INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Since computers were invented, they have increasingly been used for multi purposes to assist people all over the world. As a result, information technology (IT) has become an essential part in all aspects of our life. Thanks to IT, everything is now becoming faster, more convenient, more comfortable and more effective. Vietnam has recently integrated itself into the whole world in applying IT in all walks of life, including education. When Vietnam joined WTO in 2006, our opportunities to push the total development of education have been increasing with IT. IT has, in fact, contributed greatly to the renovation of teaching and learning in Vietnam. Teachers and students are now encouraged to update the information of their interests by searching on the Internet. Their knowledge, thus, is much broader. For the past years, schools and universities have launched the movement of renovating the methods of teaching and learning. IT, then, has proved its role. The teachers and students in the field of foreign languages also take part in the movement of renovating the methods of teaching and learning in Vietnam. The Faculty of English at Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE) have lately renovated the methods of teaching and learning by using IT. However, the effect remains limited. As a lecturer at the Faculty of English, the author has been studying an aspect in teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) for non-English-major students with the assistance of IT: Using IT in teaching and learning Reading English for Biology for 2nd-year students at HNUE. 2. Aims of the study The thesis focuses on studying the extent to which IT can facilitate teaching and learning reading English for Biology at HNUE. In details, it aims at: Discovering how IT influences foreign language teaching and learning (generally) and reading English for Biology teaching and learning (particularly) and the extent to which IT can assist reading English for Biology teaching and learning; Synthesizing the real situation of teaching and learning reading English for Biology using IT at HNUE by analyzing students’ questionnaire, teacher interview; and Investigating certain recommendations for administrators and teachers for applying IT to improve the quality of reading English for Biology teaching and learning at HNUE. 3. Scope of the study Due to the limited time, the researcher only focuses on using computers to promote 2nd-year students’ reading English for Biology at HNUE because of some reasons. Firstly, there are many means of IT in Vietnam now. Nevertheless, the computer is definitely by far the most popular IT means in Vietnam. Secondly, English for Biology, to some extent, is comparatively difficult to teach and learn because it is ESP. The trained teacher is the teacher of just English, not a teacher of Biology, so he/she is in lack of Biology knowledge. The students possess the knowledge of Biology, but they don’t know Biological terms in English. Computers are used to make the lessons easier to understand by showing the difficult structures and terms popularly used in Biology with the assistance of Projector and searching information on the Internet. Thirdly, the Faculty of English at HNUE have taught ESP for non-English-major students in order that they are able to read the professional materials in English and translate them into Vietnamese for study. 4. Research questions This thesis is accomplished for finding the answer to the question: How effectively is IT exploited to improve reading English for Biology teaching and learning at HNUE? More specifically, it deals with the following smaller questions: i. How has IT been used in teaching and learning foreign languages at HNUE? ii. To what extent have lecturers of The Faculty of English and students of The Faculty of Agro-biology raised the quality of teaching and learning reading English for Biology with IT recently? 5. Methods of the study The author has used the following main methods to do the research: Consulting books, journals and newspapers on applying IT in teaching and learning foreign languages or ESP; Searching information on the Internet ; Doing a survey on 2nd-year students of the Faculty of Agro-biology; Interviewing lecturers of the Faculty of English who have taught English for Biology; and Analyzing the data collected quantitatively and qualitatively to find out the real situation of teaching and learning reading English for Biology at HNUE with IT. 6. Significance of the study As I have mentioned above, the movement of methods of teaching and learning renovation has been launched in HNUE, including the Faculty of English. The lecturers of English have often used IT to teach English-major students. However, they only sometimes teach non-English-major students with IT. Last year, they started to teach ESP for 2nd-year non-English-major students. Therefore, the idea of using IT to teach ESP is fairly fresh. The author, who has taught English for Biology at HNUE, have thought of how to apply IT to raise the quality of teaching and learning English for Biology and the idea has, in fact, worked well. Students were fascinated in learning reading English for Biology with IT in class. However, due to certain reasons, such lessons with IT cannot be done frequently. The researcher has acted her mind about the situation in order that IT will be applied more often and more efficiently for teaching and learning reading English for Biology promotion in the coming time. If that comes true, ESP in general and English for Biology in particular will definitely interest non-English-major students and lecturers of English. 7. Organization of the study This brief study is divided into three main parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion. The first part, INTRODUCTION consists of seven subparts: Rationale, Aims of the study, Scope of the study, Research questions, Methods of the study, Significance of the study and Organization of the study. The second part, DEVELOPMENT has three chapters: Literature Review, The study and Recommendations. The second part is by far the most important of the whole thesis. It contains the real fact and data synthesis and analysis to answer the research questions with specific techniques, different types of exercises designed for drill as vivid illustrations. The final part, CONCLUSION summarizes all the ideas expressed throughout the research, analyzes limitation of the paper and suggests further research orientations. Luận văn dài 44 trang
