Challenges of teaching and learning English for specific purposes in several universities in Vietnam

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The current research besides aims to provide an effective overview and add our understanding to teaching and learning ESP in several universities in Vietnam. Synchronous and comprehensive recommendations will hopefully be valuable to improve the situation of teaching and learning of ESP in Vietnam universities.

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Nội dung Text: Challenges of teaching and learning English for specific purposes in several universities in Vietnam

Kỷ yếu Hội thảo khoa học Quốc tế năm 2023: HƯỚNG NGHIỆP, KHỞI NGHIỆP TRONG THỜI ĐẠI SỐ - GIẢI PHÁP CHO GIÁO DỤC VIỆT NAM Nguyen Thi Minh Hieu - Bui Van Hong - Tran Tuyen CHALLENGES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES IN SEVERAL UNIVERSITIES IN VIETNAM Nguyen Thi Minh Hieu(*) - Bui Van Hong(**) - Tran Tuyen(***) Abstract: Due to the growing of globalization, English is one of the most powerful languages and even more influential to the students who are preparing for working purposes after graduation. The demands of students’ field of study and necessity for labor market has prioritized the significant role of English for Specific Purposes (“ESP”). However, as a matter of fact, inadequate training has made the teaching and learning of ESP not as effective as expected and leads to the inability to meet current social needs. Therefore, teaching and learning ESP has developed rapidly in many years and receive great attention from educational institutions such as universities and researchers. By applying qualitative research method forming of collection, analyzation, and literature review of non- numerical data on definition, ideas, and the teaching and learning ESP, the current study evaluates challenges in teaching and learning ESP. The current research besides aims to provide an effective overview and add our understanding to teaching and learning ESP in several universities in Vietnam. Synchronous and comprehensive recommendations will hopefully be valuable to improve the situation of teaching and learning of ESP in Vietnam universities. Key words: English for Specific Purposes, needs analysis, challenges in teaching and learning ESP. 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of study and statement of problems In the general trend of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), many studies refer to English for Specific Purposes (ESP) as an important part. In Vietnam, English is considered a Foreign Language (“EFL”) and it is a compulsory subject in (*)Postgraduate, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education. (**) Ph. Dr., Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education. (***) Dr., Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education. 178
NGUYEN THI MINH HIEU - BUI VAN HONG - TRAN TUYEN educational program from primary schools to universities. If General English (“GE”) is specifically designed to teaching and learning the English language skills for basic and general communication and it is mainly taught from primary school to high schools, ESP is taught in universities, and it has been an important tool for those who use English for specific purposes or academic learning (LinkedIn, 2023). ESP focuses on the specific needs of the learners, concentrating more on language in context and on the students' need to acquire a set of professional skills and particular job-related functions. For using in specific purposes, there is an emergence of a community of people learning English in order to serve a specific job-related. Besides, there has been growing concern over the past years about the importance of the internationalization for working purposes, which is connected to the use of English for Specific Purposes. Thus, English for Specific Purposes is presently taught in universities all over the world and in Vietnam with the express purpose of preparing future specialists in various fields of activity, and it is also promoted by international corporations which organize specializing courses meant to enhance their employees’ level of English and competence in various professional areas. Under the labor requirement, students should have good ESP after graduating from universities to have a good opportunity in looking for a job. However, there is a fact in Vietnam that educational institutions, especially universities so far have tries to achieve large-scale educational goals in terms of quantity and quality to meet the needs of students and the labor market requirements. Besides, the reality of teaching and learning ESP in recent times has revealed limitations and many universities do not achieve the desired educational goals. There are definite challenges involved in teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes in universities in Vietnam. The simple mastering of the four skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and the acquisition of general grammar and vocabulary may not be enough in several working circumstances. Given above, the challenges of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes in some universities in Vietnam merit further research, specifically about the theory on students’ needs and difficulty from teachers, students, educational management, and other aspects in teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes. Consequently, the current paper focuses on finding the current challenges that teachers and students may face in the process of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes. The researcher hopes the current research paper will be a potential theoretical contribution in relevant research areas. 179
Kỷ yếu Hội thảo khoa học Quốc tế năm 2023: HƯỚNG NGHIỆP, KHỞI NGHIỆP TRONG THỜI ĐẠI SỐ - GIẢI PHÁP CHO GIÁO DỤC VIỆT NAM 1.2. Aims and objective of the study The current study aims to discover the below areas by doing an literature review: i. The definition of English for Specific Purposes and its main characteristics ii. The challenges in teaching and learning ESP in several universities in Vietnam 1.3. Research question In the current research, the following research questions are addressed: i. What is English for Specific Purposes and its main characteristics? ii. What are challenges of teaching and learning ESP in several universities in Vietnam? 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Definitions of English for Specific Purposes From the early 1960's, English for Specific Purposes has become worthy of attention of teaching English as Foreign Language. The definitions of ESP mainly focus on the students as its center and emphasizes the significance of syllabus design and teaching method. ESP was initially distinguished from GE as the ESP courses syllabus and materials are figured out and designed according to the needs, demand, and purposes of communication in particular situation of the students (Munby, 1978). The leading researchers Hutchinson & Waters define ESP as “an approach to language teaching which aims to meet the needs of particular students” (Hutchinson et al., 1987). Years later, Strevens (1988) proposed that an important characteristic of EPS is to meet the learner’s specific needs and the students could use EPS in particular context for working as well as learning. Besides, ESP has two general criteria and several characteristics (Robinson, 1991). The first criteria of ESP are “goal-directed”, meaning that students study English because they need the language for specific purposes such as for study or professional work rather than just because they are interested in the language. As such, the ESP’s content and learning activities are implied by the student goals. The second criteria is that ESP courses are designed in accordance with the “needs analysis”, which closely find out what students really target on when studying the English language. Some characteristics of ESP related to the students and time of ESP course (Robinson, 1991). ESP students are mostly adults rather than children and they even 180
NGUYEN THI MINH HIEU - BUI VAN HONG - TRAN TUYEN have experience in the workplace. They are not beginners of English level but have a prior knowledge of the language. The ESP course is organized in specific time which is related to the time available for the students. This requires collaboration and discussion between organizer, teachers, and students. The characteristic of ESP is literally modified as below (Dudley-Evans, 1998):  Absolute characteristics of ESP (i) ESP aims to meet students’ needs (ii) ESP use specific teaching method and activities (iii) ESP is centered on the language (grammar, vocabulary), skills, discourse and genres which are suitable for learning activities  Variable characteristics: (i) ESP may use different teaching methods than that of GE (ii) ESP students are typically adults with a higher education or professional work. (iii) The majority of ESP courses assume that students have some prior basic knowledge of the language system. Therefore, it is concluded that ESP is an approach to language teaching in which students learn the language through content of subject matters in the field of students’ specialism or professional specialist for which they learn. The ESP emphasizes the particular connection between students learning and their professional work, that implies a typical teaching methodology which is different from GE. A keynote is ESP course focuses on student-centered and teachers help and support students in learning through interaction in class. Students learn ESP are mainly adults with prior basic knowledge of English. ESP has two general criteria, in which students are adults learning English for working purposes and the time of ESP course is related to the available time of students. 2.2. Classification of ESP The below figures present the classification of EPS. Figure 1 presents ESP classification by professional area (Hutchinson et al., 1987), which ESP includes vocational, professional, and academic. Vocational ESP includes of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Discipline. Professional ESP includes English for social purposes, English for business purposes and English for technology purposes. The ESP consist of the third part, that is English or Academic Purposes which includes Vocational English as a Second Language and literacy. 181
Kỷ yếu Hội thảo khoa học Quốc tế năm 2023: HƯỚNG NGHIỆP, KHỞI NGHIỆP TRONG THỜI ĐẠI SỐ - GIẢI PHÁP CHO GIÁO DỤC VIỆT NAM Figure 1. ESP classification by professional area (Hutchinson et al., 1987) As described in Figure 2, ESP consists of two categories: English for Academic Purposes and English for Occupational Purposes. The English for Academic includes English for Science and Technology, Medical, Legal, and English for Management, Finance, Economics Purposes. The EOP has 02 categories English for Professional Purposes and English for Vocational Purposes. Figure 2. ESP classification by professional area (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998) 2.2. Key features of ESP Regarding the major feature of ESP, it is formally mentioned “needs analysis” which focuses on the first needs of students. The need analysis should be conducted by teachers, in which they consider the objective needs and students will perceive their needs on content of subject matters (Robinson, 1991). The needs analysis should be performed prior to the ESP courses with some basic work such as determination of data type to be collected and the purposes of data use. Some methods of data collection include delivering and obtaining answers from questionnaires, observation and in- 182
NGUYEN THI MINH HIEU - BUI VAN HONG - TRAN TUYEN depth interview (Nunan, 1988). The objective needs include some basic information about students such as their language use in real-life communication, the ability of students and the difficulty of students when learning English. The subjective needs of students refer to their cognitive needs when learning English, include students’ characteristics, confidence, attitudes, and their expectation as well as requirements when learning the English language (Robinson, 1991). In general, the needs analysis is significant due to several factors (Richards, 1996):  It provides a base to identify the course content, syllabus design and teaching program.  Needs analysis used to develop, enhance, and improve the learning objectives.  Needs analysis supports in evaluation of the effective aspect of ESP teaching program. For specific work related to need analysis, there are several necessary content in questionnaires and interview: (i) the students’ purposes or goals that students wish to achieve when learning English language, (ii) the situation that students will use, (ii) the connection between students and the teachers, (iv) the events that students will join in, (v) what the students need to be able to do with the language they are learning, (vi) what students will need to be able to talk about, (vii) the skills involved, (viii) the speaking and writing levels that the students will need to reach (Yalden, 1987). In more practically, questionnaire should comprise some basic parts such as: overview on students’ difficulties when learning a language; their general statement on the language; communication skills such as speaking and listening as a group, speaking and writing skills as a group; reading skills; skills that the students would like to enhance; assistance availability in class room; the care about students; and additional comments (Richards, 1996). Given above, the needs analysis is presented as procedure of collecting information on leaners’ belief on their needs when learning English language. It emphasizes the students’ needs and expectations at the end of the ESP course and there are several ways and specific content that should be carried out to collect proper information for needs analysis. 3. RESEARCH METHOD The current research is built and related to existing research papers in term of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes. It applies literature review as a quantitative research method and conducts a systematic review to explore how EPS is 183
Kỷ yếu Hội thảo khoa học Quốc tế năm 2023: HƯỚNG NGHIỆP, KHỞI NGHIỆP TRONG THỜI ĐẠI SỐ - GIẢI PHÁP CHO GIÁO DỤC VIỆT NAM teaching and learning in several universities in Vietnam. Systematic literature reviews work out on productive conceptualizations, topics, and methodologies for the research (Hallinger, 2013). Literature review can also provide an overview of areas in which the research is disparate and interdisciplinary. In addition, a literature review is proper way of synthesizing previous research findings to provide an overview on the areas in which more research is needed. The researcher follows several steps as below: i. Reading for relevant research, finding out research gap, and raising research questions ii. Identifying key words, researching the papers related to the key words and summarizing definition of key words iii. Selecting, synthesizing the research papers in terms of challenges of teaching and learning ESP in Vietnam and other countries, which show findings on a particular question and can provide information on policy and practice. It is noted that the figure on classification of English for Specific Purposes is according to the theoretical framework of earlier research. iv. Assessing and summarizing the findings of relevant research papers and specifying qualitative data for the current research v. Extracting results into a conclusion and recommendations. 3.1. Scope of the current study In the current research, the researcher wants to evaluate theory or evidence in a certain area of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes. The scope of the current research paper is narrowed down to discuss how the current study relates to the prior investigation of teaching and learning ESP in universities in Vietnam. 3.2. Definition of keywords In the current study, the followings key terms contribute to specific perspectives on the research areas:  English for Specific Purposes as “an approach to language teaching which aims to meet the needs of particular students” (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p.21).  ESP was initially distinguished from GE as the ESP courses syllabus and materials are figured out and designed according to students’ needs, demand, and purposes of communication in particular situation (Munby, 1978, p.2).  Needs analysis focuses on the first needs of students and it should be conducted by teachers prior to the course beginning, in which they consider the students need when learning a language (Robinson, 1991, p.7). 184
NGUYEN THI MINH HIEU - BUI VAN HONG - TRAN TUYEN 3.3. Organization of the study The current study consists of two main parts:  Part 1 is an introduction to the study, including a background of the study and statement of problems, aims and objectives of the study, research questions, research methodology, scope of the research, and definitions of key words.  Part 2 is the literature review, include (i) presenting English for Specific Purposes, including definition, its main characteristic; (ii) challenges of teaching and learning ESP in several universities in Vietnam. 4. RESULTS In a line of research related to challenges of teaching and learning ESP, Nguyen Thi To Hoa and Pham Thi Tuyet Mai (2021, p.154-161) conducted a research on difficulties in teaching ESP Vietnam University of Commerce, University of Transport and Communications, Hanoi National University of Education, and Hanoi University of Science and Technology. The researchers collected quantitative data from 400 students in different universities as mentioned. Truong Thi Anh Tuyet (2021) also conducted a quantitative on Ho Chi Minh City University of Food Industry with the similar purposes and aims to propose effective solution for teaching and learning ESP in globalization. In summary of the above research papers, the difficulty and challenges of teaching and learning of ESP are presented as below: 4.1. Challenges related to educational management and other aspects  According to the Circular 03/2019/TT-BLDTBXH providing guideline on framework program on General English teaching and learning in college and university, the total hour for English subject is 120 hours, including 42 hours for theory teaching and learning; 72 hours for practice, discussion and homework and 6 hours for review and examination (Ministry of Education and Training, 2019, p.1). After completion of General English, students will continuously learn ESP before graduation. The ESP curriculum and course content, learning material, assessment is determined by the disciplines of universities. Thus, there are matters as below: - There is not yet a consistent and synchronous regulations and guidelines on teaching and learning of ESP applicable for all universities or universities in particular areas in Vietnam. It leads to difficulty in having a common voice in training. - There are no available detailed guidelines on ESP course in terms of general content and time of learning, number of study units, aim, objective, learning 185
Kỷ yếu Hội thảo khoa học Quốc tế năm 2023: HƯỚNG NGHIỆP, KHỞI NGHIỆP TRONG THỜI ĐẠI SỐ - GIẢI PHÁP CHO GIÁO DỤC VIỆT NAM requirements and assessment of each unit while there is clearer regulation on teaching and learning General English (mentioned above). - There is no synchronous theoretical framework on teaching and learning ESP. For example, whether ESP is compulsory subject or just be a subject to improve students’ English skills and knowledge; and what teachers should do to face with problems in teaching ESP; and whether teachers teaching ESP should have specialized knowledge or just need to have English knowledge.  There is a lack of ESP teaching materials with suitable with students’ proficiency English level. The ESP textbooks sometimes not reflect real-life situation and students could not image the English usage in specific purposes (Nguyen Thi To Hoa and Pham Thi Tuyet Mai, 2021).  The ESP class with a large number of students, so students have less chance to discuss with each other and with teachers, and teachers could not support and motivate each student (Nguyen Thi To Hoa and Pham Thi Tuyet Mai, 2021, p.156; Truong Thi Anh Tuyet, 2021). 4.2. Challenges from ESP students  Students are still passive in learning ESP and some are not aware of the importance of ESP for their future works. This leads to the fact that students are not motivated to learn ESP.  The English proficiency level between students in universities in different areas is not the same and it leads to the challenges in using ESP textbooks.  There is certain difference between English, especially ESP and Vietnamese. Thus, students may have problems in understanding the relation between ESP and Vietnam and it leads to the difficulty when learning the language.  It is lack of vocabulary and dependence on dictionary limit the understanding of ESP words.  Students are facing limitations in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. In writing, they are struggling with organizing ideas, setting outlines, checking grammar mistakes, and getting wrong spelling. For listening and speaking skills, there are not enough time for practicing in class and students could not practice using the language. 4.3. Challenges from ESP teachers  The teachers’ qualifications are a problem in teaching ESP. As a matter of fact, teachers’ qualifications are not the same level, and some have limitations in 186
NGUYEN THI MINH HIEU - BUI VAN HONG - TRAN TUYEN specialized knowledge.  Since ESP course content is based on students’ needs, the teachers should prepare a variety of learning activities to motivate students. However, due to limitation of class time, ESP lessons are sometimes not effective (Nguyen Thi To Hoa & Pham Thi Tuyet Mai, 2021; Truong Thi Anh Tuyet, 2021)  The teaching method of teachers is considered a major part of ESP teaching. In fact, a variety of activities should be conducted in ESP class, including group work, pair works, writing and speaking on specific topics in real-life situations. As mentioned above, teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes not only aims to completely improving the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) but it is also for professional, purpose-specific purposes, focusing on the language and communication requirements in a specific area. Teaching and learning ESP should be followed and based on the students’ needs. It can be concluded that the first problem of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes should be in term of training programs, which closely relevant to educational management, synchronous theoretical framework on teaching and learning ESP, learning materials and other aspect of ESP class organization. The difficulty of teaching and learning English for Specific Purposes is presented through the students’ awareness of importance of ESP and learning attitude of students. The other challenges of teaching and learning ESP in the field of teaching method, teachers’ knowledge and qualifications on specific area of English usage. Given above, the difficulty in teaching and learning ESP, it is proposed that the below key solutions should be applied to improve the situation as below. 5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The teaching and learning ESP should be based on social needs is important. It creates a human resource with professional qualifications and fluence in English to work in globalization. Given above the difficulty in teaching and learning ESP, it is proposed that the below key solutions should be applied to improve the situation:  Social needs and students’ need analysis - The identification of the social needs of ESP should be found out in order to set appropriate objectives for ESP courses. - Besides, the students’ needs should be conducted in advance to ensure that the 187
Kỷ yếu Hội thảo khoa học Quốc tế năm 2023: HƯỚNG NGHIỆP, KHỞI NGHIỆP TRONG THỜI ĐẠI SỐ - GIẢI PHÁP CHO GIÁO DỤC VIỆT NAM ESP will meet students’ needs as well as to support them in achieving the requirement of work in the future. - In addition, the specific aims and objective of ESP subjects should be informed and explained to students for their awareness of ESP importance in future work.  Educational management and other relevant aspects - It is proposed that there should be an agreement and detailed guidelines or regulations on ESP training program applicable for universities. - The guideline comprises the number of periods, and textbooks, content for each learning major, for example ESP for students in Business English, students in Finance and banking.  ESP Teachers - Given above, there is matter in teachers’ qualifications for teaching ESP, in term of specialized knowledge. Thus, it is proposed that there should be a training section for specific knowledge for teachers teaching ESP courses. - In terms of preparing ESP learning material, teachers should spend time finding out the real-life communication situation so that the students could image the use of ESP in future works. - Teaching methods are very important in motivating and interesting students in learning ESP. - Apart from the four main skills of General English such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing, grammar, there should be training section in soft skills in term of presentations, group work discussion, etc. to motivate and enrich the learning activities in class. It is believed that it will help students to understand and improve professional skills. In the globalization, the entire society pays attention to improvement of teaching ESP standard to serve Vietnam's education. It is hoped that the below recommendations would be a trust theory to improve the teaching and learning ESP in Vietnam universities in the shortest possible time. REFERENCES Dudley-Evans, T. (1998). Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A multi- disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Linkedin. (2023). “English for Specific Purposes (ESP) versus General English (GE).” Retried at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/english-specific-Purposess-esp- versus-general-ge-amr-farag/. Hallinger, P. (2013). A conceptual framework for systematic reviews of research in 188
NGUYEN THI MINH HIEU - BUI VAN HONG - TRAN TUYEN educational leadership and management. Journal of Educational Administration. 51(2): 126-149. doi: 10.1108/09578231311304670 Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A Learning- centered Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ministry of Education and Training. (2019). Circular 03/2019/TT-BLDTBXH on framework program on English in general subject in Intermediate and Colleges dated 17 January 2019. Munby, J. (1978). Communicative Syllabus design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nguyen Hoang Tien & Ho Thien Thong Minh. (2020). Challenges for Vietnamese business leaders in the era of international economic integration and industrial revolution 4.0. International Journal of Commerce and Management Research, 5, 19-24. Robinson, P. C. (1991). ESP Today: A Practitioner’s Guide (English Language Teaching). UK: Prentice Hall International (UK) Limited. Richards, J. C. (1996). Teachers as Course Developers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Truong Thi Anh Tuyet. (2021). A study on challenges and solutions for specialized English teaching and learning in the context of globalization. doi: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/qhyr2 Nguyen Thi To Hoa & Pham Thi Tuyet Mai. (2021). Difficulties in Teaching English for Specific Purposes: Empirical A Study at Vietnam Universities. doi: 10.5539/hes.v6n2p154 Strevens, P. (1988). ESP after twenty years: A re-appraisal. In M. Tickoo (Ed.), ESP: State of the art (1-13). SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. Yalden, J. (1987). Principles of Course Design for Language Teaching Implementation. London: Prentice-Hall. 189