How teachers use the current esp materials at public relation faculty, academy of journalism and communication

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERISTY – HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES --------------------- PHAM HAI CHUNG HOW TEACHERS USE THE CURRENT ESP MATERIALS AT PUBLIC RELATION FACULTY, ACADEMY OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION NGHIÊN CỨU CÁCH THỨC GIẢNG VIÊN SỬ DỤNG GIÁO TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH TRONG VIỆC DẠY HỌC TẠI KHOA QUAN HỆ CÔNG CHÚNG, HỌC VIỆN BÁO CHÍ VÀ TUYÊN TRUYỀN M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 SUPERVISOR: TO THI THU HUONG, Ph.D HANOI - 2008 DECLARATION I certify that the work contained in this thesis is the result of my own research and the substance of this thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for degree to any other univerisity or institution. Signature Pham Hai Chung ABSTRACT This study is aimed at finding out how teachers use current ESP materials at Public Relation Faculty, Academy of Journalism and Communication. It is organized as following: The study starts with the brief introduction of rationale, scope, methods and design of the study. Originated from the learning teaching situation and through data collection and analysis at PR Faculty, Academy of Journalism and Communication, this study has been proposed and implemented. The first chapter is literature review on definition of ESP, roles of teaching materials and ESP teachers, materials evaluation and materials exploitation. A qualitative research with data collection procedures has been describled in the second chapter of this thesis: first, questionnaire information on the leaners’ attitude toward their textbook, supplementary and their teachers’ exploitation of current ESP materials, followed by in-depth interviews with two teachers in charge of teaching this course to find out their difficulites in exploiting current ESP materials and their suggestions to improve the situation. The last chapter discusses some recommendations of methods for teaching the current ESP materials as well as the guide for the material users and designers to make better decisions on the improvement of the course for future use. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to send my thanks to all those who have helped to shape the ideas that have gone into this minor thesis. First of all, i would like to convey my gratitude to Ph.D To Thi Thu Huong for her critical and constructive supervision, valuable guide and encouragement throughout my research. It is impossible to numerate the number of tasks she has so kindly taken on. I also would like to convey my sincere thanks to all my teachers of the post – graduate course, whose knowledge and enthusiasm are of great help to the achievement of my academic study. I am grateful to teachers of Foreign Languages Faculty and all the students of PR faculty at Academy of Journalism and Communication for their cooperation, suggestions as well as assistance in the completion of this thesis. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS T1: Teacher 1 T2: Teacher 2 PR: Public Relation ESP: English for Special Purposes GE: General English LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Table1: Techniques for adapting depending on teacher’s purpose and learning context Table 2: Topics of PR textbook Table 3: Teachers’ exploitation of teaching materials Tables 4: Teaching techniques teachers use in the class Chart 1: Learners’ opinion of the textbook Chart 2: Learners’ interest of supplementary materials TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I:LITERATURE REVIEW Definition of ESP 8 Roles of teaching materials and ESP teachers 10 Roles of textbook 11 Roles of supplementary materials 13 Roles of ESP teachers 13 Materials evaluation 14 Materials exploitation 14 4.1. Reification of textbooks 14 4.2. Materials Adaptation 15 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY Participants and settings 19 Research methods 21 Data Collection Procedure 22 CHAPTER III: RESULT AND DISCUSSION The relevance of current ESP PR materials 24 The extent of teachers’ exploitation of current PR materials 25 Teachers’ exploitation of textbook 25 Teachers’ use of supplementary materials 27 Difficulties of the teachers in exploiting the current PR material 28 The difficulties of the teachers in using the textbook 30 The difficulties of the teachers in using the supplementary materials 31 4. Teachers’ suggestions to difficulties when exploiting the current ESP 31 4.1 Making some changes in the current textbook…………………………………….31 4.2 Increasing leaners’ interest in tasks and other activities by encouraging marks…..32 4.3 Designing variable tasks in the supplementary materials…………………………32 5. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..32 CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATION FOR TEACHING AND CONCLUSION Recommendation of methods for teaching ESP reading materials 34 Conclusion 37 REFERENCES INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale As an international language, English nowadays plays an important role in academic studies, professional success and personal development in the world of economic integration and globalization. The number of learners of English increases quickly day by day. In fact, all courses of English usually start with the question “Why do these learners need to learn English?” These courses are based on a perceived need of some sort. Otherwise why would English find its way on to a school or college timetable: “someone at sometime must have decided there was a need for it”. Most learners have realized their core need to learn English for their current or future job. Thus, English for Specific Purposes has become more in demand than General English. Public Relation, a new field in Vietnam, is still seen as more reactive than proactive. The numbers of public relations agencies are still miniscule for a country with a population of over eighty million. The only training place for PR has just been established for three years at the Academy of Journalism and Communication with the purpose of training a number of PR officers for the whole country in the new context of social and economic integration. In training, materials are very important in teaching and learning. Many types of materials can be used during the process of teaching and learning to provide basic knowledge to students and improve their knowledge about and skills in the subject matter. In terms of training at the PR Faculty, as PR materials in Vietnamese are rather limited, ESP materials of PR is even more important for students of the PR Faculty. Both teachers and students face many difficulties in teaching and learning ESP. The most outstanding one is the design and development of PR materials for use in the PR ESP program. The materials are developed solely by teachers of General English, Academy of Journalism and Communication while they should be jointly developed by an expert team comprising both teachers of English and teachers of PR. As the Public Relation Faculty is a new one, the teachers teaching ESP course are young and inexperienced in this effort. Additionally, all teachers are trained to be teachers of General English and they lack knowledge of PR and so they have to study by themselves when they teach ESP in Public Relations. They make a great effort to help students improve their language skills by adapting the textbooks or teaching materials. Students start learning ESP of PR at the fifth semester, so only 32 students learnt the first ESP course of PR. Thus, there would be many questions to be answered about the effectiveness of this course. My research, therefore, aims to study how the teachers at PR faculty use the current ESP material in order to suggest effective implications on teaching methods and ESP materials design at PR faculty. 2. Aims of the study: By carrying out this research, I would like to fulfill the following aims: 1- Investigating teachers’ use of the current PR teaching materials including the required textbook and the supplementary reading materials. This aim is split into two sub-aims of: + finding out students’ opinions on their teachers’ exploitation of the current PR teaching materials; + finding out teachers’ reported ways of using PR teaching materials and their suggestions on how to make better use of the materials; 2- Proposing the implications for teachers so that they can make better use of the materials. 3. Research question This study is implemented to find answers to the following question: How do teachers use the current ESP PR materials? This question is broken down into three sub-questions: Do students think that their teachers use the current PR materials appropriately? What do teachers say about their use of the current PR materials? What do they suggest for better use of the materials? 4. Scope of the study Due to the limitation of time, this study has no ambition to cover all aspects of ESP material use. The scope of this thesis is limited to the teachers’ exploitation of the textbook and supplementary materials only. As the teaching of ESP is mostly concerned with teaching the reading skill, in this study, the focus is teachers’ methods of exploiting textbook (mostly reading material) in teaching reading ESP PR materials to the third year students. 5. Organisation of the study This study is organized as following: Introduction Chapter I: Literature review Chapter II: Methodology Chapter III: Results and Discussions Chapter IV: Recommendation for teaching and conclusion CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Definitions of ESP The term "specific" in ESP refers to the specific purpose for learning English. Students approach the study of English through a field that is already known and relevant to them. This means that they are able to use what they learn in the ESP classroom right away in their work and studies. The ESP approach enhances the relevance of what the students are learning and enables them to use the English they know to learn even more English, since their interest in their field will motivate them to interact with speakers and texts. ESP assesses needs and integrates motivation, subject matter and content for the teaching of relevant skills. Streven’s (1988) definition of ESP makes a distinction between four absolute characteristics and two variable characteristics Absolute characteristics of ESP ESP consists of English language teaching which is : - Designed to meet specified needs of the learners - Related in content (ie, in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupations and activities. - Centered on the language appropriate to those activities, in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc. Variable Characteristics of ESP: ESP may be, but is not necessarily: - Restricted as to the language skills to be learners (e.g.: reading only; speech recognition only, etc) - Taught according to any pre- ordained methodology (i.e., ESP is not restricted to any particular methodology although communicative methodology is very often felt to be the most appropriate). Definition of ESP (Dudley-Evans, 1997) Absolute Characteristics - ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners - ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves. - ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre. Variable Characteristics - 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 for learners at secondary school level. - ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students. - Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems. The definition Dudley-Evans offers is clearly influenced by that of Strevens (1988), although he has improved it substantially by removing the absolute characteristic that ESP is "in contrast with 'General English'" (Johns et al., 1991: 298), and has included more variable characteristics. The division of ESP into absolute and variable characteristics, in particular, is very helpful in resolving arguments about what is and is not ESP. From the definition, we can see that ESP can but is not necessarily concerned with a specific discipline, nor does it have to be aimed at a certain age group or ability range. ESP should be seen simple as an 'approach' to teaching, or what Dudley-Evans describes as an 'attitude of mind'. This is a similar conclusion to that made by Hutchinson et al. (1987:19) who state, "ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning". Hutchinson and Waters (1987) see ESP as an approach rather than a product by which they mean that ESP does not involve a particular kind of language, teaching material or methodology. They suggest that the foundation of ESP is the simple question. Why does this learner need to learn a foreign language ? The need can vary from study purposes to work purposes. These purposes are the starting point which determines the language to be taught. The situation ought to be, the nature of the learners’ needs should determine the teaching given to him. Such views form the basis for teaching English for specific purposes – ESP. 2. Roles of teaching materials and ESP teachers - Brian Tomlinson (2001) defined materials as anything “used help to teach language learners. Materials can be in the form of a textbook, a workbook, a cassette, a CD Rom, a video, a photocopied handout, a newspaper, a paragraph written on a whiteboard: anything which presents or inform about the language being learned ” thus ESP teaching materials are things used for teaching English for Special Purpose. - Tomlinson also defined supplementary materials as material designed to be used in addition to the core materials of a course. 2.1. Roles of textbook Jack C. Richards (2001) find out the roles of textbooks depend on how they are used and the contexts for their use. They provide structure and a syllabus for a program Without textbooks a program may have no central core and learners may not receive a syllabus that has been systematically planned and developed. They help standardize instruction The use of a textbook in a program can ensure that the students in different classes receive similar content and therefore can be tested in the same way. They maintain quality If a well developed textbook is used students are exposed to materials that have been tried and tested, that are based on sound learning principles, and that are paced appropriately. They provide a variety of learning resources Textbooks are often accompanied by workbooks, CDs and cassettes, videos, CD ROMs, and comprehensive teaching guides, providing a rich and varied resource for teachers and learners. They are efficient They save teachers' time, enabling teachers to devote time to teaching rather than material's production. They can provide effective language models and input. Textbooks can provide support for teachers whose first language is not English and who may not be able to generate accurate language input on their own. They can train teachers. If teachers have limited teaching experience, a textbook together with the teacher's manual can serve as a medium of initial teacher training. They are visually appealing. Commercial textbooks usually have high standards of design and production and hence are appealing to learners and teachers. Richards (2001) also explained that textbooks are a key component in most language programs. In some situations they serve as the basis for much of the language input learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom. They may provide the basis for the content of the lessons, the balance of skills taught and the kinds of language practice the students take part in. In other situations, the textbook may serve primarily to supplement the teacher's instruction. For learners, the textbook may provide the major source of contact they have with the language apart from input provided by the teacher. In the case of inexperienced teachers textbooks may also serve as a form of teacher training - they provide ideas on how to plan and teach lessons as well as formats that teachers can use. Much of the language teaching that occurs throughout the world today could not take place without the extensive use of commercial textbooks. Learning how to use and adapt textbooks is hence an important part of a teacher's professional knowledge. 2.2. Roles of supplementary materials Tomlinson (1998:p.xiii) explains that supplementary materials are usually related to the development of skills of reading, writing, listening or speaking rather than to the learning of language items. Thus, useful and effective supplementary materials can provide great assistance to teachers in teaching. 2.3. Roles of ESP teachers Good teachers show that they are the masters of their subjects. The first law of teaching is to "know your stuff," to be exceptionally knowledgeable in a subject area. This task never ends, because the flow of important research never stops. Staying current in one’s field is exacting yet crucial. Teachers must feel comfortable with a subject if they are going to succeed at explaining it. They should know how to talk about their subject from several starting points, prompted by a variety of questions. According to Tom Hutchison and Alan Waters (1987), we should ask ourselves three questions? a. Does the content of ESP materials need to be highly specialized? b. Why do so many ESP teachers find it difficult to comprehend ESP subject matter? c. What kind of knowledge is required of the ESP teacher? 3. Materials evaluation According to Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters (1987), “evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose”, thus a good evaluation of materials can save expense. Hutchinson and Alan Waters divide the evaluation process into four major steps Defining criteria Subjective analysis Objective analysis Matching Most of the work of the first two stages will have been done in the course design stage. 4. Materials exploitation There are two distinct ways of textbook exploitation: 4.1. Reification of textbooks In many teaching contexts, covering everything in the textbook in a fixed schedule is a must for teachers. Clark and Starr (1986) name this pressure as “slavishly use of textbook”. 4.2. Materials Adaptation Hutchinson and Alan Waters (1987:97) suggested three ways of turning a course design into actual teaching materials: Selecting from existing materials: material evaluation Write your own materials: materials development Modify existing materials: materials adaptation Madsen and Bowen (1978) claimed that “every teacher is in a very real sense an adapter of the material he uses. He or she may employ one or more of a number of techniques: supplementing, editing, expanding, personalizing, simplifying, modernizing, localizing or modifying cultural/situational content” or “the good teacher is constantly adapting. He adapts when he adds an example not found in the book or when he telescopes an assignment” There are various techniques for adapting depending on teacher’s purpose and learning context, Omit because… Learners are clear about a language point Learners are competent in a skill There are too many tasks on a particular area/point The item/area concerned is not a priority The item/task is not well designed The item/task is not well-suited to its aims The topic is not appropriate for learners Re-order or combine to… Match my aims Use a practice task for lead – in and elicitation Revise an area earlier than the textbook does Compare and contrast areas Provide thematic unity Provid