This study aims at designing an ESP reading syllabus for the second-year students
at the Faculty of Urban Planning, Hanoi Architectural University (HAU) to meet the
demand for an appropriate ESP course of the students at this faculty.
The study consists of three main parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion.
The Introduction states the rationale, aims and objectives, scope, methods and
design of the study.
In the main part of the study, the Development, there are three chapters. Chapter 1
presents the review of relevant theories for designing an ESP reading syllabus, namely
definition of syllabus, the role of the syllabus, types of ESP syllabus, approaches to
syllabus design, steps in syllabus design, needs analysis and reading theories. In chapter 2,
basing on an overview of the teaching and learning situation at HAU and the background
of the target students, the need analysis was conducted with instruments of questionnaires
and interviews to gather information on students’ target needs and learning needs. The data
were collected from various sources: the second-year students, the ex-students, the ESP
teachers and the subject teachers. The results of the needs analysis provide the basis for the
researcher in choosing the appropriate syllabus type, determining the objectives, selecting
and sequencing the content of the syllabus. The proposed syllabus for the target students is
presented in the last chapter of this part - chapter 3.
The Conclusion summarizes the thesis, points out its limitations and proposes
suggestions for further study.
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TRN TH DUNG
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ield: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410
Supervisor: Dr. Dng Th N
i
On the completion of this thesis, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
supervisor, Dr. Duong Thi Nu, who gave me precious guidance, comments, suggestions
and encouragement throughout my research.
My special thanks go to all my teachers of the Post-graduate course 13 at Vietnam
National University, College of Foreign Languages, Hanoi, for their interesting and useful
lectures.
I also wish to convey my sincere thanks to all my colleagues and the second-year
students at the Faculty of Urban Planning, Hanoi Architectural University, for their
contribution to the data collection and their constructive suggestions for this research.
Finally, I am grateful to my friends and my family who gave me support and
encouragement during the time of fulfilling this work.
ii
I certify my authority of the Study Project Report submitted entitled
In total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts
Trn Th Dung
September 2007
iii
This study aims at designing an ESP reading syllabus for the second-year students
at the Faculty of Urban Planning, Hanoi Architectural University (HAU) to meet the
demand for an appropriate ESP course of the students at this faculty.
The study consists of three main parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion.
The Introduction states the rationale, aims and objectives, scope, methods and
design of the study.
In the main part of the study, the Development, there are three chapters. Chapter 1
presents the review of relevant theories for designing an ESP reading syllabus, namely
definition of syllabus, the role of the syllabus, types of ESP syllabus, approaches to
syllabus design, steps in syllabus design, needs analysis and reading theories. In chapter 2,
basing on an overview of the teaching and learning situation at HAU and the background
of the target students, the need analysis was conducted with instruments of questionnaires
and interviews to gather information on students’ target needs and learning needs. The data
were collected from various sources: the second-year students, the ex-students, the ESP
teachers and the subject teachers. The results of the needs analysis provide the basis for the
researcher in choosing the appropriate syllabus type, determining the objectives, selecting
and sequencing the content of the syllabus. The proposed syllabus for the target students is
presented in the last chapter of this part - chapter 3.
The Conclusion summarizes the thesis, points out its limitations and proposes
suggestions for further study.
The proposed syllabus is expected to meet the students’ needs as well as the
training objectives of HAU and will make contribution to the improvement of ESP
learning and teaching at this university.
iv
Pages
Acknowledgement.................................................................................................................i
Declaration ...........................................................................................................................ii
Abstract................................................................................................................................iii
Table of contents .................................................................................................................iv
List of abbreviations ...........................................................................................................vi
1. Rationale ...........................................................................................................................1
2. Aims and objectives of the study.......................................................................................2
3. Scope of the study..............................................................................................................2
4. Methods of the study .........................................................................................................2
5. Design of the study............................................................................................................2
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1.1. Syllabus design...............................................................................................................4
1.1.1 Definition of syllabus....................................................................................................4
1.1.2. The role of the syllabus................................................................................................5
1.1.3. Types of ESP syllabus .................................................................................................6
1.1.3. 1. Grammatical or structural syllabus ..........................................................................6
1.1.3.2. Notional/functional syllabus .....................................................................................6
1.1.3.3. Situational syllabus ...................................................................................................7
1.1.3.4. Topic-based syllabus.................................................................................................7
1.1.3.5. Skill-based syllabus ..................................................................................................7
1.1.3.6. Task-based syllabus ..................................................................................................7
1.1.4. Approaches to syllabus design.....................................................................................8
1.1.4.1. The language-centered approach ..............................................................................8
1.1.4.2. The skills-centered approach ....................................................................................8
1.1.4.3. The learning-centered approach................................................................................9
1.2. Needs Analysis in ESP.................................................................................................10
1.2.1. Needs Analysis ..........................................................................................................10
1.2.2. Types of Needs ..........................................................................................................11
1.2.2.1. Target Needs ...........................................................................................................11
1.2.2.2.Learning Needs ........................................................................................................11
1.3. Reading.........................................................................................................................12
1.3.1. Reading in ESP ..........................................................................................................12
1.3.2. Reading skills/ strategies ...........................................................................................13
1.4. Summary ......................................................................................................................14
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2.1. Introduction..................................................................................................................15
2.2. The teaching and learning situation at HAU .............................................................15
2.3. The target students.......................................................................................................17
2.4. The teaching staff of the English section....................................................................17
2.5. A critical look at the existing syllabus.........................................................................18
2.6. The study ......................................................................................................................19
2.6.1. The subjects ...............................................................................................................19
2.6.2.Instruments for collecting data ...................................................................................19
2.6.3.The findings ................................................................................................................20
2.6.3.1. The findings of the questionnaires..........................................................................20
2.6.3.1.1. Needs perceived by the teachers of the English section ......................................20
2.6.3.1.2. Needs perceived by the subject teachers..............................................................24
2.6.3.1.3. Needs perceived by the target students................................................................24
2.6.3.2.Results from the interviews with the graduates .......................................................25
2.7. Summary ......................................................................................................................26
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3.1. Aims and objectives......................................................................................................27
3.2. Selecting a type of syllabus for ESP students at the Urban Planning Faculty, HAU.........28
3.3. Sequencing ...................................................................................................................29
3.3.1. Selecting the content ..................................................................................................29
3.3.1.1. Specific topics in the syllabus.................................................................................29
3.3.1.2. Reading skills and reading exercises ......................................................................29
3.3.1.3. Grammar and structures..........................................................................................30
3.3.2. Grading the items in the syllabus...............................................................................31
3.3.3. The organization of the syllabus................................................................................32
3.3.3.1. Time allocation .......................................................................................................32
3.3.3.2. Quantity and structure of the syllabus ....................................................................32
3.4. Designing tests for the ESP reading course................................................................32
3.5. The proposed syllabus for the second-year students at the Faculty of Urban
Planning, HAU ..................................................................................................................33
3.6. Summary ......................................................................................................................33
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HAU: Hanoi Architectural University
ESP: English for Specific Purposes
UPF: Urban Planning Faculty
1
1. Rationale
There is no doubt of the importance role that English plays in our society, especially in
the process of regional and global integration. People with a good command of English are
needed in many fields. This results in the great demand of learning English, manifested by
the boom of English centers across the country. At universities, students now realize the
importance of English to their future work and they have paid more attention to the study
of English, especially English for Specific Purposes as this young branch of English is
rarely taught outside their universities.
For these students, reading is by far the most important skill as they hardly have
opportunity to use communicative English outside the classroom. However, they need to
get access to a great number of specialized documents written in English so as to broaden
their knowledge about their speciality as well as to obtain up-to- date information in their
fields of study. Reading is also very necessary in their future work. Therefore, designing a
syllabus focusing on improving students’ ESP vocabulary and their reading skills in ESP is
of great importance in order to prepare the students for their future job.
At Hanoi Architectural University (HAU), English is a compulsory subject for students
of all faculties. It is taught within 2 stages. In the first stage, students learn General English
(150 periods) according to Headway Pre-intermediate course book written by John & Liz
Soars (1987). After 2 semesters learning General English, they progress on to the ESP
(English for Specific Purposes) stage in which they learn 60 periods in their second year at
HAU. At this stage, students as well as teachers of English have faced a lot of difficulties
due to the lack of an appropriate ESP teaching syllabus. There are 5 faculties at HAU; each
has its own specialist characteristics. However, students of these different facilities have to
study the same course book “English for Architecture, Civil Engineering, Urban Planning
and Urban Infrastructure Techniques” (2002), written by a group of teachers of English at
HAU. Unlike what its name suggests, this course book only focuses on Architecture and
Civil Engineering, and it is certain that it cannot satisfactorily meet the needs for an ESP
course of students coming from 5 different faculties. Therefore, designing an appropriate
ESP syllabus for the students of each faculty is necessary.
The faculty of Urban Planning is one of the main faculties at HAU, so it is one of the
2
faculty in which the job of designing an ESP reading syllabus should be carried out first.
For the above-mentioned reasons, I decided to choose the topic “Designing an ESP
reading syllabus for the second-year students at the Urban Planning Faculty, HAU” as the
topic of my thesis.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
This study aims at designing an ESP reading syllabus for the second-year students at the
Urban Planning Faculty, HAU. In order to achieve this aim, the following objectives are
set to follow:
- To get an overview of the theories related to ESP reading and syllabus design
- To identify the needs perceived by the ESP students, the ESP teachers and the
subject teachers toward an appropriate reading syllabus for the ESP students of the
Urban Planning Faculty
- To propose a reading syllabus based on needs analysis
3. Scope of the study
This study is initiated and developed from the urgent need to design an effective
ESP syllabus for the second-year students at the Urban Planning Faculty, HAU. It is
conducted within HAU and focuses on Urban Planning, one of the major professions at the
university. Due to the general institutional academic situation, priority is given to reading
skill. Within the scope of a minor thesis, this study focuses on the designing process itself;
only the basic theories related to ESP reading and syllabus design are presented.
4. Methods of the study
In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods are used. The quantitative
method is used to collect data by means of questionnaires. There are three kinds of
questionnaires, one aims at the second-year student population learning ESP, another aims
at the ESP teachers of the English section and the last aims at the subject teachers at the
Urban Planning Faculty, HAU so as to identify the needs for an ESP syllabus from a broad
view. The qualitative method is used to collect data through interviews with ex-students of
the Urban Planning Faculty as well as through informal discussions with colleagues.
5. Design of the study
This study contains three main parts.
Part A- Introduction presents the rationale, aims and objectives, scope, methods and
the design of the study
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Part B- Development, which is the main part of the study, consists of three chapters.
- Chapter I reviews the literature concerning syllabus design, needs analysis and
reading theories
- Chapter II describes in details the study including its background, subjects,
instruments for collecting data as well as the findings of the study
- Chapter III proposes a reading syllabus for the second-year students at the Faculty
of Urban Planning basing on the findings of the study
Part C- Conclusion includes a summary of the study, limitations and suggestions for
further research.
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1.1. Syllabus design
1.1.1 Definition of syllabus
In language teaching, syllabus is a common notion and many teachers consider it as
a document which says what will (or at least what should) be learnt. But in fact, there have
been several different ways in which a syllabus can be defined. Some authors who
advocate the narrow view believe that syllabus and methodology should be kept separate
whereas some others who adopt a broader view argue that it is difficult to make a
distinction between content and tasks.
As a supporter of the narrow view, Nunan (1988: 5) draws a clear distinction
between syllabus design and methodology:
“Syllabus design is seen as being concerned essentially with the selection and grading of
content, while methodology is concerned with the selection of learning tasks and
activities”.
Allen (1984: 49) shared this view with Nunan in claming that “Syllabus… is
concerned with a specification of what units will be taught (as distinct from how they will
be taught, which is a matter for methodology)”.
Different from these scholars, one of the broad view advocators, Yalden (1984: 14)
stated that:
The syllabus replaces the concept of “method”, and the syllabus is now seen as an
instrument by which the teacher, with the help of the syllabus designer, can achieve a
degree of ‘fit’ between the needs and the aims of the learners (as soci