(Luận văn thạc sĩ) designing an ESP reading syllabus for students of electronics and telecommunication at the people’s police university of technology and logistics

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

----------

BÙI THỊ THANH LAN

DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS
FOR STUDENTS OF ELECTRONICS AND
TELECOMMUNICATION AT THE PEOPLE’S POLICE
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND LOGISTICS
Thiết kế chương trình đọc hiểu Tiếng Anh Chuyên ngành
cho sinh viên khoa Điện tử - Viễn thông
tại trường Đại học Kỹ thuật - Hậu cần Công an Nhân dân

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hoàng Văn Vân

HANOI - 2016


DECLARATION
I declare that this thesis is the result of my own research.
The study was done under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Van at Vietnam
National University, Ha Noi.

Hanoi, 2016

Bùi Thị Thanh Lan

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

On the completion of this thesis, I would like to express my deepest gratitude
to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Van, who has offered me precious support,
guidance, suggestions and encouragement throughout the research.
My special thanks go to the lecturers of the Post-graduate cohort 22 at Vietnam
National University - Hanoi, University of Languages and International Studies for
their inspiring lectures.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to all the teachers, colleagues and
students at People‟s Police University of Technology and Logistics for their willing
participation in answering questionnaires and sharing ideas on relevant issues.
Last but not least, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family
who gave me supports during the study.

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ABSTRACT

A great emphasis has been placed on English as a foreign language learning at
People‟s Police University of Technology and Logistics. However, the current
syllabus for students of Electronics and Telecommunication has proved inadequate in
addressing the students‟ needs. Besides, this study is carried out in order to propose a
new ESP syllabus which can fit the new time allowance of the credit training program

at UTL.
This study, therefore, aims to investigate the needs of ET students in their own
perception and in the viewpoints of ESP and ET teachers, which serve as the basis for
designing a new ESP reading syllabus. An analysis of needs was carried out based on
Hutchinson & Water‟s (1987) framework, by the means of questionnaires and
interviews to gather information from four sources: ET teachers, teachers of ESP, and
ET students at UTL. The findings such as students‟ expectations, preferences and
English competence, ESP teachers‟ expectations and suggestions, were taken into
account in constructing the syllabus.
Based on the literature review and the survey findings, an ESP reading syllabus is
proposed. This syllabus can expectedly improve the ESP reading learning and
teaching situation at UTL as it makes the course more responsive to the students‟
needs and harmonizes with the training goals of the university.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ............................................................................................................. i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...................................................................................... vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................ 1
I. Rationale....................................................................................................................... 1
II. Aim and objectives ...................................................................................................... 2
III. Scope of the study....................................................................................................... 2
IV. Methods of the study .................................................................................................. 3
V. Significance of the study .............................................................................................. 3
VI. Design of the study ..................................................................................................... 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT…………………………………………………………...5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW........................................................................ 5
1.1. An overview of ESP ................................................................................................ 5
1.1.1. What is ESP? ........................................................................................................ 5
1.1.2. Types of ESP ........................................................................................................ 6
1.2. Overview of reading in ESP .................................................................................... 7
1.2.1. Definition of reading ............................................................................................ 7
1.2.2. ESP reading instruction ........................................................................................ 8
1.2.3. Reading sub-skills................................................................................................. 8
1.2.4. Reading exercises ................................................................................................. 9
1.3. An overview of syllabus design ............................................................................ 10
1.3.1. Definition of syllabus ......................................................................................... 10
1.3.2. Approaches to syllabus design ........................................................................... 12
1.3.3. Types of syllabuses ............................................................................................. 15
1.3.4. Steps to design a syllabus ................................................................................... 17
1.3.4.1. Needs analysis in syllabus design.................................................................... 17
1.3.4.2. Goal setting ...................................................................................................... 19
1.3.4.3. Selecting and grading contents ........................................................................ 20
1.3.4.4. Selecting and grading learning tasks ............................................................... 20
1.4. Summary of the chapter ......................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 2: AN INVESTIGATION ON THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS TOWARDS
AN ESP COURSE ........................................................................................................ 22
2.1. Teaching and learning ESP and ESP situation at UTL ......................................... 22
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2.2. A survey of students‟ needs ................................................................................... 24
2.2.1. The research questions ....................................................................................... 24
2.2.2. Data collection instruments ................................................................................ 24
2.2.3. Subjects of the study ........................................................................................... 27
2.2.4. Data collection procedures ................................................................................. 28

2.2.5. Data analysis ....................................................................................................... 28
2.2.6. Findings and discussion ...................................................................................... 29
2.2.6.1. Students‟ problems in ESP reading ................................................................. 29
2.2.6.2. Oppinions on the goal of the ESP reading course ........................................... 29
2.2.6.3. Opinions on the needed grammar topics ......................................................... 30
2.2.6.4. Opinions on the needed reading skills ............................................................. 31
2.2.6.5. Opinions on the needed exercises.................................................................... 31
2.2.6.6. Selections of reading topics ............................................................................. 32
2.3. Summary of the chapter…………………………………………………………32
CHAPTER 3: A PROPOSED ESP READING SYLLABUS ...................................... 33
FOR THIRD-YEAR ET STUDENTS AT UTL .......................................................... 33
3.1. Setting goal for the course ..................................................................................... 33
3.2. Selecting the type of ESP syllabus ........................................................................ 33
3.3. Selection of syllabus contents ............................................................................... 34
3.3.1. Topics in the syllabus ......................................................................................... 34
3.3.2. Reading sub-skills in the syllabus ...................................................................... 35
3.3.3. Reading exercises in the syllabus ....................................................................... 35
3.3.4. Grammar and structures in the syllabus ............................................................. 36
3.3.5. Organization and duration of the syllabus .......................................................... 36
3.3.6. The proposed syllabus ........................................................................................ 37
3.4. Suggestions for using the syllabus ........................................................................ 38
3.4.1. Suggestions for teaching methodology .............................................................. 39
3.4.2. Suggestions for assessment strategies ................................................................ 39
3.4.3. Suggestions for material selection ...................................................................... 40
3.5. Summary of the chapter………………………………………………………….40
PART C: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 41
I. Recapitulation............................................................................................................ 41
II. Limitations and suggestions for further study ......................................................... 41
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 43
APPENDIXES………….………………………………………………………………I

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APPENDIX 1 ...... ………………………………….………………………………….I
APPENDIX 2 …………………………………………….………………………….III
APPENDIX 3 .. ……………………………………………………………………….V
APPENDIX 4 ……………………………………………………………………….VII
APPENDIX 5 ……………………………………………………………………….IX
APPENDIX 6 .. ……………………………………………………………………….X
APPENDIX 7 ……………………………………………………………………….XI
APPENDIX 8 ……………………………………………………………………….XII
APPENDIX 9 ………………………………………………………………………XIII
APPENDIX 10 .. ……………………………………………………………………XV
APPENDIX 11 . ……………………………………………………………………XVI

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EGP: English for General Purposes
ESP: English for Specific Purposes
ET:

Electronics and Telecommunication

UTL: University of Technology and Logistics

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
I. Rationale
As can be seen from books on the history of ESP, since the end of World War
II business, science and technology has been unprecedentedly blooming. English has
become the key to world‟s science, technology and commerce. Being aware of this
fact, Vietnamese educators have been paying great attention and investment on
developing English training programs. In this trend, administration board of the
University of Technology and Logistics (UTL) once confirmed that English is among
the most important skills that students of technology should improve while training at
UTL.
The university, however, has been founded for only five years; curriculums,
syllabuses, textbooks, therefore, are still in the process of experiment and adaptation.
At the time this study began, only four batches of students had been recruited: D1, D2,
D3 and D4. D1 and D2 are following five year training program, meanwhile D3 and
afterwards are following the new credit based program. D1 are now at their fifth year
and they have completed both EGP and ESP courses.
From the experience of teaching D1 and D2 students and discussions with
colleagues, the author, at a first glance, finds that the current ESP syllabuses do not
meet the students‟ needs. Topics of the lessons are not attractive and some are not
practical to students‟ profession. On the other hand, these topics are not properly
sequenced as commented by some teachers of Electronics and Telecommunication.
The exercises are rather monotonous, which can easily lead to boredom for both
teachers and students. These reasons can be traced back to the process of conducting
these syllabuses, in which needs analysis had not been carried out.
Another reason for the author to start the study is that the new batches of
students - D3, D4 and afterward will shift to follow the new training program, namely
credit-based program. This new program lasts only four years, one year shorter
compared with the normal school-year program. As a matter of fact, curriculums and
syllabuses for these students have to be remade or modified. ESP syllabuses are also

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to be redesigned so that the time for the course will be shortened from 75 forty-fiveminute periods in two terms into 45 fifty-minute periods in one term. If the syllabus
proposed in this study is approved for the new program, it would be a great honor to
the author.
For the reasons above, this study is carried out in order to propose a new ESP
syllabus which can fit the new time allowance and the goal of the new training
program. More importantly, it is hoped that the new syllabus can be a positive
response to the needs of students of Electronics and Telecommunication at UTL.
II. Aim and objectives
The study aims at designing a new ESP reading syllabus which can meet both
the learners‟ needs and the objectives of the training program. To achieve this aim,
these objectives are set as follows:
-

investigating the current situation of teaching and learning English, especially

English for Specific Purposes at UTL;
-

identifying the needs of the target students;

-

proposing an ESP reading syllabus for students of Electronics and

Telecommunication students at UTL.
III. Scope of the study

The study is carried out to formulate an ESP reading syllabus for students of
Electronics and Telecommunication at UTL. These target students have completed
210 forty-five minute periods of General English, which can help reach B1 level in
CEFR scale. The study limits itself to these target students.
Presumed time allotment for the course is 45 fifty-minute periods. Within the
given time, all the four language skills should not be equally focused in the syllabus.
Reading is then chosen as the backbone of the course, as also suggested by the
administration board of the university. Biases on other aspects of language are beyond
the scope of this study.

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IV. Methods of the study
After critically reviewing literature on ESP reading syllabus design (see chapter
1, pages 5 - 21), the author finds out two points: (1) needs analysis is the basis to
design a syllabus, and (2) to carry a successful needs analysis, survey method has been
by far the most popularly used by researchers as it can help collect a large amount of
data in a short time. Therefore, survey method is employed when analyzing the needs
of target students. Data are collected from different relevant parties: ET students, ET
teachers and ESP teachers. Data are collected by the means of questionnaires and
interviews. Basing on theory review (chapter 1) and need analysis (chapter 2.2.),
together with the objectives set up by the training board as well as a qualitative
assessment on the current situation of ESP teaching and learning at UTL (chapter
2.1.), a syllabus is constructed.
V. Significance of the study
The study is initially considered a progression of the author‟s ESP teaching
practice. Besides, the study might be useful for course designers in general and
especially ESP course designers at UTL in the way that it revises the theory of ESP
and syllabus design. Thirdly, ESP teachers at UTL may find it beneficial as it suggests

teaching methods and helps teachers understand their students‟ needs better.
VI. Design of the study
The study consists of three parts:
Part A: Introduction. This part gives brief information on the rationale, aims
and objectives, scope of the study and the methods of the study.
Part B: Development. This part consists of three chapters.
Chapter 1 presents the theoretical background on which the study is based. In
this chapter, definitions and relevant features of syllabus, syllabus design, needs
analysis, ESP, reading skill in ESP and types of reading exercises will be reviewed.
Chapter 2 consists of two parts. Part 1 is an overview of teaching and learning
EGP and ESP at the university. The second part discusses the first and the most
important phase of designing the syllabus: needs analysis, which is carried out through
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a survey research. The findings of needs analysis together with the assessment of ESP
and ESP teaching and learning situation will be used as the basis for designing an ESP
reading syllabus for the target students.
Chapter 3 reports on the procedures of constructing the syllabus basing on
theory reviewed in chapter 1 and needs analysis results in chapter 2, and finally
proposes a complete syllabus with some suggestions to use it.
Part C: Conclusion. This part summarizes what has been discussed in the study,
points out the limitations, and makes some suggestions for further study.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents the theories concerning ESP reading syllabus design. It is
divided into four main sections. The first section, an overview of ESP and ESP
courses, reviews the opinions of different scholars on the definition of ESP, major
characteristics of an ESP course. The second section provides an overview of reading
skills, reading strategies and reading test techniques. The third section, an overview of
syllabus design, presents some definitions of syllabus, types, approaches to ESP
syllabus design, and steps to design a syllabus. This part plays an important role in
designing an appropriate syllabus as it provides a framework for the designer. In this
part, the author focuses on reviewing relevant issues in needs analysis, which serves
as the basis of the designing procedures.
1.1. An overview of ESP
1.1.1. What is ESP?
ESP (English for Specific Purposes) is one important branch of the EFL/ESL
(English as a Foreign/Second Language) system. Definitions of ESP can vary from
different linguists, but there is a common feature that lays the emphasis on the needs
of a particular group of learners.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) consider ESP an approach rather than a product.
They state that “the foundation of ESP is the simple question: Why does this learner
need to learn a foreign language?” Answers to this question should involve the needs
of the learner.
Strevens (1988) defines an ESP course through its characteristics. The absolute
characteristics include: (1) designed to meet specified needs of the learner; (2) related
in content (that is in its themes and topics) to particular disciplines, occupations and
activities; (3) centered on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis,
discourse, semantics and so on, and analysis of the discourse; and (4) in contrast with
“General English”. Two variable characteristics defined by Strevens are: (1) it may be

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restricted as to the learning skills to be learned (for example reading only) and (2) it
may not be taught according to any pre-ordained methodology.
Dudbley-Evans (1997) proposes probably the most comprehensive definition of
modern ESP, in which ESP is described with three absolute characteristics: (1) ESP is
designed to meet specific needs of the learner; (2) ESP makes use of the underlying
methodology and activities of the disciplines it serves; and (3) ESP is centered on the
language (grammar, lexis, and register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to
these activities. It is also pointed out in the definition that ESP has some variable
characteristics as follows:
- ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;
- ESP may use a different methodology from that of GEP;
- 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 used for
learners at secondary school level;
- ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students. Most ESP
courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system, but it can be
used with beginners.
1.1.2. Types of ESP
According to Dudley-Evans and John (1998: 6), ESP is divided into two branches:
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP). EAP
is further divided into: English for Academic Science and Technology, English for
Academic Medical Purposes, English for Academic Legal Purposes and English for
Management, Finance and Economics. English for Occupational Purposes is also further
divided into: English for Professional Purposes and English for Vocational Purposes.
Within English for Professional Purposes, there are two sub-sections: English for Medical
Purposes and English for Business Purposes.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 16) classify ESP into three types: English for the
Science and Technology, English for Business and Economics and English for the Social
Sciences. Each of these subject areas is further divided into two branches: English for
Academic Purposes and English for Occupational Purposes. Nevertheless, Hutchinson and

6


Waters do emphasize that there is no clear distinction between English for Accademic
Purposes and English for Occupational Purposes because: “people can work and study
simultaneously; it is likely that in many cases the language learnt for immediate use in a
study environment will be used later when the students take up, or return to a job”.
Basing on the classification by Dubley-Evans and John above, English for Electronics
and Telecommunications could be seen as English for Science and Technology which
further belongs to English for Professional Purposes branch. Basing on Hutchinson and
Water‟s viewpoint, it cab belong to both two types: English for Accademic and for
Occupational Purposes.
1.2. Overview of reading in ESP
1.2.1. Definition of reading
Different authors define reading differently and each of them expresses the
author‟s own points of view from different dimensions.
Tinker and McCullough (1975) state that “reading involves the identification
and recognition of printed or written symbols which serve as stimuli for the recall of
meanings built up through past experience, and further the construction of new
meanings through the reader‟s manipulation of relevant concepts already in his
possession. The resulting meanings are organized into thought processes according to
the purposes that are operating in the reader” whereas Nuttall (1982) considers reading
as “getting a message from a written text”.
According to Smith (1985), “reading is understanding the author‟s thought”.
Sharing the same opinion, Harmer (1989) described reading as a mechanical process
that “eyes receive the messages and the brain then has to work out the significance of
these messages”.
Although no definition can possibly capture all the ideas and features of
reading, all of the definitions try to find out the nature of reading and reading act, in

which the readers, reading process, and reading message are emphasized. It can be
concluded from these definitions that reading is an interactive process between the
reader and the writer through which the reader decodes the message encoded by the

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writer from the text. To complete a reading task, the reader must use his/her own
lexical, semantic, syntactic knowledge, and other background knowledge to decode
the meaning of the message.
1.2.2. ESP reading instruction
Reading is probably regarded as the most critical skill in both ESP and ESP.
Carrel (1988) states that for many students, reading is by far the most important of
four skills in a second language.
Thornbury (2006) divides classroom reading into two types: reading as skills
development and reading as language study, i.e., using texts to study linguistic
features. In most ESP as well as ESP classes, reading is mainly instructed for both or
either of the two purposes. Actually there is no real difference between reading skills
in EGP and ESP as “reading skills are not language-specific but universal”
(Chitravelu, 1980, quoted in Hutchinson & Water, 1987). In short, instruction of
reading skills in ESP is basically similar to reading instruction in EGP.
However, ESP reading instruction has its own typical characteristics. ESP
reading in particular is primarily instructed for the purpose of familiarizing students
with the way the specialized English language is used in a particular subject area,
together with developing reading skills, so they can effectively deal with a possibly
enormous volume of literature in their future career. Reading in ESP classes,
therefore, demands a greater degree of concentration, precision and intensity than in
ESP classes. Thus ESP teachers should equip their students with useful reading skills
and strategies, give them opportunities to get familiar with terminology in their own
domain so as to reach the ultimate goal of any reading program, that is “to enable

students to read without help unfamiliar authentic texts at appropriate speed with
adequate understanding” (Nuttal, 1996: 21).
1.2.3. Reading sub-skills
There are a number of taxonomies of reading sub-skills; however, within the
scope of this study, the author would like to follow the theory of reading in ESP as

8


developed by Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) as this taxonomy is more simple and
detailed than others.
According to John and Davies (1983), cited in Dudley-Evans & St John (Ibid.),
text in ESP is not used only as a linguistic object but also a vehicle of information.
Dudley-Evans and St John also accept the theory of the balance between skills and
language proposed by Hosenfeld (1977) and Alderson (1984). According to this
theory, good reading requires both language and skills. The crucial skills to be learnt
are:
-

selecting what is relevant for the current purpose;

-

using all the features of the text such as headings, layout;

-

skimming for content and meaning;

-

scanning for specifics;

-

identifying organizational patterns;

-

understanding relations within a sentence and between sentences;

-

using cohesive and discourse markers;

-

predicting, 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.

In this study, these sub-skills are used as the suggested reading sub-skills in the

questions for interviews and then are selected to be included in the proposed syllabus.
1.2.4. Reading exercises
According to Madsen (1983), Heaton (1988) and Hughes (1989) there are some
types of reading test questions: multiple choice; true /false; short answer; wordmatching and gap-filling. A multiple-choice question is a question with several
answers from which the correct one is to be chosen. The true/false question is one of
the most widely used in tests of reading comprehension. It is a kind of exercises

9


consisting of a series of statements that need to be marked true or false by students. It
can provide the scores quickly and reliably. Third, the best short answer questions are
those with a unique correct response. The response may be a single word or a short
phrase. Fourth, word-matching items assist in developing word recognition speed.
Word-matching should be covered by the students as quickly as possible. Last, gapfilling is considered particularly useful in testing reading. It can be used for scanning
items or when the required response is so complex that may cause writing and scoring
problems.
Hoang Van Van (2010) suggests a more comprehensible list of while and postreading activities, that could be used as exercises to develop students‟ reading skills. It
consists: word meaning guessing (đoán nghĩa của từ qua văn cảnh); wh-questions
(các câu hỏi để kiểm tra hiểu biết); multiple-choice questions (câu hỏi đa lựa chọn);
true/false questions (đúng/ sai); title and content matching (khớp nối nhan đề và đoạn
văn); taking notes (ghi chép); summarizing (tóm tắt); speaking as a continuent activity
after reading (nói như là một hoạt động tiếp theo đọc) và critical reading (đọc phê
phán). He also emphasizes that multiple-choice and true/false questions should be
carefully used with the supplementation of other activities since they themselves
cannot ensure students understand the reading content.
In short, to help students read effectively, the ESP reading syllabus should
suggest a variety of reading activities/ reading exercises that contribute to the

development of necessary reading skills which students need in their study.
1.3. An overview of syllabus design
1.3.1. Definition of syllabus
This section discusses definitions of syllabus and how it relates to a broader
field of curriculum development.
The terms syllabus and curriculum were confusing in the past as they were
used interchangeably sometimes. However, modern linguistics scholars tend to
distinguish the two term in the way that curriculum provides only general information
about a training program which may include many different syllabuses with details of

10


what will be taught and learnt. Candlin (1984) cited in Nunan (1988) proposes a
distinction between curricula and syllabuses. In his view, “curricula are concerned
with making general statements about language learning, learning purpose and
experience, evaluation, and the role relationships of teachers and learners... they also
contain banks of learning items and suggestions about how these might be used in
class. Syllabuses, on the other hand, are more localized and are based on accounts and
records of what actually happens at the classroom level as teachers and learners apply
a given curriculum to their own situation.”
Nunan also quotes several other opinions from Brumfit (1984) such as:
“curriculum is a very general concept which involves consideration of the whole
complex of philosophical, social and administrative factors which contribute to the
planning of an educational program. Syllabus, on the other hand, refers to that subpart
of curriculum which is concerned with a specification of what units will be taught (as
distinct from how they will be taught, which is a matter for methodology)” (Allen,
1984).
From the definitions above, it can be accepted to consider syllabus design is a
part of the curriculum development as a whole. However, for the syllabus itself,

concepts of syllabus and syllabus design also differ from different linguists due to
their different views on the nature of language and language learning. Some linguists
with the narrow view think that distinction should be made between syllabus content
and methodology. For example, Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 80) define syllabus as
“at its simplest level, a statement of what is to be learnt. It reflects of language and
linguistic performance.” On the contrary, scholars who adopt a broader view argue
that syllabus content and methodology are inseparable. Candlin (cited in Nunan 1988:
46) questions whether it is possible to distinguish the content from the method and
evaluation. He thinks that all these factors should be combined to have a more
inclusive view to what teachers are to do in class. Widdowson (1983) provides a
definition of syllabus as a general plan of activities that can be applied in a class to
facilitate the learning process. As it is narrowed by Yalden (1984), syllabus is seen as
“an instrument by which the teacher, with the help of the syllabus designer, can

11


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”.
Sharing the same view, Dublin and Olshtain (1986: 28) offer a very comprehensive
view on syllabus which contain the following ingredients:
(1) What the learners are expected to know at the end of the course, or the
course objectives;
(2) What to be taught or learnt during the course;
(3) When it is to be taught, and at what of progress relating to the inventory of
items to the different levels and stages as well as to the time constraints of the
course;
(4) How it is taught, suggesting procedures, techniques and materials;
(5) How it is to be evaluated, suggesting testing and evaluating mechanism.
Overall, there are two conflicting views on what syllabus should be. One

suggests that it should only concerns with the selection and grading of content and
therefore, syllabus and methodology are two separate dimensions. Other proposes that
it should also include learning tasks and activities as well as grading these issues. This
study tends to adopt the broader view.
1.3.2. Approaches to syllabus design
Syllabus designing is strongly influenced by the designer‟ view on the nature of
language and language learning (Nunan, 1988). Traditional views leads to the fact that
designers start the work by listing out the grammatical, phonological and vocabulary
items and grading them according to levels of difficulty and usefulness.
Communicative views of language teaching inserts the skills students need to master
in new syllabuses. According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), three approaches to
syllabus design are: language-centered; skills-centered and learning centered.
Language – centered approach
This approach is stated by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) as “the simplest kind
of course design process and the most familiar to English teachers. The language-

12


centered course design process aims to draw as direct connection as possible between
the analysis of the target situation and the content of the ESP course”. This approach
presents a logical procedure because it begins with the learner, proceeds through
various stages of analysis to a syllabus and the accompanied materials, and ends with
evaluation of the syllabus items. However, Hutchinson and Waters criticized some
weaknesses of this approach: (1) this approach starts from the learners and their needs,
so, the learners in this model are simply used as a means of identifying the target
situation. We know that, the learners play no further part in the process, they should
be considered at every stage of the process; (2) it is criticized for being a static and
inflexible procedure because it depends on the initial analysis of the target situation.
It cannot respond to unsuspected or developing influences; (3) because of the

dependence on the target situation, the learning factors which contribute to the
creation of any course are not considered to be important at all; (4) its analysis of the
target situation data is only at the surface level, so, it reveals little about the
competence that underlines the performance.
Skill-centered approach
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) say that this approach to ESP has been widely
applied in a number of countries and it is founded on two fundamental principles, they
are theoretical and pragmatic. According to two authors Hutchinson and Waters
(1987) this approach sees the ESP course as helping learners to develop skills and
strategies, which will continuously develop after the ESP course. It aims at making the
learners into better processors of information. The roles of need analysis are providing
a basis for discovering the underlying competence that enables the learners to perform
in the target situation, and enabling the course designers to discover the potential
knowledge and abilities that the learners bring to the ESP classroom. Therefore, this
approach can take the learners more into account than the language-centered
approach. However, this model still shows its weaknesses because it approaches the
learners as a user of language rather than as a learner of language. The pedagogical
processes are the processes of language use, not of language learning.

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Learning – centered approach
In comparison with two approaches mentioned above, Hutchinson and Waters
(1987) argues: “the skill-centered approach does not fully take the learner into account
because it still makes the ESP learning situation too dependent on the target situation.
The learner is used to identify and to analyze the target situation needs. But then, as
with the language-centered approach, the learner is discarded and the target situation
analysis is allowed to determine the content of the course with little further reference
to the learner”. While this approach focuses on not only the target situation but also

the learning situation needs. It “takes account of the learner at every stage of the
design process.” (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987: 74) According to these authors (1987),
“learning is not just a mental process; it is a process of negotiation between
individuals and society. Society sets the target (in the case of ESP, performance in the
target situation) and the individuals must do their best to get as close to that target as
possible (or reject it)”. It means the learners will find their own way to travel; the
learners are not the only factor to consider in the learning process, so the term
learning-centered approach is used instead of learner-centered. Hutchinson and Waters
(1987) state that learning-centered approach has two implications: (1) Course design
is negotiated process. No single factor has an outright determining influence on the
content of the course. The ESP learning situation and the target situation will both
influence the nature of the syllabus, materials, methodology, and evaluation
procedures. Similarly, each of these components will influence and be influenced by
the others. (2) Course design is a dynamic process. It does not move in a linear fashion
from initial analysis to completed course. Needs and resources vary with time. The
course design, therefore, needs to have built-in feedback channels to enable the course
to respond to developments.
In a nutshell, each approach has its own strengths since it bases and focuses on
one aspect of pedagogy. However, it is this feature that, to some extent, weakens the
effectiveness of a syllabus. Therefore, an integrated approach will be adopted in this
study in order to maximize learning and also point out the language and the reading
sub-skills that students needs to develop during the course.

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1.3.3. Types of syllabuses
Different approaches result in different ways of classification the types of
syllabuses. Following is a review of types of syllabuses mentioned in Nunan (1988)
and Robinson (1991).

Grammatical syllabuses are built with selecting and grading grammatical
matters according to their complexity and practical use. It is criticized because it
focuses on “only one aspect of language, that is, formal grammar” (Nunan, Ibid.).
However, it also has a strength which lies in the practical principle of working from
the easy to the difficult, from the familiar to the unfamiliar. As a result, this type of
syllabus is, though traditional-characterized, still in use by both General English (GE)
and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) syllabus designers.
Functional-notional syllabuses are a contradiction to grammatical syllabuses
since it lays emphasis on the semantic knowledge and the use of language rather than
the set of grammatical structures. Nunan (Ibid.) points out that learners and learners‟
communication are the focus of the syllabus. Authentic materials and realistic
activities are the main features of this type of syllabus. However, functional-notional
syllabuses only provide loose, discontinuous and specific functions of the language,
which may not help learners very much in handling the new possible language items.
This type is used by a lot of ESP syllabus designers for its basis is using the specific
and often authentic discourse together with satisfying learning needs.
Procedural syllabus is based on the idea that language can be best learned
when attention is concentrated on meaning. It puts emphasis on the learning process,
not on the language. The content of lessons is planned basing on the tasks or activities
selected, there is no pre-selection of linguistic content. There is very little use of
traditional teaching activities such as drilling and error correction. Grading of content
is not so much considerable for the syllabus designer.
Task-based syllabus, as its name suggests, concerns syllabuses designed
basing on tasks and activities. Using the language, students have to complete a work
or a study task. This type of syllabus is therefore quite appropriate for ESP courses.
However, Nunan also points out many of its drawbacks including language
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complexity, psychological stress, knowledge background, task difficulty and

assistance amount.
Content-based syllabus is based on the selecting of topics or contents of the
course. This is also a useful theory to ESP syllabus designers as ESP sometimes aims
at teaching the specialist content in English (Robinson, 1991: 36). Richard (2001: 158)
also names three advantages of this type of syllabuses: (1) Content serves as the best
basis for teaching the skill areas; (2) It can address learners‟ needs and can motivate
them; (3) It can allow for the use of authentic materials. However, it encounters a
difficulty in practice since the subject logic may provide a non-linguistic rationale for
the selecting and grading content.
Situational syllabus is based on the principle that language cannot be
thoroughly understood if there is no reference to a certain context. This type of
syllabuses seems to be highly relevant to students‟ target needs. Yet it would be very
difficult to grade situations in terms of difficulty as well as predicting the relation
between situation and language used.
Skill-based syllabus focuses “exclusively or principally on one of the four
traditional skills. The strength of this type of syllabuses lays on the higher chance
provided to students to develop their skill. However, the selection of the skills may be
based on the author‟s perception of their usefulness, whereas their order is normally
based on various criteria such as chronology, frequency, or relative usefulness of the
skills

(Brown,

1995).

What

the

skill-based

syllabus

designer

does

is

to draw up an inventory of the sub-skills, then sequence them, and weave them
together in a principled way (Robinson, 2009). Richards (2001: 161) yet points out
some advantages of skill-based syllabuses: (1) they teach skills that can be transferred
to many other situations; (2) they identify teachable and learnable units.
In summary, there are many types of syllabus; all of them have advantages and
disadvantages. However, “Which syllabus type or types to employ will result from a
judicious consideration of the students‟ needs and objectives of the course, together
with the institutional bias of the teaching institution” (Robinson, 1991: 41). Nunan
(1988) acknowledges that in real practice, a syllabus “can be located somewhere along
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a process/product continuum” meaning that realization of syllabus types can be a
mixed one. In this study, a combination of different types of syllabuses, mainly
including (1) skill-based, (2) content-based, (3) grammatical and task-based. Skillbased is first adopted as it is stated previously in the scope of the study that a reading
syllabus will be designed; reading sub-skills that could be taught and learnt during
class time will be addressed. Content-based syllabus is used to select topics and
vocabulary (subject matters) to include in the proposed syllabus. After that,
grammatical topics are selected accordingly basing on grammatical syllabus theory.
Task-based provides some reference to choose types of activities or reading exercises
for each lesson.

1.3.4. Steps to design a syllabus
According to Graves‟ (1996), designing a syllabus should follow these seven
steps: needs assessment, determining goals and objectives, conceptualizing content,
selecting and developing materials and activities, organization of content and
activities, evaluation and consideration of resources and constraints. However, since
materials development is quite a big area, the study do not attempt to cover this step.
The study limits itself to follow these following steps: needs analysis, goal setting,
selecting and grading contents and suggesting resources, selecting and grading
learning tasks and finally suggesting teaching methods and testing techniques.
1.3.4.1. Needs analysis in syllabus design
Needs analysis is the “building block” of any language syllabus. This is also
the first step of syllabus design.
“Needs” refers to students‟ study or job requirements, which are what they
have to do at the end of the course. (Widdowson, 1981). Needs also refers to “what
the user-institution or society at large regard as necessary or desirable to be learnt
from a program of language instruction”. Needs can also refer to what the learners
need to do to acquire the language (Widdowson, 1981, cited in Robinson, 1997: 7).
Needs analysis “refers to the activities involved in gathering information that
will serve as the basis for developing a curriculum that will meet the learning needs of

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