Đề tài One source of evaluation will obviously be the trainees themselves

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. RATIONALE The status of English has turned a significant percentage of the world’s population. In addition to General English, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been gaining an increasing importance and it has grown to become one of the most prominent areas of the Teaching of English as Foreign or Second Language (TEFL/TESL). Ewer (1976: 247) believes that “the teaching of English for scientific, technological and technical purposes is of comparatively recent growth as specialized activity, but it is now emerging as one of the most rapidly expanding and important branches of TEFL/TESL today”. To meet the demand of the learners, many ESP programmes have been designed. Together with the worldwide trend to learn ESP, the teaching staff of Foreign Languages Department at Vinh University collected documents and designed some ESP programmes for some specific fields, including the ESP programme for Construction which was first taught for K.46 Construction Engineering students at Vinh University. Besides an effort to offer the learners with the ESP programme according to their specific needs, it is necessary to implement an evaluation. Furthermore, the fact is that the ESP programme for Construction designed by the teaching staff of Foreign Languages at Vinh University was first taught for K.46 Construction Engineering students at Vinh University and it received some learners’ evaluative comments while it was in the progress. Therefore, it is necessary to have an evaluation on the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University carried out by the learners themselves as Wallace (1991: 163)‘s thought “One source of evaluation will obviously be the trainees themselves”. 2. AIMS AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study is aimed at researching Construction Engineering students’ evaluation on the ESP programme at Vinh University in terms of audience, aims, time allocation, contents and methodology in order to determine whether the ESP programme for Construction is suitable to the learners’ abilities and needs. Significantly, the process of this ESP programme evaluation can be seen as a way of developing our understanding of the ways in which it works and, in doing so, of contributing to both acquisition theory and pedagogic practices. Hence, the teachers would find ways to do interesting things in their teaching ESP in order to realize all the potentials embedded in the programme. It is hoped that the findings of this study and some suggestions would contribute in improving the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University to make it more suitable for the learners’ needs and abilities in the coming years. 3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The study aims to find out the answers to the following questions: 1) What are the learners’ evaluative comments on the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University? 2) What are the learners’ needs for learning ESP at Vinh University? 3) How should the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University be improved to make it more suitable to the learners’ abilities and needs? 4. METHOD OF THE STUDY This minor thesis uses a number of books concerning ESP and evaluation. The research method used is the survey. The data collection instrument is questionnaire. The practical data from K46 Construction Engineering students at Vinh University forms basis for this study. 5. SCOPE OF THE STUDY Within its scope, this research mainly focuses on the learners’ evaluation of the ESP programme at Vinh University such as: the time allocation, the topics of the ESP reading texts, the length of the ESP reading texts, the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text, the level of difficulty in grammar, the usefulness of exercises, the most difficult type of exercises, the satisfaction towards practice through exercises, the achievements after finishing the programme, and the satisfaction towards needs after finishing the programme. Basing on the findings and the learners’ needs, it provides some suggestions to improve the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University. Its major object is K46 Construction Engineering students of Technology Department at Vinh University. 6. DESIGN OF THE STUDY The minor thesis is composed of three main parts: introduction, development and conclusion. The introduction presents the rationale, aims and significance, research questions, method of the study, scope of the study, as well as design of the study. The development consists of three chapters: - Chapter I, “Literature Review”, provides the relevant theories: an overview of ESP (definition of ESP, classification of ESP and the development of ESP), evaluation (terminology definition, types of programme evaluation, purposes for evaluation, criteria for evaluation and central questions in programme evaluation design) and learner-centeredness in ESP. - Chapter II, “An overview of English for Construction at Vinh University”, presents background information about English for Construction at Vinh University, including in the teaching and learning situation, a description of current ESP programme for Construction and the learners at Vinh University. - Chapter III, “The study”, describes the methodology employed to collect data for this thesis at first (participants, data collection instrument and procedure). Then it reports on the learners’ evaluation of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University and their needs, and shows the major findings. Finally, it provides some suggestions to improve the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University. The conclusion presents what have been found out from the study and the limitations and suggestions for further study. PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter aims to provide a theoretical base to develop an operational framework for programme evaluation. The first part presents an overview of ESP with regards to definition, the classification and the development of the ESP. The second part discusses about evaluation, concerning in terminology definition, types of programme evaluation, purposes for evaluation, criteria for evaluation and central questions in programme evaluation design. The third part relates to the learner-centeredness in ESP. 1.1. AN OVERVIEW OF ESP 1.1.1. Definition of ESP ESP has been defined by different researchers as well as scholars’ different views. According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 19), ESP must be seen as an approach, not as a product. In their opinion, ESP is not a particular kind of language or methodology, nor does it consist of a particular type of teaching material. However, Strevens (1988) defines ESP by making a distinction between four absolute characteristics and two variable characteristics: - The absolute characteristics are that ESP consists of ELT (English Language Teaching) which is: • designed to meet specified needs of the learners; • related in content (that is in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupations and activities; • centred on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics and so on, and analysis of the discourse; • in contrast with ‘General English’. - The variable characteristics are that ESP • may be restricted as to the learning skills to be learned (for example reading only); • may not be taught according to any pre-ordained methodology. (Source: Strevens, 1988; cited in Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998: 3) Robinson (1991) ‘s definition (cited in Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998: 3) is based on two key defining criteria (i.e. ‘normally goal-directed’ and need analysis) and a number of characteristics (i.e. limited time period, adults in homogeneous classes) that are generally found to be true of ESP. Dudley-Evans and St John (1998: 4-5) comment that above definitions have validity but also weaknesses, either in the definition or in the features described. They believe that a definition of ESP should reflect the fact that much ESP teaching, especially where it is specifically linked to a particular profession or discipline, makes use of a methodology that differs from that used in General Purpose English teaching. They also believe that language should be included as a defining feature of ESP. In summary, all the above definitions show that ESP belongs to English Language Teaching (ELT). The ESP courses are performed successfully in occupational roles by an individual or a group whose need is considered to be a distinguished feature from General English. 1.1.2. Classification of ESP ESP has traditionally been divided into two main areas: English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP). According to Robinson (1991), the classification of ESP is generally presented in a tree diagram as follows: Pre-experience EOP Simultaneous / In-service Post-experience ESP Pre-study For study in a In study specific discipline Post-study EEP/EAP Independent As a school subject Integrated Figure 1: ESP classification by experience (Robinson, 1991: 3-4) The diagram shows a useful division of courses. Those distinctions are very important and they will affect the degree of specificity that is appropriate to the course. Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) also present the classification of ESP through a tree diagram but it divides EAP and EOP according to discipline or professional area as in the figure 2. English for Specific Purposes English for Academic Purposes English for Occupational Purposes English for English for English for English for English for English for (Academic) (Academic) (Academic) Management, Professional Vocational Science and Medical Legal Finance and Purposes Purposes Technology Purposes Purposes Economics English for English for Pre- Vocational Medical Business Vocational English Purposes Purposes English Figure 2: ESP classification by professional area (Dudley-Evans and St John 1998: 6) The tree diagram for ESP by Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) describes that EAP consists of English for Science and Technology (EST), English for Medical Purposes (EMP) English for Legal Purposes (ELP) and English for Management, Finance and Economics. And EOP includes English for Professional Purposes with sub-sections as English for Medical Purposes (EMP) and English for Business Purposes (EBP) and English for Vocational Purposes with sub-sections as Pre-Vocational English and Vocational English. In short, studying various ways of classifying ESP provides a teacher an overall picture of the groups of learners with whom he or she is going to work. 1.1.3. The development of ESP Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 9-14) refer to five stages of the development of ESP from the early beginnings in the 1960s. They point out that ESP is not a monolithic universal phenomenon and develops at different speeds in different countries. The first stage, which took place mainly in the 1960s and early 1970s, is characterized by the register analysis or the concept of ESP as a special language. The basic principle of this concept is that the English of Electrical Engineering constitutes a specific register different from that of Biology or General English and the aim of the analysis is to identify the grammatical and lexical features of these registers. Teaching materials then take these linguistic features as their syllabus. English for different purposes has different registers, and the aim of the analysis is to identify the grammatical and lexical features of these registers. A good example of a syllabus is “A Course in Basic Scientific English” by Ewer and Latorre (1969) and their aim is to produce a syllabus which gives high priority to the language forms students meet in their Science studies and low priority to forms students do not meet. Whereas in the first stage of its development, ESP focuses on language at the sentence level, the second stage of development shifts attention to the level above the sentence with the emerging field of discourse or rhetorical analysis. Attention shifts to understanding how sentences are combined in discourse to produce meaning. Therefore, the concern of research is to identify the organizational patterns in texts and to specify the linguistic means by which these patterns are signaled. These patterns will then form the syllabus of the ESP course. The third stage is characterized by the target situation analysis. The most thorough explanation of the target situation analysis is the system set out by John Munby in “Communicative Syllabus Design” (1978). The Munby model produces a detailed profile of the learners’ needs in term of communication purposes, communicative setting, the means of communication, language skills, functions, structures, etc. And the target situation analysis stage marks a certain ‘coming of age’ for ESP. What it aims to do is to take the existing knowledge and set it on a more scientific basis, by establishing procedures for relating language analysis more closely to learners’ reasons for learning. This stage also marks a significant change is that the purpose of an ESP course is to enable learners to function adequately in a target situation in which the learners will use the language they are learning. Unlike the above three stages of the development of ESP, mainly looking the analysis of the learners’ need at the surface linguistic features of the target situation, the fourth stage of ESP attempts to look below the surface and to consider not the language itself but the thinking processes that underlie language use. This stage is characterized by skills and strategies. Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 13) point out a great influence of researchers’ works (Françoise Grellet (1981)’s, Christine Nuttall (1982)’s and Charles Alderson and Sandy Urquhart (1984)’s) on developing strategies for reading skills for the teaching of ESP. The principal idea behind the skills-centred approach is that underlying all language use there are common reasoning and interpreting processes, which, regardless of the surface forms, enable us to extract meaning from discourse. There is, therefore, no need to focus closely on the surface forms of the language. The focus should rather be on the underlying interpretive strategies, which enable the learner to cope with the surface form, for example guessing the meaning of words from context, using visual layout to determine the type of the text, exploiting cognates (i.e. words which are similar in the mother tongue and the target language) etc. The fifth stage of ESP development is characterized by the learning-centred approach which is concerned with “language learning”. The learning-centred approach is based on the assumption that describes and exemplifies what people do with language will enable someone to learn it. This is an importance of ESP like Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 14) say: “A truly valid approach to ESP must be based on an understanding of the processes of language learning”. In summary, ESP undergoes five stages of the development with various characteristics for each stage. The examples of all approaches which were described above can be found operating somewhere in the world at the present time. 1.2. EVALUATION 1.2.1. Terminology definition There are many definitions of evaluation. Fundamentally, evaluation is asking questions and acting on the responses. Rea-Dickins and Germaine (1992: 3- 4) believe that evaluation is an intrinsic part of teaching and learning. It is important for the teacher because it can provide a wealth of information to use for the future direction of classroom practice, for the planning of courses, and for the management of learning tasks and students. Evaluation is also considered as a ‘natural activity’; something that is very much part of our daily existence and it can be very formal or informal. It is also something that may not always be made explicit but may actually be undertaken unconsciously. Dudley-Evans and St John (1998: 128) define that “Evaluation is a whole process which begins with determining what information to gather and ends with bringing about change in current activities or influencing future ones”. They believe that evaluation must be more than collecting and analyzing data. They describe evaluation as formative or summative. Evaluation which takes place during the lifetime of an activity /a course and the findings help to shape the course during its life-time is called formative evaluation. Summative evaluation takes place at (or after) the end of an activity and so does not influence that version of the activity. Its purpose is to assess impact and to provide information that can be fed into repeat versions or related activities. Therefore, summative evaluation is valuable for durable courses. Hedge (2000: 351) refers to the term “evaluation” as “the assessment of students at the end of a course, but in recent years its meaning has widened to include all aspects of a programme”. Evaluation can relate to courses and learners in a number of ways: (1) It can try to judge the course as it is planned; (2) It can try to observe, describe, and assess what actually happening in classroom as a course progresses; (3) It can test what learners have learned from a course. In summary, evaluation relates to courses and learners. It has been widened to include the aspects of a programme and it should be carried out at the end of the courses. The aspect of the programme which is chosen to evaluate depends on the purpose of the evaluation. 1.2.2. Types of programme evaluation According to Stufflebeam (1971), there are four types of programme evaluation which are identified as: context evaluation, input evaluation, process evaluation and product evaluation The table below is the CIPP model for programme evaluation by Stufflebeam (1971). Table 1: The CIPP model for programme evaluation Context evaluation Input evaluation Process evaluation Product evaluation Objective To define the institutional context, to identify the target population and assess their needs, to identify opportunities for addressing the needs, to diagnose problems and to judge if proposed objectives are sufficiently responsive to assessed needs. To identify and assess system capabilities, alternative programme strategies, procedural design for implementing the strategies, budges and schedules. To identified and predict, in process, defects in the procedural design or its implementation; to provide information for preprogrammed decision, and to record and judge procedural events and activities. To collect descriptions and judgements of outcomes, and to relate them to objectives and context, input, and process information to interpret their worth and merit. Method By using such methods as system analysis, survey, document review, hearing, interviews, diagnostic tests and the Delphib technique. By inventorying and analyzing available human and material resources, solution strategies and procedural designs for By monitoring the activity’s potential procedural barriers and remaining alert to unanticipated ones, by obtaining specific By defining operationally and measuring outcome criteria, by collecting judgements of outcomes from stakeholders, relevance, feasibility, and economy. And by using such methods as literature search, visits to exemplary programme, advocate teams, and pilot trials. information for programmed decisions, by describing the actual process and by continually interacting with and observing the activities of project staff. and by performing both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Relation to decision marking in the change process For deciding on the setting to be served, the goals associated with meeting needs or using opportunities, and the objectives associated with solving problems, i.e., for planning needed changes. And to provided a basis for judging outcome. For selecting sources of support, solution strategies, and procedural design, i.e., for structuring change activities. And to provide a basis for judging implementation. For implementing and refining the programme design and procedure, i.e., for effecting process control. And to provide a log of the actual process for later use in interpreting outcomes. For deciding to continue, terminate, modify, or refocus a change activity. And to present a clear record of effects (intended and unintended, positive and negative). b A procedure in which a set of questions or tasks is sent out to experts in the field. The collective responses are then collated and analysed. (Source: Stufflebeam, 1971; cited in Nunan, 1992: 194-195 ) Tomlinson (1998) divides programme evaluation into macro- and micro-evaluation as follows: Program / project evaluation Curricular matters Administrative matters Learners evaluation Teacher evaluation Macro- evaluation Materials evaluation timetable evaluation, etc. Micro- evaluation task evaluation of evaluation of evaluation, sequencing levels of etc. practice, ect. participation etc. Figure 3: Macro- and micro-evaluation in language teaching (Tomlinson, 1998: 219) It is necessary for the evaluator to study the types of programme evaluation because it can help him or her decide what type of evaluation he or she would like to conduct in specific situations and for purposes of evaluation. 1.2.3. Purposes for evaluation Evaluation plays a very important role in the improvement of a language programme. There is no language programme which can be completely useful to all teaching situations. Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose, and then it is concerned with relative merit. Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 96) emphasizes that “There is no absolute good or bad – only degrees of fitness for the required purpose”. In any kind of evaluation, the decision finally made is likely to be the better for being based on a systematic check of all the important variables. Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 97) also believe that a careful evaluation can save a lot of expense and frustration. Rea-Dickins and Germaine (1992) identify a number of different purposes for evaluation. They divide evaluation into two broad categories: general purposes; and specific, topic-related purposes. - For general purposes of evaluation, Rea-Dickins and Germaine (1992) refer to three principal reasons for which evaluation may be undertaken as follows: 1. accountability 2. curriculum development and betterment 3. self-development: teachers and other language teaching professionals. (Rea-Dickins and Germaine, 1992: 23) In their discussion about the general purposes of evaluation, they emphasize that evaluation for purposes of accountability is mainly concerned with determining whether there has been value for money; Evaluation for purposes of curriculum development will involve information from teachers and other relevant ELT professionals; Evaluation for purposes of teacher self-development involves in describing and better understanding the teachers’ own contexts with a view to improving the teaching. - For specific, topic-related purposes of evaluation, Rea-Dickins and Germaine (1992) consider evaluation as the means by which we can gain a better understanding of what is effective, what is less effective, and what appears to be of no use at all. Hedge (2000: 352) refers to the purposes of evaluation are for accountability and for development. The purpose which evaluates for accountability is to make staff and / or institutions answerable to authorities and / or sponsors and evaluation for development aims at improving to the current programme as well as to future programme. In summary, it is necessary to evaluate aspects of a language programme in order to understand how the programme works and how successfully it works. The results of evaluation enable the different kinds of decision to be made about the programme, such as: to decide whether to continue the programme or not or to improve the programme to make it more useful. 1.2.4. Criteria for evaluation 1.2.4.1. Criteria defined by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 99-104) suggest five evaluation criteria for objective and subjective analysis which are summarized as follows: - Audience: the learners and the materials intended for. - Aims: the aims of the course and the aims of the materials. - Content: language description, language points, proportion of work on each macro- skill, micro-skills, text-types, subject-matter area(s) (level of knowledge, types of topics, treatment), organization of content within the course units, sequence of content throughout the course, sequence of content within a unit. - Methodology: theory/ies of learning, aspects of the learners’ attitudes to / expectations about learning, kinds of exercises/tasks, teaching-learning techniques, aids, guidance/support for teaching the course, the flexibility. - Other criteria: price, quantities, availability. 1.2.4.2. Criteria defined by Sheldon (1988) Sheldon (1988) (cited in Hedge, 2000: 367-371) presents the list of evaluation criteria including: rationale, availability, user definition, layout/graphics, accessibility, linkage, selection/grading, physical characteristics, appropriacy, authenticity, sufficiency, cultural bias, education validity, stimulus/practice revision, flexibility, guidance, and overall value for money. 1.2.4.3. Criteria defined by Ur (1996) Ur (1996: 184) lists as examples of general criteria and specific criteria: general criteria (i.e. clear layout and print, provides periodic review or test sections) and specific criteria (i.e. attractive and colourful illustrations (which may be particularly relevant for younger learners), vocabulary and texts relevant to topic (if the materials are intended for students of science and technology)). 1.2.4.4. Criteria defined by Tomlinson (1999) Tomlinson (1999, cited in McGrath, 2002: 32) takes the definition of criteria a step further, suggesting four categories of specific criteria: (1) Media-specific criteria (i.e. those which related to the particular medium used. In reference to audio-recorded material, for instance, one might consider the audibility of the recording; (2) Content-specific criteria (i.e. those which related to the nature of the material, such as the choice of topics, situations or language in a business English book or the texts included and skills covered in a book focusing on the development of reading skills; (3) Age-specific criteria (i.e. the suitability of the material (e.g. visuals, cognitive challenge) for the age-group for which it is intended); (4) Local criteria (i.e. the appropriateness of the material for the particular environment in which it is to be used). 1.2.4.5. Criteria defined by McGrath (2002) McGrath (2002: 32-33) discusses criteria for evaluation to be “from general to specific”. In his view, one way of thinking about general criteria is as headings or ways of summarizing sets of more specific criteria and the specific criteria can only be determined on the basis of individual circumstances. He sets out a possible basic set of such criteria which consists of: Practical considerations (all components available; affordable; multi-level); Support for teaching and learning (additional components (teacher’s book, tests, cassettes), suitable or self-study); Context-relevance (suitable for course (length of course, aims of course, syllabus, exam), suitable for learners (age, level, cultural background), suitable for teacher, required resources available, evidence of suitability); Likely appeal to learners (layout, visuals, topics, suitable over medium term). In short, studying criteria is very important when an evaluation is carried out. One essential issue is that a wide variety of relevant and appropriate criteria for the evaluation of the ESP programme should be established and applied to evaluate the suitability of the programme to the learners’ needs and abilities. 1.2.5. Central questions in programme evaluation design Nunan (1992: 196) makes a list of questions which needs to deal with some practical issues in programme evaluation as follows: • What is the purpose of the evaluation? • Who is the audience for the evaluation? • What principles of procedure should guide the evaluation? • What tools, techniques, and instruments are appropriate? • Who should carry out the evaluation? • When should it be carried out? • What is the time frame and budget for the evaluation? • How should the evaluation be reported? It is useful to studying Nunan ‘s (1992) central questions in programme evaluation design before evaluating so that all factors that need evaluating will be covered. 1.3. LEARNER-CENTEREDNESS IN ESP 1.3.1. Learner-centered approach Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 19) state ESP as “an approach”, not as “a product” to stress the commonality of the language and learning in which the learners are centered. The learner-centered approach is based on the principle that learning is totally determined by the learner. Learning is seen as a process in which the learners use what knowledge or skills they have in order to make sense of the flow of new information. Learning, therefore, is an internal process, which is crucially dependent upon the knowledge the learners already have and their ability and motivation to use it. Learning should be seen in the context in which it takes place. Learning is not just metal process; it is a process of negotiation between individuals and society. Society sets a target (in the case of ESP, performance in the target situation) and the individuals must do their best to get as close to that target as is possible (or reject it). The learners will certainly determine their own route to the target and the speed at which they travel the route, but that does not make the target unimportant. The target still has a determining influence on the possible routes. Hutchinson and Waters (1987:19) emphasize that ESP is understood properly as an approach to language learning, which based on learner need. Historically, approaches to course design were developed from language-centeredness to skill-centeredness and then to learner-centeredness. Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 72-76) make a comparison about the approaches to course design to show the embracing feature of the learner-centered approach: A language-centered approach only determines the ESP course as the nature of the target situation performance; A skill-centered approach determines the ESP course as the nature of the target situation performance and looking behind the target performance data to discover what processes enable someone to perform; A learner- centered approach determines the ESP course as the nature of the target situation performance, looking behind the target performance data to discover what processes enable someone to perform, and looking beyond the competence that enables someone to perform, because what we really want to discover is not the competence itself, but how someone acquires that competence. 1.3.2. Learner-centered courses The learner-centered courses are different from other courses. These courses pay greater attention to the process of learning and they allow for learners’ preference on what should be taught. Brumfit (1984: 7) states that an ESP course is a direct factor concerning with purposes of the learners: “First, it is clear that an ESP course is directly concerned with the purpose for which learners need English, purposes for which are usually expressed in functional terms. ESP fits firmly within the general movement towards ‘communicative’ teaching of the last decade or so”. Any learner learns for his or her own purposes. He or she wants to learn what he or she needs. That appears more clearly in ESP learning. The ESP learners aim to learn about their specific fields. Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 16) distinguish ESP courses by the general nature of the learners’ specialism and they divide ESP into three large categories basing on the learners’ specialism: EST (English for Science and Technology), EBE (English for Business and Economics) and ESS (English for the Social Sciences). Nunan (1988) develops the learner-centered courses within an adult ESP context basing on the principles of learner-centeredness. He assumes that “in most learning context, it is impossible to teach learners everything they need to know in classes. Little class time therefore must be used effectively to teach those aspects of the language which the learners consider to be ‘mostly urgently required’” (Nunan, 1988: 3). Schleppegrell (1994: 233)’ opinion about the learners in an ESP course is to bring to class a reason for learning English and a real life context for its use; the learners should have knowledge of the specific vocation the course is addressing and well-developed learning strategies. In summary, chapter I has presented an overview of ESP and evaluation. The purposes for evaluation, criteria for evaluation central questions in programme evaluation design and the learner-centered in ESP imply that those are issues to carry out a programme evaluation in which the learners are centered. CHAPTER 2: AN OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH FOR CONSTRUCTION AT VINH UNIVERSITY Chapter 2 provides background information about English for Construction at Vinh University, including in the teaching and learning situation, a description of current ESP programme for Construction and the learners at Vinh University. 2.1. THE TEACHING AND LEARNING SITUATION OF ENGLISH FOR CONSTRUCTION AT VINH UNIVERSITY Russian was the dominant for foreign languages taught at Vinh University (previously called Vinh Pedagogical College) for a long time. After the collapse of the Soviet block, little attention was paid to the teaching and learning of Russian. Therefore, English has become most popular foreign language taught in Vietnam in general and at Vinh University in particular. According to the curriculum designed by the Ministry of Education and Training, English is a compulsory subject. At first, General English gained much more attention than English for Specific Purposes. In 2000, Vinh Pedagogical College was renamed as Vinh University and, since then English for Specific Purposes gained an increasing importance in the teaching and learning English. However, General English was taught in the first three courses and then ESP was taught in the fourth one. The teachers used the ESP materials of universities in Hanoi for the teaching in the fourth course. In recent years, with the requirement of the improvements in education in general and with the learners’ needs in particular, the teaching staff of Foreign Languages Department at Vinh University collected documents and designed the current ESP programme for Construction which was first taught for K.46 Construction Engineering students at Vinh University. 2.2. A DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT ESP PROGRAMME FOR CONSTRUCTION AT VINH UNIVERSITY The teaching staff of Foreign Languages Department at Vinh University collected to design the ESP programme for Construction. The ESP materials which were used for designing the programme are: English for Science and Technology – Architecture and Building Construction by James Cumming; English for Architecture and Construction compiled by Vi Thị Quốc Khánh, Nguyễn Thuý Vân, Nguyễn Thị Thu Hải and Trần Tuyết Lan; Tiếng Anh trong Xây Dựng và Kiến Trúc compiled by Võ Như Cầu. Many English texts for Construction are chosen from those materials to create the ESP programme at Vinh University. The ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University consists of 4 courses and it is described as follows: - Time allocation: + Course 1: The time allocated for English course 1 is 75 periods and the time for ESP is the time for reading because the reading texts from units 4-6 in the textbook Headway-Elementary by Liz and John Soars are replaced by some passages/ conversations relating to Architect and Construction. + Course 2: The time allocated for English course 2 is 75 periods and the time for ESP is the time for reading because the reading texts from units 7-12 in the textbook Headway-Elementary by Liz and John Soars are replaced by some texts / dialogues relating to Construction. + Course 3: The time allocated for English course 3 is 75 periods. At first, the time for ESP is the time for reading because the reading texts from units 13-15 in the textbook Headway-Elementary by Liz and John Soars are replaced by the ESP reading texts. Then the time is only for ESP because six other ESP reading texts are chosen to teach for the rest of the course. + Course 4 (only for ESP): The time allocated for the course 4 is 45 periods. There are 7 units in this course and each unit lasts 6 periods. 3 periods left is used for a mid-term test and revision. - Contents: The contents of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University is described in the following table: Table 2: The description of the contents of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Course 4 Topics The plans of single-storey house and two-storey house Description of a Building, Properties, The Layout of Frames, Steel Beams, Types of Construction and Building Materials, Foundation Concrete, External Walls, Stability of Concrete Block Walls, The Structural Elements of a Building, Columns and other Compression Members, Frames, Arches, Roofs, Slabs and Floors Aggregates, Reinforcing Steels, Precast Units, Drilling, The Driving of Piles, Placing Concrete, Settlement of Foundations Length of the ESP reading texts about 60 - over 100 words about over 160 - 450 words about 140 - 200 words (for 3 ESP reading texts); about 375 - 450 words (for 6 ESP texts later) about 350 - 430 words Grammar Present Simple (active and passive), Prepositions of position, There is/are The Passive (present simple, can), Relative Pronoun “which”, have to / must Transitive verbs and Intransitive verbs, Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous, Modals: must, should, should be, may/might, can/could, Conditional Sentences, Present Participle and Past Participle Compound Nouns, Relative Clauses, Passives, Infinitives, Future Tenses Types of exercises matching, conversations, true(T)/false (F) answering questions, true(T)/ false(F), gap-filling true(T)/false(F), answering questions, verb tenses, translation answering questions, gap-filling, verb tenses, translation 2.3. THE LEARNERS The K46 Construction Engineering students of Technology Department - Vinh University are aged from 20 to 27. Most of them are at the ages 22, 23 and 24. They have been learning English for the time period of 2 to 12 years. Those factors seem to be their advantages in learning English. However, those students have some disadvantages in learning English. Two main disadvantages are described as follows: - The first disadvantage is about the students’ language background. They come from different parts of the country. Some of them come from the rural areas; the others come from cities and towns. The students who come from cities have learned English a lot at schools before going to university, whereas the others have learned only little even there some students have never learned English before entering Vinh University. This mixture has caused certain problems to teaching and learning because some students find classroom activities relaxing while the others find those activities too hard in the same class. The common observation is the students who know English a lot are active and the students who know little are shy or passive during the class time. It is a challenge for the teachers in such a mixed class because the teachers cannot satisfy all students’ needs. - The second disadvantage is about the students’ typical learning styles. They usually depend on the teachers. The students prefer written work. The dominant method of teaching is the transmission model in which the teachers say or read or write and the students copy. Another learning style is that the students are not in the habit of using dictionaries. They prefer everything being translated. Above advantages and disadvantages make the teachers find out his or her own methods and techniques in teaching English in general, and ESP in particular for each type of students. In summary, chapter 2 provides an overview of English for Construction at Vinh University with the teaching and learning situation, a description of current ESP programme for Construction and the learners. Those are realities which make this study to be developed and the findings will be presented in chapter 3. CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY This chapter presents a description of the methodology employed to collect data for this thesis at first (i.e. participants, data collection instrument and procedure). Next to, it reports the results of the survey (the learners’ evaluation of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University and their needs) and the major findings. Finally, it provides some suggestions to improve the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University. 3.1 METHODOLOGY 3.1.1 Participants 164 students including 163 male and 1 female of K46 Construction Engineering of Technology – Vinh University were invited to participate in the survey. These students are from two classes (46K1 and 46K2). They are in the third-year and they have the same English proficiency level. At the time when I did the data collection, they had finished four English courses with their subject matter relating to Construction. Those students think that the learning of ESP is very important (83%) and important (17%). Their main purposes of learning ESP are: to be able to read and translate ESP texts/documents (67.1%); to widen ESP vocabulary (20.7%); to learn grammar (6.7%) and for the others (5.5). 3.1.2. Data collection instrument Questionnaire is used as an instrument to collect data for this study. I discussed with two groups of students chosen randomly to get some information about their evaluative comments and their needs before designing the questionnaire. The questionnaire is designed without requiring informing the students’ names. The questions in the questionnaire are presented in English and then Vietnamese in the brackets. The responses for questions are mainly designed by the “multiple-choice” form. The questionnaire (see Appendix 1) consists of three sections: - Section 1 was designed to get the information about the learners: gender, age, the time of learning English, the thought of the importance of learning ESP, and the main purpose of learning ESP. - Section 2 was designed to collect the information on the learners’ evaluation of the ESP for Construction at Vinh university; relating to the time allocated for the learning ESP in the courses, the contents and general evaluation. - Section 3 was designed to gather the information about the learners’ needs. 3.1.3. Procedure 164 questionnaires were administered to K46 Construction Engineering students while they were in their classrooms. The teacher guided to the students how to write the answers. The teacher also helped them remember the programme when they asked. They spent about one hour on remembering, thinking and answering the questions. After they finished, the teacher collected their questionnaires to gather and analyze the data. 3.2. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 3.2.1. Learners’ evaluation of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University 3.2.1.1. Learners’ evaluation on the time allocation for ESP in the courses As mentioned in previous chapter, time allocated for the courses 1, 2, and 3 is 75 periods for each and the time for ESP is the time for reading because the reading texts in the textbook are replaced by the ESP reading texts. And the time for the course 4 (only for ESP) is 45 periods. The learners’ evaluation on the time allocation in the courses is presented in the following chart: Chart 1: Learners’ evaluation on the time allocation for ESP in the courses As shown in chart 1, over half of the learners (66.5%) evaluate the time allocated for the first course is enough and about half of the learners (51.8%) evaluate the time allocated for the second course is enough while 43.3% the learners think that the time allocated for the third course is little and 50.6% the learners think that the time allocated for the fourth course is little. There are not any learners who complain that the time allocated for the courses is too much and much. In general, the figures in chart 1 show an evaluation as: For most of learners, the time allocated for ESP in the courses 1 and 2 is enough and the time allocated for ESP in the courses 3 and 4 is little. 3.2.1.2. Learners’ evaluation on the ESP reading texts Usually, the main purpose of the ESP programme is to help the learners be able to use English for their professional purposes, especially to read professional documents in their specific fields. The ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University was designed with the ESP reading texts which are evaluated by the learners in charts 2, 3 and 4 hereunder. Considering the topics of the ESP reading texts, the figures are revealed in chart 2: Chart 2: Learners’ evaluation on the usefulness of the topics of the ESP reading texts in the courses As shown in chart 2, no one thinks that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the courses 1, 3 and 4 are not very useful and useless. There is a few who thinks that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the course 2 are not very useful and useless (4.3% the learners think that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the course 2 are not very useful and only 0.6% the learners think that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the course 2 are useless). Most of the learners think that the topics of the ESP reading texts are useful (95.1% the learners think that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the course 1 are useful; 90.8% the learners think that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the course 2 are useful; 94.5% the learners think that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the course 3 are useful; 70.7% the learners think that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the course 4 are useful and 13.4% the learners think that the topics of the ESP reading texts in the course 4 are very useful. In general, those figures show that the learners satisfy with the topics of the ESP reading texts in the courses. Considering the length of the ESP reading texts, the figures are revealed in chart 3: Chart 3: Learners’ evaluation on the length of the ESP reading texts in the courses The figures in chart 3 indicate that no one thinks that the ESP reading texts of the course 1 are long as well as no one thinks that the ESP reading texts of the courses 2, 3, and 4 are short. While the length of the ESP reading texts in the courses 1 is evaluated to be OK, the length of the ESP reading texts in the courses 2, 3 and 4 is evaluated to be long. One noticed thing that over half of the learners (65.2%) find the length of the ESP reading texts in the course 1 suitable while over half of the learners (67.7%) complain about the length of the ESP reading texts in the course 2 unsuitable. That shows a sudden rise of the length of the ESP reading texts in the course 2. Considering the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text, the figures are revealed in chart 4: Chart 4: Learners’ evaluation on the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text in the courses It is demonstrated in chart 4 that the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text in the course 1 is suitable to most of the learners (76.2% the learners think that the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text in the course 1 is OK). No one thinks that the amount of technical vocabulary in the course 1 is much and too much as well as no one thinks that the amount of technical vocabulary in the courses 2, 3 and 4 is little or too little. However, one noticed thing is that while no one thinks that the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text in the course 1 is much, 89.6% the learners think that the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text in the course 2 is much. It also shows a sudden rise of the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text in the course 2 as well as a sudden rise of the length of the ESP reading texts in the course 2 displayed in chart 3. 3.2.1.3. Learners’ evaluation on grammar Besides providing the learners a range of technical vocabulary through the reading texts, the objective of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University introduces to the learners new grammatical items and structures in the ESP reading texts. The level of difficulty in grammar of the ESP reading texts in the courses is shown by the learners in the following chart: Chart 5: Learners’ evaluation on the level of difficulty in grammar of ESP reading texts in the courses As shown in chart 5, no one evaluates grammar in the courses very easy. Generally, grammar in the courses is evaluated OK. (68.3% the learners think that grammar in the course 1 is OK. 70.7% the learners think that grammar in the course 2 is OK. 54.3% the learners think that grammar in the course 3 is OK. 53% the learners think that grammar in the course 4 is OK). 3.2.1.4. Learners’ evaluation on exercises Exercises are designed to consolidate the learners’ knowledge after each ESP reading text, but the levels of usefulness are found differently. The learners’ evaluation on the usefulness of exercises in the courses is presented in chart 6: Chart 6: Learners’ evaluation on the usefulness of exercises in the courses The figures in chart 6 show clearly that 100% the learners evaluate exercises in the courses 1, 2, 3, are useful; 98.8% the learners (nearly 100%) evaluate exercises in the course in the course 4 are useful. There is no one who thinks that exercises in the courses are not very useful or useless. Although exercises are evaluated to be useful by most of the learners, the various types of exercises are evaluated most difficult by the learners mentioned in chart 7: Chart 7: Learners’ evaluation on the most difficult types of exercises As can be seen from chart 7, to the different learners, the types of exercises evaluated most difficult differently. Any types of exercises are thought most difficult. And it is seen very clearly that the majority evaluate translation to be most difficult (account for 64.6%). Considering the learners’ satisfaction towards practice through exercises in the courses, the figures are revealed in chart 8: Chart 8: Learners’ satisfaction towards practice through exercises in the courses The figures in chart 8 show that over half of the learners satisfy with practice through exercises. 70.7% the learners find practising through exercises in the course 1 is enough. 54.9% the learners find practising through exercises in the course 2 is enough. 54.3% the learners find practising through exercises in the course 3 is much. 52.4% the learners find practising through exercises in the course 4 is much. No one complains that practising through exercises in the courses 1, 2, 3, and 4 is too much or too little. 3.2.1.5. Learners’ general evaluation Generally, what the learners achieve after finishing the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University. Chart 9 displays their achievement after the ESP programme finishes. Chart 9: Learners’ achievements after finishing the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University It is demonstrated in chart 9 that only a small percentage (0.6%) does not obtain anything. The rest achieves something: 33.5% the learners (account for the most percentage) translate ESP reading texts, 20.1% the learners enrich ESP vocabulary, 9.8% the learners improve reading, 6.1% the learners improve grammar, and 29.9% obtain mentioned things. Considering how the learners’ satisfaction towards their needs after finishing the ESP programme, the figures are revealed in chart 10 as follows: Chart 10: Learners’ satisfaction towards their needs after finishing the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University According to the learners’ assessment shown in chart 10, over half of the learners (58.5%) satisfy the ESP programme in general. 23.2% the learners find little for their needs. 14% the learners think much for their needs. 3.7% find very little for their needs. And a small percentage (only 0.6%) does not satisfy with the ESP programme. 3.2.2. Learners’ needs 3.2.2.1. Learners’ need for organization According to the design of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University, the reading texts in the textbook in the courses 1, 2, and 3 are replaced by the ESP reading texts. The learners’ attitude towards that replacement is indicated as follows: Chart 11: Learners’ attitude towards the necessity of replacing the reading texts in the textbook by the ESP reading texts To answer the survey question of whether the reading texts in the textbook should be replaced by the ESP readings texts, 69% the learners do not agree with replacing the reading texts in the textbook by the ESP reading texts and 31% the learner agree with that replacement. The learners’ need for the time allocation only for ESP is displayed in the following chart: Chart 12: Learners’ need of the time allocation only for ESP course Looking at chart 12, the figures show the learners’ different needs for the time allocation and the biggest percentage (56.7%) indicates that 75 periods is the time allocation which the learners need for only ESP. 3.2.2.2. Learners’ need for extra materials and exercises The learners’ need of providing extra materials is presented in the following chart: Chart 13: Learners’ need for providing extra materials The result displayed in chart 13 shows that over half of the learners (59%) need extra materials and they suggest the topics as shown in chart 14 as follows: Chart 14: Learners’ preference to the topics of extra materials According to the results shown in charts 13 and 14, extra materials are suggested to be necessary and their favourite topics for extra materials is construction engineering with 57.3% the learners suggest. Besides the learners’ need of extra materials with their favourite topics, the learners need some types of exercises to improve their studying and it is demonstrated in chart 15: Chart 15: Learners’ preference to the types of exercises It can be seen from the figures in chart 15 that the learners need all type of exercises listed, and translation is the type of exercise which 64.6% the learners (account for over a half) need to improve their studying. 3.2.2.3. Learners’ need for the teacher’s use of language in teaching ESP Language used in teaching is one of very important factors in the Teaching of English as Foreign or Second Language (TEFL/TESL), especially for non-English major students. It has an influence on the learners’ acquisition because the way how the teacher uses language(s) for his or her lectures entails whether the learners understand or not. The following chart provides the survey result of the learners’ need for the teacher’s use of language in teaching ESP: Chart 16: Learners’ preference to the teacher’ use of languages in teaching ESP The figures in chart 16 show clearly that most of the learners want their teachers to mainly use Vietnamese for the ESP lectures. The majority of the learners (account for 98.2% the learners - nearly 100% the learners) want the teachers to use Vietnamese mainly for the lectures. There is a very small number of the learners (only account for 1.8%) want the teachers to use English mainly and sometimes use Vietnamese to explain difficult expressions. No one wants his or her teacher only use English for the ESP lectures. 3.2.3. Major findings Based on the data analysis and discussion of the learners’ evaluation of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University in this chapter, the suitable and unsuitable aspects of the programme have been revealed regarding the following points. 3.2.3.1. The suitability of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University to the audience Most of the K.46 Construction Engineering students of Technology Department at Vinh University taking the ESP programme for Construction are male and aged from 22 to 27. They have experienced from 2 to 12 years of studying English. Therefore, there is a match between the subjective and objective audience. Generally, the ESP programme for Construction is evaluated to be a good choice for the learners at Vinh University in terms of the audience. 3.2.3.2. The suitability of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University to the aims According to the survey results, the learners’ main purposes of learning ESP are to widen technical vocabulary (account for 20.7%) and to be able to read and translate ESP texts (account for 67.1%). In addition, the data in chart 9 shows that a lot of the learners obtain their purposes after finishing the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University. Therefore, it can be concluded that the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University is suitable with the learners’ aims at Vinh University. 3.2.3.3. The suitability and unsuitability of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University to the time allocation in the courses As described in chapter 2, the time allocated for ESP in the courses 1, 2, and 3 is the time for reading and the time allocated in the course 4 (only for ESP) is 45 periods. Furthermore, the learners’ evaluation on the time allocation for ESP in the courses in chart 1 shows their satisfaction toward the time allocation in the courses 1, 2. The learners do not satisfy with the time allocation in the course 4 and they need more time for the course 4. In short, the time allocation for the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University is evaluated suitable in the courses 1, 2 and 3 and is evaluated unsuitable in the course 4. 3.2.3.4. The suitability and unsuitability of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University to the contents In view of the contents, the suitability and unsuitability of the programme are discussed with some aspects, such as: the topics of the ESP reading texts, the length of the ESP reading texts, the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text, and grammar. A good point of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University is the learners’ satisfaction with the topics of the ESP reading texts described in chart 2. This is an attempt of the teaching staff of Foreign Languages Department at Vinh University because most of the topics of the ESP reading texts give the usefulness for the learners (as mentioned in table 2) which is relevant to the learners’ subject speciality. For this criterion, the programme is a good choice for the learners because it matches with the learners’ subject needs. However, the findings of the survey show the length of the ESP reading texts and the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text are unsatisfactory with the learners. As described in charts 3 and 4, a sudden rise of the length of the ESP reading texts as well as the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text in the course 2 cause a problem for the learners. It can be found that the sudden rise of the length of the ESP reading texts in the course 2 entails the sudden rise of the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text in the course 2. Therefore, this unsuitability can not be well met the learners’ needs and abilities and it should be improved. Regarding to grammar, this ESP programme for Construction does not focus on introducing grammar but providing the learners a range of technical vocabulary and English texts for Construction to help them enrich their technical vocabulary and be able to read and translate ESP reading texts. The grammatical items are basic grammar explanation to the learners when they appear in the ESP reading texts. Generally, the learners’ evaluation on the level of difficulty in grammar of ESP reading texts in the courses displayed in chart 5 expresses their satisfaction for their abilities and needs. In summary, in term of contents, it can be concluded that the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University meets the course requirements and the learners’ needs about the topics, grammar but it fails to meet the learners’ abilities about the length of the ESP reading texts and the amount of technical contained in each ESP reading text. 3.2.3.5. The suitability of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University to the methodology As described in table 2, the types of exercise are designed for comprehension check or consolidating grammatical items when the ESP reading texts are used to replace the reading texts in the textbooks in and translation is mostly designed when only ESP happens. The learners’ evaluation on the usefulness of exercises in the courses in chart 6 is the learners’ satisfaction up to nearly superlative level. The learners’ satisfaction towards practice through exercises in the courses showed in chart 8 seems a strong point of the programme. One noticed thing is that the type of exercise which is evaluated most difficult (displayed in chart 7) - translation - is also the type of exercises which the learners need most to improve their studying (displayed in chart 15). Therefore, this type of exercises needs extending and improving to make it more suitable to the learners’ abilities. Besides, the teacher’ use of languages in teaching ESP is one of very important factors which mostly come to a result whether the learners understand their lessons or not. According to the survey result described in chart 16, the learners’ need of the teacher’ use of languages in teaching ESP is using Vietnamese mainly and that is the way which the teachers at Vinh University for their lectures up to now. Generally, in view of methodology, the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University meets the course requirements. There is a little improvement which is for translation because this is the type of exercise evaluated most difficult and it is also learners’ favourite type of exercises for their needs. 3.3. SUGGESTIONS FOR THE IMPROVEMENTS OF THE ESP PROGRAMME FOR CONSTRUCTION AT VINH UNIVERSITY Based on the learners’ evaluation of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University and the survey results of the learners’ needs, the author provides the following suggestions hoping that they may help improve the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University in the coming years. 3.3.1. Omitting the replacement of the ESP reading texts for the reading texts in the textbook in the courses 1, 2 and 3 According to the survey results shown in chart 11, it is not necessary to replace the reading texts in the textbook by the ESP reading texts in the courses 1, 2 and 3 because the learners want to concentrate on learning General English before learning ESP. Therefore, it is useful to omit such replacement and ESP should only be taken place in the course 4. 3.3.2. Modifying the time allocation for ESP According to the current ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University, the time allocation for the course 4 which is only for ESP is 45 periods. As can be seen in chart 1, over half of the learners evaluate that it is little and they need more time. In addition, the survey result of the learners’ needs in chart 12 shows that over half of the learners find 75 periods for only ESP suitable to them. Hence, the time allocation for ESP in the course 4 should be 75 periods. 3.3.3. Modifying the length of the ESP reading texts and the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each ESP reading text The ESP reading texts of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University were designed by getting the ESP texts out of the collected ESP materials described in chapter 2. The length of those texts and the amount of technical vocabulary contained in each text do not satisfy the learners with their evaluation in charts 3 and 4, especially the sudden rise of the length entailing the sudden rise of technical vocabulary. Therefore, omitting some paragraphs may be one of the improvements. Actually, the information of the ESP texts is necessary for the learners to improve their ESP knowledge as well as their specialized knowledge. Hence, the improvement of the time allocation is considered a useful method. At present, the time allocation for each unit in the course 4 is 6 periods and the time allocation for each unit should be 9 periods in the future. 3.3.4. Developing translation According to the survey results shown in charts 7 and 15, translation is the most difficult type of exercise evaluated by the learners and it is also the type of exercises which the learners need most to improve their studying. That survey results suggest the improvements to develop this type of exercises. The writer of this minor thesis would like to give suggestions to develop translation as follows: - Before translating the ESP reading texts into Vietnamese, the teacher provides the learners with some English simple sentences which he or she chooses from the ESP texts and requires the learners to translate them into Vietnamese. e.g.: - Coarse aggregates are usually gravels or crushed stones. - The coating of concrete protects the steel from corrosion. - A continuous footing supports a row of three or more columns. - After translating the ESP reading texts into Vietnamese, the teacher provides the learners with some Vietnamese sentences which he or she summarizes the main ideas of the ESP texts and requires the learners to translate them into English. e.g.: - Đổ bê tông là quá trình vận chuyển bê tông vừa mới trộn từ thiết bị vận chuyển đến vị trí cuối cùng trong ván khuôn. - Móng là một kết cấu bên dưới được đặt ở phía dưới mặt đất để truyền tải trọng xuống lớp đất hoặc đá nằm ở dưới. - Cốt liệu trong thiên nhiên thường được chia thành 2 loại: cốt liệu mịn và cốt liệu thô. 3.3.5. Reorganizing the contents The survey results suggest that ESP should be taken placed in the course 4 when the learners finish General English. The writer of this minor thesis would like to suggest a new organization of the contents in which two new topics (Cement, Footings) are added because the writer finds that that addition makes up a logical organization. The suggested contents are described in the following table: Units Topics Grammar Types of exercises 1 Cement Infinitive - verb forms - comprehension check (answering questions or true (T)/false (F), etc.) - translation 2 Aggregates Compound Nouns - matching - comprehension check (answering questions or true (T)/false (F), etc.) - translation 3 Reinforcing Steels Relative Clauses - gap-filling - comprehension check (answering questions or true (T)/false (F), etc.) - translation 4 Placing Concrete Gerund - verb forms - comprehension check (answering questions or true (T)/false (F), etc.) - translation 5 Footings Past Perfect and Past perfect Continuous - verb tenses - comprehension check (answering questions or true (T)/false (F), etc.) - translation 6 Frames Modals verbs (active and passive): must, have to, should, ought to - verb forms - comprehension check (answering questions or true (T)/false (F), etc.) - translation 7 Slabs and Floors Present Participle and Past Participle - verb forms - comprehension check (answering questions or true (T)/false (F), etc.) - translation 8 Roofs Conditional Sentences -verb tenses - comprehension check (answering questions or true (T)/false (F), etc.) - translation Table 3: The description of the suggested ESP contents for Construction at Vinh University in the course 4 *Note: The suggested time allocation: 75 periods (9 periods for each unit and 3 periods for revision and test). 3.3.6. Using the omitted contents as extra materials As can be seen in table 3, the suggested organization consists of 8 ESP reading texts while the current ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University consists of 25 ESP reading texts. Therefore, the writer of this minor thesis suggests that the omitted ESP reading texts should be used as extra materials. In summary, this chapter describes the methodology employed to collect data at first. Next to, from analyzing the collected data, it provides the data presentation of the learners’ evaluation on the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University and their needs. Based on the data analysis and discussion, major findings present. At last, it provides suggestions for the improvements the programme. PART III: CONCLUSION The importance of learning ESP is undeniable and evaluation of the ESP programme is very important in language learning. This study, therefore, has been carried out to have a better insight into the learners’ evaluation of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University to determine whether that ESP programme is suitable with students’ abilities and needs so that changes need to be made to improve the programme. In general, the findings have shown that most of the students were satisfied with the current ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University. The fact is that a majority of the students were goal-oriented learners. In other words, they had a clear goal of learning ESP. Because they might think that they would need ESP to access information about their future careers, most of them set expansion of technical vocabulary and translation of ESP texts as their goal of learning English. This ESP programme was evaluated to be suitable to audience, aims, methodology and to be both suitable and unsuitable to time allocation in the courses and contents. Therefore, if this ESP programme is used again in the future, there is a must for changes and supplementations which take into account suggestions in chapter 3 of part II. The learners would like to separate learning ESP from learning General English and the time allocation for only learning ESP should be much more. Besides, translation should be developed because this is the most difficult type of exercise evaluated by the learners and it is also the type of exercises which the learners need most to improve their studying. Like other studies, this study has its own limitations due to the limited time and scope. A greatest limitation is that this study only used one instrument which is the questionnaire for data collection. More research on evaluation would be used more instruments. It is hoped that the study will make a significant contribution for the improvements of the ESP programme for Construction at Vinh University to make it more suitable for the learners’ needs and abilities in the coming years. Great as efforts have been, certain errors are in evitable. The researcher would appreciate the readers’ comments and tolerance for the shortcomings and deficiencies of the study. REFERENCES: 1. Brumfit, C. (1984), Communicative Methodology in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press. 2. Davies, P. (2000), Success in English Teaching, Oxford University Press. 3. Douglas, D. (2000), Assessing Language for Specific Purposes, Cambridge University Press. 4. Dudley-Evans,T. and St John, M.J. (1998), Developments in ESP: A multi-disciplinary approach, Cambridge University Press. 5. Ewer, J. R. (Ed.) (1976), Teaching English for Science and Technology: The specialized training of teachers and programme organizers, J. C. Richards (Ed.), Teaching English for Science and Technology, SEAMEO Regional English Language Centre. 6. Gueye, M. (1994), One Step beyond ESP: English for Developments Purposes (EDP), in Thomas Kral (Ed.), Teacher Developments: Making the right moves. 7. Harmer, J. (2001), The Practice of English Language Teaching, Pearson Educational Limited. 8. Hedge, T. (2000), Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom, Oxford University Press. 9. Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987), English for Specific Purposes: A learning-centred approach, Cambridge University Press. 10. Jodan, R.R. (1997), English for Academic Purposes, Cambridge University Press. 11. Kral, Th. (Ed.), (1994), Teacher Development: Making the right moves, Selected Articles from the English Teaching Forum 1989-1993. 12. Martin, I. (1992), An Invitation to ESP, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, Singapore. 13. McGrath, I. (2002), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching, Edinburgh University Press. 14. Nunan, D. (1985), Language Teaching Course Design: Trends and Issues, Commonweath of Australia. 15. Nunan, D. (1988), The Learner-centered Curriculum, Cambridge University Press. 16. Nunan, D. (1992), Research Methods in Language Learning, Cambridge University Press. 17. Rea-Dickins, P. and Germaine, K. (1992), Evaluation, Oxford University Press. 18. Richards, J. C. (Ed.), (1976), Teaching English for Science and Technology, SEAMEO Regional English Language Centre. 19. Robinson, P. (1991), ESP Today: A Practitioner’s Guide, Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall International. 20. Schleppegrel, M. J. (1994), English for Specific Purposes: A Program Design Model, in Thomas Kral (Ed.), Teacher Developments: Making the right moves. 21. Strevens, P. (1988), ESP After Twenty Years: A Re-Appraisal, in M. Tickoo (Ed.) ESP: State of the Art, Anthology Series 21, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. 22. Tan, Christine (1994), The Case for Quality Assurance in ESP Programmes, in Rosemary Khoo (Ed.), The Practice of LSP: Perspectives, Programmes and Projects, Anthology Series 34, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. 23. Tarone, E. and Yule, G. (1989), Focus on the Language Learner, Oxford University Press. 24. Tickoo, M. L (Ed.), (1988), ESP: State of the Art, Anthology Series 21, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. 25. Tomlinson, B. (1998), Materials Developments in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press. 26. Ur, P. (1996), A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press. 27. Wallace, M.J. (1991), Training Foreign Teachers: A reflective approach, Cambridge University Press. 28. Waters, A. (Ed.) (1983), Issues in ESP: Lancaster Practical Papers in English Language Education, Vol.5, Pergamon Press Ltd. and Lancaster University. 29. Widdowson, H. G. (1990), Aspects of Language Teaching, Oxford University Press.