Exploring the learning needs of electronic students at hue industrial college: Towards a suggested esp syllabus

 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 2, Số 3, 2018 
249 
EXPLORING THE LEARNING NEEDS OF ELECTRONIC 
STUDENTS AT HUE INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE: 
TOWARDS A SUGGESTED ESP SYLLABUS 
Truong Thi Phuong Chi*; Ho Thi Hong Phuc 
Hue Industrial College 
Received: 09/07/2018; Revised: 20/08/2018; Accepted: 20/12/2018 
Abstract: Designing an ESP course-book for technical students to meet their demand for 
applying effectively in workplace is crucial and practical. This study explored the needs of 
electronic students at Hue Industrial College (HIC) towards a suggested syllabus. Also, the 
research aimed to gain some insights into material sources, language structures and 
functions needed in ESP course. Subjects for this study included 50 electronic students, 4 
English teachers and 5 subject instructors at HIC and 30 former electronic students 
currently working in domestic and foreign companies in Vietnam. Data were collected 
through questionnaires and interviews, then analyzed by quantitative and qualitative 
methods. The findings of study pointed out students’ needs in ESP course, such as purposes 
of learning, learning activity preference, language skills and language areas, topics and 
testing form as well as learning assessment preference. 
Key words: Learning needs, syllabus development, English for specific purposes (ESP) 
1. Introduction 
In recent years with the globalization of trade and economy, our world has entered the era 
of international communication and advanced technology. The boom of foreign investment in 
Vietnam has created more and more opportunities for graduates, especially technical graduates 
in general and Electronic graduates in particular, to work in foreign companies. Like students of 
other different fields in Vietnam, electronic students, must be equipped with basic knowledge of 
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) as well as their subject knowledge. ESP will help graduate 
students communicate effectively at the work site. ESP and their major knowledge are two 
crucial factors that help them adapt and exist in the current socio-economic development. In 
response to the demand of society for improving students’ ability of English communication at 
the work-site, the ESP course quality is of much concern. 
However, there are not many ESP course-books appropriate for Electronic students 
available at Vietnamese universities in general, and at Hue Industrial College (HIC) in 
particular. ESP teaching materials for technical students in HIC have remained a big problem. 
Therefore, designing an ESP course-book for Electronic students in HIC to meet their demand 
for developing English language proficiency and for communicating in the workplace 
effectively is very crucial and practical work. The existing problems noted above made the idea 
of exploring the needs of Electronic Students at HIC to design a syllabus in order to meet the 
learners’ needs. Therefore, the researcher decides to carry out a study entitled: “Exploring the 
Learners’ Needs of Electronic Students at Hue Industrial College: Towards a Suggested ESP 
Syllabus”. The study covered the Electronic students’ needs in the ESP course including 
purposes of learning, language skills and language areas required, topics and testing form. In 
* Email: ttpchi@hueic.edu.vn 
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addition, the results from the study also revealed the sources of materials needed to be taught in 
the ESP course and language functions and language forms are included in the syllabus. The 
study ended with pedagogical implications for efficient and effective ESP course preparation at 
HIC- a vocational college. 
2. Theoretical background 
2.1. What is ESP? 
Hutchinson and Waters (1986, p. 19) define that "ESP is an approach to language 
teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for 
learning". Duane and Gu (2004, p. 121) also have the same definition, “ESP is a pedagogy in 
which the syllabus, contents and methods are determined according to the needs of learners’ 
specialized subjects”. Wright (2001, p. 57) considers that “ESP is, basically, language learning 
which has its focus on all aspects of language pertaining to a particular field of human activity, 
while taking into account the time constraints imposed by learners”. 
All of the three definitions clearly express the main ESP characteristics: it is relevant to 
the learners and being focused on the learners’ needs. Thus the aim of ESP teaching is to help 
students use English effectively that they will meet in real situations in their future professions 
or need for their further education. Consequently, it provides learners’ motivation and makes the 
learning better. Based on the definition of Hutchinson and Waters, the content and method of 
this syllabus are designed under the basis of learners’ needs. 
2.2. Definition of syllabus 
To get an exact conception about syllabus, the terms “curriculum” and “syllabus” should 
be clarified. Nunan (1988, p. 9) distinguishes clearly these two terms. According to him, 
“Curriculum is related to planning, implementation, evaluation, management and 
administration of education programs meanwhile Syllabus focus more narrowly on the selection 
and grading of content”. 
There are many different ways to define a syllabus. In the word of Widdowson (1984, p. 
26), “a syllabus is simply a framework within which activities can be carried out: a teaching 
device to facilitate learning”. Yalden (1996 p. 75 as cited in Pham, 2002) gives another 
definition of syllabus: “The syllabus is now seen as an instrument by which the teacher, with the 
help of the syllabus designer, can achieve a degree of “fit” between the needs and aims of the 
learner (as social being and individual) and the activities which will take place in the 
class ... ng skill (38% of very importance, 48% of importance and 14% of 
unimportance). A majority of students (72%) considered that writing skill is unimportant. 
The result from interview revealed the same opinion. Student named T.V.H. expressed 
his idea that “ESP vocabulary is important because it helps us understand a lot about our 
major. We can read the materials, search for information, exchange our ideas. Without 
vocabulary, I can’t express myself to be understood.” 
In term of English skills, N.V.B. agreed that “I think speaking and reading skills are 
more important in our major. In fact, we often read the materials to improve our knowledge 
about electronics and speak with each other to communicate or to share our viewpoint”. 
A remarkable high percentage of former electronic students (80%) revealed that 
vocabulary is very important and no one stated that it is unimportant. Along with technical 
vocabulary, reading and speaking skills are much more emphasized. 70% (22 out of 30) of them 
stated in the questionnaire that reading is very important. (Figure 3). 
In the interview, a worker named N.H.A. from Minh Tran Electronic Company also 
confirmed that “In my work, reading skill is very important and vocabulary is of great necessity”. 
4.2.2. Topic selection 
 The table below deals with Question 10 in Questionnaire A and Question 14 in 
Questionnaire B. 
Table 1. The choice of subject topics of electronic students and former electronic students in the ESP Course 
Topics Electronic 
students 
(N=50) 
% Former 
electronic 
students 
(N=30) 
% 
Digital input and output 
Television technology 
Audio and video 
transmission and reception 
Alarm system 
Semiconductor diodes 
Transmission 
Amplifiers 
Digital communication 
Test and measurements 
Wave and wave forms 
Oscilloscopes 
Safety at work 
Others 
38 
36 
34 
29 
25 
25 
21 
18 
13 
10 
8 
7 
0 
76% 
72% 
68% 
58% 
50% 
50% 
42% 
36% 
26% 
20% 
16% 
14% 
0% 
12 
9 
17 
20 
11 
13 
8 
7 
8 
5 
3 
1 
0 
40% 
30% 
56.7% 
66.7% 
36.7% 
43.3% 
26.7% 
23.3% 
26.7% 
16.7% 
10% 
3.3% 
0% 
The topics in Table 1 are given by the subject teachers in the interviews. According to 
them, these topics are popular and the electronic students have to read many materials in English 
related to them. Furthermore, they are all in the subject curriculum for electronic students. 
Data from the above table gives us overall information about the topic selection of both 
electronic students and the former ones. Although the choice of these two groups of informants 
has a little bit difference in percentage in each topic such as television technology (72% of the 
 Journal of Inquiry into Languages and Cultures ISSN 2525-2674 Vol 2, No 3, 2018 
256 
former and 30% of the latter), some topics were chosen with high percentage by both. They are 
digital input and output (76% versus 40%), audio and video transmission and reception (68% 
of current students and 56.7% of former students), alarm system (58% versus 66.7%), 
semiconductor diodes (50% versus 36.7%). Moreover, oscilloscopes was chosen only by 16% 
of current students and 10% of former students and safety at work (14% of students, 3.3% of 
former students). 
When being asked about which criteria he used to choose the topics for ESP course, a 
student from 16CDDT12 claimed that “I think these topics are important for my major because 
I have learnt these issues in Vietnamese, then I want to understand further in English. To me, 
what was taught in Vietnamese is important, so I just chose the relevant topics in English.” 
A general English teacher admitted that “Choosing what topics to teach in ESP is really 
hard because I was not trained to be a teacher of electronics. As a result, I often consult with 
Vietnamese instructors of electronics to have a suitable syllabus for students.” 
4.2.3. Testing preference 
Question 14 in Questionnaire A is designed for the electronic Students’ choice of testing 
forms. The survey showed that a majority of the informants (76%) preferred objective tests. 7 
out of 50, accounting for 14% stated that they like oral tests. Only 10% considered that they are 
fond of subjective tests. In the in-depth interview, students confessed that they still liked doing 
objective test, especially multiple-choice test because this kind of test was easy for them to do 
and manage. Students did not like subjective test because they found ESP rather difficult and 
although they tried their best to study, they still did not have enough confidence. 
Ms. H.T.H.T. - a teacher of English said that objective test was still a good method of 
testing for students at HIC. Students at vocational college did not have quite good ability of 
general English or ESP. Taking objective test would keep students less nervous and they could 
prepare themselves better for an objective test with the guidance for revision from teachers. 
4.2.4. Learning activity reference 
Question 11 in the Questionnaire A is designed for electronic students’ selection of 
learning activities preference in the classroom in the ESP course. It is shown from the answers 
to the question that most of the electronic students at HIC are quite fond of group work 
activities in the classrooms. Remarkably, a large proportion of the informants (29 out of 50, 
making up 58%) like group work activities. Along with group work, pair work has the second 
highest percentage. 26% of electronic students stated that pair work was their favorite learning 
activity. Whereas, a small number of electronic students mentioned individual work and whole 
class work. Only 10% of the choices (5 out of 50) is for individual work and 6% is for whole 
class work. 
4.2.5. Learning assessment preference 
Question 15 in the Questionnaire A is designed for electronic students’ choice of the 
assessment during the ESP course. It is revealed from the answers to the question that most of 
the informants are fond of end-of-course assessment plus on-going assessment in the ESP 
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course at HIC. According to the survey, a large number of students (34 of 50) accounting for 
68% prefer end-of-course assessment plus on-going assessment. Whereas, 22% of them like on-
going assessment and the rest (5 out of 10, accounting 10%) prefer end-of-course assessment. 
Student H.A.T. from 16CDDT11 said that “I like on-going assessment plus end-of-course 
assessment because it will help me focus and concentrate on my learning during the course. If 
there’s only a test at the end of the course, I think I will be lazy and lack motivation to study.” 
When being asked why he liked end-of-course assessment, H.D.A.T. - a student from 
16CDDT12 revealed that “I just want to take a final exam, I don’t have time to study during the 
course as I have to do my part-time job. I just can manage to spend time at the end of the 
semester to review for the lessons.” 
5. Discussion and implications 
 In the following part, the research results will be discussed in detail. 
Firstly, as far as language skills required are concerned, depending on the students’ needs, 
all the elements of the language should be taken into consideration but at a greater or lesser 
degree. In the ESP course for ESs at HIC, reading and speaking should be much more 
emphasized. Ramadhani (2017) confirmed that teaching speaking for ESP classes is important. 
He also suggested that teaching speaking based on content-oriented input gives the students 
ammunition to prepare their oral speech by giving pre-teach vocabulary in reading or listening 
test as a series of teaching and learning activity before the students practicing the speaking in 
front of the class. By this method, the students feel more confident to share their ideas in front 
of the class as they have prepared for their speech in advance. 
In terms of language areas, in the ESP course at HIC for ESs, technical terms should be 
much more focused. However, the role of grammar cannot be denied completely. “To 
understand a material in English effectively, some factors affected such as terms, content, 
structures, etc. and to create the language which expresses what he wants to say, the learner 
must be able to use the rules of grammar” (Cunningsworth, 1986, p.18). Therefore, grammar 
should be taught but at a smaller proportion, compared with technical vocabulary. 
With regard to the theme selection in the ESP course, twelve themes selected from the 
interviews with 5 subject instructors were put in the preference order suggested by ESs and 
FESs. The choice rate of each theme is not greatly different from one another. 
Student grouping in the ESP course for ESs should be designed for groups or pairs rather 
than for individuals or the whole class. It can be perceived that the use of group work has a 
number of positive effects on some specific learners and difficult task to some extent that we 
cannot ignore (Ahmed, 2013). It was thought that group work and pair work activities could 
increase students’ motivation and develop their confidence as well as independence in learning. 
As far as testing form is concerned, objective test should be designed to assess ESs’ 
achievement in the ESP course. In the interviews with five English teachers, they stated that 
they often use objective tests for on-going assessment as well as end of course assessment and 
the Electronic students are quite familiar with it, which is a vital factor that Graves mentions 
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about organizing test. “An important factor to keep in mind is that students need to learn how to 
use any assessment instrument, whether it is peer feedback or a multiple-choice test” (Graves, 
2000, p. 212). 
Last but not least, the sources of English materials for the ESP course are concerned, web 
page source is preferred by the subject instructors. Besides, there are some other sources that the 
ESs should consult such as manuals or ESP journals. 
6. Conclusion 
The results of this research specified the important consideration for ESP course to be 
designed at HIC. Both ESP and technical qualifications are both necessary for graduate students 
to have a good job and gain success in their career. After conducting survey by means of 
questionnaires, interviews and material analysis, the fundamental content of the ESP syllabus 
such as the purposes of learning ESP of ESs; the themes; language skills and language areas; 
student grouping and testing form for ESs at HIC has been formed and will be used as the basis 
for designing a real ESP syllabus. 
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KHẢO SÁT NHU CẦU NGƯỜI HỌC 
HƯỚNG ĐẾN THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH 
CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NGÀNH ĐIỆN TỬ 
TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG CÔNG NGHIỆP HUẾ 
Tóm tắt: Thiết kế giáo trình tiếng Anh chuyên ngành (TACN) cho sinh viên nhằm đáp ứng 
nhu cầu làm việc là vấn đề rất cần thiết. Nghiên cứu tập trung vào nhu cầu học của sinh 
viên Điện tử (SVĐT) trường Cao đẳng Công nghiệp Huế (HIC) nhằm thiết kế chương trình 
học TACN. Đối tượng nghiên cứu gồm 50 SVĐT, 4 giảng viên tiếng Anh, 5 giảng viên 
Điện tử tại HIC và 30 cựu sinh viên đang làm việc tại các công ty, nhà máy trong và ngoài 
nước. Dữ liệu được thu thập chủ yếu qua phỏng vấn và phiếu điều tra. Kết quả cho thấy nhu 
cầu của sinh viên về tiếng Anh chuyên ngành như mục tiêu, kỹ năng, chức năng ngôn ngữ, 
chủ điểm, hình thức kiểm tra. 
Từ khóa: Nhu cầu học, phát triển chương trình học, tiếng Anh chuyên ngành