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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Certificate of originality………………………………………………………………….
i
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………
ii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………
iii
Table of contents…………………………………………………………………………
iv
List of abbreviations……………………………………………………………………
vi
List of tables……………………………………………………………………………
vii
Part 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………….
1
1. Rationale………………………………………………………………………………
1
2. Aims of the study……………………………………………………………………
2
3. Research questions…………………………………………………………………….
2
4. Scope of the study……………………………………………………………
2
5. Methods of the study………………………………………………………………….
3
6. Design of the study……………………………………………………………………
3

Part 2: Development……………………………………………………………………
4
Chapter 1: Literature review…………………………………………………
4
1.1. An overview of ESP……………………………………………………………
4
1.1.1. Definition of ESP……………………………………………………………….
4
1.1.2. Classification of ESP………………………………………………………….
5
1.1.3. Characteristics of ESP…………………………………………………………
7
1.1.4. Problems of ESP teachers………………………………………………………
8
1.2. ESP Vocabulary…… ……………………………………………………………
9
1.2.1. Definitions of ESP………………………………………………………………
9
1.2.2. Kinds of ESP vocabulary………………………………………………
9
1.2.3. Selection of vocabulary for teaching…………………………………………….
10
1.2.3.1. Word lists at an early stage…………………………………………………
10


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1.2.3.2. Awareness of criteria in selection………………………………………….
10

1.2.3.3. The use of concordances…………………………………………………
10
1.3. What should be taught in teaching vocabulary……………………………………
11
1.3.1. Word form………………………………………………………………………
11
1.3.2. Grammar………………………………………………………………………
11
1.3.3. Collocation……………………………………………………………………
11
1.3.4. Aspects of meaning……………………………………………………
11
1.3.5. Word formation…………………………………………………………………
12
1.4. Teaching and learning vocabulary items…………………………………………….
13
1.4.1. Techniques used in the presentation of new vocabulary items…………………
13
1.4.1.1. Visual techniques…………………………………………………
13
1.4.1.2. Verbal techniques…………………………………………………
13
1.4.1.3. Translation…………………………………………………………………
13
1.4.2. Techniques in practicing new words……………………………………………
14
1.4.3. Independent learning strategies ……………………
14
1.4.3.1. Contextual guessing………………………………………………
14

1.4.3.2. Memorizing……………………………………………………………
14
1.4.3.3. Affixes learning………………………………………………………….
15
1.4.3.4. Repetition and recycling a word………………………………………
15
1.4.3.5. Relating the word in reality………………………………………………
15
1.4.3.6. Brainstorming activities………………………………………………….
15
Chapter 2: The Research Methodology……………………………………………….
16
2.1. Context of the study…………………………………………………………………
16
2.2. Descriptions of the subjects…………………………………………………………
16
2.3. Descriptions of data collection instruments…………………………………………
17
2.4. Data collection procedure…………………………………………………………
17
2.5. Data analysis results…………………………………………………………………
18


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Chapter 3: Findings and some solutions for better teaching and learning English
vocabulary to the second year students of pre-intermediate level at Hanoi
Tourism College…………………………………………………………………………
29

3.1. Findings……………………………………………………………………………
29
3.2. Suggested solutions………………………………………………………………….
32
Part 3: Conclusions……………………………………………………………
38
1. Summary of the study…………………………………………………………………
38
2. Limitations and suggestions for further study…………………………………………
38
References……………………………………………………………………………….
46
Appendices

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Short Forms
Long Forms
THC
Hanoi Tourism College
FP
Food Production
ESP
English for specific purposes
ELT
English Language Teaching
EAP
English for Academic Purposes
EOP
English for Occupational Purposes
EST
English for Science and Technology
EBE
English for Business and Economics
ESS
English for Social Studies
GE
General English

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LIST OF BARS, TABLES AND CHARTS
Chart 1. Simplified Tree of ELT (cf. Wen, 1996, p.16)
Chart 2: Students’ residence
Chart 3: English learning experience
Chart 4: Elements of a new word make students have difficulty
Chart 5: Students’ difficulties in learning vocabulary for Food Production
Chart 6: Students’ evaluation on teachers’ teaching methods
Table 1: Criteria for selection
Table 2: Time for learning new words outside the classroom
Table 3: Students’ evaluation on vocabulary exercises in the course book “English for Food
Production Staff”
Table 4: Students’ dealing with new words
Table 5: Students’ vocabulary practice

Table 6: Vocabulary teaching techniques
Bar 1: Ways of learning English vocabulary













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PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Nowadays, English is a common language in communication in the world. It plays a very
important part in many fields of life such as science, technology, history, politics, economics,
anthropology, sociology, philosophy, psychology or world wide studies and researches in
modern medicine and surgery…. At present, in Vietnam, English is considered to be a key for
communication in offices, companies and at schools. Being a compulsory subject, it is thought
to give students and workers chances to study and work all over the world.

Talking about learning a foreign language, the first thing we think about is words. Vocabulary
plays an essential role in acquiring a language and it is also an important tool to activate four
language skills in English: listening, speaking, reading, writing and therefore, it helps us
communicate successfully with people within and outside our country. To think and to express
our ideas, an important factor we need is words. Language is the key that helps our mind to

think, to plan, to solve problems, and finally to succeed. Hence, the more words we know, the
more we succeed. However, to acquire words is not easy at all, therefore, it is a necessary and
interesting theme for any researches on.

In the context of Hanoi Tourism College, which has been specialized in vocational training in
tourism and hospitability for a long time, Food Production (FP) is much concerned as one of
the most developed majors here and the students who major in food production management
can study and practice in a better condition than others. Nevertheless, only when these
students are good at English will a bright future belong to them. As a teacher of English in
Hanoi Tourism College (HTC), I have found out that students have difficulties in studying the
English in the course book entitled “English for Food Production Staff” mainly due to their
limited vocabulary, which covers nearly 70% of exercises in the book, especially in reading
and translating exercises. They often learn vocabulary passively through teachers‟
explanations and forget words quickly after a short time.
Teaching ESP (English for specific purposes) is a difficult task for the teachers of the English
language. Hence, the teachers who teach the subject “English for Food Production Staff” is
also involved. Beside vocational knowledge, teachers need to carry out researches in teaching


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vocabulary so as to open their views and instruct students later. In my opinion, ESP in cookery
is very interesting but teaching it successfully is extremely hard. To teach vocabulary in FP
effectively requires great efforts on the part of the teachers of foreign languages for Tourism at
HTC. Consequently, the task of vocational training connected with the mastery of foreign
languages will be completed soon, which lays the foundation for changing Hanoi Tourism
College into a university of Tourism in the country in the following years.
Because of the given reasons, I decided to conduct this research with the hope that I will make
small but useful contribution to teaching ESP in cookery in HTC.
2. Aims of the study
The study aims to achieve two purposes. The first one is to find out some difficulties facing

the students of FP and the ESP teachers in the process of learning and teaching English
vocabulary in the textbook “English for Food Production Staff”. The second one is to find
some solutions to these problems.
3. Research questions
This research was carried out to find out the answers to the following research questions:
- What are the main difficulties facing the students of FP and the ESP teachers in the
process of teaching and learning English vocabulary in the text book “English for Food
Production Staff”?
- What are the solutions to these problems?
4. Scope of the study
The study focuses on teaching and learning English vocabulary in the course book “English
for Food Production Staff” for the students who major in cookery. Then, the difficulties found
out will be analyzed and the solutions will be made to help to improve the teaching and
learning of cookery English at HTC.


5. Methods of the study
The study uses the following methods to achieve its objectives. First, the survey questionnaire
is conducted to investigate difficulties for students at HTC in the process of learning
vocabulary in the textbook “English for Food Production Staff”. Then, the teachers are


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interviewed to get more information of their difficulties in teaching English vocabulary for FP
and the solutions to these problems as well.
6. Design of the study
The research includes three main parts:
Part 1: Introduction: In this part the rationale, the aims, the research questions, the scope, the
method, and the design of the study are presented.
Part 2: Development: It consists of two chapters.

Chapter 1 provides the theoretical background for the study.
Chapter 2 is the main part of the study including the context of the study, the subjects, and the
data collection methods and data collection procedure. Also in this chapter, the data will be
analyzed and the findings will reveal teachers and students‟ difficulties in teaching and
learning vocabulary in the textbook “English for Food Production Staff” for the second year
students of pre-intermediate level at Hanoi Tourism College. On the basis of these findings,
the way of teaching and learning cookery vocabulary will be suggested.
Part 3: Conclusion: This part offers a summary of the research and some suggestions for
further study.

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. An overview of ESP
1.1.1. Definitions of ESP
ESP, which is usually thought to stand for “English for Specific Purposes”, has become an
important part of English Language Teaching (ELT). As with most developments in human
activity, ESP grew out of a number of converging trends to create various disciplines. There
have been a lot of attempts to define ESP.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987:19) define ESP as “an approach to language teaching in which
all decisions as to content and method are based on the learners‟ reason for learning”. They
ensure that ESP must be seen as an approach not as a product. ESP is neither a particular kind
of language or methodology nor includes a particular kind of teaching material. Teaching ESP
does not mean teaching a „special variety‟ of English which is separate from the common
language use such as matters of science words and grammar for scientist or a different kind


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from any other form of language teaching. As an approach to language teaching, ESP is
directed by specific and apparent learner need.
According to Munby (1978: 2), "ESP courses are those where the syllabus and materials are

determined in all essentials by the prior analysis of the communication needs of the learner".
And Robinson (1991: 3), also emphasizes the students' needs element of ESP when discussing
the criteria to ESP: " An ESP course is based on a needs analysis, which aims to specify as
closely as possible what exactly it is that students have to do through the medium of English".
She defines that time period should be specified clearly for an ESP course, in which their
objectives have to be achieved.
Similarly, Streven (1988: 1) stated: "ESP is a particular cause of the general category of
special purpose language teaching".
The above definitions stated at different time by different authors show that the growth of ESP
is combination of the need for increased specialization in language learning, the expansion of
demand for English to suit particular needs and developments in the fields of linguistics and
educational psychology. In another words, any ESP course must be based on learners‟ needs.
1.1.2. Classification of ESP
There are many types of ESP which are classified in different ways. Traditionally, ESP has
been conveniently divided into two main types differentiated according to whether the learner
requires English for academy study: English for Academic Purposes (EAP) or for work
training: English for Occupational Purposes (EOP).
Kennedy and Bolitho (1984: 4) explain the two areas quite early: “EOP is taught in a situation
in which learners need to use English as part of their work or profession. Instances of EOP
students would be doctors in casualty or technicians servicing equipment. They need English,
in the first case, to talk and respond to patients and other staff, and, in the second, to read
technical manuals.” And, “EAP is taught generally within educational institutions to students
needing English in their studies. The language taught may be based in particular disciplines
at higher levels of education when the student is specializing (in-study) or intends to specialize
(pre-study) in a particular subject”.
David Carter (1983) identifies three types of ESP: English as a restricted language, English for
Academic and Occupational Purposes and English with specific topics.


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The first type of ESP in the view of Carter is English as a restricted language, for example, the
language used by air traffic controllers or by waiters. According to Mackay and Mountford
(1978) restricted language and language are clearly illustrated: “ the language of
international air-traffic control could be regarded as 'special', in the sense that the repertoire
required by the controller is strictly limited and can be accurately determined situationally, as
might be the linguistic needs of a dining-room waiter or air-hostess. However, such restricted
repertoires are not languages, just as a tourist phrase book is not grammar. Knowing a
restricted 'language' would not allow the speaker to communicate effectively in novel situation,
or in contexts outside the vocational environment” (pp. 4-5).
The second type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) is English for Academic and Occupational
Purposes. In the 'Tree of ELT' (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987), ESP is broken down into three
branches: English for Science and Technology (EST), English for Business and Economics
(EBE), and English for Social Studies (ESS). Each of these subject areas is further divided
into two branches: English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational
Purposes (EOP). An example of EOP for the EST branch is 'English for Technicians' whereas
an example of EAP for the EST branch is 'English for Medical Studies'.
Chart 1. Simplified Tree of ELT (cf. Wen, 1996, p.16)
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) do note that there is not a clear-cut distinction between EAP
and EOP: " people can work and study simultaneously; it is also likely that in many cases the




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language learnt for immediate use in a study environment will be used later when the student
takes up, or returns to, a job" (p. 16). It explains the reasons why EAP and EOP are
categorized under the same type of ESP by Cater. Moreover, it also shows although EAP and
EOP are different in terms of focus on Cummins' (1979) notions of cognitive academic
proficiency versus basic interpersonal skills, the end purpose of both EAP and EOP are
identical: employment.

The third and final type of ESP identified by Carter (1983) is English with specific topics, for
example, scientists requiring English for postgraduate reading studies, attending conferences
or working in foreign institutions. In fact, this type of ESP is an integral component of ESP
courses or programs which focus on situational language because it is concerned with
anticipated future English needs or needs analysis of authentic language used in target
workplace settings.
In brief, various types of ESP is like an overall picture to help ESP teachers choose teaching
materials, classroom activity with a purpose as well as to design or adapt an appropriate ESP
course for their target students.
1.1.3. Characteristics of ESP
Strevens' (1988) makes a distinction between four absolute and two variable characteristics of
ESP and then, ten years later, theorists Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) modified Strevens'
original definition and identified ESP with three absolute characteristics and four variable
characteristics.
Absolute characteristics:
- ESP is designed to meet specific needs of learners;
- ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the disciplines it serves;
- ESP is centered on the language (grammar, lexis, and register), skills, discourse and
genres appropriate to these activities.
Variable characteristics:
- ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;
- ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of general
English;
- ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at tertiary level institution or in a
professional work situation. IT could, however, be used for learners at secondary school levels;


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- ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students. Most ESP courses
assume basic knowledge of the language system, but it can be used with beginners.

The absolute and variable characteristics of ESP determine what ESP is and what ESP is not.
ESP should be seen simple as an 'approach' to teaching, based on analysis of learner needs and
their own personal specialist knowledge of using English for real communication.



1.1.4. Problems of ESP teachers
As a matter of fact, professionalism is not easily achieved for ESP teachers. Becoming an
effective teacher of ESP requires more experience, additional training, extra effort, a fresh
commitment, compared with being a teacher of General English(GE). Apparently, there are
many challenges for the ESP teacher.
Robinson (1980:83) supposed that the problems of ESP teachers are “lack of sufficient
preparation time, lack of personal and professional contact with subject teachers, and the
content may be very specific indeed, requiring a high degree knowledge and skill from
teachers”. These problems are caused by the fact that the great majority of ESP teachers have
not been trained in that specialism.
Tom Hutchinson and Alan Waters (1987:158) focus on three problems for ESP teachers: the
lack of an ESP orthodoxy to provide a ready-made guide, the new realms of knowledge the
ESP teacher has to cope with, the change in the status of ELT. First of all, the use or non-use
of authentic texts is debated. In early stages of ESP, A.J. Herbert (1965) created their own
texts to highlight language features much in the same way as was done in GE. The use of
composed texts is to “avoid syntactic complexity”- Allen and Widdowson (1974). Phillips and
Shettlesworth (1978) on the other hand support the use of the authentic text “as a repository of
natural language use and….as the stimulus for a variety of communication skills”.
“Authentic” makes sense of “taken from the target situation and, therefore, not originally
constructed fir language teaching purposes”. Hence, new settlers in this land must often have
found it difficult to find their bearings with no agreed maps to guide them. Secondly, teachers
who have been trained for GE teaching or for the teaching of Literature may suddenly find
themselves having to teach with texts whose content they know little or nothing about. It is
obvious that the difference in comprehension lies in the subject knowledge, not the language

knowledge. The reasons why many ESP teachers find it difficult to comprehend ESP subject


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matter are : 1) There is a tradition in education of separating the Humanities and the Sciences.
Languages have usually been allocated to the Humanities camp. The result has been that
English teachers often receive little or no education in the Science. 2) Many ESP teachers are
reluctant settles in the new territory. They could be obliged by economic pressure to emigrate.
3) Little effort has been made to retrain teachers. 4) General attitude in ESP seems to be to
expect teachers to conform to the requirements of the target situation. Lastly, the status of
English changing from being a subject in its own right to a service industry for other
specialism leads to a lowering of status for the teacher. John (1981) lists five problems that
EAP teachers complaining of: : low priority in timetabling, lack of personal/professional
contact with subject teachers, lower status/grade than subject teachers, isolation from other
teachers of English doing similar work, lack of respect from students. In short, it is not easy
for ESP teachers to become familiar with the ESP materials, ESP subjects and even the
language as well.
1.2. ESP vocabulary
1.2.1. Definitions of vocabulary
Basing on the criteria the linguists research such as linguistics, semantics, lexicology, they
give different definitions of vocabulary. According to Penny Ur, (1996: 60) vocabulary is
defined as “the words we teach in the foreign language”. He accepted “a new item of
vocabulary may be more than a single word, a compound of two or three words and multi-
word idioms”.
According to Michael Lewis (1993:89), vocabulary “may be individual words, or full
sentences – institutionalized utterances – that convey for social or pragmatic meaning within
a given community”.
In short, vocabulary is the total number of all the words that a language possesses, from a
single word to multi-word idioms which meaning can only be understood in the sentence, or in
context.

1.2.2. Kinds of ESP vocabulary
ESP includes technical words and terms or jargon. These will often be acronyms. These
technical terms are more difficult for the teacher or the learner in terms of language content.
ESP includes formulaic expressions and chunks, which need to be taught and learnt as well as
single word lexical items. Vocabulary in ESP can usefully be divided into three categories:
 Technical= lexis only really used in the specialism (e.g. TVP, alternator)
 Semi-technical= general lexis that has a higher frequency in the specialism,
sometimes with a specific or changed meaning (e.g. bug)
 Enabling= general lexis that occurs frequently in the specialism with no change of
meaning, helping to bind discourse together (often verbs like produce, cause, or generate).


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Although technical vocabulary may concern us most when we first teach an ESP specialism,
the other categories are, arguably, more important and require much more of our time as ESP
teachers. This is another example of where ESP teaching overlaps with GE-i.e. it‟s not that
different. We just have to remember to ensure that contexts for vocabulary presentation should
be relevant to the specialism. If as a teacher you can‟t find a context, then it probably means
the vocabulary is not relevant. (Oxford Teachers‟ Academy, 2011)
1.2.3 Selection of vocabulary for teaching
Nation, Warring, 1997 state that teachers “need to judge whether a particular word deserves
attention or not”, therefore, beside basic words referred to, teachers should give description of
preferable word lists as the major source of teaching and learning of the English vocabulary.
1.2.3.1. Word lists at an early stage
As a matter of fact, word lists not only help teachers to select the words worth attention and
teaching but also enable learners to have a systematic study of academic words they need for
academic purposes. Word lists are derived from different corpora developed from millions of
words, for example, UWL (University Word List) (Xue and Nation, 1984) or AWL
(Academic Word List) (Coxhead, 1998). They are high utility general academic words
profitable to ESP students.

1.2.3.2. Awareness of criteria in selection
It is a good start to refer to word lists when teachers prepare a vocabulary teaching programme
for the learners. However, it is not motivating to utilize the word lists mechanically. Some
criteria should be taken into account when words are selected for teaching.
Criteria
Order of
importance
Definition
Frequency
1
Average number of occurrences of a word in a language
Range
2
A measure of the different types of texts in which a word
occurs
Language needs
3
The words that are regarded as “require” by the learner in
order to communicate
Availability and
familiarity
4
The word the learner is mostly in contact with and
somehow “know”
Coverage
5
The capacity of a word to take the place of other words
Regularity
6
How is the use of a word “spread” over the language

Learner ability
7
Are some words easier to learn than other?
Table 1: Criteria for selection
Source:
1.2.3.3. The use of concordances


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The use of concordances in selecting words is a good way to promote vocabulary learning
because of several advantages. Learners can meet the vocabulary in real contexts with a
variety of aspects of knowing a word including collocates, grammatical patterns, word family
members, related meanings and homonyms presented. “The use of concordances can
challenge the learners to actively construct generalizations, note-patterns and exceptions”
(Nation, 2011: 111)
1.3. What should be taught in teaching vocabulary
According to Penny Ur (1996), to teach vocabulary, learners need to know these elements:
pronunciation and spelling, word form, grammar, collocation, aspects of meaning, word-
formation need to be taught.
1.3.1. Word form: Pronunciation and Spelling
What a word sounds like (its pronunciation) and what it looks like (its spelling) are one of
obvious characteristics perceived by the learners for the first time of encountering. For many
students, the complex relationship between sound and spelling in English seems to make the
language inexplicable.
1.3.2. Grammar
Learners should also understand the grammar function, the change of form in certain
grammatical context, the regularity as well as the irregularity so that they can use the word
correctly. For example, when a verb is taught, we might also give its past form such as: buy/
bought and it is transitive or intransitive; when a noun such as a person is taught, it should be
given its plural form as people.

1.3.3. Collocation
Collocation- another item is worth teaching. It is the way in which words are combined
together regularly in a specific language. It refers to the restriction on how words can be used
together in right contexts. For example, you throw a ball but toss a coin. We can talk about
thick fog and dense fog, thick smoke and dense smoke with the same meaning. However, we
cannot say dense hair instead of thick hair.
1.3.4. Aspects of meaning
Aspect of meaning include denotation, connotation, appropriateness and meaning and
relationship.
 The denotation meaning refers to or point out concepts in the real world. This is


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often the sort of definition given in dictionaries such as "cat" denotes a small animal with soft
fur, often kept as a pet or for catching mice.
 Connotation of a word is less obvious component of its meaning: associations,
or positive and negative feelings the word evokes which may or may not be indicated in a
dictionary definition. The word “dog”, for example, has positive connotation of friendship and
loyalty in the linguistic equivalents in many countries.
 Appropriateness or formality is more subtle aspect of meaning that indicates
whether a particular item is appropriate one to use in a certain context or not. Thus, it is useful
for a learner to know whether a certain word is very common, or relatively rare or taboo in a
polite conversation, or tends to be used in writing but not in speech, or is more suitable for a
formal than informal discourse or belongs to a certain dialect. For instance, “weep” and “cry”
have the synonymous meaning but “weep” is more formal and used in writing more than in
speech.
 Meaning relationships can also be useful in vocabulary teaching and learning.
They show how the meaning of one item relates to the meaning of others. These are various
relationships such as synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms, co- hyponyms or co- ordinates, super
ordinates, and translation.

1.3.5. Word- formation
Vocabulary items whether one-word or multi-word can often be broken down into their
components "bits". Students need to know facts about word formation and how to use words
to fit different grammatical contexts.
Words can be built by adding the affixes (prefixes and suffixes), thus, students should be
taught the common prefixes and suffixes and how they work. For example, if learners know
the meaning of "sub", "un" and "able", this will help them guess the meaning of words such as
"substandard", "uncomfortable", and "enable". However, students should be warned that in
many common words the affixes no longer have obvious connection with their root meaning
(for example: "consider" -> "considerable").
Another way vocabulary items are built is by combining two words: two nouns, or a gerund
and a noun, or a noun and a verb to make one item: a single compound word or two separate
(for example: "book list"," sitting room")
1.4. Teaching and learning vocabulary items
1.4.1. Techniques used in the presentation of new vocabulary items


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Using techniques in the class is considered a very crucial step in vocabulary teaching to help
students use the words in right contexts. There are many effective ways to present vocabulary
items and the followings are most commonly used ones.
1.4.1.1. Visual techniques
According to Gairns and Redman (1986), these techniques include flash cards, photographs,
blackboard drawings, wall charts; realia; gestures and mime. They are useful for teaching
concrete items of vocabulary such as food or furniture and certain areas such as places,
professions, description of people, actions and activities (such as sports and verbs of
movement). This technique is also attractive to get students involved in the lesson. They are
interesting but only useful for relevant words that refer to cheap and small objects. On the
other hand, it may be difficult to find pictures and photographs. Drawing takes time and not all
teachers can draw well. Besides, mines and gestures are very effective ways of introducing a

new word since it clearly promotes the understanding and meaningful retention of new items.
1.4.1.2. Verbal techniques
For abstract words , it is difficult to clearly explain only through visual aids, therefore, verbal
techniques are very effective ways to help students understand quickly. It consists of the use
of illustrative situations (oral or written), definition, synonyms/ antonyms, gradable items and
examples of type. Teachers can use definition and illustrative sentence (the use of other words
in the same language) to offer the advantage of con-tantalization and show how the new word
is used; synonyms and antonyms to help students build the new vocabulary based on the
words they already know. For examples, to illustrate the meaning of super-ordinates
"furniture”, it is a common procedure to exemplify them e.g. “table”, “chair”, “bed” and
“sofa” are all furniture.
1.4.1.3. Translation
Many methodologists nowadays view translation as a very effective way in conveying
meaning to the learners. Translation can save valuable time that might otherwise be spent on a
largely unsuccessful explanation in English and in can be a very quick way to dispose of low
frequency items that may worry the students. Furthermore, it can help the learners avoid their
misunderstandings of the meanings of the words. However, if teachers only give a direct
translation, students cannot see how the word is used in an English sentence. It would appear


13
therefore, that translation should be used when necessary and particularly when there it is a
word that is too difficult to explain in the given time.
The teachers also combine different techniques to show what a word means because each
technique can reinforce and support one another, thus making the presentation of new words
clearer and more effective.
1.4.2. Techniques in practising new words
According to Joseph Pettigrew (2005), many different tips and techniques of practising
vocabulary were introduced such as matching, synonyms/opposites, filling the blank sentences,
completing the phrases/ sentences. Moreover, teachers give the example and students give the

category or vice versa, correct the mistakes, label a picture, cross out the word that doesn't
belong with the others in group, arrange the words on a scale and complete the definition. Fun
and games are very useful to motivate students as crosswords, puzzles, category games.
1.4.3. Independent learning strategies
Techniques used in teaching GE vocabulary can be applied to teaching ESP vocabulary.
However, considering the complexity of the vocabulary learning task, it is necessary for
teachers to encourage learners to develop their own vocabulary learning strategies through
guessing strategies, dictionary strategies and memory strategies (Gu and Johnson, 1996).
Learners can be directed and trained to develop these strategies in their independent study
time.
1.4.3.1. Contextual guessing
Meaning could be inferred from clues in the context, for example, guessing through incidental
and intentional reading, a little proportion of unknown words in the text (learners should
know 90% of the words in the text) and the part of speech of the word, its collocation and the
various forms the word can take.
1.4.3.2. Memorizing
Memory strategies involve relating the word to be retained with some previously learned
knowledge that is facilitating the storage and retrieval of words. As Nattinger (1988) observes
“words in our mental lexicon are tied to each other not only by meaning form and sound but
also by sight”. They said, visualization is a useful aid in fixing words in memory
1.4.3.3. Affixes learning


14
Affixes learning is another popular strategy for learners to acquire vocabulary. In English
vocabulary, there is a relatively small group of very useful accessible affixes that can be
introduced to learners, for example, “able, er, ish, non, un…” for low intermediate learners.
The important thing is that teachers help students to recognize their own style of learning and
find their own ways of expanding and organizing their word stores. Whatever vocabulary
strategies are in use, learners must feel these are right for them. In the meantime, teachers may

help students develop a personal plan that best suits their vocabulary learning.
1.4.3.4. Repetition and recycling a word
Richards (1976) says: “knowing a word covers widely, which includes its occurrence, spelling,
derivation, appropriateness in different situations and word associations. Only by meeting it
repeatedly can learners develop a full understanding of its use and meaning”
1.4.3.5. Relating the word in reality
The use of visual images in the classroom is highly appreciated in vocabulary teaching such as
wall charts, flashcards and pictures “because it gives some idea that it is easier to conjure up a
mental image of a concrete item than an abstract one” (Gairns and Redman, 1993)
1.4.3.6. Brainstorming activities
Doing brainstorming activities is another way to learn or accumulate learners‟ vocabulary. It
generally refers to brainstorming associations that a word has and then diagramming the
results. For example, when asked to give words learners thought of when they heard the words
“kitchen”, most students would generate a number of words and phrases such as chopsticks,
spoon, colander, chopping board, spatula, whisk, electric rice cooker, grill, fry, steam, boil
etc…. Then they can cluster these words together that they think go together.


CHAPTER 2: THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
2.1. Context of study
At HTC, English is compulsory for all kinds of students from different majors. The English
course is divided into two parts: general English and ESP. The course for pre-intermediate
students lasts 2 years. In first two terms, students practice English in the textbook “Lifeline-
Elementary” by Tom Hutchinson, Oxford University Press, copyrighted by Information
Culture Press. In this process, students are equipped with basic background of four


15
communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing in order to prepare for the next
step. In the next two terms, ESP is chosen for students to upgrade their major in English. The

textbook “English for Food Production Staff” was compiled by the teachers of English in the
faculty of Foreign Languages for Tourism, HTC in 90 periods each term including 20 units
arranged according to the followings: getting started, listening and speaking, reading and
writing, key vocabulary.
Among majors in HTC, cookery English is a difficult subject because there are many terms,
especially foreign dishes which teachers have never known. The researcher would like to
focus on this major and carry out the research on English vocabulary for FP so as to find out
the difficulties and solutions to teaching and learning English vocabulary better in the future.
2.2. Description of the subjects
At the time this study was carried out, the total of 50 students were chosen from K13D3. All
of them were the second year students specialized in food production management at pre-
intermediate level at HTC. There were 35 male and 15 female students. This class was
selected at random among four classes.
In addition, four teachers of HTC were interviewed so as to achieve the aims of this research.
All of them had ever taught English for the students of Food Production Management Faculty
for at least three years. There were two male and two female teachers. Two of them compiled
the textbook “English for Food Production Staff”, therefore, their sharing and experience were
very invaluable. They all had M.A Degree in English.
The number of participants was limited but in comparison with the total of 7 teachers who
were responsible for teaching English for this major, it was not small at all. Furthermore, 50
students were considered representatives for others because the level of students in all these
four classes was not much different.
2.3. Descriptions of data collection instruments
Among a number ways in which information can be gathered; questionnaire, interview were
chosen to achieve the objectives of the study.
Questionnaire
The set of survey questionnaire for students was administered to get information related to
students‟ common difficulties in learning English vocabulary for cookery, their attitude
toward vocabulary learning of cookery and teaching methods and techniques used by teachers

16
they would prefer. The questionnaire was designed with both close-ended and open-ended
questions so that the respondents could give the answers freely. 14 questions were delivered to
50 students in the faculty of Food Production Management at tea break to make sure that the
students could fully understand the questions and ask for clarification if necessary. As a result,
all distributed questions returned with the answers. (See appendix 1)
Interview
Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participant‟s experiences. The
interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic. Interviews may be useful as
follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses.
(McNamara,1999). Hence, to get more information about the research, interview was
organized to find out teachers‟ attitude towards teaching vocabulary for cookery, their
difficulties they had to face in the process of teaching English vocabulary for cookery and
solutions to overcome the difficulties and enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning
English for students in HTC in general and in Faculty of Food Production Management in
particular. The researcher made interviews with four ESP teachers face to face and their
answers were really useful for the study. (See appendix 2&3)
2.4. Data collection procedure
Both questionnaire and interview were carried out at short break or after lessons in the
classroom. Students and teachers were encouraged to give their true answers focusing on
teaching methods, common difficulties in teaching and learning English vocabulary for
cookery, solutions to the troubles. All their information was kept secret and only used for this
research. The interviews with four teachers of ESP were recorded for later reference.
2.5. Data analysis results
2.5.1. The students’ questionnaires
First two questions were to find out the factors affecting the students‟ learning English such as
living conditions and experience.
1. Do you live in the city or in the country?
Students’ residence

17
28%
72%
City
Country

As shown in the pie chart, most of the students from the countryside or suburban areas make
up 72% while 28% came from the cities, which were considered to have better living
conditions, especially educational environment for foreign languages like English. The
number of students from the countryside is nearly three times more than the number of
students from the cities. It means that almost of students had difficulties in using English at the
beginners‟ level in general and using vocabulary in particular.
2. How long have you been studying English?
22%
50%
28%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1-4 years 5-8 years More than 8 years
1-4 years
5-8 years
More than 8 years

The column chart indicates that all the students were studying English at the time of the
research; however, time difference was relatively great. All the students from the cities had
been learning English for more than 8 years. The rate is 28%. It means that they started
studying English when they were in primary school. On the other hand, there was a big
number of English learning experiences under 8 years belonging to those who were from the
countryside (72%). Half of the students had ever learned English since they were in secondary
schools or in high schools; however, there were three students who only studied English when
they entered HTC. In short, the chart reflects the level differentiation among the students.
Chart 2
Chart 3: English learning experience


18
3. Do you find it difficult to listen, speak, read, write in English due to your lack of vocabulary?
All of the students agreed that they found it difficult to listen, speak, read and write in English
due to their lack of vocabulary. This helped the researcher investigate their challenges and
make solutions to the problems.
4. How much time do you usually spend learning new words outside the classroom?
Time for learning new words outside the classroom
Percentage
a. one hour a day
4%
b. two hours a day
0%
c. sometimes
62%
d. no time at all
34%
e. other suggestions
0%

Table 2: Time for learning new words outside the classroom
As can be seen, the percentage students spending one hour a day, two hours a day, some times
and no time at all learning new words outside the classroom takes turns to be 4%, 0%, 62%,
34%. Almost of the students sometimes studied English at home and the number of students
never studied English out of the class was great. Therefore, the table shows that the students
did not have good motivation in learning English as a foreign language.
5. Which of the followings is the most difficult in learning a new word?
36%
18%
24%
12%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Elements of a new word make students have difficulty
pronunciation
stress
word spelling
collocation
other ideas

As shown in the chart 4, 24% said that word spelling was one factor that made the students
confused. Beside, 18% said that it was stress, which they found very difficult to learn. 12%
accounts for collocation. It seems that pronunciation was the most difficult for the students
Chart 4

19
making up 36% while the smallest rate (10%) belongs to other ideas such as word formation,
word form, meaning, grammar.
6. Which of the followings is the most difficult in learning vocabulary of Food Production?
Students' difficulties in learning vocabulary for Food Production
18%
42%
26%
14%
terminologies
translating Vietnamese dishes into
English and vice versa
pronunciation
collocation

The result in chart 5 indicates that pronunciation and collocation continues to be one of the
factors making the students feel difficult to learn. The number of students supposing that they
had difficulty in pronunciation and collocation of English vocabulary for Food Production is
26% and 14%. The factor of terminology accounts for 18%. It shows that terminologies of
cookery were not too difficult for the students and anyways, these terminologies were quite
close to English in general training to some extent; however, the factor of translating
Vietnamese dishes into English and vice versa makes up the highest rate (42%). This was
caused by the fact that many Vietnamese dishes did not appear in Western countries or the
names of the dishes were given by cooks and they had hidden meanings, therefore, the
translation required the understanding of the dishes.
7. What do you think about the vocabulary exercises in the course book “English for food
production staff”?
Types of Exercises
Greatly
effective

Quite
Effective
Effective
Not
effective
Don’t
know
Other
suggestions

%
%
%
%
%
%
Match the expressions
with the pictures
70
22
8
0
0
0
Chart 5


20
Fill in the gaps to
complete the sentences

20
20
54
6
0
0
Ask and answer the
questions
14
28
48
10
0
0
Put the words into the
correct groups
10
34
56
0
0
0
Put the sentences into
the correct order
4
32
28
36
0
0

Put the words into the
correct order
48
14
26
12
0
0
Write a dialog using
prompts
10
28
32
30
0
0
Rewrite the sentence
10
26
10
24
30
0
Write a short paragraph
10
16
14
18
42
0

Find the mistakes and
correct them
20
34
22
16
8
0
Search word in the
squares
80
10
10
0
0
0
Listen and choose the
correct words in the box
26
10
10
24
30
0
Listen and fill in the
gaps
10
22
18
24

26
0
Use the words in the
lesson to do a speaking
task
10
28
32
30
0
0
Other types of
vocabulary exercises
you ever used
0
0
0
0
0
0
Table 3: Students’ evaluation on vocabulary exercises in the course book “English for
Food Production Staff”
When being asked this question, most of students (70%) said that vocabulary exercises and
tasks in the course book were varied, effective and relevant. About 30% of the students said
that the exercises were difficult and uninteresting and they expected the teachers to give them