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PART A: INTRODUCTION

i Rationale

Nowadays, as an effective means of international communication, English is widely used

in all fields of activity throughout the world. Therefore, there has been a growing demand

for the learning of this language of those who want to master English to serve their

different purposes. This leads to the introduction of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in

many universities in Vietnam. Being aware of the importance of ESP, Department of

Linguistics and Vietnamese Studies at University of Social Sciences and Humanities

(USSH) – VNU have had its own collections of teaching material on Linguistics Studies. It

is aimed at providing students with background knowledge and a system of terms related to

Linguistics.

In the process of acquiring English as a whole, students must learn not only language items

but also four language skills among which reading plays an important part. This is also true

to students of linguistics because they can broaden their professional knowledge in their

major as well as get access to language inputs to develop the other language skills when

reading a lot of materials on linguistics in English.

Despite the significant role of reading skills, the teaching and learning of it at the

Department have not been properly carried out. There are some exiting problems such as

the lack of experience in teaching ESP, no training course for teachers of ESP, uneven

English level of the students. Besides, Grammar-Translation method is still in use to

exploit reading texts. Reading skill is often taught separately or, in other words, there is no

integration with the other language skills. The text is, in fact, exploited as a source of

materials for a language lesson. As a result, most of the students become bored and

passive.

This has given rise to the question, “How can ESP teachers improve the situation to bring

life into the lessons and motivate the students to read in English?” And the following

answer can often be heard, “To teach reading skills in integration with the other language

skills.” But how can this be done? This study will try to answer this question.

ii Objectives of the study

The study is aimed at:

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1. identifying and analyzing strong points and weak points of ESP teaching and

learning reading skills in Department of Linguistics and Vietnamese Studies at

USSH - VNU;

2. exploiting the advantages of skill-integration in the light of Communicative

Language Teaching in teaching reading skills to students of linguistics; and

3. suggesting techniques that are applicable and useful for the improvement in ESP

teaching and learning reading skills in integration with the development of the other

language skills to students of linguistics at USSH - VNU.

iii Scope of the study

It is impossible to cover every aspect of language theory and practice in this study. Due to lack of time,

experience and reference materials, the study will focus only on studying teaching reading

ESP to students of linguistics in the light of the Communicative Approach to language

teaching.

iv Methods of the study

To carry out this study, the following methods will be employed:

1. Collection and critical review of related literature;

2. Survey questionnaires for both ESP teachers and students of linguistics at USSH -

VNU. This will be carried out in combination with classroom observation; and

3. Data analysis

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PART B: LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 1: READING IN ESP TEACHING AND LEARNING

Reading itself includes numerous issues. Therefore, it is difficult to complete the coverage

of such a vast topic. In this chapter, some different definitions of reading, the role of

reading, reasons for reading, kinds of reading, reading skills and reading in ESP teaching

and learning will be discussed.

1.1 Reading redefined

In the reading class, what the teacher understands about reading will have a great influence

on what he or she teaches in the classroom. Therefore, for the teacher of reading, a careful

look at definitions of reading is very important.

However, defining reading is not easy although a lot of attempts have been made to define

it. Different people define the term reading in different ways and each definition reflects a

different viewpoint of reading. According to Robinson and Good (1987: 9), “reading is

best described as an understanding between the author and the reader...Reading is much

more than just pronouncing words correctly or simply knowing that the author intends; it

is the process whereby the printed page stimulates ideas, experiences and responses that

are unique to an individual. Reading can simply be thought of as a personal encounter

with the printed page. Basically, an important aspect of reading is the process of

constructing meaning from printed materials.”

Petty and Salzer (1989: 323) held a similar point of view, that is, “reading involves the

identification and recognition of printed or written symbols which serve as stimulus 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 or her

possession. The resulting meanings are organized into thought processes according to the

purposes that are operating in the reader.”

Both of the above definitions indicate that reading is not only an interaction between the

reader and the author but also between the reader and the text.

Gould, DiYanni, Smith and Standford (1990), on the other hand, defined this term by

looking at its scope. According to them, reading is a creative act, interaction, interpretation,

a social act and responding.

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Although "no definition of reading can possibly include all viewpoints and features"

(Robinson and Good - 1987: 9), for the sake of teaching and learning reading skills, the

following definition should be emphasized: “Reading means "reading and understanding".

A foreign language learner who says, "I can read the words but don't know what they

mean" is not, therefore, reading, in this sense. He or she is merely decoding - translating

written symbols into corresponding sounds.” (Ur - 1996: 138) This does not mean that the

reader needs to understand every word in a text but actively work on the text and extract

the required information efficiently.

So far we have had some knowledge of the definition of reading. The following section

will discuss the part reading plays in a language teaching programme.

1.2 Role of reading

In reality, the ability to read is very important to personal development, academic studies,

professional success, etc. Therefore, it is agreed that

1. Where there is little reading, there will be little language learning. It will be

true for a few years yet that the student who wants to learn English will have to

read himself into knowledge of it unless he can move into an English

environment. He must substitute imaginary for actual experience;

2. Only by reading can the pupil acquire the speed and skills he will need for

practical purposes when he leaves school. In our literate society, it is hard to imagine

any skilled work that does not require the ability to read;

3. Further education depends on quantity and quality of reading. All the

important study skills require quick, efficient and imaginative reading; and

4. General knowledge depends on reading. The "background" or cross - culture

problem can only is tackled by wide reading. The more the student reads, the

more background knowledge he acquires of other ways of life, behavior and

thought and the more books he finds he can understand.

(Bright & McGregor - 1977: 52)

Thus, it can be said that reading is the core of the syllabus as it helps students broaden their

general knowledge as well as professional one, improve other language skills and succeed

in their future life. As a result, it is the teacher of reading that helps and motivates students

to learn to read so that they can read to learn. To fulfill this task, he or she should give the

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student a reason for reading. The following section will, thus, discuss answers to the

question, "Why do people read?"

1.3 Reasons for reading

Most students of English expect to be able to read the language sooner or later. Their

personal desires and expectations vary from wanting to be able to read Shakespeare, Mark

Twain or a scientific journal to being able to read a tourist brochure or advertisement.

Accordingly, the reasons for reading will influence the way they read. For example, the

quick scanning of a page in the telephone directory to find a single name is very different

from the careful attention one pays to a legal document.

According to Rivers and Temperly (1978: 187), we read normally because we

1. want information for some purpose or because we are curious about some

topic;

2. need instructions in order to perform some task for our work or for our daily

life...;

3. want to act in a play, play a new game, do a puzzle, or carry out some other

activity which is pleasant and amusing;

4. want to keep in touch with friends by corresponding or understand business

letters;

5. want to know when or where something will take place or what is available...;

6. want to know what is happening or has happened...;

7. seek enjoyment or excitement...

Also concerning the reasons for reading, Nuttall (1989: 3) wrote: “You read because you

wanted to get something from the writing: facts, ideas, enjoyment, even feelings of family

community (from a letter).”

Sharing the same opinion, White in "Communication in Classroom" (Johnson, Morrow -

1981: 87), stated that “we read in order to obtain information which is presented in written

form. By "information" I mean content which is cognitive (or intellectual), referential (or

factual) or affective (or emotional).”

All of the above opinions agreed that reading is carried out for, at least, a reason other than

reading the language itself. When reading, readers are not concerned with the language but

with the message and its applications. In other words, they have authentic reasons for

reading. Therefore, the teacher of English should combine the teaching and learning of the

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target language with the uses to which his or her students can put reading in their daily life

outside the classroom. In addition, the teacher of reading should know how to exploit each

text with each proper strategy by making students practise different types of reading.

1.4 Kinds of reading

Although there are different ways to classify reading, the most popular one is to base on

manners and purposes of reading (or reasons for reading).

1.4.1 Classification according to manners of reading

Based on manners of reading, reading can be divided into reading aloud and silent reading.

1.4.1.1 Reading aloud

According to Doff (1995: 67), “obviously, reading aloud involves looking at a text,

understanding it and also saying it”. What he meant is that when we read aloud, our

purpose is not just to understand a text but to convey the information to someone else. In

his opinion, “reading aloud can be useful at the earliest stage of reading (recognising

letters and words); it can help students to make the connection between sound and

spelling”.

However, Doff (1995: 58) also pointed out that "for reading a text, it is not a very useful

technique" because it is not a natural activity – most people do not read aloud in real life.

In addition, when reading aloud, only one student is active at a time while the others are

either not listening at all or are listening to a bad model. And students only pay attention to

pronunciation, not understanding the text. Besides, students usually read slowly because

they find it hard to read aloud in their own language, let alone in a foreign language.

Therefore, it takes up a lot of time in class.

Hedge (1991: 14) took the same view about reading aloud. He gave out points both for and

against this kind of reading:

For

• Students often read out loud as an aid to

making sense of sentences and finding the

boundaries of sense groups.

• It gives extra practice in pronunciation,

word stress and rhythm.

• It brings variety to classroom activities.

Against

• Listening to inaccurate pronunciation from

classmates confuses understanding of the

sound - symbol relationship.

• The reader is so intent on articulation

that he loses track of the content.

• It does not allow the reader to use natural

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• It is appropriate to certain kinds of texts

such as poetry and drama.

• Many students enjoy oral reading and

are motivated by it.

• Traditionally it is the mode of reading in

many educational systems.

strategies for reading quickly and forces him

to revert to a slow reading of every word so

that overall meaning may be lost through

attention to detail.

• It requires a considerable amount of

classtime that might be better exploited.

As a result, according to Doff (1995: 59), "if a teacher wants students to read

aloud, it should be the final activity at the end of a reading lesson". It can be suggested that

to make full use of this type of reading, a reading lesson must be carefully prepared and

carried out in various ways to motivate and encourage the student to learn.

1.4.1.2 Silent reading

Different from reading aloud, silent reading is the normal and natural activity that most

students do in classroom as well as in real life. “Normally, reading is a silent and

individual activity since the writer's expectation was that the text would be read, not

heard” (Abbott and Wingard - 1985: 81).

Doff (1995: 67) added that “it involves looking at sentences and understanding the

message they convey, in other words, "making sense" of a written text.” This means that

when we read, we do not merely sit as "passive receivers" of the text but we, based on our

own knowledge of the world and of the language, extract the required information and

relate it with real life. In addition, in silent reading, the student can read at his own speed

and can go back and read whatever he wants to understand more.

1.4.2 Classification according to purposes of reading

As mentioned above, people read because of various reasons or, in other words, different

purposes. Accordingly, the ways they read also vary. Most methodologists have agreed

that the main kinds of reading according to purposes of reading are skimming, scanning,

extensive reading and intensive reading.

1.4.2.1 Skimming

Skimming can be defined as follows: “By skimming... we mean glancing rapidly through a

text to determine its gist, for example in order to decide whether a research paper is

relevant to our own work..., or in order to keep ourselves superficially informed about

matters that are not of great importance to us” (Nuttall - 1989: 34). Or simply speaking,

when skimming, we go through the reading material quickly to get general sense or the gist

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