VIETNAMNATIONALUNIVERSITY – HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ
A STUDY ON THE EFECTIVENESS OF USING TASK-BASED
APPROACH IN TEACHING VOCABULARY IN ESP TO THE SECOND
YEAR STUDENTS AT CONSTRUCTION SCHOOL N
0
4

(NGHIÊN CỨU TÍNH TÍCH CỰC CỦA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG PHƢƠNG PHÁP
DẠY HỌC DỰA TRÊN NHIỆM VỤ VÀO VIỆC DẠY TỪ VỰNG CHUYÊN
NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƢỜNG TRUNG CẤP XÂY
DỰNG SỐ 4) M.A MINOR THESIS Field : English Language Teaching Methodology
Code : 60140111
Field : English Language Teaching Methodology
Code : 60140111
Supervisor : Dr. Phm Th Thanh Thy HANOI, 2013
i

DECLARATION

This paper is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts at Department of Post Graduate studies – University of Languages and
International Studies-Vietnam National University. I certify that this thesis is the result
of my own research, and it has not been submitted for any other degrees.

Hanoi, November 2013

Student‟s signature Nguyễn Thị Hà
iii

ABSTRACT
This thesis is devoted to examining the comparative effectiveness of task-based
approach in teaching ESP vocabulary to second year non-major students at
Construction School N
0
4. In order to achieve this objective, a theoretical and practical
research is carried out. In the Theoretical Background, the background of vocabulary
and relevance to teaching vocabulary is summarized. An overview on task-based
approach that has been employing in foreign language teaching, especially in teaching
ESP vocabulary is also introduced in this part. After that, a brief background setting to
the quasi-experiment relating to teaching and learning ESP vocabulary at Construction
School N
0
4 is highlighted. Subsequently, the quasi-experimental study is given to
evaluate the effectiveness of task-based approach. And the results we will get based on
data analysis are in the third chapter. Finally, some recommendations for ESP
vocabulary teaching/learning effectively are suggested.
v

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: The results of the post-tests of EGP part
Table 2: The results of the post-tests of ESP part
Table 3: The results of vocabulary-checking tests

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv
LIST OF TABLES v
LIST OF CHARTS vi
PART I: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………… 1
1. Rationale ………………………………………………………………… 1
2. Aims of the study………………………………………………………… 1

importance of ESP vocablary teaching 20
2.1.5. The real situation of teaching vocabulary in ESP at Construction School N04 21
2.2. The quasi-experiment………………………………………………… 21
2.2.1. Subjects and process of vocabulary teaching…………………. 21
2.2.2. Main testing instruments: Pre-test and post-tests…………… 22
2.2.3. Supplementary testing instruments…………………………… 22
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS, RESUTLS AND DISCUSSIONS… 24
3.1. Class observation result……………………………………………… 24
3.2. Teacher‟s self-assessment result……………………………………… 25
3.3. The post-tests result……………………………………………………. 25
3.4. Vocabulary-checking test result……………………………………… 29
PART III: CONCLUSION 33
REFERENCES 34
APPENDICES I
1

PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Teaching vocabulary especially in ESP courses is becoming a challenge for
English Language Teachers. As far as we know, vocabulary is an inseparable part of
any teaching syllabus and vocabulary should be taught in a well-planned and regular
basis. It‟s essential to carefully decide what vocabulary will be selected for teaching,
and what approach or activities will be used to teach it to the students. Although
English teachers in Vietnam are now being trained in using modern methods of

2

whether task-based approach is effective or not in teaching vocabulary in ESP at
Construction School N
0
4 and finally give some suggestions for teaching vocabulary in
ESP.
3. Significance of the study
Because of the importance of vocabulary in ESP, it is necessary to find out
effective ways to teach vocabulary to the students. While modern methods has been
supported and promoted, a lot of teachers still use tradition ways, which make the
lessons boring. The study, thus, tries to test the effectiveness of task-based approach in
teaching vocabulary in ESP and suggest some recommendations for teaching
vocabulary in ESP more effectively.
With this study, the writer hopes to make a small contribution to
teaching/learning vocabulary in ESP effectively, which may help the students retain
vocabulary and the teachers find the most appropriate way in teaching ESP.
4. Scope of the study
Due to the limit of a minor thesis, the study just lasted 11- week exploration
basing on the three units (Unit 1, 2 and 3) of the textbook English for construction –
an in-house material used to teach at Construction School N
0
4. The participants in
this study are 50 students aging from 18-25 not randomly selected from K40-TXD1
and K40-TXD2 at Construction School N
0
4 in Xuan Hoa town, Phuc Yen district,
Vinh Phuc province. To ensure the relative equality of English knowledge level
between two classes, the researcher asked one teacher of English who has taken part
in teaching these two classes at school for help to choose students in each class with

by collecting materials, internet sources. In the Development, the researcher took a
brief look at the reality of teaching vocabulary in ESP at Construction School N
0
4
including the descriptions of the teachers, students, textbook and method of teaching
vocabulary as the background setting to the study.
With an attempt to find out the effectiveness of task-based approach in teaching
vocabulary in ESP to second year students at Construction School N
0
4, a quasi-
experiment was carried out. 50 students from K40-TXD1 and K40-TXD2 were not
randomly selected. One class was randomly assigned as the experiment group and the
other as the control group. Another teacher of English took part in the study with the
role of preparing lesson plan and teaching both groups. The quasi-experiment lasted 11
weeks with three first units of the textbook - English for construction. The pre-test was
administered to the students of both classes at the beginning of the experiment in order
to check students‟ vocabulary knowledge. After finishing one unit, a post-test, whose
content was based on the knowledge of that unit was delivered to students of both
classes. However, the content of the last post-test included the knowledge of all three
units. Apart from the post-tests, class observation, teacher‟s self-assessment and
vocabulary-checking tests were used as supplementary testing instruments to confirm
the post-test results. The data obtained were thoroughly analyzed by statistical
descriptions. By these ways, we can test whether task-based approach was really
effective in teaching vocabulary in ESP.
4

7. Design of the study
The research includes three parts. The first part is Introduction, in which the
rationale, aims, scope, methods, research questions and design are identified.
The second one is Development which consists of three chapters. Chapter 1 -

PART II:
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. An overview of vocabulary
1.1.1. Definition
Hornby (1995) defines vocabulary is the total number of words in a language.
Yet vocabulary is much more than just single words. Recent vocabulary studies draw
on an understanding of lexis, the Greek for word, which in English “refers to all the
words in a language, the entire vocabulary of a language” (Barcroft, Sunderman, &
Schmitt, 2011, p. 571). So it will probably not surprise you to learn that vocabulary
also includes lexical chunks, phrases of two or more words, such as Good morning and
Nice to meet you, which research suggests children and adults learn as single lexical
units. Phrases like these involve more than one word but have a clear, formulaic usage
and make up a significant portion of spoken or written English language usage. Also
called formulaic sequences (Alali & Schmitt, 2012), they are central to English
vocabulary learning and therefore worth teachers‟ attention as they teach vocabulary
(Lewis, 1993).
Therefore, vocabulary can be defined as the words of a language, including
single items and phrases or chunks of several words which covey a particular meaning,
the way individual words do.
1.1.2. The importance of vocabulary
Regarding the important roles of vocabulary in language learning and teaching,
Wilkins (1972, p.111) stressed that “without grammar very little can be conveyed,
without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed”. According to Richards and Renandya
(2002), "vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and provides much
of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read, and write" (Richards &
Renandya, 2002, p. 255). As such, by having many stocks of words learners will be
able to comprehend the reading materials, catch other talking, give response, speak
fluently and write some kind of topics. On the contrary, if the learners do not
recognize the meanings of words used by those who address them, they will be unable

semantic and so on, and analysis of the discourse;
 in contrast with 'general English'.
And the variable characteristics are that ESP
 may be restricted as to the learning skills to be learned (for example reading only);
 may not be taught according to any pre-ordained methodology
Later Dudly-Evans and St John (1998, p. 4) modified Strevens‟s definition in the
following way:
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Absolute characteristics:
 ESP is designed to meet specific the needs of the learners;
 ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves;
 ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar,
lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre.
Variable characteristics:
 ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;
 ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of
General English;
 ESP is likely to be designed for intermediate or advanced students;
 Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems.
Robinson (1991) believes that ESP is a major activity around the world today.
Huchinson and Waters (1987), make the point clear: ESP is not a matter of teaching
specialized varieties of English, nor is just matter of science words and grammar for
scientists. It is also not different in kind from any other form of language teaching as far
as principles of effective and efficient learning are concerned (p. 18).
1.2.2. Vocabulary in ESP
In terms of vocabulary in ESP, it is most important to make a distinction
between two types of vocabulary: technical and semi-technical because they are of
great importance to the learners studying English for specific and academic purposes.
Dudley-Evans and St John (1998, p. 83) suggest two broad areas related to technical

As a rule, new words in narrative selections are not as critical to the overall
understanding of the selection as new words in informational selections. Before
guiding students‟ reading of a particular narrative, teacher should determine if there
are any new words that represent concepts that are critical to understanding the
selection and which are not adequately defined in context. If there are, then these
words should be presented and discussed before the students read. The exploration of
these prerequisite terms and concepts will establish a strong foundation for subsequent
learning.
A second major reason for teaching the meaning of words is to increase the
number of words that students know and can use in a variety of educational, social,
and eventually work-related areas. To increase the number of words the students learn,
it is often helpful to teach these words in morphological or semantic clusters. A very
effective way to present semantically related words is to build word webs around some
central concepts.
According to Thornbury (2002) “the acquisition of new words is the process
which never stops”. To build a good storage of vocabulary is the first and one of the
9

most important steps when starting to learn a new language. Therefore, it is essential to
teach students vocabulary.
1.3.2. Principles of teaching vocabulary
Kieran A. File has shared with English language teaching staff at the University
of Economics in Ho Chi Minh City six principles when they plan a direct vocabulary
teaching and learning program. The six principles are:
 Choose useful words;
 Let the learners do the work;
 Focus on different aspects of a word;
 Provide meaningful learning opportunities;
 Implement a regular testing schedule;
 Be patient with their learners.

long term memory, the one a learner has to activate in order to retrieve the words when
necessary (Thornbury, 2002). Among these classroom activities teacher can use some
decision making ones like identifying, selecting, matching, sorting, ranking and
sequencing. And also production tasks, for instance, completion of sentences and texts
and creation of sentences and texts.
The last stage is related to the production stage with the aim of helping students
to incorporate the new items into the lexicon. This can be done by using
communicative activities in which the learners have to retrieve the vocabulary already
learnt and practiced.
1.3.4. Techniques in teaching vocabulary
Techniques in presenting vocabulary
The main aim of presenting vocabulary is to insert the meaning, the correct form
and appropriate usage of the new word into the student‟s memory. There are quite lots
of methods and techniques how to present the form and meaning of new lexical items.
It depends on teachers, which form of presentation is the most suitable for the
particular topic. According to Gairns and Redman (1986), there are some traditional
methods and techniques used to present new vocabulary:
Visual techniques:
 Visuals – photographs, flashcards, blackboard drawings, pictures, videos, wall-charts,
pictograms and real objects; they are useful for teaching concrete words.
 Demonstrating: mime/facial expression and gesture – useful for teaching action verbs.
Verbal techniques:
 Illustrative situations (oral or written) – this technique is helpful when the words are
more abstract.
 Synonyms and antonyms – using the words students have already known to teach
them similar words.
11

 Definitions and explanations – appropriate for intermediate learners. To make
definition of words can be difficult, especially at elementary levels.

in the vocabulary teaching,) includes these types (Thornbury, 2002): completion and
creation.
12

 Completion tasks (context is given), often called gap-fills, are widely used not only in
practice but also in revision stages. They include open gap-fills or closed gap-fills
(multiple choice activities), crosswords,
 Creation tasks: the learner use the word in a sentence or a story, in writing, speaking
or both forms, use affixes to build new naming units from given words.
Techniques in revising vocabulary:
Vocabulary revision aims at helping students acquire active, productive
vocabularies. Students need to practice regularly what they have learnt; otherwise, the
material will fade away. Teachers can resort to many techniques for vocabulary
consolidation and revision. In this stage, some specific tasks are listed below:
 Ordering
 Rub out and remember
 Networks
 Bingo
 Wordstorm
 Slap the board
 Guess the pictures
 Matching
 Noughts and crosses
 What and where
 Wordsquare
 Jumbled words
As for Thornbury, those listed activities above are some common language
games which assist teachers in implementing a productive vocabulary lesson with
learners. The final stage, as further recommended by him, highly involves production
tasks in which learners, after having made decisions will actually produce something

on the analysis of meaning derived from a communicative activity.
Task-based language education starts from the basic idea that students learn a
language by performing tasks. A task is generally described as an activity in which
people engage to attain an objective, and which involves the meaningful use of
language. According to Willis (1996), tasks are always activities where the target
language is used by learners for a communication purpose in order to achieve an
outcome (p. 23). Furthermore, Willis presents a task-based approach where tasks are
used as the main focus of the lesson within a supportive framework. She holds that
“the aim of tasks is to create a real purpose for language use and to provide a natural
context for language study” (p. 1). Nunan (2004) defines a task as “a piece of
classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing, or
14

interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their
grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning and in which the intention is to
convey meaning rather than to manipulate form” (p. 4). He believes that “task is an
important element in syllabus design, classroom teaching and learner assessment” (p.
1).
When it comes to the theory of learning, Richards and Rodgers (2001), propose
that “tasks provide both the input and the output processing necessary for language
acquisition”. “Task activity and achievement are motivational” (p.228). Meanwhile
motivation is a need for language learning. Brown (2000) argues that “it is easy in
second language learning to claim that a learner will be successful with the proper
motivation” (p. 160).
Besides the above definitions, Ellis (2003: 16) provides a composite one:
A task is a work-plan that requires learners to process language pragmatically in
order to achieve an outcome that can be evaluated in terms of whether the correct or
appropriate propositional content has been conveyed. To this end, it requires them to
give primary attention to meaning and to make use of their own linguistic resources,
although the design of the task may predispose them to choose particular forms. A task

picture, giving another version of the same picture to their partner, and
asking them to identify the difference between the two pictures.
 Planned tasks are the ones that are prepared and planned in advance to
access their effects on written or oral work. For example, planning the
words, phrases and ideas before carrying out an interview.
 Unplanned tasks: the ones that are not prepared and planned in advance
before accessing their effects on written or oral work. For example,
students are asked to have informal face-to-face conversations.
 Convergent tasks include problem-solving through social interaction,
decision making, arrangement making, and information organizing through
conversation or correspondence.
 Divergent tasks include topic discussion through the exchange of
information, ideas, opinions, attitudes, feelings, experiences and plans.
Lots of procedures and stages of task have been devised so far, but Ellis (2003)
believes that they all have in common three principal phases: pre-task, during task, and
post-task. In pre-task phase the overall purpose of this phase is to prepare the learners
for the next phase, that is, students should get prepared for completing the task. In fact,
the pre-task phase has two basic functions: 1) to introduce and create interest in doing
a task on the chosen topic, and 2) to activate topic-related words, phrases and target
sentences that will be useful in carrying out the task and in the real world
communication. In the during task phase, students work in pairs or groups although