VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
GRADUATION PAPER
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LEARNING ENGLISH
FOR ECONOMICS AS PERCEIVED BY GRADUATE
STUDENTS AT FELTE, ULIS, VNU
Supervisor : CẤN THỊ CHANG DUYÊN
Student : NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC TÚ
Course : QH2010.F1.E4
HÀ NỘI - 2014
ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH
KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP
NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ SỰ HIỆU QUẢ CỦA VIỆC HỌC
MÔN TIẾNG ANH KINH TẾ VỚI SINH VIÊN ĐÃ
TỐT NGHIỆP KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH, ĐẠI
HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HA NỘI
Giáo viên hướng dẫn: CẤN THỊ CHANG DUYÊN
Sinh viên: NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC TÚ
Khóa: QH2010.F1.E4
HÀ NỘI – 2014
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the research paper titled “A research on the effectiveness of
learning English for Economics to graduate students at FELTE, ULIS, VNU” by
me, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tu, is based on actual and original work carried out be me.
Any reference to work done by any other person or institution or any material
obtained from other sources have been duly cited and referenced. I further certify
that the research paper has not been published or submitted for publication
anywhere else nor it will be sent for publication in the future.

include three major findings. Firstly, although FELTE graduates work in a wide
range of jobs, their jobs demand some certain Economics knowledge. Secondly, the
purposes of learning English for Economics diversify among FELTE graduates;
however; the importance of this subject in practice is undeniable. Last but not least,
an appropriate combination of student’s presentations, material provision and
exercise rectifying may be suggested as a new method meeting all the learners’
demands. A theoretical analysis, backed by analysis of data collection, indicates that
English for Economics plays an important role in equipping students at FELTE,
ULIS, VNU with necessary Economic background knowledge in their job
performance.
Some suggestions given to have good results in EC course are: working hard work,
being willing to widen knowledge and in-depth understanding about all the lessons.
Based on the findings from the research, further studies and future implications may
be conducted in a larger population and field to study other relating matters.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
ABSTRACT iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii
LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
EC: English for Economics
IT: Information Technology
ESP: English for Special Purposes
EMT: English Mother Tongue
ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
ESL-EAL: English as a second language - English as an additional language

1. RATIONALE
English for Economics is among the compulsory subjects for the junior and
senior ULIS students who major in Linguistics and double-major program. As be
known, Economics is about choice and is at the heart of all decision-makings.
Individuals, businesses and governments are all faced with making choices in
situations where resources are scarce. As a result, Economics is applicable in a wide
range of fields, including business, finance, administration, law, local and national
government and, indeed, most aspects of everyday life. In studying Economics,
learners will examine topics of obvious importance to human well-being.
Increasingly, policy debate in all areas is being cast in economic terms. Knowing
this importance, English for Economics is taught in ULIS, VNU aimed at equipping
students with sufficient Economic knowledge. From that, this raises a question:
“How effective that English for Economics brings to them after they graduate and
get a job, and how to apply it to perform their jobs most efficiently?” In this
research, I will carry out a research to analyze this matter and find out what the
specific advantages are.
There are a number of researches that have discussed the importance of this
subject and the evaluation of the usefulness of the topics.
In ULIS, VNU, some recent related researches have also mentioned about
the importance of this subject: The Role of Needs Analysis in English for Specific
Purposes by Custi Astika Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana Salatiga, Should
Students’ Language Needs Influence How We Teach? By Charito Aglaua,etc.
Among those, “An evaluation of ESP programs at FELTE, ULIS, VNU” by Bui
Thi Bich Thao is the one that provides the most insightful information relating to
this matter. This study means to evaluate and improve the ESP program for
Economics at FELTE, ULIS, VNU.
Most of the researches, however, only focus on the influence of the subject
on current students. Therefore, this research will take a step forward to find out the
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positive impacts and advantages of English for Economics on graduate students,

and educational study in learning and using English for Economics for job
purpose/ future intention of graduate FELTE students.
In short, speaking of specific objectives, this research is carried out to help
senior students at FELTE, VNU as well as lecturers on ESP program get
closer to their goals at mastering this course both at learning and teaching.
4. METHOD OF THE STUDY
To fulfill this study, both the quantitative method and the qualitative method
are applied.
In the article “Qualitative and Quantitative Research” extricated from British
Library website, some advantages of two methods are shown as followings.
The quantitative method will help the researcher deeply understand the
background knowledge, measure the incidence of various views and opinions
in FELTE graduate students on the benefits of ESP programs. The
questionnaires and surveys with set questions and answers that respondents
tick from a predefined selection.
This form of research is very flexible in terms of how it is carried out such as
through the post or online.
Besides, the qualitative method which includes survey questionnaires and
document analysis uncover prevalent trends in thought and opinion of the
chosen sample.
Qualitative method is largely led with discussion around certain concepts or
ideas with open questioning. Attendees are encouraged to explain or describe
their reasons for having certain responses which can reveal underlying
motivations, associations and behavioural triggers.
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The qualitative method consists of focus groups or one by one interview,
conducted face to face or over the telephone.
The subjects of the study are samples of 60 FELTE graduates at ULIS, VNU.
Firstly, the survey questionnaire and interviews are applied.
Secondly, the stage of collecting and analyzing the data is conducted.

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter aims to provide a theoretical base to develop an operational
framework for ESP program.
1.1. AN OVERVIEW OF ESP
1.1.1. Definition & Classification of ESP
ESP stands for English for Specific Purposes (ESP). ESP is not to be
confused with specialized English, is a sphere of teaching English language
including Business English, Technical English, Scientific English, English
for medical professionals, English for waiters, English for tourism, English
for Art Purposes, etc.
There are many definitions of ESP stated by researchers and linguists.
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 19):
ESP all essentially emphasizes to language centered approaches and to give a
definition of ESP we need to establish a context about how ESP at the
present time relates to the rest of ELT.
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- According to the definition of ESP (Dudley-Evans, 1997)
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Absolute Characteristics
1. ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners
2. ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline
it serves
3. ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of
grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre.
Variable Characteristics
1. ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines
2. ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from
that of General English
3. ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level
institution or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for

methodology, nor does it consist of a particular type of teaching material.
ESP is an approach to language learning, which is based on the learners'
need. Therefore, it is concluded that ESP is an approach to language
teaching based on the learners' reason for learning.
1.1.2. The development of ESP
From the early 1960's, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown to
become one of the most prominent areas of EFL teaching today. Its
development is reflected in the increasing number of universities offering an
MA in ESP and in the number of ESP courses offered to overseas students in
English speaking countries.
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There is now a well-established international journal dedicated to ESP
discussion, "English for Specific Purposes: An international journal", and the
ESP SIG groups of the IATEFL and TESOL are always active at their
national conferences. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is now well
established as an important and distinctive part of English Language
Teaching. Since the late 1980s ESP has changed in two very significant
respects. Firstly, English for Business Purposes has become an increasingly
significant, even dominant, area of ESP. Secondly, the work of discourse and
genre analysis on the one hand and the results of computer-based analysis on
the other provide a fuller understanding of how specific texts, both written
and spoken, work. It provides an update of these major developments in ESP
and a summary of where the discipline is now. It is practical and accessible
while covering a wide range of both theoretical and methodological topics. It
also charts how ESP has been influenced by new ideas in the areas of
management training, human resource development, sociology and
intercultural training.
1.2. Evaluation
Evaluations are normally divided into two broad categories: formative and
summative.

1.2.3. History of the Two Evaluations
Scriven (1967) first suggested a distinction between formative evaluation and
summative evaluation when describing two major functions of evaluation.
Formative evaluation was intended to foster development and improvement
within an ongoing activity (or person, product, program, etc.). Summative
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evaluation, in contrast, is used to assess whether the results of the object
being evaluated (program, intervention, person, etc.) met the stated goals.
Scriven saw the need to distinguish the formative and summative roles of
curriculum evaluation. While Scriven preferred summative evaluations —
performing a final evaluation of the project or person, he did come to
acknowledge Cronbach's merits of formative evaluation — part of the
process of curriculum development used to improve the course while it is
still fluid (he believed it contributes more to the improvement of education
than evaluation used to appraise a product).
Later, Misanchuk (1978) published a paper on the need to tighten up the
definitions in order to get more accurate measurements. The one that seems
to cause the greatest disagreement is the keeping of fluid movements or
changes strictly in the prerelease versions (before it hits the target
population).
In Paul Saettler's (1990) history of instructional technology, he described the
two evaluations (pp. 430-431) in the context of how they were used in
developing Sesame Street and The Electric Company by the Children's
Television Workshop. CTW used formative evaluations to identify and
define program designs that could provide reliable predictors of learning for
particular learners. They later used summative evaluations to prove their
efforts (to quite good effect I might add). While Saettler praises CTW for a
significant landmark in the technology of instructional design, he warns that
it is still tentative and should be seen more as a point of departure rather than
a fixed formula.

a specific intervention, such as training, without fully understanding the
nature of the problem or determining whether or not the chosen intervention
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is likely to succeed. Just as often, professionals with a high level of expertise
in a specific intervention area see every problem as an opportunity to ply
their trade. In fact, there are a number of methods for improving the
performance of organizations, teams and individuals. Organizational
development, industrial engineering, training and development, quality
assurance, and human resources development address performance gaps in
particular ways. Performance Improvement differs from these approaches by
using a systematic methodology to find the root causes of a performance
problem and then implement an intervention (or “fix”) that applies to that
specific performance deficit.
Certain factors need to be in place for workers to be able to perform well on
their jobs:
- Clear job expectations
- Clear and immediate performance feedback
- Adequate physical environment, including proper tools, supplies and
workspace
- Motivation and incentives to perform as expected
- Skills and knowledge required for the job.
When a performance factor is missing and a gap in performance has
occurred, a solution, or intervention, usually becomes clear. For example, if
workers lack information about what is expected of them, obvious
interventions would include implementation of written policies, job
descriptions or verbal directions. Likewise, if workers do not have sufficient
knowledge in their jobs, they cannot perform the work well.
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In this research, the researcher particularly focuses on the factor: Skills and
knowledge required for the job that are assumedly accumulated from

used incorrectly. The term effectiveness (noun) is derived from the root word
affective (adjective) meaning concerned with arousing emotions or affection
or relating to moods, attitudes or feelings. Simply stated, effective means
outcome and efficiency means output.
Learning effectiveness is evaluated in the context of the learning goals of the
course (short term learning), and in the context of the overall educational
programme and future working life (long term learning).
1.4.2. Evaluating the Effectiveness of Learning Interventions
The question of how to evaluate the effectiveness of learning interventions is
a problematic one. That is, how do people determine whether a change to a
course has been successful in improving student learning.
Surprisingly, it was not able to find a standard instrument in the literature for
evaluating learning effectiveness. Literature searches and web searches
revealed very few standard instruments of any kind for course evaluation. It
would appear that most institutions develop their own course evaluation
instruments to suit their own purposes.
- The effectiveness of any educational programme can only be sensibly
assessed in the context of its learning goals. Learning goals are defined as
“particular knowledge, skills or attitudes that participants should have at
the end of the learning episode”. Three different types of learning goals
are distinguished below:
- Knowledge: “what facts and concepts participants should understand”.
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- Skills: “what tasks participants should be able to perform”.
- Attitudes: “what attitudes, beliefs and motivation participants should
possess”.
Learning is an ongoing process. University courses are not undertaken in
isolation, but in the context of some larger educational programme (e.g. a
university degree or diploma) and in preparation for working life. While
learning can be evaluated within the context of the objectives of a particular