VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
DOÃN THỊ LAN ANH
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING
AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ESP READING SKILLS AS
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS
AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
(Khảo sát tính hiệu quả của việc sử dụng tài liệu gốc như là công cụ bổ
trợ cho việc dạy kỹ năng đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cho sinh viên năm
thứ hai tại Học viện Y-Dược học cổ truyền Việt Nam)
M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2015
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
DOÃN THỊ LAN ANH
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING
AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ESP READING SKILLS AS
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS
AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
(Khảo sát tính hiệu quả của việc sử dụng tài liệu gốc như là công cụ bổ
trợ cho việc dạy kỹ năng đọc tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cho sinh viên năm
thứ hai tại Học viện Y-Dược học cổ truyền Việt Nam)
M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Văn Độ

especially my younger brother. Without their love, understanding and
encouragement, I could not have concentrated on my study and fulfilled my thesis
on schedule.

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ABSTRACT
Materials play an extremely important role in language teaching and learning
(Robinson, 1991; Nunan, 1991). They are not only considered as a resource of
useful and interesting information but a motivation for learners to study and acquire
their language as well (Dudley-Evans & John, 1998; Nonaka, 2001). Therefore,
developing suitable materials for learners is a necessary in English language
teaching.
This study is conducted with an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of using
authentic materials as supplementary materials realized in an extensive reading
program on the students’ reading proficiency and the attitude of students after
exposure to program so as to meet the needs of the students at Vietnam University
of Traditional Medicine for a way to access real-life language.
In order to collect information on the students’ reading ability, motivation and
attitude towards the treatment given through the experiment, a pre-test, a post-test
and an attitude questionnaire are chosen as the main instruments. The study drew the
participation of 58 non-English major students. The findings suggest positive effects
of using authentic materials as supplementary materials and provide conclusive
evidence of reading fluency improvement together with a positive attitude towards
program.
The findings are a good reflection of the research issue and draw some implications
for the ESP teaching and learning, which necessitates the supplementation of
authentic materials for extensive reading as a remedial approach to the teaching and
learning reading comprehension not only in the context of Vietnam University of
Traditional Medicine but to other similar contexts as well.
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: English Language Teaching
: Communicative Language Teaching
: General English
: English for Specific Purposes
: English for Medical Purposes
: Extensive Reading Program
: Number of cases
: Percentage

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LIST OF TABLES
TABLES
Table 1 Descriptive statistics for the pre-test and post-test scores of the
experimental and control group 29
Table 2 Mean gains of the experimental and control group 30
Table 3 Experimental subjects’ attitudes toward the program 31
Table 4 Experimental subjects’ preference of the post-reading
activities 33
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PART A. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
One of the most challenging tasks constantly facing language teachers is how to capture the
interest and to stimulate the imagination of their students so that they will be more
motivated to learn. To this end, the ongoing search for and the development of meaningful
teaching materials, which often can be used to supplement the textbook for a course, is a
critical planning activity to be done by teachers.
On materials, textbook can be seen the visible heart of English Language Teaching (ELT).
There are many advantages of using textbook suggested by the researchers. For example,
textbooks help to standardize instruction and assessment. That is, by giving students in
different classes the same textbook, teachers can teach and test them in the same way

students and give them more stimulation in learning a language.
1.2 Rationale
Since 1988, English has experienced its popularity in teaching and learning in Vietnam.
Learners of English differ in their ages, purposes as well as their level of proficiency.
However, all of them have the same desire of mastering English so that they can use it
effectively in their current and future situations. Teachers are required to teach English to
students from various fields such as architecture, engineering, medicine, science, business,
tourism, etc. This is why the demand for learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has
been spread nationwide.
ESP is taught in almost universities due to the social needs. Most of English departments
offer courses in ESP as well as General English (GE) during the academic years. Vietnam
University of Traditional Medicine (VUTM) is a typical example of the training institutions
that combines ESP within its current English teaching situation in response to the demand
for specific language learning target.
Being ambitious to provide society with high qualified doctors who are active, creative,
flexible and adaptable to the rapid change of advanced health care system in the world,
since the academic year 2005, English for medical purposes (EMP) has been paid attention
and has been included as compulsory subject in the curriculum of training students for
different discipline areas at VUTM such as: traditional medical doctor degree (6-year-
course and 4-year-course), nursing college, traditional medical technicians. Being aware of
English serving as a bridge to connect Vietnam’s medicine to world’s advanced medicines,
much attempt has been made to improve the teaching and learning English in medicine. The
principle purpose of this course is to help students cope with materials on Medicine in
English, thus they can read medical books, journals and other related reference materials for
current study as well as for further study for their work after graduation.
However, up to now, teaching and learning ESP, especially teaching and learning ESP
reading has been under our expectation. It is believed the most difficult course by both the
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teaching staff and the students. After some years, the materials, which has been used
revealed failure to meet the students’ needs and not very motivating them. The materials so

acquisition.
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3. Finds out how students respond to the use of authentic materials and to lay grounds
for the further research.
1.4 The scope of study
Considering the problems that have been formulated above, as this is only a small-sized
scale study, the scope of the study is to find out whether or not authentic material is
effective to improve student’s reading proficiency for the second-year students who are
trained to be traditional medical doctors at VUTM. Also, a number of issues would be best
deal with in a further study, for example, using authentic materials for other objects such as
specialists, pharmacists, nurses or designing supplementary materials on ESP program, and
so on.
1.5 Research hypotheses
According to Hatch and Farhady (1982:85-86), the most common hypothesis used in
experimental study is null hypothesis, stating that there is no difference between the sample
and the population after receiving the special treatment. Since this study is aimed at
investigating the effectiveness of using authentic materials in teaching ESP reading skills, it
was designed to test the following hypothesis:
H1: There is a significant correlation between teachers’ use of authentic materials as
supplementary materials and students’ reading performance as measured by their
achievement test scores at the end of the experiment.
The acceptance of this hypothesis would result in the rejection to the following null
hypothesis or vice versa:
H0: There is no correlation between teachers’ use of authentic materials as supplementary
materials and students’ reading performance as measured by their achievement test scores
at the end of the experiment.
In order to test the hypothesis that is stated above, a quasi-experimental design was
adopted. This research design allows the researcher to either accept or reject the null
hypothesis (H0).
In addition, a student questionnaire was developed and administered to the students in an

subjects at exactly the same time; hence the data are more uniform, standard and accurate.
1.6.2 Data Analysis
The data of this research is analysed through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Thus, the
procedures of analysing the data are as follows:
1. Analysing test of normality distribution and homogeneity variance taken from
student’s pre-test and post-test score in both groups.
2. Analysing student’s pre-test and post-test score in both groups using t-test in order
to find out whether or not the mean in pre-test and post-test of both groups have significant
difference.
3. Determining the student’s point of view (response) using percentage.
4. Interpreting the findings in order to give the explanation about the result of the
study.
1.7 Significance of the study
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It has long been believed that material development plays an essential role in English
teaching, therefore, it is hoped that the authentic materials to be used will help to facilitate
and motivate students better in ESP classes and the results of this study might give the
suggestions of using authentic materials as supplementary materials to the teachers so they
can design and develop their new program and curricula in teaching ESP reading skills in
order that they will be able to provide the best achievement in students’ acquisition of the
language and also highest motivation of their students in ESP reading classes.
1.8 Design of the study
The study is organized into three parts as follows:
Part A provides an overview of the study in which the introduction, the rationales for the
study, the aims and objectives, the research hypothesis and questions, the scope, the
significance, the research method as well as the design of the study are briefly presented.
Part B is organized in 4 chapters as follow:
Chapter One reviews the literature relevant and closely related to the study including the
features of ESP in general and medical English in particular, the textbook evaluation,
textbook use and adaptation, authentic materials and the effect of using authentic materials

is based on two criteria and a number of characteristics that are generally found to be true
of ESP. Her first criterion is that “ESP is normally goal directed” (Robinson, 1991:2). She
claims that a lot of students study English not because they are interested in English
language or English - language culture, but because they need English for their job or study
proposes. The second criterion is that “an ESP course is based on a needs analysis, which
aims to specify as closely as possible what exactly it is that students have to do through the
medium of English” (Robinson, 1991:3). She also gives a number of characteristics
explaining that ESP courses are generally constrained by a limited time period, in which
their objectives have to be achieved; and are taught to adult in homogenous classes with the
learning content related to the students’ work or specialist studies.
Dudley-Evans and Jo St John (1998) believe that “a definition of ESP should reflect the
fact that much ESP teaching, especially where it is specifically linked to a particular
profession or discipline, makes use of a methodology that differs from that used in General
Purpose English teaching”. In ESP class, the teachers are more of language consultants,
enjoying equal status with the learners who have their own expertise in the subject matter,
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and the interaction between the teacher and learners may be very
different from that in a general English class.
1.1.2 Characteristics of ESP
Dudley-Evans and Jo St John (1998:4-5), in a more recent study, have modified Strevens’
definition of ESP and exposited their review in the essence of ESP from the following two
perspectives: absolute and variable characteristics which differentiate them
from General English.
1. Absolute characteristics: a) ESP is designed to meet specific needs of
the learners; b) ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and
activities of the disciplines it serves; and c) ESP is centered on the
language (grammar, lexis, and register), skills, discourse and genres
appropriate to these activities.
2. Variable characteristics: a) ESP may be related to or designed for
specific disciplines; b) ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a

and have specific features, the teachers who teach such courses need to play different roles
and acquire certain knowledge.
1.2 English for medical purposes (EMP) and its characteristics
1.2.1 Definition of EMP
The term “English for Medical Purposes (EMP)” refers to “the teaching of English for
doctors, nurses, and other personnel in the medical professions”. It involves the teaching
and learning of English for a utilitarian purpose, an identifiable goal-typically, the
successful performance of the work or the optimum effectiveness of medical training. In
general terms, EMP (a) is designed to meet the specific English language needs of the
medical learners (e.g. nurses, GP, dentists, etc.); (b) focuses on themes and topic specific to
the medical field; (c) focuses on a restricted range of skills which may be required by the
medical learners (e.g. for writing a medical paper, medical history, preparing a talk for a
medical meeting, etc.)
EMP can be considered as a specific sub-branch of ESP. What distinguishes EMP from
other ESP sub-branches is that EMP has its own set of medical discourse. Medical
discourse is a particular terminology employed to effectively and accurately achieve a
communicative purpose in health care settings such as diagnosis (Gylys and Wedding,
1983).
1.2.2 Characteristics of EMP
1.2.2.1 Characteristics of medical terminology
1. English medical terms derive from Greece and Latin, especially derivatives and
compound words. Quite a few elements forming word originated from Greece such as:
Prefixes: anti, auto, hyper, neo, hypo, meta, para etc.
Suffixes: -algia (pain), -pathy (disease), -oid (resemble), etc.
2. Medical terms are compound nouns of Latin origins:
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Noun + noun: ilio-costal, laterro - abdominal
Adj + noun: mal; mal – practice
3. Medical terms are French origins: E.g. poison, physician, malady, plaque
4. Besides, we can find some other English medical terms that originate from Italian,

patients these sentences “I’ll have to check their labels first. However, you need to drink
some kinds of vitamins. You should take an additional calcium supplement. You need about
1,000 milligrams of calcium each day to keep your bones and teeth strong”
b) Mood
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Mood is a set of contrasts which are often shown by the form of the verb and which express
the speaker’s or writer’s attitude to what is said or written. Three moods have often been
distinguished: indicative, imperative, subjunctive moods.
Indicative mood is the form of the verb used in declarative sentences or questions. In
medical English, declarative sentences or questions are commonly used in conversations
between doctors and patients as the following example.
Doctor: How are you felling today?
Patient: I don’t feel well.
Doctor: What’s wrong? Can you tell me how you feel?
Patient: Well, I have a terrible headache.
Doctor: Hmm… anything else? Does your throat hurt?
Imperative mood is the form of the verb in imperative sentences which are mainly used in
giving medical orders or instructions such as a doctor asks a nurse to take her patient to the
lab to do some tests or she/ he instructs her/his patient when performing a physical
examination. For instance, imperative sentences “Take a couple deep breaths” to a patient
or “Take her /his temperature, please!” to a nurse.
Subjunctive mood is the form of the verb often used to express uncertainty, wishes, desires,
etc. In contrast to the indicative mood, the subjunctive usually refers to non- factual or
hypothetical situations. In English, little use of the subjunctive forms remains Therefore, in
medical English subjunctive sentences are hardly used due to its nature.
c) Voice
According to Richards and Platts (1992:402), voice is the way in which a language
expresses the relationship between a verb and the noun phrases which are associated with it.
Two sentences can differ in voice and yet have the same basic meaning; active voice and
passive voice. However, there may be a change in emphasis and one type of sentence may

- If you feel queasy, nauseous or faint, please let me know.
- If you have a parent or sibling with Type I diabetes, your chance of developing the disease
increases.
Reason clauses are used to indicate the reason for something. These main conjunctions
used in reason clause are: as, because, in case, just in case or since…….are often used to
give explanations on causes of diseases such as: “Lack of insulin results in diabetes
because insulin plays an important role in making glucose -the body’s fuel available to
cells.”
Time clauses are used to say when something happens by referring to a period of time or to
another event. Such adverbs of time as when, while, after, before, until… are often used to
describe symptoms or nursing, treating procedures or development of diseases. For
examples:
- One or two days after the fever begins, painful sores develop in the mouth. (Pagina, 2000).
- When fluid ceases to flow, remove both the needle and the syringe together (Dougherty and
Lister, 2006).
- You may need to lower your insulin dose before an unusual physical activity (Epstein and
Perkin, 2003).
1.3 Textbook evaluation
In spite of the fact that textbook is regarded as “the visible heart of any ELT programme”
(Sheldon, 1988:237) and that “The textbook is an almost universal element of ELT
teaching” (Hutchinson, 1994:315), controversy over the roles of EFL textbook in teaching
and learning a foreign language still apparently exists. Sheldon (1988:239) reveals both
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theoretical and practical problems with textbooks, the main idea being “ textbooks merely
grow from and imitate other textbooks and do not admit the winds of change from
research, methodological experimentation, or classroom feedback”. Hutchinson and Torres
(1994), on the other hand, argue that the textbook has a vital and positive role to play in the
teaching and learning process, especially during periods of change. “Textbooks, we shall
argue, survive and prosper primarily because they are the most convenient means of
providing the structure that the teaching-learning system-particularly the system of

1.4.1 The role of reading materials
To all Vietnamese students in classes for non-language majors in general and to traditional
medical students at Vietnam University of Traditional Medicine (VUTM) in particular,
reading is a task that they do every day. It is an integral part of their work to pass the exam
or to improve their knowledge.
Alderson (2000) defines reading as “ an enjoyable, intensive, private activity, from which
much pleasure can be derived, and in which one can become totally absorbed”. Reading
means different things to different people, for some it is recognizing written words, while
for other it is an opportunity to teach pronunciation and practice speaking. However,
reading always has a purpose, and reading for learning is considered to be the type of
reading done in the classroom and is goal oriented. Referring to materials, Alderson
(2000:28) defines reading materials as “anything which is used to help to teach language
learners”. Brown (1985:139) defines materials as “any systematic description of the
techniques and exercises to be used in classroom teaching”.
Materials not only play an active part in a curriculum, but also are one of decisive elements
in enhancing students’ motivation. According to Dudley-Evans & St John (1998:171), there
are some reasons why materials are used, which are really significant in the ESP context: a)
as a sort of language; b) as a learning support; c) for motivation and stimulation; d) for
references. And “Materials then play a crucial role in exposing learners to the language,
which implies that the materials need to present real language, as it is used, and the full
range that learners requires”.
1.4.2 Definitions of authentic materials
The term “authentic materials” has been defined in a number of ways. Nunan (1988:99-
102) provides the conventional definition of authentic texts like this: “Authentic materials
are usually defined as those which have been produced for purposes other than to teach
language”, in contrast to non-authentic texts that are especially designed for language
purposes. Also, authentic materials are materials created for native speaker of the language
and use in a class in its original form and design. In other words, they are not changed in
any way.
Sharing the same points of view, Wallace (1992:145) defines authentic materials as “…

face the real world and need to have learned skills which can help them in coping with real
situations outside of the class, so the teacher has to prepare the learners for the actual use of
the language which can be accomplished by using authentic materials. Besides, a variety of
text types and language styles of authentic materials also affect learners’ motivation
positively. It is very difficult to find this variety in conventional teaching materials,
particularly in textbooks, which include only the proper and fluent language (Martinez,
2002). It also means that it is easier to find something in authentic materials that will
interest learners and may encourage them to read and enjoy reading since they are likely to
contain topics of interest to learners, especially if learners are given the chance to have a
say about the topics used in the class. As a result, learners will keep high motivation and
interest in language learning through these meaningful interactions with the materials.
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Nunan (1999:212) also supports: “The use of authentic sources leads to greater interest
and variety in the material that learners deal with in the classroom. This authentic material
helps bring the contact to life, and ultimately makes learning and using language more
meaningful, and, ultimately, easy for students”.
Second, authentic materials provide authentic cultural information. According to Spelleri
(2002), authentic materials have at least three layers of learning embedded within them:
language (the structure and vocabulary), cultural insights (cultural norms and values of the
community in which this language is used) and practical application (using the item in the
way it was intended). These layers motivate learners intrinsically because they have the
chance to enjoy both learning the language and the culture where this language is spoken
and putting what they have learned into practice as used in real world. In that way, they can
understand the value of learning a language. Also, Shanahan (1997:168) states: “Cultural
content [richly found in authentic materials] provides exposures to living language that a
foreign language student lacks. So, culture is not something consisting of facts to be learnt,
but a helpful tool to make learners feel the need to speak and use the target language”.
Third, authentic materials provide exposure to real life. Martinez (2000) points out that
using authentic materials is an ideal way to contextualize language learning. When used in
class, authentic materials provide learners with the chance to read, rehearse, practice and

motivated, or even develop negative attitudes towards these kinds of materials (Richards
2001: 253; Matinez 2002; Peacock, 1997)
The second problem may be caused by the too culturally biased content of the authentic
materials (Matinez, 2002). Often being prepared for native speakers in a specific language
community, some authentic materials can only be understood with readers’ good
knowledge of cultural background. This may discourage both teachers and learners from
using authentic materials in language teaching and learning.
The third problem is that obtaining and adapting authentic materials can be time-
consuming because they require careful selection and special preparation to suit every
teaching situations and objectives. Teachers may need to spend hours and hours selecting
and preparing these materials until they finally have what they need and figure out how to
use them effectively in the classroom. What’s more, since these materials can become
outdated easily, such as stories, news in newspapers or magazines, so updating new
materials to fit learners’ needs and interest is considered to be so time-consuming. (Matinez
2002; Peacock, 1997)
Another possible shortcoming of using authentic materials may come out when students
learn a language for the sole purpose of getting success in an examination that focuses
largely on the knowledge of a language such as grammatical structures or/and lexical items.
This problem obviously has a negative impact on developing learners’ language skills. In
fact, if learners are presented with authentic texts that may not give the rules, patterns, or
structures they need in order to pass an exam, they may get frustrated and consider them as
an obstacle to their success. It even becomes worse if the wrong type of text is chosen with
linguistic demands irrelevant to learners’ needs and interest (Murdoch, 1999)
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