VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
********************* LÊ THỊ KIM NHUNG USING ILLUSTRATIONS TO TEACH ESP VOCABULARY
TO THE FIRST YEAR NAVIGATION STUDENTS AT THE FISHERIES
VOCATIONAL SCHOOL

SỬ DỤNG MINH HỌA ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH
CHUYÊN NGÀNH ĐIỀU KHIỂN CHO HỌC SINH NĂM THỨ NHẤT
TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP THỦY SẢN

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111
Hanoi, 2014
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES


I hereby certify that the thesis entitled: “Using illustrations to teach ESP
vocabulary to the first year navigation students at the Fisheries Vocational
School (FVS)” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at
the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National
University, Hanoi and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any
other University or tertiary Institution.

Hanoi, August 2014
Signature Lê Thị Kim Nhung
iii
ABSTRACT

This thesis is carried out with the aims to: (1) investigate the effectiveness of
using illustrations to teach ESP vocabulary to the first year navigation students, (2)
investigate teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the application of illustrations
in teaching ESP vocabulary.
To achieve the given aims of the study, two survey questionnaires for students
and teachers have been designed to collect information from 100 navigation
students and five teachers of English after applying three lesson plans to two
classes. The results indicate that both the teachers and the students enjoy the use of
illustrations in teaching and learning ESP vocabulary. They highly appreciate the
benefits of illustrations during teaching and learning processes. Besides, some of
them are also coping with various difficulties during teaching and learning ESP
vocabulary through illustrations.
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

GE: General English
ESP: English for Specific Purposes
EST: English for Science and Technology
EBE: English for Business and Economics
ESS: English for Social Studies
EAP: English for Academic Purposes
EOP: English for Occupational Purposes
FVS: Fisheries Vocational School
MA: Master of Arts


1.1.5 Students’ competence 8
1.2 Vocabulary 8
1.2.1 Definition of vocabulary 8
1.2.2 Classification of vocabulary 9
1.2.3 The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 10
1.3 Illustrations in teaching and learning vocabulary 10

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1.3.1 Boards 10
1.3.2 Pictures 11
1.3.3 Using mimes, gestures and facial expression 11
1.3.4 Overhead projectors 11
1.4 Benefits of using illustrations to teach ESP vocabulary 12
II. Review of existing literature 13
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16
2.1 English teaching and learning context at the Fisheries Vocational School.16
2.1.1 Students’ language background 16
2.1.2 Teachers’ current method of teaching vocabulary 17
2.1.3 Textbook 18
2.2 Research method and Procedures 18
2.2.1 Research questions 18
2.2.2 Procedure 18
2.2.3 The lesson plans 19
2.2.4 The subjects of the study 21
2.2.5 The questionnaires 21
CHAPTER 4: Data analysis and discussion of results 24
3.1 Data analysis results 24
3.1.1 The students’ questionnaire 24
3.1.2 The teachers’ questionnaire 30
3.2 Discussion of results 36

1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In recent years, there has been a global increase in the number of language
teachers who have greater and wider responsibility thrust upon them by training
institutions. They are required to teach English to students from various fields such
as engineering, navigating, information science, accountancy, etc. to enable the
students to cope with their academic job. This type of English is called English for
Specific Purposes (ESP). Since ESP was introduced, it has attracted the attention of
language instructors. Furthermore, the idea of English for Specific Purposes has
been welcomed by staffs of universities who have seen the great benefits from
learning ESP.
In order to become good seamen on board the vessels, especially multi-lingual
ones, the Vietnamese seafarers need sufficient knowledge of navigation and good
competence of English, at least at the basic level. Students at the Fisheries
vocational school will become future seamen on board, thus good competence of
English language is very necessary for them in both speaking and listening. They
have to learn specific vocabulary such as the weather station, magnetic compasses,
funnel, navigation lights, engine order telegraph, anchor and other appliances on
board the vessels. Furthermore, they also need to know English vocabulary about
the operations in mooring ropes, cargo handling and keeping watches, hearing

(2). What are the teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward the use of
illustrations in teaching and learning vocabulary in navigating?
3. Scope of the study
Due to the limited time and the small scope of an MA minor thesis, the study
focuses on how illustrations can be applied to teach ESP vocabulary in the class.
The subjects chosen for this study are 100 first year navigation students and five
teachers of English at the Fisheries vocational school where the researcher is
teaching. It cannot be said that the results of this study are general to other
language researchers and to all Vietnamese vocational students.
4. Methods of the study

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This study is an action research which involves the analysis of three piloted
lesson plans, two survey questionnaires and statistical data to investigate the
effectiveness of using illustrations in teaching and learning ESP vocabulary.
5. Significance of the study
The study is significant because of the following reasons: Firstly, the
effectiveness of using illustrations in teaching and learning ESP vocabulary in this
minor thesis is believed to be useful for both teachers and students of English at
FVS so that teachers can apply these techniques to teach ESP vocabulary more
effectively. Secondly, this research may help increase students’ interest of learning
ESP vocabulary. Thirdly, the study can lay grounds for further research on the
employment of using illustrations in ESP vocabulary as well as in general English
teaching and learning.
6. Design of the study
The study consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1 presents the background to the rationale, aims of the study and research
questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, methodology and the
design of the study.
Chapter 2, theoretical background and literature review, presents a brief overview

decisions as to content and method are based on the learners’ reason for learning”.
ESP must be seen as an approach not as a product and is directed by specific and
apparent reasons for learning ESP. Students' goal of learning a second 1anguage
might be acquiring not only general linguistics competencies but also academic and
job-related skills.
Strevens (1988), by contrast, states that “ESP is a particular case of the general
category of special - purpose language teaching” (p.1). In his work, he points out
the following four absolute characteristics of ESP:
- ESP is designed to meet the learners’ specified needs.
- ESP has the content relating to particular disciplines, occupations and
activities.

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- ESP is centered on language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis,
discourse, semantics, and analysis of the discourse.
- ESP is in contrast with General English.
In order to make the above mentioned absolute characteristics of ESP
distinctive, other two variable characteristics are set up. Firstly, ESP may be
restricted to skills to be learnt (for example reading only). Secondly, ESP may not
be taught according to any pre-ordained methodology. All of the characteristics of
ESP make us come to an end that teaching and learning ESP is a challenging task
for both teachers and students.
As a teacher of ESP, the author aims to share the opinions that ESP serves the
learners’ needs. This determines the learner’s motivation, attitude and effort in
learning ESP. For vocational school learning purposes, ESP may be a particular
English language environment in which learners study both the specific knowledge
represented in this foreign language and the communicative language skills needed
for each specific field.
1.1.2 Classification of ESP
From the elucidation of ESP, it is inferred that the learners’ needs lead to a

Technology
English for
(Academic)
Medical
purposes
English for
(Academic)
Legal
purposes
English for
Management.
Finance and
Economics
English for
Professional Purposes

English for Vocational
Purposes English for
Medical
Purposes
English for
Business
Purposes
Pre -

goals effectively. Especially, in vocabulary teaching, the teacher mostly focus on
words, idioms to express the topics like "machines and its application" or "
machines types", etc, plus words in the general and (s)he has to provide the
students with the anxiety-free atmosphere. Besides, (s)he also has to create
favorable environment in which students are able to practice to memorize new
words. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) said “the ESP teacher will have to deal with
need analysis, syllabus design, materials writing or adaptation and evaluation”
(p.157). Martin (1992) lists and explains different roles of the teacher, he views the
role upon the process of carrying out a task in ESP lesson “before, during and after
a task”. A teacher wishing to support learning throughout the various phrases of a
task would need to be able to play an extended set of roles including explorer,
organizer, adviser, instructor and a guide. Little Wood (1981) states that the ESP
teacher is expected to "perform in a variety of roles, separately or simultaneously"
(p.51). Nunan (1988) also said that these roles of an ESP teacher include an
instructor, a manager, counselor, facilitators, organizer, curriculum developer,
material writer, material writer and even a friend. Robinson (1991) gives his own
opinion, "the ESP teacher does not only teach but very often he or she is involved
in designing, setting up, administering, evaluating and testing the ESP course"
(p.132).

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Obviously, the ESP teacher must be flexible and his roles will vary according to
type of syllabus and course, teaching and learning environment, etc.
1.1.5 Students’ competence
ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of learners. Learners are expected
to perform with adequate language skills in target situations at the end of the ESP
courses. However, the performance of ESP learners have been considered
unacceptable or poor in many cases (Bacha & Bahous, 2008). Students’ overall
English language competence has usually been considered the indicator of the
success or failure of English learning (Shi, Corcos & Storey, 2001). Some teachers

that a language possesses, including a single words, two or three words items
expressing a single idea and multiword idioms of which meaning cannot be
deduced from the analysis of the component words but only understood in the
sentences, or in contexts, etc.
1.2.2 Classification of vocabulary
Vocabulary can be classified in different ways based on different criteria,
feature or functions. We can consider the following ways of classifying them.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 165-166) mention four types of vocabulary:
structural (because, we, just, those…), general (cargo, vessel, anchor, seaman,
habour…), sub-technical (boiler, derrick, pump, piston…) and technical (starboard
side, portside, evacuation…).
The first arrangement of words seems simpler and lists the ESP word types
of technical fields. The second one, on the other hand, uses two general concepts to
separate the vocabulary in usage. For the goals of using the ESP vocabulary in real
communication on board vessels, we should divide the English words into sub-
groups: one sub-group based on the learners’ needs, the other depends on the
usefulness of the vocabulary items and the last is not of these two aspects. (Meara,
2002: 37)
Dudley Evans and St John (1998) are of the opinion that teaching ESP
vocabulary is the same as teaching English for general purposes. The only

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distinction that should be made is between the vocabulary for comprehension and
the vocabulary for production.

1.2.3 The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning
Vocabulary is commonly accepted to be the most important language
element among pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Wilkins (1972)
emphasized: “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary
nothing can be conveyed” (p.72). Pyles & Algeo (1970) also supported this idea

Pictures bring not only images of reality, but can also function as a fun
element in the class. Sometimes it is surprising, how pictures may change a lesson,
even if only employed in additional exercises or just to create atmosphere.
There are some kinds of class pictures: wall pictures, wall charts, flash cards and
work cards.
- Wall pictures: is simply a large illustration of scenes or events. It is usually
to be used with the whole of class so it is very useful to carry out activities.
- Wall charts: is a large diagram or picture display card. Most of wall charts
can be used for picture composition.
- Flash cards are pieces of paper in which words or sentences are written or
pictures are drawn. The cards can be used to demonstrate exactly what the teacher
wishes (mostly in reading and writing skills)
- Work cards are for individual student use (not only reading but also all other
skills without the teachers’ help).
1.3.3 Using mimes, gestures and facial expressions.
This kind of visual aids costs the teachers nothing but some energy to mime,
make gestures or express his/her face. Although they are the cheapest visual aids,
they can have big effects on teaching vocabulary.
1.3.4 Overhead projectors
Nowadays, overhead projectors are one of the most useful tools a language
teacher can have. The overhead projectors facilitate an easy low-cost interactive

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environment for teachers. Teaching materials can be pre-printed on plastic sheets
upon which the teachers can directly write using a non-permanent, washable color
making pen. This saves time, since the transparency can be pre-printed and used
repetitively, rather than having materials written manually before each class.
In sum, there are various types of illustrations to be used for language teaching
and learning, we can use any illustrations which are suitable for our teaching. From
my experience, students always pay attention and are curious what they are going

Thus, most teachers notice that using illustrations to teach vocabulary will
certainly bring a lot of benefits:
- Using illustrations can create real situation and motivate learners in
vocabulary learning. It helps to make language used in the classroom more lively
and interesting. W.R. Lee and H. Coppen (1970:1) claim that visual aids can help
teacher create real communicative situations, clarifying the meaning of the words
used. Visual aids can quickly and efficiently demonstrate ideas that are difficult to
explain verbally. Many science and art concepts can only be effectively taught by
showing students as well as, or instead of, simply telling them the meaning of.
Therefore, the learners can have a feeling of reality as visual aids help them make
the meaning of the words clearer and more understandable.
- Using illustrations can be used as a tool for memorizing vocabulary more
effectively. Chamberlain (1980) pointed out that the learners receive information
in the mind better than through hearing. It is obvious that what students see has a
great influence on their learning process. With the assistance of visual aids, they
decrease teacher-talking time therefore increase students-talking time. They enrich
the classroom by bringing in the outside.
II. Review of existing literature
Due to the importance of vocabulary teaching and learning, many scholars
have conducted studies relating vocabulary to find out the problems or techniques
that help the students learn vocabulary better. The great interest they created has
been reflected by the number of the studies on this topic. Among these are studies
that have been carried out by such famous researchers as Oxford (1990), Chang

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(2000), Chamberlain (1980), and so on. The results of these studies revealed that
many learners employ learning strategies in vocabulary learning more frequently
than in other language learning activities. Research has also shown that one of the
most important factors that influence the successful learners is their learning ways.
In Vietnam, there are also many researchers who have conducted this topic with

new words through illustrations; however some students had some difficulties
during learning ESP vocabulary.
From the studies mentioned above, we can see that there are not any researchers
who employed the action research to conduct their studies to find out the effective
ways to teach vocabulary especially vocabulary in navigating.
Therefore, the author got the desire to conduct an MA minor thesis which
applies the action research to investigate the ways to use illustrations to teach ESP
vocabulary to the first year navigation students.