Khó khăn của sinh viên đhnn trong việc tiếp cận thuật ngữ của khóa học tiếng anh kinh tế

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
*******************

GRADUATION PAPER

DIFFICULTIES FACING ULIS STUDENTS IN APPROACHING
TERMINOLOGY IN ENGLISH FOR ECONOMICS COURSE

Supervisor : Ms Can Thi Chang Duyen
Student: Pham Thi Xuan Quynh
Year: QH2008

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2012

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ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH
*******************

KHỐ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

KHĨ KHĂN CỦA SINH VIÊN ĐHNN TRONG VIỆC TIẾP CẬN
THUẬT NGỮ CỦA KHÓA HỌC TIẾNG ANH KINH TẾ

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Ms Cấn Thị Chang Duyên
Sinh viên: Phạm Thị Xuân Quỳnh

Khoá: QH2008

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2012

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
supervisors, Ms. Can Thi Chang Duyen, M.A. for her precious support and helpful
instructions on the construction of my study, which have always been the decisive
factors in the completion of this paper.
Second, I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to the teachers in the ESP
group, who have enthusiastically helped me to carry out the study with ease.
Moreover, my words of thanks are sent to students of FELTE for their participation in
the data collection procedure.
Furthermore, I would like to give my thanks to my teachers who have taught
me academic writing as well as research methodology, thanks to which I could
overcome all the difficulties when working on the study.
I also owe a great debt of gratitude to my parents, my family and my friends,
my roommate, particularly the whole 081.E20, who have constantly encouraged me
during the time of conducting this research and have always been so helpful.
Last but not least, I would like to extend my special thanks to the readers who
spend their time reading and commenting on this study

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ABSTRACT
Nowadays, with the development of globalization and economic integration,
economics and the related issues have become one of the most-mentioned topics
worldwide.

Therefore, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been a promising

branch in English Language Teaching. The purpose of ESP course is to supply learners
English language used in Economics, which typically presented by terminology.
While much effort focus has been put on translation of terminology, difficulties for
linguistic students in learning economic terms have not been drawn full proper
attention yet. By highlighting the lack of related studies in the ESP setting in Vietnam,
this paper is one among the first studies on the linguistic students‟ learning
terminology through their difficulties, causes and solutions. Thanks to a flexible
combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, valid results can be yielded from
the study. Questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument to indentify the most
common challenges in three processes of learning term including understanding,
remembering, and applying. 30 fourth-year students were chosen as the participants of
the study. They were classified into two groups which are double degree program
students and mainstream students who major in English Language Teaching. The
reasons for their difficulties were categorized into internal causes, and external ones.
Solutions suggested by students and teachers were also provided in the thesis.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Acknowledgements

i

Abstract

ii

List of figures and abbreviations

iii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1.

Rationale

1

1.2.

Aims and research questions

2

1.3.

Significance of the research

3

1.4.

Scope of the study

3

1.5.

Organization of the paper

3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1.

Key concepts

2.1.1. ESP

5
5

2.1.1.1. What is ESP?

5

2.1.1.2. Classification of ESP

6

2.1.1.3. Differences from ESL ( English as a second language/ GE)

7

2.1.2. ESP course in ULIS

8

2.1.3. Terminology
2.1.3.1. Definitions

9

2.1.3.2. Characteristics

9

2.1.3.3. The distinction between terms and words

11

7


2.1.4. General understanding of approaching terminology

11

2.1.4.1. Three processes of approaching terminology

11

2.1.4.2. Main factors affecting the learning of terminology

12

2.2.

Related studies

14

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOG Y

3.1. Setting of the study

16

3.2. Participants

16

3.2.1. Senior students from FELTE

16

3.2.2. ESP teachers

17

3.3. Data collection instruments

18

3.3.1. Questionnaires

18

3.3.2. Interviews

19

3.4. Procedure of data collection

20

3.5. Procedure of data analysis

20

CHAPTER 4: RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Findings

22

4.2. Some pedagogical suggestions

38

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
5.1. Summary of findings

41

5.2. Limitations of the study

42

5.3. Suggestions for further research

43

REFERENCES

45

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APPENDICES

48

Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students

Appendix 2: Interview schedule for teachers
Appendix 3: Transcriptions of the interviews

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LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS
List of figures
Figure 1. Types of ESP (Robinson, 1991:3-4)
Figure 2. Types of ESP (Hutchinson, 1987:16)
Figure 3. The overall importance of learning term in ESP course as evaluated by
students.
Figure 4. The evaluation of students on the usefulness of learning term for their future
job
Figure 5. Comparison between G1‟s and G2‟s evaluation on difficulty of each
learning-term-process
Figure 6. Difficulty in facing different features of term in Group 1
Figure 7. Difficulty in facing different features of term in Group 2
Figure 8. Comparison between G1‟s and G2‟s opinion on reasons for difficulties in
understanding terms
Figure 9. Comparison between G1‟s and G2‟s evaluation on types of term hard to
remember
Figure 10. Causes of difficulties in remembering terms in Group 1
Figure 11. Causes of difficulties in remembering terms in Group 2
Figure 12. Causes of difficulties in applying term in Group 1, and Group 2
Figure 13. Solutions to the problems as suggested by students in Group 1, and Group 2

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List of abbreviations
FELTE

Faculty of English Language Teacher Education

ULIS, VNU University of Languages and International studies, Vietnam National
University (Hanoi)
ESP

English for Specific Purposes

EFL

English as a Foreign

ESL

English as a Second Language

EAP

English for Academic Purposes

EOP

English for Occupational Purposes

GE

General English

G1:

Group 1

G2:

Group 2

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1.

Rationale
Globalization enhances the close relationship, and the mutual understanding

among nations. It takes place in various areas such as economy, technology,
environment, culture, and society. The most remarkable area in globalizing period is
economy. In this area, the globalization is of necessity to foster the international and
national economic integration.
To facilitate the integrating process, a global language – English is an efficient
and indispensable means to seek the common voice among nations. Therefore ,

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learning English all over the world recently has been of great popularity. As it has
become increasingly aware that general English courses frequently which focus on
grammar, structure do not meet learners‟ or employers‟ wants and needs. English
should be specified and intensive in certain fields. Therefore, from the early 1960's,
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown to be one of the most prominent areas

of EFL teaching today.

With the globalization of trade and economy and the

continuing increase of international communication in various fields, the demand for
English for Specific Purposes is expanding, especially in countries where English is
taught as a foreign language. That is the true case in Vietnam; ESP has shown a slow
but definite growth over the past few years. Its development is reflected in an
increasing number of courses offered to students. Especially, increasing interest has
been spurred since Vietnam opened its doors and recently entered WTO (2007) with a
lot of well-paid job opportunities for English competent employees. This has led to a
rapid demand for English courses aimed at specific disciplines, e.g. English for
Economics, in place of the traditional 'General English' ones. As one of the leading
universities in language training,

ULIS – VNU has applied English for Specific

Purposes (ESP) course for the last 10 years, aiming at improving students‟ skill in
using English as a tool to work in an international working environment and to
comprehend

technology transference. The course has been applied for seniors whose

English competence is upper-intermediate. Their four skills: reading, listening, writing
and speaking are nearly accomplished. The course-book was written by Mr. Nguyen
Xuan Thom, a professor in ULIS. This book consists of eight chapters; each chapter
presents an economic topic. The texts give general background on economics‟ items
and definitions. Besides, reading texts are followed by different exercises related to the
text. The fist type of exercise is definitions matching; the second type is multiple
choices on text information. Translating exercises are also given to help students to

apply the new knowledge. The objectives of the course are providing students with a
great deal of terminology, enhancing students‟ ability in translating economic

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materials, building student‟s knowledge of grammar, etc. The objectives to achieve are
variable; however, the most desirable aim of students in learning and teachers in
teaching this course is the acquisition of terminologies. As stated in the data analysis
of Tran (2009) 70% teachers pay attention to teach terms, and 65% students want to
learn terms in ESP course.
Due to the fact that term really plays an essential role in distinguishing ESP
from other language branches, and forming the ESP course. As Robinson (1991 , p.4)
claims “It may often be thought that a characteristic or even a critical feature of ESP is
that a course should involve specialist language (especially terminology) and content”.
However, the proper attention has not been paid to this issue; students
encounter many difficulties in approaching terminology in the course, which could be
considered a major motivation to this study.
1.2.

Aims and research questions
The study intends to detect the potential problems that ULIS students

encounter, to reveal the causes for such difficulties, based on which the study would
propose some possible suggestions and strategies for learning terms to answer the
following questions:
1. According to ULIS students, what are the difficulties they encounter when
approaching ESP‟s terminology?
2. What are the causes of the difficulties they encounter?
3. From the students‟ perspectives, what are the solutions to overcome the

difficulties?
4. What are the solutions to student‟s problems as suggested by the teachers
of ESP?
1.3.

Significance of the research

- Teachers, after going through this research will be more aware of the difficulties
facing these students, and will be able to help them gradually overcome these
difficulties.

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- For educational administrators, the study would provide them with a close view into
the current situation, which may then reveal some pedagogical suggestions.
- The findings hopefully would contribute to the improvement of students in learning
terms.
- Last but not least, with regards to researchers who have the same interest in the topic,
could find fundamental, and useful information to develop their studies.
1.4. Scope of the study
Although the topic of study was “Difficulties facing ULIS’s students in
approaching terminology in English for Economics’ course”, in the scope the study, the

researcher aimed at senior students in Faculty of English Language Teacher Education
who had opportunities to learn ESP course in this semester. Specifically, difficulties
were on each different process of approaching terms such as understanding,
remembering, and applying.
1.5. Organization of the study
The rest of paper comprises five chapters as follows:

Chapter 2 (Literature review) lays the theoretical foundations for the whole
study including the definition of key terms as well as a concise review of related
studies.
Chapter 3 (Methodology) elaborates on the research methods, participants,
instruments, data collection procedure and data analysis methods
Chapter 4 (Results and Discussion) presents the results of the research and
gives interpretation and analyses of major patterns found in data.
Chapter 5 (Conclusion) summarizes the major findings and puts forward some
pedagogical implications and recommendations.

Summary
The chapter has provided the rationale for the study by stressing the
importance of learning term in ESP course as well as disclosing the r esearch gap. The

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framework of the paper has also been elaborated on four research questions and
clearly defined scope. These elaborations have not only justified the major content and
structure of the study but will also work as the guidelines for the rest of the paper.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Key concepts
2.1.1. ESP
2.1.1.1. What is ESP?
"ESP" stands for English for Specific Purposes. Different authors have defined
this term so far. Some people described ESP as simply being the teaching of English

for any purpose than could be specified. Others, however, were more precise,
describing it as the teaching of English used in academic studies or the teaching of
English for vocational or professional purposes. According to Hutchinson and Waters
(1997), ESP is one important branch of EFL/ESL (English as a Foreign/Second
Language) system that functions as the main branch of English language teaching
ELT. Specifically, Streven (1988, p.1) stated: "ESP is a particular case of the general
category of special purpose language teaching".
Since its importance, much effort has been made to give an exact definition of
ESP. There are many scholars who have attempted to define it. Instead of answering
the question of what, many authors start with the question of “why ESP” as the
approaching methods of Hutchinson and Waters (1997).
Why do learners need ESP? For which purpose do they learn ESP? The answer
for these questions will be the foundation to build “the syllabus, materials,
methodology, and evaluation procedures” explained by Hutchinson and Waters (1987,
p.74). Many of scholars share the common opinion on the learner‟s need elements of
ESP. Mackay and Mountford (1978) defined ESP as the teaching of English for clearly
utilitarian purposes. The purposes they refer to are defined by the needs of the learners,
which could be academic, occupational, or scientific. The opinion that student‟s need
is essential to determine ESP course also be emphasized by Munby (1978). Similarly,
Robinson (1991, p.3) discussing the criteria to ESP, also agrees that a need analysis to
find out exactly what students have to do is the foundation for ESP course.
To sum up, ESP is “an approach rather than a product to language teaching”

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(Hutchinson and Waters (1987)) which the focal point is on the learner‟s need, and
their reason for learning.
2.1.1.2. Classification of ESP
ESP is traditionally divided into EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and

EOP (English for Occupational Purposes). Kennedy and Bolitho (1984, p.4) give
further explanations on the above types: "English for Occupational Purpose (EOP) is
taught in a situation in which learners need to use English as a part of their work or
profession", whereas, "English for Academic Purpose (EAP) is taught generally
within educational institutions to students needing English in their studies".
Robinson (1991) provides the distinction between these two areas as follows:

Pre- experience
EOP

Simultaneous/ In service
Post- experience

ESP
Pre- study

For study in a specific discipline
EEP/ EAP

In-study
Post- study
Independent

As school subject

Integrated

Figure 1. Types of ESP (Robinson, 1991:3-4)

However, Hutchinson (1987) does not totally agree on this division, he argues

that there is “not a clear- cut distinction: people can work and study simultaneously.
It is also likely that in many cases the language learnt for immediate use in a study
environment will be used later when the student takes up, or returns a job".

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ESP

EST

EAP

English for

EBE

EOP

English for

Medical Study Technicians

EAP

ESS

EOP

EAP

English for

English for

English for

Economics

Secretaries

Psychology

EOP

English for
Teaching

Figure 2. Types of ESP (Hutchinson, 1987:16)

On Hutchinson' ELT tree, there are three categories basing on nature of the
learners' specialism: English for Science and Technology (EST), English for Business
and Economic (EBE) and English for the Social Science (ESS). Though ESP is
classified by different authors, they are common that ESP can be divided into EAP
and EOP
On the first classification, our ESP course is taught as an independent schoolsubject, in the branch of EAP (English for Academic Purposes). Students learn
English by ESP‟s course to enhance their using English ability in different fields. To
be more specific, the second tree indicates that “English for Economics” is a subbranch of EBE.
Regarding ESP‟s course in ULIS, researchers found out that it was tough as an
independent school subject, and in the branch of English for Academic Purposes.

2.1.1.3 Differences from ESL (English as a second language/ GE):
The above definitions have shown how broad ESP really is. In fact, one may
ask „What is the difference between the ESP and GE approach?‟ Hutchinson et al.
(1987, p.53) answer this quite simply, “in theory nothing, in practice a great deal”.
The most important difference lies in the learners and their purposes for
learning English. ESP students are usually adults who already have some acquaintance

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with English and are learning the language in order to communicate a set of
professional skills and to perform particular job-related functions.
ESP concentrates more on language in context than on teaching grammar and
language structures. It covers subjects varying from accounting or banking, to
economics. The ESP focal point is that English is not taught as a subject separated
from the students' real world (or wishes); instead, it is integrated into a subject matter
area important to the learners.
In conclusion, English for Specific/Special Purposes (ESP) and General English
(GE) are the two branches of English Language Teaching (ELT). The main difference
between ESP and GE lies in the awareness of a need. ESP learners aware their need;
they know what exactly they need English for; they know what the ESP course should
offer them (Hutchinson and Waters (1987)).
2.1.2. ESP course in ULIS
The project of launching ESP course was first initiated by the Head-master of
ULIS- Professor Nguyễn Đức Chính. He assigned Prof. Nguyen Xuan Thom who is a
linguistics expert, and also has deep specialized knowledge in economics to compose
the book. Receiving support from the Dean of English Faculty, the textbook was first
introduced in 1996.
ESP was a new branch in ELT although it did not have a long-term history as
ELT; however, learning ESP was a need in the context of globalization. ULIS‟s

teachers with a long-term vision recognized the importance of the ESP branch, which
could be the motivation to form the very first ESP sector in ULIS. Moreover, ULIS
became the first university in Vietnam launching ESP course. The ESP textbooks of
ULIS were very first ESP material composed by Vietnamese professor to serve
studying purpose. Professor Nguyễn Đức Chính , a principal of ULIS at that time
intended to compile textbooks for 19 different branches of ESP to teach in ULIS.
Except the English for Economics, and English for Finance and Banking, all other ESP
textbooks which encountered the difficulty in composing process, or in the piloting

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period, cannot exist till today. It can be proved that English for Economics and English
for Finance and Banking were tested in reality, and proved to be effective.
Today, the textbooks “English for Economics”, and “English for Finance and
Banking” are widely used in ULIS, and also become learning material for many other
universities.
2.1.3. Terminology
2.1.3.1. Definitions
There are various definitions of terminology by many linguists. According to
Oxford dictionary, term is “a word or phrase used to describe a thing or to express a
concept, especially in a particular kind of language or branch of study”. The meaning
of terminology can only be precisely understood when putting in a specific area. The
specialization and restriction on terminology‟s expression also be stated on Russian
Encyclopedia (1976).
This definition has many features in common with those approached by many
Vietnamese linguists such as the one proposed by Nguyen (1960, p:176),
“Terminology is a word or combination of words that is used in science, technology
politics, art… and it has a specific meaning, denotes precise concepts and names of the
above-mentioned scientific areas”. Do (1998) claims “Terms are specialist words used

within a scientific field, a profession or any technological field”. According to Nguyen
(1981), “Terminology is a section of special lexis of a language. It consists of fixed
words and groups of words which are accurate names of concepts and subjects
belonging to different specialized fields of human beings”.
The common point in these definitions is that “terminology is special linguistic
units in a specific area”
2.1.3.2. Characteristics
Some main characteristics of terminology have been given by many linguists,
these are: accuracy, systematicity and internationality.

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- Accurateness: Terms are often used in highly logic-required fields such as:
economic, science, law, medicine, etc; therefore, terms are required to be accurate.
Each specific field requires its own terms, terms play the role of codes among users to
convey and understand the things, the phenomenon, and the event in the areas. In
General English synonymy and homophone which are regarded as diversity of
language, are considered as ambiguity in ESP sphere and should be highly avoided.
An example to illustrate: “cash book” which has the equivalent as “sổ tiền mặt”, or
the term “invoice” with a sole translated version as “hóa đơn”.
- Systematism: Languge is science which also has its own system. Terminology is a
language element, therefore it must be systematic. When terms are put together in
different systems and context, they convey one specific concept. Some terms can
appear in some different fields; hence, the systematism of term should be highly
considered to understand precisely and correctly the meaning of term. The ignorance
on this relation will lead to the ambiguity for the term.
- Internationalism: As mentioned above, terms are special words expressing common
scientific concepts. Together with the growth of globalization, terms are internationalized.
Besides these above main features, terminology also acquires other features related

to its culture. Thus, terminology in Vietnamese is not an exception; according to Hoang
(2005) they are nationalism and popularity.
- Nationalism: is another core feature of terminology. Terminology is not only used in
specific profession but it is also used in regional/ national area. As a result, the
cultures and characteristics of Vietnamese language will have an effect on the
terminologies, so “the term should be appropriate to Vietnamese people from the
lexicology to the grammatical composition” stated by Hoang (2007).
- Popularity: Language is a means of communication which conveys the ideas,
thinking, etc among people.

Terms also contributes to this value of language.

Needless to say, term plays an important role in spreading scientific and technological

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knowledge to all people. The more popular, and understandable a term is, the more
useful a term is for language learning.
In summary, the general features of terminology have been reviewed.
2.1.3.4. The distinction between terms and words
The distinction between terminology and ordinary words is important to foster
the understanding on special features of terms. Baker (1998) claims that “Terms differ
from words in that they are endowed with a special form of reference, namely that they
refer to discrete conceptual entities, properties, activities or relations which constitute
the knowledge space of a particular subject field.”
When a term is placed in a specific context, its meaning will be in the
relationship with other terms in its system. A term only functions in a unique
reference, meanwhile words function in general reference or a variety of subject fiel ds.
However, the distinction sometimes disappears when terms are used frequently,

became popular and familiar to people. In other case ordinary words become terms.
Hoang (2005).
For example: money (tiền) is an economic terminology which is widely understood by
outsiders.
2.1.4. General understanding of approaching terminology.
In this study researcher equated “approaching terminology” with “learning
terminology”. To learn a word in general or a term in particular, learners have to go
through three continuous processes, which will be presented below

2.1.4.1. Three processes of approaching terminology or word in general
Specifically, approaching is the learner‟s capacity to perceive, remember and
apply words to communicate. To learn a word, minimally it must be recognized as a
word and enter it into our metal process. According to Nation (2001), vocabulary
acquisition includes three processes, namely noticing, retrieval, and creative
(generative) use. Terminology is one element on vocabulary, so learning terminology

22


certainly imbued with these three processes. In other words, there is no single process
of learning terminologies.
Namely noticing is the very first process, involving learner‟s detection of a
given terminology. Learner may face unknown words or realize he/she has come
across the word before, but it is used differently, in a new context. Leaner starts to
consider the word to understand it. In this process, the learner need the explanation of
the term, its translation, a synonym, or target language definition to provide foundation
to understand the term. Some types of terms which may be easier to explain as
concrete terms, while conceptual or abstract term are more difficult to understand.
The retrieval, the second process of vocabulary acquisition distinguished by
Nation, reinforces the meaning of the term in the learner‟s mind. A term will imprint

deeper in the learner‟s memory providing the term is frequently repeated. The more
students practice, the more they learn.
The last process of vocabulary acquisition in Nation‟s classification is that of
the creative or generative use. It takes place when “previously met words are
subsequently met or used in ways that differ from the previous meeting with the
word”. In other words, this process reflects the learner‟s ability recall the term and use
term in appropriate situation and context.
It is necessary to reemphasize the indispensability of each process to approach a
term. Without understanding terms, learner cannot successfully remember terms;
consequently, s/he has no chance to apply terms. Especially, terminologies of
economics as a professional field, involving intensive research and frequent reading in
order to understand the layers of each term and how they can be applied in the context.
Rotten learning without any attempt to use the word may lead to confusion and the
forgetting of the word.
2.1.4.2. Main factors affect the learning.
In the process of learning, there are different factors that play a significant role
towards making it a smooth, pleasurable and constructive process. As Oxford and

23


Nykios (1989) noted that the existence of interaction between learner‟s internal factors
and external variables might be reasons for difficulties encountering learners. Williams
and Burden's (1997) also agreed with this classification and outlined four aspects of
the teaching-learning process, i.e., teachers, learners, tasks, contexts; in which
learner is the internal factors, while teachers, tasks, contexts are external factors.
Belonging to learner him/herself (e.g., attitudes, motivation, and prior
knowledge), these elements can cause different difficulties. If students are motivated
to learn to their benefits such as expanding knowledge, seeking better job, etc, they
will feel more interested in learning, then they will mentally prepare themselves to

learn more about this new knowledge, or subjects. In this case learning becomes an
incentive. Besides, student‟s awareness of their role in learning will help them have a
right attitude in learning. Motivation is an internal drive which encourages and
energizes students to achieve their goals. In this case, students will be actively
involved in their education. The saying goes: you can bring the horse to water, but you
cannot make him drink. In language teaching, teachers can provide all the necessary
circumstances and inputs, but the leaning can only happen if learners are willing to
contribute. Prior knowledge can be understood as what people already know about the
topic, commonly named as “background knowledge”. Students who have a great deal
of background knowledge in a given subject area are likely to learn new information
readily and quite well.
In term of learning task (e.g., type, complexity, difficulty, and generality) these
elements should be considered to figure out the difficulties; and the learning
environment (e.g., the learning culture, the richness of input and output opportunities)
also contributes to learning process. The learners who have more term production
opportunities may be relatively likely to master new terms more quickly.
The last factor- teachers are considered to be playing an important role for
learner‟s language acquisition because they educate and familiarize the students with
knowledge of language. They are held responsible for bridging theories and practices

24


together in the classroom (Lawrence 2000). Furthermore, Wright (1987) believed that
a teacher performs multiple roles such as an instructor, a manager, a counselor, a
facilitator, an organizer, and evaluator, a curriculum developer, a material writer and
even a friend. Therefore, teacher‟s teaching style will create certain impact on
students‟ learning. While

teachers‟ personality, educational

background, and

professional experiences in life usually have a powerful influence on the development
of their teaching style as explained by Borg (1999), hence, these personal elements
should be considered in this study.
2.2. Related studies
It is undeniable that there has been a general consensus on ESP course, but
they mainly pay attention to course designing. In fact, many of the researches as those
of Tran (2006), Duong (2007). focus on designing syllabus followed these steps of
Nunan (1988): needs analysis, goal setting, and selecting and grading content. The
very first and fundamental step is analyzing student‟s need which shows the focal
point in ESP course is learner. Other researcher as Mrs. Dinh, HY studied the ESP
teaching strategies which can be applied for senior students in ULIS. Her study
carefully elaborated, analyzed the different types of strategy in term of their
advantages, drawbacks, applied-conditions, etc. That research presented thoroughly
the ESP setting in ULIS, as well as theoretical background to illustrate suitable
strategies for teacher. Through the lens of curriculum developer, this study could be
very useful to better textbook design. Some other researchers also study to figure out
the factors affecting learning ESP in general, or the difficulties encountered by
students as well as teachers. On Tran, HL‟s study, she figured out some problems
which students can encounter in learning reading ESP as vocabulary, grammar,
background knowledge, reading skills. This research will be conducted on different
population; therefore, it will give different results. Besides, these problems can be least
challenging for ULIS students because their main major is English. At this semester,
ULIS‟s students expected to be at upper-intermediate level in using English language.

25

In addition, most of the pre-researches paid attention to reading skill, and found out the
highest concerned matter in ESP course is terminology acquisition. It seems that
terminology is an attracting topic which received much attention from many writers
which can be named but a few, Tran (2001) with “Translation of term in accounting
documents”, Pham (2003) with “Translation of term in stock market”, Tran (2002)
with “Translation of insurance terminology”, Tran (2005) with “Translation of medical
term”, or Tran (2006) with “Transalation of auditing terminology”. However, the
researcher found no studies on the same issue conducted in the ESP setting in ULIS.
This obviously offers a gap for the researcher to carry out the study. The present study
hopes to bridge the gap by providing a specific and detailed look at the third-year
ULIS students, finding out the difficulties arisen, causes and proposing some
suggestions to improve the approaching of terminology.
Summary
The chapter has provide theoretical background for the whole paper through
elaboration on the key words “ESP” and “approaching terminology” , and the
context of studying ESP’s course of senior students in ULIS. The review of a number of
related studies in this chapter has revealed a research gap which the researcher is
pursuing to bridge through this study.

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