Tài liệu Designing an esp reading syllabus for the second year students of accountancy at thai nguyen college of commerce and tourism submitted in fulfilment of requirement of degree of master in tesol

HANOI UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES LE THI THU THUY DESIGNING AN ESP READING SYLLABUS FOR THE SECOND - YEAR STUDENTS OF ACCOUNTANCY AT THAI NGUYEN COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND TOURISM (Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in TESOL) TRUNGТДІУІ THÔNHTINШѴІЁК га в Supervisor: Le Qiioc Hanh, м.A Hanoi, 2007 Æ TABLE OF CONTENTS ...I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................... III ABSTRACT........................................................ IV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS............................ .V LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES................. VI CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION...................... 1 1.1. B a c k g r o u n d t o t h e s t u d y ........................... 1 .5 . O u t l in e o f t h e t h e s i s ....................................... 1 3 3 4 4 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW........ 6 2 .1 . E n g l is h f o r S p e c if ic P u r p o s e s ( E S P ) .... 6 2.1.1. Definition and characteristics o f ESP. 2.1.2. Types o f ESP ................................... 6 9 1.2. A im s o f t h e s t u d y ............................................... 1 .3 . R e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s .......................................... 1 .4 . S c o p e a n d m e t h o d o l o g y o f t h e s t u d y 7 7 2 1 5 2 .3 . S y l l a b u s d e s i g n ................................................... 7 2.2.1. What is reading?............................. 2.2.2. Reading skills .................................. 1 2 .2 R e a d i n g t h e o r y ..................................................... . 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS................................... 5 Ố / 2 .4 . NEEDS ANALYSIS........... ........................................... 0 1 1 8 1 8 9 1 ゾ 1 22 22 22 32 42 ^2 62 7 2 28 2 3 .1 . R e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s ........................................... 8 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY.................. 1 2 .6 . SUM M ARY.................................................................... 7 2 .5 . PREVIOUS STUDIES.................................................. 7 2.4.1. What is needs analysis?................... 2.4.2. Approaches to needs analysis........... 2.4.3. Target needs.................................... 2.4.3.1. Necessities.............................. 2.4.3.2. Lacks...................................... 2.4.3.3. Wants....................................... 2.4.4. Learning needs................................ 7 2.3.1. Definition o f 'syllabus\.................... 2.5.2. Types o f syllabuses........................... 2.3.2.1. Structural syllabus................... . 2.3.2.2. Situational syllabus.................. . 2.3.2.3. Topical syllabus....................... . 2.3.2.4. Notional/Functional syllabus...... 2.3.2.5. Skill-based syllabus.................. 2.3.2.6. Task-based syllabus.................. 3 .2 . D e s c r ip t io n o f t h e d a t a c o l l e c t io n i n s t r u m e n t s a n d p r o c e d u r e s 8 28 o 2o 3.2.1. Questionnaires.... 3.2.2. Interviews............ 3.2.3. Document analysis Ớ 2 7 2 1 3 3 .3 . D e s c r ip t io n o f t h e s u b j e c t s 3 3 3 .4 . SUM M ARY.......................................... CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...................................... 34 4 .1 . R e s u l t s f r o m q u e s t i o n n a i r e s f o r t h i r d - y e a r s t u d e n t s a n d g r a d u a t e s .................................... .........................................................■■■비 ............................................. ...3 4 4.1.1. Third-year students and graduates։types o f English reading materials. 34 4.1.2. Third-year students and graduates ’ reading purposes......................... 35 4.1.3. rhird-year students and graduates ’problems in reading .................... 36 4.1.4. Third-year students and graduates ' attitude towards ESP courses and their suggestions for ESP courses.................................................................. 37 4 .2 . R e s u l t s f r o m t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e f o r f ir s t - y e a r s t u d e n t s .............................. 3 8 4.2.1. First-year students ’ results o f learning GE ......................................... 38 4.2.2. First-year students’ common reading activities................................... 39 4.2.3. First-year students ’ difficulties in reading........................................... 41 4.2.4. First-year students' attitudes towards ESP courses.............................. 42 4.2.5.Students ' expectation for an ESP reading course................................... 43 4.2.6. First-year students' preferences for learning styles ...............................45 4 .3 . R e s u l t s FROM THE FIRST INTERVIEW WITH E n g l i s h t e a c h e r s ............................... 4 5 4.3.1. English teachers ’ assessment o f students' current level o f English....... 45 4.3.2. English teachers ՝suggestions for designing the syllabus....................... 46 4 .4 . R e s u l t s f r o m t h e i n t e r v ie w w it h s u b j e c t t e a c h e r s ............................................. 4 7 4 .5 . R e s u l t s f r o m d o c u m e n t a n a l y s i s ......................................................................................4 8 4 .6 . M a j o r f i n d i n g s ................................................................................................................................. 4 9 2 5 3 5 5 .1 . G o a l s a n d o b j e c t iv e s o f t h e s y l l a b u s .................................... _ 2 5 I CHAPTER V: THE PROPOSED SYLLABUS AND CONCLUSION 5 .2 . T im e f r a m e ..................................................................................................... 4 4 TEACHERS75 2 APPENDIX 3 ： Q u e s t i o n s f o r t h e i n t e r v i e w w i t h E n g l i s h t e a c h e r s ........................7 4 2 APPENDIX 2 ： Q u e s t i o n n a i r e 2 ............................................................................................................. 7 0 0 6 66 APPENDIX 1 ： Q u e s t i o n n a i r e 1 ............................................................................................................. 6 8 s p e c ia l is t s u b j e c t 3 6 APPENDICES.........................................................................................................68 APPENDIX 4: Q u e s t i o n s f o r t h e in t e r v ie w w it h 3 5 5 .7 . C o n c l u s i o n ................................................................................................... 5 5 .6 . SUM M ARY................................................................................ ........................ 5 5 .5 . SUGGESTIONS FOR TESTING..................................................................... 5 9 Ố 5 .4 . S u g g e s t i o n s f o r t e x t s e l e c t i o n .................................................... 5 Specific topics in the syllabus................................... Reading sub-skills should be included in the syllabus.. Grammatical items in the syllabus............................. Vocabulary items and suggested vocabulary exercises 5 5.3.1. 5.3.2. 5.3.3. 5.3.4. 5 5 .3 . T h e c o n t e n t o f t h e s y l l a b u s ......................................................... ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On the completion o f this work, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. Le Quoc Hanh, M .A., who gave me valuable instructions, с이nments as well as his considerable assistance. My special thanks go to Mrs. Nguyen Thai Ha, M r. Le Thanh Dung and my teachers at Hanoi University for their useftil materials, precious guidance and encouragement. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the Department o f Postgraduate Studies, especially to Dr. Vu Van Dai, Mr. Nguyen Quoc M inh, Ms Dang Thi Lan for their help during my time o f studying at Hanoi University. I also wish to acknowledge the co-operation o f my colleagues and the informants from Thai Nguven College o f Commerce and Tourism in completing questionnaires and giving their constructive suggestions for this research. Finally, my thanks go to my fam ily and my friends for their help, encouragement and understanding. ABSTRACT English reading ability is considered very important to academic studies, professional success, and personal development because so much professional, technical, scientific materials and many literary works are published in English today. For students at Thai Nguyen College o f Commerce and Tourism (TCCT) reading reference materials in English w ill help them much in their studies at the college as w ell as in their jobs in the filture. So teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to students is considered necessary at TCCT. In order to teach ESP to the students effectively we need an ESP syllabus and ESP materials. But there has been no ESP reading syllabus for the students o f TCCT. For this reason, the main purpose o f this study was to design an ESP syllabus for second-year students o f accounting specialty at TCCT. Due to the lim itation o f time for teaching ESP to students at TCCT, this study lim its itse lf to designing an ESP reading syllabus for second-year students o f accounting specialty at TCCT. The syllabus was designed based on the results o f students5 needs analysis which was conducted by means o f questionnaires, interviews and documents analysis. Information about students’ target needs and learning needs was collected from different resources such as first-year and third-year students at TCCT, English teachers and subject teachers at TCCT, graduates, and relevant documents. The research question o f the study was 4What are the target needs and learning needs o f second-year students o f accounting specialty at TCCT?， . The study consists o f five chapters including introduction and conclusion: • Chapter 1: Introduction •Chapter 2: Literature review • Chapter 3 : Methodology • Chapter 4: Data analysis and discussion • Chapter 5: The proposed syllabus and conclusion LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ESP English for Specific Purposes GE General English ELT English Language Teaching TCCT Thai Nguyen College o f Commerce and Tourism EST English for Science and Technology EOP English for Occupational Purposes EAP English for Academic Purposes EBE English for Business and Economics ESS English for Social Sciences V LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1 Types o f ESP Table 1 Third-year students and graduates’ types o f reading materials Table 2 Third-year students and graduates’ reading purposes Table 3 Third-year students and graduates' problems in reading Table 4 Third-year students and graduates’ attitude towards ESP courses . and suggestions for ESP courses Table 5 The results o f first-year students' learning GE Table 6 First-year students’ common reading activities Table 7 First-year students’ difficulties in terms o f reading sub-skills Table 8 First-year students’ attitude towards ESP courses Table 9 First-year students’ expectations for an ESP reading course Table 10 First-year students’ preferences for learning styles Table 11 Subject teachers5 ranking o f the topics for the content o f the syllabus ГаЫе 12 The suggested ESP reading syllabus for second-year students o f accounting specialty at TCCT CHAPTER I: IN TRO DUCTIO N 1.1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY In recent years, thanks to the Door-Open Policy o f the Vietnamese Government, Vietnam has developed cooperative relationships in many fields with other countries in the region and in the world. Foreign languages, especially English, play a considerable role in helping develop these relationships. To make a better contribution o f foreign languages to the cause o f industrialization and modernization o f the country, there should be a reform in foreign language teaching and learning. The starting point in this reform is to revise and renovate all the language programs and curricula at all levels throughout the country. Like any other training institution, Thai Nguyen College o f Commerce and Tourism (TCCT) cannot stand outside this process. Thai Nguyen College o f Commerce and Tourism (TCCT) trains accountants, shop assistants, business managers, etc. w ith college qualifications for provinces o f Northern Vietnam. A fter graduation, the students are expected to work in commercial fields where English is needed for their jobs. A t the College, English is useful for the students’ studies, too. There are a lot o f reference specialist materials written in English. Reading these materials w ill help increase their knowledge o f economics, business, and accounting field o f other countries, which is very usefiil both for their studies at the college and for their jobs in the future. In order to read these materials, our students need to know not only General English (GE) but also some English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Especially they have to obtain good reading skills. Students o f TCCT come from mountainous provinces o f Northern Vietnam. Before entering this college all o f the students had learnt English at school. At TCCT English is a compulsory subject. Students have 270 class hours to study it. As discussed above, at the college students need English to read reference specialized materials for their current studies. A fter graduation our students often come to work in commercial field where English is necessary for their jobs. So teaching ESP to students at TCCT has been considered necessary. However, up to now we have not taught ESP to our students because we do not have an ESP syllabus as well as ESP materials. A t present, we are teaching the students only GE. The course book for GE is New Headway Elementary and Pre-intermedi ate by L iz & John Soars (2000). In the years to come we intend to give our students only 180 class hours o f GE and 90 class hours o f ESP. However, due to the lim itation o f time for teaching and learning ESP at the college we cannot improve all four language skills for our students. We can teach them only one o f these four skills. Moreover, our graduates have very few opportunities to communicate face-to-face w ith foreigners in their jobs. Usually they need English only for reading specialized materials in English. Therefore, we have decided to give our students ESP reading courses. The problem is that we do not have an ESP syllabus and we do not have any ESP materials, either. Some researchers indicated that syllabuses play an important role in language teaching and learning. According to W ilkins (1981)， syllabuses are “ specifications o f the content o f language teaching which have been submitted to some degree o f structuring or ordering w ith the aim o f making teaching and learning a more effective process” . Brum fit (1984) suggested that ^successful teaching requires that there should be selection o f materials depending on the prior definition o f objectives, proficiency level, and duration o f course. This selection takes place at the syllabus planning stage” . Hutchinson and Waters (1987) said that the syllabus plays a complex role, but it clearly satisfies a lot o f needs. And they also suggested that we need to be aware o f the different roles that the syllabus plays, so that we can use it most appropriately. Obviously, syllabuses play an important role in teaching and learning in general, and language teaching and learning in particular. Thus, in order to teach our students ESP effectively we must have a syllabus. In this research we would like 2 to design an ESP syllabus that meets the students’ needs as well as the aims and objectives o f the ESP course at TCCT and propose some criteria for choosing materials, assessment and evaluation for the ESP course in order to help students at TCCT to learn ESP effectively. 1.2. AIMS OF THE STUDY The main purpose o f this study is to design an ESP reading syllabus for the second-year students o f accounting specialty at TCCT. The objectives o f the study are: 1. To collect information about target needs and learning needs o f students at TCCT based on which an ESP reading syllabus for second-year students o f accounting specialty w ill be designed. 2. To propose an appropriate ESP reading syllabus that meets the students，needs as w ell as the goals and objectives o f ESP courses at TCCT. 3. To propose criteria for choosing materials, assessment and evaluation for the ESP course for students at TCCT. 1.3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS This study seeks the answers to the questions ‘ What are the target needs and learning needs o f second-year students o f accounting at TCCT?5 3 1.4. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY This study lim its itse lf to designing an ESP reading syllabus for second-year students o f accounting specialty at TCCT and focuses on improving reading skills and building up English vocabulary and terminology o f economics, business, and accountancy for the students. Survey method was used to conduct this study. Necessary data for the research are collected by means o f questionnaires, interviews and documents analysis. The syllabus is designed based on a needs analysis based on Hutchinson & Waters’ approach. According to this approach, information about students’ target needs and learning needs must be collected. Information about target needs is gathered by using questionnaires for third-year students and graduates, by document analyzing and also by interviews subject teachers. Information about students’ learning needs is collected by questionnaires for first-year students, who have just finished a GE course and are going to take an ESP reading course. Besides, information about learning needs is also gathered through interviews w ith English teachers. 1.5. OUTLINE OF THE THESIS The thesis consists o f five chapters including Introduction and Conclusion. Chapter I: Introduction. This chapter provides the background to the study, aims o f the study, research questions, the scope and methodology, and the outline o f the study. Chapter II: Literature review. In this chapter the theoretical basis for the study is presented. The literature, which is reviewed here, relates to ESP, syllabus design, reading theories, and needs analysis. 4 Chapter III: Methodology. This chapter presents research questions o f the study, the description o f the data collection instruments, the description o f the subjects, data collection procedures, and data analysis techniques/ methods. Chapter IV: Data analysis and discussion. This chapter presents the results o f analyzing collected data and also major findings o f the research. Chapter V: The proposed syllabus and conclusion. This chapter presents a proposed ESP reading syllabus for second-year students o f accounting specialty at TCCT. Then, some suggestions related to text selection, testing and evaluation are also included. Finally, the last section gives the conclusion o f the thesis and some suggestions for fbrther research. CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW This research is conducted basing on theoretical issues o f ESP syllabus design analyzed by foreign highly qualified English Language Teaching (ELT) experts and researchers. In this chapter, an overview o f these theoretical issues is presented w ith the focus on ESP, syllabus design, and reading theories. 2.1. ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES (ESP) In this section, the follow ing key notions about ESP are discussed: a) definition and characteristics o f ESP, b) types o f ESP. 2.1.1. Defìnition and characteristics of ESP Strevens (1980) said that “ a definition o f ESP that is both simple and watertight is not easy to produce” . Robinson (1991) shared the same idea w ith him by saying that “ it is impossible to produce a universally applicable definition o f ESP” . However, by this way or that way experts and researchers tried to give a definition o f ESP. Munby (1978: 2) gave a definition o f ESP by comparing it w ith GE: ESP courses are those where the syllabus and materials are determined in all essentials by the prior analysis of the communication needs of the learner, rather than by non-leamer-centred criteria such as the teacher’s or institution’ s predetermined preference for GE or for treating English as part of a general education. Kennedy and Bolitho (1984: 3) pointed out: ESP has its basic in an investigation of the purposes of the learner and the set of communicative needs arising from those purposes. These needs w ill then act as a guide to the design of course materials. The kind of English to 6 be taught and the topics and themes through which it w ill be taught w ill be based on the interests and requirements of the learner. The skills to be taught may be restricted. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) gave a broader definition o f ESP. They suggested that we must see ESP as an approach not as a product. According to them, ESP is not a particular kind o f language or methodology, and it does not consist o f a particular type o f teaching material, either. “ Why does this learner need to learn a foreign language?” - A ll ESP starts w ith this simple question. And they concluded: 'ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner’ s reason for learning’ , (p.19) Robinson (1991) has seen ESP as an enterprise which involves education, training and practice, and draws upon three major realms o f knowledge: language, pedagogy and the students5 specialist areas o f interest. Strevens (1988), Dudley-Evans & St. John (1998) did not give a definition o f ESP directly, but they defined ESP by identifying its characteristics. However, they did not list all the characteristics o f ESP simply, but they made a distinction between its absolute and variable characteristics. Strevens (1988) pointed out that ESP has four absolute characteristics and two variable characteristics. I. Four absolute characteristics are: ESP consists o f English language teaching which is: • designed to meet specified needs of the learner; • related in content to particular disciplines, occupations and activities; • centred on the language appropriate to those activities in syntax, lexis, discourse, semantics, etc., and analysis of this discourse; • in contrast with General English. II. Two variable characteristics are: ESP may be, but is not necessarily: • restricted as to the language skills to be learned; • taught according to any pre-ordained methodology. Strevens’ original definition o f ESP was modified by Dudley-Evans & St. John (1998: 4-5) as follows: I. Absolute characteristics of ESP are: • ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learner; • ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves; • ESP is centred on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills, discourse and genres appropriate to these activities. II. Variable characteristics of ESP are: • ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines; • ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of general English; • ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or in a professional work situation. It could， however, be for learners at secondary school level; • ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students; • Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system， but it can be used with beginners. In Dudley-Evans & St. John’ s modified definition the absolute characteristic that 'ESP is in contrast w ith GE’ has been removed and some more variable characteristics have been added. According to them，ESP is likely to be used w ith adult learners although it could be used w ith learners in a secondary school setting. Through the definitions that are mentioned above we can see that the way the researchers define ESP is different，but all o f them share the same point o f view that ESP has a very important feature- it must be based on the learners’ needs. Therefore，designing an ESP reading syllabus for students o f accounting specialty at TCCT must be based on our students9needs. Above we have looked at the definitions o f ESP given by different researchers. How is ESP classified by researchers? This w ill be discussed in the next section. 8 2.1.2. Types of ESP Types o f ESP are one thing that has been discussed by many researchers. According to Carter (1983), there are three types o f ESP: * English as a restricted language. * English for Academic and Occupational Purposes. * English w ith specific topics. Kennedy & Bolitho (1984), Robinson (1991) present three types o f ESP, too. But their classification o f ESP is not the same as Carter’ s we have mentioned above. Carter (1983) categories English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) under the same type o f ESP, whereas Robinson (1991), Kennedy & Bolitho (1984) believe that these are two different types o f ESP. They distinguish EAP and EOP by explaining that EOP is taught to learners who need to use English as part o f their work or profession, whereas EAP is taught to students who need English in their studies. Each o f these types o f ESP has sub-divisions. A t this point o f view they share the same idea w ith Strevens (1977). They dcscribc these two types o f ESP with their sub-divisioiis ill llie follow ing diagram: Pre-experience FOP ЯігпііІГяпепіічДп-яегѵісе Post-experience Pre-study ESP — For study in a specific discipline In-study Post-study ' EEP/EAP Independent — As a school subject ------Integrated Figure 1: The ESP ‘family tree9(Robinson, 1991, P.3) 9 Beside these two types o f ESP they also present one more type o f ESP - English for Science and Technology (EST). They point out that “ EST presupposes a stock o f vocabulary items, grammatical forms, and functions which are common to the study o f science and techndogy” (Kennedy & Bolitho, 1984). Hutchinson & Waters (1987) have a different point o f view in classifying ESP. In the “ Tree o f ELT” they show that ESP has three branches: English for Science and Technology (EST), English for Business and Economics (EBE), and English for Social Sciences (ESS). Each o f these branches is fbrther divided into two branches: EAP and EOP. For the EST branch, an example o f EOP is English for Technicians and an example o f EAP is English for Medical Studies. For the EBE branch, an example o f EOP is English for Secretaries and an example o f EAP is English for Economics. For the ESS branch, English for Psychology is an example o f EAP and English for Teaching is an example o f EOP. However, Hutchinson & Waters (1987) also suggest that there is not a clear-cut distinction between EOP and EAP because in some cases people can work and study at the same time, in other cases the language learning serves their current studies but it may also be used for their jobs in the future, too. Perhaps, tms is the reason why Carter (1983) categorizes EAP and EOP under the same type o f ESP. According to Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan (2003), at most universities in Vietnam ESP courses are the ones o f EOP for pre-experience learners. But Vu Thi Lua (2004) says that at many non-language major universities in Vietnam, ESP courses are the ones o f EAP. However, Tran Thi Oanh (2003) points out that sometimes an ESP course at a university is a combination o f the EOP and EAP course. In short, there are many types o f ESP. Different researchers look at this tmng in different ways. Among the above ideas, I think the most complete classification o f ESP is made by Hutchinson & Waters (1987). In this research, I ， m going to 10 design an ESP reading syllabus for my students at TCCT. Through this course we would like to help our students improve their reading skills so that they can read English materials they need for their studies at the college as well as for their jobs in the future. Therefore, it must be a mixed type o f ESP - English for Academic and Occupational Purposes. And in this study information about students? target needs w ill be gathered from both graduates and third-year students who needs English for reading reference materials for their current studies and jobs. In 2.1 we have looked at some points o f view about ESP and types o f ESP. In this study we are going to design a reading syllabus, so in the follow ing section we w ill discuss something about reading theory. 2.2 READING THEORY 2.2.1. What is reading? According to Wallace (cited in Carter & Nunan，2001)，some people think reading means reading words and the success o f reading is assessed by the number o f words which can be read out o f context. Others believe that successful readers are those who can understand continuous text beyond word level. And Wallace states that “ effective reading is judged not by reference to the accurate rendering aloud o f a written text, but by strategies which the reader can be observed to draw on which may signal progress, even in the absence o f accurate text decoding” . W illiam s (1990: 2) defines “ reading is a process whereby one looks at and understands what has been written” . In his turn, Grellet (1992: 3) points out “ understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as efficiently as possible” . In this study, we take W illiam s’ definition o f reading as the working definition. 11 We live in the age o f information now. Every day we get and give information. Everything changes day after day, so we have to update information in order to be not backward. One o f the best ways to update information is reading. Reading can help us to reach some important purposes. First, people read to get information or because they are curious about some topics. Second, they read to get instructions to perform some tasks for their work or daily life. They may also read to keep in touch w ith friends by correspondence or to understand business letters; to know where and when something w ill take place or what is available; to know what is happening or has happened; for enjoyment or excitement (Rivers & Temperley (1978:187). Grellet indicates that people read for two reasons: for information and for pleasure. In short, people read w ith different purposes. And what reading skills do they have to use in reading process? This question w ill be discussed in the next section. 2.2.2. Reading skills The process o f reading a book is different from that o f reading a page o f references. The way we read a text to get a general understanding o f what it is all about differs from we read it to search for detailed information. Using different skills in reading depends on what we are reading and what the purpose o f our reading is. Nuttal (1996: 153) suggests “ it is often helpfbl to give students an imaginary purpose for reading, to enable them to judge what they can skim over or what they must attend to in detail, according to its relevance to their purpose” . Kennedy & Bolitho (1984: 70) have the same point o f view. They state that “ It is important to define a reader’ s purpose in coming to a text as this w ill dictate the skills and strategies to be adopted by the reader and the level o f comprehension he is operating at” . Harmer (2001: 199) also points out that when reading which skills we use w ill be determined by our reading purpose. There are many different reading skills. Researchers list them in different ways. In many books on teaching reading, the authors usually concern the following main skills: reading for general understanding, reading for specific information, 12