An-Najah National University Faculty of Graduate Studies THE PERCEPTION OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS TOWARDS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES COURSE ON IMPROVING THEIR READING COMPREHENSION OF ENGINEERING TEXT By Sali Saied Sari Khalil Supervisor Dr. Suzanne Arafat This thesis is Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master, Methods of Teaching English Language, Faculty of Graduate Studies, An- Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine. 2022 ii THE PERCEPTION OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS TOWARDS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES COURSE ON IMPROVING THEIR READING COMPREHENSION OF ENGINEERING TEXT By Sali Saied Sari Khalil This Thesis was Defended Successfully on 31/03/2022 and approved by: iii Dedication This thesis is dedicated with gratitude to: Allah Almighty for giving me the strength and the ability to complete this work ... My family, A special feeling of gratitude is to my loving parents who were and still supporting me in every step that I would have in my life... My wonderful sisters for their unique friendship and support… My grandmothers' soul who cared, loved and supported me unconditionally… My dear Dr. Suzanne Arafat who supported and taught me a lot… iv Acknowledgment I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my Supervisor Dr. Suzanne Arafat, for guidance, support and endless cooperation and advice. Thanks are also extended to the Faculty of Graduate Studies at An-Najah National University in general and to all instructors in the English Department in specific. I gratefully acknowledge the help and the encouragement of Dr. Sohiel Salha. I would like to thank the internal Examiner Dr. Fawaz Aqel for his comments, feedback and insight which helped me improve and enhance this study. I also would like to thank the external Examiner Dr. Mosaddaq Barahmeh for his valuable feedback and recommendations which improves the work a lot. Finally, I would like to offer my gratitude and respect for my mother and father for their patience, encouragement and for sacrifice that they have made while completing this thesis. v Declaration I, the undersigned, declare that I submitted the thesis entitled: THE PERCEPTION OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS TOWARDS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES COURSE ON IMPROVING THEIR READING COMPREHENSION OF ENGINEERING TEXT I declare that the work provided in this thesis, unless otherwise referenced, is the researcher’s own work, and has not been submitted elsewhere for any other degree or qualification. Sali Saied Sari Khalil Student's Name: Signature: 31/03/2022 Date: vi List of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgment ............................................................................................................. iv Declaration ........................................................................................................................ v List of Contents ................................................................................................................ vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... ix List of Appendices ............................................................................................................ x Abstract ............................................................................................................................ xi Chapter One: Introduction and Theoretical Background .......................................... 1 1.1 Introduction and theoretical background .................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the study ................................................................................................. 3 1.3 objectives of the study ................................................................................................ 3 1.4 Questions of the study ................................................................................................. 4 1.5 Significance of the study ............................................................................................. 5 1.6 Definitions of terms .................................................................................................... 5 1.7 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................. 7 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 7 2.2 Studies Related to ESP ............................................................................................... 7 2.2.1 What is English for Specific purposes (ESP) ...................................................... 7 2.2.2 The Differences between English for Specific purposes (ESP) and General English (EG)................................................................................................................. 8 2.2.3 Types of English for specific purposes ............................................................. 10 2.2.4 Benefits of English for specific purposes (ESP) ............................................... 11 2.2.5 The role of teachers and students of ESP .......................................................... 11 2.2.6 Characteristics of ESP Material ........................................................................ 14 2.3 Studies related to Reading comprehension ............................................................... 14 2.3.1 Definition of reading ......................................................................................... 14 2.3.2 Definition of Reading Comprehension ............................................................. 15 2.3.3 Types of reading ................................................................................................ 16 2.3.4 Levels of Reading Comprehension ................................................................... 17 2.3.5 Importance of Reading Comprehension ........................................................... 19 2.3.6 Problems in Reading Comprehension ............................................................... 20 vii 2.3.7 Reading Comprehension Strategies .................................................................. 21 2.3.8 Activities to Check Reading Comprehension ................................................... 23 2.3.9 The Effectiveness of English for specific purposes course on the students' reading comprehension ........................................................................................................... 23 2.4 Comments on Previous Studies ................................................................................ 27 Chapter Three: Methodology and Procedures .......................................................... 28 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 28 3.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 28 3.3 Population of the Study ............................................................................................. 28 3.4 Sample of the study ................................................................................................... 28 3.5 Instrument of the study ............................................................................................. 30 3.6 Validity of the Instrument ......................................................................................... 30 3.7 Reliability of the Instrument ..................................................................................... 30 3.8 Procedures of the study ............................................................................................. 31 3.9 Variables of the Study ............................................................................................... 31 3.10 Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................. 31 3.11 Summary ................................................................................................................. 32 Chapter Four: Results of the Study ............................................................................ 33 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 33 4.2 Results ....................................................................................................................... 33 4.2.1 Results Related to the First Question ................................................................ 33 4.2.2 Results Related to Second Question ................................................................. 34 4.2.3 Results Related to the Third Question .............................................................. 34 4.2.4 Results Related to the Fourth Question ............................................................. 35 4.2.5 Results Related to the fifth Question ................................................................ 36 4.3 Summary ................................................................................................................... 37 Chapter Five: Discussion of the Results, Conclusion and Recommendations ........ 38 5.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 38 5.2 Discussion of the Results .......................................................................................... 38 5.2.1 Discussion of the Results Related to the First Question ................................... 38 5.2.2 Discussion of the Results of the Second Question ............................................ 39 5.2.3 Discussion of the Results of the Third Question ............................................... 40 5.2.4 Discussion of the Results of the Fourth Question ............................................. 40 5.2.5 Discussion of the Results of Fifth Question ...................................................... 41 5.2.6 Limitations of the Study ........................................................................................ 42 viii 5.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 42 5.4 Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 43 List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... 44 References ....................................................................................................................... 45 Appendices ...................................................................................................................... 51 ب ............................................................................................................................... الملخص ix List of Tables Table (1): The distribution of the study sample due to the gender variable ................... 29 Table (2): The distribution of the study sample due to the study year variable ............. 29 Table (3): The distribution of the study sample due to the cumulative average variable 29 Table (4): The distribution of the study sample due to the English language Level ...... 29 Table (5): Estimation level of students' responses .......................................................... 32 Table (7): T-Test for independent samples of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to gender ............................................... 34 Table (8): Frequencies, Means and standard deviations of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to the variable of the study year ....................................................................................................... 35 Table (9): Frequencies, Means, and standard Deviations of engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to the English language level ................................................................................................................ 35 Table (10): Results of One-Way ANOVA for the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to the English language Level 36 Table (11): Frequencies, Means and Standard Deviations of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to Cumulative average ........................................................................................................................ 36 x List of Appendices Appendix (A): Means, Standard Deviations and estimation value of the engineering students towards the effectiveness of ESP cours ................................ 51 Appendix (B): Results of One-Way ANOVA for the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to the cumulative averag ............................................................................................................ 53 Appendix (C): Instrument of the Study before Modification ......................................... 54 Appendix (D): Instrument of the Study .......................................................................... 57 Appendix (E): The Validation Committee for the Questionnaire ................................... 60 xi THE PERCEPTION OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS TOWARDS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES COURSE ON IMPROVING THEIR READING COMPREHENSION OF ENGINEERING TEXT By Sali Saied Khalil Supervisor Dr. Suzanne Arafat Abstract This study aimed at investigating the Perception of engineering students towards English for Specific Purposes course on improving their reading comprehension of engineering texts at An- Najah National University in Nablus City. Also, it aimed at determining the effect of independent variables: gender, study year, English language level, and Cumulative Average on their perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course on improving their Reading Comprehension of different engineering texts. This study attempted to answer two main questions: What is the perception of engineering students towards English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text? And Are there any significant differences in students' perception towards the effectiveness of the English for specific purposes course due to the students' gender, study year, English language level and the cumulative average variables? To achieve the goals and answer the questions of the study the researcher used a questionnaire. The population of the study consisted of (300) of engineering students at An-Najah National University in Nablus city and the sample consisted of (155) students who were chosen randomly. The findings of the study showed that Engineering students have a positive perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course on improving their reading comprehension. Based on these findings the researcher recommended including the ESP courses in various academic specializations since they are effective in increasing the students' reading comprehension, teachers should modify the material to be appropriate for the xii engineering field. The researcher also suggested conducting more research on the effectiveness of using the ESP courses on improving the reading comprehension skills on other subjects. Keywords: Reading Comprehension, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Engineering students. 1 Chapter One Introduction and Theoretical Background 1.1 Introduction and theoretical background Nowadays, we cannot deny that this world is shrinking due to the huge development in different aspects of life, such as: technology, education, communication and languages. The modern information age with previous revolutions in languages, especially English language in the syllabuses, has brought the far regions of the world together. Moreover, the educational domain continues to grow and the demand for mastering English language is increasing. We are living in a world that considers English as a medium of communication between people from different countries due to the big number of people who can speak and understand it. This means that the job market needs people who can function in the language and interact in different situations effectively. Based on that, English language is considered an imperative for preparing its students for these realities. Thus, teaching English language for specific purposes is a necessary for enhancing both teaching and learning English. Nishanthi, (2018) suggested that the main source for having a successful communication is language. It is the way that people use to share their opinions, exchange information, knowledge, ideas and feelings. One of these languages is English. It is considered to be an international language since it is the most common spoken one, due to the reason we cannot deny the significance of this language. To learn this language students need to be patient and have more practice. English knowledge is a need for students who want to have a wide access to the modern age. For instance, the advanced countries open their working doors to those who are qualified in English language. In another words, students who are dreaming about having a good job and a better future need to learn and master the English language. Reading is one of the receptive skills of learning any language that any student has to take into account while learning. (Ul-Haq, Khurram, & Bangash, 2019) defined reading as a process of collaboration, interaction, and problem solving that aim at creating a real meaning for the text. (Nurjanah, 2018) stated that understanding the text requires catching some information to be able to answer some questions related to the text. Reading is an 2 activity that need to be practiced regularly. And the comprehension of any text is affected by students' familiarity with the topic, to motivate them complete reading. English for specific purposes (ESP) is one branch of English language teaching (ELT) branches. It consists of both teaching and learning English language skills or needed functional language for special purposes. This branch supports learning the language in related situations that facilitate and enhance gaining the appropriate and meaningful language (Chalikandy, 2013). Teaching English for specific purposes (ESP) is different from teaching English in general. ESP is aimed at providing students with a particular needed language to be used in a special or a particular domain, while English in general aimed at a very wide range of students without having one specific goal. (Day & Krzanowski, 2011) The term of English for specific purposes (ESP) improving the relationship between what students learn and what they need to use in special domains, such as: teaching English for engineering, in this field students will learn English language that concerns their domain. In another words, ESP provides students with a functional language to be used in appropriate places and situations (Fitria, 2020). To sum up, English for specific purposes is a teaching material that requires focusing on specific topics or goals in order to improve teaching and achieving English language effectively. This study introduces and assesses teaching English language for specific purposes in improving reading comprehension from the engineering students' at An- Najah National University perception. This study is seeking to find out if the ESP course has an effective role in facilitating the process of comprehending engineering texts since it related to the engineers' domain. It also, proposes that ESP course is an efficient material that teachers could use to motivate their students to learn and to make the process of learning more obvious and organized. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the engineering students' perception towards English for specific purposes course at An-Najah National University. 3 1.2 Statement of the study The objective of this study is to investigate the perception of engineering students towards the effectiveness of English for Specific Purposes Course on improving their reading comprehension of engineering text at An-Najah National University in Nablus city. Reading is more than just recognizing the symbols of letters to more complex process ''comprehension''. From the researcher experience in teaching English language, she noticed that some students find real problems in understanding what the text is talking about, they could not get the main idea of the text, they also could not determine the important information so they lose their interest and avoid participating in reading classes. These problems assures the study of (Sari, Santihastuti, & Wahjuningih, 2020) who confirmed that reading problems are based on: background knowledge, motivation, and reading strategies. It is impossible to master all vocabulary of any language. From this, English for Specific purposes comes to facilitate mastering reading comprehension by providing students with texts that related to their own fields, specializations, levels, backgrounds, and interests. At the same time, These texts provide students with functional vocabulary to be used appropriately in the needed situations. Considering the above, this study is oriented to help engineering students increase their reading comprehension by checking their perception toward the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course on improving their reading comprehension. It also attempts the fill the gap between the problems of reading comprehension and the skill of reading comprehension by answering the following question, ''What is the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course on improving their reading comprehension of engineering text?''. 1.3 objectives of the study This study aims to achieve the following objectives: 1- Investigating the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving reading comprehension texts in general and for improving engineering students' reading comprehension of engineering texts in particular. 4 2- Finding out the perception of engineering students at An-Najah National University towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering texts. 3- Finding out if there are any significance differences in the students' perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension due to the gender, study year, English language level and the cumulative average. The application of this material can help in making students more confident, able to gain and comprehended what they read effectively. This study is designed to find out the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving engineering students reading comprehension, it is also designed to explore their perception towards the ESP course in improving their reading comprehension. 1.4 Questions of the study This study examines whether the course of English for specific purposes is effective in improving reading comprehension skills for engineering students. In order to determine this, the study will attempt to answer the following questions: 1- What is the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving reading comprehension texts in general and for improving engineering students' reading comprehension of engineering texts in particular? 2- Are there any statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) in engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension due to the gender? 3- Are there any statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) in the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course in improving their reading comprehension due to the study year? 4- Are there any statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) in engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text due to the English language level? 5- Are there any statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) in the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text due to the cumulative average? 5 1.5 Significance of the study The significance of the study can be summarized in that some students find that reading comprehension of English language is a difficult challenge to master due to the diversity of topics and vocabulary, in addition to different levels, interests, backgrounds, experiences and objectives that students have. From this, English for specific purposes comes to facilitate mastering English language reading comprehension by providing students with functional texts related to their domains and specializations, which facilitate understanding the reading texts, it is also encouraging them to participate, interact and engage with their teacher and classmates effectively which leads to keep them in progress. By using English for specific purposes material in teaching reading comprehension, learners will be more interested, more motivated and involved with the lesson than being exposed to the general English language texts. ESP course provides students with the needed learning resources, which will increase their pace of learning and enhance their satisfaction about their performance. The researcher believes that this study will provide teachers with the sight about the effectiveness of English for specific purposes material and suggests how to deal with it, so they will get the benefit, facilitate and make their educational process more efficient. 1.6 Definitions of terms 1- English for specific purposes: In this study, the researcher has defined ESP as a material that provides its students with functional knowledge to be used in specific situations. 2- Reading comprehension: The researcher defined the reading comprehension as the ability of understanding and giving meaning to what being read. 1.7 Summary This chapter dealt with the theoretical background of the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving students' reading comprehension. In addition to that, the researcher gave a brief introduction about the study, then she put the statement of the study, stated out the questions of the study without forgetting to explain the 6 significance and the limitation of the study and defining some terms that mentioned in the title. Finally, this chapter indicated how the ESP course will help students achieve the ESP course objectives to increase their learning satisfaction. 7 Chapter Two Literature Review 2.1 Introduction Review of the related literature is arranged by the researcher topically. To ease handling this subject, the researcher classified this chapter into topics and subtopics, which are: Studies related to what is ESP, Differences between General English (GE) and ESP, Types of ESP, Benefits of English for specific purposes (ESP), The role of teachers and students, Characteristics of ESP material, and Studies related to the effectiveness of English for specific purposes courses in improving reading comprehension, which is categorized into subtitled, such as: definition of Reading, definition of reading comprehension, types of reading, levels of reading comprehension, importance of reading comprehension, difficulties in reading comprehension, strategies to teach and learn reading comprehension, activities to check reading comprehension and the effectiveness of English for specific purposes courses in developing learners reading comprehension. 2.2 Studies Related to ESP 2.2.1 What is English for Specific purposes (ESP) There are many educational terms that attract the educators and researchers attentions. one of these terms is English for specific purposes. So, What does it mean? (Indrasari, 2016) defined English for specific purposes (ESP) as an approach that aims to achieve the reasons that motivate students to learn. This style of learning is based on narrowing the domain of learning English language by concentrating on what do students need and want to learn. Irshad & Anwar, (2018) suggested that teaching English language has two main branches, including: Teaching English as a second language (ESL) and teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) and these two branches has two sub branches, which are: Teaching English for Specific purposes (ESP) and Teaching English for General (EG). Teaching English for specific purposes is a concept that is based on determining the students' needs, analyzing them in an organized way, then formulating and designing textbooks that meet and fulfill their needs and aims. 8 Fitria, (2020) stated that the term ''Teaching English for specific purposes (ESP)'' deals with teaching and learning English language where the aim of this teaching or learning is to use a particular functional language in a suitable situation. This type of teaching English focuses more on language in context more than teaching grammar or language structure. ESP teaches English language with reference to the students real world by concentrating on their needs and objectives. According to Nodoushan, (2020) study, English for specific purposes began from about 50 years ago as a part of English language teaching (ELT) , the main objective of it was to help international students in their academic writing where English is an educational medium. Also, it aimed to help non- English scientists to publish their works and writings in different English journals. English for specific purposes is defined in terms of its specificity and purposes. These terms entail the necessity of the students' needs who learn it in order to achieve special requirements that they will utilize in a specific situation. ESP must be characterized by authentic and genuine to serve the purposes of learning English language. On another words, ESP programs are based on the goal and the purpose of learning, the student's needs, the target situation, authenticity and genuineness. (Nodoushan, 2020) also mentioned that English for specific purposes includes approximately all the cases of the language and it is directed towards adult academic or professional students. Moreover, it is oriented to be connected with the purposes related to the communicative tasks, which make students ready to the different situations that may encounter them during their real life. To conclude, teaching English for specific purposes is a style of teaching and learning English that is based on the students' interest and what they need to know, which somehow could organize and improve their knowledge about English language. 2.2.2 The Differences between English for Specific purposes (ESP) and General English (EG) In (Islam, 2015) study he distinguished between English for Specific purposes (ESP) and General English (EG) in that ESP is a special branch of general English that work in enabling students to be successful by involving practical linguistic skills, and the main aim of utilizing it is to provide students with basic knowledge and information that qualify them with the necessary English language skills to help them encounter their practical 9 situational future challenges in a particular domain. However, General English supplies its students with the main knowledge of English language skills in general without highlighting one special goal. Another distinction could be done according to the way of implementing the Educational process. This appears obviously that ESP oriented the objective of learning to contribute achieving a specific goal. While, general English (EG) is oriented to improve the learners' general capacity. In the study of (Larouz & Kerouad, 2016), they pointed out that the distinction between ESP and general English can be made according to the approach of teaching. General language teacher has a material which is in most being in its final form and it is the teachers' responsibility to teach and cover it with a limited period. In another words, it's a top-down approach. However, the ESP is described as a bottom-up one, where teachers begin by analyzing their students' needs before taking into account the other issues. Like, the textbook, the methodology, the evaluation or even the course design. They also stated out that ESP can support ''team teaching'', which means that if an ESP teacher is not a highly qualified with the technical knowledge that would be appropriate to a particular domain, he could turn for assistance from a technical colleague who can provide him with the required knowledge. Also, an ESP teacher can monitor each student, make sure that everyone participates and improve the weakness points that learners may face during the learning process because ESP is concerned with a particular goal, which facilitates exploring the problems of learning and dealing with it immediately. Nodoushan, (2020) study suggested that the differentiation between English for specific purposes and English for general can be made with reference to the differentiation between driving and cars. Where the term driving reflects a type of competence and the idiom cars shows the tool or the thing that is used by a competence person. By analogy, this means that anyone who has the competence can use English language in different specific situations. The things that students need to use the language in specific contexts are training and modifying the language utilizing according to the purpose of using it. On the other hand, General English is an independent discipline language. (Nodoushan, 2020) also claimed that the differences between ESP and general English can be made according to the communicative or functional terms or according to the type of the text, the genre, situation, target language using and the aim. 10 Sam, (2020) mentioned in his study that there is a significant distinguish between English for specific purposes and General English in both the student himself and their purpose of learning English. Learning general English based on the four skills of learning any language: Speaking, Reading, Listening and Writing. While, English for specific purposes is based and focus on the students' needs which lead to concentrate on the most needed language skills for the student and the syllabus. (Sam, 2020) also suggested that ESP learners come to the classroom with a particular interest to learn, knowledge of a subject- matter and well- built strategies of learning. Students in the ESP classrooms are ready and well- disposed to focus on the meaning in the field of the subject matter. This means that English language should not be learned only as a subject but it should be learned in functional. 2.2.3 Types of English for specific purposes According to study of (Fatmawati, Gani, & Abdul Samad, 2018) English for specific purposes has two types: English for academic purposes (EAP) and English for occupational purposes (EOP). These two types differ because the term EAP is needed in the educational institutions, like, schools, colleges, universities or educational centers. EAP is related to the formal purposes and goals of the educational system. While, EOP is utilized for professional communication in professional contexts, such as: engineering, medical and business. Also, they pointed out that ESP is divided into three main parts, including: English for science and technology, English for social science, and English for Business and Economics. These three parts are sub- branches of both EAP and EOP. English for specific purposes has three main parts, which are: English as a restricted language, English for academic and occupational purposes and special topics in English language. The first type related to the ones who learn the language to serve their study domains specifically, so they could not communicate in situations that are far from a specific environment. While, English for academic and occupational purposes deal with the educational demands and professional needs. And the last one deals with transferring the focus from the purpose, goal or the idea into topic, it also concerns with the future anticipated needs (Tafenau, 2017). 11 2.2.4 Benefits of English for specific purposes (ESP) Using English for specific purposes in teaching English language has many advantages. English for specific purposes affects the pace that students learn at, it increases the speed that they need to learn because they focus and learn what they need when they really need, in original contexts that is based on the content. Also, it helps students use specific resources in learning an identified skill. After using this material students would be ready to use the language appropriately in appropriate situations. ESP provides students with a personal satisfaction, especially when they feel that what they learn is worth and cover their needs (Plesca, 2019). According to the study of (Fitria, 2020), using an ESP supplies students with an efficient learning, because English for specific purposes provides them with a big chance to maximize the usage of the language which leads to acquire a specific skill or information. ESP provides students with a good opportunity to learn what they need in an accelerated and intensive context. English for specific purposes prepare students to use the language appropriately in the related functional tasks. To conclude, English for specific purposes has many advantages in that it designed to meet the students' needs and expectations, it is also increasing the speed of learning since that students focus on what they really need to learn. It supplies them with functional curriculum and the needed sources to learn a particular skill or knowledge and it helps them to expand the exposure time to the target language. 2.2.5 The role of teachers and students of ESP ESP always has a special concern in English language fields, and due to the increasing demands toward entering it to the English language classes particularly in higher educational levels. There is a big responsibility upon both teachers and students of ESP to achieve an effective learning. So what is the role of teachers and students in the ESP classes? 2.2.5.1 The role of ESP teachers Chibi, (2018) Claimed that teachers in the classroom have more than one role. For example, he is a Teacher when he teaches his subject, analyzes the needs of the students, 12 understands the material that he has and provides students with a relevant material that satisfies their needs. A course designer, when he provides his students with the tasks that fulfill the material, their needs and motivations. A researcher, when he searches and find more information about the topics of ESP to achieve the students' goals. He is a collaborator when he coordinates with his other colleagues. The main goal of collaboration is to know the skills, tasks, activities and the syllabus and how to integrate them to present the material effectively. The ESP teacher is also an evaluator. When he evaluates students' progress and provides them with feedback about their performance. The evaluation covers both, the students' performance and the material itself. Rachayon, (2020) indicated that ESP teacher is a teacher and learner at the same time. In ESP classrooms teacher is not the main source of the content of the material. In some cases, students may know more about the content than the teacher himself and accordingly teachers should take into account this point. Teachers should know how to learn from and with their students and how to involve them with the material effectively. When the ESP teacher accepts this fact he will be able to admit that he does not have a knowledge about something and he is willing to learn from his students who are specialists in the field. At the same time, ESP teacher should keep in mind that he is specialist in the language field and he is an expert in this domain. ESP teacher is a discourse analyst who must know how to analyze the texts and genres. Therefore, knowing the types and the disciplines of any field will help in organizing and facilitating the communicative behavior. Antic, (2016) confirmed that the function of ESP teachers is to use students' knowledge to expand and generate the communication in the classroom. According to this function teacher becomes a counselor who processes the knowledge practice with his students to apply it in the best way to achieve the objectives of teaching. He also emphasized that ESP teachers have to be flexible, good listener and have an active interest about their subject area to make the ESP classes more interesting and successful. In brief, the role of ESP teachers is not only limited to the process of teaching, but also extended to more roles that make teaching more professional, efficient and powerful. For example, A researcher when he searches for new information to stay up to date with new adaptations and to expand his students' knowledge. A counselor when he listens, talks 13 and exchanges the ideas with the students and evaluator when he assess his students' performance. 2.2.5.2 The Role of ESP students In the last decades, English language has undergone different changes where the students and their needs become the central concern of English language educators and scientists, which generates the flied of English for specific purposes that aims to prepare very good English language students. Since that ESP based on the students needs and attempts to fulfill them, their responsibility appears in that they should work to improve and develop their English language learning skills in order to reflect the knowledge and the skills of the native language. Moreover, they have a good chance to understand the language in comprehensible contexts. ESP facilitates learning the language by supplying its students with a relevant, interesting material that they could utilize even in their professional fields or in their academic classrooms. ESP courses help its students to expand their vocabulary in the fields that they are interested in to become more fluent. In other words, ESP students could learn English language effectively by basing on their innate competence (Fitria, 2020). Javid, (2015) reported that the pedagogy of English language teaching has a real concern specially in the last few decades. Individual learners and their differences become an interest factor for English language researchers. English for specific purposes is a technique that is based on the students' needs. ESP is students' centered approach. ESP students are the ones who learn English as a foreign language and they find that their academic subject is difficult although when they have background about it. In most cases, ESP students are usually marked according to their objective of learning. The role of the ESP students is to have both internal and external motivation towards learning. ESP students must be independent where they could learn alone and have the ability to find the alternatives in the needed situations. To conclude, The ESP students have a real role in enhancing their learning by being responsible to what they have learned. For instance, students can expand their vocabulary through reading materials related to their fields, they also have to participate, interact, involve with the lesson inside the classroom. Moreover, they have to be stimulated and 14 motivated to learn in order to make the learning process easier, meaningful and suitable for their expectations. 2.2.6 Characteristics of ESP Material Chilingaryan, (2012) claimed that English for specific purposes has some features that distinguish it from other teaching materials. ESP is defined to meet students' needs and work for achieving them, So it uses its basic methodology and discipline activities to serve this goal. Moreover, English for specific purposes always works to provide students with an appropriate language for the activities and tasks in terms of grammar, skills of study, genre, register, Lexis and discourse. (Salazar, 2017) explained that English for Specific purposes has two types of characteristics: absolute and variable. The absolute feature is concentrated with the students' needs, the content based on the professions and occupations, the activities based on the needed language in contrast to the General language. However, the variable feature is that the ESP courses is limited to one language skill and it may be taught without any pre-ordained methodology. English for specific purposes material is designed for special disciplines, it also differs from General English in that ESP is used for teaching specific situations that interest students. In most times, ESP is designed for intermediate and advanced students and it assumes that they have some knowledge of the language system. In addition to that, the permanent decision of ESP is to harness its components to achieve the students goals (Rao, 2019). 2.3 Studies related to Reading comprehension Reading is the skill that any student uses in every part of his life. It is the basic and the cornerstone of learning any language. Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills that students must master in order to facilitate their understanding of the texts and get the exact meaning of what they read. 2.3.1 Definition of reading Reading is a process based on interaction where the reader can build a representation meaningful of a text using effective strategies. Reading process includes the interaction 15 between the present knowledge of the reader and the setting of reading. It is a process of finding out the exact meaning of the text (Gilankjani & Sabouri, 2016). Reading is a significant skill that requires selecting wisely from the piles of the information given in different forms in the society of information, Reading is also described as a complex process because it covers the physiological and the cognitive connections and attributes (Ari, 2017). Reading is the most natural activity in the world, it is an essential part of people daily life, it is a dynamic, interactive process, it also gives them a chance to gain knowledge, interprets it to understand the language in its context (Ramos, 2018). To conclude, reading is a process of a dynamic interaction between the reader, text, language, grammar, cultural background, previous experience to make a sense meaning for the reading text. 2.3.2 Definition of Reading Comprehension According to Gilankjani & Sabouri, (2016) comprehension is a process of eliciting and making meaning for the written words through the interaction between the reader, the text, the previous knowledge and experience, and the information that presented in the text. They also mentioned that reading comprehension is a way to build meaning and the purpose of it is to understand the meaning instead of gaining the individual meanings of the words or sentences. Reading comprehension needs a lot of expansion and organization of different skills and sources and these skills and organization is based on the readers' level and age. Reading Comprehension is defined as constructing meaning from a written or spoken communication via exchanging the ideas. Comprehension consists of students who are active readers, processing what they read, creating a mental image, summarizing and giving conclusions. These actions help the reader understand, make connections, gathering information and details while reading to make meaning for the text. Reading comprehension assists students to use critical thinking to find the balance between the meanings the writer tries to convey and the interpretation of the reader himself (Moore, McCelland, Alef, & Vogel, 2016). 16 Kovacs, (2018) stated that Reading Comprehension is a complex process that is affected by some factors. It is more than being an automatic process to recognize certain signs and different meaning of the words. It includes interpretation, attempts to reveal the functional communication of the text. Reading in a foreign language has four phases, which are: recognizing the letters physically, decoding the meaning of the words, the level of understanding the word meaning as well as considering the grammatical aspects. Comprehending any text rely on the language proficiency, the reader himself, cultural competency, readers' background and the interested field. Reading comprehension is a term that indicates the ability to go beyond the words, understand the ideas, meaning and the relationship between the ideas mentioned during the text. It is a complex process organized by emotions, cognitive, experience and social (Prasetyo, 2019). In brief, reading comprehension is a very complex process that needs an effective interaction between the reader and the text. It also requires expanding information the one has, utilizing previous knowledge and experience to reflect it on what being read to increase the percentage of understanding. 2.3.3 Types of reading Gilankjani & Sabouri, (2016) stated that there are two types of reading, Extensive Reading and Intensive one. The first type is the one that deals with exposing the reader to a large number of words, materials and tasks. It is also skimming and scanning activities that has an effective role on expanding the students' knowledge and information. Extensive reading differs according to the students' goal of reading and it provides students with a chance to get their independency by reading either in their classrooms or in their houses. It also helps them to be self-oriented individuals who seek for gaining meaning which leads for linguistic proficiency, enhancing reading skills, promote confidence to continue learning. The second type of reading is the intensive one. This type is based on reading a specific paper, passage or a text in order to get the meaning and to be familiar with the style of writing. Intensive reading is very essential and useful to develop the students' reading comprehension since it concentrates on learning vocabulary and understanding the text. It is also important to increase the three phases of reading, which are: pre, during and post – reading for retention, better language reading 17 and activation strategies. This type of reading is considered as good tool for improving reading comprehension. According to Endris, (2018) Extensive reading is based on reading in quantity to gain a general comprehension of the text and develop good habits of reading. This approach of reading helps students to be better ones. The concern of this style of reading is based on the content not just on the linguistic skills. It also provides students with an enormous quantity of inputs and a low case of anxiety. According to (Khazaal, 2019) intensive reading is reading every single word in the text from the beginning to the end in accuracy, in depth and purpose. It is an activity that requires an effort and great mental concentration. The intensive reader should follow the rules and advices to avoid feeling bored and being tired. Intensive reading is a task that happens inside the classroom under the supervision of the teacher who cares basically about the texts that contain a new words and expressions. Intensive reading assists readers create a great number of words and useful expressions. To sum up, Extensive reading is type of reading that is based on reading the text in a whole to create a general idea about what the passage, the article or the text is talking about without taking into account the details. Whereas, the intensive type is the one which needs a lot of attention and concentration to get specific information. 2.3.4 Levels of Reading Comprehension Srisang & Everatt, (2021), mentioned in their study two main levels of reading comprehension skills, which are: lower and higher levels Reading Comprehension skills. Lower level reading comprehension skills, this level requires from students being able to decode the words and having the skills to recognize the accurate meanings. Vocabulary knowledge is an important element that affects the lower level of reading comprehension because it provides students with a basic understanding of the text. There is a good relationship between the number of words students have and the comprehension of any text, the more words students know the better understanding will be. There are many studies that assures the positive effect of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension on students' writing skills, this means that lower level of reading 18 comprehension skills based on the number of words students know and recognize while reading the passage or the text. Higher level of reading comprehension skills, this level is related to the inference. This process occurs when the reader combine between his previous knowledge or background about the topic with the information presented in the reading text, to generate new ideas which does not mentioned explicitly. Inference is the ability to use extra but significant information to fulfill comprehending texts. From this, Inference is considered to be the key of understanding since that it facilitates reading comprehension, so teachers are advised to provide students with more practice about how to inference and generate ideas by connecting their own experiences, previous knowledge with the text presented information. According Sari D. P., (2016) who mentioned in his study that there are four main levels of reading, Literal, interpretative, critical and creative. Literal level, in this level the reader function is to reproduce the ideas and facts as the writer convey in the text. This requires from the reader having a knowledge about the word meanings, recalling the ideas or summarizing or paraphrasing the text in their own words, and having a good understand about the sequence of the ideas of the reading text. This level is the simplest level of reading levels. The second level is interpretative, the readers function here is to go beyond the presented information in the text, the reader function is to recognize the significance data, attempts to note the relationships between the ideas and compare between them and draw conclusions. Critical level, in this level students learn to evaluate the language and the information that the writer use in his text and noting the writers' perception. This requires from the reader being able to analyze and evaluate the reading text. Creative level, is the last level of reading levels which requires from readers being involved with the texts' information as he uses it to generate new ideas or rethink about his own ideas. In another words, reading levels can be categorized into two main levels, these two levels of reading comprehension affect our understanding of any text. This appears in that lower level is based on the quantity of words students know or recognize while reading to achieve a basic understanding to the higher level which concentrate on the inference new ideas that support comprehending. The other categorized can be done according to four 19 main levels, which are: literal level, which based on understanding the explicit meaning of the text. Interpretative level, which based on inferring the ideas and information. Critical level, based on motivating students to read in depth to go beyond the meaning of the words. Creative level requires from readers interacting with the texts' data to generate new information to expand and enrich their previous knowledge. 2.3.5 Importance of Reading Comprehension English Language has four main skills that students must take into account while learning it. Some of these skills are productive and others are receptive. Students gain the receptive skills by being exposed to the language either orally or in a written way. In this case, students the meaning of the words in order to comprehend the received material. Reading is a receptive skill that students can get information from. Especially, the academic purposes. It is one of the most skills that people use to facilitate mastering any language. On the other hand, students who lack the reading ability result in poor academic achievement. Students who have difficulties in reading comprehension will not enjoy their reading, these difficulties could be as a result of lack of vocabulary students have. This point shows that there is a real important connection between amount of vocabulary that they have and reading comprehension, enough familiar vocabulary make what we read more obvious and organized (Al-Jarrah & Ismail, 2018). Scholars in the literacy field agreed that reading is an essential effective component in the academic development. They also agreed that reading is important for the intellectual, emotional, and social development. These Perceptions reflect what we call reading maturity, this concept is defined as the ability of readers to apply what they read on different aspects of their lives to expand their knowledge. The term reading maturity includes three derivative concepts, which are: Lines reading, between the lines reading and beyond the lines reading. The first concept involves decoding the words to build the authors' basic message, Reading between the lines involves making interferences to rebuild the writers' implied message. Beyond lines reading involves being able to judge the significance of the writers' message and applying it in different aspects and experiences. Readers must get a real benefit from reading to reflect it in different aspects of their lives (Squires, 2014). 20 2.3.6 Problems in Reading Comprehension Al-Jarrah & Ismail, (2018) confirmed that Reading comprehension is an essential component of reading that all students must ensure they have. However, some students may encounter some problems with comprehending the reading texts. Many studies investigated that there are some difficulties may face English language readers. One of these problems is the lack of vocabulary that they have. Vocabulary plays an essential role in understanding the complex reading materials. Low – level students may face problems in understanding the meaning of the words, synonyms, opposites or the words that have symbols. On the other hand, the more vocabulary the readers have the deeper understanding they will get. Having enough number of vocabulary facilitates understanding the strange words via connecting them with the context they used in. Another problem that Al-Jarrah & Ismail, (2018) belief may face readers is the ability to understand complex sentences. Complex sentences are type of sentences that are made out of several sentences, sometimes they have conjunctions, such as: however, although, but and so on. Difficulties of reading comprehension covers the factors of teaching methods, the information of the text, habits of reading, the text organization, the concentration and students' background. Some studies show that the motivation and the willing for learning are playing an important role on the reading comprehension. Others confirmed that the ability to determine the syntactic mistakes has a real impact on comprehending. Students who have a good reading background tend to read more which leads to improve their reading competence more than the ones who lack background of reading. Phonemic knowledge has an essential role on comprehending what we actually read. This knowledge is based on distinguishing the sounds of the letters in order to recognize the word. Nurjanah, (2018) indicated that understanding any text containing the ability to get some information from it. Reading comprehension requires from the readers to comprehend what they have read by answering some questions that are related to the text. This activity is hard for the students who have low frequency of reading habits. Most ELT students do not have good reading habits and this may be related to the low percentage of motivation that they get either from their teachers or parents. Reading is a frequent activity that needs to be done regularly. In addition to that, reading comprehension requires being familiar 21 with the topic to motivate and stimulate them keep reading. People usually read what they think will benefit them, so readers should choose the topics that get their aims of reading. According to Sari, Santihastuti, & Wahjuningih, (2020) reading comprehension problems refer to five main components: Problems of language knowledge, Background knowledge problems, and motivation problems, strategies reading problems and reading knowledge problems. The first problem refers to the lack of phonemic, semantic, syntactic, morphemic and pragmatic knowledge. The second one refers to the differences between the previous background and what the writer is trying to convey. The motivation that readers have play an important role in making reading process easier or more difficult. If readers have bad reading strategies, this will affect their reading process badly. The last one indicated that readers may forget what they have read so they need to read again from the beginning. To sum up, readers may face some difficulties in comprehending the reading texts and these difficulties may refer to different reasons, such as: lack of vocabulary, not being able to understand complex sentences, not having a reading frequent habit, not having the willing and the motivation to read, not having any interest or background about the reading text. Sometimes the problems of reading comprehension refers to the language knowledge or to the strategies of reading. these problems lead to make reading practice difficult and as a sequence will lose their interest and the motivation to read. 2.3.7 Reading Comprehension Strategies The study of Hadi, (2013) suggested some strategies and techniques that may facilitate reading comprehension: One of these strategies is identifying the purpose of reading, this strategy makes reading process going easily, being more obvious and more effective. Skimming is a good strategy that helps readers comprehend what they read by providing them with the main idea of the text, it also assists students to expect the purpose of the text, the writers perception and the supported ideas. Scanning is another example of strategies that readers take into consideration while reading. Scanning is a technique of reading that facilitate finding relevant information, readers here scan the text to find specific things. Like, names, dates, places or characters. Readers can make a semantic or clustering map to help them generate the major idea of the text and connect the words and ideas. Guessing technique is very 22 helpful in making reading process focused. Questioning strategy is another technique that motivates students to focus on what they read since it encourages them to read in depth. According to Gilankjani & Sabouri, (2016) there are many reading strategies that readers could use to expand their Comprehension. The first one is activating utilizing the background knowledge. They can activate it by combining the previous experiences with their concepts of how the written text works, involving recognition of the words, meanings of the vocabulary, and the formation of the text. The theory of schema has an essential effect in enhancing the process of reading comprehension because it is based on how readers activate their previous knowledge. Generating questions is a good strategy that help readers make connections, combine information, make a summary and give the main idea. Making inferences this way give students a good chance to draw conclusions and improve their ability to make meaning. Predicting is helpful in connecting the previous knowledge with the new one. The last strategy is summary technique which assists students to remember easily because they use their own words to sum up the text. Wang, (2016) assumed that reading strategies are actions directed the one himself, where the reader can deal flexibly with text to achieve the reading objectives. He also mentioned that the strategies of reading can be divided into: knowledge, cognitive, meta-cognitive and social strategies. Knowledge strategies work with the mental process which could be more social in its nature and its effectiveness appears by the meta-cognitive awareness. Cognitive strategy is the one that deals effectively with retrieval, storage and information acquisition for readers to infer and build meaning from the text. Meta-cognitive strategy involves the readers' knowledge of cognitive resources, cognitive processing awareness, and the ability to adapt the used strategies. The social strategy addresses inquiring for a clarification and verification, collaborating with the peers and the proficient users of the new language, improving and enhancing the cultural understanding and being aware of others' thoughts, ideas and feelings. To sum up, strategies of reading are the compass that guide the reader to go through the text, understand the topic of the text, take control of the information that mentioned in the text. There are many strategies that readers could use to facilitate their reading and reading comprehension processes. For example, having a good background about the text will make the reading comprehension process more comfortable for the students. Skimming 23 and scanning can enhance understanding the text by providing the reader with a general and particular information about the text. Making a chart or even a summary helps to make the ideas of the text more obvious and clear. These all strategies make the reading classes more interesting and successful. 2.3.8 Activities to Check Reading Comprehension In order to check students' reading comprehension (Habib, 2016) have mentioned some activities to help teachers check students' reading comprehension: One of these activities is yes and no questions, this activity based on answering the question by yes or no, some students answer this question by chance so teachers are advised to follow up this question by other type of questions to assure students' understanding. True or False questions, this type of questions based on give students a number of statements and the students' function is to decide whether the statements are true or false according to the reading text. Matching, to do this activity students have to choose from list of prompts, these prompts could be statements, headings or even a question completion. Wh-questions are the questions that starts with wh- words, such as: when, where, how, which, and who. These questions provide students with a real understanding of the text which leads to recognize the text and get information from it. Open-Ended questions, this type based on asking students some questions to check their ability in making inferences from the text. Multiple – Choice questions, this type of questions based on having a statement and three to four choices and students have to choose the correct answer according to the text. Gapped texts, this activity based on having some statements where a single word, or a phrase were deleted and students have to decide which word they should put in the gap to complete the statement. 2.3.9 The Effectiveness of English for specific purposes course on the students' reading comprehension According to Bojovic, (2010) the aim of reading and the balance between the language and the skills affect the way of teaching reading in English for specific purposes. ESP provides readers with two main contributions in the approach of teaching Reading comprehension. The first contribution is that ESP helps readers to transfer the text from being just a linguistic component to be a source of knowledge. The main principle of ESP students is that extracting information in an accurate way and quickly is more important 24 than language details. Understanding the macrostructure comes before studying the language and applying the text information is very important. In this case, the reader firstly process the language after that he will connect the ideas with the previous knowledge. The Second Contribution is that teaching reading in English for Specific Purposes course is the recognition that good reading needs both skills and language. According to Guerrero & Rodríguez, (2011) reading affects the quantity of information that the reader gets, which is good for improving the vocabulary, the forms of rhetoric. Reading is formulating the base of English for specific purposes curricula since that the goal of reading is to gain knowledge that readers need for a special goal or for individual purposes. Thus, reading comprehension supplies readers with a real understanding of the texts, decoding meanings, or constructing ideas and conclusions. Guerrero & Rodríguez, (2011) added that reading in English for Specific purposes approach requires activities, Like: Pre- reading activities, while reading and post- reading. The pre-reading activities may help in decreasing the knowledge anxiety because previous discussions will be integrated in the process of reading. Therefore, ESP teachers should enhance using pre-reading activities to provide readers with efficient reading. They also should take into consideration that they can explain some basic concepts, vocabulary and the framework of the appropriate concepts. In addition to that, they should make explicit links and connections between what the readers read and with their previous knowledge to facilitate acquisition of the information. And when students have an idea about what they are going to read they will be able to direct themselves efficiently while reading. During reading, ESP readers must read in an active way and using activities that enhance their reading process, such as: discussions, arguing, summarizing, questioning, and comparing the text with the personal experiences. After reading phase, based on the purpose of reading, types of the information and the notes. In the study of Amirian, (2013) aimed at investigating the effect and the impact of teaching Reading strategies on improving ESP students' Reading comprehension. He found that there is a good impact of teaching reading strategies on enhancing reading comprehension. Some scientists believe that reading is the most important skill of all four skills of learning a second or a foreign language. Having proficient reading skills became a real priority for English language students from this, teaching reading and strategies of 25 reading have a real significance. (Amirian, 2013) also pointed that using some reading strategies have a good effect on reading comprehension development. For example, providing students with a clear instructions will increase and expand the achievement of reading. The strategies of underlining ,note taking and analyzing the text performance by using the factual and the conceptual questions while reading any text make the reading process easier and more understandable. However, students who use the note-taking strategies tend to be more successful in reading comprehension. According to Tsai & Chang, (2014) the main aim of teaching English for Specific purposes is to help students read and comprehend the material of English Language in their own Fields. Therefore, improving and enhancing attractive, interesting materials and having skillful trainers, who could understand knowledge of a specific statement will help to make the ESP teaching more successful and efficient. Nowadays, we cannot deny the power of information and technology and their need to be professional in English language. For example, English language is considered as a international language for engineering students. Therefore, having the skill and the ability to read and comprehend English language in the technology and engineering fields is an essential demand in their future workplaces. These skills include, scanning, skimming, and understanding the explicit meanings and the implemented ones, the ability to understand the forms, tables and diagrams. Reading comprehension involves the processing of knowledge and information at different levels. Many researchers confirmed that syntactic knowledge played a real role in enhancing the reading comprehension. The ability of the reader to analyze the sentence syntactically will support understanding the texts. One of the factors that causes some difficulties in reading any text in a second language is not being able to distinguish between the syntactic categories. So, readers must work to enhance their syntactic analysis abilities to expand their comprehension. Tran & Duong, (2018) suggested that reading comprehension is the ability to read and understand the meaning of any text. This means, that comprehension requires being an active constructor of meanings by using different efficient reading strategies. Reading comprehension is a complex process that can be done in different approaches. The top- down approach, the bottom-up approach, and the interactive one. The top-down approach is the one where the students use their previous knowledge to predict what the text is about. The bottom-up one is where readers must recognize the linguistic signals 26 multiplicity, such as: forms, letters, syllabuses, words and sentences. The last type of reading approaches is the interactive one which combines between the readers, texts, and the components of the bottom-up and the top-down approaches. Tran & Duong, (2018) also explained that English for specific purposes (ESP) courses and programs deal with learning and teaching English for particular students and specific purposes. Due to that, English for specific purposes program contains both content-based knowledge and language-based knowledge, ESP students must be good at a particular domain of language and knowledge. They also indicated that ESP students especially the ones who have a limited knowledge of language work hard to understand the contents of the texts since that these types of courses and programs motivate their students to increase their vocabulary, expand their knowledge in their own fields and enhance them to use English language in their daily life. Phuong & Nghia, (2018) reported that ESP and the target of teaching English as a foreign language is to help students read and understand English language materials in the fields of their studies. Reading an academic text in the ESP course is very essential to get professional information in different domains of the study. (Phuong & Nghia, 2018) addressed that linguistic knowledge, prior knowledge, reading strategies, material and the motivation of reading are the main factors that affect reading comprehension. According to Phuong & Nghia, (2018) Linguistic Knowledge has a massive influence on the success of reading comprehension process. This factor concentrates on the lexical and syntactic knowledge. Related to this significance many language scientists proved that reading comprehension cannot be achieved without having enough number of general English words and several professional functional terms. Prior Knowledge is the background about the text content. Therefore, to achieve the complete understanding of the text readers have to make an interaction between the readers' background knowledge and the text. They also addressed that having a lack in reading strategies will affect badly on the reading comprehension process. Reading material is a decisive factor in the success of the ESP curriculum, the material must be a good source of the language, a supportive learning element, motivational and reference. Motivation for reading is the connection between the effort, the desire and the satisfaction, So having a motivation either an internal or external will enhance the reading comprehension of any text. 27 Irudayasamy, Souidi, & Hankins, (2020) stated out that there are a real transfer from general forms of learning English language into ones that are more specialized in English language teaching. In the last few decades, English language was seen as a social practice, and the focus on it was less than now. Whereas, in these days English language is one of the most important languages that people use to communicate. It is also the most predominated language in the world in the engineering, business, tourism and international studies. Irudayasamy, Souidi, & Hankins, (2020) addressed that Engineering fields' English for Specific purposes course is worked to prepare students to be able to read specific texts, understand lecturers and English language lessons, expressing and presenting themselves freely on engineering discussions. However, in many cases Engineering students are not able to persuade the interviewers of any job applications. Thus, English for Specific purposes becomes a real demand to enhance their future work chances. At the University of Dhofar, ESP course is offered as a part of engineering syllabus. This course aims to identify, recognize and recall the meanings of specific vocabulary, enhance the grammatical skills, infer the key engineering vocabulary meaning as they are given in contexts. The engineering working environment, requires having the ability to combine between the ability of solving problems and the communication skills. Interring the ESP course to the engineering syllabuses will enhance and improve mastering the English language and facilitating the communication between people. 2.4 Comments on Previous Studies To Conclude, Based on the researcher reading there is a clear relationship between the ESP material and reading comprehension. English for specific purposes provides students with specific reading texts that are related to their fields. ESP texts expand the number of vocabulary that students have. They connect the subjects of the material with the students' needs and fields. ESP texts encourage students to read more about their academic fields, get knowledge, extend their information, Stimulate their critical thinking, they increase the confidence that the readers need to be more satisfied about their learning. They supply students with a good comprehension of the reading texts. And this comprehension will change the text from being just a linguistic component to be a good source of information. At the same time, these good benefits will not be achieved without having good reading strategies. Therefore, it is the readers' role to read more, practice more reading strategies to apply them while reading any text or passage. 28 Chapter Three Methodology and Procedures 3.1 Introduction The purpose of this study is to examine the perception of the engineering students towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension. The descriptive approach has been followed in this study. The information has been collected from a sample of engineering students at An-Najah National University, which was chosen randomly. This chapter contains the steps and the methodology taken in conducting the research endeavor. This chapter presented the population and the sample of the study, as well as the practical procedures the researcher used to construct and describe the study instrument. It also includes the reliability and validity of the of the study tool. 3.2 Methodology A descriptive approach was used in this study. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of the engineering students towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course on improving their reading comprehension, so the researcher used a questionnaire as a tool to achieve the goal of the study and to attempt answering the questions of the study. 3.3 Population of the Study The population of the study consisted of (300) male and female students who study engineering at An-Najah National University during the second semester of the academic year 2021 -2022. 3.4 Sample of the study The sample consisted of (155) engineering students at An-Najah National University, including (68) males and (87) females who were selected randomly, served as the respondents and provided the data for this study in the academic year 2021\2022, second semester. The tables (1-5) below show the distribution of the sample according to the independent variables. 29 Table (1) The distribution of the study sample due to the gender variable Gender Frequency Percentage Male 68 43.9 % Female 87 56.1 % Total 155 100 % Table (2) The distribution of the study sample due to the study year variable Study year Frequency Percentage Second year or less 65 41.9 % Third year or more 90 58.1 % Total 155 100 % Table (3) The distribution of the study sample due to the cumulative average variable Cumulative average Frequency Percentage 60-69.9 27 17.4 % 70-70.9 55 35.5 % 80-89.9 56 36.1 % 90 and more 17 11 % Total 155 100 % Table (4) The distribution of the study sample due to the English language Level English Language Level Frequency Percentage Excellent 37 23.9 % Very good 70 45.2 % Good 40 25.8 % Acceptable 8 5.1 % Total 155 100% 30 3.5 Instrument of the study The engineering students perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course on improving their reading comprehension of engineering text were investigated through a 40-item questionnaire which was adopted from (Mousavi, Gholami, & Sarkhosh, 2019), (Iswati & Hastuti, 2021) and (Mostafavi, Mohseni, & Abbasian, 2021). The questionnaire consisted of two main parts, the first section dealt with the demographic profile, such as: gender, study year, English level and the cumulative average, whereas the second consisted of 40-items. The questionnaire was distributed amongst males and females of Engineering students at An-Najah National University during the second semester from the academic year 2021/2022. The items of the questionnaire were constructed according to four main domains. The first one aimed to reveal the students perception towards the effectiveness of the ESP material on improving their reading comprehension: (10 Items): 1-10, the second domain explored the students perception on the role of the ESP environment: (10 Items): 11-20. The third domain attempted to find out the students' perception about their role in the ESP classes: (10 Items): 21- 30. And the last domain was about the role of the language learning skills in the ESP classrooms: (10 Items): 31-40. The scores of the responses to each item were calculated according to the five-point Likert scale, which demonstrates the correlation of the following: Strongly agree = 5 points, Agree = 4 points, Neutral = 3 points, Disagree = 2 points and strongly agree = 1 point. 3.6 Validity of the Instrument To ensure the validity of the questionnaire, it was given to five experts and some teachers of English for specific purposes in the fields of education and English language at An- Najah National University. The experts' suggestions were taken into consideration and the instrument was modified and improved by adding and rephrasing some items. See appendix (C). 3.7 Reliability of the Instrument The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated through Cronbach Alpha formula was (0.874) which is acceptable for achieving the purpose of the present study. 31 3.8 Procedures of the study To implement this study the researcher used the following procedure to achieve the purposes of the present study: The researcher established the questionnaire that was adopted from (Mousavi, Gholami, & Sarkhosh, 2019), (Iswati & Hastuti, 2021) and (Mostafavi, Mohseni, & Abbasian, 2021). A group of educational and ESP experts approved the validity and reliability of the instrument. After that, the researcher distributed the questionnaire amongst the engineering students at An-Najah National University. Then, the researcher collected the questionnaire from the engineering students. Finally, the data was statically treated using the SPSS program. 3.9 Variables of the Study The study has two types of the variables: Independent Variables • Gender: which divided into two levels: Male and Female. • Study Year: with two levels: second year or less and third year and more. • Cumulative average: with four levels: 60-69.9, 70-79.9, 80-89.9 and 90 and more. • English language level: which divided into four levels: Excellent, very good, good and acceptable. Dependent Variables The perception of the engineering students at An-Najah National University towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text. 3.10 Statistical Analysis The data collected were analyzed using (SPSS) to provide answers to the questions of the study. Means, frequencies, standard deviation, t-tests for independent samples, and one- way (ANOVA) were used to get the final statistical analysis of the study. To analyze the 32 results of the study, the researcher used the following scale to present the estimation level of the responses of the students. Table (5) shows the scale. Table (5) Estimation level of students' responses Percentage Responses' degree Less than 3 Very low From 3 – 3.49 Low From 3.50-3.99 Moderate From 4 – 4.49 High 4.5 and more Very high 3.11 Summary In this chapter, the researcher presented the instrument used to collect the needed data to investigate the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes (ESP) course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering texts. The researcher also introduced the population of the study, the sample of the study, the variables of the study, the methodology, the validity and the reliability of the study tool, and the procedures that she used during the implementation of this study. 33 Chapter Four Results of the Study 4.1 Introduction This study was conducted to investigate the perception of the engineering students towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering texts. Chapter four presents the main results of the study. It also classifies the results of statistical analysis of the questionnaire according to the questions of the study. Accordingly, the data statistical analysis is used to answer the main and the sub questions of the study. A brief summary is also included. 4.2 Results This study aimed at investigating the engineering students perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension of the engineering text. It also aimed at identifying the effect of gender, study year, the accumulative average and English language level. To accomplish the purposes of this study, the researcher analyzed the data in accordance with the study questions and the results were as follows: 4.2.1 Results Related to the First Question What is the engineering students perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text? To answer this question, the researcher used means, standard deviations and estimation value as shown in Table (6). See appendix (A). Table (6) shows that the total degree of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text was (4.04) which suggests a high level of perception. The highest mean was given to the item (16) which is ''The ESP classroom environment promotes the interaction between the teacher and students and among the students themselves '' whose score is (4.54). This means that engineering students tend to believe that the environment of the English for specific purposes course improves the effective interaction between students and their teacher and between students themselves. The 34 result emphasized the interaction and the good relationships between the elements of the educational process. On the other hand, the lowest mean was given to the item (13) which is '' The environment of the ESP reading classrooms encourages individual work''. whose scores is (3.90) and this mean that ESP reading classrooms could not always encourage students to work individually. 4.2.2 Results Related to Second Question Are there any statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) in engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension due to the gender variable? To answer this question, the T-Test for independent sample was used and table (7) shows the results. Table (7) T-Test for independent samples of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to gender Gender N Mean S.D t Sig. * Male 68 4.11 0.08 1.53 0.127 Female 87 3.99 0.21 Total 155 4.04 0.17 * The mean differences is significant at the 0.05 level. Table (7) shows the statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) on the total degree of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text due the gender variable in favor of females. The significant value was (.127) which is more than (0.05). This means that there are no differences in the engineering students' perception according to Gender. 4.2.3 Results Related to the Third Question Are there any statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) in the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course in improving their reading comprehension due to the study year variable? T -Test was used, and table (8) shows the results. 35 Table (8) Frequencies, Means and standard deviations of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to the variable of the study year Study year N Mean S.D t Sig. * Second year or less 65 4.08 0.09 2.028 0.044 Third year and more 90 4.00 0.21 Total 155 4.04 0.17 * The mean differences is significant at the 0.05 level. Table (8) shows statistical significant differences at ( α = 0.05) on the total degree of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course on improving their reading comprehension of engineering text due to the study year variable in favor of the third year and more. The significant value was (.044) which is less than (0.05). This means that differences in the study year affect the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course. The researcher attributes this result to the different levels of knowledge that students have according to their academic years. 4.2.4 Results Related to the Fourth Question Are there any statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) in engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course on improving their reading comprehension of engineering text due to the English language level variable? One-Way ANOVA Test was used and tables (9 and 10) shows the results. Table (9) Frequencies, Means, and standard Deviations of engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to the English language level Cumulative average N Mean S.D Excellent 37 4.10 0.09 Very Good 50 4.03 0.15 Good 40 4.01 0.19 Acceptable 28 4.01 0.25 Total 155 4.04 0.17 Table (9) shows that there are differences between the means of the English language level. So, One –Way ANOVA test was used to indicate these differences. 36 Table (10) Results of One-Way ANOVA for the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to the English language Level Domain Source of variance Sum of squares df Mean square F Sig. Between Groups 0.226 3 0.075 2.545 0.058 Within Groups 4.477 151 0.030 Total 4.707 154 * The mean differences is significant at the 0.05 level. Table (10) Shows no statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) on the total degree of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text due the English language level. The significant was (0.058) which is more than (0.05). This means that English language level does not affect the engineering students perception towards the effectiveness of the ESP course in improving their reading comprehension. 4.2.5 Results Related to the fifth Question Are there any statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) in the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course on improving their reading comprehension of engineering text due to the cumulative average variable? To answer this question, One-Way ANOVA Test was used, and tables (11) and 12) show the results. Table (11) Frequencies, Means and Standard Deviations of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course due to Cumulative average Cumulative average N Mean S.D 60-70 27 4.00 0.28 70-80 55 4.04 0.16 80-90 56 4.05 0.13 90 and more 17 4.07 0.11 Total 155 4.04 0.17 Table (11) shows that there are differences between the means of the cumulative average. So, One-Way ANOVA test was used in order to indicate these differences and table (12) shows the results, See appendix (B). 37 Table (12) Shows no statistical significant differences at (α = 0.05) on the total degree of the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text due the cumulative average. The significant was (0.575) which is more than (0.05). This means that the ''cumulative average'' does not affect the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of the ESP course on improving their reading comprehension. See appendix (B). 4.3 Summary In chapter three the researcher presented the results of the statistical analysis of the study questions. Validity and reliability of the study instrument was showed clearly. The role of the study variables (Gender, Study year, Cumulative average and English language level) on the Engineering students' perception at An-Najah National University towards the effectiveness of the ESP course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text were presented. After the analysis, this chapter showed that there were differences among engineering students' responses toward the effectiveness of the ESP course on improving their reading comprehension of engineering texts to different variables: gender, study year, cumulative average and English language level. 38 Chapter Five Discussion of the Results, Conclusion and Recommendations 5.1. Introduction This chapter contains the discussion of the study results. Conclusion and the major recommendations based on the discussion of the results are included, in addition to a summary of the whole chapter. 5.2 Discussion of the Results 5.2.1 Discussion of the Results Related to the First Question What is the engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of English for specific purposes course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text? The results of the study indicated that the total score is considered high on the overall engineering students' perception towards the effectiveness of ESP course in improving their reading comprehension of engineering text. Furthermore, students lowest responses of agreement was on item (13) related to the role of the ESP classrooms' environment as it encourages the individual work. ESP teachers have to work to make the learning environment more comfortable and encouraging for enhancing the individual work. This is in agreement with (Javid, 2015) who stated that ESP is a material based on the students' needs. It's a material that concentrates on the individual students and their differences. Rachayon, (2020) shared this view that the teacher is not the main source of the knowledge in the ESP classes, so they should learn how to learn from and with their students and how to engage them with the educational process effectively. This indicates the teacher's role on facilitatin