!" # $ % & ' () * +# , Field: Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Course: - K13 M.A Minor Thesis Supervisor: Bùi c Th c, M.A First and foremost, I would like to express my great thanks and deep gratitude to my teacher, my supervisor, Bui Duc Thuoc for his enthusiastic direction, comments, and adjustment I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr Le Hung Tien, Dean of the Post-graduate Department for his instructions, his encouragement and his sympathy for us and his staffs for their assistance especially during our stay in Hanoi My special thanks are for our beloved lecturers of Post Graduate Department, Foreign Language College of Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting and useful lessons and also for their kindness I am grateful to my wife and children whose support and encouragements have made a great contribution to the achievement of my study And my thanks also go to my colleagues, my classmates, friends and students without whose help and data I couldn't have been able to finish my study Haiphong, October 2007 Pham The Tu This study was carried out with an attempt to investigate how the Marine engine students are interested in reading, discover what problems they have in reading and suggest techniques to help them improve their reading skill The study started with the nature of reading, classification of reading and effective reading comprehension With an investigation into teaching ESP and learning reading ESP at the Engine Department at Vietnam Maritime University, the study gives an overview on the University and the Department, exposes the reasons why the Marine engine department students need to develop their reading skill and how they are taught to read ESP, finds out what they are interested in when learning reading and so on Finally, the study suggests some techniques to help improve reading skill to the students of the Marine engine Department at such as techniques for creating motivation and interest, techniques for training students to read efficiently and techniques for developing ESP reading materials / Rationale Aims of the Study Methods of the Study Scope of the Study Design of the Study Chapter one: Literature Review 1.1 The Nature of Reading 1.1.1 Reading 1.1.1.1 Definitions of reading 1.1.1.2 Reading processes 1.1.2 Reading comprehension 1.1.2.1 Definitions 1.1.2.2 Strategies for reading 1.1.2.3 Strategic Reading 10 1.1.2.4 Reading Comprehension Models 10 1.2 Classification of Reading 12 1.2.1 According to Purpose 12 1.2.2 According to Manner 12 1.3 Effective Reading Comprehension 13 1.3.1 What is Effective Reading Comprehension? 13 1.3.2 Effective reading strategies 14 1.3.3 Effective reader 16 1.3.4 Obstacles to effective reading comprehension 18 1.3.5 Effective Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies 18 1.3.6 Improving Comprehension 19 1.3.7 Techniques for Reading Comprehension 20 Chapter two: An Investigation into Teaching ESP and Learning Reading 22 ESP at the Engine Department at Vietnam Maritime University 2.1 An overview on Vietnam Maritime University, the Engine Department and 22 the engine room personnel 2.2 Marine engine department students and ESP Learning Requirements 23 2.3 Teachers and Methods of teaching reading ESP to marine engine students 24 2.4 Textbooks and Assessments 25 2.5 Linguistic features from findings, from materials provided typically different 28 from other English language materials: 2.5.1 in terminology (lexicology) 28 2.5.2 in grammar 28 2.5.3 in stylistics 29 2.5.4 in syntax: 29 2.6 Data Collection, Findings and Discussion 29 2.6.1 Data collection 29 2.6.2 Findings and discussion 31 Chapter three: Techniques Suggested for Improving Reading Skill to The 39 students of The Marine Engine Department at Vimaru 3.1 Techniques for Creating Motivation and interest 39 3.1.1 Using visual aids in teaching reading 39 3.1.2 Combining teaching reading with teaching other skills 40 3.1.3 Diversifying reading exercises 41 3.1.4 Making ESP Reading simple and easy 41 3.1.5 Making ESP Reading helpful 41 3.2 Techniques for Training Students to read efficiently 42 3.2.1 Students should be aware of their reading purposes 42 3.2.2 Students should be aware of the nature of reading process 43 3.2.3 Students should be aware of effective statergies 43 3.2.4 Students should make a habit of reading 44 3.3 Techniques for improving Teachers’ Activities in Reading Lesson 44 3.3.1 Regulate Teaching Time and Efforts 44 3.3.2 Help the Students with Three stages of a Reading Lesson 45 3.4 Techniques for the Development of ESP Reading Materials 46 3.4.1 Make Full Use of the Reading Texts 46 3.4.2 Design Reading Text- Based Activities 46 3.4.3 Choose proper ESP reading materials 46 01 Summary 48 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study 48 References Appendix 2345 Vietnam Maritime University 678 Engine Department 69: English for specific purposes STCW Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers ARPA Automatic Radar Plotting Aids GMDSS Global Maritime Distress and Safety System GPS Global Position Satellite System Rationale It goes without saying that English is by far the most popular language of all Since Vietnam began its open-door policy, the English teaching and learning movement has strongly developed More and more people learn English in order to have a better work oppotunity Therefore, more and more foreign language centers have been set up to meet the increasing needs from English language learners People learn English with different purposes Some want to become interpreters, some want to become teachers of English in order to earn a living, some want to read English documents, or instruction books We can see a fact that whatever jobs people do, they hope they can learn to use English effectively In Maritime field, English has been considered 'the language of the sea' This means English is the only language used by seafarers of all nationalities at sea and this shows how important English is for seafarers After graduating from VIMARU, the students of Navigation Department and students of Engine Department work not only on Vietnamese ships but also on foreign ships sailing around the world More and more Vietnamese seafarers work on foreign ships mainly for Asian shipping fleets Vietnam is now a member of ; , Vietnamese seafarers will have golden opportunities to work on European ships for higher payment if their English is good enough Because of this, the VIMARU leaders always consider English to be a very important subject and encourage the students to study English well It is natural that learners of English want to master all the four skills and so the VIMARU students A ship crew is divided into two departments: Deck department and engine department Deck crews use more spoken English than engine crews because they communicate with other ships, agents, pilots, coastguards, port authorities, … Their English plays an extremely important role in safe and economical navigation of the ship Engine crews not communicate as much as deck crews because they work in the engine room but they need a good English to understand construction books so that they can operate all machinery on board well, this also helps navigate safely and economically It is necessary to teach the students of the Engine Department to master the reading skill However, most of them say they find it difficult and boring to focus on reading, and especially to acquire effective reading From this fact, the teachers of English at VIMARU must something new to promote reading skill especially among the students of the Engine Department It is time we gave them more chances and more encouragements to read Due to the above-mentioned reasons, the researcher wishes to make a small contribution to promoting reading skills among the engine department students, and as a result, the thesis has been titled as: Aims of the Study This study is aimed at: Investigating how the E.D students are interested in reading Discovering what problems the E.D students have in reading Making some suggestions for ESP teachers at VIMARU with the hope of helping them improve their reading teaching Suggesting techniques to help the E.D students improve their reading skill Methods of the Study To achieve the aims mentioned above, it is advisable to use quantitative method The data collected for the study came from two sources: E.D students of the second and third year and the teachers who have been teaching ESP to the students of the Marine Engine Department Survey questionnaires are used to collect information and evidence for the study All comments, remarks, recommendations, assumption and conclusion provided in the study based on the data analysis Scope of the Study To improve reading skill for the E.D students at VIMARU, the teacher can make use of various techniques and a number of things will be done However, the researcher just intends to overview a brief of the current situation of teaching and learning reading at ESP classes at VIMARU and to find out their reading problems, then suggest some techniques to help them enhance their reading skill Design of the Study This minor thesis is composed of three parts: Part one, introduction, presents the rationale, the aims, the scope, the methods and the design of the study Part two, Development, consists of the following chapters: Chapter one, “literature review” presents such various linguistic concepts most relevant to the study as the nature of reading, classification or reading, effective reading comprehension Chapter two, “An Investigation into Teaching ESP and Learning Reading ESP at The Engine department at Vietnam Maritime University” provides an analysis on the current situation of teaching and learning reading ESP at Vietnam Maritime University learning requirements, teachers and their teaching methods, materials as well as material assessment, this chapter also deals with data collections, findings and discussion Chapter three, “Techniques Suggested for Improving Reading Skill to The students of The Marine Engine Department at Vietnam Maritime University” focuses on the suggestion of the study in which there are certain techniques for improving reading skills to the students of the Marine engine Department Part three, Conclusion, gives a summary of what have been mentioned in the study, the limitations of the study is also pointed out in this part More importantly, some suggestions for further study are provided not understand the instructions for service, they cannot maneuver the ship and what may happens then The fact has shown that some ships were not maneuverable in storm which caused miserable loss of life to all crew members on board 3.2 Techniques for Training Students to read efficiently 3.2.1 Students should be aware of their reading purposes When the students have their purpose in mind, they read efficiently So helping the students to recognize the purpose of the reading text before they start to read is necessary and useful Usually the main purpose behind reading is to make connections between what students already know and what they need to know Knowing why they are reading will greatly increase their chances of understanding the material There are many reasons why students might be reading some particular text: (1) pleasure and enjoyment: This is probably the best reason to read anything students have chosen the material for the purpose of enjoying themselves Reading entertains them, even relaxes them However, this will rarely be the purpose behind the reading they need to for their subjects at university (2) practical application: Here the purpose is to gain information that students can apply or use in a practical situation Books such as laboratory manuals, computer manuals, instruction booklets, and recipe books are all texts that they would consult with the purpose of gaining specific information (3) to get an overview: The point here is to get a general feel for the material, to determine whether it is relevant, useful, up to date, and to get a sense of how the topic is treated by the author This is likely to be the main purpose behind students’ reading when they: are given an extensive reading list for an assignment are doing initial library research for an essay, tutorial, research report or similar assignments need to decide which texts are most relevant or useful for your assignment (4) to locate specific information: Sometimes students know what they are looking for but not know exactly where to find it For example, they might be looking for a specific quotation, evidence to support a particular argument, details about a specific person or event, a map, a diagram, a statistic or table of statistics To find this sort of information might mean that students have to consult several books or sources In these circumstances, they will be reading with the aim of zeroing in on the information they are looking for (5) to identify the central idea of theme: The purpose here is to extract the essence of what the written material is trying to convey For example, students might want to identify the major finding in an experimental article in a journal, or the core issue of a discussion paper Teachers must be sure that their students are provided with a range of reading purposes and can practise different ways of approaching a text Various formats suggest different purposes of reading: looking quickly through the piece to get the main idea or gist (skimming), searching rapidly for a particular piece of information (scanning), reading a longer text for pleasure (extensive reading), and reading a short text carefully and in details (intensive reading) 3.2.2 Students should be aware of the nature of reading process “a student who has an incomplete or erroneous concept of reading or who perceives reading negatively is unlikely to gain control of the reading process and use it purposefully.” (Duffy & Rocher - 1986) Because of this, the teachers should help their students realize that reading is an active process which involves using a number of skills and strategies at the same time, strategies for accessing the meaning such as predicting information, sampling, deducing meaning, or other reading techniques like skimming, scanning, inferring, etc 3.2.3 Students should be aware of effective statergies Before reading: • Set clear goals for reading • Actively pursue meaning and activate prior knowledge • Preview the text • Make predictions • Generate questions to be answered During reading: • Pay close attention to text structure • Read texts selectively based on purpose(s) for reading • Construct and revise meaning • Determine whether the text and information are meeting goals • Integrate prior knowledge with information and ideas from text(s) • Think about and question the text’s and author’s information and ideas • Monitor and revise understanding of the text • Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words and concepts using a variety of strategies • Reconcile inconsistencies or gaps in information and ideas as necessary After reading: • Evaluate text quality and value • Respond to text mainly through questioning, additional reading, or discussion • Reflect upon texts during reading, during pauses in reading, and after reading • Consider comprehension and learning to be satisfying and productive experiences 3.2.4 Students should make a habit of reading Familiarizing the students with extensive reading is a way to increase their interest for learning English By reading extensive materials, the students can feel the joys of reading in another language What is more, it helps develop their vocabulary, strengthening their understanding of language and their grammar “the best way to improve your knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among its speakers The next best way is to read extensively in it.” (Nuttal - 1982) 3.3 Techniques for improving Teachers’ Activities in Reading Lesson 3.3.1 Regulate Teaching Time and Efforts Teachers have a variety of ways to create reading interest among the students, motivate and provide them different techniques to enable their reading process effective However, more time and efforts should be spent on the strategies to increase the number of students who feel much interested in what their teachers have performed Teachers help their students realize three reading stages so that their students can read more effectively and spend time and energy for each stage of reading reasonably However, the teachers also need to notice that not enough time and efforts have been spent to help their students deal with problems with new words or phrases Teachers, moreover, need to save more time and efforts identifying what difficulties their students are coping with in each stage of reading For example, if their students find it hard to start discussion of the topic to read, it is essential that the teachers guide them with questions, or theme-based topics If that is the problem of working out the gusts, ask them to have skim read Time and efforts are also necessary for the teachers to tabulate their students’ level of proficiency so that appropriate reading exercises can be handed in good time In a few words, using the time and efforts sensibly is one technique to help teachers improve their students’ reading skill 3.3.2 Help the Students with Three stages of a Reading Lesson In pre-reading stage, teachers may ask their students to talk about pictures accompanying with the text, predict from the title, answering a set of questions or a quiz, listing items of information they already know about the topic, or discuss the topics In addition, they can make up discussion questions to raise students’ interest in the topic, to create attitude towards it, and to give students some key language and have them practice This activates their prior knowledge of the topic and any relevant language they might already know In reading stage, teachers should encourage students to be active as they read by asking them to: - follow the order of ideas in a text, - understand the information the text contains, - ask themselves questions related, - make notes To encourage these activities, teachers can use a range of exercises such as ask students to tick a list of expectations or find answers for their questions, provide a chart for them to fill in with points of information, etc Teachers also encourage their students to have silent reading Time is always a matter of reading lesson, so with silent reading the students certainly can improve their reading speed and save much time In post-reading stage, teachers should have students pair work (asking and answering questions about the reading), summarize the text, reproduce the text vocally and so forth 3.4 Techniques for the Development of ESP Reading Materials 3.4.1 Make Full Use of the Reading Texts The survey shows that most marine engine students are not much interested in reading texts from the books some of the texts not relate much to their future work in the engine room: unit “ship types”, unit “cargo work” As a result, they feel disappointed when reading them < < = consists of the texts which are rather theoretical and therefore not practical and it is hard for the students to memorize the texts For this reason, to raise students’ interest and improve their reading skill, the teachers need to give the students the texts which are useful and helpful for them in their future work, set up various tasks for the students 3.4.2 Design Reading Text- Based Activities Three stages of teaching reading lessons with different activities should be taken into concern In addition, reading text-based activities should also be set for the students: - Provide reading text-based guided questions - Use different reading text-based activities, such as T/F, questions - answers, multiple choice, gap filling, table filling, charts - Design various types of task-based exercises 3.4.3 Choose proper ESP reading materials When selecting materials, the followings should be taken into consideration: • Students’ concern • Difficulty level • Variety (variety of the topic, of text, and of reading purpose) • Types of reading activities and exercises Apparently, students’ concern should be a key criterion in selecting reading texts It is really difficult for them to succeed in their reading task if they not like the texts Furthermore, difficulty level needs consideration If the texts are too difficult in syntax, students will give up their reading tasks If students have to read these texts, they will get nothing Texts to be chosen should satisfy what students will need for their daily work on board, namely reading instruction books, answering questions by PSC, coast guards and making conversations at work on board with seamen from other countries The variety of the reading materials as mentioned above helps the students develop confidence to approach a text, increase their level of proficiency, challenge them to get progress, and more importantly change their reading taste What is more important is that they will further practice with reading skills, if they are given different types of activities and exercises Summery of the study As mentioned in the Introduction, English is of great importance for seafarers For Marine engine students, reading skill is especially necessary when they work on board Having analyzied the learning and teaching reading situation at the Marine Engine Department, Vietnam Maritime University, the researcher recommends some techniques to help improve reading skills for Marine Engine students The study has three main chapters: Chapter one gives a brief overview on the nature of reading, reading classification, and effective reading comprehension and Strategies Effective Teaching Reading Comprehension Chapter two deals with the analysis of current situation of teaching and learning reading at the Marine engine Department With his nearly 20 years of teaching experience at VIMARU and with the information collected from his colleagues about their teaching methods applied in reading lessons, the researcher has a rather clear picture of the teaching and learning reading at marine engine Department He is also fully aware of teaching and learning materials and assessing the value of these materials A careful survey is conducted to find out how much students enjoy their reading materials, their teachers, the activities applied by the teachers and as well the students' activities in every reading lesson Chapter three suggests the techniques to help enhancing ESP reading skills for students of Marine engine students: Techniques for creating motivation and interest, techniques for training students to read more efficiently, techniques for improving teachers’ activities in reading lesson, and techniques for the development of ESP reading materials Limitations and Suggestions for further study The study, although was carried out with the researcher's great attempts, still proves a number of unavoidable limitations due to the limited time, lack of resources and also the researcher's ability Firstly, the number of students involved in the survey is still limited, therefore the findings are not quite of popularity Secondly, the target subjects of this study are only the students of the marine engine department learning ESP, not all the students of other departments in VIMARU in general and the students in reading lesson in particular Thirdly, the recommended techniques are helpful and effective for only the third and fourth year-students of the marine engine department A thorough study on the students of all departments at VIMARU with their difficulties in learning reading may hopefully be considered as a countable contribution in ESP instruction by the author for further study Additionally, he expects to work out his own techniques or strategies for enhancing English reading skill for his students References Adams, M J (1990) Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Anderson, R C., Reynolds, R E., Schallert, D L., & Goetz, E T (1977) Frameworks for comprehending discourse American Educational Research Journal Anderson, V., & Hidi, S (1988-1989) Teaching students to summarize Educational Leadership Adrian Doff (1988) Teach English – A training course for teachers Cambridge University Press Allen, W.P (1977) Selecting reading material for foreign students Rockville, Mt: English Language Service Blakey (1983) English for Maritime Studies Pergamon Press Bransford, J D., & Johnson, M K (1972) Contextual prerequisites for understanding: Some investigations of comprehension and recall Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior Cook, L & Mayer, R (1988) Teaching readers about the structure of scientific text Journal of Education Psychology Doff, A (1988) Teaching: a training course for teachers Cambridge: CUP Duffy, GG & Rochier, L.R (1986) Improving Classroom Reading Instruction Duffy, G G., Roehler, L R., & Mason, J (1984) Comprehension Instruction: Perspectives and Suggestions New York, NY: Longman Durkin, D (1979) Teaching Them to Read Boston, Ma: Allen and Bacon, Inc Goodman, K.S, (1970) Reading a psycholinguistics guessing game In H Singer & B.R Ruddell (Eds), Theoretical models and processes of reading Newark Delaware: International Reading Association Gerald Mosback (1993).Practical Faster Reading Cambridge University Press Greenwood, J.(1985) The teaching of English as an International language Collins: Glassgow and London Grelet, F (1981) Developing reading skills Cambridge: CUP Hayes, B.L (1991) The effective teaching of reading In B.L Hayes (Eds), Effective strategies for teaching reading, 3-12 Boston: Allyn & Bacon Harmer, H (1989) The practice of English language teaching Harlow: Longman Hubbard, Jones, Thornton, Wheeler (1985) A training course for TEFL Oxford University Press Lewis, M & Hill, J (1985) Practical techniques for language teaching Commercial Color Press Maria, K (1990) Reading Comprehension Instruction, Issues & Strategies Parkton, MD: York Press McNeil, J.D (1992) Reading comprehension new directions for classroom practice Los Angeles: U of California Nist, S.L & Mealey, D.L.(1991) Teacher-directed comprehension strategies In R Nunan, D (1991) Language teaching methodology Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Nuttal, C (1982) Teaching reading skills in a foreign language London: Perfetti, C (1985) Reading Ability New York: Oxford University Press Robinson, R & Good, T.L (1987) Being an effective reading teacher: Harper and Row Publisher Rummerhart, D (1977) Towards an interactive model of reading In S Dordic (Eds) Attention and Performance IV Academic Press Rayner, R & Pollatsek, A (1989) The Psychology of Reading Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Samuels, S.J & Hamil, M.L (1988) Models for the reading process Cambridge: CUP Simon, Gr& Michael, S (1993) Effective Reading Cambridge: CUP Stanovich, K (1980) Towards an Interactive compensatory models of individual differences in the development of reading fluency Reading Research Quarterly Stanovich, K E (1980) Toward an interactive compensatory model of individual differences in the development of reading fluency Reading Research Quarterly Swan, M (1975) Inside meaning Cambridge: CUP Ur, P (1996) A course in language teaching Cambridge: CUP A course of English for seafarers for marine engine students English for marine engine students and ship’s engineers Wilkins (1978) Linguistics in language teaching London Adward Arnold Publisher Williams, E (1986) Reading in the language classroom Oxford: Macmillan Publisher Options A Questions Question Are the texts helpful for your future work on ship? E Yes, very F Yes, not very G Yes, little H I don't know Question What you think of the length of the reading texts in “English for marine engine students and ship’s engineers” ? E F G H Question very long long moderate short How much you like the way your teacher create reading interest before reading task? E very much F much G just little H not at all Question How much you like the way your teacher motivate you before, while, and after the reading lesson? E very much F much G just little H not at all Question What your teachers often to motivate you to read? E help you understand the purpose of the text F present some interesting tasks to you before asking you to read G provide you any new words or structures you ask for H other activities Question What amazes you most when your teacher gives you the meaning of new vocabulary? B C D Question Question E He uses pictures F He uses synonyms, antonym G He translates H He explains in English How your teachers often give you the meaning of new vocabulary? E translation F explanation G using synonym, antonym H using pictures Do your teachers often encourage you to have extensive reading outside classroom? E usually F sometimes G seldom H never Question To help you understand the text, what your teachers often ask you to do? E skim the text F scan the text G look for unknown words and structures and tell him H other activities Question 10 Question 11 Question 12 Do your teachers help you to be aware of the purpose of your reading? E usually F sometimes G seldom H never Does your teacher preteach some new words and grammar before you read the text? E Usually F Sometimes G Seldom H Never What your teachers often to create your interest before reading? E present some new words and structures on the board F give a brief introduction to the text G give some questions for you to discuss before you read H nothing Question 13 After having an overview of the text, what you often do? E read the text attentively from the beginning to the end F ask your teacher for the meaning of unknown words and structures G read the paragraphs in the reading text one by one H other activities Question 14 When you have some unfamiliar words or structures, what you often do? E look them up in the dictionary F figure out the meanings of the words from the context G ignore them all H ask your teachers Question 15 When you fail to understand the text, you … E give up reading F ignore that part of the text and read on G ask the teachers H not know what to Question 16 Question 17 What you often to find the main ideas of the text? E skimming F scanning G read the text attentively from the beginning to the end H other activities What activities interest you most in the post-reading stage? E summarize the text in writing F answer your teacher’s questions G work in pair to ask and answer questions on the text H summarize the text orally Question 18 What you often in reading-based follow-up activities E summarize the text F exercises G nothing H other activities Question 19 Do you attempt to increase your speed of reading comprehension? E Yes, usually F Yes, but sometimes G No, rarely H No, never Question 20 Do you often summarize the text after reading for details? E usually F sometimes G seldom H never ... Vietnamese ships but also on foreign ships sailing around the world More and more Vietnamese seafarers work on foreign ships mainly for Asian shipping fleets Vietnam is now a member of ; , Vietnamese... Engine Department at Vietnam Maritime University 2.1 An overview on Vietnam Maritime University, the Engine Department and the engine room personnel Founded in 1956, The Vietnam Maritime University... Teaching ESP and Learning Reading 22 ESP at the Engine Department at Vietnam Maritime University 2.1 An overview on Vietnam Maritime University, the Engine Department and 22 the engine room personnel