iii

ABSTRACT

In teaching vocabulary in general and ESP vocabulary in particular, teachers employ many
techniques and activities in order to help their students retain learned lexical items.
Therefore, this thesis is carried out with the aim to: (1) investigates the difficulties
encountered by the second year students at AETD, SDU when learning ESP vocabulary,
(2) to find out the techniques/ activities that teachers at SDU used in teaching ESP
vocabulary, and (3) to find out how far the use of simulation tasks improve ESP
vocabulary for the second year students at AETD, SDU.
To achieve the given aim of the study, a pre – task survey questionnaire and a post – task
questionnaire have been designed to gather information from 170 students. The findings
show that pronunciation and retention of word meaning are factors prevent students from
mastering vocabulary and among various techniques employed by the teachers at SDU,
simulation tasks prove its effectiveness in the ESP vocabulary improvement of the
students.


iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Declaration…………………………………………………………………………….

i

Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………

ii



2

5. Scope of the study…………………………………………………………………..

3

6. Design of the study…………………………………………………………………

3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Simulation………………………………………………………………………...

4

1.1.1 Definitions………………………………………………………………………. 4
1.1.2 Characteristics of simulation……………………………………………………

5

1.1.2.1 Reality of function……………………………………………………………

5

1.1.2.2 Simulated environment………………………………………………………

5


1.2.4.2 Meaning……………………………………………………………………….

12

1.2.4.3 Usage………………………………………………………………………….

12

1.3 Techniques in vocabulary teaching…………………………………………….

14

1.3.1 Techniques in presenting and practising new words……………………………

14

1.3.1.1 Presenting techniques…………………………………………………………

14

1.3.1.2 Practising techniques………………………………………………………….

15

1.3.2 Vocabulary teaching in ESP……………………………………………………

17

1.3.3 Simulation tasks in ESP vocabulary teaching…………………………………..



2.2.3 Instruments……………………………………………………………………… 23
2.2.3.1 The pre – task questionaire……………………………………………………

23

2.2.3.2 The post – task questionaire…………………………………………………..

23

2.2.3.3 Interview………………………………………………………………………. 24
2.2.5 Study procedures………………………………………………………………... 24
2.2.5 Data analysis…………………………………………………………………….

24

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
3.1 Data analysis of the pre – task survey questionaire……………………………

25

3.1.1 The students’ perception and purpose in learning ESP vocabulary……………..

25

3.1.1.1 The students’ opinion of the importance of ESP vocabulary learning………..

25

3.1.1.1 The students’s purpose in learning ESP vocabulary………………………….

3.1.4.2 Techniques exploited by the teachers in practising ESP vocabulary…………
3.1.4.3 Techniques exploited by the teachers in consolidating ESP vocabulary……...

31
32

3.1.4.4 The students’ expectation toward teacher’s vocabulary teaching techniques... 33
3.2 Data analysis of the post – task survey questionaires………………………….

34

3.2.1 The impact of simulation tasks on the students’ interest and participation……..

34


vii

3.2.1.1 The students’ interest in simulation tasks……………………………………

34

3.2.1.2 The students’ participation in simulation tasks………………………………

34

3.2.1.3 The students’s feelings after taking part in simulation tasks…………………

35


3.4 Sample of simulation tasks used in ESP teaching……………………………...

42

PART C: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
1. Summary of the findings…………………………………………………………… 45
2. Suggestions on applying simulation tasks to improve ESP vocabulary……………

45

3. Limitations of the study and Recommendations for further study ………………… 46
4. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….
REFERENCES
APPENDICES

46


viii

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Knowledge of a word
Table 2: Garage job sheet
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Students' opinion of the importance of ESP vocabulary
Figure 2: Students' purpose in learning ESP vocabulary
Figure 3: Students’ evaluation of the amount of ESP terminologies
Figure 4: Students’ evaluation of the difficulty level of ESP terminologies
Figure 5: Students’ difficulties in learning of ESP vocabulary
Figure 6: Factors caused students’ difficulties in learning of ESP vocabulary

ED

: English Division

EGP

: English for General Purposes

ESP

: English for Special Purposes

L2

: Second language

SDU

: Sao Do University

TFLD

: Tourism and Foreign Language Department


1

PART A: INTRODUCTION
This part presents the rationale, aims, research question, research methodology and scope
of the study. In addition, design of the study is also briefly mentioned.

For the above reasons, the author would like to carry out this research entitled, “Using
simulation tasks to improve ESP vocabulary for the second – year students of
Automotive Engineering Technology Department at Sao Do University”. The author does
hope that this study will help the teachers in some ways to find appropriate teaching
method to improve vocabulary for their students.
2. Aims of the study
The study aims at investigating the use of simulation tasks to improve vocabulary among
the second year students at Automotive Engineering Technology Department (AETD),
SDU. The main purposes of the study are summarized below:
1. To investigate the difficulties encountered by the second year students at AETD,
SDU when learning ESP vocabulary.
2. To find out the techniques that teachers at SDU used in teaching ESP vocabulary.
3. To find out how far the use of simulation tasks improved ESP vocabulary for the
second year students at AETD, SDU.
3. Research questions
1. What difficulties do students of Automotive Engineering Technology
Department face with during the process of acquiring vocabulary?
2. What are the techniques that teachers at SDU employ in teaching ESP
vocabulary?
3. How can simulation tasks improve ESP vocabulary for the second year students
at AETD, SDU?
4. Research methodology
The study primarily employs a survey questionnaire to find answers for the research questions
and is conducted mainly with the descriptive - quantitative method. Data is collected
through pre - task survey questionnaires and post – task survey questionnaires delivered to
170 students at SDU. Besides, informal interviews with students are carried out to collect
more information.


3

4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
As mentioned above, vocabulary plays an important role in learning and teaching a
language. Many techniques and activities are employed to enlarge learners’ vocabulary.
Simulation has recently considered one of the most useful activities in improving the
students’s word retention. The literature review has been made in the hope of
demonstrating the scope of the study theoretically in terms of ESP vocabulary and
simulation tasks.
1.1 Simulation
1.1.1 Definitions
Simulation is a kind of potential activity that shows much effectiveness to language
proficiency. The term “simulation” is defined by many researchers and the latest
definitions can be found in “Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied
Linguistics” by Jack C. Richards & Richard Smith(2002, p.487) as follows
“classroom activities which reproduce or simulate real situations and which
often involve dramatization and group discussion… In simulation activities,
learners are given roles in a situation, tasks, or a problem to be solved, and are
given instructions to follow (for example, an employer–employee discussion
over wage increases in a factory) The participants then make decisions and
proposals. Consequences are “simulated” on the basis of decisions the
participants take. They later discuss their actions, feelings, and what
happened.”
This definition seems to cover three definitions of following researchers.
Maley and Duff (1978) call simulation "an attempt to place learners in circumstances
resembling as closely as possible, those they will actually meet with in daily life". Through
this definition, they recognize simulations as involving overt role-playing. On the other
hand, Livingstone (1983) declares that simulation is often a problem-solving activity to
which the student brings his own personality, experience and opinions while Stephen M.

Doff (1990) describes the benefits of using simulation in the language classroom as
follows:
a) They are fun.
b) They help to prepare students for real-life communication by simulating reality in
situations. In this sense, they bridge the gap between the classroom and the world outside
the classroom.
c) They can be used for assessment and feedback purposes at the end of a textbook unit.
d) They can consolidate learning and allow students the opportunity to discover their own
level of mastery over specific language content.


7

e) By simulating reality, they allow beginning students and EFL students to feel that they
are really using the language for a communicative purpose.
f) They heighten students’ self-esteem and improve their ability to work cooperatively.
g) They allow students to experiment with language they have learned.
h) They allow students to express who they are, their sense of humor, and their own
personal communication style.
i) They offer good listening practice.
j) They provide an opportunity for practicing the rules of social behavior and the various
sociolinguistic elements of communication.
k) They engage the learner physically. This involves the learner more fully and can be an
aid in language retention.
l) They can be liberating for many students who may enjoy expressing themselves through
a role or a mask but may be inhibited about expressing themselves otherwise during the
class.
m) They provide a context for understanding attitudes, expectations, and behaviors related
to the target culture.
n) They may be used as a stimulus to discussion and problem solving.

by individual learners are described, and assignments to these parts are made. General
rules of the simulation are introduced at this time.
2) Training: This amounts to a “walk through” of processes to be followed once the
simulation begins. We select several learners, assign those parts, and use them to illustrate
how class members will be involved once the simulation begins.
Following this introductory information, pupils should be allowed to review their roles. If
the simulation features several groups, group members should be allowed to meet to
discuss their roles and to plot preliminary strategy.
3) Activity: This is when the actual simulation activity takes place. During this time, we
play the roles of discussion, coach and referee. At times, students may not grasp the point
of the simulation. We may find it necessary to stop the action for a moment to help pupils
think about their decisions and to explain the purpose of the activity.
It is common for disputes to arise during simulation activities. Often there are situations for
which the rules fail to provide a specific action guideline. When this happens, we need to
intervene and make a ruling that will allow the simulation to continue.
4) Debriefing: This is a critical important part of any simulation activity. During
debriefing, we lead a discussion highlighting various events that occurred during the
activity. The discussion help students recall things that might have escape their notice
during the fast pace of the activity itself. Debriefing discussions sometimes focus on
specific decisions made and their desirability relative to alternatives. Sometimes,


9

debriefing concerns the design of the simulation. Often, individuals will want to critique
their own performances and suggest ways they might act differently were they to do the
exercise another time.
Jones (1989) particularly emphasizes that the procedure of simulation should include the
following steps:
1) Decide on the priority of aims – icebreakers, assessment and so on

text, or when he or she is expressing own ideas in practical communication. So, it would be
impossible for one who does not have enough vocabulary to communicate his ideas as
clearly as he would like either in oral or written.
1.2.2 Vocabulary classification
There have been different ways of classifying vocabulary according to different criteria.
Semantically, vocabulary items are divided into notional or lexical words and functional or
grammatical words. Notional words form a large amount of the speakers’ vocabulary and
address objects, actions, qualities and have meaning in themselves while functional words
only have their meaning in relation to other words with which they are used. Particles,
articles, prepositions, etc. belong to that category.
Grammatically, vocabulary items are classified into different parts of speech such as
nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, etc. Each part of speech has it
own position complying with certain grammatical rules and relating to others.
Morphologically, vocabulary is separated into simple words, derived words and compound
words. Simple words consist of a root morpheme; derived words comprise of a root and
one or more derivational morpheme and compound words have at least two roots with or
without derivational morphemes.
However, methodologically, vocabulary is categorized into active and passive vocabulary
or productive or receptive vocabulary. The words which learner can understand, pronounce
correctly, use effectively in speaking and writing are active words. The words which
learner can recognize and understand when they occur in a context, but which he cannot
produce or use correctly himself even when he wants to are passive words.
A foreign language teacher should understand these classifications in order to choose the
most relevant words that suit the learners’ level of proficiency so that they can enlarge
their vocabulary actively and productively.
1.2.3 The role of vocabulary in language learning
Regarding the function of vocabulary in language teaching and learning, Wilkins (1972,
p.11) stresses that “vocabulary is one of the three dimensions of a language (phonetic,
grammar, vocabulary). Without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary,
nothing can be conveyed”. To talk about the importance of vocabulary McCarthy (1990:

tackle the pronunciation of new vocabulary because of the complex relationship between
sound and spelling.
In addition, grammar of a new word should be instructed, for example, the grammatical
function, the unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical context, the regularity
and irregularity, the singular and plural forms of the new word. Therefore, Nation (2005)


12

recommends quick ways of drawing attention to the form of the word, e.g. (a) writing the
word on the board, (b) showing how the spelling of the word is like or unlike the spelling
of known words, (c) giving stress pattern of the word and its pronunciation, (d) getting the
learners to repeat the pronunciation of the word, and (e) pointing out any spelling
irregularity in the word.
1.1.4.2 Meaning
According to Nations (2001, cited in Milton, 2009, p.14) word meaning can be divided into
three parts. The first sub-division, form and meaning, is the part most of us will think of in
terms of knowing a word. It involves being able to link the form, however it occurs, to a
meaning, and often in a foreign language this involves forming a link between a foreign
language word and its translation in the native language. Languages are not exactly parallel
to each other in the way they use their vocabulary, however. The other sub-divisions,
concepts and referents and associations, indicate, therefore, that a word in one language
might require several translations or carry subtly different meanings and associations in
another language. A word such as “fat” carries very negative connotations in English when
describing a person, and native speakers should use this word with some care.
It should be noted that meaning of words is closely related to each others. There are
various such relationships as synonyms, antonyms, hyponym, chunks of language, etc.
Thus, the teacher is required to select and decide on which meaning and how many
meanings of a word to teach in a given class time to help learners avoid confusion.
1.1.4.3 Usage

Form and meaning

Meaning Concepts and referents

Associations

Grammatical functions

Use

Collocations

Constraints on use

Note: R = receptive, P = productive

R What does the word sound like?
P How is the word pronounced?
R What does the word look like?
P How is the word written and spelled?
R What parts are recognisable in this word?
P What words parts are needed to express meaning?
R What meaning does this word form signal?
P What word form can be used to express this
meaning?
R What is included in the concept?
P What items can the concept refer to?
R What others words does this word make us think
of?
P What other words could we use instead of this

b) 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.



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



Scales – if students know 'big' and 'small', for example, other steps could be to
teach 'short' and 'long' etc.



Examples of the type – give examples of words you want to introduce.



Translation – it has been the most widespread activity used for presenting the
meaning of a word in classes.



Identifying – means finding words in a text or listening, e.g. underline specific
words or expressions in the text, or tick, put in the correct column or list items that
you hear.



Selecting – means recognizing words and making choices among them, e.g. circle
the odd word in the line



Matching – includes recognizing words and then

pairing them with their

synonym, antonym, definition, pictures to words etc. It can be intended to match
parts of lexical items to create collocations.


16

 Sorting – putting the lexical items into different categories, e.g. put these adjectives
in two groups – positive and negative.
 Ranking and sequencing – putting the lexical items in some kind of order, e.g.
ordering items chronologically, ranking items according to personal preference etc.
Productive practice (the productive skills – writing or speaking – are incorporated in the
vocabulary teaching,) includes these types (Thornbury, 2002, p.100): completion and
creation.
 Completion tasks (context is given), often called gap-fills, are widely used not only

Vocabulary learning does not officially belong to the language skills (listening, speaking,
reading and writing) but there is no way of making advance in language without building
vocabulary that can be applied into grammar structures and make meaningful utterances. It
is difficult for students to communicate without creating and developing their own lexicon.
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) represents a specific reason for learning a foreign
language. There are distinguishedly two types of ESP: English for Specific Purposes and
English for Academic Purposes (EAP). At present these streams include a lot of other
fields, e.g. English for Technicians. According to Hatch and Brown (1995, p.312), “special
lexical items are present in nearly all professions, and each branch has special vocabulary
to cover abstract concepts”. Kennedy and Bolitho (1984, p.56 - 58) distinguish these word
categories for teaching technical vocabulary:
• Technical Abbreviations, Symbols and Formulae: they partly cause the problems.
Teachers´ role is to explain patiently their form and meaning, and students should practise
them in spoken and written exercises.
• Sub - technical vocabulary: words which are not directly a part of specific technical
branch, but they occur generally in scientific and technical texts - e.g. derivation,
conversion, dense and isolation.
• Highly technical vocabulary: words that have a close thematic relationship and
belong to the specific technical field.
The fundamental problem which has to be solved by authors’ designing technical teaching
materials is that: English non - major students at most vocational schools, colleges or
universities have little knowledge of ESP . This fact reflects in these two factors: teaching
material should be managed by students in both the language and specialization. Hatch and
Brown (1995, p.370) stress that “the specificity of any individual’s knowledge about a
word depends on the person and his or her motivation, desires, and needs for the word”.
There is also an important role of teachers to facilitate learning of technical vocabulary
with the favourable secondary impact on the good general knowledge of English.


18

and therefore they use a wider range of language items, not only a particular pattern or
vocabulary group. Tasks may include projects for producing pictures, presentations,