HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

COURSE: APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY IN LANGUAGE

TEACHING

TOPIC: Using Facebook: An ESP Course Design for Airport

Information Desk Staff

Instructor: Bảo Khâm, Ph.D.

Student: Đặng Trần Quốc Hưng

Hue, June 30, 2017

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 Abstract

It is true that Facebook creates an intimate interaction between teachers and students in web-
based communication. An increasing number of research studies related to the use of Facebook
by students and its' potential impact on students' academic achievement but none of the research
gave a sufficient attention on future prospective studies related to Facebook in education domain
in particular. The objective of this study was to apply Facebook aiming to measure and assess
student participation in teaching and learning process within a certain ESP course. In addition, it
will be able to pay attention on the suitability of subject in teaching and learning process via
Facebook in the future, the potential prospective impact of the use of Facebook in the process of
developing English skills to students during the course.
Within the framework of this paper, I will illustrate the process of applying Facebook in a real
English Language classroom in the process of designing an ESP course for airport ground staff
working at the Information Desk of the International Airport in Da Nang City of Jet Star Pacific.
Regarding to the reflection of the situations, most of ESP practitioners are confronted with when
designing course tasks; that is, analyzing, documenting the needs of specific learners, identifying
the occupation-related aims, and tailoring the authenticity-featured materials. The paper also
focuses on giving an introduction about a course framework, a set of sample material and a series
of plans on learning assessment and course evaluation, with several reflections made on the
limitations of both the process and the products, as well as the directions of further research
influenced by the recent trends of ESP development.
1. Introduction
Launched in February 2004, making the world become more open and connected is the great
task of Facebook (Facebook, 2012). Through it, people have been giving a chance to access
information globally aiming to accumulate their knowledge in the more effective way than that
of the old days, Facebook also allows people to keep in touch with their friends and family, to
update their knowledge of what is happening in the world, and to share and express their
opinions. Facebook, which is a popular social networking site, is one of the most-used social
networking sites today with millions of users (Bicen & Carvus, 2010; Cain, 2008; Mazman &
Usluel, 2010). Facebook has quickly become one of the most popular social sites (Ross et al.,
2009). As of October 2012, Facebook attains a great achievement that more than one billion

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monthly active users; about 81% of monthly active Facebook users are outside the United States
and Canada, and 552 million active users daily on average in June 2012 and 600 million monthly
active users are using Facebook through a mobile device in September 2012 (Facebook, 2012).
Technically, Facebook is a social networking site online where individuals can share pictures,
their biodata and join a group of friends who are online (Buckman, 2005; Cabada et al., 2009).
Although an increasing number of online websites such as MySpace and Friendster are similarly
designed to connect people, Facebook is generally considered as the leading social networking
site used by college students (Golder, Wilkinson, & Huberman, 2007). In the following
manner, in the United States, the use of Facebook is now very popular among youngsters
commonly and students specifically with the participation of over 90% among undergraduate
students, as reported in a number of surveys (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007). It has also
become one of the social networks most used by British students (Madge, Meek, Welles, &
Hooley, 2009) and South African students (Shambare et al., 2011). To put it simple, I believe
the impact range of Facebook has been spreading out among countries in worldwide.
A motivating factor for popularity of social networking sites among young consumers is that
the social networking site provides users with more flexibility and freedom to express their
feelings (Shambare et al., 2011). As a result, the freedom of speech of people is ensured and
everything deem to be fit in with the contemporary movements of the modern world. This is
because by mean of communication, technology use has considerably modified the way we
communicate with each other, the way we use language, the way we read and write, the way we
think and the way we teach (Crystal, 2008a, 2008b). This presents an apparent opportunity to
bring Facebook into education domain specifically. From my perspective, students should be
provided information on the use of Facebook in education since Facebook can probably facilitate
the exchanging and sharing of information related to school and student learning and students
can also freely have discussion on FB about a selected complex topic which is compared to the
traditional way of teaching and learning.
In terms of ESP specifically, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is the meticulous research
undertaken to produce pedagogically suitable materials and exercises for mostly adult learners
defined in a particular context (Johns & Dudley-Evans, 1991). Tremendous efforts have been
made in different aspects of ESP courses accompanied by different disciplines, as an illustration
for what I am writing about, analyzing linguistic features of English used by business men

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(Nelson, 2006) and hospital staff (Blue & Harun, 2003), evaluating the needs of learners
working in textile and clothing fields (Somui & Mead, 2000) and hotel service (Jasso-Aguilar,
1999). As far as I am concerned, in aviation industry, the most prevalent trainings are for air
traffic controllers and flight crews. Furthermore, the real language use they are required to
command referred to as Aviation English, featuring radiotelephony and operational procedures.
In fact, communicative competence is essential to the Information Desk staff working at airports
as this division's working performance mainly relies on language abilities and communicative
skills in the tendency of all sorts of enquiries and making requests of travelers. That is the reason
why within the framework of this paper, I aim to address how to design a language course for
these airport workers, from examining the context, analyzing the needs and identifying the
objectives, to designing the syllabus and the material, as well as planning the assessment of the
learners and the assessment of the course. Also, I will suggest the way to apply Facebook in this
ESP language course aiming to enhance and boost the quality of teaching and learning process
between teacher and students.
2. Rationale
As can be seen from the above arguments, there is a demand that EFL and ESL teachers
should be aware of the importance of using the digital technical tools – Facebook in specific in
the process of teaching and learning English. Through it, learners and educators of English may
be able to approach and catch up with the temporary demand of learners and the values of
knowledge that the educators/teachers desire to transfer to their students respectively.
Although early studies of Facebook mainly focused on its inclusion in a first language (L1)
educational environment, several research has done investigation on how Facebook can be
utilized in L2 learning. Varieties of studies on Facebook’s inclusion in L2 education
environments have reported positive influences on students' motivation, engagement, and
attitudes. Among the studies conducted, Facebook has been illustrated to have an impact on
motivation among students in higher education (Bugeja, 2006; Lampe, Ellison & Steinfield,
2008); Most notably, Mazer et al. (2007) suggest that student motivation and participation are
greatly enhanced when engaging course material is presented through more personalized
platforms, something Facebook and other SNS provide. Similarly, Ziegler (2007) contends that
Facebook has the “capacity to better motivate students as engaged learners rather than learners

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who are primarily passive observers of the educational process” (p. 69). In this way, it can
accelerate and facilitate the confidence of English learners.
Equally important as motivation, sustaining students’ engagement often depends on good
instruction, timely delivery of quality materials, and most importantly general student
satisfaction. Therefore, a number of studies collectively assert that the inclusion of Facebook
along with other Web 2.0 technologies enhance student satisfaction and investment, especially
among L2 learners (Blattner & Fiori, 2009; Harwood & Blackstone, 2012). Yunus and
Salehi’s 2012 study parallels most closely to the present research, but dealt only with writing
outcomes. They investigated students’ perceptions of using Facebook groups for improving
students’ writing skills, as they engaged in various writing tasks like brainstorming and
summarizing. The authors reported positive student attitudes toward Facebook’s group
application to help improve their writing outcomes. More specifically in their study, Yunus and
Salehi highlighted student depression at the perceived lack of authentic learning available to
them in a traditional L2 classroom setting. Ultimately, they found that Facebook’s group
application can provide such authenticity, particularly an environment in which students feel
confident sufficiently to utilize and improve their L2 skills.
According to Basturkmen (2006), a main element in designing ESP course is that the
syllabus is an analysis of the students’ needs.
The targets of the needs analysis categorized as followings:
First of all, it aims conduct an investigation into the “necessities” (Hutchinson & Waters,
1987: 55) that the Information Desk staff are generally aware of as well as function effectively at
their locations, which include the situations where they need to function (communicating events).
Additionally, to elicit the views of learners on and experience associated with these
“necessities”.
Moreover, I desire to assemble the most fundamental information of the learners’ background.
To collect these information, the target learners (insiders) are the most explicit and convenient
source; apart from them, relevant airport department managers and passengers (outsiders) can be
useful sources, too, if available.
3. Literature review
In tertiary level, English subjects pay a great attention on developing the English
communicative competence which are required for study purposes in formal educational

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systems. At this level, teachers need to be aware of the weaknesses that learners encounter in the
process of learning the four skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing aiming to have
preparation on effective lessons and to facilitate learners in cultivating and enhancing their
language proficiency.
Academic writing is at the key focus of teaching and learning in higher and further education
or training, carrying out many purposes based on the various contexts comprising assessment,
learning and entering particular disciplinary communities (Coffin et al. 2002). It is fairly typical
of syllabuses targeted at tertiary level students or learners of English from a increasing number
of countries and mixed disciplines (Lea & Street, 1994). Starts with focusing on separate study
skills, it is later developed and refined with more spoken and written projects added so that the
use of skills could be more integrated (Jordan, 1997)
According to McNeil (2008) there are several interesting issues that can be related to the use of
SNSs in higher education including discoursal expectations emerge from the use of an informal
'outside' space to host a learning community, whether the communication alter the power
dynamic between tutors and students, lessening social distance between participants, or forms the
identity in individual performances. The issue is also regarding the key characteristics of
language use in an SNS.
Facebook has a variety of interactive features and it attracts the users to play and enjoy it
(Ellison et al., 2007). The Facebook provides a convenient environment for the development of
discourse communities with its varied participatory mechanisms. The students can create their
personal profile page allowing them to list interests and activities and share with others. They
also belong to a ‘Network’ defined primarily by the educational institution with which they are,
or have been, affiliated.
Previous study by Melor et al. (2012) revealed that Facebook can be embedded in writing
activity as the participants utilize the features in Facebook to learn new vocabulary by reading
the comments of the other students in the group, discussion in getting ideas for writing, and
spell-check by peers. The study also proves that using Facebook actually can help the students in
completing their essays easier by participating in the Facebook group discussion.
Kho & Chuah (2012) did a study on Encouraging ESL Discourse Exchanges via Facebook .
and from the result obtained, it is recommended that the educators incorporate the teaching and
learning activity with online social networks such as Facebook in order to create more fun and

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interactive lessons. From the study, the students involved actively in exchanging ideas or
opinions through Facebook compared to traditional classroom. Apart from that, the students
claimed that their vocabulary were enhanced and boosted through reading the comments posted
by their mates in the group.
4. Context
Quilty (2003) does an observation that the airport is regarded as an environment of turbulence
and uncertainty, if it is seen from the viewpoint of organization; it shoulders the pressure from
and juggles the needs of government, travelling community, and users of the airport, if viewed
from the angle of management. Therefore, staff working in this environment is supposed to reach
and maintain a high standard of flexibility and productivity, which are upgraded by means of
personnel training and education (Quilty, 2003). In addition, in such a process of globalization
and integration, Facebook actually becomes the prime digital technical tool by the mean of
communication that results in the need of enhancing and boosting the English communicative
competence of Information Desk Staff working at airports commonly and in Da Nang
international airport particularly. Here is a sample lesson plan:

SAMPLE LESSON PLAN

Class: Information Desk Staff Division of the Da Nang International Airport of Jet-Star
Pacific

Procedure: face-to-face meeting and Facebook group online discussion

English proficiency's level: intermediate learners

Time allotted 1 hour per lesson in the afternoon or evening (adaptive to different shifts)

Class size: 10 people

Textbook material: (see appendix 2)

Assessment: there is no exist test required

Day 1: Giving directions to airport facilities and services

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 Aims: by the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:
- Be successful in communication taking place at Airport Information Desk.
- Be more confident in daily life communication.
Procedures:

Steps Teaching content T's & Ss' activities

Warm-up  Online discussion - T creates a Facebook group
T gives some questions for Ss at the and add every single member
beginning of the class. of the class into that group.
What do you know about...? - T lets Ss work individually
Discuss: and discuss about the
1. What kind of facilities and services are answers for the questions
there in the airport where you work? given by the T on Facebook.
2. What should you pay attention to when - Ss give their answers.
giving directions to them? - T gives feedback and
introduces the new lesson by
posting status.
- Ss work individually and
give comments to urge about
PRESENTATION I. PRE-STAGE further questions and
 Face-to-face meeting answers on Facebook group.
1. Presenting vocabulary
- T asks Ss to work in pairs.
- One presents some
signposts about airport
facilities and services, and
the other write on a provided
Baggage: baggage retrieval, baggage claim
card the keywords indicated
area, baggage delay, Baggage allowance,
by the signposts and as many
control on hand baggage or hold baggage,
words frequently co-
dump the baggage etc.
occurring with the keywords
Some more signs:
in airport surroundings as

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 possible.
- Then exchange the role
within pairs.
2.Checking vocabulary:
Rub out and remember
- T rubs out the new word one at a time.
- Each Time T rubs out the new word in
English, points to the Vietnamese and asks
Ss to speak that word in English.
- When all the English words are rubbed, T
invites some Ss to go to the board and
rewrite the missing words.
II. WHILE-STAGE
Task 1: Listen to a podcast of dialogue
PRACTICE
and fill in the blanks.
SI: How do I ____?
S2: _______? Go up to the bridge, and that
- Ss work individually to
is on Farm Lane. And you want to go right
listen to the dialogue
all the way
carefully and then required to
up until you pass. Do you know where ___?
fill in blanks.
SI: Pretty much
S2: Do you know where?
- Ss give their answers.
SI: Yeah, I know.
S2: _____ When you see the Agriculture
Hall, it will be on your right hand side. You
want to go left again down towards Akers.
Then the Vet Clinic should be on that road,
and it says Vet Clinic.
SI: It does.
S2: Yeah, you cannot miss it. It should be
____

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 SI: Okay
S2: ____
SI: Thank you very much. (Scotton and
Bernsten, 1988)

Task 2: Checking your understanding:

Discuss: - T asks Ss to work in pairs.
1. What are the missing expressions used - T goes around and provides
for in the above dialogue? help if it is necessary.
2. Can you think of other expressions in
which could be used to replace these
expressions in the dialogue?
Listen to the dialogue again and discuss:
1. Is the transcription you filled up exactly
the same as the original dialogue? - Ss listen to the dialogue
2. If not, what are still missing? again and discuss in pairs.
3. Do you think it is all right to have a - Ss provide answers orally
conversation in real situation as the in front of the class.
transcript shows? Why?
4. Are there any difference between this
dialogue and the direction-giving talks you
have had with passengers? If yes, please
specify it.
III. POST-STAGE
PRODUCTION  Online discussion
- Ss watch the video clips of direction- - Ss work individually take
giving conversations on street three times, down the gestures and facial
while taking down the gestures and facial expressions noticeable after
expressions noticeable to Ss as well as the watching the video clips of
meanings they convey. Are there any other direction-giving
specific clues you tend to use or you saw conversations on street.

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 people use voluntarily or involuntarily in
similar situations?
_ Students will be provided some question - T lets Ss work individually
to discuss in a Facebook online group and discuss about the
created by the T answers for the questions
1. How often do you use the knowledge given by the T by using
about the following areas? technical devices such as
2. How often do you undertake the smartphone or laptop.
following tasks? - Ss give their answers.
- T gives feedback.

5. Plan
5.1 Facebook integration into the ESP course design
In fact, although Facebook was not created as tool for learning, to my knowledge, it can be
useful for teaching English language skills for several logical and pedagogical reasons.
a. Many English language learners (especially teenagers) and their parents are already familiar
with using Facebook which facilitates using for learning English.
b. Facebook can be used to promote four types of interaction necessary for successful language
class: learner and content, learner and teacher, learner and learner and learner and local and
international society members.
c. Through creating a closed group, teachers can ensure private interaction among the group
using Facebook.
e. Facebook can be used as an enhancement tool that gives learners extracurricular activities and
more learning opportunities that extend learning outside the walls of the traditional classroom.
f. Facebook supports active learning and self-learning.
g. Facebook promotes cooperative learning among the learners themselves through sharing ideas,
learning experiences, learning materials.
h. Learners can use Facebook not only on their laptops at home but also on their smart phones
while at home or outside home.

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i. Facebook can be used to expose learners to authentic English material (e.g. videos, newspaper
articles, TV news and programs) and use English in real communicative situation, e.g.
requesting, commenting, asking and answering questions, etc.
j. It can increase communication among students and between students and teacher in a manner
that might not be entirely possible in a traditional classroom setting.
Within the framework of my ESP training course, there are several teaching activities that I
may be able to integrate into my class. For example, I can post a picture (house, car, animal, a
girl, market, etc.) and ask students to write a specific number of sentences about the picture or a
descriptive or narrative paragraph. Similarly two pictures can be posted and students are asked to
write 2-3 similarities and/or 2-3 differences between them. In the same way, I can upload
several related pictures expressing a story and ask students to write a story. These pictures can be
used for writing and for providing learners with cultural knowledge about other countries, e. g.
posting images of two cities, celebrations, classrooms, meeting etiquettes, dinning etiquettes, etc.
Besides, using Facebook to post a short video related to some lessons or units in the
students’ textbook so the lesson is consolidated by watching the video might be a good idea. A
case in point, if the reading lesson in the textbook is about flowers, weather or sports, I can post
them a relevant video. Afterwards, the students could be asked to watch the video and write a
summary or reflect on the video they watched.
5.2 Choosing Course Content
In fact, it is essential to make a choice about the content of a course before designing a
syllabus for a certain course. For “choosing course content” means to consider what the learners
should learn, what the course should include or exclude, and how different elements link to one
another, given who these learners are, what their needs are and what the course is aimed at, so as
for the decisions on syllabus to be made (Graves, 2000: 39).
Frankly, according to the needs analysis findings, the course objectives and the course
designer’s beliefs about language and learning, the content of the course within the framework of
this paper was chosen appropriately.
5.3 Material
When designing the sample material for the lesson to be delivered on the first day (see
Appendix 2), a macro-task had already been decided: giving directions to airport facilities and
services. The outcome is that rather than starting from looking for appropriate input, examining

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language and content in it, and then devising tasks in which the language aspects and content
will be used. As Hutchinson & Waters (1987: 109) suggest, the next step was to look for the
resources in which involve the communication situation of the task in the exact or similar way
that the situation occurs in the learners’ work place. With the right type of resource, what should
be extracted was the typical language aspects, skills and content featured in it. Then, pedagogical
tasks needed to be devised so that learning targeted on the language, skills and content could be
activated through completing the tasks. The activities were worked out. It is because very
compatible activities for the first day’s task were not available from published source books. In
approaching other learning objectives apart from the target performance competence, such as
cross-cultural awareness, some published source books were used as a supplement. Besides the
texts for reading tasks, videos were selected mostly as the language input of other tasks, so that
the learners can be given a chance to associate the paralinguistic features with the aspects of
formal language system, which should not be separated in making sense of the real world
communication. For the consideration explained in the syllabus writing, a language revision will
be conducted in each lesson after the other tasks described in the syllabus have been completed,
focusing on all the linguistic and paralinguistic aspects of the communication in the task situation
and meanwhile recycling the content of previous lessons. As part of the whole course evaluation
process, there is a peer evaluation stage at the end of each lesson. The reason that the peer
evaluation comes after the language focus is that the learners are expected to have a clear
knowledge about what aspects to look at when they made judgment on their own language
behavior.
A profile of the course is gathered below to facilitate the production of a complete set of
material:
No. Day Syllabus Integrated activities via using Facebook
1 1 Lesson: Giving directions to airport facilities - Teacher sets up a Facebook group at the
and services beginning of the course and add the
(1) Target performance: students in the class into that group.
+ Identifying the expressions that open, - There will be two stages of T’s teaching
continue and close a conversation about giving procedure:
directions. + Online discussion: T can post a picture
+ Identifying fillers and their functions in extracted from the material to pre-teach

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 conversation and generating more examples. vocabulary to students online as the
(2) Strategic competence: following instance:
+ Problem-solving: giving direction to 1. Presenting vocabulary
passengers of specific needs.
(3) Cross-cultural awareness
+ Recognizing and exploring what
politeness in conversation means in the
target culture, vie making contrast to that
Baggage: baggage retrieval, baggage claim
of the local culture.
area, baggage delay, Baggage allowance,
(4) Critical awareness:
control on hand baggage or hold baggage,
+ Articulating the feelings and opinions
dump the baggage etc.
about the target practice.
Some more signs:
+ Suggesting ways of adapting the target
practice to the local context.
(5) Language:
+ Conversational tactics: fillers, + Face-to-face meeting: T follows the
confirmation checkers, etc. lesson plan as usual.
+ Lexis: facility categories.
+ Intonation: pitch movements-fall, high
rise and low rise.
Paralinguistic features: Physical-gesture
and facial expressions (1)

2 2 Lesson: Giving suggestions about travelling - Online discussion:

(1) Target performance: + T posts some videos or links related to
+ Skimming and scanning websites about the authenticable English conversations
tourism and transportation. about travelling and transport on the
+ Identifying the skills for taking turns Facebook group via a status to get Ss’
and expressions for tackling interruption attention. Through it, Ss can cultivate their
and generating more examples. thinking of travelling and transport.
(2) Strategic competence: + Teacher posts a status on the Facebook

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 + Problem-solving: handling the group and then asks student to give
passengers who do not take turns suggestion and offering to tourism
properly and interrupting appropriately if destination to airport customer based on a
you have to. certain scenario by giving comment on the
(3) Cross-cultural awareness: status given by the Teacher.
+ Discussing the different in taking turns - Face-to-face meeting: T follows his/her
and making interruption politely. between lesson plan as usual
the target culture and the local one.
(4) Critical awareness:
As is required in Day 1.
(5) Language:
+ Grammar: Modals-Offers and
suggestions: Conditionals.
+ Conversational tactics: expressions
used in time of interruption.
+ Lexis: Tourism and Transportation.
+ Intonation: pitch movements – fall-rise
and rise-fall.
+ Paralinguistic features: Physical-
gesture and facial expression (2)

3 3 Lesson: Dealing with Lost & Found properties - Online discussion:

(1) Target performance: + Teacher shows a video clip of airport
+ Identifying what relevant questions to information desk staff announcing the
ask in order to elicit details about the lost finding and lost thing via a status on the
items Facebook group page.
+ Identifying the expressions used to + Teacher ask student to work in group of
encourage to speaker to continue and to two people to handle a customer in find
say more, and generating more examples and lost thing, also the need of making eye
(2) Strategic competence: contact to airport customer based on a
+ Problem-solving: copying with certain scenario. Afterwards, five groups in

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 stressful passengers who lost things in the class will prepare a video and post it on
airport. the Facebook group page.
(3) Cross-cultural awareness: - Face-to-face meeting: T follows the
+ Exploring relevant cross-cultural issue lesson plan as usual
if any.
(4) Critical awareness
+ As is required in Day 1
(5) Language:
+ Grammar: Past Tense.
+ Conversational tactics: back-
channeling, repetition and clarification
request.
+ Lexis: learner-generated.
+ Intonation: revision.
+ Paralinguistic features: Physical-eye
contact.

4 4 Lesson: Imparting information about - Online discussion:

prohibited items + Teacher shows a video clip of airport
(1) Target performance: information desk staff prohibit the
+ Skimming and scanning updated customer on bringing prohibit items on the
airport security policy. Facebook group page. By doing this way,
+ Identifying skills for giving instructions students can check out the video before
without offending the addressees. heading to the class.
(2) Strategic competence: + Teacher asks students to prepare a video
+ Problem-solving: giving valid and make a mock scene about prohibiting
information about prohibition policy and and giving command to the customer who
suggestions for getting through security caught bringing prohibited items based on
checks. a certain scenario.
(3) Cross-cultural awareness: - Face-to-face meeting: T follows the
+ Comparing the relation of politeness lesson plan as usual.

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 and face in the target cultures and the
local culture.
(4) Critical awareness:
+ As is required in Day 1
(5) Language focus:
+ Grammar: Modals-permission,
advisability, obligation and necessity.
+ Lexis: categories of prohibited items.
+ Intonation: Main focus and weak
forms.
+ Paralinguistic features: Physical -
proximity.

5 5 Lesson: Dealing with telephone enquiries - Online discussion:

(1) Target performance: + Teacher shows a video clip of airport
+ Identifying the common sequencing information desk staff answering the phone
conventions of service telephone calls in via posting a status on the Facebook group
the target language and the variations. page. By doing this way, Ss can be given a
+ Identifying the appropriate language chance to watch the video clip at home and
used to implement sequencing have a summary about it before heading to
conventions. the class offline.
(2) Strategic competence: + Teacher asks student to work in pairs, Ss
+ Problem-solving: answering phone will make a mocking scene about
calls in the right way even when the answering the phone based on a certain
speaker has a bad manner. scenario. Then, each pair will post their
(3) Cross-cultural awareness: video on the Facebook group and get the
+ Comparing the service telephone evaluation from both T and peers.
conventions in the target cultures and the - Face-to-face meeting: T follows the
local culture. lesson plan as usual.
(4) Critical awareness:
+ As is required in Day 1

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 (5) Language focus:
+ Expressions: opening sequence and
pre-sequence in reason-to-call.
+ Lexis: learner-generated.
+ Intonation: revision.
+ Paralinguistic features: Physical-
revision, Vocal-whispering, breathiness,
nasality, etc.

6 6 Lesson: Dealing with email enquiries - Online discussion:

(1) Target performance: + Teacher posts a status on the Facebook
+ Identifying different patterns of subject, group page to create a discussion among
opening and closing of email. the members in the classroom. In this way,
+ Identifying the register and stylistic Ss can freely express their opinions about
features of email. the advantages and disadvantages of using
(2) Strategic competence: email in their working process.
+ Problem-solving: answering the - Face-to-face meeting: T follows the
passenger’ email. lesson plan as usual.
(3) Cross-cultural awareness:
+ Comparing the email writing
convention in the target culture and local
one.
(4) Critical awareness
+ As is required in Day 1
(5) Language
+ Accommodate the genre to the
demands of the international aviation
industry.
7 7 Lesson: Assessment-Situational role plays - Online discussion:
The situations and criteria of the role play + T posts a review sheet evaluation on the
will be decided according to the learners’ Facebook group page to get Ss’ opinions

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 feedback throughout the previous six days towards the course given the T and how do
they feel about the combination of the
online discussion and face-to-face meeting
in the process of teaching and learning
English within the framework of the ESP
course design provided by the T.
- Face-to-face meeting:
+ T collects the opinions of the Ss.
+ Teacher does the assessment process.
+ Teacher tells the students the result.
+ Teacher gives some tips for students

Course duration: 7 days

Course length: around 10 hours
Lesson time: about 2 hours per lesson in the afternoon or evening (adaptive to different
shifts)
Size of group: 10
Resources: a prepared course, plus the resources to be drawn from the learners and airport
management
Participant: airport information desk staff
Assessment: no exit test required
Procedure: face-to-face meeting and Facebook online discussion
The course objectives, the course syllabus, this course profile and the sample material for the
first day constitute a course framework, which allows check if all the relevant elements have
been considered and balanced and complete the rest material production work.
6. Assessment
At the first meeting of the course, after having the lesson at the classroom, every student
should pick two scenarios, practice at home and post a video in the Facebook group of the ESP
class.
1. A customer lost her luggage, what is your suggestion? Where does she have to go?

19
 2. A customer missed his flight, what is your suggestion? Where does he have to go?
3. A customer wants to change her child’s diaper, what is your suggestion? Where does he
have to go?
4. A customer wants to know where Gate 6 is, show the way to get there!
5. A customer needs a place to stay, what is your suggestion? Where does he have to go?
6. A customer wants to know the woman toilet is, show the way to get there!
7. A customer wants to know the mosque is, show the way to get there!
8. A customer needs a transport to go to his office, what is your suggestion? Where does he
have to go?
9. A customer wants to take her luggage, what is your suggestion? Where does she have to
go?
10. A customer wants to know the position of the money changers, show him/her the way to
get there!
Aspect Criteria 1 2 3 4
Direction Accurate
Giving Clear
Filler
Language Use Confirmation
Checker

Intonation

Extra- Gestures
Linguistic
Clues Facial
Expressions
(1=awful, 2=improvable, 3=ok, 4=excellent)
At the second section of the course, every single student should pick two scenarios and
practice them at home. Afterwards, students will post the video of their speaking performance on
the Facebook group to get comments from the teacher and peers.

20
1. A customer loves history, he wants to see Indonesian Monument. What is your
suggestion? Where does he has to go?
2. A customer likes to see natural scenery. What is your suggestion? Where does he have to
go?
3. A customer is very keen on animal life. What is your suggestion? Where does he have to
go?
4. A customer adores the painting so much. What is your suggestion? Where does he have to
go?
5. A customer cares for Wayang. What is your suggestion? Where does he have to go?
6. A customer loves diving. What is your suggestion? Where does he have to go?
7. A customer likes landscape photography. What is your suggestion? Where does he have to
go?
8. A customer is a missionary. What is your suggestion? Where does he have to go?
9. A customer from China wants to visit Buddhist sacred place. What is your suggestion?
Where does he have to go?
10. A customer wants to see the miniature of all Indonesian provinces. What is your
suggestion? Where does he have to go?
Aspect Criteria 1 2 3 4
Suggesting Accurate
and Offering Clear
Filler
Language Confirmation
Use Checker
Intonation
Extra- Gestures
Linguistic Facial
Clues Expression
*(1= awful, 2=improvable, 3=ok, 4=excellent)
At the third section, every student is required as the Day 1 and Day 2
1. A customer lost his watch. What are you going to do? How do you make the public
announcement?

21
 2. A customer lost her purse. What are you going to do? How do you make the public
announcement?
3. A customer lost her daughter. What are you going to do? How do you make the public
announcement?
4. A customer found a watch. What are you going to do? How do you make the public
announcement?
5. A customer found a purse. What are you going to do? How do you make the public
announcement?
6. A customer lost found a young girl. What are you going to? How do you make the public
announcement?
7. A customer lost found a laptop. What are you going to do? How do you make the public
announcement?
Aspect Criteria 1 2 3 4
Handle find Accurate
and lost thing Clear
Filler
Language Use Confirmation
Checker
Intonation
Extra- Gestures
Linguistic
Facial
Clues
Expressions
*(1=awful, 2= improvable, 3=ok, 4=excellent)
At the fourth meeting, every student is required as the previous three days ago.
1. A customer brings knives. What are you going to do to make them understand?
2. A customer brings the birds. What are you going to do to make them understand?
3. A customer brings Gun Lighters. What are you going to do to make them understand?
4. A customer brings Brass Knuckles. What are you going to do to make them understand?
Aspect Criteria 1 2 3 4
Prohibition Accurate

22
and command Clear
Filler
Language Use Confirmation
Checker
Intonation
Extra- Gestures
Linguistic
Facial
Clues
Expressions
*(1=awful, 2= improvable, 3=ok, 4=excellent)
At the fifth meeting, every student is required as the Day 1.
1. A customer calls asking when the schedule to Bandung will depart. How do you answer
the phone?
2. A customer calls asking when the schedule to Jakarta will depart. How do you answer the
phone?
3. A customer calls asking if someone found her passport. How do you answer the phone?
4. A customer calls asking the remain seat to Lombok. How do you answer the phone?
5. A customer calls asking if the flight to Makassar will be delayed during the bad weather.
How do you answer the phone?
Aspect Criteria 1 2 3 4
Answering Accurate
the phone Clear
Filler
Language Use Confirmation
Checker
Intonation
Extra- Gestures
Linguistic
Facial
Clues
Expressions
*(1=awful, 2= improvable, 3=ok, 4=excellent)

23
 At the sixth section, the teacher posts a status on the Facebook group with the following
scenario and ask students to read them and then give their comment on that status. Afterwards,
students send an email to the customer.
1. Mr. John complains about the toilet service. Please write him back!
2. Mr. Thomson complains about the baggage claim service. Please write him back!
3. Mr. Walcott complains about the security service. Please writie him back!
4. Mr. Chamberlain complains about the flight delayed. Please write him back!
5. Mr. Cazorla complains about the terminal service during the flight delayed. Please write
him back!
Aspect Criteria 1 2 3 4
Writing email Accurate
Clear
Filler
Language Use Confirmation
Checker
Intonation
Extra- Gestures
Linguistic
Facial
Clues
Expressions
*(1=awful, 2= improvable, 3=ok, 4=excellent)
7. Evaluation
In this part, I would like to provide two evaluation worksheets that I gave Ss by the end of the
course: Peer Evaluation and Review Worksheet. Peer Evaluation is piloted to the Ss throughout
the course and the Review Worksheet is provided and collected in the last day of the ESP course.
Here is the sample of the peer evaluation as following:
Peer Evaluation
Watch the videotaped role-play of direction-giving situations and evaluate each pair's
performance using the following rating scale.
Note: Do not forget to add any other aspects you feel important and your comments.
Name: ___________ Date: _____________

24
Aspects Criteria 1 2 3 4 Comments
Direction Giving Accurate
Clear
Filler
Language Use Confirmation Checker
Intonation
Extra-Linguistic Clues Gestures
Facial expressions
Others
Homework
Find a partner and make direction-giving conversations in your working environment.
(Copy editing: DING Yanren)
Additionally, at the seventh meeting, I will provide a review worksheet to my ESP students.

REVIEW WORKSHEET
Dear Student : …………………………………………………………………………
Class : ……………………………………………………………………………………

We would like to send you a REVIEW SHEET for you to give feedback on our ESP course:

 Time of Attendance

 Students’ Review

WHAT YOU ACHIEVED WHAT YOU HAVEN’T ACHIEVED YET

 What is your suggestion for our ESP course improvement?

25
 Thank you for attending our courses, we hope you enjoy your study!

Sincerely!
Da Nang,

To my knowledge, Facebook has certain pros and cons and EFL teachers should be aware of
what is adequate to their learners/students and then integrate Facebook into the learning and
teaching English process appropriately.

On the one hand, there are some strengths of using Facebook for EFL teaching and learning:

+ Learners of English can spend more time for their self-study than just only attending the
classroom offline.

+ Today, an increasing numbers of people consider Facebook as the very powerful mean of
communication that results in the undoubted importance of applying Facebook in the process of
learning and teaching English.

+ When teacher of English posts a discussion on the Facebook group page, it seems that
students/learners can be more confident to deliver their thinking which is compared to sitting in a
class and saying nothing when students are asked to answer a certain question provided by the
teacher/educator especially in the context of the educational system in Viet Nam.

On the other hand, there are some selected limitations of using Facebook in the process of
teaching and learning English.

+ The lack of face-to-face communication

+ Plagiarism

+ It is complex to teach English speaking skill largely due to the bad Internet connection in
some circumstances especially in the context of Viet Nam-a developing country.

All in all, teachers of English should try to integrate and apply the advantages of Facebook in
their teaching processes and minimize the disadvantages as much as possible in order for
attaining the best result for their students respectively.

26
 8. Conclusion
In line with social constructivist theory, the major benefits of Facebook as a powerful learning
tool include affordance of opportunities for students to collaborate and share knowledge (Bosch,
2009; Maloney, 2007; McCarthy, 2012) and its competence to promote, “greater interactive
learning opportunities through genuine communication and social interaction in the target
language” (Wang & Vasquez, 2012, p. 416). The opinions voiced and attitudes expressed by the
participants of this study regarding the use of Facebook in L2 education were generally positive
overall, but the findings need to be replicated in other environments in order to confirm results
that are more definitive. Nevertheless, for educators considering the use of Facebook in a L2
classroom setting, several notable suggestions emanate from this study.
The first thing is that it is suggested to maintain an open mind about Facebook’s educational
value as students overall demonstrated positive attitudes toward its usefulness. Specifically in
this research, students specified essential class materials not being tied to time and place as one
of the prime strengths of Facebook’s educational potential. Another one would be this study
showed that when activities are conducted within a learning community composed of peers,
learners took an active role and exhibited more self-determination to improve their weakness
until they were personally satisfied. The last one is that based on this study, the researchers
believe that Facebook’s platform, although not without its limitations, is capable of providing
students with a multitude of activities that can be adapted and tailored for students’ learning
needs whether they be listening, speaking, reading, or writing tasks. Our conclusion is supported
by several other researchers who collectively infer that when activities through Facebook are
engaging and students can collaborate and reflect on their own learning, then motivation,
confidence, and attitudes will improve (Kaliban et al. 2010; Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds,
2007; Shih, 2011; Yunus & Salehi, 2012). Finally, Hardwood and Blackstone (2012)
summarize findings from this study as well as other similar studies. Accordingly, they reaffirm
Facebook’s potential role in promoting L2 teaching and learning, by claiming that because of its
popularity and prevalence in students’ lives, educators need to consider Facebook as a learning
tool that creates a greater community of learners, offers students another avenue for individual
knowledge development, and links formal and informal learning.
The researchers acknowledge the limitations of this preliminary study and have identified
several points of interest for improvement in future studies. First, both the quantitative and

27
qualitative questionnaires utilized in this study were original in concept and were not adopted
from another study. Although great effort was undertaken by both researchers to develop a
comprehensible and reliable questionnaire, the researchers combined several statements with
similar ideas into one whereas each item should have been presented separately on its own in
order to gather more accurate participant responses.
Taking all the things aforementioned above into account, ESP course design is thought and
defined as an integrated, systematic and flexible designing process in which consistent review
should be made on individual sub-processes in terms of the core elements of language use,
language learning and learners’ specific needs in a target context. In this final section, it is
necessary to discuss the limitations and future research directions of this course. The major thing
would be the material needs to take into account before the course starts on a group of subjects
similar to the target learners in terms of age, proficiency and profession to check whether the
syllabus and material are pitched on the compatible level and to allow time for some necessary
shifts and supplements. Apparently, there should be a preparation of pilot materials and
questionnaires in advance. The another thing is that although the learners' proficiency was
claimed to be intermediate, a proficiency test before entry is still needed as part of the needs
analysis process to make an accurate measurement of the learners’ English proficiency so that
some refining work could be done on the material. For example, it would be helpful if the
learners ever sat BEC (Business English Certificate, which assesses the English performance in
workplace and for business careers), for the scores should be a good source of reference.
Eventually, as Widdowson (1998) comments, the ultimate target of an ESP program is not only
conceptualized as a process of presenting the learners authentic materials prevalent in certain
field, but to teach the target learners the effective language use of a discourse community in
which they are or will hopefully be involved for further professional or occupational purpose.
Besides, it also aims to raise their awareness of the updated communication conventions shared
by the target discourse community. In the case of this course design, some research is worth
doing on the analysis of the text features of Facebook writing and other communicating
conventions of the airport discourse community to gain benefit the on-going course
development.

28
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Appendix 1 Questionnaire for Airport Information Desk Staff
Introduction:
This questionnaire aims to gather the information about in-service Airport Information Desk
Staff's needs in language and communication skills. The findings of the questionnaire will be
used only for research and educational purposes, so please as truthful as possible. It will take you
no more than 15 minutes to finish. ANONYMITY AND NON-TRACEABILITY ARE
ASSURED. Thanks for your time and support!
Information Desk is also called Help Desk at some airports, where staff is available to
help with any enquiries passengers may have about their journey, the airport or the local
area.
Part 1: Work-related Questions:
Please answer question (1) by choosing ONE answer only.
(1) How long have you been working at the Airport Information Desk?
a. Less than 1 year
b. 1 to 3 years (including 1 and 3)
c. 3 to 6 years (including 6)
d. More than 6 years
Please answer question (2) to (5) by ticking an appropriate number for each item and
give a few examples when required
(2) How often do you use the knowledge about the following areas?
Very seldom Very often
a. Checking-in 1 2 3 4 5
b. Security 1 2 3 4 5
c. Ticketing 1 2 3 4 5
d. Baggage-handling 1 2 3 4 5
e. Travelling 1 2 3 4 5
f. Others ________________________ 1 2 3 4 5
(3) How often do you undertake the following tasks?
Very seldom Very often
a. Giving directions to airport facilities and services 1 2 3 4 5
b. Giving suggestions about travelling 1 2 3 4 5

33
c. Giving information about prohibited items 1 2 3 4 5
d. Dealing with lost & found properties 1 2 3 4 5
e. Others ________________________ 1 2 3 4 5
(4) How often do you READ the following types of English texts?
Very seldom Very often
a. E-mail 1 2 3 4 5
b. Letter 1 2 3 4 5
c. Documents and policy 1 2 3 4 5
__________________________
d. Newspaper and magazine 1 2 3 4 5
__________________________
e. Others 1 2 3 4 5
___________________________
(5) How often do you WRITE the following types of English texts?
Very seldom Very often
a. E-mail 1 2 3 4 5
b. Letter 1 2 3 4 5
c. Reports 1 2 3 4 5
__________________________________
d. Others 1 2 3 4 5
__________________________________
(6) Please indicate the important factors that determine the success of communication
taking place at Airport Information Desk
(7) Please complete the following sentence in your own words:
The primary things that I have found annoying in dealing with passengers' questions are...
(8) Please describe the procedure you normally follow after picking up a phone call from
a passenger
Please answer question (9) by choosing ONE answer only
(9) The style of e-mail writing at Airport Information Desk can be described as:
a. Commercial
b. Casual

34
c. In the line with specific passengers' style
d. Uniform within the airport corporation I am working for
f. Uniform across the airport industry
(10) Please give respective examples of the openings and the closings frequently adopted
in the e-mails you write to your passengers.
Opening:
Closing:
Please answer question (11) by ticking an appropriate number for each aspect and give a
few examples when required.
(11) How much do you enjoy the following aspects of the Airport Information Desk you
are working at?
Not at all Quite a lot
a. Working as a team 1 2 3 4 5
b. Giving accurate information to those who need it 1 2 3 4 5
c. Never knowing what the next question is 1 2 3 4 5
d. Feeling satisfied after solving tricky problems 1 2 3 4 5
e. Others________________________________ 1 2 3 4 5
(12) Please write down your responses to the following passengers inquiries just passed
to you:
a. "Hi, I just found this hearing aid near the lift."
"_______________________________________"
b. "I was passing through your airport last year, and I lost something."
"____________________________________________________________"
c. "I've got to get to gate B26. What food is down that way?"
"_____________________________________________________"
d. "Is there Wi-Fi in this airport?"
"______________________________________________________"
e. "Where can I smoke without getting searched?"
"__________________________________________________________"
(13) If you were put on an English course tailored for Airport Information Desk Staff,
what would you like to have in this course?

35
 Part II: Learning-related Questions
Please choose only ONE answer under each of the questions from (14) to (18) and give a
few examples when required.
(14) Did you use English in any of your previous jobs?
a. Yes b. No
(15) If yes for (14), did you use more spoken or written English? If no, just leave this
blank.
a. Spoken b. Written c. Half and half
(16) Did you mainly use English to communicate with native speakers (such as British)
or non-native speakers (such as German), or both?
a. Native speakers b. Non-native speakers c. Both
(17) Which was your most preferred way of learning English?
a. Memorizing vocabulary and grammar rules
b. Listening to tapes and watching movies
c. Writing or speaking for the purpose of communication
d. Others _________________________________________
(18) What's your attitude towards errors?
a. They should be absolutely avoided
b. They should be corrected immediately after being found.
c. They should be tolerated to some extent as long as you can get yourself understood
d. Others ______________________________________________________________
(19) Please fill out the form below
Age: Gender:
Company: Section:
English learning experience:
How long? (write your answer below) What level? (choose an answer below)
Under university level
At university level
Above university level
___________________________________________________________________________

36
Appendix 2
Sample Material
Day 1. Giving directions to airport facilities and services
What do you know about...?
Discuss:
1. What kind of facilities and services are there in the airport where you work?
2. What should you pay attention to when giving directions to them?
What need you know about...?
Listen to a podcast of dialogue and fill in the blanks.
S1: How do I ________?
S2: _________? Go up to the bridge, and that's on Farm Lane. And you want to go right all the
way up until you pass. Do you know where ___________?
S1: Pretty much.
S2: Do you know where _______?
S1: Yeah, I know.
S2: __________When you see the Agriculture Hall, it will be on your right hand side. You want
to go left again down towards Akers. Then the Vet Clinic should be on that road, and it says Vet
Clinic.
S1: It does?
S2: Yeah. You can't miss it. It should be ______________
S1: Okay.
S2: ___________.
S1: Thank you very much. (Scotton and Bernsten, 1988)
Discuss:
1. What are these missing expressions used for in the above dialogue?
2. Can you think of other expressions which could be used to replace these expressions in the
dialogue?
Listen to the dialogue again and discuss:
1. Is the transcription you filled up exactly the same as the original dialogue?
2. If not, what are still missing?
3. Do you think it is alright to have a conversation in real situation as the transcript shows? Why?

37
4. Are there any difference between this dialogue and the direction-giving talks you have had
with passengers? If yes, please specify it.
What would you do when....
A terminal map is displayed on the front screen (Map link:
http://www.phl.org/flashterminalmap.html).
Situation 1:
You are working at the Information Desk (with icon "?") around the International Arrivals, when
an old man, wearing listening aid device, just off a plane, asks you about the nearest shopping
mall and the ticketing point of Northwest Airlines.
Situation 2:
You are working at the Information Desk (with icon "?") near Terminal F, when a middle-aged
woman, holding a kid in her arm, asks you where she could collect her baggage and exchange
the currency.
Discuss in pairs how to give directions in these two situations and role-play the situation with the
help of the screen map. In role-play, please try to use the expressions you have just learnt in
previous dialogue. The role-play will be videotaped for evaluation at the end of the lesson.
Have you sensed the issue of...?
1. Watch the video clips of 10 mini direction-giving conversations on street (Video link:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Zud6SkltQVw)
2. Choose the worst in terms of the politeness of direction-giver responses and explain your
reasons.
3. How would you respond if you were giving the direction?
4. It has been said that the British culture stresses negative politeness more than other cultures;
by negative politeness, pragmatics researchers mean respecting the hearer's need to be
independent, free and not imposed when making action, showing distance and avoiding intruding
(Cutting, 2002:45). Do you think this argument explains some behaviour in the video clips? If
yes, how? Do you think this kind of politeness similar as or different from the politeness in your
culture? Why? Please support your arguments with some examples.
You can be critical about....
Discuss in pairs:
1. What is your view about the direction-giving patterns presented in the podcast?

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 2. Do you think using or knowing them will help you in your working context? Why?
3. How would you deal with a direction-giving task if what you are supposed to do conflict
with your experience and certain factual situation?
Language focus
1. Expressions
Put the randomly ordered components of a direction-giving conversation in the first framework
into the second framework according to a reasonable order, and then add as many examples as
you can after each component. Note: some can be used more than once or interchangeably, so
you could draw some more checks if necessary
Conversation components Example
a. Opening Let's see.
b. Pre-closing It's kinda a long walk.
c. Closing Yep.
d. Request for directions How can I....
e. Filler Um
f. Direction Go down this street...
g. Confirmation checker Ok?
Conversation procedure More examples
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
2. Vocabulary
In pairs, one presents some signposts about airport facilities and services, and the other write on
a provided card the keywords indicated by the signposts and as many words frequently co-
occurring with the keywords in airport surroundings as possible. Then exchange the role within
pairs.
For example:

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Baggage: baggage retrieval, baggage claim area, baggage delay, Baggage allowance, control on
hand baggage or hold baggage, dump the baggage etc.
Some more signs

3. Intonation
Listen to part of the original first dialogue again, and mark certain arrows at the end of each
sentence to show the pitch movement.
S1: How do I get to the Vet Clinic?
S2: The Vet Clinic? Oh man, it's a haul(pause) Uh, okay. Go up to the bridge, and that's on Farm
Lane. And you want to go right all the way up until you pass_um. Do you know where_um. Are
you familiar with the campus?
S1: Pretty much.
Discuss in pairs about the pitch movements chosen in the dialogue, and then match different
movements with the implications they have.
Pitch movements Implications
Fall Yes/no questions
High rise Incompleteness; more to come
Low rise Politeness
Completion statement
4. Extra-linguistic clues
Firstly, watch the video clips of direction-giving conversations on street again, while taking
down the gestures and facial expressions noticeable to you as well as the meanings they convey.
Are there any other specific clues you tend to use or you saw people use voluntarily or
involuntarily in similar situations?

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 Examples Meanings

Gestures
Facial expressions
Peer Evaluation
Watch the video-taped role-play of direction-giving situations and evaluate each pair's
performance using the following rating scale.
Note: Don't forget to add any other aspects you feel important and your comments.
Name: ___________ Date: _____________
Aspects Criteria 1 2 3 4 Comments
Direction Giving Accurate
Clear
Filler
Language Use Confirmation Checker
Intonation
Extra-Linguistic Clues Gestures
Facial expressions
Others
Homework
Find a partner and make direction-giving conversations in your working environment
(Copy editing: DING Yanren)

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