Vietnam national university, Hanoi
College of foreign languages
Post-Graduate Department

Duong Thi hao
Designing an esp syllabus for the second-year
students of library study at the national
teachers training college
“ ThiÕt kÕ gi¸o tr×nh tiÕng Anh chuyªn ngµnh cho
sinh viªn n¨m thø hai ngµnh Th viÖn trêng Cao
§¼ng S Ph¹m Trung ¬ng”
MA. minor thesis
Major: English language teaching methodology
Code: 601014

Vietnam national university, Hanoi
College of foreign languages
Post-Graduate Department

Duong Thi hao
Designing an esp syllabus for the second year
students of library study at the national teachers
training college
“ ThiÕt kÕ gi¸o tr×nh tiÕng Anh chuyªn ngµnh
cho sinh viªn n¨m thø hai ngµnh Th viÖn trêng Cao
§¼ng S Ph¹m Trung ¬ng”
MA. minor thesis
Field: English language teaching methodology
Code: 601014
Supervisor: Nguyen Xuan Thom, PhD


designing appropriate syllabuses for their target students in general.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
NTTC : National Teachers’ Training College
ESP : English for Specific Purposes
GE : General English
ELS : English for Library Study
SLS : Students of library study
List of figures and tables
Figure 1. Types of ESP ……………………………………………………………… …………… 5
Figure2: Bases for language syllabus design ……………………………… ………………………9
Figure 3 : Cohesive devices…………………………………………………… ………………… 18
Figure 4 : Organization of information………………………………………………… …………20
Table 1: Terms and acronyms in the selected texts………………………………… … ………56
Table 2: Prefixes and suffixes in texts related to library study………….………………………….56
Table 3: Simple vs. complex sentences…………………………………………………………… 56
Table 4: Active vs. passive sentences……………………………………………………………….56
Table 5: The teachers’ ranking of the objectives in the ESP reading course……….……………….57
Table 6: Teachers’ ranking topics relating to library study…………………………………… 57,58
Table 7: English teachers’ ranking of Grammar and structures needed to be included in the
syllabus…………………………………………………………………………………………… 58
Table 8: Teachers’ ranking of reading skills and language exercises………………………… 59,60
Table 9: English teachers’ ranking of language tasks………………………………………………61
Table 10 The students’ expectations in the ESP reading course………………………………… 62
Table 11: Students’ ranking topics relating to library study……………………………………… 63
Table 12 : Students’ ranking of reading skills and language exercises………………………….64,65
Table 13 : The proposed ESP reading syllabus for library study at NTTC…………………… 34-38
Table of content
Acknowledgements
Abstract
List of abbreviations

1.2.3.3. Situational Syllabuses 10
1.2.3.4. Topic - based syllabuses 10
1.2.3.5. Skill-based syllabuses 11
1.2.3.6. Task-based syllabuses 11
1.2.3.7. Communicative syllabuses 11
1.2.3.8. Audio-lingual syllabuses 12
1.2.3.9. Analytic syllabuses 12
1.2.4. Approaches to language syllabus design 12
1.2.4.1. Language - centered approach 12
1.2.4.2. Skills- centered approach 12
1.2.4.3. Learning- centered approach 13
1.2.5. Stages in syllabus design 13
1.2.5.1. Needs Analysis (NA) 13
1.2.5.2. Aims and objectives setting 15
1.2.5.3. Selecting content 15
1.2.5.1. Integrating tasks, grammatical and notional
components 15
1.2.5.5. Grading content 15
CHAPTER 2: INVESTIGATION INTO TEXTBOOKS RELATED TO LIBRARY
STUDY 17
3.1. Topics 17
3.2. Terminology and acronyms 18
3.3. Cohesion 18
3.4. Grammatical structures 19
3.4.1. Words 19
3.4.2. Sentences 19
3.4.2.1. Simple and complex sentences 19
3.4.2.2. Active vs. passive sentences 20
3.4.3. Text 20
3.4.3.1. Organization of information 20

3.3.3. The selection and gradation of content in the syllabus 31
3.3.3.1 Topics in the syllabus 31
3.3.3.2. Reading skills and exercises 32
3.3.3.3. Language tasks 33
3.3.3.4. Grammar and structures 33
3.3.4. The proposed reading syllabus for the target students 33
3.3.4.1. Time schedule 33
3.3.3.4.2. The organization of the syllabus 33
Summary 39
PART III: CONCLUSION 40
REFERENCES 42
APPENDIXES 46
APPENDIX 1 46
APPENDIX 2 51
APPENDIX 3 52
APPENDIX 4: Tables 56
PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
The National Teachers’ Training College (NTTC) used to be the National College for
Early Childhood Teachers No1. Thus, library study is a new field of study at the college.
There have been students of library study since 2004. Although English has been taught at
NTTC since 1990 and English is a compulsory subject, ESP is only taught for students of
library study and computer science students. At the NTTC students take the General
English (GE) course with 150 periods. After finishing their GE course students of library
will take the ESP course of 60 periods.
According to the training curriculum, the ESP is to be delivered in the third semester of
the second year after two semesters of GE. The reading texts used for the ESP course are
selected by the teachers of the English section from different sources and they use them as
syllabus to plan the lessons. Since ESP has been a part of English teaching at the NTTC,
there has never been an official guidance or any suggestions for the ESP teachers. Those

3. Research questions
To attain these above aims and objectives the following research questions are raised:
 What are the students’ learning needs and target needs?
 What should be included in the syllabus?
The answer to these question help to develop an appropriate ESP syllabus for the
second year students of library study at NTTC.
4. Scope of the Study
The study limits itself to design an ESP reading syllabus for the second year students of
library study at the NTTC. The author of the study is concerned with the second year
students of library study, subject teachers and English teachers at the NTTC. Other
approaches to syllabus designs intended for students and other subjects at any other levels
of English language proficiency would be beyond the scope.
5. The significance of the study
It is hoped that the study can be both practically and theoretically helpful. In practice,
the study is hoped to solve a problem of setting up an ESP syllabus that is urgently
necessary for the second year students of library study at NTTC. It would give a smoother
move to the teaching and learning ESP for both concerning teachers and students.
Furthermore, it help to set the first official step to the teaching and learning ESP at the
NTTC. That would integrate both the learners’ learning Needs and the ESP course
objectives. Theoretically, the study may hopefully contribute something to the field of
syllabus design and at the same time would raise the concern of other teachers at NTTC.
6. Methods of study
Quantitative methods are employed to carry out this. Data is collected by means of
survey questionnaires an then quantitatively analyzed.
7. Design of the study
The study contains three main parts:
Part I: Introduction: that is for the rationale, aims and objectives, the research questions,
significance, scope, methodology and design of the study.
Part II: Development that consists of three chapters.
Chapter 1: ‘Literature review’ is devoted to the theoretical background that includes an

English, purposes for which are usually expressed in functional terms.’
A definition which covers more detailed characteristics of an ESP course is produced
by Strevens (1988). He points out: ‘English for specific purposes is a particular case of the
general category of special - purpose language teaching. The same principles apply no
matter which language is being learned and taught. French for specific purposes. Russian
for specific purposes. Chinese for specific purposes - all of these exist and are constructed
on the same basis as English for specific purposes. The vastly greater demand for English
makes ESP more common than FSP, RSP, or CSP, but the principles are the same’
(Strevens, 1988: 1).
Although there have been many definitions of ESP given by different authors, the
Strevens’ (1988: 1) definition will be used in this study because it covers more detailed
characteristics of an ESP course. From the definition by Strevens, an ESP course has the
following characteristics:
•
Absolute characteristics.
ESP consists of English language teaching, which is (1) designed to meet specified
needs of the learner, (2) related in content (i.e. in its themes and topics) to particular
disciplines, occupations and activities, (3) centered on the language appropriate to those
activities, in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc and (4) in contrast with “General
English”.
•
Variable characteristics.
ESP may be, but is not necessarily restricted as to the language skills to be learned
(E.g.: reading only, speech recognition only, etc.) and taught according to any pre-ordained
methodology
The above definitions imply two factors: (1) the broad meaning of the term ‘purpose’
and (2) the syllabus bases on learners’ needs analysis to determine the content of the
syllabus, the materials and the method of teaching/ learning purposes.
1.1.2. Types of ESP
There are many types of ESP, but the major distinction is often drawn between EOP

special fields or branches.
1.1.3.2. Classifications of terminology
Two main types of terms are mentioned according to their structural patterns: single
terms and compound terms.
1.1.3.2.1. Single terms
Single terms are made up of one word (usually a noun or a verb).
For example: accession (đăng ký); doublers (trang lót); dossier (hồ sơ)
1.1.3.2.2. Compound terms
Compound terms are composed of two or more than two words. For example: End notes
(lời chú cuối sách), library census (thống kê th viện), punched card (phiếu đục lỗ).
1.1.3.3. Characteristics of terminology
Three main characteristics of terminology have been given by many linguists. These
are: accuracy, systematicity and internationality.
1.1.3.3.1. Accuracy
Terms have the basic nuclear meaning and one concept has only one term for it and
vice versa. A scientific term expresses a scientific concept or definition precisely and
concretely. There is no connotation emotional meaning, polysemy, synonymy and anonym.
1.1.3.3.2. Systematicity
In every field of science there exists a limited system of concepts which are denoted by
certain terms and each term is in the relationship with other terms in the same system and
its value is also determined by this relationship. The term, therefore, depends closely on
other terms in the system.
1.1.3.3.3. Internationality
There is a number of terms that can be found in many languages without or with a little
bit difference in form. This makes up the third feature of terminology.
1.1.4. Acronyms
Acronyms are terms which are not written in full but by using initial letters of words
that form a group of words. Acronyms are frequently created within special topics and
designate products, appliances, and processes. Standard equivalent terms or deceptive
terms are used to translate acronyms. For example: PTLA: Publishers’ Trade List Annual,

help to understand the issues discussed in the following sections and later help to choose
appropriate language units for the target syllabus.
Task
In Longman dictionary of language teaching & applied linguistics task is defined as ‘an
activity which is designed to help achieve a particular learning goal. The teacher’ choice of
tasks determines learning goals, how learning is to take place , and how is the result of
learning is demonstrated’. A number of dimensions of tasks including goals, procedures,
order, pacing, product, learning strategy, assessment, participation, resources, and
language influence their use in language teaching. (Longman, 1997; 373)
Function
Function is ‘ the purpose for which an utterance or unit of language is used. In language
teaching functions are often described as categories of behaviours; e.g.: requests,
apologies, complaints, offers, compliments.’ In linguistics, the functional uses of language
are studied in speech acts theory, sociolinguistics, and pragmatics.
In communicative approach to language teaching , a syllabus is often organized in terms
of different functions the learners need to express or understand.
Activity
In language teaching, ‘activities are defined as relatively short blocks of classroom
time-typically 10 to 20 minutes– during which students are arranged in a particular
way’(Walter, 1986; 398). In this sense, an activity may consist of different tasks and that
may carry out different functions.
Exercise
Exercise is an activity or process involving a particular skill and it is designed to
achieve a result. In language teaching exercises are often used to practice grammar and
structures as well as to enforce lexical items.
1.2.3. Types of ESP syllabus
Some different ways of classifying syllabuses are employed by different researchers. In
this study the author would like to take the classification of syllabuses by Robinson
(1991:35). She classifies syllabuses into three main types as follows:
Figure2: Bases for language syllabus design (Sources: White (325); ovals, Breen

Non-analytic
Structural
focus
Form
TOPIC
Informational
focus
Task
SITUATION
Contextual
focus
Task-analytic
Notional/ task
focus
However, In fact structural syllabus is still commonly used in both GE and ESP courses
since it provides a commonly recognized set of structures which can be used as one criteria
for syllabus organization.
1.2.3.2. Notional- functional syllabuses
In contrast to the structural syllabus, this type of syllabus emphasizes the semantic
knowledge as primary and attempts to answer the question ‘What do the learners need to
express?’ (Wilkins, 1983:86). The learners and their communication are the focus of the
syllabus (Nunan, 1988:36). Thus, the main advantage of this type of syllabus is to provide
the teaching with ‘realistic learning task, real world language.
However this type of syllabus has some drawbacks. Firstly, it provides simple series of
isolated functions that can’t help to develop the learners’ communicative competence.
Secondly, the content is restricted to specific of use to perform many functions. Thirdly,
the functional content is presented in short utterances and units of discourse, large structure
of discourse may be ignored and the learners may fail to handle the new language in longer
discourse.
Despite its weakness, the notional/ functional syllabus is widely used in specific

behavior are certain skills and strategies, which the learner uses in order to produce or
comprehend discourse’ (Hutchinson, 1987:69).
1.2.3.6. Task-based syllabuses
The main organizing principle of task-based syllabuses is activities or tasks. According
to Robinson (1991:39).The procedural or task-based syllabuses consist of a set of tasks or
activities ordered according to cognitive difficulty. Class time is devoted to performance of
the tasks and attention is only consciously directed to language if this is necessary for
completion of the task. A major concern is that students understand the task and what they
are doing, and do not act in a mechanical way.
Task-based syllabuses are of clear significance for ESP students. Robinson (1991: 40)
observes that in ‘using the medium of English, they should successfully perform a work or
study task’. However, the main difficulty of this type of syllabus lies in the degree of
contextual support, the cognitive difficulty of the task, the amount of assistance, the
language complexity, the psychological stress, and the amount and type of knowledge
background (Nunan, 1988).
1.2.3.7. Communicative syllabuses
This kind of syllabus is designed basing on the communicative approach to language
teaching which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative
competence (Richards & Roger, 1986). This type of syllabus provides the language needed
to express and understand different kinds of functions and focuses mainly on the process of
communication, such as using language appropriately in different types of situations; using
language to perform different kinds of tasks; using language for social interactions with
other people.
1.2.3.8. Audio-lingual syllabuses
This type of syllabus is base on the beliefs that speaking and listening are the most
important language skills and each language has its own unique structure and rule system
and learning a language is forming habits. The audio-lingual method was used in the 1950s
and 1960s,however, this method received a lot of criticisms because of its theory and
techniques.
1.2.3.9. Analytic syllabuses

society. It doesn’t only pay attention to the learner’s competence itself but also to how the
learner acquires that competence.
needs and cannot guarantee the effectiveness of the course.
In order to design and ESP syllabus for the second year SLS at the NTTC, an integrated
approach will be the choice, the rationale for this to maximize the advantages and
minimize the drawbacks of each approach.
1.2.5. Stages in syllabus design
Different researchers have a variety of ways to look at the issue due to certain reasons.
The syllabus for the target students at NTTC will be designed by working out on the
following steps. (1) Needs analysis; (2) Goal setting; (3) Selecting and grading content.
Nunan (1988, 60) points out that the initial step in the process of designing a syllabus is to
carry out a needs analysis to assess the needs of the learners. Basing on the result of this
analysis, the aim and the objectives of the syllabus will be set up and the content of the
syllabus will be selected and graded
1.2.5.1. Needs Analysis (NA)
. Needs analysis is now seen as the logical starting point for the development of a
language program. Robinson (1991, 41) suggests that ‘ the decision as to which syllabus
type or types to employ will result from a judicious consideration of the students’ needs
and the objectives of the course, together with the institutional bias of the teaching
institution’. It implies that a material designer must analyze the needs of the learners for
whom he or she designs the materials. Richards (2001, 32) defines needs analysis as ‘ the
process of determining the needs for which a learner or a group of learners requires a
language and arranging the needs according to the priorities’.
* Needs : Firstly, needs refer to (1) students’ study or job requirements that are what
they have to be able to do at the end of their language course Widdowson (1981, 2), (2)
‘what the user-institution or society at large regards as necessary or desirable to be learnt
from a program of a language institution, (3) ‘what the students themselves would like to
gain from the language course’ Berwick (1989, 55). Under Hutchinson and Waters’
perspective, needs analysis include target needs and learning needs. Target needs refer to
a number of important distinctions: necessities, lacks and wants.

notions, tasks, and so on, but also to provide a sharper focus for teacher. Thus, aims and
objectives of the syllabus determine the selections of contents and teaching procedures
and activities and there is an invaluable guide for evaluation as well. For all these reasons,
the aims and objectives of the syllabus should be clear , precise and appropriate.
1.2.5.3. Selecting content
That is the choice of linguistic content (vocabulary, grammar, etc) for a language
course, textbook, etc, including the use frequency counts, needs analysis and pedagogic
grammar procedures for selecting language items to include in a language course (Richard,
Platt and Webber, 1986: 253).Here, in ESP, vocabulary, particularly specialist vocabulary-
terminology is a key element (Robinson, 1991: 27).
1.2.5.2. Integrating tasks, grammatical and notional components
After selecting the content of the syllabus the next important step is to integrate these
notions, tasks, structures or lexis, topical and notional elements as well as grammatical
ones and tasks should be well integrated in such a way that the notion will be re-cycled
throughout the course with different structure at certain time, appropriately used in relevant
context.
1.2.5.5. Grading content
Grading of linguistic components is the next stage to be considered. Grading has been
defined as ‘the arrangement of the content of a language course or a textbook so that it is
presented in a helpful way. Gradation would affect the order in which words, word
meanings, tenses, structures, topics, tasks, skills, etc are presented. Gradation may be
based on the complexity of an item, its frequency in written or spoken English, or its
importance for the learner’ (Richard, Platt and Webber 1985:125).
Gibbons (in John, 1984: 136) suggests two criteria when grading the content of a
syllabus:
(1) Steady increase in the number of elements in the structures
(2) A component relationship between items
Graves (1996: 28) presents two general, complementary principles of sequencing:
(1) Building (from the simple to the complex, from more concrete to more open-ended)
(2) Recycling (accessing previous items in new ways: in a new skill area, in a different