Some problems in teaching and learning esp at ho chi minh city construction college m a

The results of the study showed that generally the current ESP courses were ineffective due to the monotonous teaching methods and lack of learning motivation from students as well as ou

HOCHIMINH CITY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

SOME PROBLEMS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING ESP

AT HOCHIMINH CITY CONSTRUCTION COLLEGE

Submitted to the Faculty of English linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By

HO THI THANH THUY – TESOL 2009

Supervised by NGUYEN THI KIEU THU, Ph D

HO CHI MINH CITY, MARCH 2014

HOCHIMINH CITY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

SOME PROBLEMS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING ESP

AT HOCHIMINH CITY CONSTRUCTION COLLEGE

Submitted to the Faculty of English linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By

HO THI THANH THUY – TESOL 2009

Supervised by NGUYEN THI KIEU THU, Ph D

HO CHI MINH CITY, MARCH 2014

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Ho Thi Thanh Thuy, being the candidate for the degree

of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited

in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan

or reproduction of theses

Ho Chi Minh City March, 2014

HO THI THANH THUY

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authority of the thesis submitted today entitled:

SOME PROBLEMS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING ESP AT HOCHIMINH CITY CONSTRUCTION COLLEGE

In terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee

Ho Chi Minh, March 30th , 2014

HO THI THANH THUY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would particularly like to express my sincere thanks to Dr Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu who has helped and encouraged me during the writing of this thesis The thesis could not have been completed without her patience and help

I am also grateful for helpful advice given by Dr Nguyen Ngoc Tran Chau who helped me to form the foundation for this study In addition, I would like to thank Dr Le Hoang Dung, Dr Pho Phuong Dung, Dean and Vice Dean of the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature at the HCM University of Social Sciences and Humanities, for their sympathy about my difficulties I also would like to express my gratitude to all the teachers who have taught me in the school years of 2009 to 2012 and my TESOL 09 classmates

Besides, I would like to send my thanks to all English teachers and other teachers in the Department of Basic Sciences at HCMC Construction College, and students at this school as well as recruiters and alumni They have provided me with the important data and given me useful suggestions for my study

Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and special thanks to my beloved family who greatly encouraged and supported me during the time this thesis was being carried out

ABSTRACT

ESP (English for Special Purposes) courses for vocational schools in Vietnam are important and necessary for learners in present time However, these courses are not effective as hoped because of many reasons

The study investigated the current situation of teaching and learning ESP at HOCHIMINH City Construction College and also identified the problems in teaching and learning ESP courses More importantly, the feedback from alumni and recruiters has provided useful information for the improvement

The data were collected through the questionnaire for students and the interviews with ESP teachers, alumni and recruiters The participants of the study were 240 students who were studying Construction and Architecture majors at this school

The results of the study showed that generally the current ESP courses were ineffective due to the monotonous teaching methods and lack of learning motivation from students as well as out-dated and inauthentic ESP textbook The teachers and alumni suggestions may help make some changes to make ESP courses more effective

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS .i

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

ABSTRACT .iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF CHARTS .ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 The rationale for the study 3

1.3 Aims of the study 4

1.4 Research questions 4

1.5 Significance of the study 4

1.6 Limitations of the study 5

1.7 Organization of the study 5

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 An overview of ESP 7

2.1.1 Definitions of ESP 7

2.1.2 Benefits of ESP 9

2.1.3 The differences between General English (GE) and English for Special Purposes (ESP) 10

2.1.4 Terminology 11

2.2 Some factors influencing ESP course 11

2.2.1 Motivations in ESP course 11

2.2.2 ESP teaching methodology 13

2.2.3 ESP textbooks 14

2.3 Hypothetical problems arising from ESP teachers in teaching ESP 16

2.3.1 Lack of an ESP orthodoxy to provide a ready-made guide 17

2.3.2 Lack of content knowledge 18

2.3.3 The change in the status of English Language Teaching 19

2.4 Hypothetical problems arising from ESP students in learning ESP 21

2.4.1 Lack of integrative motivation in learning English 21

2.4.2 Lack of lexical knowledge 22

2.4.3 Lack of authentic materials 22

2.4.4 ESP teaching methodology 23

2.5 Hypothetical problems arising from ESP textbook in teaching and learning ESP courses 24

2.5.1 The ESP contents 24

2.5.2 ESP Textbook relevance to learners’ English levels, needs and interests 25

2.6 Conceptual frame of the study 25

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 27

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN 27

3.2 SETTING 27

3.3 PARTICIPANTS 28

3.3.1 TEACHER PARTICIPANTS 29

3.3.2 STUDENT PARTICIPANTS 29

3.4 INSTRUMENTS 30

3.4.1 QUESTIONNAIRE 30

3.4.2 INTERVIEWS 32

3.5 Data collection procedures 35

3.5.1 Procedure for conducting the questionnaire for the students 35

3.5.2 Procedures for conducting the interviews 35

3.6 Data analysis procedure 36

3.7 Chapter summary 37

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 38

4.1 Results 38

4.1.1 Results of the questionnaire to students 38

4.1.2 Results of the interview with the ESP teachers 54

4.1.3 Results of the interview to alumni 65

4.1.4 Results of the interview with recruiters 72

4.2 Main findings 76

4.2.1 How ESP is taught and learnt at HCMC CC 76

4.2.2 Some main problems in teaching and learning ESP at HCMC CC 77

4.3 Summary 82

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.………83

5.1 Conclusion 83

5.2 Recommendations 85

5.2.1 For the administrators 85

5.2.2 For teachers 86

5.2.3 For students 87

5.3 Suggestions for further studies 88

5.4 Chapter summary 88

REFERENCES 89

APPENDIX 1A: The questionnaire for students in English 93

APPENDIX 1B : The questionnaire for students in Vietnamese 96

APPENDIX 2A: Questions for the teachers’ interview in English 99

APPENDIX 2B: Questions for the teachers’ interview in Vietnamese 101

APPENDIX 3A: Questions for the alumni’s interview in English 103

APPENDIX 3B: Questions for the alumni’s interview in Vietnamese 104

APPENDIX 4A: Questions for the recruiters’ interview in English 105

APPENDIX 4B: Questions for the recruiters’ interview in Vietnamese 106

APPENDIX 5: ESP textbook……… 107

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Teachers’ background information

Table 3.2 Students’ background information

Table 3.3 The number of statements in the questionnaire for students Table 4.1a How grammar structures were taught

Table 4.1b How reading texts were taught

Table 4.2 The use of teaching facilities

Table 4.3 The use of additional practical documents to teach ESP

Table 4.4 The teaching of ESP terms

Table 4.5 The correction of students’ translations

Table 4.6 Students’ participation in class activities

Table 4.7 Students’ participation without teachers’ elicitation

Table 4.8 Students’ self –study

Table 4.9 Students’ revision before class

Table 4.10 Students’ opinions about ESP textbook

Table 4.11 Students’ opinions about contents of ESP textbook

Table 4.12 Students’ opinions about vocabulary teaching in ESP textbook Table 4.13 Students’ opinions about grammar structures in ESP textbook Table 4.14 Students’ suggestions of textbook revision

Table 4.15 Students’ opinions about the suitable time for ESP course

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1 Teachers’ opinions about language skills focus

Chart 4.2 Teachers’ opinions about teaching methodology

Chart 4.3 Effectiveness of ESP courses and ESP teaching guidelines

Chart 4.4 Teachers’ problems when teaching ESP

Chart 4.5 Teachers’ feelings when changing from teaching GE into ESP

Chart 4.6 Teachers’ opinions about motivation in learning

Chart 4.7 Teachers’ opinions about students’ lexical knowledge

Chart 4.8 Teachers’ opinions about students’ content knowledge

Chart 4.9 Teachers’ responses about ESP textbook’s level

Chart 4.10 Teachers’ responses about ESP textbook’s construction and

architecture knowledge and vocabulary

Chart 4.11 Teachers’ responses about ESP textbook’s grammar structures

Chart 4.12 Teachers’ responses about ESP textbook’s exercises

Chart 4.13 Teachers’ recommendations

Chart 4.14 Alumni’s opinions about teaching methods

Chart 4.15 Alumni’s opinions about the effectiveness of ESP courses

Chart 4.16 Alumni’s opinions about ESP skills in teaching

Chart 4 17 Alumni’s opinions about learners’ motivation in learning

Chart 4.18 Alumni’s opinions about the contents, grammar structures,

vocabulary and exercises of ESP textbook

Chart 4.19 Alumni’s recommendations for ESP course

Chart 4.20 Recruiters’ opinions about alumni’s English level

Chart 4.21 Recruiters’ opinions about alumni’s ESP knowledge

Chart 4.22 Recruiters’ opinions about graduates’ language skills for working Chart 4.23 Recruiters’ opinions about ESP knowledge

Chart 4.24 Recruiters’ opinions for the administrators

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ESP: English for Special Purposes

EFL: English as a foreign language

GE: General English

TEFL: Teaching English as a foreign language

ELT: English Language Teaching

WTO: World Trade Organization

HCMC CC: Hochiminh City Construction College

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This thesis presents at its core a study that investigated the problems in teaching and learning ESP at HOCHIMINH City Construction College (HCMC CC) At the beginning, this chapter focuses on the background of the study, the rationale for choosing the topic and the aims of the study as well as its research questions Then, the significance and the limitations of the study are considered Finally, the outline of the thesis is also included in this chapter

1.1 Background to the study

In September, 2008, the Prime Minister has approved the proposal of

“Foreign language teaching and learning in the national education system for the period 2008 – 2020” After participating in WTO, Vietnam has received foreign companies’ investment in many fields namely economics, construction, education, and etc… These companies require human resources that are not only professional

in their major but also good at foreign languages to work with foreign experts With this role, nowadays, English has been required as a compulsory subject in all schools, all education levels in Vietnam Especially, one of the requirements from the proposal of foreign language 2020 is that graduates from tertiary education have to be able to use English for their current work Therefore, at universities, colleges and vocational schools, teaching and learning English for Special Purposes (ESP) is the first concern and duty of the administrators There have been many researches about the effectiveness of ESP in many fields However, up to now, according to the results from the studies of many researches such as the

thesis of Nguyen (2002) entitled: “Improving teaching reading skill for students at

the maritime secondary school in HOCHIMINH City” or Hoang (2009) in “ The effectiveness of teaching and learning professional English in accounting at the college of finance and customs”, as well as Nguyen, Vu, & Ha (2007) in “ Teaching English at tertiary education in Vietnam: problems and solutions”

(2007), teaching ESP at non-English- majored universities and colleges in general has been considered ineffective Although most students find ESP profitable for their future work, the teaching of ESP at many universities and colleges only confines in helping students pass the final exams (Vu, 2004, p.60) Non-majored English students perceive that their tertiary education seems not to be responsive to the increasing demands of the society because they cannot use the language they have studied at school in their current work In fact, from the interviews with the recruiters by Hoang (2009) and from the result of the interview with the recruiters

in this study, graduates failed their job interviews not because of their professional knowledge but for the weakness in English competence Some companies have to retrain their new employees foreign language skills after recruitment

ESP has been implemented at HCMC CC since 2005 However, at this school, teaching and learning ESP in a theoretical manner seems to be more prevailing than for practical purposes and meeting the job demands As a common practice, teachers mainly use traditional teaching methods in classes: the Grammar Translation method Of course, like many graduates from other universities and colleges, students at the college face many difficulties in passing the interviews which frequently deal with specialized topics in English Therefore, finding out the reasons why students cannot study ESP course well and helping students to improve their ESP knowledge is the first concern of English teachers and administrators at the school

There are many researches and conferences which aim to find the problems

in teaching and learning ESP and how to improve the quality of ESP teaching and

learning Huynh (2005) in the thesis: “ An investigation on studying ESP of

non-English- majored students at universities in HOCHIMINH City” indicated that the

main problems that made the ESP course ineffective are the course book, the students’ different levels of English knowledge and the lack of knowledge about the new realms of English teachers Similarly, other studies of Nguyen (2007), Pham (2011) also mentioned some problems of teaching ESP at universities and colleges with the concept of ESP teaching, the objectives and requirements of the ESP course, the learning duration, the material writing, the teaching method and

the assessment as well as some recommendations In reality, at HCMC CC., if graduates pass the job interview in some designing and construction companies where English is required at work, they will get higher salary than others who work in the same position in Vietnamese companies Being aware of the role of ESP, in 2005, the administrators of HCMC CC decided to teach ESP for all classes at the school Now, ESP is very important for students at this school because a lot of softwares like AUTO CAD, PHOTOSHOP, 3D MAX, COREL DRAW, REVIT are written in English Besides there are also documents about construction, building materials and details of plans in English

1.2 The rationale for the study

The above researches only concentrated on ESP teaching and learning at universities and colleges with 36 months training courses There have not been any

particular researches concentrated on the context of a construction vocational

school with 24 month training courses in HOCHIMINH City or at HCMC CC Therefore, basing on related works the author conducted this study to find some main problems of ESP teaching and learning at HCMC CC to improve the ESP course at this school

At this school, ESP reading skill is emphasized Throughout the course, students only study reading – texts and teachers nearly neglect other skills As a result, after graduating, the students who have passed the interview to work in a foreign company cannot use English very successfully both in communicating and reading documents or plans in English From the teachers’ side, most of them do not have good knowledge about construction and experiences in teaching ESP They have to teach and draw experiences at the same time However, after nearly

10 years, the status of teaching and learning has not changed and there is no research for this From this reality, the researcher set up a study to find out the real problems that influence the effectiveness of the ESP courses and to give some solutions to make ESP teaching and learning at this school more effective

1.3 Aims of the study

This study was conducted to find out the main problems in teaching and learning ESP at HCMC CC Then, the recommendations were drawn out to help teachers and students overcome their problems to make ESP teaching and learning

at this school more effective

1.4 Research questions

The study was carried out to find out the problems in teaching and learning ESP at HCMC CC and look for some good ways to solve these problems Therefore, the study was conducted to answer the research questions:

1 How is ESP taught and learned at HOCHIMINH City Construction College?

2 What are the main problems in teaching and learning ESP at HOCHIMINH City Construction College which arise from the students, ESP teachers and ESP textbook?

1.5 Significance of the study

The significance of the study is as follows:

Firstly, the current study supplies an overview about teaching and learning ESP at HCMC CC It gives a valuable insight about teaching and learning ESP for those involved: the English teachers, ESP textbook designers and students It also gives an opportunity for the teachers and students to express their ideas about the problems and difficulties in teaching and learning this course Moreover, the findings of this study reveal the current methods in teaching the ESP course at this school might motivate students in learning the course

Secondly, information about the current status of teaching and learning this course from the study would be useful for the English teachers and administrators

at HCMC CC The findings of the current study contribute to the implementations

of ESP and the improvement of teaching and learning this course at this school Based on the findings, the researcher offers some recommendations to the English teachers, the administrators and the students concerning how to overcome

problems in teaching and learning ESP course Moreover, it also enables the administrators and the officials to choose suitable textbooks and documents for the course

Finally, the study which investigated the problems in teaching and learning ESP at HCMC CC would provide data for further research on the field of study

1.6 Limitations of the study

Besides some findings and recommendations, there were still some unavoidable limitations from the study as follows:

Firstly, teaching ESP at HCMC CC only concentrates on reading skill Therefore, this research focused on problems in the teaching and learning of ESP reading skill, not in other skills Therefore, problems of other skills were beyond the scope of the research

Secondly, the researcher only focused on learners of the Department of Designing and Construction at this school, who are learning English for architecture and construction The findings consequently may not be generalized to other majors at this school such as accounting, electricity

Finally, the researcher only investigated a small quantity of participants: four English teachers, two hundred and forty students, seven alumni and three recruiters Hence, this study did not display a full picture of teaching and learning ESP’s problems at this school

1.7 Organization of the study

The study consists of five chapters including:

Chapter 1 (Introduction) provides the background to the study, the

rationale for the study Next, it focuses on the aims of the study, the research questions and the significance of the study Finally, it indicates the limitations of the study and the organization of the thesis

Chapter 2 (Literature review) includes the findings researches related to

ESP and some problems that ESP teachers and leaners face in ESP teaching and learning as well as the conceptual framework for the study

Chapter 3 (Research methodology) consists of the research design and the

demographic information of the participants It also describes in detail the methodology of choosing sample, the instruments, the procedure of data collection and the data analysis method

Chapter 4 (Data analysis and discussion of results) analyzes the results of

the questionnaire for students along with the interviews for ESP teachers, graduates and recruiters It also discusses the main problems in the findings

Chapter 5 (Recommendations and conclusion) contains a summary of the

main findings of the study It then suggests recommendations for the administrators, the teachers and the students to overcome their problems in teaching and learning ESP course as well as the conclusion of the study and further research

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides the theoretical foundation and conceptual framework

of the study It begins with an overview of ESP as well as some factors that influence ESP courses Finally, it shows a brief summary of hypothetical problems

in teaching and learning ESP that can be learned from the review of related literature

2.1 An overview of ESP

2.1.1 Definitions of ESP

Although there have been many definitions about ESP, giving an exact definition of ESP is hardly possible and there are still many arguments from writers and researchers Mackay & Mountford (1978) have claimed that the term

ESP is generally used to “refer to the teaching of English for a clear utilitarian

purpose”, Hutchinson & Waters (1987) have defined it as “an approach to language learning which based on learner need” and “an approach to the language teaching in which on decisions as to content and method are based on the learner’s reason for learning”(p.19) According to them, learners’ needs are

the main foundation of ESP as well as the reasons for which students are learning English Strevens (1988, as cited in Dudley-Evans & St John,1998) gives the clear definition of ESP from four absolute characteristics and two variable characteristics as follows:

The four characteristics are:

• designed to meet specified needs of the learner;

• related in content (i.e in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupations and activities;

• centred on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc., and analysis of the discourse;

• in contrast with General English

And two variable characteristics are that ESP:

• may be restricted as to the learning skills to be learned (e.g reading only);

• may not be taught according to any pre-ordained methodology

Similarly, Dudley-Evans & St John (1998, p.p 4-5) also have definition of ESP absolute and variable characteristics With absolute characteristics, their statements are the same as Strevens’ ideas that ESP is “designed to meet specified needs of the learner;”, or “makes use of the underlying methodology and activities

of the disciplines it serves; ESP is centred on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these activities” However, they have removed the absolute characteristic that ESP “in contrast with General English” and they also add some more variable characteristics They are:

• ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;

• ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of general English;

• ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation It could, however, be used for learners at secondary school level;

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

On the other hand, Robinson (1991, as cited in Dudley-Evans & St John,

1998, p 3) supports an ESP definition based on two criteria and a number of characteristics as follows:

• ESP is normally goal-directed;

• Needs analysis contributes to the development of courses and should specify precisely what students will use English for

And the characteristics involve:

• The limited period of time in which the objectives should be achieved;

• Homogenous classes of adults in terms of the work or specialist studies the students are involved in

Clearly, from the above ESP definitions, it is clear that ESP courses are designed for “tertiary level” or “intermediate or advanced students” with some specific disciplines Most of ESP courses include basic knowledge of language, but sometimes these ESP courses are also designed for the beginners Therefore, it

is better for students who take ESP courses to equip themselves with basic knowledge of language

From then, the study focuses on the definition of ESP of Dudley-Evans &

St John (1998) for the conceptual framework because of its details and suitability for the study

2.1.2 Benefits of ESP

Although the teaching of English for Specific Purposes has generally been seen as a separate activity within English Language Teaching, ESP also has many benefits like ELT Dudley-Evans & St John (1998, p.9, as cited in Strevens, 1988) have suggested four benefits that ESP courses bring:

• being focused on the learner’s need, it wastes no time;

• it is relevant to the learner;

• it is successful in imparting learning;

• it is more cost-effective than “General English”

There are clear advantages in setting up an ESP course where students have specific needs General English equips learners with all language knowledge and language skills but not their special needs In ESP courses, students can be taught what they need and equipped what recruiters require Choosing some dominant skills to teach and study in ESP courses, teachers and learners save a lot of time After learning some special skills in ESP, learners can apply for their future jobs and can get some success in future Dudley-Evans & St John (1998, p.10) have also stated ESP teaching was more motivating for learners than General English Generally speaking, this is true; the focused nature of the teaching, its relevance and cost-effectiveness ensure that its aims are widely accepted by learners

In conclusion, one of the valuable aspects of ESP is that it concentrates on learners’ needs Therefore, if a teacher is to teach ESP, he or she has to be clear

about what the learner’s need, and he or she has to consider the suitable ways to

impart the learners successfully

2.1.3 The differences between General English (GE) and English for Special Purposes (ESP)

All language teaching should be based on learners’ needs Thus in theory there is no difference between ESP and GE teaching; in practice, however, there is

a number of differences between ESP and GE According to Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters’ (1987) the tree of ELT, GE and ESP are two different branches of ELT The first difference between ESP and GE is that GE is aimed to teach and study general language proficiency as well as for exams purposes while ESP is an approach to language teaching in which the content and the goal of an ESP course are fixed by the specific needs of particular group of learners (ibid) Clearly, with this idea, as a general rule, in GE teaching and learning, all four language skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing are focused equally meanwhile ESP courses are fixed by the specific needs “maybe restricted as to the learning skills to

be learned (e.g reading only)” (Strevens, 1988) It is a needs analysis that determines which skills are the most necessary for the students and the syllabus is designed based on the needs analysis’ results For example, an ESP program might emphasize the development of reading skills of students who are studying English for construction or it might promote the development of speaking skills of students who become tourist guides

The second difference is in the learners’ purposes for learning English While GE is taught for the beginners in learning English at Primary, Secondary and Adult Tertiary, ESP courses are usually given to adults who already have some background in English and they are learning ESP to communicate a set of professional skills and to perform job-related functions While GE courses concentrates on teaching all four language skills, ESP courses pay attention to language in context and some skills

Last but not least, Dudley – Evans & St John (1988) have stated: “ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of General

English” Most of English teachers have been trained to teach GE They hardly ever have knowledge about ESP related to any special major except linguistics Therefore, when teaching ESP they face many difficulties such as: learners’ different attitudes between social sciences and natural sciences or technology, different methodologies for GE and ESP, and special knowledge of the subject they are teaching in ESP

In short, there are certain differences between GE and ESP Awareness of these differences is significant in preparing ESP teaching materials and choosing suitable ESP teaching methods

2.2 Some factors influencing ESP course

2.2.1 Motivations in ESP course

Motivation is one of the important factors to all learning, especially learning

a language Dornjei (2001) agreed that “motivation has a very important role in determining success or failure in any learning situation” (p.2) He also added more ideas about motivation “Motivation explains why people decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it and how long they are willing to sustain the activities” (Dornjei ,2001) David Nunan (1999) described that motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language Actually, motivation is one

of the key factors influencing the rate and success of language learning in general and ESP learning in particularly If the learners do not know why they have to

study ESP and they do not have any desires for learning ESP, they will not gain any success for learning the ESP course Lack of motivation from students also brings a big obstacle to ESP teachers and administrators When students do not get knowledge from a course, especially at a vocational school, they cannot work well

to meet the demands of employers and they will be unemployed Therefore, teachers and administrators have to know the nature of motivation to find the best ways to motivate their students Harmer (1991) classified motivation into two kinds: extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation According to Harmer, considering the foreign language as a means of finding a good job or getting a higher position or status is a character of extrinsic motivation In contrast to extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation is affected by four factors: physical conditions (i.e facilities in classroom), teaching method (i.e how the lesson is carried out), the teacher (i.e teachers’ competence, personality and attitude towards learners) and success (i.e students’ achievement in doing tasks) Harmer assured that “intrinsic motivation plays a vital part in most students’ success or failure as language learners” First, clearly not many students come to class with recognition of extrinsic motivation “the foreign language as a means of finding a good job or getting a higher position or status” Meanwhile, during the lessons, when students are made to do something for fun or challenge and they feel the learning tasks are interesting and challenging enough, they will feel satisfied in learning and they will be willing to learn Thus, the language teachers in ESL and ESP have to consider the roles of intrinsic motivation in designing teaching and learning activities and delivering lessons

In common, motivation is a very important and necessary element in teaching and learning ESL in general and ESP in particular Motivation is diversity but “whatever kind of motivation students have, it is clear that highly motivated students do better than ones without any motivation at all” (Harmer, J, 2001, p.8) Therefore, course designers have to consider when designing activities to help learners equip motivation in learning

2.2.2 ESP teaching methodology

ESP teaching methodology is one of the factors that contribute to the success of ESP courses In teaching ESP, teachers not only teach linguistic knowledge but also subject knowledge Therefore, choosing a suitable method in teaching ESP is a difficult duty of ESP teachers Some authors have a clear viewpoint in using translation in ESP Laviosa & Cleverton (2006) have suggested

a translation-based methodology for learning ESP vocabulary and grammar through real life mediating communicative activities Pham (2011) also agreed with above authors when she stated that “With this methodology (translation), ESP students are provided with a methodology for guiding them in producing, to the best of their abilities, a target text which meets the quality criteria of terminological accuracy and stylistic fluency, and is also effective in terms of the communicative situation it is intended for Besides giving a clear method for ESP teaching, other authors offer some common ways in choosing ESP teaching methods In the tree of ELT of Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters (1987), ESP is one branch of ELT So there is nothing specific about ESP methodology The principles which underline good ESP methodology are the same as those that underline sound ELT methodology in general Thus, any ESP courses might suitably be taught with a wide range of methods and materials Nowadays, ELT owns many different methodological possibilities so ESP can select and choose suitable methods from ELT methodology Peter Strevens (1988), cited in Nguyen (2002) also had the same viewpoint with Hutchinson and Waters when he said that there will be no direct answer because there are so many different kinds of ESP and the method and materials in use for a particular kind of ESP must be appropriate to that kind However, regardless of what methods used, teachers should not separate four language skills when teaching ESP as Far (2008), cited in Pham (2011) stated that the focus of ESP teaching is on the context which means that English is not taught as a subject separated from the student’s real world

In conclusion, ESP teaching methods affect the success of ESP courses In fact, there are many different methods Thus, choosing suitable ESP teaching methods for an ESP course requires ESP teachers’ flexibility and responsiveness

2.2.3 ESP textbooks

All teaching activities have to be conducted based on materials Dudley – Evans & St John (1998) have suggested four reasons for using materials which seem significant in the ESP context including: as a source of language, as a learning support, for motivation and stimulation and for reference As a source of language, materials then plays a crucial role in exposing learners to the language, which implies that the materials need to present real language, as it is used, and the full range that learners require In some situations where the learners need to extract information from English- medium subject textbooks, a reading- only course could be suitable In other situations, where the classroom is the primary source of language, the materials also need to maximize exposure to the language, for instance, by providing additional material: not everything needs to be studied

in details As a learning support, materials need to be reliable, that is, to work, to

be consistent and to have some recognizable pattern To enhance learning, materials must involve learners in thinking about and using the language The activities need to stimulate cognitive not mechanical processes The learners also need a sense of progression For stimulation and motivation, materials need to be challenging yet achievable; to offer new ideas and information whilst being grounded in the learners’ experience and knowledge; to encourage fun and creativity For reference, materials need to be complete, well laid out and self-explanatory The learners will want explanations, examples and practice activities that have answer and discussion keys When designing or choosing ESP textbooks, educators have to consider carefully following checklist for ESP materials by Cunningsworth, A (1995, p.135):

• Is the material based on a careful analysis of learner needs?

• Are objectives specified?

• Are learners equipped with skills and strategies which will allow them to operate effectively in English in the professional/ occupational situation?

• Is there a balance between subject-specific language items (grammar, vocabulary, discourse structure) and operational skills and strategies in language use?

• Does the material consider the relationship between teachers and students?

If so, is a collaborative approach encouraged?

• Is the material sufficiently flexible to meet the constraints often found in ESP work, eg by having a modular structure of non-sequential units?

• Can the material be used for individual study? If so, are learners given guidance on how to use the material in this way?

• To what extent do the learning activities mirror real-life situations, eg through task-based and skill-based activities?

• Do leaning activities have outcomes or products which will help learners to evaluate their performance?

In ESP materials, textbook is important No one can deny that good ESP teaching methods are ineffective if they do not base on suitable textbooks and ESP course books are really important Cunningsworth, A.(1995) emphasized that

“textbooks are best seen as a resource in achieving aims and objectives that have already been set in terms of learner needs” Clearly, textbooks and teachers’ methods both seek to meet the needs of the learners to the highest degree and have

a dominant role in deciding the success of a course However, teaching materials for ESP tends to be viewed as distinct and separate from general textbooks in spite

of the same roles This may be because of the emphasis on content and the unfamiliarity of the content to many teachers Textbooks bring several advantages For teachers, textbooks help to reduce their lesson preparation time and supporting their teaching process For students, textbooks provide the requirements for what skills and knowledge they have to prepare before they begin their lessons Richards (2001) stated that textbook may provide the basis for the contents of the lessons, the balance of skills taught and the kinds of language practice in which students take part Haycroft (1998) suggested that one of the primary advantages

of using textbooks is that they are psychologically essential for students since their progress and achievement can be measured concretely when we use them In ESP courses, a textbook can hold an important role since it contains knowledge, concepts, principles and career guidance From the textbooks, students can equip some basic knowledge about their major by English That is good for them in their future work However, it is hard to find a complete ESP textbook for an ESP course Cunningsworth, A (1995) stated that it is rare to find a perfect fit between learner needs and course requirements on the other hand and what the course book contains on the other hand Thus, materials can nearly always be improved by being adapted to suit the particular situation where it is being used Adaption is a frequent technique of teachers in teaching in order to “maximize the appropriation

of teaching materials in context, by changing some of the internal characteristics of

a course book to suit our particular circumstances better” and this could “improve the effectiveness of the learning experience (McDonough and Shaw, 2003)

In brief, textbooks take an important role in teaching and learning activities However, we cannot find any perfect ESP course book that combine the students’ needs and course requirements Therefore, adaption is an important and necessary step in designing and choosing a suitable ESP textbook for an ESP course

2.3 Hypothetical problems arising from ESP teachers in teaching ESP

Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters (1987, pp.157-158) have said that besides the normal functions of a classroom teacher, the ESP teacher will have to deal with needs analysis, syllabus design, materials writing or adaptation and evaluation Clearly, an ESP teacher has to do heavy work-load Most of their tasks really hard and new for them and in some fields they are “all too often reluctant dwellers in a strange and uncharted land” Therefore, during conquering the new land, the ESP pioneer will face three main problems: 1) the lack of an ESP orthodoxy to provide

a ready-made guide; 2) lack of content knowledge that ESP teacher has to cope with; 3) the change in the status of English Language Teaching

2.3.1 Lack of an ESP orthodoxy to provide a ready-made guide

Opposite to GE courses, when receiving an ESP course, ESP teachers almost do not have any clear guide from the textbook or the syllabus They have to find the ways to solve problems by themselves Therefore, they do not have official guidance that can be used in all fields of ESP When they do not have real guidance they will face too many risks that influence their work Tom Hutchinson

& Alan Waters (1987) have given the idea about ESP teacher’s problem “Lacking

a long tradition which might give some stability, ESP has frequently been a hotbed

of conflict – The Wild West of ELT ESP teachers – New settlers – in this land must often have found it difficult to find their bearings with no agreed maps to guide them” Moreover, “ESP teachers cannot turn to linguistics and psychology in the hope of finding ready-made, straightforward answers to the problems that they will meet Crabble (1994) also had the same view point with Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters when talking about the lack of guidance The teacher of an ESP course is not provided with ready-made solutions He or she has to start by thinking more fundamentally about the problem (as cited in Pham, 2011) From Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters’ idea of the question of using authentic texts also illustrate the kind of problems arises Pham (2011) also added more opinions about ESP texts In preparing the ESP texts, teachers try to get authentic texts These texts are in general difficult not only because they do not take the degree of second language proficiency of the learners into account, but also native speaker knowledge is assumed in the discussion of the subject

In short, coming to a new land, ESP teachers face the first problem However, it is said that “where there is a will, there will be a way” To be the owner of this new land requires an open mind, curiosity, and a degree of skepticism ESP teachers need to arm themselves with a sound knowledge of both theoretical and practical developments in ELT in order to be able to make the range of decisions they are called upon to make All ESP teachers are in effect pioneers who are helping to shape the world of ESP (Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters, 1987)

2.3.2 Lack of content knowledge

Most of current English teachers at universities and colleges in Vietnam are trained in foreign language universities After graduation, they teach General English However, after that, they are required to teach students with special purposes without any knowledge about this new “special purpose” In General English, the needs of the students are broadly defined but not very detailed therefore teachers only impart the knowledge of language and language skills Meanwhile, a special purpose program is typical limited to the various aspects of the language that is going to be taught such as emphases in some special skills, items of vocabulary, grammar points, etc… The big obstacle for ESP teachers here is not about language knowledge that is about the content knowledge, a completely new field they have to face Some ESP teachers feel nervous when they are required to teach an ESP course They think that when they do not have content knowledge about the field they are going to teach, they will not finish their duties However, when many ESP teachers think that before teaching an ESP course they have to update their content knowledge, Hutchinson & Waters (1987) have another opinion when raising a question “What kind of knowledge is required of the ESP teacher? And they have advised that ESP teachers do not need to learn content knowledge They have required three things only: a positive attitude towards the ESP content; knowledge of the fundamental principles of the subject area and an awareness of how much they probably already know And to overcome the problem, ESP teachers need to equip a very special skill “the ability to ask intelligent questions” These two authors have also defined more problems for ESP teachers in this part of problem are: many ESP teachers think that the content of ESP materials need to be highly specialized and many ESP teachers find it difficult

to comprehend ESP subject matter (p.161) According to them, this problem arises from four causes: first, there is a tradition in education of separating the Humanities and the Sciences Languages have usually been allocated to the Humanities camp The result has been that English teachers often receive little or

no education in the Science Then, many ESP teachers are reluctant settlers in the new territory They would prefer to be teaching Literature and Social English in

the comfortable environs of ELT Next, considering the scale of the ESP revolution it must be admitted that little effort has been made to retrain teachers or

to at least allay their fears Finally, the general attitude in ESP seems to be to expect teachers to conform to the requirements of the target situation

To sum up, the lack of content knowledge in teaching ESP is a big problem for ESP teachers It brings many difficulties to ESP teachers and makes them feel unconfident Therefore, to overcome this problem, it is essential that any approach

to ESP teacher training should try to dispel the fears and hostility that many teachers have towards ESP subject matter They should be shown that content knowledge areas are not difficult to understand and can be interesting Most important of all, they should be helped to release that they already have much of the knowledge needed to understand the subject matter and build up the ESP teacher’s confidence in coming to terms with it (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987)

2.3.3 The change in the status of English Language Teaching

Apart from three main problematic domains as Hutchinson & Waters (1987) have mentioned before is the change in the status of English Language Teaching They have said that one of the most important features of ESP in relation to General English is that the status of English changes from being a subject in its own right to a service industry for other specialism This change leads to the lowering of status for the ESP teachers John (1981, as cited in Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) listed five problems that English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers complain of: low priority in timetabling: ESP teachers have no choice for the timetable of ESP course They are passive in choosing the time for the course And then the two next lists are ESP teachers lack the personal/ professional contact with content teachers and lower status/ grade than content teachers Hutchinson & Waters have also had the same point of view as John’s in saying that when ESP teachers have to work in close cooperation with subject specialists who are responsible for the learners’ work or study experience outside the ESP classroom, this is not always an easy relationship: suspicion of motives is common The effectiveness of the relationship depends greatly on how it is

handled by both parties, but, since it is usually the ESP teachers who have enlisted the help of the subject specialist, it is their main responsibility to ensure that potential problems are anticipated and avoided They have also emphasized that most important of all is that such cooperation should be a two-way process: the subject specialist can help the ESP teacher in learning more about the learners’ target situation At the same time the ESP teacher can make the subject specialist more aware of the language problems learners (or ESP teachers) face Furthermore, thinking that ESP teachers have lower status than content teachers also makes ESP teachers feel not confident when they want to suggest the cooperation with content teachers Besides the problems in cooperation with content teachers, ESP teachers also have another big problem in cooperation from other English teachers; that is the isolation from other teachers of English doing similar work ESP teachers find that it is hard to share ideas and discuss about designing the syllabus, choosing materials and using methodology Without the teachers’ consolidation, the ESP courses cannot be done effectively (Pham, 2011) The final list that ESP teachers comment is the lack of respect from students We can see that most of ESP courses are conducted in accordance with content subjects and many workers who are working in this major also get ESP courses while ESP teachers do not have or have little knowledge about the subject Thus, some of students have more knowledge of the content areas than ESP teachers This leads to the lack of respect of some unconscious students when ESP teachers cannot meet their needs for the subject knowledge When ESP teachers know that their content knowledge is less than learners’ content knowledge, they feel unconfident

In conclusion, recognizing the problems that teachers have to face during conducting an ESP course, such as: the lack of an ESP orthodoxy to provide a ready-made guide; the new realms of knowledge ( content knowledge) the ESP teacher has to cope with; and the change in the status of English Language Teaching is a necessary duty This can help ESP teachers try to find suitable solutions to overcome and finish their duties in being a service industry for other specialism

2.4 Hypothetical problems arising from ESP students in learning ESP

From the findings of previous relevant researches by Nguyen (2002), Nguyen (2004), Pham (2011), Lau (2012), it can be believed that the ESP learners will face four main problems in learning: 1) Lack of integrative motivation in learning English; 2) Lack of lexical knowledge; 3) Lack of authentic materials; 4) Ineffective ESP teaching methodology

2.4.1 Lack of integrative motivation in learning English

As mentioned above, learners’ motivation has a meaningful effect on teaching and learning an ESP course Brown (2007) said that integrative and instrumental motivations are those which directly influence language learning Integrative motivation is an interest in foreign language, a desire to interact with native speakers of the target language culture, and positive attitudes towards these people and culture Instrumental motivation is a desire to gain social recognition or economic advantages through knowledge of a foreign language such as improving individual’s future employment opportunities or meeting the graduation requirement As cited in Lau (2012) learners with integrative motivation were strongly believed to make much more effort and therefore be more successful in learning a foreign language than those with instrumental motivation It can be inferred that it is extremely difficult to teach those who even know they need to –

or should – learn language as a graduation (instrumental motivation) but they have

no passion in the target language and culture (lack of integrative motivation) However, in reality, most students at tertiary education in general and at vocational schools in particular study English just for a graduation requirement That proves the reason why Vietnamese students start to learn English when they are in the 6thgrade and nearly 10 years later, they pass all the examinations but they cannot use English to communicate Most of them think that after the graduation, they will work in state companies or domestic companies and they do not need English for their work because all documents about their major are written by their mother tongue Therefore, they do not need to learn English in general and ESP in particular These thoughts lead to the conclusion that learners’ lack of integrative

motivation in learning English in general and ESP in particular is a big problem from learners to teach ESP

2.4.2 Lack of lexical knowledge

Widdowson (1998, cited in Pham, 2011) stated that specific lexis could be a problem for ESP learners because they lacked experience of a whole new way of conceptualizing that is the characteristic of the discourse community using that word Lack of vocabulary knowledge in General English is a big problem for learners and this problem is much bigger than in ESP learning The ESP vocabulary knowledge is one of the most difficult parts for a number of learners because most of language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing activities are determined by learners’ vocabulary knowledge When the learners lack this knowledge, they will face a big obstacle In ESP vocabulary knowledge, many new words, new phrases that the learners never get in touch before will make them miserable in learning For ESP word form, there is a must for learners to pronounce new vocabulary items correctly, especially for long, complex words and learn word spelling For ESP word meaning, the biggest obstacle for the learners is

to learn lexical relation (synonym, antonym,…) of a new word and sometimes with this word in this context it has a meaning and in another context it has a complete different meaning This requires the learners a big effort to remember word meaning Moreover, grammatical function words also bring many troubles to learners They have to know and use correctly new words in many different contexts This is not easy for the learners

In common, the lack of vocabulary knowledge is the largest obstacle for foreign language learners to overcome (Yang and Dai (2011, cited in Lau, 2012)

2.4.3 Lack of authentic materials

As mentioned above, ESP materials take a very important part in ESP teaching and learning activities In Vietnam, many ESP textbook are designed to serve the needs of teaching ESP at universities and colleges However, ESP textbooks designing has still errors and there are not uniform criteria In some

kinds of ESP textbooks, they almost emphasize only one skill This makes the textbooks monotonous and boring The texts are out of date, no adaption with a lot

of new terminologies Tasks in each lesson do not interest students in developing communicative skills According to Huynh (2005) there are two criteria for ESP textbooks: the social nature of language and the context about intellectual and aware requirements In the social nature of language, knowledge about culture, society, science and technology that learners need to gain to use for their work and learners understand the form of ESP language are from the ESP textbooks It means after learning from ESP course books, students have to gain communicative capabilities However, not all students after finishing their ESP courses have this capability Many students cannot read and comprehend their majored documents in English after graduation In Vietnam most of current ESP textbooks are in non-context (Pham, 2002) but have a high requirement about intellect Meanwhile, textbook designers lack students’ abilities and general knowledge assessment That

is the reason why most of ESP course books in Vietnam are inauthentic

2.4.4 ESP teaching methodology

Teaching methods takes an important role in deciding the successful or unsuccessful ESP courses because they have an effect on the students’ learning According to Dudley-Evans & St John (1998) although ‘the methodology of ESP teaching may not differ from that of General English, but there is one basic difference that affects the methodology ….this is that the teacher is not in the position of being the ‘primary knower” of the carrier content of the material” (p.13) Therefore, if the teacher does not have suitable and flexible teaching methods, students will feel so bored in learning and they will lose their motivation

in learning because “the students in many cases, certainly where the course is specifically oriented towards the subject content or work that the students are engaged in, know more about the content than the teacher” ( Dudley-Evans & St John ,1998)

ESP is a branch of EFL so EFL teaching methods can be used in teaching ESP However, if a teacher only uses the Grammar Translation method to teach

ESP without other methods, ESP courses will not be successful Therefore, “ESP teachers also need to have a great deal of flexibility, to be willing to listen to learners and to take an interest in the disciplines or professional activities the students are involved in They must be ready to change tack account of what comes up, and to think and respond rapidly to events ESP teachers must also be happy to take some risks in their teaching The willingness to be flexible and to take risks is one of the keys to success in ESP teaching” ( Dudley-Evans & St John ,1998)

To sum up, like ESP teachers, ESP learners also have many obstacles when they take ESP courses These problems are the reasons why they do not gain their desires about the course that they have before getting ESP courses

2.5 Hypothetical problems arising from ESP textbook in teaching and learning ESP courses

From findings of previous relevant researches by Nguyen (2004), Tran (2011) as well as the reality of ESP textbook used at HCMC CC., it can be believed that the ESP textbook faces some main problems in teaching and learning ESP related to: 1) The ESP contents; 2) Textbook relevant to learners’ English levels, needs and interests

2.5.1 The ESP contents

The ESP contents play an important role in attracting students’ interests in learning However, the results from the study by Nguyen (2002) indicated that beside the deficiency of the current reading materials, the contents in ESP textbooks were very monotonous and did not motivate students’ interests in reading Pham & Tran (2011) also asserted that the current ESP textbook failed to appeal students’ interests for its lack of up-to-date topics to their major, not adapting to new requirements in providing useful knowledge of the field In fact, the coursebook, as mentioned by Cunningsworth (1995), must include subject-matter which should be appropriate to personal interests Finally, he concluded that

those materials which failed to cover relevant and interesting topics will be in danger of losing the reading’s attentions

2.5.2 ESP Textbook relevance to learners’ English levels, needs and interests

Before learning ESP courses, most students studied GE However, there are still some mismatches between GE learning styles and ESP learning styles In ESP courses, Grammar structures are higher than students’ level of English (Pham, 2011) Students felt fed up with reading long texts with complex grammar structures or lengthy sentences and a lot of new terminologies without emphasis on remembrance properly Tasks in each lesson do not develop students’ reading comprehension and include only a question-and- answer exercise, keep the same format unit by unit from one lesson to another Grammar points are presented without relevant exercises for practice In addition, lack of communicative tasks makes reading boring (Nguyen, 2002) The technical terms are not very practical but hard to remember so they do not meet students’ needs in learning ESP for their future work The information of reading texts is out of date and not relevant to students’ interests The exercises are not interactive (Pham, 2011) Therefore, the students might have thought that the exercises were boring for them to cope with

In short, “The ESP textbook failed to appeal students’ interests for its lack

of up-to-date topics to their major and the exercises were not interesting and various enough” (Tran, 2011)

2.6 Conceptual frame of the study

It is obvious that there remain many factors influencing ESP teaching and learning However, in this study, the researcher just concentrated on the salient factors reviewed in the related literature, which affected teaching and learning ESP Basing on Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters, during teaching ESP, teachers face three main problems:

1 Lack of ESP guidelines

2 Lack of content knowledge

3 The change in the status of English Language Teaching

From the findings of relevant previous researches by Nguyen (2002), Nguyen (2004), Pham (2011), Lau (2012), hypothetical problems arising from students in learning ESP are as follows:

1 Lack of integrative motivation in learning English

2 Lack of lexical knowledge

3 Lack of authentic materials

4 Ineffective teaching methodology

From other researches by Nguyen (2004), Tran (2011) and the current status of ESP textbook at HCMC CC., hypothetical problems arising from ESP textbook in teaching and learning ESP are as follows:

1 The ESP contents

2 Textbook relevant to learners’ English levels, needs and interests

Based on the literature reviewed in this chapter, it is also regarded as the theoretical foundation for data analysis in chapter 4, the questionnaire to the students; the questions for the interviews were designed The study investigated the problems that ESP teachers and students at HCMC CC have to face during teaching and learning ESP course The instruments, the participants, the research methodology and data analysis methods that were used to collect the data are discussed in the next chapter

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter shows the methodology conducted in the current study It begins with the research design and the setting in which the study occurred Then,

it describes the participants Finally, it shows the instruments and the data collection procedures

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

To collect and analyze the data for the current study, the researcher used qualitative approach with descriptive statistics in using the questionnaire for the students Besides, to collect data for qualitative inquiry, the researcher interviewed English teachers, graduates and recruiters First, the researcher intended to send the questionnaire to the teachers, however, there were only four English teachers when the study was carried out With this small quantity of English teachers at HCMC CC., the researcher made the decision to employ interview as another instrument

3.2 SETTING

The study was conducted at HOCHIMINH City Construction College in Binh Thanh District, HOCHIMINH City This is a small vocational school with three faculties: basic sciences, civil engineering and industrial construction and architecture with 36 classes in professional intermediate degree, 9 classes in vocational intermediate degree and 6 classes in-service and about 1984 students in total ( Source: Academic department in June, 2013) Among them, there were 14 classes in construction major and 3 classes in architecture designing major in the academic year 2012-2013 The results of the ESP final exams in the school years

2010, 2011, 2012 were low: 2010 (67%), 2011 (68.2 %), 2012 (66%), especially, there was one class, this number was under 50% (47%) The results of ESP subject

as well as Structural Designing subject and Mechanical Works subject usually

made the administrators unhappy

The ESP textbook using in this school was adapted from the textbook: ESP

for architecture, construction, engineering planning and urban building (Vi Thi

Quoc Khanh, 2005), Ha Noi Architecture University There are fifteen unit in this book ( see Appendix 5) However, the teachers at HCMC CC only adapted six units: unit 4, unit 5, unit 6, unit 7, unit 9 and unit 12 The form of units is the same with these parts: the first is the reading text, with vocabulary and comprehension check the second part is skills development with tasks about reading and writing skills The final part is further reading No listening exercises were mentioned in this book

All students at this school had learned English at high school and finished their General English before learning ESP in the first semester At that time, they have just studied several special subjects such as: Art Drawing, Construction Drawing, Geodetics subject All ESP classes had 6 ESP periods per week Almost all of the students attended the ESP classes because it was a compulsory subject and without any motivation, their main purpose was to pass the exams When recruiters visited this school and arranged an interview to employ new graduates, few of them were accepted because of their low English proficiency Therefore, enhancing the quality of teaching and learning English in general and ESP in particular at this school was the big consideration of English teachers and administrators

3.3 PARTICIPANTS

This research was carried out in April, 2013 with the participation of 4 English teachers, 240 students majoring in architecture and construction in the academic year 2012-2013, 7 alumni who were working in designing companies and construction companies in HCMC Three recruiters usually employ students graduating from HCMC CC These recruiters are from foreign companies about architecture and construction One architecture company is in District 9 One construction company is from District 2 and the other one is in Tan Binh District