Designing a task-based ESP reading syllabus for the third-year students at Hai Duong Central College of Pharmacy = Thiết kế chương trình đọc Tiếng Anh chuyên ng

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



VƯƠNG THỊ LIÊN

DESIGNING A TASK-BASED ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR
THE THIRD-YEAR STUDENTS AT HAI DUONG CENTRAL
COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
(THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH THEO
ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO NHIỆM VỤ CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ 3
TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG DƯỢC TRUNG ƯƠNG HẢI DƯƠNG)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD: MET HODOLOGY
CODE: 601410

HANOI, 2011


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



VƯƠNG THỊ LIÊN

DESIGNING A TASK-BASED ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR
THE THIRD-YEAR STUDENTS AT HAI DUONG CENTRAL
COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
(THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH ĐỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH THEO
ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO NHIỆM VỤ CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ 3
TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG DƯỢC TRUNG ƯƠNG HẢI DƯƠNG)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD: METHODOLOGY
CODE: 601410
SUPERVISOR: Dr. DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ

HANOI, 2011


iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration ...........................................................................................................................I
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ II
Abstract.............................................................................................................................. III

Table of contents……………………………………………………….......IV
List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... viii
PART A:

INTRODUCTION ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.

Rationale........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.

Aims and objectives of the study ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.

Scope of the study ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.

Method of the study ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.

The structure of the study............................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

PART B:

DEVELOPMENT ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1.

An overview on ESP ............................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1.1.

What is ESP? ................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1.2.

Characteristics of ESP ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1.3.
ESP for Pharmacy ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2. An overview on syllabus ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.1.

Definition of syllabus ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.2.2.
Task-based syllabus ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3. Syllabus Design .................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.1.

The approaches to syllabus design .............. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.2.

The language-centered approach ................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.3.

Skills-centered approach .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.4.

Learning-centered approach ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.5.

The steps in syllabus design ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.6.

Needs analysis .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.7.

Determining goal and objective ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.8.

Selecting and grading content ...................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.9.

Suggesting teaching method ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.4.

Reading ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.4.1.

What is reading? .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

v

1.4.2.
1.5.

Reading skills in ESP ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)........... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.5.1.

What is TBLT?.............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.5.2.

Tasks in TBLT .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.5.3.

Advantages of TBLT ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.5.4.

A framework for task-based learning ........... Error! Bookmark not defined.

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY ....................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1.

The context ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.1.1.

The ESP course ............................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.1.2.

The teachers ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.1.3.

The learners ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.1.4.

The material ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.

Research Methodology ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.1.

Research questions ....................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.2.

Participants .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.3.

Data collection procedure............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.3.

The findings .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.3.1.
Teachers’ and students’ attitude towards the current ESP course and the
need of designing a new ESP reading syllabus for the third-year students ........ Error!
Bookmark not defined.
2.3.2.
Teachers’ and students’ expectation for an ESP reading syllabus ..... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER THREE: DESIGNING A TASK-BASED ESP READING SYLLABUS
FOR THE THIRD-YEAR STUDENTS AT HAI DUONG CENTRAL COLLEGE OF
PHARMACY
......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.

Selecting a type of syllabus for ESP students .... Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.2.

Aims and objectives of the syllabus ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.3.

Detailed syllabus .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.3.1.

Content selection .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.3.2.

The organization of the syllabus .................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.3.3.
Time allocation............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
PART C: CONCLUSION ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
REFERENCES............................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
APPENDICES ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.

Appendix 1 .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.

Appendix 2: Questionnaire for the ESP teachers ...... Error! Bookmark not defined.


vi

3.
Appendix 3: Questionnaire for the third-year students (Phiếu điều tra) ...... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
4.

Appendix 4 .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.

Appendix 5 .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

6.

Appendix 6 .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

7.

Appendix 7 .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

8.

Appendix 8 .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

9.

Appendix 9 .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

10.

Appendix 10 .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.


1

PART A: INTRODUCTION
1.

Rationale
In recent years, important role of English in our society has been much enhanced by

the trends of global integration. People without English seem to be difficult to find a good
job. However, to be successful in careers, only English in general is not enough but
English for specific purposes (ESP) is the most important because each field has its own
specific characteristics. That is the reason why ESP has been widely taught in every
University and College in Vietnam and Hai Duong Central College of Pharmacy is not an
exception.
ESP has been taught for middle level students for several years but for college
students, it has been taught for only one year. It is a compulsory subject for third-year
students after they have learnt two semesters of General English with the course books are
Lifelines Elementary and Pre-Intermediate by Tom Hutchinson (Oxford University Press,
1997).
In the ESP course, reading skill is focused on. Through one year of implementation,
the recent ESP syllabus reveals many short comings and needs being replaced by a better
one. It is too long for duration of 30 periods and it is completely a text-based syllabus
which seems not to motivate students much in their learning. In addition, pharmacy is a
field in which changes occur every day, therefore, up-dating new information is very
important. Students seem not to have chance to update new modern medicines with the
recent ESP syllabus because the medicines in it are old ones. Thus, designing an
appropriate task-based syllabus for the pharmaceutical students at Hai Duong Central
College of Pharmacy is of great importance to help motivate students in their learning ESP
as well as to prepare for their future job.
From the above mentioned reasons, I decided to choose “Designing a task-based ESP
reading syllabus for the third-year students at Hai Duong Central College of Pharmacy” as
the topic of my thesis.
2.

Aims and objectives of the study
This study aims at designing a task-based ESP reading syllabus for the third-year

students at the Hai Duong Central College of Pharmacy.


2

To achieve this aim, the study sets out to obtain the following specific objectives:
1. To get an overview of the theories related to task-based approach, ESP reading
and syllabus design.
2. To investigate the needs perceived by the ESP students, the ESP teachers towards
an appropriate reading syllabus for the ESP students of Hai Duong Central
College of Pharmacy.
3. To propose a reading syllabus based on needs analysis.
3.

Scope of the study
This study is carried out with its focus on designing an ESP syllabus for

pharmaceutical students at Hai Duong Central College of Pharmacy on the basic of needs
analysis. Due to the characteristics of the college, only reading skill is covered. Within the
scope of minor thesis, this study focuses on the designing process itself, only the main
theories related to task-based approach; ESP reading and syllabus design are mentioned.
4.

Methods of the study
In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed. The

quantitative is used to collect the data by delivered questionnaires and the qualitative is

applied when discussing the data. The methodology of the study is described as follows:
- To gain theoretical background for the study, a careful examination of related
literature has been carried out. What has been perceived from this examination will be the
foundation for the study.
- The study is carried out with 43 students and 4 teachers at HCCP, which will be
presented in great detail in chapter 2. Data about the participants is collected by the form of
questionnaires. The questionnaire is designed to investigate information about students’
needs, wants, and learning-style preference…
5.

The structure of the study
This study is divided in three main parts:
Part A: Introduction
In this part, the rationale for the study, the aims and objectives of the study, the scope

of the study, the methodology and the structure of the study are mentioned.
Part B: Development


3

This is the main part of the study which contains three chapters as the follows:
- Chapter 1 reviews the literature concerning ESP, task-based approach, syllabus design,
and reading theories.
- Chapter 2 is served as the central part of the study because it includes the background,
subjects, instrument for collecting data as well as the findings of the study.
- Chapter 3 proposes a task-based reading syllabus for the third-year students at Hai
Duong Central College of Pharmacy basing on the findings of the study.
Part C: Conclusion
This part is the summary of the whole study. It reveals the limitations of the thesis

and some suggestions for further research are given as well.


4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. An overview on ESP
1.1.1. What is ESP?
ESP which stands for English for Specific Purposes has become a familiar concept in
English Language Teaching and many scholars have tried to define it in different ways.
Even today there is a large amount of on-going debate as to how to specify what exactly
ESP constitutes (Belcher, 2006, Dudley-Evan & St. John, 1998, Anthony, 1997).
According to Strevens (1977:57) “ESP concerns the emergence of a number of activities,
movements and subjects that are carried out predominantly (though) not exclusively in
English across the world)”. It looks at the purpose for which the student needs to learn
English, i.e. for occupational or for study purposes. ESP is a term that refers to teaching
or studying English for a particular career (like law, medicine) or for business in general.
The fact that learners know specifically why they are learning a language is a great
advantage on both sides of the process. The learners are therefore motivated, and this
enables the teacher to meet learners’ needs and expectations more easily. Learner and the
way of learning (“acquiring language”) are considered to be the main factors in
the whole process. Hutchinson and Waters (1992:19) emphasize ESP to be an approach
and not a product which means language learning not language use is highlighted. They
draw attention to a learning-centred approach “in which all decisions as to content and
method are based on the learner´s reason for learning”.
Coffey (1985:79) observes that ESP is “a quick and economical use of the English
language to pursue a course of academic study (EAP) or effectiveness in paid employment
(EOP)”. Lorenzo (2005:1) reminds us that ESP “concentrates more on language in
context than on teaching grammar and language structures” He also points out that as

ESP is usually delivered to adult students, frequently in a work related setting (EOP),
that motivation to learn is higher than in usual ESL (English as a Second Language)
contexts. Carter (1983) believes that self-direction is important in the sense that an ESP
course is concerned with turning learners into users of the language.


5

1.1.2. Characteristics of ESP
We have established the relationship between ESP and ELT. Now you will be
informed about some characteristics of ESP. ESP is seen as an approach by Hutchinson
and Waters (1987). They suggest that ESP does not concern a particular language,
teaching methodology or material. If you want to understand ESP, they suggest that you
find out exactly why a person needs to learn a foreign language. Your need for learning
English can be for study purposes or for work purposes. However, it is the definition of
needs that is the starting point for decisions which determine the language to be taught.
Strevens (1988) makes a distinction between absolute characteristics and variable
characteristics of ESP. The absolute characteristics are that ESP courses are:
1. Designed to meet the specific needs of the learner;
2. Related in content to particular disciplines or occupations;
3. Centred on language specific to those disciplines or occupations;
4. In contrast to General English.
The variable characteristics are that courses may:
1. Be restricted in the skills to be learned;
2. Not be taught according to a particular methodology.
Robinson (1991) also suggests two absolute criteria for defining ESP courses. The
first is that ESP programmes are normally goal-oriented. The second is that they derive
from a needs analysis. The needs analysis will state as accurately as possible what the
learners will have to do when speaking the language.
Two divisions of the characteristics of ESP are outlined by Dudley-Evans and

St. John (1998): some absolute and some variable to resolve arguments about what ESP is.
This followed on from the earlier work by Strevens (1988). These characteristics include:
Absolute Characteristics
1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners.
2. ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves.
3. ESP is centred on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of
grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre.
Variable Characteristics


6

1. ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines.
2. ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that
of General English.
3. ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or
in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary
school level.
4. ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students.
5. Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems (p.4).
This description helps to clarify to a certain degree what an ESP course constitutes
and what it does not constitute. Dudley-Evans and St. John have removed the absolute
characteristics that “ESP is in contrast with General English” and added more variable
characteristics. They assert that ESP is not necessarily related to a specific discipline and
that it is likely to be used with adult learners although it could be used with young adults
in a secondary school setting. ESP should be viewed as an “approach” to teaching, or
what Dudley-Evans describes as an “attitude of mind.”
There are a number of other characteristics of ESP that several authors have put
forward. Belcher (2006:135), states that “ESP assumes that the problems are unique to
specific learners in specific contexts and thus must be carefully delineated and

addressed with tailored to fit instruction”. Mohan (1986:15) adds that ESP courses focus
on preparing learners “for chosen communicative environments”.
Learner’s purpose is also stated by Graham and Beardsley (1986) and learning
centredness (Carter, 1983; Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) as integral parts of ESP. Thus it
could be argued that ESP, from the outset, focused on learner centred teaching, a situation
that was certainly not true of traditional general English courses. As stated above however,
this situation has changed dramatically in recent years.
To sum up, there are three features common to ESP: (a) authentic materials, (b)
purpose- related orientation, and (c) self-direction. These features are indeed useful in
attempting to formulate one’s own understanding of ESP. Revisiting Dudley-Evans' (1997)
claim that ESP should be offered at an intermediate or advanced level, one would
conclude that the use of authentic learning materials is entirely feasible. The use of
authentic content materials, modified or unmodified in form, is indeed a feature of ESP,


7

particularly in self-directed study and research tasks. Purpose-related orientation, on the
other hand, refers to the simulation of communicative tasks required of the target setting,
for example, student simulation of a conference, involving the preparation of papers,
reading, note taking, and writing. Finally, self-direction is characteristic of ESP courses
in that the point of including self-direction is that ESP is concerned with turning learners
into users. In order for self-direction to occur, the learners must have a certain degree of
freedom to decide when, what, and how they will study. There must also be a
systematic attempt by teachers to teach the learners how to learn by teaching them about
learning strategies.
1.1.3. ESP for Pharmacy
English for each specialization has its own particular characteristics. In terms of
pharmacy, most of texts are prescriptions, instructions, or scientific articles about some
kinds of medicines, therefore, the vocabulary mainly relates to drugs, components of drugs,

diseases, use and side effect of medicines and so on. Undoubtedly, pharmaceutical
terminologies are quite difficult to remember, especially for learners at beginning level of
language proficiency like students at HCCP. On the other hand, because the prescriptions
and drug instructions need to be clear and easy to understand, thus, grammatical structures
used in these text types are rather simple such as imperatives, modal verbs, passive voice,
relative clause…The above mentioned characteristics must be considered carefully to
design suitable tasks for the students at HCCP.
1.2. An overview on syllabus
1.2.1. Definition of syllabus
Syllabus is a popular notion in teaching language; it plays an important role in the
success of the teaching and learning. There are several ways of defining the syllabus on the
views of different writers: the narrow and the broad approach to syllabus design. Yalden
(1984:14), a broad view scholar, defined that “The syllabus replaces the concept of
„method‟, and the syllabus is now seen as an instrument by which the teacher, with the help
of the syllabus designer, can achieve a degree of „fit‟ between the needs and the aims of the
learners (as social being and as individual), and the activities which will take place in the
classroom”. He considers the teachers as an assistant of the syllabus designer; teachers can
adjust the syllabus and the learners’ needs and aims in the classroom.


8

Sharing the same view as Yalden, Robinson states: “A plan of work to be taught in a
particular course and this is thus essentially for the teachers as a guideline and context for
the class content”.
On the other hand, with a clear distinction between the syllabus design and
methodology are drawn, Nunan (1988:5) pointed out that “Syllabus design is seem as
being concern with the selection and grading of the content, while methodology is
concerned with the selection of learning tasks and activities”. He also affirmed: “Syllabus
is a statement of content which is used as the basic for planning courses of various kinds,

and that the task of the syllabus designer is to select and grade this content”.
In Hutchinson and Waters’ (1993:90) word, a syllabus is a document which says
what will (or at least what should) be learnt, it should state out the goals, content, and
activities to be carried out in a particular, and well-defined context. And Allen (1984:61)
supposes:
“Syllabus is concerned with a specification of what units will be taught (as distinction from
how they will be taught, which is the matter for methodology)
The following detailed guideline for syllabus designer was given by Dubin and
Olshtain (1980:28):“what it is called, it is a document which ideally describes:
 What the learner are expected to know at the end of the course, or the course
objectives in operational terms.
 What is to be taught or learned during the course, in the form of an inventory of
items.
 When it is to be taught, and at what rate of progress, relating the inventory of items
to the different levels and stages as well as the time constrains of the course.
 How it is to be taught, suggesting procedures, techniques, and materials.
 How it is to be evaluated, suggesting testing and evaluating mechanism.
In short, there are many different views in syllabus design. Each one has its own
strong and weak points. So syllabus designers have to take account the objectives and the
learners’ needs to design an appropriate syllabus that meets the demand. I will not follow
anyone’s and I will mix the above view to find out the best points.


9

1.2.2. Task-based syllabus
A task-based syllabus is based on task-based learning, an approach where learners
carry out tasks such as solving a problem or planning an activity. The language learnt
comes out of the linguistic demands of the activity. A task-based syllabus is structured
around a series of these tasks.

In task-based syllabus, the activities or tasks are considered the main organizing
principle. The tasks are focused rather than the language or topics. They are a series of
complex and purposeful tasks that the students want to practice with the language they are
learning, for instance, applying for a job, talking to a social worker, getting housing
information over the telephone and so on. Concerning about this syllabus, Robinson stated:
“The procedural or task syllabus, consisting of a set of tasks or activities ordered
according to cognitive difficulty. Class time is devoted to performance of the task and
attention is only directed to language if this is necessary for completion of the task. A
major concern throughout is that students understand the task and what they are doing,
and do not act in mechanical way”. (Robinson 1991: 39)
According to Long and Crooks (1992:27), the task-based syllabuses are
“distinguished from most earlier syllabus types by the fact that their rationale derives from
what is known about human learning in general and second language learning in
particular rather than, as is the case with lexical, structural, notional, functional, and
relational syllabuses primary from an analysis of language and language use. In addition,
while differing from one another in important ways, all three reject linguistic elements
(such as word, structure, notion or function) as the unit of analysis and opt instead for
some conceptions of tasks”.
Additionally, task-based syllabus shares a concern with the classroom processes which
stimulate learning. The focus is on the linguistic items that students will learn or the
communicative skills that they will be able to display as a result of instruction. The syllabus
consists of the specification of the tasks and activities that learners will engage in class.
1.3. Syllabus Design
To design a syllabus is to decide what gets taught and in what order. For this reason,
the theory of language underlying the language teaching method will play a major role
in determining what syllabus should be adopted. Theory of learning also plays an


10

important part in determining the kind of syllabus used. For example, a syllabus based on
the theory of learning evolved by cognitive code teaching would emphasize language
forms and whatever explicit descriptive knowledge about those forms. A syllabus based
on an acquisition theory of learning, however, would emphasize unanalyzed and carefully
selected experiences of the new language. The choice of a syllabus is a major decision in
language teaching, and it should be made as consciously and with as much information
as possible.
For Munby (1984), syllabus design is seen as "a matter of specifying the content that
needs to be taught and then organizing it into a teaching syllabus of appropriate learning
units." According to Webb (1976), syllabus design is understood as the organization of the
selected contents into an ordered and practical sequence for teaching purposes. His criteria
for syllabus design are as follows:
- Progress from known to unknown matter.
- Appropriate size of teaching units.
- A proper variety of activity.
- Teach ability.
- Creating a sense of purpose for the student.
Garcia (1976:26) expands on this and provides more comprehensive criteria
which should be taken into consideration when designing a language syllabus. He says that
particulars concerning the social forces, the prejudices, the habits and the motives of the
student population, the relation of student characteristics to what are considered universal
concepts in language learning processes, contemporary insights into the nature of the
language, and how it should be taught to non-native speakers and for what realistic
purposes, must guide curricular decisions.
1.3.1. The approaches to syllabus design
To design an appropriate syllabus for the objectives, the designers have to take the
approaches to syllabus design into account. There have been different approaches to the
language syllabus design. According to Wilkins (1976), there are two main approaches to
syllabus design: analytic and synthetic in language teaching. However, Hutchinson and
Water (1987) classified three kinds of approaches: language-centered approach, skill-

11

centered approach, and learning-centered approach. In my paper, I will present the
approaches of Hutchinson and Water.
1.3.2. The language-centered approach
Language-centered approach is quite simple and familiar in course design to
language teachers. It aims to draw as direct connection as possible between the analysis of
the target situation and the content of the ESP course (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987:65).
This approach seems to be a very logical and straightforward procedure. Firstly, it begins
with the learners, proceeds through various stages of analysis to a syllabus, then to
materials used in classroom, finally to the evaluation of mastery of the syllabus items.
Despite of the strong point above, it has a number of limits. Firstly, it may be
considered a learner-centered approach but in fact it is not learner-centered in any
meaningful sense of the term. The learners are simply used as a means of identifying the
target situation. They only are taught a restricted area of the language; therefore they play
no further part in the process. Secondly, this process can also be criticized for being a static
and inflexible procedure. Thirdly, this approach appears to be systematic but it exposes the
false belief that learning itself is systematic. Lastly, the language-centered analysis of
target situation data is only at the surface level. It presents little about the competence
underlying the performance.
1.3.3. Skills-centered approach
The skills-centered approach to ESP has been widely applied in several countries.
This one is based on two fundamental principles: theoretical and pragmatic. The basic
theoretical hypothesis is that underlying any language behavior are certain skills and
strategies, which the learner uses in order to produce or comprehend discourse. Hutchinson
& Waters pointed out that the skills-centered approach aims to get away from the surface
performance data and look at the competence that underlies the performance (Hutchinson
& Waters 1993:69). The pragmatic basic for the skills-centered approach derives from a

distinction between goal-oriented courses and process-oriented (skills-centered) courses
(Widdowson: 1981)
Therefore, the skills-centered model is a reaction both to the idea of the specific
registers of English as a basic for the ESP and to the practical constraints on learning
imposed by limited time and resources. Moreover, this one still approaches the learners as


12

a user of language rather than as a learner of language. The processes it is concerned with
are the processes of language use not of language learning.
1.3.4. Learning-centered approach
According to Hutchinson &Waters, learning is seen as a process in which the
learners use what knowledge or skills they have in order to make sense of the flow of the
new information. So learning is an internal process, which is crucially dependent upon the
knowledge of the learners already have and their ability and motivation to use it. That is
why they used the term learning-centered approach instead of learner-centered one. This
approach provides a full picture of analyzing the target situation and learning needs in the
theoretical view of leaning and learner.
In contrast to the skills-centered approach, learning- centered one considers the
learner discarded and the target situation analysis is allowed to determine the content of the
course with little further reference to the learner. Learning-centered approach takes account
of the learner at every stage of the design process.
In conclusion, determining a suitable approach for the syllabus is not an easy task of
any designers. It seems to upgrade in three approaches presented above in rank. The
language-centered approach is said to be the nature of the target situation performance and
that will determine the ESP course but the skills-centered approach says that is not enough,
they must look behind the target performance data to discover what processes enable
someone to perform. Those processes will determine the ESP course. Whereas, the
learning-centered one supposes that is not enough either. They must look beyond the

competence that enables someone to perform, because what they really want to discover is
not the competence itself, but how someone acquires that competence (Hutchinson &
Waters 1987:72). Because of the best points, the learning-centered will be applied in
designing the ESP reading syllabus for students at HCCP.
1.3.5. The steps in syllabus design
Designing a language syllabus is a complex process. It asks designers to follow some
obligatory steps such as investigating needs analysis, selecting and grading content… Each
designer has their own view on this issue. According to Hughes (1983:7), the first
important step must be the choice of aims and objectives while Munby (1978), Richard
(1984), Nunan (1988) thought that needs analysis should be the initial step with other


13

different steps. Here are the typical steps in designing a syllabus that I will carry out in my
thesis, except for the last one:
1. Needs analysis
2. Goals and objectives determining
3. Content selecting and grading
4. Teaching methods suggesting
1.3.6. Needs analysis
Needs analysis (NA) is a process of gathering information of learners in order to
understand as much as possible about them at the beginning of the program so that the
designer can establish appropriate and realistic objectives for the syllabus. This process is
especially necessary for ESP learners because different types of participants have different
motivations and language needs and what they want to learn is only restricted area. The
main aim of the NA is identification of elements which will are extremely important for
the learners. Discussing on the NA, Nunan (1988:75) points out: “Needs analysis refers to
a family of procedures for gathering information about learners and about communication
tasks for the use in syllabus design”. Unlike Nunan, Hutchinson & Waters divide NA into

target needs (what the learner needs to do in the target situation) and learning needs (what
the learner needs to do in order to learn).
1.3.6.1. Target needs
According to Hutchinson & Waters (1987:55), “Target needs is something of an
umbrella term, which in practice hides a number of important distinctions. It is more useful
to look at the target situation in term of necessities, lacks and wants”.
Necessities: The type of need determined by the demands of the target situation, that is,
what the learner has to know in order to function effectively in the target situation.
Lacks: The gap between the target proficiency and the existing proficiency of the learners.
Wants: What the students perceive to be important for their language development.
1.3.6.2. Learning needs
As mentioned above, learning needs is what the learner needs to do in order to learn.
Additionally, Hutchison &Waters compare the ESP course as a journey, what we have
done so far to consider the starting point as lacks and the destination as necessities and


14

wants as certain dispute in the process to the destination. And how to get from the starting
point to the destination is called learning needs.
To analyze Learning Needs, Hutchinson & Waters (1993:63) use a similar
framework which is used for target situation analysis:
- Why are the learners taking the course?
- How do the learners learn?
- What resources are available?
- Who are the learners?
- Where is the ESP course take place?
- When will the ESP course take place?
So the syllabus designers have to answer the above questions to find out the learners’
learning needs to plan the best syllabus for them.

1.3.7. Determining goal and objective
Determining learning goals and objectives is a vital step in syllabus design, which
helps the designer choose a suitable content for the learner. According to Graves (1996:17),
goals are general statements or the final destination, the level students will need to achieve.
Objectives express certain ways of achieving the goals, in other words, objectives are
teachable chunks, which in their accumulation form the essence of the course.
Sharing the same idea with Graves, Nunan(1988:61) states that “objectives can be
useful, not only to guide the selection of the structures, functions, notions, tasks and so on,
but also provide a sharper focus for teachers”.
Goal is also defined by Brown (1995:37) as “general statements concerning
desirable and attainable program purposes and aims based on perceived language and
situation needs”.
The process of defining goals asks the syllabus designer and the participants consider
carefully the program’s purposes with the specific reference to what the students should be
able to do when they finish the course. Thus, goals and objectives of the syllabus
determine the selections of the learning contents and teaching procedures.


15

1.3.8. Selecting and grading content
After determining the goals and objectives of the course, content selecting and
grading are examined. That is the process of choosing linguistic content such as topics,
vocabulary, grammar, tasks for each lesson. Shaw (1976) considers the selection of content
to be concerned with two questions:
1. How much can we teach or how much can be learnt by the learners?
2. Which items should be included?
Nunan (1988:85) claims: “Synthetic syllabuses were described as those in which
content is selected and graded according to discrete point principles.” Wilkins assumes
that these would be grammatical, but Widdowson has argued that any syllabus which

consists of inventories of discrete points items, be grammatical, functional or notional, is
basically synthetic. So the content selection depends on the type of the syllabus and its
objectives, the target situation as well.
On selecting an appropriate content, the syllabus planners have to organize and grade
it effectively so that it is easy for learning and teaching. And grading content is defined as
“the arrangement of the content of a language course or textbook so that it is presented in
a helpful way. Gradation would affect the order in which words, word meanings, tenses,
structures, topics, tasks, skills are presented. Gradation may be based on the complexity of
an item, its frequency in written or spoken English, or its importance for the learner.”
(Richard, Platt and Webber 1985:125).
1.3.9. Suggesting teaching method
Applying an effective teaching method plays a key role in the success or failure of
the teacher in teaching language. As we know, teaching methods have been developed and
innovated in recent years. Each of the methods has its own strong and weak points. The
choice of the methods depends on the type of the syllabus, the current teaching and
learning conditions, the learner’s level and needs. For example, Wilkins (1976), in his
Notional Syllabuses, stated: “In drawing up a notional syllabus, instead of asking how
speakers of the language express themselves or when and where they use the language, we
ask what is it they communicate through language”. In fact, most language teaching
programs have been applied integrated methods rather than one single method.


16

1.4. Reading
1.4.1. What is reading?
Reading is one of the important components in language learning and performance. It
is the process of perception, recognition and interpretation of written or printed materials.
Each view on reading reflects what reading is depending on different scholars. According
to Harmer (1993:190), reading is an exercise dominated by the eyes and brain. The eyes

receive messages and the brain then has to work out the significance of these messages.
Goodman (1971:12) sees reading “as a language receptive process, it is a
psycholinguistic process in that it starts with a linguistic surface representation encoded
by a writer and ends with meaning, which the reader constructs. Here the writer encodes
thought as language and the reader decodes language to thought”.
William (1990:2) also states that reading is a process whereby one looks at and
understands what has been written.
1.4.2. Reading skills in ESP
According to Dudley-Evans (1998:10), ESP teaching is more motivating for learners
than GE because the focused nature of the teaching, its relevance and its aims are widely
accepted by learners. Many learners are hungry for material and advice that will help them
with their specific course or with particular skills related to their course. So reading in ESP
is very important to improve their specialized terms and concepts that help them easier in
their learning special subjects and future jobs as well. In addition, “extracting information
accurately and quickly is more significant than language details; that understanding the
microstructure comes before language study; and that application of the information in the
text is of paramount importance. The reader first processes the language and then links the
ideas to what is already known.” (Dudley-Evans & Jo St John, 1998:96)
In teaching ESP reading, there is the recognition that good reading requires balance
between language and skills. Alderson (1982) tested several hypotheses about the role of
language and skills and showed that poor reading in a foreign language is due to poor
reading in L1, together with an inadequate knowledge of the foreign language. He also
showed that learners need to reach a threshold level of language knowledge before they are
able to transfer any L1 skills to their L2 reading tasks (cited in Dudley-Evans, 1998: 96).


17

Dudley-Evans (1998:96) states that the reading component of an ESP course requires
a balance between language and skills development, here are some key skills to be

transferred into the new language:
- Selecting what is relevant for the current purpose;
- Using all the features of the text such as heading, 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 makers
- Predicting, inferring and guessing;
- Identifying main ideas, supporting ideas and examples;
- Processing and evaluating the information during reading;
- Transferring or using the information while or after reading.
He also supposes that most of these skills are composed on several processes. And
skimming and scanning are believed the key skills in ESP reading, because they are useful
first stages for determining whether to read a document or which parts to read carefully.
Therefore, when reading a text, ESP readers have to select the appropriate ones for their
reading purposes in order to get the best results.
1.5. Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)
1.5.1. What is TBLT?
According to Littlewood (2004), TBLT is a development within communicative
approach. It is not all; Brown (1994) also claims that “TBLT is a perspective that can be
taken within a CLT framework”. Besides, he stated that what various understandings of
TBLT emphasize is the centrality of task itself in a language course and, for TBLT as an
overall approach, the importance of organizing a course around communicative tasks that
learners need to engage in outside the classroom. Also, Foster (1999) points out that there
are different task-based approaches which share a common idea: giving learners tasks to
transact, rather than items to learn, providing an environment which best promotes the
natural language learning process.

18

An important feature of TBL is that learners are free to choose whatever language
forms they wish to convey what they mean, in order to fulfill, as well as they can, the task
goals.
Nunan (1991) gives out five characteristics of a task-based approach to language
teaching as follows:
(i) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target
language.
(ii) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.
(iii) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but
also on the learning process itself.
(iv) An enhancement of the learners’ own personal experience as important
contributing elements to classroom learning.
(v) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation
outside classroom.
Task-based syllabus which is considered the cornerstone of TBLT is defined by
Richards (1992) as syllabus which is organized around tasks, rather than in terms of
grammar or vocabulary. In task-based learning, communication tasks (where language
forms are not controlled) involve learners in an entirely different mental process as they
compose what they want to say, expressing what they think or feel.
Tasks remove the teacher domination, and learners get chances to open and close
conversations, to interact naturally, to interrupt and challenge, to ask people to do things
and to check what they have done. Much of this will involve composing in real time. The
resulting interaction is far more likely to lead to increased fluency and natural acquisition
than form-focused exercises that encourage learners to get it right from the beginning.
1.5.2. Tasks in TBLT
1.5.2.1. Defining tasks
In a number of books, the word “task” has been used as a label for various activities,
including grammar exercises, practice activities and role plays. In some other books, tasks

are defined as activities where the target language is used by the learners for a
communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome.


19

Nunan (1989) defines tasks as activities that can stand alone as fundamental units
and that require comprehending producing, manipulating, or interacting in authentic
language while attention is principally paid to meaning rather than form. Moreover, tasks
are seen as “complete and lengthy activities” (Breen, 1987).
Skehan (1998) proposes a definition of tasks within task-based instruction following
Candlin (1987), Nunan (1989), Long (1989), and others that a task is an activity in which:
 Meaning is primary
 There is some communication to solve
 There is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities
 Task completion has some priority
 The assessment of the task is in terms of outcome
1.5.2.2. Classifying tasks
Task classification is important for a number of reasons. First, it provides a basis for
ensuring variety; syllabus designers can refer to the classification to ensure that they
incorporate a range of task types into the course. Second, it can be used to identify the task
types that match to the specific needs or preferences of particular groups of learners. Third,
it affords teachers a framework for experimenting with tasks in their classrooms. The aim
of this section is to develop a checklist of task types. This part will focus on four
approaches for classifying tasks: (1) pedagogic; (2) rhetorical; (3) cognitive; and (4)
psycholinguistic.
A pedagogic classification:
Willis (1996) offers a pedagogic classification of tasks based on an analysis of the
kinds of tasks commonly found in textbook materials. The types reflect the kind of
operations that learners are required to carry out in performing tasks:

1, Listing, i.e where the completed outcome is a list.
2, Ordering and sorting, i.e tasks that involve sequencing, ranking, categorizing and
classifying items
3, Comparing, i.e tasks that involve finding differences or similarities in
information.
4, Problem-solving, i.e tasks that demand intellectual activities as in puzzles or logic
problems


20

5, Sharing personal experience, i.e tasks that allow learners to talk freely about
themselves and share experiences.
6, Creative tasks, i.e projects, often involving several stages that can incorporate the
various types of tasks above and can include the need to carry out some research.
A rhetorical classification:
A rhetorical classification of tasks draws on theories of rhetoric that distinguish
different discourse domains in terms of their structure and linguistic properties- narrative,
instructions, descriptions, reports… That is a classification that often underlies language
courses for academic purposes and is often linked to the specific language functions that
figure in academic written discourse, for example, definitions, classifications, and giving
examples.
A cognitive classification:
A cognitive approach for classifying tasks is based on the kind of cognitive
operations different types of tasks involve. Prabhu (1987) distinguishes three general types
of tasks based on the kind of cognitive activity involved:
1, Information gap activity involves a transfer of given information from one
person to another or from one place to another. For example, using information in a text to
complete a chart or table.
2, Reasoning-gap activity involves “deriving some new information from given

information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a
perception of relationships or patterns” (Prabhu, 1987). Prabhu points out that this activity
also involves sharing information but requires going beyond the information provided. An
example of this kind of task is a task that requires students to work out a teacher’s
timetable from a set of class timetables.
3, Opinion-gap activity involves identifying and articulating a personal preference,
feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation. Examples of this are story completion
and taking part in a discussion. Such tasks are open in the sense that they afford many
possible solutions.