Sử dụng minh họa để dạy từ vựng Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành điều khiển cho học sinh năm thứ nhất trường Trung cấp Thủy Sản

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
*********************


LÊ THỊ KIM NHUNG


USING ILLUSTRATIONS TO TEACH ESP VOCABULARY
TO THE FIRST YEAR NAVIGATION STUDENTS AT THE FISHERIES
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

SỬ DỤNG MINH HỌA ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH
CHUYÊN NGÀNH ĐIỀU KHIỂN CHO HỌC SINH NĂM THỨ NHẤT
TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP THỦY SẢN

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS


FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111






Hanoi, 2014
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
*********************


LÊ THỊ KIM NHUNG


USING ILLUSTRATIONS TO TEACH ESP VOCABULARY
TO THE FIRST YEAR NAVIGATION STUDENTS AT THE FISHERIES
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

SỬ DỤNG MINH HỌA ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH
CHUYÊN NGÀNH ĐIỀU KHIỂN CHO HỌC SINH NĂM THỨ NHẤT
TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP THỦY SẢN

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS


FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111
SUPERVISOR: Dr. NGUYỄN THỊ THU HÀ





Hanoi, 2014

i
DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled: “Using illustrations to teach ESP
vocabulary to the first year navigation students at the Fisheries Vocational
School (FVS)” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at
the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National
University, Hanoi and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any
other University or tertiary Institution.

Hanoi, August 2014
Signature


Lê Thị Kim Nhung

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Nguyễn Thị Thu
Hà, my supervisor, for her invaluable advice, constructive criticism and
encouragement in the completion of my research work.
Secondly, my sincere thanks also go to all lecturers and staff of the department
of the Post-graduate Studies for their valuable lectures which laid the foundation for
this thesis and for their knowledge as well as their sympathy.
Besides, I would like to send my thanks to my colleagues and students of Class
A and Class B at Navigation Department at the Fisheries Vocational School, who
provided me with inspiration for the research topic and helped me with the research
data.
Last but not least, I would like to convey my deepest gratitude to my family,
especially my husband, my children for their help and encouragement to complete
this study.

iii
ABSTRACT

This thesis is carried out with the aims to: (1) investigate the effectiveness of
using illustrations to teach ESP vocabulary to the first year navigation students, (2)
investigate teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the application of illustrations
in teaching ESP vocabulary.
To achieve the given aims of the study, two survey questionnaires for students
and teachers have been designed to collect information from 100 navigation
students and five teachers of English after applying three lesson plans to two
classes. The results indicate that both the teachers and the students enjoy the use of
illustrations in teaching and learning ESP vocabulary. They highly appreciate the
benefits of illustrations during teaching and learning processes. Besides, some of
them are also coping with various difficulties during teaching and learning ESP
vocabulary through illustrations.

iv
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: ESP classification by professional area
Figure 2: Students’ interest in learning vocabulary through illustrations
Figure 3: The usefulness of illustrations from students’ perspective
Figure 4: Students’ impression of types of illustrations
Figure 5: Students’ difficulties in learning vocabulary in navigating through
illustrations
Figure 6: Students’ opinions towards the benefits of using illustrations in learning
vocabulary
Figure 7: Students’ feeling about lessons with illustrations
Figure 8: Habit of using illustrations in teaching vocabulary
Figure 9: Teachers’ interest in teaching vocabulary through illustrations
Figure 10: Teachers’ attitudes towards the use of illustrations in teaching
vocabulary
Figure 11: The activities of illustrations which the teachers like to use
Figure 12: Teachers’ difficulties in teaching vocabulary in navigating through
illustrations
Figure 13: Teachers’ opinions towards the benefits of using illustrations in teaching
vocabulary

v
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

GE: General English
ESP: English for Specific Purposes
EST: English for Science and Technology
EBE: English for Business and Economics
ESS: English for Social Studies
EAP: English for Academic Purposes
EOP: English for Occupational Purposes
FVS: Fisheries Vocational School
MA: Master of Arts

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii.
ABSTRACT iii.
LIST OF FIGURES iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims of the study and Research questions 2
3. Scope of the study 2
4. Methods of the study 2
5. Significance of the study 3
6. Design of the study 3
CHAPTER 2: Theoretical background and Literature
review 4
I. Theoretical background 4
1.1 English for special purposes 4
1.1.1 Definition of ESP 4
1.1.2 Classification of ESP 5
1.1.3 Maritime English 6
1.1.4 The role of ESP teachers 7

1.1.5 Students’ competence 8
1.2 Vocabulary 8
1.2.1 Definition of vocabulary 8
1.2.2 Classification of vocabulary 9
1.2.3 The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 10
1.3 Illustrations in teaching and learning vocabulary 10

vii
1.3.1 Boards 10
1.3.2 Pictures 11
1.3.3 Using mimes, gestures and facial expression 11
1.3.4 Overhead projectors 11
1.4 Benefits of using illustrations to teach ESP vocabulary 12
II. Review of existing literature 13
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16
2.1 English teaching and learning context at the Fisheries Vocational School.16
2.1.1 Students’ language background 16
2.1.2 Teachers’ current method of teaching vocabulary 17
2.1.3 Textbook 18
2.2 Research method and Procedures 18
2.2.1 Research questions 18
2.2.2 Procedure 18
2.2.3 The lesson plans 19
2.2.4 The subjects of the study 21
2.2.5 The questionnaires 21
CHAPTER 4: Data analysis and discussion of results 24
3.1 Data analysis results 24
3.1.1 The students’ questionnaire 24
3.1.2 The teachers’ questionnaire 30
3.2 Discussion of results 36

CHAPTER 5: Conclusion 37
1. Summary of the study 37
2. Limitations of the study 37
3. Suggestions for further study 38
References 39
APPENDICES I
APPENDIX 1: Survey questionnaire for the students I

viii
APPENDIX 2: Survey questionnaire for the teachers V
APPENDIX 3: Three piloted lesson plans VII

1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In recent years, there has been a global increase in the number of language
teachers who have greater and wider responsibility thrust upon them by training
institutions. They are required to teach English to students from various fields such
as engineering, navigating, information science, accountancy, etc. to enable the
students to cope with their academic job. This type of English is called English for
Specific Purposes (ESP). Since ESP was introduced, it has attracted the attention of
language instructors. Furthermore, the idea of English for Specific Purposes has
been welcomed by staffs of universities who have seen the great benefits from
learning ESP.
In order to become good seamen on board the vessels, especially multi-lingual
ones, the Vietnamese seafarers need sufficient knowledge of navigation and good
competence of English, at least at the basic level. Students at the Fisheries
vocational school will become future seamen on board, thus good competence of
English language is very necessary for them in both speaking and listening. They
have to learn specific vocabulary such as the weather station, magnetic compasses,
funnel, navigation lights, engine order telegraph, anchor and other appliances on
board the vessels. Furthermore, they also need to know English vocabulary about
the operations in mooring ropes, cargo handling and keeping watches, hearing

steering orders and repeating them before operation.
In the context of the Fisheries Vocational School in Thanh Hoa, the navigation
students start to learn maritime English at the second semester of the first year.
Their course book is “English I for Navigation students”, which has been composed
and brought into use for one course. Through my teaching experience, I have
realized that it is difficult for the students to learn their maritime English
vocabulary, although the teachers have tried their best to instruct them. After a
number of periods learning maritime English, the students seem unable to
remember correct words or to use the right one for their learning purposes. Some

2
admit that they wish to widen their quantity of vocabulary but they lack suitable
ways. I have been working as a teacher of English for 9 years and my students have
asked me many times about the ways of vocabulary learning effectively. Therefore,
in order to motivate students to learn vocabulary especially ESP vocabulary more
effectively, we carry out this research entitled “Using illustrations to teach ESP
vocabulary to the first year navigation students at the Fisheries vocational school”.
It is hoped that this study will help the teachers in some ways to find an appropriate
method to improve vocabulary for their students.
2. Aims of the study
+ In answering the research questions, the study specially aims at:
- Investigating the effectiveness of using illustrations to teach ESP vocabulary to
the first year navigation students.
- Investigating teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the application of
illustrations of class in ESP vocabulary.
- Offering some suggestions for further research on the employment of using
illustrations in ESP vocabulary as well as in general English teaching and learning.
+ The study was carried out with the following research questions:
(1). Is the use of illustration to teach ESP vocabulary to navigation students
effective?

(2). What are the teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward the use of
illustrations in teaching and learning vocabulary in navigating?
3. Scope of the study
Due to the limited time and the small scope of an MA minor thesis, the study
focuses on how illustrations can be applied to teach ESP vocabulary in the class.
The subjects chosen for this study are 100 first year navigation students and five
teachers of English at the Fisheries vocational school where the researcher is
teaching. It cannot be said that the results of this study are general to other
language researchers and to all Vietnamese vocational students.
4. Methods of the study

3
This study is an action research which involves the analysis of three piloted
lesson plans, two survey questionnaires and statistical data to investigate the
effectiveness of using illustrations in teaching and learning ESP vocabulary.
5. Significance of the study
The study is significant because of the following reasons: Firstly, the
effectiveness of using illustrations in teaching and learning ESP vocabulary in this
minor thesis is believed to be useful for both teachers and students of English at
FVS so that teachers can apply these techniques to teach ESP vocabulary more
effectively. Secondly, this research may help increase students’ interest of learning
ESP vocabulary. Thirdly, the study can lay grounds for further research on the
employment of using illustrations in ESP vocabulary as well as in general English
teaching and learning.
6. Design of the study
The study consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1 presents the background to the rationale, aims of the study and research
questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, methodology and the
design of the study.
Chapter 2, theoretical background and literature review, presents a brief overview

on ESP, the theoretical background of vocabulary and ESP vocabulary, the overall
view of some illustrations.
Chapter 3, research methodology, focuses on the methodology of the research,
including the methods, procedure, the lesson plans, the subjects and the survey
questionnaires.
Chapter 4, data analysis and major findings, presents the data collected from two
survey questionnaires for students and teachers as well as the discussion of the
data.
Chapter 5 summarizes the issues addressed and limitations of the study as well as
some suggestions for further research.


4
CHAPTER 2: Theoretical background
And literature review

In this chapter, the relevant literature will be reviewed in order to create a
theoretical background for the study. First, a brief description of ESP will be
discussed including the definition of ESP, vocabulary and illustrations. Besides,
the issues of teaching vocabulary and the benefits of using illustrations to teach
vocabulary will be reviewed.
I. Theoretical background
1.1 English for specific purposes
1.1.1 Definition of ESP
"ESP" stands for “English for Specific Purposes” then “what is ESP?”. This is
a big and complicated question that requires much effort in seeing how ESP at the
present relates to the rest of English Language Teaching (ELT). The first one is that
of Hutchinson and Waters (1987:19), it is clear that ESP is a big multi-levels
branch of ELT being nourished by the learning and communication roots.
Hutchinson and Waters regard it as “an approach to language teaching in which all

decisions as to content and method are based on the learners’ reason for learning”.
ESP must be seen as an approach not as a product and is directed by specific and
apparent reasons for learning ESP. Students' goal of learning a second 1anguage
might be acquiring not only general linguistics competencies but also academic and
job-related skills.
Strevens (1988), by contrast, states that “ESP is a particular case of the general
category of special - purpose language teaching” (p.1). In his work, he points out
the following four absolute characteristics of ESP:
- ESP is designed to meet the learners’ specified needs.
- ESP has the content relating to particular disciplines, occupations and
activities.

5
- ESP is centered on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis,
discourse, semantics, and analysis of the discourse.
- ESP is in contrast with General English.
In order to make the above mentioned absolute characteristics of ESP
distinctive, other two variable characteristics are set up. Firstly, ESP may be
restricted to skills to be learnt (for example reading only). Secondly, ESP may not
be taught according to any pre-ordained methodology. All of the characteristics of
ESP make us come to an end that teaching and learning ESP is a challenging task
for both teachers and students.
As a teacher of ESP, the author aims to share the opinions that ESP serves the
learners’ needs. This determines the learner’s motivation, attitude and effort in
learning ESP. For vocational school learning purposes, ESP may be a particular
English language environment in which learners study both the specific knowledge
represented in this foreign language and the communicative language skills needed
for each specific field.
1.1.2 Classification of ESP
From the elucidation of ESP, it is inferred that the learners’ needs lead to a

number of areas in ESP because these needs will differ from individuals to
individuals and from groups to groups. Different trends in classifying the term will
be explored for particular discussion.
Hutchinson (1987:16) divides ESP into three branches: English for Science and
Technology (EST), English for business and Economics (EBE) and English for
Social Studies (ESS). Each of these branches is split into two smaller parts: English
for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational purposes, English for
Vocational purposes or Vocational English as a Second language (EOP, EVP or
VESL). This classification, as they admit, “is not a clear-cut distinction: people can
work and study simultaneously; it is likely that in many cases the language learnt
for immediate use in a study environment will be used later when the student takes
up or returns to, a job”.

6
Meanwhile, Dudley Evans and St John (1998) devise a tree diagram illustrated
in figure 1 below for ESP which divides EAP and EOP according to discipline or
professional area.


English for Specific Purposes

English for Academic Purposes

English for Occupational Purposes



English for
(Academic)
Science and

Technology
English for
(Academic)
Medical
purposes
English for
(Academic)
Legal
purposes
English for
Management.
Finance and
Economics
English for
Professional Purposes

English for Vocational
Purposes





English for
Medical
Purposes
English for
Business
Purposes
Pre -

Vocational
Purposes
Vocational
English

Figure 1: ESP classification by professional area
However, David Carter (1983) classifies ESP into three types:
- English as a restricted language
- English for Academic and Occupational purposes
- English with specific topics.
Though, there are different ideas from many authors about types of ESP, the
two categories of EAP and EOP in ESP are widely accepted nowadays in ESP
teaching area.
1.1.3 Maritime English
From the above mentioned classification of ESP, it is inferred that maritime
English is considered as part of the EST, EOP. This field of English is used by
seamen on board most kinds of vessels and in most countries in the world. Jackson
and Amvela (2000:141-142) mentioned maritime English or sea-speak with air-
speak as kinds of restricted language. “Its restrictedness is meant to facilitate

7
communication between air and ground and between sea and land, both by being a
limited set of words to learn and speak, and by being limited set of words and
combinations of words to hear and understand in radio transmission”. This view
classifies maritime English as a small component of ESP, in which a sufficient
boundary of language content is used to exchange information.
1.1.4 The role of ESP teacher
The roles of ESP teachers have been pointed out by a variety of studies. An
ESP teacher must master fully the roles of General English teachers and ESP
course process. In learning process the teacher must help the learner achieve their

goals effectively. Especially, in vocabulary teaching, the teacher mostly focus on
words, idioms to express the topics like "machines and its application" or "
machines types", etc, plus words in the general and (s)he has to provide the
students with the anxiety-free atmosphere. Besides, (s)he also has to create
favorable environment in which students are able to practice to memorize new
words. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) said “the ESP teacher will have to deal with
need analysis, syllabus design, materials writing or adaptation and evaluation”
(p.157). Martin (1992) lists and explains different roles of the teacher, he views the
role upon the process of carrying out a task in ESP lesson “before, during and after
a task”. A teacher wishing to support learning throughout the various phrases of a
task would need to be able to play an extended set of roles including explorer,
organizer, adviser, instructor and a guide. Little Wood (1981) states that the ESP
teacher is expected to "perform in a variety of roles, separately or simultaneously"
(p.51). Nunan (1988) also said that these roles of an ESP teacher include an
instructor, a manager, counselor, facilitators, organizer, curriculum developer,
material writer, material writer and even a friend. Robinson (1991) gives his own
opinion, "the ESP teacher does not only teach but very often he or she is involved
in designing, setting up, administering, evaluating and testing the ESP course"
(p.132).

8
Obviously, the ESP teacher must be flexible and his roles will vary according to
type of syllabus and course, teaching and learning environment, etc.
1.1.5 Students’ competence
ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of learners. Learners are expected
to perform with adequate language skills in target situations at the end of the ESP
courses. However, the performance of ESP learners have been considered
unacceptable or poor in many cases (Bacha & Bahous, 2008). Students’ overall
English language competence has usually been considered the indicator of the
success or failure of English learning (Shi, Corcos & Storey, 2001). Some teachers

inputted the low achievement of ESP to the students’ poor English language skills.
They argued that the student’s poor English language skills were inadequate to
cope with the ESP courses and make ESP courses inefficient.
By contrast, the students often declare themselves to be suffering from
learning difficulties, which make them perform badly in ESP class. Some
researchers also reported that students suffer from learning difficulties relating to
the content of ESP (Gatehouse, 2001), the instruction of ESP (Bacha & Bahous,
2008) and the tasks involved in the ESP courses (Ferris & Tagg, 1996). The
students had difficulties participating in class discussion, asking and responding to
questions. Learners had difficulty coping with the ESP reading because of weak
English skills (Jackson, 2004).

1.2 Vocabulary
1.2.1 Definition of vocabulary
There are different definitions of vocabulary. Each linguist gives his own
definition of vocabulary depending on the criteria that he considers the most
important in terms of linguistics, semantics, lexicology, etc. In her book, "A course
in language teaching", Penny Ur (1996) defined vocabulary roughly as "the words
we teach in the foreign language”. However, she also accepted "a new item of
vocabulary may be more than a single word, a compound of two or three words and

9
multi-word idioms". Pyles & Algeo (1970) said "it is true that vocabulary is the
focus of language with its sound and meaning, which interlock to allow us to
communicate with one another, and it is words that we arrange together to make
sentences, conversation and discourse of all kinds” (p.96). This statement indicates
that vocabulary is essential for learning a language.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines vocabulary as "the sum of words
used by, or at the command of a particular person of group ".
In short, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the total number of all the words

that a language possesses, including a single words, two or three words items
expressing a single idea and multiword idioms of which meaning cannot be
deduced from the analysis of the component words but only understood in the
sentences, or in contexts, etc.
1.2.2 Classification of vocabulary
Vocabulary can be classified in different ways based on different criteria,
feature or functions. We can consider the following ways of classifying them.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 165-166) mention four types of vocabulary:
structural (because, we, just, those…), general (cargo, vessel, anchor, seaman,
habour…), sub-technical (boiler, derrick, pump, piston…) and technical (starboard
side, portside, evacuation…).
The first arrangement of words seems simpler and lists the ESP word types
of technical fields. The second one, on the other hand, uses two general concepts to
separate the vocabulary in usage. For the goals of using the ESP vocabulary in real
communication on board vessels, we should divide the English words into sub-
groups: one sub-group based on the learners’ needs, the other depends on the
usefulness of the vocabulary items and the last is not of these two aspects. (Meara,
2002: 37)
Dudley Evans and St John (1998) are of the opinion that teaching ESP
vocabulary is the same as teaching English for general purposes. The only

10
distinction that should be made is between the vocabulary for comprehension and
the vocabulary for production.

1.2.3 The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning
Vocabulary is commonly accepted to be the most important language
element among pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Wilkins (1972)
emphasized: “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary
nothing can be conveyed” (p.72). Pyles & Algeo (1970) also supported this idea

with “when we first think about language, we think first about words. Its words that
we arrange together to make sentences, conversation and discourse of all kinds”.
And “words are the tools we use to access our background knowledge, express
ideas, and learn about new concepts” (p.4).
These statements are enough to conclude that vocabulary is the decisive element
in language communication.
According to Ron Forseth & Carol Forseth (1995), “words are a good place to
begin a course in language teaching methodology. Vocabulary words are simple
enough to begin learning on the first day of a class and they are powerful enough to
encourage communication from the very beginning. Words are small pieces of
language, which carry bits of meaning. Knowing many words does not guarantee a
person will be able to speak a language, but not knowing enough words can prevent
a person from effectively speaking or understanding a language. So, we must teach
words from the very start” (p.23).
This is all true in learning a foreign language. If a learner has a wide range of
vocabulary, he can help himself understand others easily. On the contrary, if his
vocabulary is limited he will surely have difficulty in doing so and in English
learning. Therefore, vocabulary is a “must” for all language learners by all means.
1.3 Illustrations in teaching and learning vocabulary
1.3.1 Boards

11
We often use boards in most classrooms. There are two types of boards:
Chalk board and white boards. But nowadays, we mostly use white boards.
Although they are expensive than chalk boards, they are easier to keep clean and to
stick pictures and they are good for the users. Special pens must be used. It is
obvious that boards are common and very useful. They can be used for different
purposes such as: presenting vocabulary, drawing or giving a model. In general,
they can create illustrations and make their lessons more interesting.
1.3.2 Pictures

Pictures bring not only images of reality, but can also function as a fun
element in the class. Sometimes it is surprising, how pictures may change a lesson,
even if only employed in additional exercises or just to create atmosphere.
There are some kinds of class pictures: wall pictures, wall charts, flash cards and
work cards.
- Wall pictures: is simply a large illustration of scenes or events. It is usually
to be used with the whole of class so it is very useful to carry out activities.
- Wall charts: is a large diagram or picture display card. Most of wall charts
can be used for picture composition.
- Flash cards are pieces of paper in which words or sentences are written or
pictures are drawn. The cards can be used to demonstrate exactly what the teacher
wishes (mostly in reading and writing skills)
- Work cards are for individual student use (not only reading but also all other
skills without the teachers’ help).
1.3.3 Using mimes, gestures and facial expressions.
This kind of visual aids costs the teachers nothing but some energy to mime,
make gestures or express his/her face. Although they are the cheapest visual aids,
they can have big effects on teaching vocabulary.
1.3.4 Overhead projectors
Nowadays, overhead projectors are one of the most useful tools a language
teacher can have. The overhead projectors facilitate an easy low-cost interactive

12
environment for teachers. Teaching materials can be pre-printed on plastic sheets
upon which the teachers can directly write using a non-permanent, washable color
making pen. This saves time, since the transparency can be pre-printed and used
repetitively, rather than having materials written manually before each class.
In sum, there are various types of illustrations to be used for language teaching
and learning, we can use any illustrations which are suitable for our teaching. From
my experience, students always pay attention and are curious what they are going

to do with the pictures shown. These illustrations can motivate them learn
vocabulary more effectively. Furthermore, when the collection of pictures is once
made, it can be served for a long time. Besides, most of vocabulary items in the
lesson plan are concrete ones which are easy to use pictures to illustrate, “because
picture gives some ideas that it is easier to conjure up a mental image of a concrete
item than an abstract one” (Gairns and Redman,1993). In the lesson plan in this
research, pictures and overhead projectors are frequently employed to motivate
students’ technical knowledge and the teachers are able to explain the new words
much easier.
1.4 Benefits of using illustrations to teach ESP vocabulary
When presenting the content of the words to the students, the duty of the
teachers is to enable them to use the words correctly. This is a very crucial step in
vocabulary teaching, especially when the words taught are viewed as active or
productive. Therefore, the teacher should find out different types of teaching aids to
explain the meaning of new words. May be, using illustrations to teach vocabulary
will certainly bring a lot of benefits. Through my experience, English teachers tend
to feel that using illustrations in teaching vocabulary makes the process enjoyable
and memorable. They also feel that illustrations attract students’ attention and
deepen their understanding of vocabulary. Students are always eager to objects
relating their future jobs. Students of marine navigating enjoy looking at
illustrations of anything concerning navigating (for example: vessels, deck tool
store…). Using illustrations, teacher can expand upon the textbook and provide

13
additional practice in an engaging way. According to Harmer (2001), illustrations
should be appropriate not only for the language to be learned but also for the
classes they are being used for. Illustrations also need to be visible - especially if
they are being shown to the whole class they need to be big enough for everyone to
see. And it also helps if pictures are durable – that is, strong enough to be used
several times.

Thus, most teachers notice that using illustrations to teach vocabulary will
certainly bring a lot of benefits:
- Using illustrations can create real situation and motivate learners in
vocabulary learning. It helps to make language used in the classroom more lively
and interesting. W.R. Lee and H. Coppen (1970:1) claim that visual aids can help
teacher create real communicative situations, clarifying the meaning of the words
used. Visual aids can quickly and efficiently demonstrate ideas that are difficult to
explain verbally. Many science and art concepts can only be effectively taught by
showing students as well as, or instead of, simply telling them the meaning of.
Therefore, the learners can have a feeling of reality as visual aids help them make
the meaning of the words clearer and more understandable.
- Using illustrations can be used as a tool for memorizing vocabulary more
effectively. Chamberlain (1980) pointed out that the learners receive information
in the mind better than through hearing. It is obvious that what students see has a
great influence on their learning process. With the assistance of visual aids, they
decrease teacher-talking time therefore increase students-talking time. They enrich
the classroom by bringing in the outside.
II. Review of existing literature
Due to the importance of vocabulary teaching and learning, many scholars
have conducted studies relating vocabulary to find out the problems or techniques
that help the students learn vocabulary better. The great interest they created has
been reflected by the number of the studies on this topic. Among these are studies
that have been carried out by such famous researchers as Oxford (1990), Chang

14
(2000), Chamberlain (1980), and so on. The results of these studies revealed that
many learners employ learning strategies in vocabulary learning more frequently
than in other language learning activities. Research has also shown that one of the
most important factors that influence the successful learners is their learning ways.
In Vietnam, there are also many researchers who have conducted this topic with

different levels of students to find out the most useful ways to teach and learn
vocabulary. In order to conduct this study, the author has consulted some other
studies as follows:
- Quyên (2008) conducted a study on difficulties in teaching vocabulary to
students of information technology at Thanh Hoa teachers’ training school and
some solutions. The aims of her study are to identify the difficulties in teaching
vocabulary to second year students of IT department and teachers of English for IT
at foreign language group. She used questionnaire for students and interview for
teachers to collect information. Her study indicated that most of ESP teachers had
some difficulties in teaching vocabulary to information technology students i.e. the
lack of specialized knowledge, the lack of various teaching technique or the lack of
teaching aids and reference materials.
- Another study is one of Thanh (2010) about using simulation tasks to
improve ESP vocabulary for the second year students of automotive engineering
technology department at Sao Do University. This study investigated the current
situation of using simulation tasks in some classes in automotive engineering
technology department at Sao Do University. The data for the study were based
mainly on the two survey questionnaires, informal focus on vocabulary. The study
indicated that pronunciation and retention of word meaning prevented students
from mastering vocabulary and simulation tasks prove its effectiveness in the ESP
vocabulary improvement of the students.
- The next one is a study on activating students’ specialized knowledge through
illustrations for Marine Engineering vocabulary learning at Maritime College No.1
of Yến (2012). Its aim is to identify students’ attitudes towards learning of ESP

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vocabulary, their abilities and difficulties of guessing the meaning of the words.
The study also draws out the ways to activate students’ knowledge in learning
marine engineering vocabulary. The data collected come from questionnaire and
observation. The study showed that students are eager to guess the meaning of the

new words through illustrations; however some students had some difficulties
during learning ESP vocabulary.
From the studies mentioned above, we can see that there are not any researchers
who employed the action research to conduct their studies to find out the effective
ways to teach vocabulary especially vocabulary in navigating.
Therefore, the author got the desire to conduct an MA minor thesis which
applies the action research to investigate the ways to use illustrations to teach ESP
vocabulary to the first year navigation students.