Students’ Needs and Vocabulary Development in English for Specific Purposes Course
Abstract
Vocabulary is very important for language learners. Limited knowledge of vocabulary can cause problems in language learning, especially in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Students’ needs on English vocabulary should be invested for learning achievement. The research study was conducted with all students registering in an ESP course, English for Food and Beverage Service. The total number was 54 students: 48 females and 6 males. Three instruments were employed: first and post-activity questionnaires, task assignment, and a vocabulary test. The food lists in the questionnaires fall into five groups: herbs, spices, and food seasonings; vegetables; fruits; meat and poultry; fish and shellfish. Vocabulary list with more than 50% chosen as needed in each food group from the first questionnaire distributed at the beginning of the course were used to create a test on students’ vocabulary knowledge. Two most chosen food groups for vocabulary knowledge development were herbs, spices, and food seasonings group (98.1%) and fish and shell fish group (96.3%). Fish and shellfish list was the only group indicated as a very great problem for the students (48.1%). Vocabulary test results showed the lowest score of 0/23 while the highest score is 22/23 from fish and shellfish group list. Mean of the fish and shellfish food list is 10.80 which is the lowest mean among the five group lists on the vocabulary test. 63% of the students admitted that task assignment responded to their needs of English food vocabulary development.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Biemiller, A., & Boote, C. (2006). An effective method for building meaning vocabulary in primary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 44-62.
Brown, JD. (1995). The elements of language curriculum: A systematic approach to program development. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.
Chatsungnoen, P. (2015). Needs Analysis for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Course for Thai Undergraduates in a Food Science and Technology Programme. Doctor of Philosophy in Education. Massey University.
Clark, M. (2013). The Use of Technology to Support Vocabulary Development of English Language Learners. M.S. (Literacy Education). St. John Fisher College.
Diaz-Gilbert, M. (2004). Vocabulary knowledge of pharmacy students whose first or best language is not English. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 68(4) Article 91.
Hou, H. (2014). Teaching specialized vocabulary by integrating a corpus-based approach: Implications for ESP course design at the university level. English Language Teaching. 7(5), 26-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v7n5p26
Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (2005). 21st. English for specific purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jabar, Norina & Ali, Afiza Mohamad. (2016). Cultural Video Project Assignment (VPA) through the Eyes of Young ESL Learners: A Multi-Modal Vocabulary Learning Approach. Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 1(2), 2016
Jurkovic, V. (2006). Vocabulary Learning Strategies in an ESP Context. Scripta Manent. 2(1). 23-32.
Kaewpet, C. (2009). Communication needs of Thai civil engineering students. English for Specific Purposes, 28, 266-278.
Kavaliauskienė, G. & Užpalienė, D. (2003). Ongoing needs analysis as a factor to successful language learning. Journal of Language and Learning. 1(1). 35-50.
Low, P. (2017). E-learning Implementation in Foundation English Class: Learners’ Perspectives and Learning Achievement. International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, 9(4). 285-289.
Low, P. & Pongsukvajchakul, P. (2014). Front Desk Skills Development: English Usages, Problems, and Needs. Humanities and Social Sciences Review. 3(4). 223-231.
Low, P. & Warawudhi, R. (2016). Undergraduates’ Attitudes toward the Use of Facebook in Fundamental English Course. International Journal of Information and Education Technology. 6(12). 934-939.
M.Nordin, N. R., Stapa, S. H., & Darus, S. (2013). Developing a Specialized Vocabulary Word List in a Composition Culinary Course through Lecture Notes. Advances in Language and Literary Studies. 4(1). 78-87.
Munby, J. (1978). Communicative Syllabus Design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Munir, Fathul. (2016). The Effectiveness of Teaching Vocabulary by Using Cartoon Film toward Vocabulary Mastery of EFL Students. JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics), 1(1).13-37.
Nation, I, S, P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
National Statistics Office. (2013). The 2013 Household Survey on the Use of Information and Communication Technology.
Available: http://service.nso.go.th/nso/nsopublish/themes/files/icthh56.pdf
Nuemaihom, A. (2017). Needs Analysis of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) for 7-Eleven Employees: A Case Study in Buriram Province. Research and Development Journal Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. 9(1). 96-104.
Pratoomrat, P. & Rajprasit, K. (2014). Exploring current situations and corporate needs of English language use in workplace: Thai professionals’ voices to Tertiary Education. Veridian E-Journal. 7(4). 28-47.
Piwong, C. (2011). Need Analysis: English Training Course Design for Thai Sales Staff in English Bookstores in Bangkok. M.A. (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Bangkok: Thammasat University. Unpublished.
Radjaa, D. (2012). Suggesting a competency-based approach to ESP teaching: A case study of marketing and international trade classes at INSIM Institute. M.A. (ESP). University of Oran.
Robinson, P. (1991). ESP Today: A Practitioner's Guide. New York: Prentice Hall.
Rusiana, R. & Nuraeningsih. (2016). Improving Students’ Vocabulary Mastery through TPR Storytelling. IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics), 1(1). 49-61.
Ulla, M.B. & Winitkun, D. (2017). Thai Learners’ Linguistics Needs and Language Skills: Implication for Curriculum Development. International Journal of Instruction. 10(4). 203-217.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v3i2.135
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics); Web: www.jeltl.org; Email: journal.eltl@gmail.com
JELTL by http://www.jeltl.org is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Indexed and Abstracted BY:
