VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDies

Faculty of Post Graduate Studies BÙI THỊ QUỲNH MAI
DESIGNING A TASK - BASED ENGLISH SYLLABUS
FOR STUDENTS OF TOURISM AT NGHE AN
COLLEGE OF CULTURE AND ARTS

THIẾT KẾ CHƯƠNG TRÌNH DẠY HỌC TIẾNG ANH THEO NHIỆM
VỤ CHO SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGÀNH DU LỊCH TRƯỜNG CAO
ĐẲNG VĂN HÓA NGHỆ THUẬT NGHỆ AN

MINOR M.A.THESIS




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Hanoi, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I. INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
1
2. Aim and significance of the study


CHAPTER 2. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS AND NEEDS ANALYSIS
2.1. Situational analysis
16
2.1.1. Educational setting
16
2.1.2. Learner factors
17
2.1.3. Teacher factors
18
2.1.4. Institutional factors
18
2.1.5. Assessment and evaluation requirements
19
2.1.6. The existing curriculum
20
2.2. Task based need analysis
21
2.2.1. Needs analysis of Hotel staff and tourguides in Nghe An
22
English for Hotel Staff
22
English for tourguides
24
Tourguides’ opinions about language skills.
27
2.3. Summary CHAPTER 3. THE PROPOSED SYLLABUS CONTENT

2. Recommendations of the Study
41
3. Limitations and suggestions for further Study
41

1
PART I. INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale

The syllabus is often the initial communication tool that students receive as well as being the
most formal mechanism for sharing information with students regarding any course. ―The
syllabus as contract can serve as the document by which the classroom practices, expectations,
and norms are discussed and codified. Any later ambiguities of meanings can be resolved by
examining the contract that exists between the parties‖ (Danielson, 1995, p. 8) . One of the most
popular types of syllabus is task-based syllabus which seemed to satisfy at least four of the
rationales. First, it promotes the eventual uses of the target language by emphasizing the real-
world resemblance of the tasks with the purpose of preparing the students for the real-world
tasks. Second, tasks derived from the analysis of learners‘ needs increase learners‘ interest and
motivation (Robinson, 2001, p. 267). Third, while performing tasks, learners can learn the target
language through contextualized and meaningful use of the language rather than learning
sentence-level usage of the language. Forth, tasks presented with gradually increasing
complexity provide rich, elaborated, and comprehensible input for the language acquisition to
occur (Doughty & Long, 2003, p. 50 ).

the success of learners.
For the above-mentioned reasons, I have decided to design a task-based English syllabus for
students of Tourism at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts. Hopefully, the study, to which I
will devote all my efforts, may contribute a considerable success for the improvement of English
teaching at our institution.

2. Aim and significance of the study
The main purpose of the study is to design a task-based English syllabus for students of tourism
at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts. Specifically, the present study is aimed:
- To explore the current trends in task-based syllabus design.
- To conduct an analysis of the needs of Nghe An Tourism Sector and a survey on Hotel Staff
and Tourguides
- To propose syllabus contents, which are to be well-matched to the objectives of the course
and the learners‘ needs at Nghe An college of Culture and Arts in particular and the needs of
Nghe An Tourism Sector in general. 3

3. Methodology
This study employed a quantitative methodology to achieve the above – mentioned aim. A
survey questionnaire was used to find out the target needs from the perspective of the tourism
sector. The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics.

4. Structure of the study
The study begins with an introduction including the rationale, aims and significance of the
study as well as the method and design of the study. The subsequent chapters present the main
body of the research. Chapter I reviews the literature on syllabus design. Chapter II consists of
three sections. i.e., situational analysis, needs analysis, and a proposed needs-based syllabus. The
Conclusion summarizes the main ideas of the study, and suggestions for the syllabus trialing and

Waters (1987, p.80) hold that at its simplest level a syllabus can be described as a statement of
what is to be learnt. It reflects language and linguistic performance.
This is a rather traditional interpretation of syllabus focusing as it does on outcomes rather
than process. However, a syllabus can also be seen as a "summary of the content to which
learners will be exposed" (Yalden,1987, p.87). It is seen as an approximation of what will be
taught and that it cannot accurately predict what will be learnt.

1.2. Definition of Syllabus Design
The terms "syllabus", "syllabus design" and "curriculum" have given rise to confusion in
terms of their definitions and use. According to Stern (1983, p.45) the field of curriculum studies
is part of the discipline of educational studies. In its broadest sense, it refers to the study of goals,
content, implementation and evaluation of an educational system. In its restricted sense,
curriculum refers to a course of study or the content of a particular course or programme. It is in
this narrower sense of curriculum that the term "syllabus" is employed. According to Stern,
"syllabus design" is just one phase in a system of interrelated curriculum development activities.
After having understood what the terms "curriculum" and language "syllabus" refer to, the next
step would be to come to terms with what language "syllabus design" encompasses.

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According to Webb (1976, p.20), syllabus design is understood as the organization of the
selected contents into an ordered and practical sequence for teaching purposes. His criteria for
syllabus design are as follows:
 Progress from known to unknown matter
 Appropriate size of teaching units
 A proper variety of activity
 Teachability
 Creating a sense of purpose for the student.
Garcia (1976, p.116) expands on this and provides more comprehensive criteria which should
be taken into consideration when designing a language syllabus. He says that "particulars
concerning the social forces, the prejudices, the habits and the motives of the student population,

Internal to the learner
Other directed
Inner directed or self fulfilling
Determined by authority
Negotiated between learners and teachers
Teacher as decision-maker
Learner and teacher as joint decision
makers
Content = what the subject is to the expert
Content = what the subject is to the learner
Content = a gift to the learner from the
teacher or knower
Content = what the learner brings and
wants
Objectives defined in advance
Objectives described afterwards
Assessment by achievement or by mastery
Assessment in relationship to learners'
criteria of success
Doing things to the learner
Doing things for or with the learner.

Source: White(1998,p.59)

These two types of syllabi can be subdivided into six different sub-types of syllabus:
structural syllabus, notional/functional syllabus, situational syllabus, skill-based syllabus,
content-based-syllabus, and task-based syllabus.
In the structural (formal) syllabus, the content of language teaching is a collection of the
forms and structures, usually grammatical, of the language being taught. Examples include
nouns, verbs, adjectives, statements, questions, subordinate clauses, and so on.

communicative and cognitive processes. An example of content-based language teaching is a
science class taught in the language the students need or want to learn, possibly with linguistic
adjustment to make the science more comprehensible. In general, the six types of syllabi or
instructional content are presented beginning with the one based most on structure, and ending
with the one based most on language use. Language is a relationship between form and meaning,
and most instruction emphasizes one or the other side of this relationship.

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The task-based syllabus is considered to be very popular today. Its content of the teaching
is a series of complex and purposeful tasks that the students want or need to perform with the
language they are learning. The tasks are defined as activities with a purpose other than language
learning, but, as in a content-based syllabus, the performance of the tasks is approached in a way
that is intended to develop second language ability. Language learning is subordinate to task
performance, and language teaching occurs only as the need arises during the performance of a
given task. Tasks integrate language (and other) skills in specific settings of language use. Task-
based teaching differs from situation-based teaching in that while situational teaching has the
goal of teaching the specific language content that occurs in the situation (a predefined product),
task-based teaching has the goal of teaching students to draw on resources to complete some
piece of work (a process). The students draw on a variety of language forms, functions, and
skills, often in an individual and unpredictable way, in completing the tasks. Tasks that can be
used for language learning are, generally, tasks that the learners actually have to perform in any
case. Examples include: applying for a job, talking with a social worker, getting housing
information over the telephone, and so on.
All these six types of syllabus reflect different views on language, language learning and
language teaching. Since the students of Tourism at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts are
supposed to work in the Tourism Sector after graduation, they are actually learning English for
occupational purposes. In their future careers, they are expected to undertake various tasks using
English. Therefore, I believe a task based syllabus is more appropriate to these students than
other types of syllabus. As a result, only the task based syllabus is discussed in detail in
subsequent sections.

drawing a map while listening to a tape, listening to an instruction and performing a command
may be referred to as tasks. Tasks may or may not involve the production of language. A task
usually requires the teacher to specify what will be regarded as successful completion of the task.
The use of a variety of different kinds of tasks in language teaching is said to make language
teaching more communicative … since it provides a purpose for a classroom activity which goes
beyond the practice of language for its own sake. (Richards, Platt and Weber, 1986, p. 289).
In this definition, we can see that the authors take a pedagogical perspective. Tasks are
defined in terms of what the learners will do in class rather than in the world outside the
classroom. They also emphasize the importance of having a non-language outcome.

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A pedagogical task can also be seen as any structured language learning endeavour
which has a particular objective, appropriate content, a specified working procedure, and a range
of outcomes for those who undertake the task. 'Task' is therefore assumed to refer to a range of
work plans which have the overall purposes of facilitating language learning - from the simple
and brief exercise type, to more complex and lengthy activities such as group problem-solving or
simulations and decision-making. (Breen, 1987, p. 23)
This definition is very broad, implying as it does, that just about anything the learner
does in the classroom qualifies as a task. It could, in fact, be used to justify any procedure at all
as 'task-based', and, as such, is not particularly helpful. More circumscribed is the following from
Willis (1996, p.173 cited in Willis and Willis, 2001). A classroom undertaking "…where the
target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an
outcome". Here the notion of meaning is subsumed in 'outcome'. Language in a communicative
task is seen as bringing about an outcome through the exchange of meanings.

1.4.3. Task-based Language Teaching
More detailed definition of task-based language approach of Nunan published in 2001 is
the following (cited in Le Van Canh, 2004): a task based language teaching approach is
characterized by:
a) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.

prepare a report of how they completed a task, or a project, and the teacher can record this report
and analyse it for further work. The tasks based syllabus characteristics are:
1. Task based instruction is powerful and widely applicable
2. Suitable for learners at all ages and backgrounds
3. Addresses the crucial problems directly by using active and real tasks as learning
activities
4. Ability to perform the tasks is equivalent with the ability to use the language, so
functional ability should be the natural outcome
5. It can be very affective when learners are engaged in similar out of class activities
(social or academic)
6. Useful for learners who are not accustomed to traditional classroom.
However, like any other type of syllabus, the task-based syllabus has its own advantages
and disadvantages. Four major advantages of a task based syllabus include: Adequate

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consideration of needs analysis, Authenticity of materials, Humanistic orientation, and Variety of
tasks.
The adequate consideration of needs analysis means that tasks are selected based on the
needs analysis of learners. As a result, they can satisfy their demands. Moreover, a task is a
communicative activity that does not usually have a restrictive focus on a single grammatical
structure. It also had a non-linguistic outcome (Nunan, 2000). Consequently these authentic tasks
can promote students‘ motivation and interest, which are of great importance to the second
language acquisition.
The Authenticity of materials manifests itself in the fact that tasks involve authentic
materials targeted real-life contexts. The authentic input, therefore, will facilitate students‘
foreign language acquisition. In addition, authentic material and situations shall promote
learners‘ ability of coping with real problems.
Regarding Humanistic orientation, students, in the process of completing the task, are
encouraged to negotiate their meaning, to cooperate with other members in the group.
Consequently, their communicative competence is developed. More importantly, they learn to be

to grade the difficulty level of task. Although many criteria of grading the task have been put
forward as Nunan (2000), it still remains a difficult job as suggested by Widdowson (1968,
pp.134-44) ―identification of valid, user-friendly sequencing criteria is one of the oldest unsolved
problems in language teaching of all kinds‖ Naturally we found many scholars like Cheng (2002)
hold the similar idea. He further points out that ―the difficulty level of a certain task is not solely
depend on the linguistic items, but it also has something to do with other factors such as the
knowledge, the cognitive ability of the task performer and the objective of the task (p.30)‖. To
make things even worse, Schinnerer-Erben claimed that ―natural sequences do not really exist in
sufficient detail to be used as the basis for a precise order, nor have they been shown to facilitate
learning in a second language situation‖ (1981, p.11).
Scant attention to form is another concern about the task based syllabus. Still some scholars
show their concern about potential tendency generated by task-based syllabus, that is, student
will pay less attention to the form of language. As suggested by Skehan (1996) excessive focus
on meaning during task completion will confine learners to the strategic solutions they develop
and pay little attention to structural change or accuracy. This has been echoed by Kellerman
(1991) who argues that the widespread use of communication strategies will help the learner
succeed with meaning while having the consequence of sometimes bypassing form. ―As a result,
it may not be possible to rely on a task-based approach to automatically drive interlanguage
forward, and it will be necessary "to devise methods of focusing on form without losing the

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values of tasks as realistic communication motivators, and as opportunities to trigger
acquisitional processes" (Skehan 1996, p.42).
Finally, problems in practice have been highlighted by critiques of task based syllabus.
Task-based syllabus makes the teaching job demanding. As we can see, task-based syllabus
poses a great challenge to the proficiency level of the teachers, which might be a problem in the
EFL situation. Also the authentic data, the design of authentic tasks might become the obstacles
to the implementation of the syllabus.
As mentioned earlier, students of Tourism at Nghe An College of Culture and Arts study
English for occupational purposes. Therefore, the English they need belongs to the English for

- Taught according to any pre-ordained methodology
With specific purposes in mind, the learners know clearly what they need to learn, and
they will learn with high motivation what they find useful for their work later or at present. For
this reason, an ESP teacher should be aware of the learners‘ needs so as not to introduce
irrelevant materials to the course.
From the definitions and characteristics of task based syllabus and ESP, we can see that,
task based syllabus can help ESP learners to achieve their goals. Although task based syllabus
has some shortcomings, tasks satisfy the practical needs of learners. In case of students of
Tourism, tasks are very necessary for them. With tasks given, learners are not restricted in their
use of language forms and tasks bear a relationship to real-world activities. Authentic tasks are
intrinsically motivating. That is, students attempt them because they see that the task is, in itself,
interesting and applicable to their work.

1.5 . Summary
This chapter reviews the literature on syllabus design. Six different types of syllabus are
reviewed with a focus on the merits and demerits of the task based syllabus. Also, issues related
to ESP are discussed. The next chapter discusses two important considerations in syllabus
design, i.e., situational analysis and needs analysis.
16
CHAPTER 2. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
AND NEEDS ANALYSIS

This chapter discusses Situational Considerations and Needs Analysis in syllabus design.
Since education is influenced by a variety of different factors, syllabus designers have to take

To be admitted to the college, students of tourism have to pass an entrance exam with
three subjects including Literature, History and Geography. It is impossible to measure their
English levels because they do not have to take an exam of English before enrolling in the
program. Most of the students are from Nghe An and Ha Tinh. Some of them are from rural and
mountainous areas in which there are even no English teaching programs at secondary school.
Thus, the students‘ levels vary considerably.
Often, some students have negative attitudes toward communicative practices because
they have no means and no environment to practice. Another factor that must be considered is
the conventional teacher-centered instruction in college English education, where the teacher is
the center of the classroom, giving instructions with little feedback from students. All of the
topics, materials, contents and activities are decided by the teacher without any reference to
students‘ needs or the target needs. The students have a few chances to choose what they like,
which undermines their intrinsic motivation. Another social point that needs to be taken into
consideration is that Confucianism has a long history in Vietnam, which stresses modesty. This
attitude imposes a far-reaching impact on Vietnamese. College students, as social members,
often keep reserved and demonstrate less commitment to speak English in public, which
demotivate themselves in learning oral English.
Students should be involved in different task-based activities in their classroom whether
it is a guessing task, a describing exercise or conversation making. For example, they can play
roles as tour guide, receptionist or tourists. Such activities also include games which especially
focus on helping learners develop and use English in different contexts by making the lessons
enjoyable.
It is very necessary to develop critical thinking of students in colleges. It develops and
demonstrates critical thinking skills as students take positions in response to a question, consider
other viewpoints, identify reasons in support of their positions, evaluate supporting reasons for
truth and acceptability, and draw final conclusions based on discussion and it also takes
responsibility for their own learning and for evaluating their own thoughts.

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and neither were they trained in tourism-related content. Therefore, the teachers of English have
to collect teaching materials and compile a book of tourism by themselves.
In terms of the College‘s physical conditions, one of the problems facing students is the
large class size and the arrangement of furniture, which makes movement during speaking
activities almost impossible. Many of students are unconfident in communicating English with
others. One of the main causes of this situation is that they do not have the communicative
environment. They often use Vietnamese when discussing, talking to their peers in the class.
Moreover, extracurricular activities such as games, contests, cultural exchanges related to
English learning are hardly organized. Also, my students have no chance to get access to
modern mediums of communication. There are no language labs, projectors, internet, and
movies. Some of the students ever said to me that ―we do like English, we want to practice as
much as possible, especially we would like to talk with foreigners to improve our English and
know their cultural aspects as well…‖ In fact, their expectations are yet to be responded because
there are a few foreigners in the areas for them to talk to. Besides, classroom environment with
unavailable modern mediums prevent them from becoming good English speakers.
To address these problems it is necessary to improve the school facilities and to create the
target language environment for the students. However, these are not realistic at least in the time
to come. Hence, I believe that one possible solution is to design a task based syllabus instead of
the current structural syllabus .A task based syllabus, with its focus on specific tasks with
simulate real life tasks, will give students opportunities to do something with the language inside
the classroom. This is expected to compensate for the shortage of facilities and the target
language environment.

2.1.5. Assessment and Evaluation Requirements
Testing and assessment are very important in learning activities because through
assessment, two functions are achieved. One is to get back and encourage and improve the
teaching, another is to choose excellent students and find some problems in teaching and
learning. Through assessment, we should know what knowledge the students have mastered and
what knowledge they haven‘t mastered. The assessment can really help students to learn better.

knowledge of beautiful sightseeing in Vietnam in English, help them to practice the skills needed
for a tourguide so that they can be confident to serve their future job.
However, after several years of being implemented, the syllabus has revealed many
limitations. The common concern among teachers in the department is that the syllabus fails to
prepare the students adequately for their future jobs which require them the ability to use English

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in carrying out a variety of tasks. This motivates me to attempt to design a new syllabus which is
more task-oriented.

2.2. Task-based Needs Analysis
According to the task-based syllabus proposed by Long and Crookes (1992, p. 26), TBLT
adopts tasks as the analytic unit of the syllabus and organizes a course around different types of
tasks. Principles underlying TBLT also emphasize the importance of developing pedagogic tasks
based on real-world tasks that learners need to perform using the target language after or during
the course. As a result, to develop a TBLT program, it is necessary to conduct a task-based needs
analysis to identify real-world target tasks and to develop pedagogic tasks based on these. Task-
based needs analysis is assumed to enhance the real-world relevance of the course and increase
student interest and motivation. Robinson (2001) has noted:
Adopting tasks as the unit of analysis helps to ensure a high degree of real-world
relevance, since they are based on a needs analysis of target performance objectives,
thereby most likely increasing student interest and motivation in classroom pedagogic
activities, and the possibility of direct transfer of the abilities developed in classrooms to
similar situational contexts (p. 292).
Task-based needs analysis (Long, 2005, p.45) is distinguished from a traditional needs
analysis framework such as target situation analysis (Munby, 1978), present situation analysis
(Richterich & Chancerel, 1980), and learning centered approach (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) in
that the former adopts tasks as the unit of analysis and syllabus design while the latter have used
linguistic categories (lexical, structural, notional, and/or functional) as the units of analysis. Long
(2005) also claims that task-based needs analysis has advantages over other traditional needs

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