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 ietnam. !eing aware of the importance of ESP, "epartment of
#inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $niversity of Social Sciences and %umanities
($SS%) & N$ have had its own collections of teaching material on #inguistics Studies. 't
is aimed at providing students with bac(ground (nowledge and a system of terms related to
#inguistics.
'n the process of ac)uiring English as a whole, students must learn not only language items
but also four language s(ills among which reading plays an important part. This is also true
to students of linguistics because they can broaden their professional (nowledge in their
ma*or as well as get access to language inputs to develop the other language s(ills when
reading a lot of materials on linguistics in English.
"espite the significant role of reading s(ills, the teaching and learning of it at the
"epartment have not been properly carried out. There are some e+iting problems such as
the lac( of e+perience in teaching ESP, no training course for teachers of ESP, uneven
English level of the students. !esides, ,rammar-Translation method is still in use to
e+ploit reading te+ts. .eading s(ill is often taught separately or, in other words, there is no
integration with the other language s(ills. The te+t is, in fact, e+ploited as a source of
materials for a language lesson. /s a result, most of the students become bored and
passive.
This has given rise to the )uestion, 0%ow can ESP teachers improve the situation to bring
life into the lessons and motivate the students to read in English12 /nd the following
answer can often be heard, 0To teach reading s(ills in integration with the other language
s(ills.2 !ut how can this be done1 This study will try to answer this )uestion.
ii Objectives of the study
The study is aimed at3
4
4. identifying and analy5ing strong points and wea( points of ESP teaching and
learning reading s(ills in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at
$SS% - N$6
7. e+ploiting the advantages of s(ill-integration in the light of 8ommunicative
#anguage Teaching in teaching reading s(ills to students of linguistics6 and
9. suggesting techni)ues that are applicable and useful for the improvement in ESP
teaching and learning reading s(ills in integration with the development of the other
language s(ills to students of linguistics at $SS% - N$.
iii Scope of the study
't is impossible to cover every aspect of language theory and practice in this study. "ue to lac( of time,
e+perience and reference materials, the study will focus only on studying teaching reading
ESP to students of linguistics in the light of the 8ommunicative /pproach to language
teaching.
iv ethods of the study
To carry out this study, the following methods will be employed3
4. 8ollection and critical review of related literature6
7. Survey )uestionnaires for both ESP teachers and students of linguistics at $SS% -
N$. This will be carried out in combination with classroom observation6 and
9. "ata analysis
7
PART !: "IT#RATUR# R#$I#%
C&APT#R ': R#ADIN( IN #SP T#AC&IN( AND "#ARNIN(
.eading itself includes numerous issues. Therefore, it is difficult to complete the coverage
of such a vast topic. 'n this chapter, some different definitions of reading, the role of
reading, reasons for reading, (inds of reading, reading s(ills and reading in ESP teaching
and learning will be discussed.
')' Readin* +edefined
'n 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
loo( at definitions of reading is very important.
%owever, defining reading is not easy although a lot of attempts have been made to define
it. "ifferent people define the term reading in different ways and each definition reflects a
different viewpoint of reading. /ccording to .obinson and ,ood (4:;<3 :), 0reading 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.2
Petty and Sal5er (4:;:3 979) held a similar point of view, that is, 0reading 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 readers manipulation of relevant concepts already in his or her
possession. !he resulting meanings are organi"ed into thought processes according to the
purposes that are operating in the reader.2
!oth 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 te+t.
,ould, "i=anni, Smith and Standford (4::>), on the other hand, defined this term by
loo(ing at its scope. /ccording to them, reading is a creative act, interaction, interpretation,
a social act and responding.
9
/lthough ?no definition of reading can possibly include all viewpoints and features?
(.obinson and ,ood - 4:;<3 :), for the sa(e of teaching and learning reading s(ills, the
following definition should be emphasi5ed3 0Reading means #reading and understanding#.
$ foreign language learner who says, #% can read the words but dont know what they
mean# is not, therefore, reading, in this sense. &e or she is merely decoding ' translating
written symbols into corresponding sounds.2 ($r - 4::@3 49;) This does not mean that the
reader needs to understand every word in a te+t but actively wor( on the te+t and e+tract
the re)uired information efficiently.
So far we have had some (nowledge of the definition of reading. The following section
will discuss the part reading plays in a language teaching programme.
'), Role of +eadin*
'n reality, the ability to read is very important to personal development, academic studies,
professional success, etc. Therefore, it is agreed that
(. )here there is little reading, there will be little language learning. %t will be
true for a few years yet that the student who wants to learn *nglish will have to
read himself into knowledge of it unless he can move into an *nglish
environment. &e must substitute imaginary for actual experience;
+. ,nly by reading can the pupil acquire the speed and skills he will need for
practical purposes when he leaves school. %n our literate society, it is hard to imagine
any skilled work that does not require the ability to read;
-. .urther education depends on quantity and quality of reading. $ll the
important study skills require quick, efficient and imaginative reading; and
/. 0eneral knowledge depends on reading. !he #background# or cross ' culture
problem can only is tackled by wide reading. !he 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.
(!right A Bc,regor - 4:<<3 C7)
Thus, it can be said that reading is the core of the syllabus as it helps students broaden their
general (nowledge as well as professional one, improve other language s(ills and succeed
in their future life. /s 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 tas(, he or she should give the
D
student a reason for reading. The following section will, thus, discuss answers to the
)uestion, ?Ehy do people read1?
')- Reasons fo+ +eadin*
Bost students of English e+pect to be able to read the language sooner or later. Their
personal desires and e+pectations vary from wanting to be able to read Sha(espeare, Bar(
Twain or a scientific *ournal to being able to read a tourist brochure or advertisement.
/ccordingly, the reasons for reading will influence the way they read. For e+ample, the
)uic( 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.
/ccording to .ivers and Temperly (4:<;3 4;<), we read normally because we
(. want information for some purpose or because we are curious about some
topic;
+. need instructions in order to perform some task for our work or for our daily
life...;
-. want to act in a play, play a new game, do a pu""le, or carry out some other
activity which is pleasant and amusing;
/. want to keep in touch with friends by corresponding or understand business
letters;
1. want to know when or where something will take place or what is available...;
2. want to know what is happening or has happened...;
3. seek enjoyment or excitement...
/lso concerning the reasons for reading, Nuttall (4:;:3 9) wrote3 04ou read because you
wanted to get something from the writing5 facts, ideas, enjoyment, even feelings of family
community 6from a letter7.2
Sharing the same opinion, Ehite in ?Communication in Classroom? (Gohnson, Borrow -
4:;43 ;<), stated that 0we read in order to obtain information which is presented in written
form. By #information# % mean content which is cognitive 6or intellectual7, referential 6or
factual7 or affective 6or emotional7.2
/ll of the above opinions agreed that reading is carried out for, at least, a reason other than
reading the language itself. Ehen reading, readers are not concerned with the language but
with the message and its applications. 'n other words, they have authentic reasons for
reading. Therefore, the teacher of English should combine the teaching and learning of the
C
target language with the uses to which his or her students can put reading in their daily life
outside the classroom. 'n addition, the teacher of reading should (now how to e+ploit each
te+t with each proper strategy by ma(ing students practise different types of reading.
'). /inds of +eadin*
/lthough there are different ways to classify reading, the most popular one is to base on
manners and purposes of reading (or reasons for reading).
').)' Classification acco+din* to 0anne+s of +eadin*
!ased on manners of reading, reading can be divided into reading aloud and silent reading.
').)')' Readin* aloud
/ccording to "off (4::C3 @<), 0obviously, reading aloud involves looking at a text,
understanding it and also saying it2. Ehat he meant is that when we read aloud, our
purpose is not *ust to understand a te+t but to convey the information to someone else. 'n
his opinion, 0reading aloud can be useful at the earliest stage of reading 6recognising
letters and words7; it can help students to make the connection between sound and
spelling2.
%owever, "off (4::C3 C;) 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.
'n 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. /nd students only pay attention to
pronunciation, not understanding the te+t. !esides, students usually read slowly because
they find it hard to read aloud in their own language, let alone in a foreign language.
Therefore, it ta(es up a lot of time in class.
%edge (4::43 4D) too( the same view about reading aloud. %e gave out points both for and
against this (ind of reading3
.or
8tudents often read out loud as an aid to
making sense of sentences and finding the
boundaries of sense groups.
%t gives extra practice in pronunciation,
word stress and rhythm.
%t brings variety to classroom activities.
$gainst
9istening to inaccurate pronunciation from
classmates confuses understanding of the
sound ' symbol relationship.
!he reader is so intent on articulation
that he loses track of the content.
%t does not allow the reader to use natural
@
%t is appropriate to certain kinds of texts
such as poetry and drama.
:any students enjoy oral reading and are
motivated by it.
!raditionally 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.
%t requires a considerable amount of
classtime that might be better exploited.
/s a result, according to "off (4::C3 C:), ?if a teacher wants students to read
aloud, it should be the final activity at the end of a reading lesson?. 't can be suggested that
to ma(e 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.
').)'), Silent +eadin*
"ifferent from reading aloud, silent reading is the normal and natural activity that most
students do in classroom as well as in real life. 0;ormally, reading is a silent and
individual activity since the writers expectation was that the text would be read, not
heard2 (/bbott and Eingard - 4:;C3 ;4).
"off (4::C3 @<) added that 0it involves looking at sentences and understanding the
message they convey, in other words, #making sense# of a written text.2 This means that
when we read, we do not merely sit as ?passive receivers? of the te+t but we, based on our
own (nowledge of the world and of the language, e+tract the re)uired information and
relate it with real life. 'n addition, in silent reading, the student can read at his own speed
and can go bac( and read whatever he wants to understand more.
').), Classification acco+din* to pu+poses of +eadin*
/s mentioned above, people read because of various reasons or, in other words, different
purposes. /ccordingly, the ways they read also vary. Bost methodologists have agreed that
the main (inds of reading according to purposes of reading are s(imming, scanning,
e+tensive reading and intensive reading.
').),)' S1i00in*
S(imming can be defined as follows3 0By 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 us2 (Nuttall - 4:;:3 9D). Hr simply spea(ing,
when s(imming, we go through the reading material )uic(ly to get general sense or the gist
<
of it without being concerned with the details. Therefore, s(imming should be treated as a
useful s(ill in teaching and learning reading and can be applied at the first stage of a reading
lesson with the aim that the student can have an overview of what he is going to read.
').),), Scannin*
Scanning is also a necessary techni)ue in reading efficiently. Nuttall (4:;:3 9D) stated
that 0by scanning we mean glancing rapidly through a text either to search for a specific
piece of information... or to get an initial impression of whether the text is suitable for a
given purpose...2
$nli(e s(imming, scanning is a (ind of reading carried out when we go through the te+t very
fast in order to find a particular item of information, then concentrate on it. Ehen scanning, we
only try to find what we are loo(ing for. Therefore, this (ind of reading can be very useful in
reading selectively.
').),)- #2tensive +eadin*
E+tensive reading is also called ?reading for fluency?. The student reads long te+ts to have
general understanding, to practise his fluency in reading, or to rela+. Therefore, this (ind of
reading is often carried out individually outside classroom. 'n general, the student should
be encouraged to do e+tensive reading to improve his (nowledge of the world as well as of
the target language or simply to foster fluency and pleasure.
').),). Intensive +eadin*
'n contrast with e+tensive reading, intensive reading re)uires full understanding of the te+t.
Nuttall (4:;:3 79) wrote 0intensive reading involves approaching the text under the close
guidance of the teacher..., or under the guidance of a task which forces the student to pay
great attention to the text. !he aim of intensive reading is to arrive at a profound and
detailed understanding of the text5 not only of what it means, but also of how the meaning
is produced. !he #how# is as important as the #what#, for the intensive reading lesson is
intended primarily to train students in reading strategies.2 /ccordingly, intensive reading
should be a basic activity in a reading classroom.
'n conclusion, the above (inds of reading are closely related. They can be used either
alternatively or in combination in reading one te+t. The teacher of reading should vary
reading strategies and ma(e full use of each (ind of reading. Furthermore, to ma(e the
teaching and learning reading better, the teacher should select activities suitable for
;
promoting reading as a ma*or language s(ill as well as its sub-s(ills which will be
discussed below.
')3 Readin* s1ills
The reader employs a number of specialist s(ills when reading and his success in
understanding the content of what he reads depends to a large e+tent on his e+pertise in
these specialist s(ills. The following are some of the main reading s(ills re)uired by a
learner of English listed by Batthews, Spratt and "angerfield (4::43 @C)3
4. recognising the letters of the alphabet;
7. reading groups of letters as words;
9. understanding the meaning of punctuation;
D. understanding the meaning of vocabulary items;
C. understanding the grammar of a sentence;
@. understanding the relationship between sentences and clauses in a text;
<. recogni"ing the effects of style;
;. recogni"ing the organi"ation of a text;
:. making inferences;
4>. reading longer texts 6extensive reading7;
44. skimming for gist;
47. scanning for specific information; and
49. reading for detail
This list concerns students of different levels of reading ability. For students of linguistics,
the s(ills numbered (D), (C), (;), (:), (4>), (44), (47) and (49) should be paid far more
attention to than the rest since they are essential s(ills for them not only in their ma*or but
also in real life.
.eading s(ills are also identified as follows3
(. recogni"ing words and phrases in *nglish script;
+. using ones own knowledge of the outside world to make predictions about and
interpret a text;
-. retrieving information stated in the passage;
/. distinguishing the main ideas from subsidiary information;
1. deducing the meaning and use of unknown words; ignoring unknown
words<phrases that are redundant;
:
2. understanding the meaning and implications of grammatical structures;
3. recogni"ing discourse markers;
=. recogni"ing the function of sentences ' even when not introduced by discourse
markers;
>. understanding relations within the sentence and the text;
(?. extracting specific information for summary or note taking;
((. skimming to obtain the gist, and recognise the organisation of ideas within the
text;
(+. understanding implied information and attitudes; and
(-. knowing how to use an index, a table of contents, etc. @nderstanding layout,
use of headings, etc.
(Eillis - 4::;3 4D7)
!asically, Eillis too( the same view on reading sub-s(ills as Batthews, Spratt and
"angerfield. These methodologists all emphasi5ed that the student of foreign languages
should improve his reading ability by ac)uiring the ways to ma(e prediction6 how to s(im
and scan6 understanding the te+t by getting the main idea, the specific information6
recogni5ing the organi5ation as well as the discourse patterns.
/lso being concerned about reading s(ills, %armer (4::73 4;9) gave another list of si+
specialist s(ills which, to some e+tent, summari5e all the above-mentioned s(ills including
4. Aredictive skills;
7. *xtracting specific information;
9. 0etting the general picture;
D. *xtracting detailed information; and
C. Recogni"ing function and discourse patterns
@. Beducing meaning from context
/ll the s(ills mentioned above should be paid a special attention to by both teachers and
learners of English in the process of ac)uiring the language. The teacher of reading should
encourage his or her students to predict what they are going to read, to (now how to find
out a fact in the fastest way, how to pic( out main points or detailed information rapidly,
and how to discard what is not essential or irrelevant. 'n addition, he or she needs to ma(e
the students aware of discourse mar(ers, help them develop their ability to deduce the
meanings of unfamiliar words from the conte+t in which they appear. Perhaps, these s(ills
4>
are largely subconscious in the minds of the students when reading in their mother tongue.
%owever, reading in a foreign language can create barriers for the students, which may
ma(e these sub-s(ills more difficult to use. The teacherIs *ob, then, is to re-activate these
s(ills which may be less effective when the students are faced with English. 'f the teacher
of reading can ma(e the students feel less an+ious and thus remove some of the barriers,
that alone may dramatically improve their reading ability.
')4 Readin* in #SP teachin* and lea+nin*
')4)' %hat is #SP5
Hbviously, different human activities re)uire different communication s(ills which in turn
re)uire specific linguistic items. %utchinson and Eaters (4:;<3 4:) stressed that ESP
should be seen as an approach, not a product. 't means that ESP studentsI goal of learning a
second language might not only be to ac)uire general linguistics competencies but also
academic and *ob-related s(ills. Eiddowson, on the other hand, argued that the distinction
between English for ,eneral Purposes and ESP is not the problem of specificity of purpose
but 0the way in which purpose is defined and the manner of its implementation2
(Eiddowson & 4:;93 @). %e also put the specification of ob*ectives in ESP course design in
a close relation with training. 't can be said that ESP basically focuses on all aspects of
language pertaining field of human activity while ta(ing into account the time constraints
imposed by learners.
There are two central areas in ESP3 content and methodology. 8ontent is concerned with
how broad the scope of a particular course is when compared with the totality of the
language. Bethodology is concerned with the ways linguistic items are introduced and
practiced. 'n general, ESP teaching and learning should ta(e place in conte+ts which are as
authentic as possible and content-based. This means that learning materials should use
actual te+ts produced by people wor(ing in the ESP field and focus on specific problems
that learners are li(ely to encounter in their everyday wor(ing lives. /s a result, learning
will have greater relevance to the employment situation and ESP learners will have greater
motivation in the course.
')4), Teachin* +eadin* #SP
There are three main factors involved in a reading lesson3 the ESP teacher, the student and
reading materials. !ut before these factors are discussed, the following )uestion should be
answered, 0Ehat is the difference between a language lesson and a reading lesson12
44
')4),)' "an*ua*e lessons and +eadin* lessons
/s mentioned before, foreign language teachers should give students the authentic
purposes of reading. This means that reading is not *ust a linguistic e+ercise but is involved
with the getting of meaning out of a te+t for some purpose. !ut in fact, the most typical use
of reading in an ESP class is to teach the language itself, that is the teacher tries to present
or practise specific linguistic items such as vocabulary, structures, etc. /lthough language
improvement is the central purpose of a foreign language learner, this is not an authentic
use of a reading te+t. Furthermore, according to Nuttall (4:;:3 7>), 0)e need lessons like
this, of course, but we need reading lessons too, if our students require the ability to read
in the foreign language.2
Therefore, it is necessary to point out the differences between a language lesson and a
reading lesson. Nuttall (ibid.) argued that giving a lesson based on a te+t is not the same as
giving a reading lesson because most of the s(ills practised are probably not reading s(ills
at all. She also gave out two features that ma(e a reading lesson different from a language
one. 0.irst, it is different because the type of text used is likely to be different. %n a reading
lesson we need to use texts that have been written not to teach language but for any of the
authentic purposes of writing5 to inform, to entertain and so on. *ven if the language has
been modified to suit the level of the learners, the purpose of the text must be first and
foremost to convey a message. 8econd, the procedures have to be different, because the
aim of the reading lesson is to develop the students ability to extract the message the text
contains. 8o, unlike a language development lesson, we are not trying to put some thing
into his head, but instead we are trying to get him to take it himself5 to get him to make
use of the knowledge he already has in order to acquire new messages.2
The above differences between a language lesson and a reading lesson suggest that the ESP
teacher should use reading lessons to develop studentsI reading proficiency and
communicative competence rather than only to improve linguistic competence and the
reading lessons need to ma(e allowances for both variety of te+ts as well as of readers.
')4),), #SP teache+6s +oles
/lthough it is (nown that reading involves the s(ills that the student must learn for
himself, it does not mean that there is nothing for the ESP teacher to do. There is, in fact, a
great deal of language wor( that can be done in an ESP reading lesson.
47
'n general, a teacher of reading has two main roles as .ichard and /mato (4:;;) described3
0!he first role is to facilitate communicative process between all participants in the
classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts. !he second
role is to act as an interdependent participant within the learning ' teaching group.2
/ccordingly, the teacher is an organi5er of resources and as a resource himself6 a guide
within the classroom procedures and activities6 a researcher to improve the teaching
materials, techni)ues, methods6 and a conductor and advisor for all learnersJ activities.
/n ESP teacher has to fulfill these above mentioned roles. !esides, it is agreed that 0!he
key quality needed by the *8A teacher is flexibility5 the flexibility to change from being a
general language to being a specific purpose teacher, and the flexibility to cope with
different groups of students, often at a very short notice2 (Gordon - 4::<3 477).
%aving a good (nowledge on the sub*ect matters of the ESP materials is also very
important to the ESP teacher. 't does not mean that he or she must become an e+pert in the
ma*or field but 0an interested student of the subject matter2 (%utchinson A Eaters & 4:;<3
4@9). The ESP teacher should meet three following re)uirements3 a positive attitude
towards the ESP content6 a (nowledge of the fundamental principles of the sub*ect area6
and a awareness of how much they probably (now.
Ehatever role he or she plays, the ESP teacher should be responsible for helping the
students. %owever, the trouble is that it is easy to give too much help, or help of the wrong
(ind. So what sort of help should the ESP teacher give1 To answer this )uestion, Nuttall
(4:;:3 77) stated that 0Briefly, it 6her book7 sees the teachers job as providing, first, suitable
texts and second, activities that will focus the students attention on the text. !he student must
develop his own skills, but we 6teachers7 must make him aware of what he is doing, and
interested in doing better.2
'n addition, to fulfill the aim of an ESP course, the ESP teacher must act as a material
provider involving 0choosing relevant published material, adapting material when publish
material is not suitable2 (Gordon & 4::<3 4C). %e or she should also create an environment
of a communicative classroom where meaningful and useful reading activities are carried
out so that the students can best ac)uire reading s(ills and practise other language s(ills in
order to communicate successfully.
49
')4),)- "ea+ne+7s +oles
/s ?a communicative approach is essentially learner ' centered? (Sheils - 4::93 4), the
roles of the learner in a reading lesson should also be discussed. ,enerally, although the
roles of the student seen by different methodologists are not the same, it can be undeniable
that they all agreed that the student in a communicative classroom must do his wor( on his
own or with little help from the teacher. 'n other words, he is supposed to contribute as
much as he gains and learns in an interdependent way. /nd, in fact, he plays an active role
in every language lesson. This means that ?the students role as a reader?, wrote Nuttall
(4:;:3 4D<), ?demands that he should make sense of the text for himself. %n his reading
lesson, he is supposed to learn how to do this5 doing it for him will not teach him this?.
'n summary, the ESP teacher and the students are interrelated to each other during the
process of teaching and learning a foreign language in general, and reading s(ills in
particular. The teacherJs *ob is to provide suitable te+ts, assign such tas(s and activities that
the student can ac)uire his own s(ills while the student is supposed to do most of these
tas(s and activities by himself.
')4),). Readin* 0ate+ial7s +oles
't should be noted that materials for reading ESP play an important role in reading teaching
process. Firstly, they enable students to improve their fluency as well as accuracy in ac)uiring the
target language. Through reading materials, students can enrich their vocabulary related to their
ma*or, structures, etc. They can also develop other language s(ills. Secondly, materials for
reading provide students with more (nowledge of the ma*or field. Furthermore, they help
students ac)uire some )ualities such as creativity, imagination and so on.
To sum up, beside the course boo(, the ESP teacher should supply other authentic reading
materials with readability, suitability of content and e+ploitability. 't is agreed with what
!oughton, !rumfit, Flavell, %ill and Pincas (4::>3 4>7) wrote3 0... the teacher needs to
bear in mind that the choice of an appropriate text is very important in building up pupils
reading competence2 and 0texts must be properly graded and sequenced and varied so that
their linguistic content and cultural difficulty match the abilities and sophistication of the
pupils, and ensure a reasonable coverage of the various kinds of reading skill they need to
develop.2
4D
')4),)3 P+inciples of teachin* +eadin*
't is essential for the ESP teacher to be aware of the principles of teaching reading. !urns,
.oe and .oss (4:;;3 77) suggested fourteen principles of teaching reading. They are as
follows3
(. Reading is a complex act with many factors that must be considered;
+. Reading is the interpretation of the meaning of printed symbols;
-. Reading involves constructing the meaning of a written passage;
/. !here is no one correct way to teach reading;
1. 9earning to read is a continuing process;
2. 8tudents should be taught word recognition skills that will allow them to
unlock pronunciations and meanings of unfamiliar words independently;
3. !he teacher should diagnose each students ability and use the diagnosis as a
basis for planning instruction;
=. Reading and the other language arts are closely interrelated;
>. Reading is an integral part of all content area instructions within the
educational program;
(?. !he student needs to see why reading is important;
((. *njoyment of reading should be considered of prime importance;
(+. Readiness for reading should be considered at all levels of instruction;
(-. Reading should be taught in a way that allows each child to experience
success; and
(/. *ncouragement of self ' direction and self ' monitoring of reading is
important.
/lthough the principles listed above are, of course, not all-inclusive, it is believed that they
are helpful in guiding teachers in planning reading instruction.
')4),)4 Cha+acte+istics of an effectively o+*ani8ed class+oo0 fo+ +eadin* inst+uction
#i(e the principles of teaching reading, an all-inclusive answer to this )uestion is
impossible. Therefore, in the following, only the most common characteristics of a
classroom effectively organi5ed for reading instruction will be presented. /ccording to
Gohn N. Bangieri (#app - 4:;43 44), there are si+ ma*or characteristics of an effective
reading classroom. They are
4C
4. %ndividual differences of students are recogni"ed and provision is made to
accommodate these differences. 't is obvious that no two individuals are precisely
the same in every aspect. 'ndividual differences e+ist in intellectual, physical,
emotional and educational traits. Thus, the effectively organi5ed classroom has to
ma(e instructional provisions for the diverse reading capabilities and abilities of
each student.
7. Comprehensive, continuous diagnosis occurs in order to ascertain student reading
proficiencies and deficiencies. "iagnostic test, or in other words, diagnosis, is a
test to find out wea(nesses and strengths of students. 'n an effectively organi5ed
classroom, diagnosis is conducted on an initial, a final, and above all, continuous
basis. 't is considered as a blueprint for instruction. Teachers of reading would do
well to remember that instruction will become e+emplary only when it accurately
meets the reading needs of each student. "iagnosis can be the vehicle for
determining these needs.
9. Both immediate and long'range planning for reading instruction take place on a
regular basis. 't is imperative that comprehensive planning for reading instruction
occurs prior to the actual teaching act. This planning should deal with both immediate
and long-range instructional concerns. The ma*or ob*ective of immediate planning is
to answer the )uestion, 0Ehat am ' going to teach tomorrow12, whereas long-range
planning involves loo(ing beyond tomorrowIs lesson. The process of assessing
immediate versus long-range outcomes is a continual but necessary one. Effective
planning is the prelude to effective reading instruction.
D. !he nonteaching conditions of the educational situation are employed to their
maximum usage. This means that the effective teacher of reading is not the teacher
who merely has ma+imum conditions for instruction or wor(s in a well-e)uipped
reading class. .ather, he or she is the one who employs the financial and physical
conditions of a teaching situation to ma+imum usage.
C. %nstructional procedures are utili"ed, which will produce optimal reading
achievement for every child in the classroom. .eading instruction should be
learner-centered and designed to promote optimal and continuous achievement for
each student. The teacher should ma(e provision for the learning process, paying
particular attention to motivation, reinforcement, and rate and type of learning.
4@
@. *valuation of the instructional process relative to reading is conducted in a
continuous and thorough manner. Bost methodologists agree that the instructional
process is a three-phase tas( of planning, teaching and evaluating. Evaluation is
ascertaining the degree to which a teacherIs immediate and long-term instructional
ob*ectives have been or are being attained. 't plays a significant role in every
teacherIs classroom, and if properly conducted, evaluation can provide teachers
with something more than intuition to tell them whether their students are attaining
optimal achievement in reading.
!ased on the above list, the teacher of reading can (now whether his or her classroom is
effectively organi5ed for reading instruction or not. The degree to which these characteristics
e+it or are absent in a classroom will determine the effectiveness of a teacherJs provision for
reading instruction. %owever, it should be noted that all of these characteristics must be present
if a language classroom is to function optimally and produce ma+imum student growth in
reading. To do this difficult tas(, great efforts on the part of the teacher must be made. /nd the
teacher should not be deterred from implementing these characteristics ?since students are the
bottom line of instruction and the goal of providing exemplary reading instruction is worth
optimal efforts? (#app - 4:;43 7C).
'n summary, what has been done in this chapter is to focus on an overall view of reading
and teaching reading ESP. Some theoretical concepts have been also related to their
application in teaching and learning reading ESP. The ne+t chapter will discuss how
reading s(ill and the other language s(ills are interrelated.
4<
C&APT#R ,: S/I"" 9 INT#(RATION
,)' P+oductive and +eceptive s1ills
'n daily life, people who use language employ a number of different abilities. They are able
to spea( on the telephone, write letters, listen to the radio or read boo(s, newspapers, etc.
'n other words, they possess the four basic s(ills of speaking, writing, listening and
reading.
/ccording to %armer (4::73 4@), 0speaking and writing involve language production and
are therefore often referred to as productive skills. 9istening and reading, on the other
hand, involve receiving messages and are therefore often referred to as receptive skills.2
The following table designed by %armer (ibid.3 4<) represents a very general picture of
language s(ills.
BE"'$B
SK'##
SPEE8% E.'TTEN EH."
.eceptive #istening and understanding .eading and understanding
Productive Spea(ing Eriting
Table 2.1 The four language skills
Naturally, language users very often employ a combination of s(ill. Spea(ing and listening
usually happen simultaneously, and people can read and write at the same time when they
ta(e notes or write something based on what they are reading. Thus, the teacher of reading
should develop not only reading s(ills for the student but also other language s(ills through
reading.
,), S1ill:inte*+ation
,),)' Definition
/s previously mentioned, it seems clear that, in a language class, it is the teacherJs
responsibility to see to it that all the s(ills are practiced. This means that he or she is
supposed to apply s(ill-integration approach. So what is meant by integrating the s(ills1
8arol .ead (Batthews, Spratt and "angerfield- 4::43<7) stated that 0the integration of
skills in the language classroom can be defined quite simply as a series of activities or
tasks which use any combination of the four skills ' 9istening 697, 8peaking 687, Reading
6R7, )riting 6)7 ' in a continuous and related sequence.2 'n other words, the four language
s(ills are closely intertwined and can be integrated through a series of activities within a
conte+t naturally built in a real life situation. The activities in the se)uence may be related
4;
through the topic or through the language or both of these. 't can be said that an important
feature of the se)uence is the interloc(ing nature of the activities. 't is a whole chain of
activities involving the e+ercise of different s(ills or ?each task develops from those that
have come before and prepares for those that are to follow? (by 8arol .ead, )uoted in
Batthews, Spratt and "angerfield - 4::43 <9). The s(ills are, therefore, not practised in
isolation but in a closely interwoven way.
,),), Reasons fo+ s1ill:inte*+ation
Ehen discussing s(ill-integration, many methodologists emphasi5e its importance by
giving some reasons for it. /ccording to 8arol .ead, there are two main reasons for
devising activity se)uences which integrate the s(ills. 0!he first is to practise and extend
the students use of a particular language structure or function and the second is to
develop the students ability in two or more of the four skills within a constant language.2
(ibid.3 <9).
%armer (4::7) also e+plained the reason why s(ill-integration is needed by giving two
reasons. 0.irstly, it is very often true that one skill cannot be performed without another...
8econdly, people use different skills when dealing with the same subject for all sorts of
reasons.2
't is absolutely agreed that it is impossible to spea( in a conversation if one does not listen
at the same time and people seldom write without reading. /nother reason is that when
someone listens to a lecture, he often ta(es notes and then writes a report on the lecture or
describes it to his friends.
Furthermore, 8arol .ead (ibid.3 <9) offered a number of important advantages in providing
students with the (ind of integrated s(ills practice including3
Continuity3 Tas( and activities are not performed in isolation but are closely related and
dependent on each other.
%nput before output3 'n an integrated s(ills approach, learners can be provided with a
suitable input which may be in the form of a direct model or a much freer stimulus. This
input will then form the basis for the learnersJ own output - or productive use of the
language - in a subse)uent tas(.
Realism3 't allows for the development of all four s(ills within a realistic,
communicative framewor(.
4:
$ppropriateness3 This helps the learners to recogni5e the appropriateness of a particular
language form and mode in different conte+ts and with different participants.
Dariety3 /ctivities involving all four s(ills provide variety and can be invaluable in
maintaining motivation.
Recycling3 't allows the learners to use the familiar language in a variety of new and
different ways.
Confidence3 't may be helpful for the learner who is wea(er or less confident in one
particular s(ill.
!eing aware of the significance of s(ill-integration, the teacher of reading in his or her
teaching will try to reflect the fact that the same e+perience or topic can lead to the use of
many different s(ills. For instance, when the student practises reading, the teacher will use
that reading as the basis for practising other language s(ills. Hf course, all activities will
have to focus on reading s(ill. !ut the focus can later shift to one or more of the other
s(ills.
,)- Relationship bet;een +eadin* s1ills and othe+ lan*ua*e s1ills
Hne of the principles of teaching reading is that ?reading and the other language arts are
closely interrelated? (!urns, .oe and .oss - 4:;;3 7D). This point of view is similar to
what .ivers and Temperly (4:<;3 7D4) suggested3 0Reading is not an isolated activity. %n a
language class it should lead to something, and thus be integrated with the improvement of
all skills.2 'n other words, reading should not be taught separately from the other s(ills.
The following will discuss the relation between reading s(ill and the other language s(ills.
,)-)' Readin* and listenin*
/s mentioned above, reading and listening are receptive s(ills. /ccording to "ur(in
(4:;:3 9;9), 0the major similarity between listening and reading is very apparent5 !he
listener and reader both attend to language for the purpose of getting or constructing a
message. !he two, thus, display language'processing behavior.2
Therefore, the two s(ills are closely related. .eading ma(es the student familiar with the
vocabulary, structures, grammar as well as provides him with bac(ground (nowledge of
the topic, which is very helpful for the student when listening. Hn the other hand, listening
ma(es great contribution to interpretation of the reading unit because the aural elements
can add vividness and daily life to it. For this close relationship, .ivers and Temperly
7>
(4:<;3 7C:) suggested that 0students may listen to a story, play, poem, or speech by a
famous person and then read it, or they may read first and then listen to a worthwhile
reading or dramatic presentation of what they have read... Before listening to an *nglish
play, students may read a synopsis of the action. %n this way they are better prepared to
comprehend because they have some expectations to help them project meaning.2 This
integration will surely ma(e language lessons more interesting.
,)-), Readin* and spea1in*
Hbviously, reading broadens readersJ (nowledge of both of the target language and the world
which can enhance spea(ing. 'n addition, reading aloud itself ?gives extra practice in
pronunciation, word stress and rhythm? (%edge - ibid.3 4D). Thus, .ivers and Temperly (4:<;3
7C:) suggested that 0students should be provided with frequent opportunities to give in
*nglish the gist of what they have been reading.2
They also offered some ways to e+ploit the reading material for spea(ing3 08ome of the
material read will serve as a basis for oral presentation of projects; some will be
dramati"ed in the original form or through extempore role'playing; and some will provide
ammunition for discussions and debates.2 (.ivers and Temperly - ibid.3 7@>)
The teacher can do this in post-reading activities in various ways. For e+ample, he or she can
as( the student to discuss the topic of the te+t, give his opinions and feelings about the
content of the te+t, summari5e the te+t orally, etc.
Spea(ing, in its turns, can serve as input for reading. /t pre-reading stage, the teacher can
encourage the student to form certain e+pectations about the te+t by saying what he can guess
from pictures, photographs, headings6 the student can be as(ed to say what he (nows about the
topic, whether he agrees or disagrees with some given statements concerning the topic and
gives reasons, etc.
,)-)- Readin* and ;+itin*
There is no doubt that both reading and writing are active, thin(ing processes. Ehen a
teacher teaches the two s(ills to the students, he or she is virtually teaching them to thin(.
/ccording to %owie (4:;:3 C), 0)hat students learn can only be more solidly reinforced if
the two processes are taught together, not separately. !eaching reading and writing
together integrates the processes, interrelates them, and enhances the amount and strength
of what is being learned.2
74
%e also added3 0!he processes of reading and writing are so intertwined that not to teach
them together, across the curriculum, is to shortchange students. !eaching the two
processes together allows students to learn better how to acquire and use information.2
(%owie - ibid.3 <)
Smith (4::>3 49<) too( the same view when stating 0!o keep the two activities separately
does more than deprive them of their basic sense, it impoverishes any learning that might
take place.2
!oth of them are right in saying that reading and writing are basically constructive
processes. The connection between them is particularly strong. The teacher, therefore, is
responsible for building a scaffold (.obinson and ,ood - 4:;<3 7;7) that aids the student
in getting information from the reading te+t and helps him to organi5e the information in
an appropriate form for writing about it. /ccordingly, a scaffold should
(. make the students aware of the structure of the text that they read and
thereby increase their access to relevant information in the text;
+. help students to supplement this information by adding relevant background
knowledge from their own understanding of particular topic or event;
-. give students a way to organi"e the information, and
/. make students aware of the structure that they can use to write about the
information in order to convey it to someone else.
(.obison and ,ood - 4:;<3 7;7)
%owever, what should the teacher actually do to integrate reading with writing1 Ee can
divide the activities that the student is as(ed to do in a reading lesson to tie his reading with
his writing into two broad categories3 with the te+t and from the te+t. The student wor(s
with the te+t when he copies and e+amines the writerJs choices of specific linguistic and
logical features such as cohesive lin(s, punctuation, grammar, sentence arrangement and
organi5ation. %e wor(s from the te+t when he uses it to create a te+t on his own by
summari5ing, completing, reacting, etc.
"ur(in (4:;:) suggested some classroom activities that the teacher can use to combine
reading and writing. 'n his opinion, before reading, the teacher can ?elect to have students
write what they know about a topic before they start to read what an author has to say
about it? ("ur(in - ibid.3 D<9). This means that he or she provides a genuine purpose for
the reading. %e also believed that writing can ta(e place during reading. Eith stories, for
77
e+ample, the teacher can as( the students to read to a certain point, then they try to predict
what is li(ely to happen ne+t and write their own ending. !esides, they may be re)uired to
write a summary of what they have learned up to a certain point. #ast but not least, once a
reading te+t has been read, many opportunities are available to use writing in ways that can
be fruitful for the reading. For instance, the students can mimic someone elseJs writing
after reading it because they have been provided with a model to understand language use6
or they can rewrite a story told from a first-person perspective from the point of view of
another character, etc.
/lso concerning the integration of these two s(ills, .ivers and Temperly (4:<;3 7C;) gave
out the following activities3 08tudents may be asked a series of questions which, when
answered in sequence, develop a summary or resume of the material read. !hey may write
an ending to a story or play of which they have read part, or develop a different ending
from the one in the book. !hey may write letters which one character in the story might
have written to others... 8tudents may create their own stories on similar themes to those
they have been reading.2 From these suggested activities, the teacher of reading can ma(e
the reading lesson more interesting and motivate the students to learn better.
To conclude, it must be (ept in mind that reading is closely related to listening, reading and
writing. !y integrating this s(ill with the other language s(ills, the teacher of reading can
improve not only studentsJ reading ability but also their (nowledge and ability for language
use. Therefore, to ma(e full use of the interrelation between these s(ills, the teacher is
re)uired to interweave them creatively and fle+ibly in order to give the students great
motivation for ac)uiring the target language.
79
PART C: T&# STUD<
C&APT#R -: IN$#STI(ATION O= CURR#NT SITUATION O= T#AC&IN( AND
"#ARNIN( R#ADIN( #SP IN D#PART#NT O= "IN(UISTICS AND
$I#TNA#S# STUDI#S AT USS& : $NU
-)' The teachin* and lea+nin* +eadin* #SP in Depa+t0ent of "in*uistics and
$ietna0ese Studies at USS& : $NU
't cannot be denied that there have been positive changes in teaching English in
"epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $SS% & N$ in recent years3
language classrooms are better e)uipped, ESP materials are designed, teachers of English
are more )ualified, etc. %owever, the teaching and learning of this sub*ect in general and of
reading ESP in particular have not been properly carried out yet. This section will have a
general loo( at the teaching and learning of reading s(ills by #$ collection of teaching
materials on linguistics studiesE 6!Fp bGi giHng tiIng $nh chuyJn ngGnh ngKn ngL hMc7 in
"epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $SS% - N$.
First of all, at $SS% & N$, the main duty is to train students in various fields such as
#iterature, %istory, Philosophy, Social Eor(, etc. /s a result, English is not considered as
the main sub*ect. Students learn the language as a means to do their future *ob or future
training. Therefore, the teaching reading ESP in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese
Studies at $SS% & N$ is aimed at not only improving the studentsI reading s(ills but
also ma(ing them familiar with English for #inguistics.
For the students of linguistics, they learn English because of many reasons. They want to
get high mar(s in their e+ams. !esides, a lot of boo(s on linguistics are written in English.
Therefore, if they want to broaden the (nowledge related to their ma*or, they should master
this language. Furthermore, being aware of the demand of the society today, they need to
use this international language in their future *obs. The students in "epartment of
#inguistics and ietnamese Studies learn ESP in their fifth semester. 'n the first and the
second year, they learn general English in 9ifelines & Elementary and Pre-intermediate
level & by Tom %utchinson. Therefore, they are supposed to have the most basic s(ills
before getting access to ESP.
/bout the ESP material, #$ collection of teaching materials on linguistics studiesE 6!Fp bGi giHng
tiIng $nh chuyJn ngGnh ngKn ngL hMc7, it is designed for the third year students of linguistics.
7D
't is a collection from different boo(s on linguistics by different authors and adaption from
some softwares including Encyclopeadia !ritainica and The Bicrosoft Encarta
Encyclopeadia. 't is adapted and written in such an attempt to simplify the te+ts with the
basic ESP terms in order to fit the language level of the students. /s stated in its syllabus,
the material aims at helping the students have opportunity to read more effectively, ma(ing
sentences grammatically by using linguistics terms and translating. 't continues to train the
students in the three language s(ills3 spea(ing, reading and writing but mainly focuses on
developing their reading s(ills. For that purpose, the material aims at introducing the
students to fundamental issues related to linguistics such as /uthors in #inguistics,
Subfields of #inguistics, Kinds of ,rammar, #anguage 8hanges and these are organi5ed
into 47 units. There are four parts in each unit. The first and also the most important one is
the reading te+t which includes three stages namely pre-reading, while reading and post-
reading. The second part is spea(ing. ,rammar is dealt with in the third part. /nd the last
part gives the students a chance to practice writing and translation.
%owever, it seems that there are still some problems. Firstly, listening s(ill is neglected in
the material. Secondly, although the material tries to provide the students with many types
of reading comprehension e+ercises, there are still more e+ercises which need designing by
the teacher so that the students can improve their reading ability.
=et, we cannot blame the material completely. Ee all (now that the teacher himself plays
an important role in fulfilling the aim of the reading programme. Nevertheless, many ESP
teachers find it difficult to e+ploit reading te+ts in the light of 8ommunicative #anguage
Teaching. They also have troubles in using techni)ues to motivate students to learn. Few of
them have e+perience in teaching ESP for #inguistics. /s a result, students become bored
and passive in learning.
't must be admitted that although the students in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese
Studies have learnt ESP for D years, only C units have been taught. The rest has not been
put in pratice. Furthermore, despite the fact that each language classroom is e)uipped with
one cassette player, there is lac( of modern e)uipment li(e H%P and proper guide on
choosing appropriate supplementary reading materials. !esides, the studentsJ uneven levels
of English and bac(ground (nowledge are also another disadvantage that affects the
)uality of teaching and learning.
7C
'n short, the teaching and learning of reading ESP in "epartment of #inguistics and
ietnamese Studies at $SS% & N$ have both strong points and wea( points. !ut all the
above-mentioned is, to some e+tent, superficial and sub*ective. The following is an attempt
to provide a more truthful picture of the matter.
-), Su+vey >uestionnai+es and obse+vation
-),)' Su+vey >uestionnai+es
-),)')' Ai0s
The aims of the surveys are3
- To see if the teaching and learning of reading ESP in "epartment of #inguistics and
ietnamese Studies at $SS% & N$ are carried out in integration with other s(ills6
- To identify the actual strong points and wea( points of teaching and learning reading
s(ills in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $SS% - N$.
The results of the surveys are e+pected to serve as the basis for the suggestions of some
techni)ues that are useful in teaching and learning reading ESP in integration with the
other language s(ills.
-),)'), Desc+iption
'n order to achieve the above aims, two survey )uestionnaires, one for teachers and one for
students of linguistics are designed (see Appendi2 ' and ,). Each )uestionnaire consists of 47
)uestions with some ready-designed choices. For every )uestion, informants are as(ed to tic(
their choice. !esides, they are also e+pected to give their own choices if those provided do not
match their opinions.
Twelve )uestions of the surveys focus on si+ parts in which part / and 8 consists of three
)uestions, part ! includes two )uestions, part ", E and F have only one )uestion each.
- Part / attempts to find out the attitudes of teachers and students toward reading
comprehension (the importance of reading s(ills, their purposes of teaching and learning
ESP and their opinions of teaching and learning reading s(ills in integration with other
language s(ills)
- Part ! aims at the attitudes of the informantsI attitudes toward reading te+ts in the present
ESP material and other supplementary ones.
- Part 8 is designed to see what techni)ues are often used in reading lessons in practice.
- Part " concerns which types of classroom interaction that are usually carried out during
reading lessons.
7@
- Part E focuses on difficulties in teaching and learning reading s(ills.
- Part F is designed with a hope that informants will ma(e some suggestions for the
improvement in ESP reading lessons in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies
at $SS% - N$.
-),)')- P+ocedu+es
The survey )uestionnaires were distributed to < ESP teachers of #inguistics in "epartment
of Foreign #anguages and 4>> students in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese
Studies at $SS% - N$. %owever, only :C )uestionnaires for students and @ for teachers
were completed and returned.
!efore having a deeper loo( at how the real situation of the teaching and learning reading ESP
in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $SS% - N$, some personal
information about the informants will be presented as follows. For the teachers, two-thirds of
them have been teaching English for less than 4> years and one-third for more than 4> years.
/ll of them have been teaching ESP for students of linguistics for less than C years. /s for the
students, most of them have been learning English for si+ years and over.
The following section is about the data and data analysis which will be given and discussed
in the order the si+ parts mentioned above.
-),)'). Data and data analysis
-),)').)' %hat a+e the attitudes of teache+s and students to;a+d +eadin*
co0p+ehension5
'n order to find out the attitudes of the teachers and the students toward reading
comprehension, three )uestions were designed. The following column charts represent the
results.
Chart 3.1 The teachers' attitudes toward reading comprehension
7<
Chart 3.2 The students' attitudes toward reading comprehension
The first )uestion of the )uestionnaires deals with the importance of reading s(ills to
students of #inguistics. /s can be seen from the two charts, @<L of the teachers and C;L
of the students considered reading very important. The same proportion of the teachers and
the students, about one-third, agreed that this s(ill was as important as the other language
s(ills. None of them thought that reading was not important. The figures indicate that the
ma*ority of the informants are aware of the importance of reading s(ill to the studentsI
future *obs.
.esponding to the second )uestion concerning the purpose of teaching and learning
reading ESP, all of the informants put vocabulary, especially ESP terms in #inguistics to
their foremost priority. This suggests that in reading lessons, the teachers usually spent
most of the time presenting new words. 'n other words, reading lessons have been used as
a means to e+ploit linguistics terms. /s a result, a large number of the students paid
attention to only vocabulary. ;9L of the teachers answered that they taught reading to the
students of linguistics in order to develop their reading s(ills and the other language s(ills
(listening, spea(ing and writing). Beanwhile, one-third of their students tic(ed this choice.
't can be refered that although many teachers wanted to improve the studentsI other
language s(ills via reading te+ts few students were aware of that. This raises a )uestion3
/re the surveyed ESP teachersI methods of teaching reading s(ills appropriate1 Ehereas,
two-thirds of the students compared with one-third of the teachers thought that reading the
ESP te+ts could improve their (nowledge related to #inguistics. Gust a few informants
chose grammar. Hbviously, the surveyed teachers and students paid much attention to ESP
terms and ignored the purposes of reading activities, i.e to get information from the te+t
and adopt appropriate reading strategies.
7;
The third columns of the two charts show the teachers and the studentsJ opinion of teaching
and learning reading in integration with other language s(ills. None of them held that it was
ineffective. The ma*ority found it interesting. @<L of the teachers and C;L of the students
thought the integration in reading lessons was helpful. To some e+tent, these charts seem to
reflect the fact that a few teachers and students have recogni5ed the advantages of
interweaving reading s(ills with the other language s(ills. !esides, appro+imately four-fifths of
the informants found it difficult to apply this way of teaching and learning reading. This
implies the need of more suitable techni)ues.
-),)').), %hat a+e the attitudes of teache+s and students to;a+d +eadin* 0ate+ials5
Chart 3.3 The teachers attitudes toward the E! materials
Chart 3." The students attitudes toward the E! materials
/s can be seen from the two above charts, when as(ed about their attitudes toward the
te+ts in #$ collection of teaching materials on linguistics studiesE 6!Fp bGi giHng tiIng $nh chuyJn
ngGnh ngKn ngL hMc7, the teachers and the students shared the same point of view of the
difficulty of the te+ts (@<L and <7L perspectively). %owever, one-third of the teachers
claimed that the te+ts were not difficult6 whereas, only CL of their students thought so. No
teachers compared with 79L of the students suppose them to be difficult. %alf of the
teachers and nearly two-thirds of the students found the te+ts not interesting. None of the
7:
informants agreed that the te+ts were very interesting. There is also a difference between
the teachers and the students in the attitude toward the length of the te+ts. %alf of the
students said that they were too long meanwhile none of the surveyed teacher shared the
same point of view. /ccording to two-thirds of the teachers and D9L of the students, the
te+ts were long. From the data above, it can be refered that there should be some
ad*ustment in the present ESP materials and the teacher should be aware of the attitude of
their students toward the reading te+ts so that they can choose appropriate methods of
teaching. This also leads to the ne+t )uestion3 0%ow often do the informants use
supplementary materials in teaching and learning reading ESP12
Chart 3.# upplementar$ materials to the teachers and students
Hbviously, all the surveyed ESP teachers saw the importance of supplementary materials in
teaching reading ESP. Two-thirds often used them and one-third sometimes gave their
students e+tra reading. %owever, how to use these (inds of materials should be put into
consideration. They should go in accordance with the purposes of teaching and learning
reading ESP. !esides, ESP teachers should ma(e full use of them, not *ust to interest the
students.
From the studentsI viewpoints, <:L of them sometimes read other materials. The number
of the students often and never used supplementary materials is the same (44L and 4>L
respectively). There are some possible reasons for this. Firstly, they do not (now how to
find other ESP materials. Therefore, it is necessary for the teachers to suggest their students
some source of e+tra reading te+ts such as newspapers, maga5ines, boo(s, the 'nternet.
Secondly, as mentioned above, most the students found the course material was difficult.
/s a result, they may thin( that it is enough for them to master all in the material. 'tIs the
teachersI duty to motivate them to learn by assigning more interesting but less demanding
9>
reading activities in supplementary materials. #ast but not least, English is not considered
as their ma*or. They want to spend their time on ma*or sub*ects.
'n short, all the figures above are statistically significant for understanding the teacher and
the studentsJ attitudes toward reading comprehension and reading materials. Nevertheless,
to (now more about the real situation of teaching and learning reading s(ills to students of
linguistics, )uestions @, < and ; were designed. They are all about activities being carried
out in a reading lesson at each stage. The below section will discuss this.
-),)').)- %hat techni>ues a+e often used in +eadin* lessons in p+actice5
-),)').)-)' P+e:+eadin* sta*e
Chart 3.% Techni&ues used at pre'reading stage
The data shown in 8hart 9.@ present more details about the techni)ues being applied in
teaching reading comprehension te+ts at the pre-reading stage. /s can be seen, the two
activities of giving a brief introduction to the te+t and doing as re)uired in the material are
the most fre)uently used with ma*ority of the informants tic(ing these options. Perhaps these
activities do not ta(e much time and effort. They are )uite easy to carry out since there are
guiding )uestions for discussion at pre-reading stage in the material. ,iving students some
more guiding )uestions was also another common activity claimed by the informants (@<L
and CCL respectively). /bout one-third of the surveyed teachers and students tic(ed the
choice of guessing what the te+t might be about. 't is noticeable that none of the informants
voted for the two techni)ues of presenting a listening te+t on the same topic and as(ing
students to fill in the blan(s of a summary of the te+t with some important words ta(en from
the te+t. 't can be concluded that there is little s(ill-integration at the beginning of the reading
lessons.
-),)').)-), %hile:+eadin* sta*e
94
Chart 3.( Techni&ues used at while'reading stage
The chart illustrates that the number of teachers and students claimed that they dealt with
e+planation of new words and structures is 99L and D;L respectively. 't is advisable that
the teachers should e+plain meaning of only some (ey ESP terms that cause much
difficulty for their students before reading. The rest should be done after they read the te+t
to improve one of the most important reading s(ills, i.e the studentsI ability to guess
meanings of new words. Then the students can base on their bac(ground (nowledge of the
ma*or and English language to interpret the te+t.
/s can be seen clearly from the chart, all of the informants agreed that they did the
e+ercises below the te+t. %owever, two-thirds of the teachers designed more e+ercises for
their students to understand more about the te+t. Hn the contrary, this was confirmed by
only 7:L of their students. Surprisingly, the surveyed teachers and students did not share
the same point of view in this option.
-),)').)-)- Post:+eadin* sta*e
Chart 3.) Techni&ues used at post'reading stage
.esponding to the )uestion concerning what techni)ues are often used at the post-
reading stage, li(e at the former stages, all of the informants claimed that they often
did as re)uired in the material. The ma*ority voted for translation, (;9L of the
97
teachers and <@L of the students). This reveals that the ,rammar-Translation method
is still preferred. "iscussion and practice of newly learnt vocabulary and grammar
ran( third. /bout two-thirds of the informants chose these options. Eriting a
summary of the te+t was chosen by half of the surveyed teachers. This choice was
shared by 9:L of their students. The activity of reading aloud the whole te+t for
several times was chosen by 4<L of the students but none of their teachers tic(ed it.
/s can also be seen from the chart, games and plays are rarely organi5ed. This
activity was chosen by only 4<L of the teachers and 49L of the students. #istening
and writing on similar theme were not applied at this stage. Hnce more, there is little
s(ill-integration after reading the te+ts.
-),)').). %hich type of class+oo0 inte+action is often used du+in* +eadin* lessons5
Chart 3.* T$pes of classroom interaction used during reading lessons according to the teachers
Chart 3.1+ T$pes of classroom interaction used during reading lessons according to the students
The above charts show that among the four types of classroom interaction chosen by the
informants (individual, pairwor(, groupwor( and the whole class), individual and activity
and pair wor( are predominant in a reading lesson. /ll of the informants agreed that group
wor( and class activity were not used at while-reading stage. %owever, while none of the
99
teachers said they did not often as( the students to wor( individually before and after
reading lessons, there were still some of their students disagreeing with this.
-),)').)3 %hat a+e the difficulties in teachin* and lea+nin* +eadin* s1ills5
't is undeniable that there are some difficulties in teaching and learning reading s(ills to
students of linguistics at $SS% - N$. Thus, the eleventh )uestion was designed to
identify these. The below charts present the results.
Chart 3.11 The teachers and students' difficulties in teaching and learning reading E!
For the teachers, half of them thought that studentsJ limited vocabulary and bac(ground
(nowledge were their difficulties. Hne third claimed that their students had grammar
problems which decreased their reading ability. 4<L said that finding supplementary
reading materials in ESP was not easy. The same percentage can be found in the fifth
choice in which the informants admitted that they did not have enough time for developing
their studentsJ reading ability.
't seems that the students have more difficulties than their teachers. Bany claimed that it
was difficult to find other reading materials in ESP (;4L). That is why few of them said
that they did e+tra reading when being as(ed about the fre)uency of using supplementary
materials in reading ESP (see -),)').),). Bore than two-thirds thought that their limited
vocabulary hindered their reading ability. The lac( of bac(ground (nowledge and grammar
problems were also chosen by about half of the surveyed students. / )uarter said that they
did not have enough time in reading comprehension.
'n short, it is possible that the lac( of interesting materials and uneven studentsI ability of
reading and level of bac(ground (nowledge as well as English ma(e the )uality of
teaching and learning reading ESP ineffective as e+pected. Therefore, the last )uestion of
the two surveys was designed with a hope that the teachers and the students would ma(e
9D
useful suggestions for the improvement of the )uality in teaching and learning reading ESP
in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies ($SS% & N$).
-),)').)4 %hat a+e the su**estions 0ade by the teache+s and the students5
Chart 3.12 uggestions made b$ the teachers and the students
/s can be seen, when being as(ed what should be done to ma(e the reading lesson more
interesting, most of the informants suggested reading suitable materials in English
fre)uently, improving teachersJ methodology and (nowledge related to #inguistics and
classifying studentsI level of English. They also thought that developing the present ESP
material would improve reading ability. @<L of the teachers and <4L of the students tic(ed
this choice.
Eith the other choices, the teachers and the students did not share the same opinion. The
number of the surveyed students choosing the activities of doing more reading e+ercises
and learning more vocabulary and grammar is :>L and @CL respectively. Hn the contrary,
these were confirmed by only C>L and 99L of their teachers. This implies that the
students still pay much attention to grammar and vocabulary. %owever, 4<L of the
surveyed students suggested using more songs, more role plays, more games and spending
more time on discussion while little feedbac( was given from the teachers. None of them
made other suggestions. Therefore, it can be said that the students have desire for
improving communication competence though they may be unconscious of communicative
approach.
-),)')3 =indin*s and co00ents
The results of the survey )uestionnaires have revealed both good points and bad points in
teaching and learning reading s(ills to students of linguistics at $SS% - N$. The
following section will identify and analy5e positive factors.
9C
-),)')3)' St+on* points
Firstly, concerning the attitudes of the teachers and the students toward reading
comprehension, the data show that most of them were aware of the important role of
reading in teaching and learning English. This creates good chances for the ESP teachers to
motivate their students to read and if they find appropriate techni)ues to teach this s(ill to
their students, they will be certainly more successful. !esides, the purpose of teaching and
learning reading to develop the four language s(ills was chosen by some teachers and
students. /lthough the figures are not big, they show that the students of linguistics and
their teachers begin to recogni5e the use of reading te+ts to improve the four s(ills of the
target language. 'n addition, the teaching and learning this s(ill in integration with the
other language s(ills is highly appreciated by the teachers and the students.
/nother good point is that some teachers have e+ploited the reading te+ts in the light of
8ommunicative #anguage Teaching in one way or another. This means that when teaching
reading they not only teach their students how to read but also encourage them to spea(
and write although the proportion of the teachers often do this is not very high. This can
help students to get a deeper understanding of the te+t and develop their other language
s(ills. There is also good news that what the students suggested in the survey
)uestionnaires indicates their need of improving communication s(ills.
The surveyed teachers were also aware of the importance of supplementary materials in
teaching reading ESP. This results in their fre)uency of using e+tra reading in reading
lessons.
%owever, there are some wea( points remaining in teaching and learning reading s(ills to
students of linguistics at $SS% - N$ which will be identified and analy5ed in the
following section.
-),)')3), %ea1 points
/ccording to the statistics of the data, many teachers and students found the reading te+ts
in N$ collection of teaching materials on linguistics studiesE 6!Fp bGi giHng tiIng $nh
chuyJn ngGnh ngKn ngL hMc7 difficult and uninteresting. This suggests that the concerned
parties in editing the material should do some ad*ustment to ma(e the te+ts more
appropriate. !esides, although the ma*ority of the informants were interested in the
teaching reading in integration with other language s(ills, a few of them found it difficult
9@
to apply this in reading lessons. They do not (now how to apply this way of teaching and
learning.
The data also reveal that many teachers and students teach and learn reading in order to
widen their ESP terms. They are li(ely to consider a reading te+t as a means of improving
only language items. The ma*ority voted for translation at post-reading stage. /s a
result, grammatical competence and linguistic competence are the main focus in a reading
lesson although they are only two dimensions of communicative competence. The
,rammar-Translation method is still preferred. Therefore, it can be said that s(ill-
integration seems to be infre)uently carried out in reading lessons. There is little chance for
the students to practise listening and writing during reading lessons.
'n addition to this, there is also substantial disagreement between the teachers and the
students on some aspects. For instance, at while-reading stage, as many as @<L of the
teachers claimed that they designed more e+ercises for their students to understand more
about the te+t but only a few students (7:L) agreed with this.
/nother bad point is that there is little interaction between the students in the classroom at
while-reading stage. Students often wor( individually, not in pairs or in groups. Therefore,
the reading lessons are not communicative.
#ast but not least, many students tended to depend largely on the present ESP material.
!esides, the fact that the students come from different towns and provinces in ietnam
results in their differences in learning styles, attitudes, motivation, bac(ground (nowledge
and level of English. Their reading ability are not even, which may cause potential
problems in teaching and learning English in linguistics.
'n short, the data show that there are both strong points and wea( point in the teaching and
learning of reading s(ills to students of linguistics. !ut in order to have a more reliable
picture of the situation, classroom observation is needed.
-),), Class+oo0 obse+vation
#i(e the results of the two survey )uestionnaires, the observation reveals that current
teaching reading of ESP to students of linguistics at $SS% - N$ is not as good as it
should be. "uring reading lessons, the teachers spent most of the time on vocabulary and
structures. 8omprehension was paid very little attention to. 't was the teacher who did most
of the activities without guiding the students the most effective ways to successfully
e+ploit the reading te+t by themselves. 'n fact, the teacher, not the students, was considered
9<
as the center of the class. The students were given few chances to practise language s(ills.
Sometimes they were as(ed to wor( in pairs or in groups but the amount of time for
practising was )uite limited. There was little help from the teachers during these activities.
The students only listened to the teacherJs e+planation and did what they were as(ed to do.
/s a result, they became passive and dependent on their teachers.
Furthermore, the way the teacher e+plained new words in the te+t was not appropriate.
They preferred giving direct meaning of the new word in ietnamese. Then they either
as(ed the students to ma(e a sentence or made a sentence with that word themselves by
as(ing students to translate the sentence using the word. Ne+t, the teacher as(ed the
students to repeat the words to practise pronunciation. %owever, not all linguistics terms
have e)uivalent in ietnamese and there are some ma*or sub*ects the students have not
learnt yet. 8onse)uently, when being interviewed, many students were not satisfactory
with the teachersI techni)ue. 'n their opinion, they prefer giving e+amples.
'n short, the classroom observation confirms the fact that most of the reading lessons are
based mainly on the ,rammar - Translation and ?teacher-centered? methods. /s a result, it
can be said that the teaching and learning reading ESP to students of linguistics at $SS% -
N$ are not properly carried out.
-)- Conclusions
!ased on the above analysis, it is possible to conclude that the teaching and learning
reading ESP to students of linguistics at $SS% & N$ are far from being satisfactory
although both of the teachers and the students have positive attitudes toward reading and
have ta(en 8ommunicative /pproach in one way or another. .eading lessons are not
carried out properly. The reading te+ts are still e+ploited as a source of materials for
language lessons in which too much time is spent on vocabulary and grammatical
structures. The traditional methods being applied in the teaching process neither improve
studentsJ reading s(ills nor develop other language s(ills as well as the necessary
(nowledge of the target language.
'n short, the information from the surveys and classroom observation provides useful clues
for the following chapter where some suggested techni)ues for teaching and learning
reading s(ills in integration with the other language s(ills to the students of linguistics will
be presented. These techni)ues are critically selected based on the principle of suitability to
the actual situation in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $SS% & N$.
9;
C&APT#R .: SO# SU((#STIONS TO IPRO$# T&# T#AC&IN( R#ADIN( #SP
TO STUD#NTS IN D#PART#NT O= "IN(UISTICS AND $I#TNA#S#
STUDI#S AT USS& : $NU
!efore the suggestion of suitable techni)ues for teaching reading s(ills communicatively to
students in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $SS% & N$ is made, it
is worthwhile redefining the term technique.
.)' %hat is a techni>ue5
/ccording to Edward /nthony (Nguyen !ang and Nguyen !a Ngoc - 7>>73 7D), 0technique
is the specific activities manifested in the classroom that are consistent with a method and
therefore in harmony with an approach as well.2
Hr simply spea(ing, a techni)ue is any of a wide variety of e+ercises, activities or devices
used in the language classroom for reali5ing lesson ob*ectives. Therefore, it can be said
that what techni)ue the teacher of reading uses in a reading lesson is no less important
factor deciding the success of that lesson. / good lesson re)uires the teacherJs ability,
creativeness and fle+ibility in refining techni)ues based on the selected approach.
.), Su**ested techni>ues fo+ teachin* +eadin* s1ills co00unicatively to students of
lin*uistics
/s analy5ed in the previous chapter, in teaching and learning reading ESP in "epartment
of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $SS% - N$, a reading te+t tends to be used to
present language items rather than to develop reading s(ills. !ut there is no doubt that a
reading te+t can be e+ploited in different ways and the aim of a reading programme is not
*ust to practise language but to enable students to understand unfamiliar authentic te+ts
without help. So what should be done to improve the studentJs reading comprehension
s(ills1 The possible activities will be presented at each reading stage with the hope that
they will be helpful to the teaching of reading s(ills by N$ collection of teaching materials
on linguistics studiesE 6!Fp bGi giHng tiIng $nh chuyJn ngGnh ngKn ngL hMc7 in
#inguistics in "epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies. The (ey principle here is
that there should be a fle+ible combination in using these techni)ues so that the students
not only understand and en*oy the reading te+ts but also improve the other language s(ills.
9:
.),)' P+e:+eadin* sta*e
/t this stage, the ESP teacher may be supposed to give some bac(ground information
about the topic and show sign of what the students are e+pected to read. The teacher should
avoid giving too much information about the content of the reading te+t. Htherwise, the
students may get bored and no longer want to read. The activities presented below are to
motivate the students to read and understand the te+t well.
.),)')' Int+oducin* the topic
The first thing the teacher should do to start a reading lesson is to ma(e a brief introduction
to the topic. This can be done by saying an introductory sentence li(e ?Today, you are
going to read a te+t about ...? %owever, this way seems to be boring and monotonous.
Therefore, instead of using such a simple sentence, the teacher can use other techni)ues as
suggested below.
.),)')')' Usin* visual aids
This is a good way to attract the studentsJ attention, to arouse their curiosity about the topic
and to create a comfortable atmosphere. 't ma(es the language used in the class more
realistic and alive, and the class more interesting. ,ood visual aids are not *ust used once,
but again and again, and can be shared by different teachers.
For e+ample, with the te+t in $nit 4 $uthors in 9inguistics, teaching aids can be photos of
some famous linguists, which can be easily cut from newspapers, maga5ines, or
downloaded from the internet, etc. The teacher shows them to the whole class and as(s the
students to guess what these peopleIs *ob is and what the te+t they are going to read is
about. 't is advisable that the pictures be colourful and large enough for the whole class to
see. They should be about the linguists that all the students (now. !esides, some important
publications by 8homs(y can be shown to the students or *ust their titles can be written on
the board. These clues will help to increase the studentsJ curiosity and their prediction
ability.
.),)')'), P+esentin* a listenin* te2t on the sa0e topic
't cannot be denied that the aural element adds vividness and life to the reading unit.
Therefore, the ESP teacher should ta(e advantage of listening in teaching reading s(ills. 't
ma(es the students more interested in the topic and they can improve both s(ills. The
teacher can as( the students to listen to a dialogue, news or a te+t of the same topic as the
reading te+t. These listening materials should be ta(en from an English-spea(ing source
D>
($nited States, ,reat !ritain, /ustralia, etc.) so that the students can have opportunity to
listen to native spea(ers. /nother way is that the teacher can find a reading material and
then record it by himself or by as(ing other teachers or /nglicist friends to ma(e a tape. 't
should be noted that the language in the tape must be simple and this presentation lasts for
short time because the aim is only to motivate the students to read the te+t.
Ta(e the reading te+t !he *nglish 9anguage ($nit C) as an e+ample. The teacher can let
the students listen to a te+t on English which can be easily ta(en from the internet in order
to introduce the topic. !ut here the teacher should not present the origin or the
characteristics of English because the students will find these when reading the te+t. 't will
be more interesting if the sub*ectMob*ect 0it2 instead of 0English2 is used and then the
students will guess what language has been mentioned.
.),)')')- P+ovidin* students ;ith a list of 1ey ;o+ds o+ ph+ases
To motivate the students to thin( about the topic before reading, the ESP teacher can give
them a list of (ey words or phrases and as( them to imagine what the te+t might be about.
The list should be short so that the students can guess the topic they are going to learn. 'n
addition, it must consist of (ey words or phrases6 otherwise, it may result in the studentsJ
confusion and distraction. This techni)ue re)uires the teacherJs ability of deciding what
words or phrases should be chosen. !esides, he or she has to (now whether these words or
phrases are within the studentsJ vocabulary or not and how many of them are enough. To be
on the safe side, the teacher should select the words or phrases from the te+t but it is
advisable to list the important and familiar with his or her studentsJ (nowledge.
The following is an e+ample to show how this techni)ue can be put into reality. 't is
designed for $nit 9 Oinds of 0rammar. The teacher can give the following list3
parts of speech tense clause word order simple sentence
complex sentence passive voice indirect speech conditionals
Ehen using this techni)ue, the teacher can write the (ey words on the board or read them
aloud sometimes to get the students involved in the prediction of what the topic is.
Ehat should be noted is that there may be one or two (ey wordsMphrases which appear in
the te+t but isMare unfamiliar to some students. 'n this case, the teacher can still choose
them because whether those students understand the meanings or not they are able to
guess. The )uestion here is that if the teacher should present the new words or phrases. The
(ey principle is that he or she should ma(e a decision based on the importance of the
D4
words and the level of students. %owever, the good point of these new wordsJ appearance
in the list is to motivate the students to read the te+t and find out the meanings in conte+t
by themselves. This usually ma(es the reading lesson more interesting.
't should also be emphasi5ed that this techni)ue can be used after introducing the topic of
the te+t in the way that the teacher as(s the students to imagine what the te+t will tell them
about. They can do their wor( in pairs or in groups, discuss what the topic is or what they
e+pect to read, report what they have done, and then compare the te+t with their
predictions. Therefore, the students at the same time can improve their spea(ing s(ills.
'n short, no matter what type of activities is used, ma(ing introduction to the topic should
last only a couple of minutes. /fter that, the teacher gets the students involved in the te+t
by as(ing them to do some other activities that will be discussed below.
.),)'), (ivin* students so0e state0ents +efe++in* to the te2t
The students can be given a number of statements about the theme and are as(ed to say
whether they agree or disagree with them and give reasons. This activity is mainly based on
the studentsJ bac(ground (nowledge about the topic of the reading te+t. 'ts advantage is that
the students have to thin( about the topic by ma(ing a decision themselves and practising
spea(ing s(ills as well. They are usually curious to find out whether what they have guessed
before is right or wrong and this encourages them to read the te+t eagerly at while-reading
stage to chec(. The aim is to give the students a reason to read and to motivate them to ma(e
some predictions before reading, not chec(ing their reading ability. Therefore, statements
should be presented in a simple way.
'f the te+t is followed by a TrueMFalse e+ercise, it is better to as( the students to read the
e+ercise and guess whether the provided sentences are true or false. !ut if there is no
e+ercise of this (ind, the teacher can supply some statements referring to the te+t so that
the students can e+press their own point of view on these sentences. %e or she can ta(e
some sentences from the te+t and ma(e small changes to some of them. /s a result, it will
not ta(e time for preparation.
8oncerning the )uestion, ?%ow can this techni)ue be used1?, at least three ways can be
suggested. First, the teacher can say the first sentence twice and let the students thin( about
it in a few seconds before telling their choice and e+pressing the reason(s) why. The same
thing can be done with the rest. This way seems to be good since the teacher can (eep the
studentsJ attention and practise their listening s(ills as well but it is time-consuming.
D7
Therefore, depending on each reading te+t, he or she must be fle+ible in applying this
techni)ue. /nother way is that the teacher writes the sentences on the board. This also
ta(es time. Therefore, in my opinion, the best way is to write all of the sentences in the
handouts so that the teacher can save time and the students can compare what they have
done before and after reading the whole te+t.
'f well-prepared, this techni)ue will be helpful and applicable to the teaching and learning
of reading ESP.
.),)')- As1in* students to have a sho+t discussion
This techni)ue is very effective because it helps the students relate their own e+perience,
bac(ground (nowledge as well as ability of using the target language to the topic by
spea(ing. 't also increases the studentsJ interest in reading since they can compare their
point of view with the writerJs.
/fter introducing the topic, the teacher as(s the students to discuss the topic in pairs or in
groups for a couple of minutes. %owever, it will be difficult for the students to discuss
broad topics. Therefore, it is the teacherJs duty to narrow them by giving students sub-
topic(s) to tal( about. This may result in a )uestion, ?%ow are these sub-topics designed1?
't is not necessary that they are the same as the main content of the te+t. 'n fact, it is better
to relate them to the studentsJ (nowledge and interest. !esides, these sub-topics can be in
various forms such as a )uestion, a statement, etc. This type of pre-reading activity is
available in the given material so that the ESP teacher can ta(e advantage of it.
/fter discussing, some students will report on what they have done and share their point of
view with the othersI. The teacher may write the answers on the board if the sub-topics are
directly related to the content of the reading te+t. /lthough it seems to be time-consuming,
the students will be more eager to find out whether the te+t contains what they have
discussed before. Therefore, the teacher had better write only the main ideas, not all, to
save time. Hn the contrary, if sub-topics are not of the content of the te+t and the teacherJs
aim is to lead the students into the te+t, he or she should not write.
.),)'). #ncou+a*in* students to fo+0 ce+tain e2pectations about the te2t
Ehen the students (now the topic of the reading te+t, the teacher can as( them to have
some e+pectations about the reading te+t. This aims at ma(ing the students thin( about the
topic before reading, have much desire to read the te+t and develop other language s(ills
(spea(ing and writing). 't helps them identify what they are loo(ing for. Even if the
D9
information in the te+t does not correspond to their e+pectations, the students can still
stimulate their imagination and interest. The teacher, thus, gives the students a reason to
read and creates motivation for reading.
The students can be as(ed to thin( about some )uestions that they hope the te+t will
answer for several minutes. This activity re)uires their study on a few general )uestions
about the te+t, which activates what they already (now about the sub*ect and suggests the
(ind of information they e+pect to be presented in the te+t. Ehen applying it, the teacher
can as( the students to spea( out or to write down their own )uestions andMor possible
answers. /s a result, it also contributes to the studentsJ spea(ing and writing s(ills.
'f the teacher wants to give the students far more chances to spea( English, he or she can
as( them to raise )uestions individually. The )uestions should not be repeated. 'n case they
are the same, the answers must be different because each student has his own answer(s).
%owever, this activity is not )uite suitable since the ma*ority of the classes are )uite large
with about 9> students. /s a result, it ta(es time. To save the situation, the teacher can call
some students to spea( out their )uestions andMor possible answers at random. Hn the other
hand, he or she can divide the class into groups to encourage the students to share their
ideas and (nowledge and practise more language. Then each group will have one student to
present what the members of the group e+pect to read.
'f the teacher wants to develop the studentsJ writing s(ills, he or she can as( them to write
down. 't may not be good writings but the students have an opportunity to e+press their
thought in words. Boreover, since it is free writing, they can e+press what they thin( and
want to loo( for it in the te+t. Nevertheless, this activity is rather time-consuming and
some students might be too la5y to write down. The teacher can avoid these problems by
limiting either time spent on writing or the minimum number of )uestions andMor possible
answers to write.
.),)')3 As1in* students to ;+ite a list of thin*s they 1no; and thin*s they ;ant to
1no; about the topic
The teacher can as( the students to write down what they (now and want to (now about
the topic to warm up their thin(ing on the te+t. Hbviously, there must be something that the
students (now and do not (now whatever the topic is. The class can be divided into groups
of four or five. Each group is given a large sheet of paper to write. /fter some minutes for
discussion, these sheets of paper will be stuc( on the board. Eith the teacherIs help, the
DD
whole class may go through the list and chec( mista(es if necessary. #eave the list here
until the students finish reading the te+t so that they can add more ideas to the list.
To some e+tent, this techni)ue is similar to the techni)ue mentioned in the above section
(see $),)').) but it is less demanding. The students only write a list of things, e.g. words,
phrases, not full sentences. Ehether the list is short or long depends on the level of the
students. %owever, writing down whatever coming to their mind about the topic can ma(e
them more interested in reading the te+t. 't stimulates their curiosity. 'f the students (now
much about what they are going to read, they will find it easier to read the te+t. 'f the
students (now little about the topic, they will be more eager and ready to e+plore the te+t
and find out the answers. 't should be noted that what the students write is not important.
The aim is that they must ma(e their mind wor( at pre-reading stage.
.),)')4 As1in* students to fill in the blan1s of a su00a+y of the te2t
The ESP teacher can also get the students involved in the topic by giving them a summary
of the te+t and as(ing them to try to guess what words should go in the blan(s. This is a
very good preparation for the students before reading since they can (now clearly what
they are going to read. Therefore, to ma(e the best e+ploitation of the te+t, the teacher
should spend much time reading, writing and choosing suitable words to fill in before class
to have a good summary. /t first, it may ta(e time to prepare but in e+change, the teacher
can use it many times. %owever, it must be admitted that this (ind of tas( is not easy if the
topic is not familiar to the students. The teacher can avoid by giving the students a
summary which is easy to read and guess the missing words. Some words may be (ey
words or related to the vocabulary and the grammar of that unit while the others have been
already learnt before.
For e+ample, with the te+t !he *nglish 9anguage ($nit C), the teacher can summari5e it
and design the tas( as follows3
,ill in each blank of the following paragraph with one suitable word-
*nglish is now widely used all over the world. %t belongs to the %ndo'*uropean family of
6(7.......... . !herefore, it is 6+7PPP to most other languages spoken in *urope and western
$sia from %celand to %ndia. &owever, 6-7PP.. from most of the modern *uropean languages, :odern
*nglish is 6/7PPP or relatively uninflected. *nglish words have been slowly 617PPP from the
inflected variable forms toward invariable ones. %n addition, *nglish has two other basic 627PPP .
.irstly, *nglish word function is 637PPP . .or example, nouns and verbs can be identical. 8econdly,
DC
in *nglish, 6=7PPP is open. !his means that *nglish adopts or adapts any words from other
languages.
.nswer-
4. languages 7. related 9. different D. analytic
C. simplified @. inflected <. fle+ible ;. vocabulary
'n short, what is important here is that the students must have some ideas before reading
the te+t. Therefore, they may not do the tas( well but they will be motivated to find out the
missing information later. 't should also be noted that the teacher *ust as(s the students to
chec( how many correct answers they get after reading the te+t instead of correcting them
immediately. This techni)ue is very useful at pre-reading stage as it brings students the
clearest view of the main content of the reading te+t.
.),)')? P+esentin* so0e of the ne; ;o+ds
't cannot be denied that terminology plays an important part in ESP. !eing aware of the
importance of ESP terms in a reading lesson, the teacher will (now what to do to help the
students enrich their vocabulary.
The techni)ue presenting new language items before reading depends on the level of the
reading te+t and the students. 'f the language in the te+t is not too difficult for the students
to read, there is no need to do this. 'n contrast, the students will soon loose motivation if
they find the vocabulary too difficult even if they are interested in the sub*ect matter of the
reading te+t. The teacher, thus, has to e+plain unfamiliar words to ma(e it easier for the
students to understand the te+t.
%owever, not all new words are necessary to be presented because the students can always
guess the meanings of many un(nown words from the conte+t. The teacherIs duty is to
help the students be aware of which words can be ignored during a reading programme.
There are three categories of (nown words. The first one is an active vocabulary of words
students (now well enough to use themselves. The second is a receptive vocabulary of
words students can recogni5e and respond to, but cannot confidently use. The third
category is throwaway vocabulary that students can ignore in order to simplify the reading
te+t. This can ma(e the studentsI attitude to new words more rela+ed. Hnly the (ey words,
whose meanings are crucial to the understanding of the te+t, need to be e+plained.
The teacher can present new vocabulary items visually (by using ob*ects, pictures,
drawings, charts, maps, diagrams, mime, actions, performance, etc.), situationally (by
D@
using real situations or created situations), and verbally (by using definition, language
conte+t, semantic systems, synonyms, antonyms, translation, etc.)
.),)')@ (ivin* *uidin* >uestions
!efore the students read the te+t, the ESP teacher can give them guiding )uestions or
signpost )uestions. The aim of these )uestions is, in fact, to give the students a reason to
read and lead them toward the main ideas of the te+t so that they can read more
purposefully and can have a good general idea after the first reading. ,uiding )uestions are
particularly useful when the reading lesson is based mainly on silent reading. They should
focus on the most important points of the te+t, not on minor details. They should also be in
a correct se)uence. 'n addition, they should not be too many, too long and too difficult
because they act as a guidance. Two or three )uestions are enough. They can be either
given orally or written before students read the te+t. !ut it is preferable that guiding
)uestions should be written on the board so that the students can (now e+actly what they
are loo(ing for while reading.
%owever, there is an obvious danger that the students may loo( for the answers to the
guiding )uestions and not read the rest of the te+t carefully. This results in a lac( of
understanding the gist of the te+t. To avoid this, the teacher should ma(e sure that the
students (now they will always be as(ed a lot of )uestions after they have finished reading.
/s a result, the students will have to read the whole te+t even when they have found the
answers at the beginning of the te+t. The teacher also ma(es sure that the guiding )uestions
do not merely focus on the location of information but involve more conscious
consideration of the meaning of the te+t.
'n fact, the present ESP material does )uite well since almost every unit has some guiding
)uestions at pre-reading stage. Ehat should be paid attention here is the way the teacher let
student discuss the )uestions before reading. They can do in pairs or in groups. 't is not
necessary that their answers are correct because the students will find them out when
reading. The aim here is motivate the students by giving them a chance to spea( English
and a reason to read.
'n summary, the techni)ues suggested above are used not only to motivate the students to
read but also to integrate reading s(ills with other language s(ills at the beginning of a
reading lesson. 't must be emphasi5ed once again that the teacher should be creative and
fle+ible when applying these techni)ues in order to achieve the ob*ectives of the lesson.
D<
.),), %hile:+eadin* sta*e
/lthough each te+t in the ESP material is followed by two or three e+ercises, the ESP
teacher needs to design more reading e+ercises and reading activities at while-reading
stage in order to help the students better understand the te+t. %owever, the fact shows that
few teachers do this. They only as( the students to do the e+ercises in the material.
Therefore, with the aim of improving the )uality of teaching and learning reading ESP, the
following tas(s are chosen. Furthermore, they are e+pected to develop the studentsJ
communicative competence. /s a result, the students will play an active and center-role in
reading lessons.
!efore designing more reading e+ercises, the teacher should bear in mind some
considerations. Firstly, when constructing reading comprehension e+ercises on a te+t, he or
she should pay attention to the overall meaning of the te+t, the function and the aim of the
te+t rather than its vocabulary or specific ideas. Secondly, when introducing e+ercises, the
teacher should e+tend the range of the e+ercises to develop reading s(ills as well as other
language s(ills. The e+ercises must be meaningful and varied. Thirdly, the e+ercises should
be suitable to the reading te+t and contain the writerJs idea and attention for the te+t.
Boreover, the purpose of the e+ercises must be clearly defined. #ast but not least, the
students should be as(ed to read in silence and do the given e+ercises themselves
individually, in pairs or in groups.
The following are some suggested techni)ues at while-reading stage that the teacher can
use to help the students fully e+ploit the reading te+t.
.),),)' =ocusin* on *ist
This tas( aims at developing the studentsJ s(imming s(ill. 't re)uires the students to move
their eyes )uic(ly over the te+t to get its gist. 't also strengthens their ability to discard
irrelevant and over-detailed information when reading. Normally, the teacher should as(
the students to loo( at the important parts of the te+t such as the title, the beginning, the
end and the first or the last sentence of each paragraph (the topic sentence) to get the
general picture. !esides, he or she has to involve all the students in the activities by
limiting the reading time, encouraging them to read and offering help when necessary, etc.
There are some techni)ues that the teacher can apply to help the students focus on gist.
D;
.),),)')' Chec1in* te2t a*ainst p+edictions 0ade befo+ehand
This techni)ue re)uires the students to chec( what they have predicted in the pre-reading
stage. /fter reading the te+t silently for the first time, the students will be as(ed whether
their predictions match up to the te+t, and how many correct answers they get. They can
also be as(ed to compare what they (now and do not (now about the topic with the content
of the reading te+t. %owever, because there is limited time for each period of the reading
lesson and the class is over crowded, the teacher should let the students wor( in pairs or in
groups first and then calls some of them to present what they found after s(imming the te+t
and compare their point of view with othersJ. Therefore, the teacher, at the same time, can
develop the studentsJ spea(ing and listening s(ills.
.),),)'), Chec1in* ans;e+s to the *uidin* >uestions
/nother way to improve the studentsJ s(imming s(ill is to chec( their answers to the
guiding )uestions. "uring their first reading, the students thought about the guiding
)uestions individually and found the answers themselves. Now the teacher can spend some
minutes getting students involved in wor(ing in pairs or in groups to compare and find out
the answers. Each pair or group should have a presenter to report their answers. Then the
whole class choose the best ones. The advantage of this activity is that the teacher can save
time because not all of the students in the class can find the correct answer at once.
Therefore, by wor(ing in pairs or in groups, they not only help each other, e+change their
ideas but also have more chances to spea( English. This techni)ue is also very useful since
the teacher can (now whether the students understand the te+t or not and the students can
ma(e some progress in reading s(ills as well as other language s(ills (spea(ing and
listening) in a competitive and enthusiastic atmosphere.
.),),)')- Identifyin* the 0ain ideas
Normally, the te+t is divided into many paragraphs. To understand the whole te+t, the
students have to understand the main idea of each paragraph. $sually, the topic of a
paragraph lies in the sentence at the beginning of the paragraph, sometimes at the end or
even in the middle. Sometimes the paragraph has no topic sentence. =et, it still contains a
topic. Therefore, the teacherJs duty is to help students to find out what the topic is. The
teacher can organi5e pairwor( or groupwor( so that the students can discuss and find out
the main ideas. /fter that, some students will be called to report what they have done and
compare their own ideas with other students. Then, with the teacherJs help, the whole class
D:
will choose the best answers. /s a result, at the same time, the teacher can save time and
students can actively involve in the process of ac)uiring the target language by practising
the four language s(ills. To ma(e it easier, the teacher can as( the students to find out the
main idea of each paragraph individually by designing a multiple-choice e+ercise. The
students have to choose the best answer that they thin( the topic of each paragraph lies in
it.
'n short, the techni)ues above attempt to help the students get a general understanding of
the te+t and to develop their other language s(ills. !ut in order to gain te+t comprehension
and to better their reading ability, the students must read the te+t again more slowly and
carefully. /s a result, tas( focusing on specific details is needed to design.
.),),), =ocusin* on specific details
This tas( is sometimes called ?e+tracting specific information? or scanning for details. The
students will move to smaller units (sentences and words), go into details of the te+t
(names, years, etc.) and so on. There are many (inds of reading e+ercises that the students
can perform with reading te+ts. 'n this section, using )uestions, note-ta(ing, summari5ing
andMor predicting will be recommended.
.),),),)' Usin* >uestions
The ESP teacher can as( his or her students to answer )uestions about specific items of
information. 'n fact, )uestions used in reading comprehension are indispensable. They are
widely used as an effective classroom techni)ue in the process of teaching and learning
reading s(ills. They aim at chec(ing comprehension and helping the students read the te+t.
Therefore, when designing )uestions, the teacher must ma(e sure that all the students in
the class involve in answering the )uestions and the )uestions should not be used simply to
test the students but to show how well they have understood the te+t and what need to be
more fully e+plained. !esides, )uestions should be devised following the organi5ation of
the te+t and in various types. Eith each type, the teacher should pay attention to its level of
difficulty. For e+ample, =esMNo )uestions are easy to answer and they do not re)uire the
students to produce new language6 the answers to alternative )uestions are simply
structural manipulation of the grammar of the te+t and they are useful only for intensive
language practice6 Eh-)uestions are used not only for chec(ing comprehension but also
for drawing the studentsJ attention to relationships that may have been missed. Eith the
first two types, the answers are often short. 'n contrast, with Eh-)uestions, if the teacher
C>
wants to serve the purpose of the production of complete sentences, long answers may be
as(ed for. /s a result, the teacher can encourage the students to use the language by
themselves. !esides the three types of )uestions above, the teacher can also use TrueMFalse
)uestions, multiple-choice )uestions to chec( the studentsJ comprehension.
'n the present ESP material, many reading te+ts are followed by )uestions. The teacher can
ma(e use of them or design more )uestions to better the studentsJ understanding of the te+t.
Nevertheless, no matter whether the )uestions are already made below the te+t or designed by
the teacher, he or she should as( the students to read the )uestions first, then read the te+t to
answer them. Boreover, the students should (now that they do not have to understand every
word since the ob*ective is only to find the answers to the )uestions, and they should do it as
)uic(ly as possible. Ehen the students finish doing the e+ercise individually, they can compare
and discuss their answers with each other in pairs or in groups. This will enhance interaction
between the students. The teacher then conducts feedbac(, finding out how well they did and
e+plaining any misunderstandings. The students, thus, can practise the other language s(ills as
well.
'n short, using )uestions is an art itself. The teacher, therefore, must be active and creative
to thin( of those which are suitable to the levels of the students in order to improve their
reading s(ills and the other language s(ills.
.),),),), Note:ta1in*
For this techni)ue, the ESP teacher as(s the students to ma(e use of information in the te+t
to do such things as ma(ing a s(etch, filling in a form, etc. This techni)ue also re)uires the
students to grasp the overall organi5ation of the te+t and its main ideas. They should be let
to read the te+t, then transfer information to a table or a chart or write down the important
ideas of it. Boreover, this involves the students in understanding the structural paraphrase,
relationship between sentences, logical deduction and precise reference of individual items.
/s a result, the studentsJ writing s(ills can be improved. !esides, when using this
techni)ue, the teacher, in fact, gives his or her students a reason to read. That is because in
real life the students usually ta(e notes of the important and interesting ideas while
reading, which is a significant and useful s(ill.
/fter the students have finished their own wor(, to develop their spea(ing s(ills, the
teacher can encourage them to compare each othersJ writings to see if they share the same
information before he or she gets involved.
C4
The reading te+t $uthors in 9inguistics ($nit 4) can be ta(en as an e+ample.
,ill in the following form about .vram /oam Chomsk$-
8urname5...................................................................................................................
.irst name5 ................................................................................................................
Bate of birth5 .............................................................................................................P.
Alace of birth5............................................................................................................P.
8ex5.............................................................................................................................P.
;ationality5................................................................................................................P.
,ccupation5 ...............................................................................................................P.
*xperience5
Q (>32'present5
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.......
Q (>11'(>325 PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.......
Q (>1('(>115 PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.......
%mportant publications5 PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.........
.),),),)- Su00a+i8in* andAo+ p+edictin*
For some teachers, writing can be integrated at while-reading stage only in the form of
gap-filling e+ercises, using prompts to ma(e sentences or note-ta(ing (as mentioned in the
previous section). There are, however, other writing activities ta(ing place at this stage.
!ut it should be noted that the decision to have the students stop reading in order to write
must be made with care since this is *ust as li(ely to result in interference with
comprehension as it is to facilitate it. This re)uires the teacherJs (nowledge and e+perience.
'f the te+t is too long and consists of many parts dealing with different contents, he or she
should divide it into parts and as( the students to summari5e each part before moving to
others. They can wor( in pairs or in groups but it is advisable for the teacher to organi5e
groupwor( because this (ind of tas( seems to be )uite demanding. Ehen the students wor(
in groups of five or si+, they can help each other and share their viewpoints. /fter the
discussion, the teacher can call some students to present the summaries of their groups, let
them compare their summaries with each other, then remar( and e+plain. /s a result of
this, the students can practise listening and spea(ing the target language.
C7
'n deed, this techni)ue aims at an authentic purpose. The students often read long te+ts in
real life. They have to summari5e, guess and read, then summari5e, guess and so on. The
teacherJs duty, thus, to enhance this s(ill so that the students can become good readers.
.),),),). =ocusin* on +eco*ni8in* cohesion and cohe+ence
This (ind of tas( re)uires the students to concentrate on the features of the te+t. They have
to recogni5e the function and discourse patterns, or in other words, the organi5ation of the
te+t in order to better understand the te+t, interact with it and model it if necessary. This is
very helpful for their writing s(ills.
/ suggestion for this tas( is that after as(ing the students to find the discourse mar(ers in
the te+t, the teacher can encourage his or her students to use those discourse mar(ers in a
new conte+t. /nother way to focus the studentsJ attention on coherence is as(ing them to put
sentences in the correct order. Eith this techni)ue, the students are provided with a set of
scrambled sentences. Their duty is to rearrange them while reading the te+t based on the time,
the connectives, etc. This can be applied for many reading te+ts in the ESP material for
students of linguistics.
To ma(e the reading lesson more interesting, the teacher should as( the students to do
these above tas(s individually first, then in pairs or in groups before chec(ing their reading
comprehension.
'n summary, there are many techni)ues that the teacher can apply at the while-reading
stage. 'n this section, some of them have been suggested with a hope that when using them,
the teacher not only helps his or her students understand more about the reading te+t but
also improve their other language s(ills (listening, spea(ing and writing). The students
will, thus, see reading as more than *ust answering )uestions and doing e+ercises.
.),)- Post:+eadin* sta*e
't is agreed that one of the important goals of 8ommunicative #anguage Teaching is to
help students do something after the lesson. Therefore, the teacher must as( the students to
do some post-reading activities, which not only gives chances to relate what they have
learnt to their own (nowledge, e+perience or interests but also provide them with ground to
practise other language s(ills. #i(e the previous stages, the close relationship between
reading and listening, spea(ing and writing can be seen clearly at this stage. %owever,
although in the ESP material for students of linguistics post-reading stage has its own part,
there are few (inds of activities. !esides, few teachers and students ma(e use of them
C9
seriously. The teacher, thus, should be responsible for varying the techni)ues and giving
more activities to help the students fully e+ploit the reading te+t in order to ac)uire the
target language successfully. The following are some suggested techni)ues that can be used
in this stage.
.),)-)' Discussin*
This (ind of activity can be seen after most of the reading te+ts in the ESP material for
students of linguistics. "espite the fact that it has or has not been held at the beginning of
the lesson, it cannot be denied that discussion be done at this stage. 'f at the pre-reading
stage the students had a chance to discuss the topic of the te+t, the teacher now can as(
them to e+press their points of view and feelings, then compare these ones with the
authorJs, etc. 'f not, there are also a lot of activities to do because now the reading te+t will
serve as a basis for oral presentation. StudentsJ spea(ing can be enhanced when the teacher
as(s the students to discuss the topic, e+press their own reactions to the te+t based on their
e+perience and (nowledge by evaluating commenting, reflecting and so on. Boreover, the
students can be as(ed to discuss the topic in a different aspect.
't should be noted that the best way to stimulate spea(ing is to as( the students to wor( in pairs
or in groups as spea(ing involves at least two participants. That is because in small groups, the
students will have more chances to practise English and help each other. They are also more
involved and less an+iety when they are wor(ing ?privately? than when they are ?on show? in
front of the whole class. They are free to give their opinions, ma(e arguments and share ideas.
The students should be advised to write down the ideas while discussing so that they can have
better presentations afterwards and easily compare themselves with other pairs or groups.
Provided that the teacher ma(es good preparation, this (ind of techni)ue is very useful in a
way that it not only consolidate the studentsJ reading comprehension but also their spea(ing
s(ills as well as writing s(ills if the discussion leads to a home-writing tas(.
.),)-), %+itin* tas1
The reading te+t can also be a source for writing. There are various (inds of activities that
the teacher can use to develop the students writing ability. The teacher can as( the students
to write a summary of the te+t. /lthough summari5ing is a difficult e+ercise which is rarely
done satisfactorily, even by advanced students, it is undeniable that it is an important s(ill
for students in the future when they deal with reading materials not only in English but also
in their mother tongue. Therefore, to ma(e it easier, it is advisable for the teacher to help
CD
the students by as(ing them a number of )uestions which when answered in a se)uence, a
summary will be outlined. !esides, to train the students to write a summary, the teacher
can prepare them through practice in underlining important words, phrases, or structures,
in finding the topic sentence and main ideas and in perceiving the organi5ation of the te+t.
't is a good idea that he or she limits the words in the summary. This is a useful techni)ue
to help the students improve their reading ability of generali5ation since they have to recall
the main ideas and e+press them in their own words.
Hne more point should be paid attention to is that the teacher limits the time and the words
for writing. %owever, this tas( is )uite difficult. To save the situation and, therefore,
encourage the studentsJ willingness, the teacher can divide the class into small groups.
Each group has its own outline for the writing tas(. Then the students do their tas(
individually based on that outline. Hr after the whole class choose the best one from all of
the groups and ma(e some ad*ustments if necessary with the teacherJs help, the students
begin to write. !esides, the teacher can give the students an outline of what should be
included in their writing if the students are not very good at English in general and at
writing s(ills in particular.
The following is an e+ample to show how this techni)ue can be put into reality. 't is
designed for $nit 4 $uthors in 9inguistics.
*xample3 /fter finishing the te+t about 8homs(y, the teacher can as( the students to
summari5e the biography of this famous /merican linguist. To ma(e the tas( more
interesting, the students can imagine they have read a boo( or an article about Bar(
TwainJs life. Now they write a letter to a friend to tell him or her about what they have
(nown about 8homs(y. The letter must be informative but short.
'n short, to develop studentsJ writing s(ills, the teacher has many ways at this stage.
Nevertheless, it should be emphasi5ed that the techni)ues for improving writing mentioned
above will be more effective if the teacher organi5es group wor( activity, let the students
compare and correct themselves before giving remar(s and correcting the studentsJ
writings. /s a result, the students can have a chance to read each otherJs versions, to have
more ideas and to help each other.
.),)-)- "istenin* and co++ectin* info+0ation
This techni)ue aims at developing studentsJ listening s(ills by identifying wrong
information and correcting them. 't can be applied to all of the te+ts in the ESP material.
CC
The procedure is as follows. The students are as(ed to close the boo(. The teacher reads
out the te+t which has some changes of information such as the events, dates or names. The
students follow their teacherJs reading and immediately stop him or her when they notice
one of the changes and correct it. 't should be noted that the teacher reads the te+t at
normal speed and has good pronunciation.
.),)-). Playin* *a0es
'n the light of 8ommunicative #anguage Teaching, games are very useful in giving
students valuable communicative practice. Students themselves also li(e playing games
very much. Therefore, after a reading lesson, if the teacher organi5es games fre)uently, the
students will be more motivated. The teacher, as a result, should provide lively activities to
cheer up the class.
There are various ways to use games as a means to revise what has been learned in the
lesson, to e+ploit studentsJ (nowledge and e+perience as well as to develop their
communicative competence. "epending on the type of the te+t and its topic, the teacher
can ta(e games from game-boo(s or design his or her own games. 't should be noted that
the game must be truly communicative and have something relating to the lesson the
students have *ust learned. !esides, it is a good idea for the teacher to stand aside and let
the students ta(e over the activity.
Ta(e $nit 4 $uthors in 9inguistics as an e+ample. This unit is about famous linguists such as
Noam 8homs(y, Ferdinand de Saussure. The teacher can ta(e advantage of this to design a
guessing game or an e+changing information game. 'n the former case, the teacher can as(
one student to go to the board standing face to face to the class. The teacher then writes one
of the linguistsI name on the board so that this student does not (now who he is. 'n this case,
all of the other students (now the answer. The student who does not (now must use =esMNo
)uestions to find out this person. The rest of the class respond in chorus. This activity is more
highly organi5ed and (eeps the whole class involved in spite of the fact that most students do
not have to say much, only ?=es? or ?No?. To ma(e the game more interesting and
competitive, the teacher can divide the class into small groups. Each group has one
representative. These representatives all (now who the linguist is. They go to other groups,
not their group, to wor(. For e+ample, representative / wor(s with group !, representative !
wor(s with group 8 and so on. The others in the group try to guess the picture by as(ing the
representative. The group finding out who the famous person is will be the winner.
C@
'n the case of an e+changing information game, to create a need to communicate, the teacher
can organi5e pairwor( activity. 'n deed, this (ind of activity is used in Spea(ing part of the
unit. The teacher can ma(e use of it.
.),)-)3 Role play
!eside organi5ing a game, the teacher can set up a role play at the post-reading stage. This
increases motivation and adds interest to the reading lesson. .ole play also gives a chance
to use language in new conte+ts and for new topics. 't encourages the students to use
natural e+pressions and intonation as well as gestures. 'n the communicative point of view,
role play enhances studentsJ communicative competence since they can practise the target
language in different social conte+ts and in different social roles.
%owever, it is not easy to apply this (ind of activity for the present ESP material as the
te+ts are written in scientific style. %owever, the teacher can design a role play by as(ing
the students to ma(e an interview between a reporter and a linguist. "uring their
conversation, the linguist will tal( about matters of his ma*or by answering the reporterIs
)uestions. Students will wor( in small groups, discuss together what they might say and, if
possible, ?try out? the role play privately before being called to act it out in front of the
class. Then the whole class will decide which group acts the best. 'n fact, interviewing is a
way of bringing the te+t to life and ma(ing it seem real to students as well as giving
language practice. The students cannot act well if they do not understand the te+t. The
deeper their comprehension of the te+t is, the better they act.
'n summary, the above-mentioned techni)ues have been suggested in order to better
teaching reading s(ills in integration with other language s(ills to students of linguistics in
"epartment of #inguistics and ietnamese Studies at $SS% & N$. 't is hoped that this
will help not only to improve current teaching methodology of ESP teachers but also to
train students of linguistics to become efficient readers. /n e+ample of how these can be
applied to the actual teaching reading ESP to this group of students is presented in
/ppendi+ 9.
%owever, what is more important is that the ESP teacher should be creative, critical and
fle+ible in deciding which techni)ue is best for each reading lesson and for each class so
that the students will en*oy lessons more and improve four language s(ills in the process of
ac)uiring English as well as their ma*or and future career. 'n addition, it is necessary for
ESP teachers to wor( in groups and e+change their e+perience in teaching reading ESP.
C<
They can share their lesson plans, teaching aids and wor( together to find the best activities
and choose appropriate supplementary materials that are suitable for their studentsI level of
English. 't is also a good idea for ESP teachers to attend and observe their colleaguesI
lectures so that they can help and learn a lot from each other. Furthermore, an effort should
be made to conduct some further in-service training for ESP teachers in the form of
individual self-study or attendance at wor(shops or lectures.
#ast but not least, some ad*ustment should be done to the present ESP material for students
of linguistics. 't can be said that the material, in general, is )uite well-designed with three
stages in every reading lesson including pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading.
Nevertheless, the reading te+ts and the activities should be varied so that the students can
have lots of chances to be familiar with various types of te+ts and reading comprehension
e+ercises. #istening s(ill should also be added to help the students improve their listening
s(ills. To achieve these ob*ectives, the material designer should ta(e into account the
linguistic needs, learnersI perceptions and learnersI needs identified during the needs
analysis. /part from these, there should be a test at the beginning of the course to classify
studentsI level of English according to their scores. Students of the same level will have a
chance to learn together. This will help not only the students learn ESP more effectively
but also the ESP teacher design suitable activities and choose appropriate materials in the
process of teaching and learning ESP for linguistics studies.
C;
PART D: CONC"USIONS
The study has had a general loo( at reading and the advantages of s(ill-integration in the
light of 8ommunicative #anguage Teaching in teaching reading s(ills to students of
linguistics. 't has also pointed out that reading ESP plays an important part in learning
English as well as in real life.
Through the survey )uestionnaires and the observation, strong points and wea( points of
teaching and learning reading s(ills to students of linguistics in "epartment of #inguistics
and ietnamese Studies at $SS% & N$ have been identified and analy5ed. "ue to a
number of both ob*ective and sub*ective reasons, 8ommunicative /pproach is not being
properly applied in the reading lessons. Te+ts are not e+ploited appropriately.
8onse)uently, the teachers, to a large e+tent, fail to help the students improve their reading
s(ills as well as other language s(ills.
!ased on all of the theoretical and practical (nowledge above, a number of techni)ues
have been suggested with a hope that they are applicable and useful for the improvement
of teaching and learning reading s(ills in integration with the development of the other
language s(ills to students of linguistics. Eith a variety of activities for the three reading
stages offered by the 8ommunicative /pproach, the e+iting problems can be overcome and
each reading lesson will result in studentsJ ability to read better.
Nevertheless, the thesis has *ust introduced and presented some possible techni)ues for
teaching and learning reading te+ts in N$ collection of teaching materials on linguistics
studiesE 6!Fp bGi giHng tiIng $nh chuyJn ngGnh ngKn ngL hMc7 in integration with the
other language s(ills. 't still leaves room for further research on other s(ills.
Finally, due to the limitation of time, e+perience and materials, short-comings and mista(es
are unavoidable. Further comments and remar(s on this study would be welcomed and
highly appreciated.
C:
R#=#R#NC#S
4. /bbott ,., Eingard P. (4:;C), !he !eaching of *nglish as an %nternational
9anguage, 8ollins, #ondon.
7. !oughton ,., !rumfit 8., Flavell .., %ill P., Pincas /. (4::>), !eaching
*nglish as a .oreign 9anguage, .outledge A Kegan Paul $d, #ondon.
9. !right G. /., Bc,regor ,. P. (4:<<), !eaching *nglish as a second language,
#ongman.
D. !urns P. 8., .oe !. "., .oss E. P. (4:;;), !eaching Reading in !odayRs
*lementary 8chool, %oughton Bifflin 8ompany, New =or(.
C. "off /. (4::C), !each *nglish, 8ambridge $niversity Press, 8ambridge.
@. "ur(in ". (4:;:), !eaching them to Read, /llyn and !acon, #ondon.
<. ,ould E., "i=anni .., Smith E., Standford G. (4::>), !he $rt of Reading,
Bc,raw & %ill Publishing 8ompany, New =or(.
;. %armer G. (4::7), !he Aractice of *nglish 9anguage !eaching, #ongman.
:. %edge T. (4::4), @sing Readers in 9anguage !eaching, BcBillan Publishers
#td.
4>. %owie %. S. (4:;:), Reading, )riting and Computers, /llyn and !acon,
#ondon.
44. %utchinson T., Eaters /. (4:;<), *nglish for 8pecific Aurposes, 8ambridge
$niversity Press, 8ambridge.
47. Gohnson K., Borrow K. (4:;4), Communication in the Classroom, #ongman.
49. Gordon .. .. (4::<), *nglish for $cademic Aurposes5 $ 0uide and Resource
Book for !eachers, 8ambridge $niversity Press, 8ambridge.
4D. #app ". (4:;4), :aking Reading Aossible !hrough *ffect !eaching
Classroom :anagement, 'nternational .eading /ssociation, #ondon.
4C. Batthews /., Spratt B., "angerfield #. (4::4), $t the Chalkface, Edward
/rnold, H+ford.
4@. Nuttall 8. (4:;:), !eaching Reading 8kills in a .oreign 9anguage,
%einemann, #ondon.
4<. Petty E. T., Petty ". 8., Sal5er .. T. (4:;:), *xperiences in 9anguage, /llyn
and !acon, #ondon.
@>
4;. .ichard P. /. (4:;;), :aking %t &appen, #ongman.
4:. .ivers E. B., Temperly B.S. (4:<;), $ Aractical 0uide to the !eaching of
*nglish, H+ford $niversity Press, H+ford.
7>. .obinson .., ,ood T. #. (4:;<), Becoming an *ffective Reading !eacher,
%arper A .ow Publishers, #ondon.
74. Sheils G. (4::9), Communicative in the :odern 9anguage Classroom, 8ouncil
of Europe Press, #ondon.
77. Smith F. (4::>), Reading, 8ambridge $niversity Press, 8ambridge.
79. $r P. (4::@), $ Course in 9anguage !eaching, 8ambridge $niversity Press,
8ambridge.
7D. Eiddowson %. ,. (4:<;), !eaching 9anguages Communication, H+ford
$niversity Press, H+ford.
7C. Eillis G. (4::;), !eaching *nglish through *nglish, #ongman.
@4
APP#NDIC#S
APP#NDIB ': SUR$#< CU#STIONNAIR# =OR T#AC&#RS
This survey )uestionnaire is designed for my study on ?Teaching reading E! to students in
0epartment of 1inguistics and 2ietnamese tudies at 3niversit$ of ocial ciences and
4umanities5 2ietnam /ational 3niversit$5 4anoi?. The findings will ma(e great
contribution to my study. =our assistance in completing following items is highly appreciated.
This is for study purpose only. =ou can be confident that you will not be identified in any data
analysis.
!hank you very muchS
Pe+sonal info+0ation3
%ow long have you been teaching
N English1 OOOOyear(s)
N reading ESP to students of linguistics1 ................. year(s)
No; please put a tic1 DE ;he+e you thin1 you+ choice is.
/ote3 =ou may have more than one choice.
PART A:
') 4ow important do $ou think reading skills is to students of 1inguistics6
a. ery important
b. /s important as other language s(ills
c. Not as important as other language s(ills
d. Not important at all
,) 7hat is $our purpose of teaching reading E! to students of 1inguistics6
a. To develop their reading s(ills and other language s(ills
b. To widen their vocabulary, especially ESP terms in #inguistics
c. To improve their grammar
d. To improve their (nowledge related to #inguistics
e. Hthers (please specify)3 .......................................................................................................
#P''
-) 7hat do $ou think about teaching reading E! in integration with other language
skills to students of 1inguistics6
a. interesting b. helpful c. difficult d. normal e. ineffective
PART !:
.) 8n $our opinion5 the reading te9ts in :. collection of teaching materials on linguistics
studies; <T=p b>i gi?ng ti@ng .nh chu$An ng>nh ngBn ngC hDcE are-
The reading te+ts 4 7 9
a. difficult
b. interesting
c. long
Note3 (5 not difficult +5 difficult -5 very difficult
Bo the same for interesting and long
3) 4ow often do $ou use supplementar$ materials in teaching reading E!6
a. always b. often c. sometimes d. never
PART C:
4) 7hat do $ou usuall$ do at pre'reading stage6
a. ,ive a brief introduction to the te+t
b. Present new words and revise grammatical structures
c. ,ive students some guiding )uestions
d. Present a listening te+t on the same topic
e. /s( students to say whether they agree or disagree on a number of statements about the
theme and give reasons why
f. Supply (ey words and as( students to guess what the te+t might be about
g. Encourage students to form certain e+pectations about the te+t by discussing or writing
based on the given clues (e.g. headings).
h. /s( students to fill in the blan(s of a summary of the te+t with some important words
ta(en from the te+t
i. "o as re)uired in the material
*. Hthers (please specify)3 ........................................................................................................
(. No activities at this stage
?) 7hat do $ou usuall$ do at while'reading stage6
#P'''
a. E+plain new words and structures
b. /s( students to do the e+ercises below the te+t
c. "esign more e+ercises for students to do
d. Hthers (please specify)3 .......................................................................................................
@) 7hat do $ou usuall$ do at post'reading stage6
a. /s( students to read aloud the whole te+t for several times
b. /s( students to translate the te+t into ietnamese
c. /s( students to listen to a taped model reading
d. /s( students to discuss the topic of the te+t with their classmates
e. /s( students to practise using the newly learnt vocabulary and grammar in new
situations or conte+ts by writing or spea(ing
f. /s( students to write a summary of the te+t
g. /s( students to do their own writing on similar topic
h. Play games M role play
i. "o as re)uired in the material
*. Hthers (please specify)3 ........................................................................................................
(. No activities at this stage
PART D:
F) 7hich t$pe of classroom interaction do $ou often use during reading lessons6
Stages
Types
Pre-reading stage Ehile-reading stage Post-reading stage
'ndividual
Pair wor(
,roup wor(
The whole class
PART #:
'G) 7hat is $our difficult$ in teaching reading skills to students of 1inguistics6
a. StudentsI limited vocabulary
b. StudentsI grammar problems
c. $neven studentsI bac(ground (nowledge in #inguistics
d. Finding other materials used in teaching reading ESP
#P'
e. #imited time
f. Hthers (please specify)3 ........................................................................................................
PART =:
'') 7hat do $ou think should be done in order to make the &ualit$ of teaching reading
E! to students of 1inguistics better6
a. Encouraging students to read suitable materials in English fre)uently
b. /s(ing students to do reading e+ercises as many as possible
c. Teaching students a lot of grammar and linguistics terms
d. 'mproving teachersJ methodology and (nowledge related to #inguistics
e. "eveloping the reading material
f. 8lassifying studentsI level of English
g. Hthers (please specify)3 ......................................................................................................
!hank you very much for your cooperationS
#P
APP#NDIB ,: SUR$#< CU#STIONNAIR# =OR STUD#NTS
This survey )uestionnaire is designed for my study on ?Teaching reading E! to students in
0epartment of 1inguistics and 2ietnamese tudies at 3niversit$ of ocial ciences and
4umanities5 2ietnam /ational 3niversit$5 4anoi?. The findings will ma(e great
contribution to my study. =our assistance in completing following items is highly appreciated.
This is for study purpose only. =ou can be confident that you will not be identified in any data
analysis.
!hank you very muchS
Pe+sonal info+0ation3
%ow long have you been learning English1 ................. year(s)
No; please put a tic1 DE ;he+e you thin1 you+ choice is.
Note3 =ou may have more than one choice.
PART A:
') 4ow important do $ou think reading skills is6
a. ery important
b. /s important as other language s(ills
c. Not as important as other language s(ills
d. Not important at all
,) 7hat is $our purpose of learning reading E!6
a. To develop my reading s(ills and other language s(ills
b. To widen my vocabulary, especially ESP terms in #inguistics
c. To improve my grammar
d. To improve my (nowledge related to #inguistics
e. Hthers (please specify)3 ..................................................................................
-) 7hat do $ou think about learning reading E! in integration with other language
skills6
a. interesting b. helpful c. difficult d. normal e. ineffective
#P'
PART !:
.) 8n $our opinion5 the reading te9ts in :. collection of teaching materials on linguistics
studies; <T=p b>i gi?ng ti@ng .nh chu$An ng>nh ngBn ngC hDcE are-
The reading te+ts 4 7 9
a. difficult
b. interesting
c. long
Note3
(5 not difficult +5 difficult -5 very difficult
Bo the same for interesting and long
3) 4ow often do $ou use supplementar$ materials in learning reading E!6
a. always b. often c. sometimes d. never
PART C:
4) 7hat are $ou usuall$ asked to do at pre'reading stage6
a. #isten to a brief introduction to the te+t
b. #earn new words and revise grammatical structures
c. /nswer my teacherJs guiding )uestions
d. #isten to a listening te+t on the same topic
e. Say whether ' agree or disagree on a number of statements about the theme provided by
my teacher and give reasons why
f. #isten or read some (ey words given by my teacher and guess what the te+t might be
about
g. Form certain e+pectations about the te+t by discussing or writing based on the given
clues (e.g. headings).
h. Fill in the blan(s of a summary of the te+t with some important words ta(en from the
te+t by my teacher
i. "o as re)uired in the material
*. Hthers (please specify)3 ...................................................................................
(. No activities at this stage
?) 7hat are $ou usuall$ asked to do at while'reading stage6
a. #isten to my teacherJs e+planation of new words and structures
b. "o the e+ercises below the te+t
#P''
c. "o more e+ercises designed by my teacher
d. Hthers (please specify)3 ..................................................................................
@) 7hat are $ou usuall$ asked to do at post'reading stage6
a. .ead aloud the whole te+t for several times
b. Translate the te+t into ietnamese
c. #isten to a taped model reading
d. "iscuss the topic of the te+t with my classmates
e. Practise using the newly learnt vocabulary and grammar in new situations or conte+ts by
writing or spea(ing
f. Erite a summary of the te+t
g. "o my own writing on similar theme
h. Play games M role play
i. "o as re)uired in the material
*. Hthers (please specify)3 ...................................................................................
(. No activities at this stage
PART D:
F) 7hich t$pe of classroom interaction are $ou often asked to do during reading
lessons6
Stages
Types
Pre-reading stage Ehile-reading stage Post-reading stage
'ndividual
Pair wor(
,roup wor(
The whole class

PART #:
'G) 7hat is $our difficult$ in learning reading E!6
a. #imited vocabulary
b. ,rammar problems
c. #ac( of bac(ground (nowledge in #inguistics
d. Finding other materials used in learning reading ESP
e. #imited time
#P'''
f. Hthers (please specify)3 ..................................................................................
PART =:
'') 7hat do $ou think should be done in order to make the &ualit$ of learning reading to
students of 1inguistic better6
a. .eading suitable materials in English fre)uently
b. "oing reading e+ercises as many as possible
c. #earning a lot of grammar and linguistics terms
d. 'mproving teachersJ methodology and (nowledge related to #inguistics
e. "eveloping the reading material
f. 8lassifying studentsI level of English
g. Hthers (please specify)3 ...................................................................................
!hank you very much for your cooperationS
#P'P
APP#NDIB -: SAP"# "#SSON P"AN
'n order to illustrate what have been presented in the study, the following lesson plan is
designed based on the application of some of the suggested techni)ues. This is only one of
the ways to e+ploit the reading te+t but it is e+pected that this will be helpful for readers in
that it serves as a reference material. The reading te+t chosen as a sample for application is
the te+t about Noam 8homs(y in $nit 4 $uthors of 9inguistics in the material N$
collection of teaching materials on linguistics studiesE 6!Fp bGi giHng tiIng $nh chuyJn
ngGnh ngKn ngL hMc7.
-)' Readin* te2t
P+e:+eadin*: 7ork in pairs and discuss the following &uestions-
4. %ave you heard the name Q;oam ChomskyR1
7. EhoIs he1 Ehat nationality is he1
9. Ehich field of linguistics is he famous for1
D. Ehat achievements did he gain in his field1
%hile:+eadin*: Fead the following passage and do the e9ercises that follow.
Activity ': The following sentences are missing from the reading passage below. can the passage
&uickl$ and put them in the right place.
>4. The latter, which he called performance, is the transformation of this competence into everyday
speech. 6linePP7
>7. 'n 4:C< he published this theory, called transformational-generative grammar, in his boo( 8yntactic
8tructures. 6 line PP7
>9. /vram Noam 8homs(y was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 6line PP7
>D. 8homs(y also addressed the effects of the $.S foreign policy. (linePP7
>C. 8homs(y placed linguistics at the core of studies of the mind. 6 linePP7
>4
>C
Cho0s1yH Noa0 (4:7; - ), /merican linguist, educator, and political activist. 8homs(y is the
founder of transformational-generative grammar, a system that revolutioni5ed modern linguistics.
%e was educated at the $niversity of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Ph.". degree in linguistics
in 4:CC under the direction of /merican linguist Rellig %arris. Ehile still a graduate student,
8homs(y held an appointment from 4:C4 to 4:CC as a *unior fellow at %arvard $niversity. %e
*oined the faculty at the Bassachusetts 'nstitute of Technology (B'T) in 4:CC to teach French and
,erman. 'n 4:<@ he became 'nstitute Professor of linguistics at B'T.
8homs(y created and established a new field of linguistics, generative grammar, based on a theory
he wor(ed on during the 4:C>s. 8homs(y made a distinction between the innate, often
#PP
4>
4C
7>
7C
9>
unconscious (nowledge people have of their own language and the way in ;hich they use the
language in reality. The former, which he termed competence, enables people to generate all
possible grammatical sentences. Prior to 8homs(y, most theories about the structure of language
described performance6 they were transformational grammars. 8homs(y proposed that linguistic
theory also should e+plain the mental processes that underlie the use of language & in other words,
the nature of language itself, or generative grammar.
%e claimed that linguistic theory must account for universal similarities between all languages and
for the fact that children are able to learn language fluently at an early age in spite of insufficient
data that has no systematic logic. %is contribution to cognitive sciences & fields that see( to
understand how we thin(, learn, and perceive & emerges from this claim. Hf e)ual importance
were 8homs(yIs arguments that a serious theory of mental processes should replace empiricism,
the belief that e+perience is the source of (nowledge, as the dominant model in /merican science.
8homs(y wrote on politics early in his life but began to publish more on the sub*ect during the
4:@>s in response to the $nited States policies in Southeast /sia. %e deliberately scaled bac( his
wor( on linguistics to dedicate more time to writing about the role of the media and academic
communities in QmanufacturingI the consent of the general public for the $S policies. %e felt that
intellectuals have a responsibility to use scientific methods in critici5ing government policies that
they find immoral and to develop practical strategies to combat these policies.
8homs(yIs more important publications , in addition to 8yntactic 8tructures include $spects of
the theory of 8yntax (4:@C), $merican power and the ;ew :andarins (4:@<), Aeace in the
:iddle *ast (4:<D), 9ectures on 0overnment and Binding (4:;4), !he .ateful !riangle (4:;9),
Beterring Bemocracy (4::4), and !he :inimalist Arogram (4::C).
6ource- $dapted from *ncyclopaedia Britainica +??17
Activity ,: Fead the passage carefull$ again and answer the following &uestions b$ circling .5 G5 C
or 0.
>@. Chomsky earned a Ah.B. degree in linguistics at PP
/. $niversity of Pennsylvania. !. %arvard $niversity
8. Bassachusetts 'nstitute of Technology "..B'T
><. !he word T whichR in line (- refers to PP
/. the innate, often unconscious (nowledge !. language
8. the way ". reality
>;. Aaragraph ?- mainly discussed PP
/. generative grammar !. peopleIs competence
8. possible grammatical sentences ". transformational grammars
#PP'
>:. $ccording to the passage, transformational grammars mostly concerns .........
/. the performance of the structure of language !. the nature of language itself
8. mental processes ". all of the above
Activity -: Gased on the information from the passage5 decide whether these statements are True
<TE5 or ,alse <,E.
4>. $ccording to Chomsky, children are capable of learning language fluently at an early age. ! < .
44. Cognitive sciences are fields that seek to understand how we think only. ! < .
47. Chomsky argues that belief that the experience is the source of knowledge should be replaced by
a theory of mental processes. ! < .
49. $ccording to Chomsky, cognitive sciences should play a dominant role in $merican science. ! < .
4D. Chomsky had nothing to do with politics. ! < .
4C. &e only published his books on linguistics. ! < .
Post:+eadin*:
I Eor( with your partner and chec( the answers to the )uestions youIve discussed at the beginning.
I 8an you name some other linguists you (now (both in ietnam and in the world)1 Ehat
information do you (now about them 1
-), "esson plan
#PP''