methods oriented the researchers who focus on collecting data relating to the nature and experience of the participants, especially, this type of method can

“extract” the emotion and feelings of the participants, which are not clearly shown through the statistics However, Hayllar and Veal (1996, p.40) pointed out the process

of analysing data collected by qualitative methods is time-consuming, which requires researchers to be “creative as well as systematic and precise” (p.36)

However, the study should follow qualitative research owing to the fact that the researcher wants to explore the difficulties from the diverse experience of the

3.4 Data collection instruments

The interview developing process, which consisted of three sections of interview questions for undergraduates, graduates and lecturers was conducted with the consultations from one expert with 15 years of experiences in conduction NA in ESP

to verify The sets of interview questions were designed based on the target situation and learning needs analysis framework by Hutchinson and Water (1987) In order to check if the questions are efficacious and whether the working was clear and understandable, a pilot study with two undergraduates were conducted The pilot interviews had at first 6 question including: (1) the information about the participants, (2) their awareness of the course, (3) their learning methodology, (4) their difficulties and interest, (5) their discussion After pilot study, the interview questions were developed with 13 questions for undergraduates, a set of 16 questions for lecturers,

10 questions for graduates and closely followed the framework of Hutchinson and Water (1987) (see Appendix 3 and Appendix 4) The sets of questions had some changes with the previous ones For example, learners’ awareness of the course was broken into smaller parts: the prior knowledge of EEEE, the learners’ expectation for the course and the learners’ attitude towards the course The afterward edition helped the interview questions clearer and easier to follow and more understandable for the participants

3.5 Data collection procedure

Before the interviews at least two days, the participants were provided with a set of semi-structured questions to brainstorm and review what they had experienced with the course When starting the interviews, the interviewees were informed that the interviews were recorded to serve the process of data analysis The interviews were conducted in Vietnamese language so that the interviewees could express themselves freely In addition, during the interview, the interviewer would take note some necessary information and main ideas

3.6 Data analysis methods and procedure

The recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analysed qualitatively using qualitative data analysis techniques suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994) Then, the data were categorized into themes and cited quotes were translated into English

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CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Difficulties in learning English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics

This session reports the results that answer the first research question: What are difficulties that the undergraduates have experienced in the process of learning English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics?

4.1.1 Difficulties in researching and analyzing necessary information

Despite the fact that only one undergraduate had trouble with resources researching,

on interviewing towards the available resources of the course, they all confirmed that researching the reliable resources was one of the most important skills in learning EEEE Not only the undergraduates, but also the graduates highlighted the undeniable role of information researching in the process of working One graduates stated that:

I’m not really satisfied with the knowledge I have achieved at the university, but the soft skills and communicative skills applied the most frequently in working such as researching and analysing information […] (Grad_2)

As a result, the undergraduates coped with many difficulties as reflected below

There are so many websites written with a large number of new words, as a result, I cannot understand anything (Under_EEEE_3)

Some words seems not to have the equivalence in Vietnamese, I cannot search for Vietnamese information to read for understand first, but have to learn the definition by heart (Under_EEEE_6)

It was hard for me to search and study the technical resources in the process of self-studying It was very rare (Under_EEEE_7)

In this part, the researcher chose to analyze the most significant data from the depth interview, other data was collected and provided under numeric data at Appendix 9, table 9.1

in-Firstly, it can be seen that the undergraduates mainly used Google for researching for both English and Vietnamese information for the course (11 out of 17 undergraduates, account for 65%) Even when the undergraduates owned some reliable addresses to research the information, they still used Google

I did not have a reliable source, but I used Google very often I searched for the information and found the most suitable source one (Under_EEEE_12)

Due to the fact that the learners have many difficulties in explaining and describing the working principles of the elements in the given topics, using Youtube should be

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considered as effective and necessary strategy However, the learners used Youtube the same way as they applied for Google, they still did not have their own reliable channels

Youtube is used frequently in class We sometimes recorded a video and posted on Youtube to receive comments from lecturers and friends to improve speaking skill It was effective (Under_FM_3)

We used Youtube to improve our listening skills in EEEE There were many scientific and technical videos relating to components and working principles of a machine with vivid illustration We could both understand the technical knowledge and improve listening skill (Under_EEEE_8)

Secondly, the undergraduates highlighted that the available resources only met their needs for passing the course (11 undergraduates out of 17), but their needs for future work or the recommendation for more thorough documents were not fulfilled One undergraduate also stated that the resources on the Internet still made her confused Some were too difficult to understand, whereas others were too easy In addition, the Vietnamese resources to help the learners contribute their knowledge relating to their majority were limited Sometimes, they cannot find the equivalence of the technical terminology in Vietnamese, which led to the matter of misunderstanding the concepts

The available resource still just adapted about 70%-80% of my learning needs For working careers

in the future, it did not meet my requirements (Under_EEEE_4)

There were not any sources for equivalent technical terms between English and Vietnamese language,

it was hard for me to find one Vietnamese equivalence to English one (Under_EEEE_11)

Thirdly, even the lecturers expressed their difficulties in technical materials researching as

I do not have many resources to provide for my learners, mainly some video clips on Youtube and searching on Google In addition, I provided for them some concept maps to have an overview of the lessons (Lect_1)

There are many resources available on the Internet such as youtube, how’s that work? and some websites we have provided for the learners in the references at the beginning of the course However, the learners need to evaluate the materials whether they are useable or not (Lect_2)

In conclusion, information research and analysis could be considered as one of the most important skills in learning the course However, the learners had faced with many difficulties in researching necessary information It can be highlighted from the above analysis that they mainly based on Google and Youtube for information They hardly had a reliable source to find information and equivalent technical terms in both

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Vietnamese and English They mostly agreed that the available sources might serve for their learning process but not for their future careers In addition, even the lecturers cannot give a variety of resources for their learners

4.1.2 Other difficulties in learning EEEE

Moreover, in the process of learning the course, the undergraduates had faced with a variety of difficulties In this part, the researcher chose to analyze the most significant data from the in-depth interview, others from perspectives of undergraduates was provided under numeric data at Appendix 9, table 9.2

Firstly, they mainly experienced the difficulties with technical terminology and technical knowledge rather than the basic skills with General English Some of them pointed out their difficulties with technical knowledge as follows

The terminology system of this course is dense and too difficult to remember One term seems to relate to the whole system or working principles However, when doing the final test, the learning of technical terms seems not to be used effectively (Under_EEEE_1)

I wasted a lot of time and effort in researching the working principles, but I still did not understand anything (Under_EEEE_8)

Secondly, even when the undergraduates explained that they did not improve basic skills in EEE situation, their main reason still based on the lack of technical terminology and knowledge rather than their ability in that skill in General English For example, they confirmed that if they were provided enough information and vocabulary for the relating areas such as the working principle of a semiconductor, they can explain and present or communicate confidently with their partners Only two participants stressed that they really experienced the problems with their basic skills such as incorrect pronunciation, accents in listening and reading skills

In listening skills, many exercises were provided with loud music, I would rather listen to music rather than the content of the texts (Under_EEEE_10)

I cannot apply what I understood from concept maps into the illustrations and vice versa in both writing and speaking because concept maps were a sequence of organized text, illustration did not contain any text (Under_EEEE_8)

To explain about the result, it may root in the prior knowledge of the undergraduates

at the beginning of the course The undergraduates for the course entered the university through an entrance examination focusing on Maths, Literature and

a result, we did not have any foundation about this course (Under_EEEE_11)

However, their basic skills of English had been developed enough to adapt and meet the requirement of the course EEEE 12 out of 17 undergraduates confirmed this matter

The Schools of Foreign Language had already instructed us carefully to develop the four basic skills

in order to suit the requirement from the later technical course (Under_EEEE_12)

In addition, 8 out of 17 undergraduates shared that although they had knowledge of Physics or have the brief overview about the purpose and the content of the course, they still faced with many problems in the process of experiencing the course

I knew that the course relating to Physics we had experienced in high school, so I had read through the Physics course-book before starting the course (Under_EEEE_7)

Not only the undergraduates but also the lecturers confirmed that the undergraduates experienced difficulties in reading technical documents relating to EEE and technical terms, one lecturer shared that:

The main difficulties of the learners lay on the two elements, however, stem from one reason: the lack

of technical knowledge They seem to be afraid of some discrete topics such as semiconductors or some lessons which require the collaboration of chemistry and physics knowledge such as battery, cells or electrochemical activity, electroplating Regarding to reading skills, they have done well, they are able to do a technical reading comprehension exercises well based on their reading skills However, I am not really sure whether they have understood or not (Lect_1)

In addition, all the graduates (5 out of 5) confirmed that when they were studying at the university, the most challenged requirements to pass the course were understanding technical knowledge and accumulated enough technical terms

I almost had nothing about physics knowledge in high school, I could not understand the nature of the technical knowledge As a result, it was time-consuming to understand I spend much time on technical terms, too Sometimes, I had to ask some of my friends with different majority to understand the lessons (Grad_1)

In brief, the undergraduates and graduates may explain the problem differently, they all agreed in two main difficulties when experiencing the course, first is the comprehension towards technical knowledge and second is the learning methodology

to deal with technical terms

4.2 Key EEEE competencies and their learning preferences

This session reports the results that answer the second research question: What are necessary EEEE competencies and learning activities to enhance their learning autonomy?

4.2.1 Key EEEE competencies

In the process of learning, the learners provided many necessary skills and knowledge should be accumulated to pass the course and apply it for the later studies

Regarding to knowledge, 15 out of 17 undergraduates agreed that being able to comprehend technical knowledge in both Vietnamese and English language was necessary in EEEE One of the undergraduates highly recommended

I don’t know how other undergraduates learn, but for me, the most necessary is to comprehend the technical knowledge in both English and Vietnamese, rather than just English one Because we need

to understand the nature first, then we could explain in English more easily and effectively (Under_EEE_10)

Another important knowledge agreed by 15 out of 17 undergraduates was the comprehension of technical terms The understanding towards technical terms may

be one elements controlling their comprehension and their application of the four basic skills One undergraduate expressed her opinion:

I think the understanding towards the technical terms in this course may help me improve my communicative skills, I also could comprehend the reading text and improve my listening skills in EEEE based on technical terms (Under_EEE_4)

Regarding to skills, researching and collecting information from the available resources were agreed by 17 out of 17 undergraduates to be the most necessary and important to achieve after the course One of the undergraduates shared that

On agreeing with the ideas of the undergraduates, all the graduates confirmed that not the knowledge and basic skills, but the communicative skills and researching information are the two necessary competencies that the undergraduates should be equipped carefully

I think the undergraduates should pay more attention on improving their communicative skills such

as writing email, presenting and dealing with others rather than only learn technical knowledge The knowledge from the university is just the foundation for further study in their career For example, you should know how to understand the working principles of the machines from researching materials rather than study thoroughly about only one machine Technology alternates daily (Grad_3)

As a result, the consideration on the specification of the website should focus on the balance between the learning of the undergraduates at school, which provide them some learning materials and the requirements for them after graduation, which enhance the role of communicative and soft skills at workplace Other data collected are provided at Appendix 9, table 9.5

4.2.2 Learners’ preferences of learning activities

In addition, all the undergraduates confirmed that having the motivation in studying was another necessary skill along with researching information The researcher provided the most significant findings from analyzing the data, others are provided at Appendix 9, table 9.6

self-One undergraduates highlighted that if she had a chance to learn the subject again to improve her grade, she would “push myself in self-studying more” (Under_EEEE_5) For the matter of self-studying, the learners also shared some of their learning methods in order to accumulate both technical knowledge and terms, as well as, achieve some necessary for their working purpose such as: using glossary to collect the technical terms, reading Vietnamese materials relating to the working principles

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to understand before reading English ones, watching videos or visual aids to improve their imagination about the machines, using concept mapping in summary and reviewing the lessons, etc

I used to use concept mapping in order to summarize and organize the information about the lessons I had learnt in class and I found it was effective (Under_EEEE_11)

I used videos on Youtube to improve both listening skills and the comprehension about the lesson (Under_FM_4)

Moreover, 15 out of 17 undergraduates did not deny the necessities of four basic skills

in application of Electrical Engineering and Electronics environments

I think that the four basic skills in general English have been equipped carefully and enough for the requirement from the beginning of the course However, it does not apply much in EEE environment

As a result, strengthening those skills in particular situation is important (Under_EEEE_4)

The learners were also asked if they had had a chance to learn the course again, what they would have done to improve their results, knowledge and skills from the course They agreed that, besides the knowledge, they would improve their learning methodology 12 out of 17 learners agreed that they were familiar with the learning style such as:

(1) The lecturers explained the lessons through slides or materials they gave to the learners, the learners listened and wrote down into their notebook and did their exercise in class and at home

The teachers would prepare the slide, explain the lessons in both English and Vietnamese, then, we were provided some exercises to discuss and practice in class Some necessary knowledge should be noted down on the notebook We also did some homework (Under_FM_4)

(2) The learners researched for the lessons before coming to class Then, they would exchange and discuss their ideas in class The lecturer would observe and give comments, feedbacks, recommendations or answer some questions for them

We researched and prepared for the lessons at home first Then, in class, we focused on discussing and sharing information When we did not understand, the teachers would give their explanation or sharing (Under_EEEE_5)

However, they said that they would prefer the learning and teaching methodology such as:

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Regarding to teaching methodology, 12 out of 17 undergraduates expressed that they would like to participate in more in-class activities in order to interact and share information with their friends One undergraduates shared that

I would like to have more in-class activities and interaction If I could learn the course again, I would ask and share with my friends more often (Under_EEEE_9)

Some of them hoped that the lecturers spent more time communicating with them to share and deepen the information and knowledge for learners

I would like the lecturers spend more time in communicating and sharing with learners to make us understand the lessons and the EEE area deeper (Under_EEEE_1)

In addition, other undergraduates paying more attention in creating communicative situation to improve speaking skills in EEE should be paid reasonable concentration

as one of them shared

I want to experience some real situation which applying EEEE knowledge to deal with in order to improve my communicative skills (Under_EEEE_1)

Regarding to learning methodology, because they did not satisfy with their result after the course, 14 out of 17 undergraduates thought that they should change their learning methodology when the final examination came to achieve better results As one of them gave the example

We should change our learning methodology when the examination comes For example, we should communicate with our friends or classmates more to exchange information and strengthen our knowledge rather than self-studying (Under_EEEE_12)

12 of them did not oppose with the idea of exchanging information and knowledge with friends, but they still found that the motivation of self-studying should be improved As a male undergraduate shared

I think self-studying is more efficient for me, because when I asked my friends, they are all girl and they even do not understand the nature of working principles, not even to share with me (Under_EEEE_10)

Or a female shared another reason for choosing self-studying

I think self-studying is more efficient When I learn with my friends, we can only spend some minutes

to learn before starting to talk something off-topic (Under_FM_2)

In conclusion, the learners in real situation or the model or being able to practise both technical knowledge and linguistic skills in the process of learning In addition, the undergraduates also have interests in the interactive activities in class and self-studying and self-reviewing after the lessons at home Then, before the final

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examination, they would rather collaborate with each other and exchange their resources with others in order to achieve a better understanding towards the lessons The matter of the relationship between what the learners paid interest in with the application on the future works had been confirmed by the graduates

Actually, when learning at third-year, I have already found what I wanted to do in the future, so what

I like and concentrated in this course created more motivation for me in the future careers I like researching about working principles of machine, which made me more flexible in studying and approaching with innovative technology (Grad_4)

I like translation the reading text from English into Vietnamese This interest helps me much in my current work, I find that translation suits me the most (Grad_1)

Discussing on the interest of the learners, the lecturers also provided some activities that enhancing their learning in class, which are the activities relating to communicating and sharing what they had researched and achieved before coming to class

There are some activities I usually organize for the learners and figure out that they are really attracted For example, I give them a topic, the learners will have 3 minutes to recall the relating words or knowledge about them In addition, I require the learners to prepare 3 questions to ask before going the class and 3 words to share with their partners about the topic they learn Moreover, they are more interested in some topic relating to their real life such as electric circuits, components which they can see, touch rather than the abstract one (Lect_1)

It can be inferred that the learners may prefer self-studying by themselves when they need reviewing and researching the lessons and knowledge However, when they have some problems in learning process, they would rather share with other learners

or exchanging with their lecturers As a result, the interaction on the website between the members should be put under consideration Moreover, the undergraduates also expressed their interest in communicative situations as well as the real application from the theories into their real life Therefore, in the process of contributing and designing the website, the researcher should regard this elements more

4.3 Undergraduates’ needs of an interactive website

The main results of the current study will answer the third research question: What are the undergraduates’ needs of an interactive website designed to enhance the undergraduates’ autonomy in learning English for Electrical Engineering and Electronics for effective workplace preparation?