Part A: Alumni’s opinions about problems arising from ESP Teachers
To find out the alumni’s viewpoints about ESP teachers at HCMC. CC., questions 1, 2, 3 were used to interview them. The results of the interview were below.
(i) Alumni’s opinions about teaching methods
Question 1: 1.1. What methods did your ESP teachers use to teach you? 1.2. Did your ESP teachers care about the students’ needs and aspirations about the subject? 1.3. Did you feel interested in the ESP course? 1.4. Did ESP knowledge you studied at HCMC. CC. support any things for your current work? 1.5. Did your ESP teachers have good knowledge of the subject content?
1.1. Chart 4.14 indicated alumni’s opinions about teaching methods that they used to be taught at HCMC. CC. 5/7 alumni admitted that their ESP teachers usually taught grammar structures and reading texts by showing their functions and contents in Vietnamese. Their teachers always used E-lesson plans and sometimes boards and chalks to display the lessons. During the lessons students only studied grammar focuses from the reading texts, translated the text into Vietnamese and did three tasks: task 1: Answer the questions about the contents of
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the text; task 2: Fill in the blanks; Task 3: Translate the following sentences into English.
+ I do not know what the methods are named in English, but during the ESP lessons, my teachers asked us to read, find some new points of grammar and translate the text into Vietnamese. While I was doing the tasks, my teacher walked around and gave me some correction before she corrected all of us.(5 students from classes: XD12-11 and XD 04-11 answered when the researcher asked).
+ When my teacher came in, she asked some students to go to the board to display the slides that they prepared at home. My teacher went to the last row of the class to observe us and after the lecture finished, she would ask other students to give some comments and then she was the last person who gave comments about the presentation. She always did that during the course.
1.2. All of them assumed that their ESP teachers care about their needs and told them about the roles of ESP course. However, all of alumni said that although students recognized the importance of ESP, most of them did not try to study well.
They only studied this subject because it was a compulsory subject.
2 other alumni answered that they did not know what methods their teachers used. They named that method was “The lecture method”.
1.3. When asked “Did you feel the ESP lesson interesting with these methods?” all of them (7/7 cases) admitted that the ESP course were not interesting.
+ Everyday my ESP teachers gave some theory of grammar, corrected the tasks, gave the best final translation of the reading text. Before going to the lesson, all of us knew what ESP teacher did for us today and all of us did not need to do anything except being in the class. No new things to motivate us to try.
Other alumna said:
+Every lesson, she asked us to lecture. Gradually, I feared the course, I did not have time to prepare and I myself did the work without any help from others because other members in my group they did not live near my house and they did not study English well.
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1.4. 5/7 alumni stated that the ESP knowledge they studied at HCMC. CC.
did not support many things for their current works; they had to study more from other places to serve their work. 1/7 alumni said that what ESP knowledge he studied at HCMC. CC. supported his current work was some vocabulary about some fields of construction such as: components of buildings, machinery at construction site, types of foundations, etc…. The other alumna thought that ESP knowledge she studied at HCMC. CC. gave her basic ways to work and study during her work.
1.5. Only one alumna admitted her ESP teacher had good basic knowledge about architecture field. The others thought that their teachers did not have good knowledge of the subject content. These opinions are the same as teachers’
statements about their content knowledge.
+ I feel my ESP teacher does not have good knowledge about construction field. He gets troubles when we ask him more details about “Structures and foundations” (the contents in unit 2 and Unit 3 for ESP).
Chart 4. 14 Alumni’s opinions about teaching methods
(ii) Alumni’s opinions about the effectiveness of ESP courses
Question 2: Do you think ESP course at HCMC. CC. effective or not effective when applying the knowledge for your work?
The results from Chart 4.15 presented alumni’s opinions about the effectiveness of ESP courses. 4/7 alumni confirmed that ESP course at HCMC.
CC. in the school year of 2011 only met a small part in their current work: only for simple drawings, with complex detailed drawings, ESP course at HCMC. CC. in
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the school year of 2011 did not supply enough vocabulary. One alumnus said that he also used what he used to study from ESP course for his current work at the construction company and in his opinion he thought this ESP course was effective.
Only one alumna admitted that the ESP was useful for her.
+ I work for a foreign designing company, after I was employed, in my first days, I just could explain and show simple drawings. Days by days, I studied from my partners about English words of building components. The vocabulary about architecture I used to study from ESP course at HCMC. CC. was not enough for my job.
Chart 4. 15 Alumni’s opinions about the effectiveness of ESP courses
(iii) Alumni’s opinions about ESP skills in teaching
Question 3: What skills did your ESP teachers pay attention to when teaching you? What skills should English teachers pay attention to when they teach ESP?
Chart 4.16 discussed alumni’s opinions about ESP skills in teaching. 6/7 alumni stated that their ESP teachers used to pay attention to teaching reading skill. This was also the same as the answer of ESP teachers in the interview for them. 1/7 alumna reported that besides reading skill, her ESP teacher also taught speaking skill by giving some topics related to the text for students to practice.
However, she admitted that just some students could do this well. All of the alumni shared their points of view from their current work that ESP teachers had to pay attention on four English skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing
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because when working in a foreign construction or designing company, the workers had to use all four skills during their work.
+ I use four English skills during my work. Listening skill is used to receive comments, requirements from my Italian leaders’ phone calls and sometimes face to face. Speaking is used to talk to foreign colleagues. I use reading skill to refer to English documents related to my major and I use writing skill to write English mails or reports.
1/7 alumni highlighted reading and writing were more important than speaking and listening in his current work.
+ I work for a construction company in which my supervisor was a foreigner. My main work is reading and writing to reply email for him. Sometimes, I make phone calls to him.
Chart 4. 16 Alumni’s opinions about ESP skills in teaching
Part B: Alumni’s opinions about problems arising from students (i) Alumni’s opinions about learners’ motivation in learning
Question 4: When studying at HCMC. CC. did you think that you tried your best in learning English to find a good job in the future? What advice can you give to your younger friends who are studying at HCMC. CC.?
Alumni’s opinions about problems arising from students were indicated in Chart 4.17. 5/7 alumni admitted that they had relatives who were working for foreign companies with good salary and welfare so they tried their best to gain
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something similar to their relatives. Actually, these respondents had good awareness of the role of foreign languages for work. This awareness influenced their studying a lot.
+ I think when we have a clear purpose we will have good motivation to try and try our best. I came here to study not to kill the time. I like designing and I want to work for big projects so I have to try and finally, my dream became true.
Clearly, this idea completely contrasted with the results of the questionnaire of students who were studying at HCMC. CC. Most of them attended ESP course because it was a compulsory subject.
2/7 alumni said that they tried to study English because they liked it. They did not think that they studied to work for a foreign company. They got their current job by chance. All of them (7/7) confirmed that if students want to work for a good company with good salary and working condition, students had to study both their major and foreign language as hard as hard as possible. If students wanted to do that, they had to have a clear purpose and dream and tried their best to make their dream become true.
Chart 4. 17 Alumni’s opinions about learners’ motivation in learning
Part C: Alumni’s opinions about problems arising from ESP textbook
(i) Alumni’s opinions about the contents, grammar structures, vocabulary and exercises of ESP textbook
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Question 5: Do you think ESP textbook you used to study at HCMC. CC. suitable for your work?
What do you think about the level of technical terms (vocabulary) and grammar focuses in the textbook? Were the contents of the texts up to date? Did the exercises support students to understand the contents of the texts?
Chart 4.18 discussed alumni’s opinions about the contents, grammar structures, vocabulary and exercises of ESP textbook. 7/7 alumni recognized that when studying ESP course at HCMC. CC., they thought the course was too difficult (This concurs with students’ responses). However, when they started working, they considered that the ESP textbook they used to study at school was very simple in contents, not relevant to their work and the vocabulary was very impractical for their current work. The textbook also lacked some skills when only emphasizing on reading skill. The contents in the textbook were not updated.
Grammar focuses were too many and most of which were not actually used in their current work. They also stated that the vocabulary in the texts were not enough to use for their work.
`+ I think our textbook should be updated because there have been many changes about construction and architecture techniques since 2005 (the year this book was edited). (4 alumni who were working in architecture companies brought forward the ideas).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Textbook was very simple, not relevant to their work
Vocabulary was impractical, not enough to use for current work
Grammar structures were too many, not actually used in current work
Contents were not updated Textbook lacked of some skills Total of respondents
Alumni
Chart 4. 18 Alumni’s opinions about the contents, grammar structures, vocabulary and exercises of ESP textbook
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Part D: Alumni’s recommendations for ESP course
Question 6: What suggestions do you offer to make ESP course at HCMC. CC. better?
Alumni’s recommendations for ESP course were summarized in Chart 4.19.
One alumnus shared the view to improve students’ motivation in learning. (I do not have any suggestions. I think if ESP teachers find any ways to help learners but learners do not want to learn; the course will never be effective).
Six other alumni highlighted that ESP teachers should carry out many changes about ESP textbook and teaching methodology. They suggested ESP teachers should add more terminologies about construction and architecture.
Besides, ESP teachers also added more ESP exercises to develop other skills such as listening and speaking and gave some more practical situations for students to practice more.
+ if a teacher only uses one method during his or her teaching periods, learners will feel so bored and we do not like studying what we think it is not necessary for our future work. This is not at high school that learners are passive in learning.
Chart 4. 19 Alumni’s recommendations for ESP course