A study on students' difficulties in learning English for special purposes at Faculty of Broadcasting Technology of College of Broadcasting I

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
POST GRADUATE STUDIES

HOANG THI HAI HANH

A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH
FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AT FACULTY OF BROADCASTING
TECHNOLOGY OF COLLEGE OF BROADCASTING I

(NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA SINH VIÊN KHOA KỸ
THUẬT PHÁT THANH - TRUYỀN HÌNH, TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẰNG
PHÁT THANH- TRUYỀN HÌNH I TRONG VIỆC HỌC TIẾNG ANH
CHUYÊN NGÀNH)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: METHODOLOGY
Code: 60 14 10





Hanoi, December 2009

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI
COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
POST GRADUATE STUDIES


HOANG THI HAI HANH

A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH
FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES AT FACULTY OF BROADCASTING
TECHNOLOGY OF COLLEGE OF BROADCASTING I

(NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA SINH VIÊN KHOA KỸ
THUẬT PHÁT THANH - TRUYỀN HÌNH, TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẰNG
PHÁT THANH- TRUYỀN HÌNH I TRONG VIỆC HỌC TIẾNG ANH
CHUYÊN NGÀNH)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: METHODOLOGY
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Duong Thi Nu, D.r



Hanoi, December 2009


Hanoi, December 2009



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Table of Contents
Certificate of originality
Acknowledgement
Abstract
List of Abbreviations
List of tables. figures and charts
Part I: Introduction
1. Rationale
2. Aims of the study

3. Scope of the study
4. Methods of the study
5. Design of the study
Part II: Development
Chapter 1: Theoretical Background
1.1 Reading and reading comprehension
1.1.1 The nature of reading and reading comprehension
1.1.2 Reading process
1.1.3 Classification of reading according to the purposes of
reading
1.2 ESP reading
1.2.1 Definitions of ESP
1.2.2 Reading skills in ESP
1.2.3 ESP reading materials
1.3 Problems in learning ESP reading
1.3.1 Reading skill problem
1.3.2 Language problem
1.4 Previous studies
1.5 Summary
Chapter 2: The current situation of teaching and learning ESP
reading at College of Broadcasting I. (CB-I)
2.1 Introduction about CB-I learners
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2.2 The objectives of teaching and learning reading English in CB-I.
2.3 Teachers and method of teaching
2.4 The ESP program at CB-I
2.5 Summary
Chapter 3: Research Methodology

3.1 Research questions
3.2 The participants
3.3 The data collection methods
3.4 Data analysis
3.4.1 Students’ attitudes towards ESP reading
3.4.2 The purpose of reading ESP in the views of the students
3.4.3 Students’ perception of ESP reading difficulties
*In term of grammar
* In term of vocabulary
* In term of discourse
* In term of reading skills
* Rank order of ESP reading difficulties
3.4.4 The causes of difficulties
* The reading materials
* The teachers
* The learners
3.4.5 Students’ expectations in term of material
3.4.6 Students’ expectations in term of methodology
3.5 Summary
Chapter 4: Some suggestions to improve learning ESP reading in
CB-I
4.1 Improving teachers’ classroom techniques for teaching
Broadcasting Technology reading
4.1.1 Applying different approaches to teach vocabulary
4.1.2 Supplying more grammar structures
4.1.3 Increasing students’ reading interest and motivation
4.2 Training students to become efficient readers
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4.2.1 Teaching students different reading strategies
4.2.2 Assigning and checking students’ completion of
homework.
4.3 Training teachers
4.3.1 Improving Broadcasting Technology background
knowledge for teachers of English
4.3.2 Improving teaching methodology
4.4 Developing ESP reading materials
4.4.1 Developing topics
4.4.2 Adapting reading practice exercises
4.4.3 Simplifying highly specialized texts
4.5 Summary
Part III: Conclusion
1. Summary of the findings
2. Some conclusions
3. Limitations of the study and suggestion for further study.
References
Appendices
Appendix 1: Some pictures about mixing desk and recording studio
Appendix 2: Unit 6- Making a recording
Appendix 3: Bảng câu hỏi dành cho sinh viên
Appendix 4: Translated version of the questionnaire for students



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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CB-I: College of Broadcasting I

ESP: English for Specific Purposes
FBT: Faculty of Broadcasting Technology
GE: General English

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LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND CHARTS
Figure 1: Schematization of the To-down approach
Figure 2: The vicious circle of the weak readers
Chart 1: Students’ perception about the importance of reading skill in ESP reading
Chart 2: Students’ views about the role of ESP reading for their future job
Chart 3: Students’ interest in ESP reading
Chart 4: Purposes of reading ESP in the views of students
Chart 5: Students’ views of sources of difficulties.
Table 1: The difficulties in term of grammar
Table 2: The difficulties in the term of vocabulary
Table 3: The difficulties in the term of discourse
Table 4: The difficulties in the term of reading skill
Table 5: The average source of the items in each area of difficulties
Table 6: Students’ expectations in material
Table 7: Students’ expectation in methodology

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PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Owing to the ongoing process of regional and global integration in Vietnam, the
demand for English language learning across the country is increasing. English has become a
compulsory subject in every school, college and university with a considerable length of time.
To students, nowadays, English is not only a subject in the curriculum at university but also a
key to gain access to the information world. In Vietnam, there is a growing demand for English
language teaching to meet the needs of a new generation of learners who want to learn English
to “gain access to the required knowledge that is available, either exclusively or most readily, in
English” (Munby, 1978:3) or to serve other different specific purposes. That leads to the
coming into being of English for Specific Purposes (ESP).
Being aware of the great demand for English in particularly and the importance of ESP
in specially, officials in CB- I have adapted GE since 1990 and ESP since 1993 as compulsory
subject. It is aimed at broadening students‟ knowledge and achieving success in their career life
as well.
As a technical college, one of the requirements for graduates is to be able to read
professional documents in their field for further study or future jobs. Therefore, ESP was first
introduced into the syllabus about 10 years ago. However, teachers and students at CB-I still
face some of these problems:
- There has been little or almost no research work touching upon ESP teaching
methodologies to language students in Vietnam.
- Most teachers at CB-I lack experience in teaching ESP.
- There are no training courses for teachers of ESP.
- Students are not of equal level of English

- The present course book at CB-I is not effective and relevant.
The foresaid reasons of ESP teaching and learning at CB-I have aroused my interest and
made me find out the areas of students‟ reading difficulties at CB-I. Once problems have been
identified, it will be possible to make suggestions for the teachers and students to improve
teaching and learning of ESP reading at CB-I.
2. Aims of the study

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This study aims to examine the areas of difficulties in ESP reading of the second-year
students of Faculty of Broadcasting Technology (FBT) at CB-I. The objectives of this study
are:
- to investigate the student attitudes towards ESP reading.
- to find out the students‟ reading difficulties and their causes
- to investigate the students‟ needs in terms of material and methodology.
- to offer some recommendations to reduce the difficulties and help students to
improve their reading skills.
Hopefully, the study will make some contributions to the improvement of teaching and
learning ESP in CB-I.
3. Scope of the study
Dealing with ESP learning difficulties is too broad for a study of this size. It is impossible
to cover all aspects of language theory and practice in this study. Therefore, the focus of this
study is to investigate some linguistic problems and difficulties in ESP reading skill
experienced by the second-years students at Faculty of Broadcasting Technology in CB-I then
recommend some techniques to help them improve their reading.
4. Methods of the study
The theoretical background of the study mainly relies on many published books written by
different authors on language of technology, communicative language teaching, English for
specific purposes, approaches to ESP teaching and learning.
The major method used in the study is the survey one. With the aim of finding out the
difficulties in ESP reading of the second-year students of Faculty of Broadcasting Technology,

this thesis uses the analysis of the statistics from the instruments including one questionnaire,
informal interviews and small talks conducted with the teachers and students at CB-I.
5. Design of the study
The study is organized into three main parts: the introduction, the development and the
conclusion.
The first part introduces the rationale, aims of the study, method, scope of the study as well
as design of the thesis.
The second part consists of four chapters:
Chapter 1 reviews the theoretical background of the research including Reading and reading
comprehension, ESP reading and problems in learning ESP reading.

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Chapter 2 discusses the present situation of teaching and learning reading English in Faculty
of Broadcasting Technology at CB- I.
Chapter 3 presents the research methodology which focuses on the research questions, the
participants, research method including data collection methods, data analysis process and
some discussion and findings.
Chapter 4 suggests some recommendations to reduce difficulties and to improve the
teaching and learning of ESP reading.
The last part summarizes the issues addressed, presents some conclusions made on the basis
of the findings, shows the limitations of the study and makes some suggestions for further
research.

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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: Theoretical background
As the study aims at finding students‟ difficulties in ESP reading in the field of
broadcasting technology in this chapter, we will take a long , careful look at the theoretical
background of the study which would be a review of issues relevant to the thesis topic.
1.1. Reading and reading comprehension
1.1.1. The nature of reading and reading comprehension
* The nature of reading
According to Anderson et al (1985), the majority of scholars in the field now agree on
the nature of reading: “Reading is the process of constructing meaning from written texts. It is a
complex skill required the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of information”.
Reading is “a psycholinguistics process by which the reader, a language user,
reconstructs, as best as he can, a message which has been encoded by a writer as a graphic
display” (Goodman, 1971:135). According to Goodman, this act of reconstruction is viewed as
“a cyclical process of sampling, predicting, testing and confirming”.
Eddie Williams (1984:2) noted that “a simple definition of reading is that it is a process

whereby one looks at and understand what has been written.” He takes the same view with
Goodman on reading, especially on the act of reconstruction as Goodman.
Clearly, there is a great deal of defining reading and no definition can capture all the
ideas and features of what reading is. Each researcher reflects what reading means according to
his or her own opinions. What is common between them is that however they have an effort to
find out the nature of reading, reading act in which reading, the readers and the text are
emphasized. Now it is essential for us to understand thoroughly the definition of reading
comprehension before teaching a reading text.
* Reading Comprehension
Grellet (1983: 3) indicated that “reading or understanding a written text means
extracting the required information from it as effectively as possible”.
Reading comprehension is considered as an important part in teaching and learning
reading a foreign language. It can be understood as the ability to attract the required
information from the text as effectively as possible.

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According to Swan (1975: 1) “a student is good at comprehension, we mean that he can
read accurately and efficiently, so as to get the maximum information of a text with the
minimum of understanding.” That means reader can show his/her understanding by re-
expressing the content of the text in answering questions, summarizing the text, choosing right
answer, etc.
Besides, Richards (1992) stated that “reading comprehension is best described as an
understanding between the author and the reader”. The emphasis is on the reader‟s
understanding of the text based on the individual‟s unique background of experience.
In conclusion, reading comprehension is the process in which the readers, as they read,
can recognize the graphic form and can understand the relation between the writing and the
meaning. It means that after reading reader can understand what is implied behind these graphic
forms, for example, they can master grammatical structures, word pronunciation, understand
the context, the text and use it in real life as effective as possible.
1.1.2. Reading process

According to Burn Roe Ross, the reading process is described in the following way by
psychology theorists “the brain directs the eye to pick up visual information from the
configurations on the page, once the information starts coming into the brain, the brain
processes it for meaning using if its prior knowledge of language (syntactical rules that lend
themselves to prediction) and content”.
An interactive theoretical model of the reading process depicts reading as a combination
of two types of processing, top-down (reader-based), and bottom-up (text-based)
* Top-down models of the reading process
The top-down process moves from the top, the higher-level mental stages, down to the
text itself. In fact, in these models, the reading process is driven by the reader‟s mind at work
on the text.
In top-down approach, we draw on our own intelligence and experience-the predictions
we can make, based on the schemata we have acquired - to understand the text, Nuttall (1982:
16). Cambourne (1979:41) provides the following schematization of the approach.
Past experience, language Selective aspect Meaning Sound, pronunciation
Intuitions and expectations of print if necessary.
Figure 1: Schematization of the Top-Down approach
From the diagram, it can be seen that this approach emphasizes the reconstruction of

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meaning rather than the decoding of form. The interaction of the reader and the text is central
to the process, and the reader brings to this interaction his knowledge of the subject at hand,
knowledge of expectations about how language works, motivation, interest and attitudes
towards the content of the text. Rather than decoding each symbol, or even every word, the
reader uses his general knowledge of the word or of particular text components to make
intelligent guesses about what might come next in the text, or forms hypotheses about text
elements and then the reader samples only enough of the text to confirm or reject his/her
guesses, to determine whether or not the hypotheses are correct. Thus, the reader plays an
active role and supplies more information to construct meaning than the printed page does.
A strong proponent of the top-down reading models is Smith. He believes that “to be

able to read, a child must be encouraged to predict, to use prior knowledge or even have non-
visual information provided” (1975:60). Smith (1971:2) emphasizes the role of meaning and of
the reader‟s need to predict when reading: reading is less a matter of extracting sound from
print than of bringing meaning to print. He cites four distinctive and fundamental characteristics
of reading: (1) reading is purposeful; (2) reading is selective; (3) reading is based on
comprehension; (4) reading is anticipatory. Smith gives the reader a central role in
understanding what he or she reads. However, one of the shortcomings of the top-down model
is that it sometimes fails to distinguish adequately between beginning readers and fluent ones.
* Bottom-up models of reading process
In bottom-up reading models, the reader begins with the written text (the bottom) and
constructs meaning from letters, words, phrases and sentences found within and then processes
the text in a linear fashion. Alderson (2000: 16) noted that: in bottom-up approaches, “the
readers begins with the printed word, recognizes graphic stimuli, decoded them to sound,
recognizes words and decodes meanings. Each component involves sub-processes which take
place independently of each other, and build upon prior sub-processes. Sub-processes higher up
the chain cannot, however, feed back into components lower down.
LaBerge and Samuels (1974) also emphasizes the role of attention in processing
information and the importance of automaticity in the reading process. They assume that the
reader‟s understanding depends on what appears in the text and that the reader performs two
tasks when reading: decoding and comprehending. For LaBerge and Samuels, decoding is
going from the printed word to some articulatory or phonological representation of the printed
stimulus. Comprehending is deriving meaning from the decoded materials (Samuels & Kamil,

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1984: 197). However, an important shortcoming of these models is lack of feedback (Samuels
and Kamil, 1988: 31). Because of this limitation and together with the advent of Goodman‟s
top-down view of reading as a psycholinguistic process, the bottom-up view of reading fell into
disfavor.
In short, bottom-up models tend to be linear as they start with the printed stimuli and
proceed to higher-level stages, one step after another. The basis for bottom-up processing is

linguistic knowledge of the readers. There is now a great deal of evidence which points to the
inadequacy of the bottom-up reading models.
To sum up, the appearance and popularity of interactive models show that interactive
models can maximize the strengths and minimizes the weaknesses of the separate use of either
bottom-up or top-down models.
1.1.3. Classification of reading according to the purposes of reading
According to purpose of reading, many researchers categorized reading into four kinds:
extensive, intensive, skimming and scanning.
* Extensive reading
Reading extensively means to read widely and in quantity in daily life. According to
Grellet (1981: 2), extensive reading means “reading longer texts usually for one’s own
pleasure. This is a fluency activity, mainly involving general understanding.”
Extensive reading gives students opportunities to use their knowledge of the target
language for their own purpose. Besides, it provides the valuable reinforcement of language
items and structure already presented in the classroom, giving students useful practice in
inferring meaning from the context when the grammar structures and vocabulary are unfamiliar.
Moreover, extensive reading is a useful way for the students to update their language
knowledge because students can choose the topic they like and read for enjoyment without
consideration for any single item, pressure of time and need for intensive concentration and
total comprehension.
This is an effective way for students to improve their language reading. The teacher
should introduce some suitable reading materials to them, as it is useful for them to form good
habit of reading.
* Intensive reading


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The aim of intensive reading is to understand not only what the texts mean but also how
the meaning is produced. Nuttall (1982:23) noted that: “intensive reading involves approaching
the text under the close guidance of the teacher or under the guidance of task which forces the

students to pay great attention to the text.” And Francoise Grellet (1981:41) defined “intensive
reading means reading short texts to extract specific information. This is an accuracy activity
involving reading for details”
The objective of intensive reading is to understand a text in details that is contrastive
with extensive reading. In intensive reading, readers are required a very good understanding in
details of the text.
In brief, intensive reading does not require a large amount of reading material, but a rich
comprehension of a small amount of reading material which may be even a few lines or a
passage. The readers have to research and try to get to know every idea, and every piece of
hidden information in the text. They have to pay their attention to the area of the words in the
passage through which some hints may be conveyed. Students read intensively when they are
seeking for detailed instruction for using sound mix machine or video recorder for the first
time, etc.
This reading way is very important for foreign language learners, especially for students
of Faculty of Broadcasting Technology. Therefore, teachers should design more exercises and
to provide more reading texts about the same topic for the students to develop their reading
ability as well as knowledge.
* Skimming
Grellet (1981:19) stated that: “when skimming, we go through the reading material
quickly in order to get its main points or the intention of the writer, but not o find the answer to
specific questions.”
Nuttall said: “By skimming we mean glancing rapidly through a text to determine
whether a research paper is relevant to your own work or in order to keep ourselves
superficially informed about matters that are not of great importance to us”.
The purposes of skimming are:
- To check relevance of text
- To set the scene for more concentrated effort that is to follow if the text is useful
Skimming is useful to look at chapter/ section headings, summaries and opening
paragraphs. Skimming is very useful for students. It can help students have an overview of what
they are reading.

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* Scanning: Scanning is another useful skill to locate a specific item of information that we
need. In scanning, we focus our research only on the information that we want, running our yes
rapidly along the lines.
Williams (1990:100) said that: “Scanning occurs when a reader goes through a text
very quickly in order to find a particular point of information”. This way of reading is widely
used in reading comprehension. It can be practiced with variety of texts such as dictionary,
maps, advertisements, labels, indexes, or references materials, etc. It is necessary and useful
because scanning helps the students understand the gist of the text well.
In conclusion, when teaching and learning reading comprehension, there are many
different ways of reading which students can choose to use according to students „purpose.
However effective readers do not use these ways separately, they must know how to use
suitable way to achieve their reading purpose and the text can be best tackled by a combination
of strategies.
1.2. ESP reading
1.2.1 Definitions of ESP
When starting to study a particular English course of a specific specialism, all teachers
and learners must know what English for Specific Purpose (ESP) is. There are a great number
of definitions of ESP because people have given different emphases to the variety of elements
that characterize ESP.
At first, ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners. Hutchinson and Waters
(1993:19) theorize “ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to
content and method are based on the learners reasons for learning”. For Hutchinson and
Waters, starting point in determining appropriate input for ESP course is identifying learner‟s
needs.
Secondly, in terms of content, the themes and the topics of an ESP course are related to
particular disciplines occupations and activities (Stevens, 1988) stated that “ESP is a particular
case of the general category of special purpose language teaching”
Thirdly, “ESP makes use for the underlying methodology and activities of the

disciplines serves” (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998: 8).The important elements of methodology
and activities determine the success of an ESP syllabus to train the learners how to use the
language and to be skillful in practicing it.

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Finally, ESP should be in contrast with GE. Learners of ESP usually study English to
perform a role rather than studying for general examination. ESP course, thus, have to find out
the distinguish features of the language in the specific specialism in its selection of skills and
themes, topics, situations, functions language and methodology. Only in this way, ESP does its
special work.
It is clear that all the above definitions originate from different time by different
researchers; they meet each other at a point that any ESP course must be based on the learner‟s
needs.
1.2.2. Reading skills in ESP
Reading is always considered an important skill in both GE and ESP teaching and
learning. In ESP, English is not only taught with the purpose of improving the students‟ reading
skills, but also of familiarizing them with the English language used in many specific fields
(English for business, English for Medicine, English for computer science…) in terms of
vocabulary, terminology, registers. That is, after an ESP reading course, students are supposed
to be able to interpret texts of their subjects in order to get information for their further studies,
their future work in the most appropriate way. In the field of teaching reading comprehension
researchers have recommended a lot of essential reading skills. In an ESP course, the learning
of the reading comprehension is the learners‟ most important need. In second language
education, Munby‟s taxonomy of micro skills has been influential in syllabus and material
design as well as the design of the language tests. Reading involves a variety of skills. Munby
(1978) distinguishes the nineteen reading micro skills. Dudley-Evans and St. Johns (1998:96)
show some of the key skills:
- Selecting what is relevant to the current purpose
- Using all the features of the text such as headings, layout, typeface
- Skimming for content and meaning

- Scanning for specifics
- Identifying organizational patterns
- Understanding relations within a sentence and between sentences
- Using cohesive and discourse markers
- Predicting, interfering and guessing
- Identifying main ideas, supporting ideas and examples
- Processing and evaluating the information during reading

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- Transferring or using the information while or after reading.
In brief, the above skills are very effective tools to facilitate the reading process and to
help readers to achieve different reading purposes. Also, to master these reading sub-skills
learners need to do many types of reading activities.
1.2.3. ESP reading materials
Materials are regarded as an important part in teaching and learning process, especially
in teaching ESP reading. They are considered a source of language and a learning support. They
also used for motivation and efficient learning.
ESP is designed to meet specific needs of the learners. Hutchinson and Waters
(1993:19) theorize “ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to
content and method are based on the learners reasons for learning”. Thus, selecting reading
materials is very important. “Selection” in language teaching is defied as “the choice of
linguistic content (vocabulary, grammar, etc.) for a language course, textbook, etc. procedures
for selecting language items to include in a language course include the use of frequency
counts, needs analysis and pedagogic grammar” (Richard, Platt and Webber, 1986:253).
Selecting materials involves making choices and decisions. To make good choices, we need to
have good criteria on which the decision is based. Numerous criteria including factors about the
learners, the role of the materials, the topics, the language, the presentation have been assessed
for the analysis of materials.
Reading materials must be used for a given purpose. Hutchinson and Waters (1987:107)
state that a good ESP material must contain interesting texts, enjoyable activities which make

the students think, opportunities for them to use their existing knowledge, skills and content
that they and their teachers can cope with; truly reflect what you think and feel about learning
process; provide clear and coherent unit structure to guide the student through various activities
to maximize the chances of learning; create a balance outlook which both reflects the
complexity of the task, yet make it appear manageable; introduce teachers to new techniques
and provide models of correct and appropriate language use.
1.3. Problems in learning ESP reading
Reading knowledge of a foreign language is often important to professional, academic
studies, and personal development. There are a great deal of factors affect the success in
reading including students‟ habits, attitude, motivation, exposure to target language, textual
characteristics, the way reading is taught, and the teacher‟s classroom techniques or learning

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environment, etc. Many authors including Jolly (1978), Coady (1979) Yorio (1971) and others
agree that problems with foreign language reading may be classified into three types: reading
skill problems, language problems, and cultural background knowledge.
1.3.1 Reading skill problems
According to Anderson (1984), a reading ability is often all that is needed by learners of
English and other foreign languages. In his experience, as well as that of many other teachers,
the reason their students cannot read adequately in English is that they cannot read adequately
in the native language, in the first place. The problems of reading in English would be vastly
reduced if they learnt to read „properly‟ in their first language.
Student‟s limited reading skills create many problems. Some students who read too
slowly will easily get discouraged. They do not know how to use the appropriate ways to move
their eyes from word group to word group. They just look at every single word, and accordingly
fail to grasp the general meaning of the text.
Reading is an active skill, involving guessing, predicting, etc. If learner does not have a
good guessing ability and cannot make full use of grammatical, logical and cultural clues,
he/she will read the text with less understanding than he/she might expect, and/or will feel
frustrated at the text, and will not want to continue reading. Therefore, the reader is trapped in a

vicious circle:
Doesn’t understand Reads slowly

Doesn’t read much Doesn’t enjoy reading
Figure 2: The vicious circle of the weak readers (Nuttall, 1982:167)
Learner‟s motivation to reading is another factor in the reading process. Good speed,
enjoyment, and comprehension are the things that can promote good reading. Lack of
motivation will cause the reader not to want to read.
1.3.2. Language problems
According to Yorio (1971:108), reading problems of foreign language learners are due
to imperfect knowledge of the target language and to mother tongue interference in the reading
process. In Yorio‟s view, reading involves four factors: knowledge of the language, ability to
predict or guess in order to make the correct choices, ability to remember the previous cues, and
ability to make the necessary associations between the different cues that have been selected.
Thus, learners with limited knowledge of the target language might have considered difficulty

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when reading in the target language. This view is supported Alderson (1984). He agreed that a
lack of appropriate linguistic knowledge constrains the transfer of reading skills and strategies
from L1 to L2.
When readers deal with a reading text, the first problem they often face is that they may
have to work with unfamiliar and difficult topics. These are called “text problems”. The content
of the text is rather strange to the students and the grammatical structures are new and difficult,
that make the unable to understand. The readers will find the text very challenging and do not
have any motivation left to keep on reading. Secondly, students may have “vocabulary
problems”. Readers encounter a great deal of difficulties in coping with proverbs and idioms,
synonyms, antonyms, poly-semantic and sub-technical vocabulary, metaphor, etc. According to
O‟Donnell, (1961: 313-316) knowledge of vocabulary is deal more important as a factor of
reading comprehension than awareness of grammatical structure.
1.4 Previous studies

There are some studies relating students‟ difficulties in learning ESP reading were
carried out at Vietnam National University, Hanoi- College of Foreign Languages-
Postgraduate Studies. These studies, two of which were read, revealed some strengths and
weaknesses as well. Both Bui Thi Ngoc Ha (2006) and Pham Hai Yen (2008) proposed studies
on difficulties in reading ESP of learners in the Army Cryptography Technical College and at
Vinh Technical Teachers‟ Training University respectively. Both two these researchers
administered one questionnaire, interviews and small talks to investigate students‟ difficulties
in grammar, vocabulary, reading skills, discourse and cultural background; the causes of these
difficulties and students‟ expectations in reading materials and teaching methodology. These
researchers also presented some suggestions to limit these difficulties. They did not suggest
recommendations to improve students‟ grammar knowledge although the area also made the
students have problems. However, their researches still considered as sample for reference
before the researcher began the study. Probably, the researcher will find out solutions for this
existing to help students feel more motivated in learning ESP reading.
1.5. Summary
In conclusion, this chapter presents a theoretical frame work for the study. It provides an
overview of ESP as well as the nature of reading and reading comprehension. Furthermore, this
chapter also discussed ESP reading with reading skills and reading material. Besides, via this
chapter,the researcher also would like to present problems in learning ESP reading theoretically

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Chapter 2: The current situation of teaching and learning ESP reading at
College of Broadcasting I. (CB-I)
2.1. Introduction about CB-I learners
The College of Broadcasting I belongs to Radio, the Voice of Vietnam and its duty is to
train journalists and broadcasting technicians for broadcasting stations throughout the country.
The college helps them to master scientific advances and use perfectly modern technological
equipments such as computers, cameras, recorders, sound- mixture machines and so on. The
college has been established for nearly 55 years from a school for technician workers then a
vocational school and now a college. Every year, our college trains about 1000 students in six

faculties for a three-course of study. After graduating, our learners become journalists, reporters
and technicians specialized in information technology and broadcasting and
telecommunication. There are six kinds of ESP in my college but I only focus on ESP for
students at faculty of Broadcasting Technology in the thesis.
Most of the students who enter CB-I are aged from 18 to 22. They come from different
parts of the country, from Ha Giang province to Quang Binh province. They have many
advantages in learning a foreign language. Firstly they have good cognitive abilities that can
help then succeed in learning. Secondly, they can learn and retain a larger vocabulary and
complex grammar structure. However, my students have some disadvantages when learning
English. My study focuses on students of Faculty of Broadcasting Technology and foreign
language is not considered the main subject. It serves as means that helps students to read
documents, machine manuals in English, but not to communicate with English native speakers.
What is more, the students come to the English class with different English background and
learning styles. The students come from different parts of the country. Some of them come from
the rural areas; others are from cities and towns. Many students who come from cities had
learnt a lot of English at school or at English centers before going to university whereas others
had learnt only little. Some even had learnt Russian or French or never learnt a foreign
language. This mixed ability has caused certain problems to teaching and learning English at
the college. In the same class, some students find classroom activities too relaxing while others
find these activities too hard. The common observation is those who know a lot of English are
very active and those who know little are too shy or passive during the class time. In such a
mixed class, it is obviously a challenge for teachers to satisfy all the needs of the students.

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Thus, the first thing the teachers have to do is to improve the students‟ level of GE before they
can deal with subject matters in this language.
Another problem of the students is about learning styles. Students‟ learning style is
quite dependent on the teachers and the text books. This one is tracked in learning vocabulary
and grammar rules. The education model in which the teacher is active and the students are
passive is still the dominant habit of teaching. Students in class prefer written work and private

reading, which means that in class students work quietly and individually. Consequently, they
are most comfortable with using dictionaries, repetition or copying, taking notes, using
vocabulary notebooks, finding synonyms and antonyms or spelling exercises. Besides, they
prefer translation. It results in the fact that they pay more attention to forms than to functions
and meanings. This fact calls for a teacher‟s provision of the methods of teaching at the tertiary
level for students.
2.2 The objectives of teaching and learning reading ESP in CB-I
ESP was taught in the faculty of Broadcasting Technology after the teaching of GE
three years later. ESP was introduced in the training program to meet students‟ needs of English
for their future work. The aim of these ESP courses is to provide students with adequate
knowledge of English used in the field they are studying so that they can use it for their future
work. To achieve this objective English has been taught with the following format: GE is taught
in the first year with the integration of four skills. Priority is given to teaching translation.
Teachers select materials from newspapers or journals on both Vietnamese and English related
to the students‟ fields of study and students have to translate them from English into
Vietnamese or vice versa.
Students learn ESP for Broadcasting Technology to read materials or control equipment
instructed in English. At the end of each semester, students have to sit for an English
examination.
2.3 Teachers and methods of teaching
There are seven teachers of English in our college, aged from 27 to 35. All of them had
been educated in ELT training in the foreign language university inside Vietnam. Two of them
participated in short-time language courses oversea. These are our advantages; however, we
also have some problems. One of most obvious difficulties is that both teachers and students
lack a language environment to develop their communicative abilities. Another problem is that
none of teachers has been trained in teaching ESP. This is an obstacle for teachers to improve

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the teaching of ESP in the college. Almost teachers teach GE with little or no specific
knowledge of broadcasting technology. Sometimes we find it difficult to transfer specialized

knowledge to ESP. However, we learn by ourselves to improve broadcasting technology
knowledge through materials or asking our colleagues.
Each of our teachers teaches both GE and ESP and we have the responsibility for
training for nearly 40 classes. This is also our difficulty. Besides, methodology addresses as a
key in teaching. ESP teachers usually use the traditional method of teaching in ESP reading
lessons. The teachers cover all the class. They read, explain new grammar structure, vocabulary
and direct students to do exercises, sometimes, translate the text into Vietnamese. Students only
listen and take notes and do these exercises. Teachers are as the main speakers working with the
text. Students are passive and only ask teachers questions when they encounter difficult
structures or words that they cannot find in the dictionary.
2.4 The ESP program at CB-I
In the faculty of broadcasting technology, English is taught in the first two years.
During the first years, students study GE in two terms, focusing on the development of the four
language skills at elementary level. Usually, two teachers are responsible for a class. In the first
term of the second year students learn English for Broadcasting Technology. That means ESP is
taught after the students have studied GE for two terms and they learn ESP while they were not
taught much about broadcasting technology in Vietnamese subjects‟ materials.
English is taught in the college from the beginning of 1990s and it is a compulsory
subject for all students. At first, we used “Streamline” (Departures) textbooks in GE classes for
over 10 years. However, we find this textbook is not suitable to drill four language skills, thus,
we have moved to use “New Headway” (Elementary) since 2004. In addition to “New
Headway” textbook, workbook and cassettes, we have also collected some texts in other
material for students‟ further reading. For teaching ESP, Oxford English for Electronics and
English for Electronics and Telecommunication are used as the course books. However, based
on the needs of the students, the requirement of the college and the time allocated for ESP
teaching, we have chosen only 15 important units in these materials to teach. Because of
specialty of English for Broadcasting Technology, our teachers have to collect materials from
Internet or other materials, articles or extracts from newspapers, journals, instructions on
machine usage, etc. related to broadcasting and television to supply for students the most
practical texts. And these materials were individually selected, compiled into the reading

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materials for the course. As the result of this, different teachers had different focal points in
choosing lesson plans with different language items such as vocabulary, functions, structure,
skills or learning activities, and different teaching approaches. The most common approach
then was the grammar-translation one. Although the main focus of this approach was on
teaching vocabulary, grammar was considered as an important component of the whole process.
This method was used as a means of presenting grammar, specialist vocabulary, structures
which were assumed to be relevant to the students‟ needs and at the same time it was used as a
feedback to check the students‟ comprehension. ESP course at CB-I was delivered in this way
for a long time.
At presents, students learn English in three semesters in which GE is taught in the first
year and ESP in the first semester of the second one. The time allocated for GE is 90 periods
(each period lasts 45 minutes) and that for ESP is 60 periods. The ESP syllabus focuses on the
subject matters of broadcasting technology. It also focuses on languages skills, speaking,
reading, writing and translation and reading comprehension is a major source of input.
Regarding assessment, the common form includes written achievement tests (a mid-
term and an end-of-term one). The form of tests usually comprises three main parts: reading
comprehension, grammar exercises and translation. The test aims at assessing students‟
knowledge and the results of the test together with other forms of continuous assessment at the
class through the course will supply information about the students‟ progress. These
information help teachers adjust their methodology and material available to promote learning.
2.5 Summary
In brief, this chapter displays the current situation of teaching and learning ESP reading
at CB-I with introduction about CB-I learners, the objectives of teaching and learning reading
English in CB-I. Moreover, this chapter provides some information about teachers and
methodology as well as the ESP program in CB-I

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Chapter 3: Research methodology
This chapter presents the research questions and the data collection methods.
Information about the participants used for the study will also be provided. Data were obtained
by means of a survey questionnaire and informal discussions with teachers and informal
interviews with students to provide more in depth information. All data will be analyzed to find
out the students‟ difficulties in learning ESP reading, the causes of these difficulties and the
students‟ expectations in materials and methodology.
3.1. Research questions
There are three research questions for this thesis as follows:
- What are the difficulties that students of FBT have when reading ESP materials?
- What are the causes of these difficulties?
- What adjustments in material and methodology help students overcome or limit
difficulties?
3.2. The participants
One hundred students including 68 males and 32 females in their second year at the
FBT were invited to participate in the study. They came from two classes and have the different
English proficiency levels. At the time when the researcher did the data collection, these
students were in the third semester. All of them finished two semesters of GE course in which
they used New Headway as the materials.
Students‟ age varied from 19 to 22 so they belonged to the same psychological.
However, their length of English learning at school (before entering our college) was different.
The 100 students in two classes were selected randomly to participate in the research.
Choosing students in the classes is more suitable and convenient for the researcher to observe
the participants who filled the questionnaire in classes.
3.3. The data collection methods

To reach the primary purposes of the study, a survey questionnaire has been chosen as
the main method for data collection for this particular research. One survey with 15 questions is
designed for students who are currently learning English for Broadcasting Technology to get
information about difficulties of students at FBT in learning ESP reading. Besides, the
questionnaires helps researcher to find out materials and methodology which are appropriate to
students. The questionnaire was written in Vietnamese to ensure students‟ accurate
understanding of all the questions before answering them. One hundred copies of the