| Summary: | 博士 === 國立新竹教育大學 === 教育學系博士班 === 100 === The purposes of this study were to explore the specific ESP reading difficulties and what ESP (English for specific purposes: English for Tour Guides) reading difficulties EFL students encountered most, to identify the impact of the variables of ESP reading difficulties on ESP scores and the impact of the variables of ESP reading difficulties on one another, to present the difficulties among the students with different English proficiency levels, to reflect on overcoming the students’ problems, and to provide ESP teachers with more remarkable insights about the implementation of ESP reading. The participants in this study were 96 students, who took elective ESP courses offered in 2011 by the Business and Tourism English Department at a private technical college. The study was a mixed method design employing quantitative and qualitative methods.
Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) were utilized in this study to analyze ESP reading difficulties among EFL students. The quantitative result revealed that the most influential determinant of ESP scores was the variable concerning difficulty with background knowledge. The next most influential one was difficulty with learning and using language. Difficulty with motivation had no direct impact on ESP scores, but a positively direct and great effect on difficulty with background knowledge that impacted the ESP scores the most. Regarding the scores of English Tour Guides tests and TOEIC, language compensated for difficulties with background knowledge.
Moreover, semi-structured interviews held with seven students who represented the high, medium, and low ranks based on the scores of English Tour Guides tests and TOEIC presented a complete picture of the influences among the variables of ESP reading difficulty on ESP scores. Furthermore, a focus group involving the same students who participated in the interviews was held in order to reflect on the ways to resolve the ESP reading difficulties they encountered. The qualitative results showed that students’ ESP background knowledge, language ability, and reading strategies can be developed, and students can be motivated to engage in ESP reading. Further pedagogical and research implications for ESP reading were also discussed in this study.
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