The evaluation of tiếng anh 10 its suitability for students in mạc đỉnh chi high school

Based on the findings, implications for the teaching and learning of English in high schools and the book evaluation were discussed, and suggestions for the book content, teaching and le

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

” ” ”

ĐẶNG THỊ VÂN ANH

THE EVALUATION OF “TIẾNG ANH 10”:

ITS SUITABILITY FOR STUDENTS IN MAC DINH CHI HIGH SCHOOL

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF TESOL

HOCHIMINH CITY – 2007

MISISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHO MINH CITY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

” ” ”

ĐẶNG THỊ VÂN ANH

A THESIS IN TESOL

THE EVALUATION OF “TIẾNG ANH 10”:

ITS SUITABILITY FOR STUDENTS IN MẠC ĐỈNH CHI HIGH SCHOOL

SUPERVISOR: CHU THỊ LÊ HOÀNG, MA

HO CHI MINH CITY - 2007

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

THE EVALUATION OF “TIẾNG ANH 10”:

ITS SUITABILITY FOR STUDENTS IN MAC DINH CHI HIGH SCHOOL

in terms of the statement of the Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued

by the Higher Degree Committee

Ho Chi Minh City,

ĐẶNG THỊ VÂN ANH

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, ĐẶNG THỊ VÂN ANH, being the candidate for the degree

of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses

Ho Chi Minh City,

ĐẶNG THỊ VÂN ANH

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Ms Chu Thị Lê Hoàng, MA who has read, discussed and contributed valuable comments and suggestions to my thesis at various points in its development in an attempt to ensure that I make sense most of the time

I would also like to thank the teachers of English in Mạc Đỉnh Chi High school, where I carried out the research, for all their help and opinions on the new textbook

I would also like to thank Ms Phan Thị Nam Trân for her support and criticism which was of great help to my study

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all the members in my family for their help and moral support while I was doing this thesis

ABSTRACT

In this period of innovation in the Vietnamese educational system, the adoption

of new textbooks has attracted the attention of all people concerned: educationists, teachers, students and students’ parents They are obsessed by the question: Can the new textbooks help enhance the education quality? The research was carried out in the hope of being able to answer some part of the question in terms of teaching English to tenth-graders Although the new English textbook, “TIEÁNG ANH 10”, had come into use in six high schools in Ho Chi Minh City for two years as an experiment before it started to be used nationwide in September 2006, there was no official report about its effectiveness for the process of teaching and learning English in the high schools In order to find out the suitability as well as the effectiveness of the new textbook, the research was conducted in Mac Dinh Chi high school, where the book was expected to meet the students’ needs and interest The findings reveal that “TIEÁNG ANH 10” was suitable for the students when certain adaptations were made Based on the findings, implications for the teaching and learning of English in high schools and the book evaluation were discussed, and suggestions for the book content, teaching and learning activities and classroom conditions were offered for the better use of the new textbook

in Mac Dinh Chi high school in particular and in many others in general

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Objective 2

1.3 Scope 3

1.4 Organization 4

1.5 Summary 4

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Communicative language teaching 5

2.2 Materials evaluation 18

2.3 Adaptation of published materials 31

2.4 Summary 37

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 38

3.1 Research question 38

3.2 Research design 39

3.2.1 Subjects of the study 39

3.2.2 Instruments 41

3.3 Summary 45

CHAPTER IV: DESCRIPTION OF ‘TIEÁNG ANH 10 46

4.1 The impressionistic overview of the whole package 46

4.2 The detailed description of the student’s book 48

4.2.1 Skills 48

4.2.2 The language content 52

4.2.3 Topics 56

4.2.4 Methodology 56

4.3 Summary 59

CHAPTER V: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 60

5.1 Data analysis 60

5.1.2 Students’ needs and expectation 61

5.1.2 Teachers and students’ reaction to “TIEÁNG ANH 10” 70

5.1.3 The comparisons of “TIEÁNG ANH 10” and “ENGLISH 10” 94

5.2 Findings 102

5.3 Summary 104

CHAPTER VI: IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 105

6.1 Implications 105

6.2 Recommendations 108

6.2.1 Recommendations to the textbook content 108

6.2.2 Recommendations to teaching and learning activities 117

6.2.3 Recommendations to classroom condition 120

6.3 Summary 122

CONCLUSION 123

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 .40

Table 5.1 .62

Table 5.2 64

Table 5.3 68

Table 5.4 69

Table 5.5 71

Table 5.6 72

Table 5.7 74

Table 5.8 74

Table 5.9 76

Table 5.10 77

Table 5.11 77

Table 5.12 78

Table 5.13 79

Table 5.14 80

Table 5.15 81

Table 5.16 82

Table 5.17 82

Table 5.18 84

Table 5.19 85

Table 5.20 85

Table 5.21 86

Table 5.22 87

Table 5.23 88

Table 5.24 90

Table 5.25 92

Table 5.26 93

Table 5.27 94

Table 5.28 97

Table 5.29 99

Table 5.30 100

Table 5.31 101

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 5.1 62

Figure 5.2 63

Figure 5.3 63

Figure 5.4 65

Figure 5.5 65

Figure 5.6 66

Figure 5.7 66

Figure 5.8 67

Figure 5.9 90

no exception because it has gained greater and greater importance to students’ higher education as well as their later career Moreover, the old textbook, “ENGLISH 10” by

Tu Anh, et al., with its organization and purpose has made it really difficult for teachers

to apply the Communicative Approach, which is very much in vogue at present, to teaching English to high school students in Vietnam As a result, “TIEÁNG ANH 10” by

Hoang Van Van, et al., together with textbooks of other subjects, has been written and

piloted in some senior high schools in some cities and provinces before it is used nationwide in 2006 In Ho Chi Minh City, it has been in use in six high schools, which are Le Qui Don, Mac Dinh Chi, Marie Curie, Nguyen Hien, Nguyen Huu Huan and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai The new textbook is aimed at improving students’ all four language skills and providing students with much grammar and pronunciation practice

in comparison with the old one, which mostly focuses on reading skill and has been considered demanding and rather boring as far as reading texts are concerned However, not a few complaints about the unsuitability and loaded programme of

“TIEÁNG ANH 10” have been made by both teachers and students who have been using

it

The research on the book was carried out as a result of most high school teachers’ need to amass objective comments on “TIEÁNG ANH 10” from students and teachers who have experience of using the book, which would help them to anticipate difficulties to overcome and aspects of the book to adapt for their teaching and learning contexts when it is officially used in their high schools in the school year 2006 – 2007

Mac Dinh Chi is the best high school in District 6 and one of the good ones in Ho Chi Minh City In order to be students in this school in the school year 2005 – 2006, ninth-graders had to get a total graduation examination score of over 52.5 for public programme or 47 for semi-public programme for four subjects (literature, mathematics, English and biology) in which the scores of literature and mathematics are doubled With such high entrance scores, most of the students are quick, hard working, active, and career oriented They are fully aware of the importance of English to their higher education and later career The fact seems to prove that they are perfect subjects to use the new textbook because its aims are likely to meet their needs

1.2 OBJECTIVE

The research was carried out so as to evaluate the experimental textbook (including the student’s book, the workbook and the teacher’s book) as far as its suitability for students in Mac Dinh Chi high school is concerned Based on the findings and discussion, some changes in topics, skills and language content of the new English teaching material as well as improvements in teaching and learning conditions and methods will be suggested to satisfy students’ needs, arouse their interest in learning English and help teachers to use the book effectively in particular and to improve the quality of teaching and learning English at the high school in general

In order to achieve the main objective, the study’s sub-objectives are:

1 To investigate students’ needs and expectations

2 To investigate the reaction of teachers and students to “TIEÁNG ANH 10”

3 To compare “TIEÁNG ANH 10” with “ENGLISH 10”

4 To provide some feasible suggestions about how to make effective use of the book

1.3 SCOPE

The study aims to investigate needs and expectations of ten-graders in Mac Dinh Chi high school and three issues of the new textbook: (1) teachers and students’ reaction to “TIEÁNG ANH 10”, (2) teachers’ comparison of “TIEÁNG ANH 10” with

“ENGLISH 10”, and (3) teachers’ and students’ suggestions for the better use of the textbook

The study, however, does not put equal emphasis on all the aspects of the textbook but mainly focuses on (1) skills, (2) language content, (3) topics, and (4) methodology

Due to the time limit, it is impossible to carry out classroom observation and interviews; therefore, instruments used to collect data are questionnaires to teachers and students

1 4 ORGANIZATION

The thesis includes six main parts The first part gives an overall impression of the study, consisting of the background, the purpose of the research, limitations and organization The second part will look at the historical background of the research In the third part, the methods by which the results of the research were sought will be presented In order to give an introduction to the whole package and to penetrate specific items in the Student’s book, an impressionistic overview of the package and a detailed description of the Student’s book will be presented in the forth part The findings from the surveys will be discussed in the fifth part of the paper In the last part, implications and suggestions for improvements in the experimental textbook and the English teaching and learning with the new materials from teachers’ and students’ point of view will be offered in the hope of ameliorating the quality of English teaching and learning in high schools in Vietnam

1.5 SUMMARY

So far this chapter has presented an introduction to the research paper, including the background, the objective and the scope of the study, with which readers can see what the study is about, how and why it was carried out As stated in the previous section, the next chapter will explore the theoretical background on which the research

is based

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews the theoretical background on which the research was based Since “TIEÁNG ANH 10” was designed to encourage teachers to use the Communicative Approach in teaching English to high school students, it is essential to

examine the theory of Communication Language Teaching before the issues relating to coursebook evaluation and adaptation in a certain teaching and learning context are presented

2.1 COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

Numerous materials for teaching and learning languages published within the past few decades are likely to impose Communicative Language Teaching on both teachers and learners because it has been considered the current trend in foreign language teaching This part presents some definitions, features and factors that mainly enable teachers to accomplish the goals of the approach

2.1.1 What is Communicative Language Teaching?

Up to, and including 1960s, language was generally seen as a system of rules, and the task for language learners was to internalize these rules by whatever means was at their disposal Language was seen as a unified system, and the ultimate aim of the learner was to approach the target language norms of the “native speaker.” (Nunan, 1999)

However, when a new conceptualization of language began to emerge during 1970s, language was seen as a system for expressing meanings and it could be analyzed and described This realization had a profound effect at the levels of syllabus design and textbook writing Without doubt, Communicative Language Teaching has made pervasive changes to teaching practice over the last thirty years (Nunan, 1999)

In Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (1992), Communicative Language Teaching is defined as “An approach to foreign or second language teaching which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence.”

According to Richards and Rodgers (1991: 66), Communicative Language Teaching has been seen as an approach “that aims to (a) make communicative competence the goal of language teaching, and (b) develop procedures for the teaching

of the four language skills that acknowledge the interdependence of language and

communication.”

2.1.2 Characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching

Finocchiaro and Brumfit (1983: 91-93) describe the characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching in the following terms:

1 Meaning is paramount

2 Dialogs, if used, center around communicative functions and are not normally memorized

3 Contextualization is a basic premise

4 Language learning is learning to communicate

5 Effective communication is sought

6 Drilling may occur, but peripherally

7 Comprehensible pronunciation is sought

8 Any device which helps the learners is accepted – varying according to their age, interest, etc

9 Attempts to communicate may be encouraged from the very beginning

15 Linguistic variation is a central concept in materials and methodology

16 Sequencing is determined by any consideration of content, function, or meaning which maintains interest

17 Teachers help learners in any way that motivates them

to work with the language

18 Language is created by the individual often through trial and error

accuracy is judged not in the abstract but in context

20 Students are expected to interact with other people, either in the flesh, through pair and group work, or in their writing

21 The teacher cannot know exactly what language the student will use

what is being communicated by the language

According to Richards and Rodgers (1991: 71), Communicative Language Teaching has the following distinctive features:

1 Language is a system for the expression of meaning

2 The primary function of language is for interaction and communication

3 The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses

4 The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural features, but categories

of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse

Brown (2000: 266) offers four interconnected characteristics as a definition of Communicative Language Teaching

1 Classroom goals are focused on all of the components of communicative competence and not restricted to grammatical or linguistic competence

2 Language techniques are desired to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes Organizational language forms are not the central focus but rather aspects of language that enable the learner to accomplish those purposes

principles underlying communicative techniques At times fluency may have to take on more importance than

2.1.3 The roles of learners

The learner is an important factor in the classroom It is necessary to understand their roles as they help understand problems and potential solutions in language classrooms

According to Nunan (1999: 75-77), in traditional language classrooms learners are cast into passive and reproductive roles, they spend most time copying and reproducing language written down by others rather than learning how to use language creatively themselves However, in Communicative Language Teaching, learners are expected and encouraged to “learn how to use the language creatively, responding in novel and authentic communicative situations.” They are put into situations in which they must share responsibilities, make decisions, evaluate their own progress, develop individual preferences, and so on In other words, they are now the center of the teaching and learning process; therefore, in a learner-centred classroom, key decisions about what will be taught, how it will be taught, when it will be taught and how it will

be assessed will be made with reference to the learner

Breen and Candlin (1980, cited in Richards & Rodgers 1991) also mention the learner role in the following terms:

The role of learner as negotiator – between the self, the learning process, and the object of learning – emerges from and interacts with the role of joint negotiator within the group and within the classroom procedures and activities which the group undertakes The implication for learner is that he should contribute as much as he gains, and thereby learn in an independent way

As coursebook users, students are expected to “hypothesize about rules, participate actively in learning activities, relate material to their own experiences and personal lives and undertake a variety of tasks which involve problem solving of one sort or another.” (Cunningsworth 1995: 105)

2.1.4 The roles of teachers

As mentioned above, there have been some dramatic developments in language teaching; therefore, there have been a lot of changes in the role of the teacher within the teaching and learning process as Dubin and Olshtain (1986: 31) state, “the teacher population is the most significant factor in determining success of a new syllabus or materials.”

Cunningsworth (1995: 110) identifies the main role of the teacher as “that of a guide or a facilitator and a monitor Essentially, the teacher is seen as guiding learners through learning process, with support from the coursebook, and monitoring student progress, correcting errors when this is useful for the learning process.”

of the nature of learning and organizational capacities

In short, learner-centred education does not devalue the teacher’s professional roles; on the contrary, they are enhanced in a learner-centred system, and the skills demanded of the teacher are also greater

2.1.5 The roles of coursebooks

According to Cunningsworth (1995), the coursebook can be best seen as a resource in achieving aims and objectives that have already been set for learners in

schools It selects items to be learned, breaks them down into manageable units and sequences them in a way which is designed to lead from the familiar to the unfamiliar and from easier to more difficult items in terms of ‘learnability’ Teaching materials

“can exert considerable influence over what teachers teach and how they do it” and can serve as:

1 a resource for presentation material (spoken and written)

2 a source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction

3 a reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc

1 teach the language needed to express and understand different kinds of functions, such as requesting, describing, expressing likes and dislikes, etc

2 are based on a notional syllabus or some other communicatively organized syllabus

3 emphasize the processes of communication, such as using language appropriately in different types of situations; using language to perform different types

of tasks, e.g., to solve puzzles, to get information, etc.; using language for social interaction with other people.”

Richards and Rogers (1991: 25) also propose that in Communicative Language Teaching, materials will

1 focus on the communicative abilities of interpretation, expression and negotiation

2 focus on understandable, relevant, and interesting exchanges of information, rather than on the presentation of grammatical form

3 involve different kinds of texts and different media, which the learner can use to develop their competence through a variety of different activities and tasks

Littlejohn and Windeatt (1989) argue that materials have a hidden curriculum that includes attitudes toward knowledge, attitude toward teaching and learning, attitudes toward the roles and relationship of the teacher and student, and values and

attitudes related to gender, society, etc Materials have an underlying instructional philosophy, approach, method, and content, including both linguistic and cultural information That is, choices made in writing textbooks are based on beliefs that the writers have about what language is and how it should be taught Writers may use a certain approach, for example, the communicative approach, and they choose certain activities and select the linguistic and cultural information to be included

In short, the coursebook plays an increasingly important role, especially in the current trend of teaching and learning a language; therefore, it is a difficult task to make decisions to use a particular coursebook for a particular programme/ course as those decisions may support or ruin the whole programme/ course with its aims and objectives

2.1.3.1 Definitions of needs analysis

In general terms, needs analysis (also called needs assessment) refers to the activities involved in gathering information that will serve as the basis for developing a curriculum that will meet the learning needs of a particular group of students

In more formal terms, needs assessment is defined by Richards, Platt, and Weber (1985: 189) as “the process of determining the needs for which a learner or group of learners requires a language and arranging the needs according to priorities Needs assessment makes use of both subjective and objective information (e.g., data from questionnaires, tests, interviews, observation).”

Pratt (1980:79) states that “needs assessment refers to an array of procedures for identifying and validating needs, and establishing priorities among them.”

Stufflebeam, et al (1985: 16) point out that needs analysis is “the process of

determining the things that are necessary or useful for the fulfillment of a defensible purpose.”

Brown (1995: 36) combines the best features of some definitions and includes some other elements to make his own definition: “needs analysis, or need assessment, refers to the systematic collection and analysis of all subjective and objective information necessary to define and validate defensible curriculum purposes that satisfy the language learning requirements of students within the context of particular institutions that influence the learning and teaching situation”

2.1.3.2 Learner needs

It is very important to start the course-developing process with an analysis of the target group of learners: many problems in language classes are a result of teachers not paying attention to learners’ interest and ignoring students as a source of essential information With the spread of communicative language teaching, much emphasis in second language methodology has been laid on the learner-oriented instruction As a result, needs analysis has been given considerable attention in making a particular course for a particular group’s interests

Generally speaking, a majority of school children do not have real needs for the foreign language they are studying “They are deemed to require what the syllabus offers them, and the syllabus is likely to be closely related to the examination (which is

a highly realistic ‘need’ for them) However, most adult learners require to learn a language, or improve their proficiency in one, for some particular reasons, and these reasons can be analyzed into specific needs the learner has for the language.” (Dickinson 1987: 88-90)

Learners’ needs can be divided into “objective” needs and “subjective” needs The former ones are those that can be diagnosed by teachers on the basis of the analysis of personal data about learners along with information about their language proficiency and patterns of language use The “subjective” needs (which are often wants, desires, expectations, or other psychological manifestations of lack) “cannot be diagnosed easily, or, in many cases, even stated by learners themselves.” (Brindley, 1984)

Nunan (1999: 149) draws a distinction between “content” needs and “process”

needs “Content needs includes the selection and sequencing of such things as topics,

grammar, function, notions, and vocabulary – traditionally the domain of syllabus

design – while process needs prefers to the selection and sequencing of learning tasks

and experiences – traditionally seen as the domain of methodology”

2.1.3.3 The analysis of learner needs

There are a number of instruments for analyzing learners’ needs One family of techniques is largely used for content analysis, and so used for collecting and analyzing information about the target language situation The key question addressed here is: What are the skills and linguistic knowledge needed by students to comprehend and produce language for communicating successfully in target language situations? The second set of techniques is designed to obtain information about and from learners themselves This information can relate to both content and process information, and is usually carried out through some form of questionnaire (Nunan, 1999)

Brown (1995) suggests three basic steps to follow so that a needs analysis can take place:

¾ Making basic decisions about the needs analysis This step must be taken

before the needs analysis In order to make these decisions, some questions must be raised: Who will be involved in the needs analysis? What types of information should be gathered? Which points of view should be represented? And how might points of view and program philosophy interact?

¾ Gathering information In this process, different types of questions,

instruments and procedures should be considered

¾ Using the information

2.1.7 Assessment

In traditional learning environments, assessment practices are chracterized by standardized tests designed, administered, and graded by outside authorities Teachers had little control of what is assessed, or how it is assessed, and the examination system has a disproportionate influence over the curriculum As a result, learners do not know exactly what they have learnt and how much they still have to learn The assessment is typically through quizzes and tests that do not reflect actual language use (Nunan, 1999)

2.2 MATERIALS EVALUATION

Materials evaluation is considered crucial for English language teaching as English is nowadays an international language and there have been more and more materials available on the market, most of which more or less aim at improvements in the teaching and learning of the language In this part, a number of matters concerned will be discussed in order to supply an overview of this task

2.2.1 Purpose of materials evaluation

Cunningsworth (1995: 14) states that there are many and varied reasons for materials evaluation “The intention to adopt new coursebooks is a major and frequent reason for evaluation Another reason is to identify particular strengths and weaknesses

in coursebooks already in use, so that optimum use can be made of their strong points, whilst their weaker areas can be strengthened through adaptation or by substituting material from other books.”

According to Ellis (1998: 2), two approaches to evaluation (‘objectives model’ and ‘responsive evaluation’) reflect two general purposes for carrying out an evaluation: (1) accountability and (2) development “When accountability is at stake, the purpose of the evaluation is to determine whether the stated goals of the programme have been met In the case of development, the purpose may be either (a)

to improve the curriculum or (b) to foster teacher-development or both.”

Rea-Dickins and Germaine (1992: 24-26), on the other hand, propose three principal purposes for evaluation:

1 Accountability: Evaluation for purposes of accountability, known as

‘summative evaluation’, is mainly concerned with determining whether something has been both effective and efficient It has also tended to involved testing and measurement, and analyses of the statistical significance of results obtained It has focused on the overall outcomes, and has consistently failed to take into account teachers’ evaluative comments

2 Curriculum development and betterment: Evaluation for this purpose will

involve information from teachers and other relevant English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals since they have a key role to play in the curriculum renewal and development process Evaluations intended to improve curriculum will gather information from different people over a period of time; thus, this is known as ‘formative evaluation’

3 Self-development: Evaluation for purposes of teacher self-development is

sometimes referred to as illuminative evaluation because it involves raising the consciousness of teachers and other ELT practitioners as to what actually happens in the language teaching classroom Through awareness-raising activities, teachers are involved in describing and better understanding their own contexts with a view to improving the

teaching and learning process

2.2.2 Types of materials evaluation

Cunningsworth (1995) proposes three types of evaluation: pre-use, in-use and post-use evaluation Pre-use evaluation is considered as the most common but the most difficult kind of evaluation as there is no actual experience of using the book to draw

on In-use evaluation prefer to coursebook evaluation when, for example, a newly introduced coursebook is being monitored or when a well-established but aging coursebook is considered for replacement Post-use evaluation can be useful for identifying strengths and weaknesses which emerge over a period of continuous use It can also be useful in helping to decide whether to use the same coursebook on future occasions

is particularly appropriate when doing a preliminary sift through a lot of coursebooks before making a short list for more detailed analysis and it cannot give enough detail to ensure that it meets the requirements of a certain teaching and learning situation For this we need the second way, the in-depth evaluation, in which “we need to examine how specific items are dealt with, particularly those which relate to students’ learning needs, syllabus requirements, how different aspects of language are dealt with, etc.”

He also suggests “a combination of both approaches, involving an impressionistic overview of the whole and an in-depth examination of representative samples of the material.” (1995: 1-2)

According to Littlejohn (1998: 193) two main sections, publication and design, should be taken into account when materials are analyzed He defines “publication” as

“the physical aspects of the materials and how they appear as a complete set or book Here we will be concerned with the relationship that may exist between the student’s materials and any other components, and the actual form of the material, all of which may have direct implication for classroom methodology We may also look inside the materials to determine how they are divided into sections and sub-sections, how a sense of continuity or coherence is maintained and whether the order in which the

material can be used is predetermined.” The second section, design relates to “the thinking underlying materials This will involve consideration of areas such as the apparent aims of the materials, how the tasks, language and content in the materials are selected and sequenced and the nature and focus of content in the materials Also

of central importance in this will be the nature of the teaching/ learning activities which are suggested by the materials.”

Ellis (1998: 222) distinguishes two broad approaches: the ‘objectives model’ and

‘responsive evaluation’ “The former belongs to the psychological tradition of educational research and is nomothetic in approach (i.e it employs quantitative data to make statistical generalizations with a view to establishing general ‘laws’) It requires that curricula be expressed in terms of precise objectives, the achievement of which can be determined by tests that measure learner behaviour and learning outcomes Responsive evaluation belongs more to the sociological tradition of educational research and is idiographic in approach Whereas the ‘objectives model’ is concerned with determining whether the programme/ project has achieved its goals, the

‘responsive evaluation’ approach aims to illuminate the complex nature of the organizational, teaching and learning processes at issue.”

2.2.4 Evaluating for potential and evaluating for suitability

Cunningsworth (1995: 15) defines the evaluation of materials for their potential

as evaluating coursebooks in general, “without having particular classes or learners in mind”, “without any predetermined use in mind.” Teacher-training courses often adopt this kind of evaluation for potential so as to equip students with criteria for more specific evaluation at a later date

Evaluation for suitability “involves matching the coursebook against a specific requirement including the learners’ objectives, the learners’ background, the resources available, etc.” (Cunningsworth 1995: 15)

2.2.5 Guidelines for evaluation

Various checklists or sets of detailed criteria are used for materials evaluation of various types Therefore, Cunningsworth (1995) proposes guidelines which underline many of the more specific criteria for evaluation and which can serve as useful guides

in approaching any materials evaluation work The guidelines are presented as follows:

™ Guideline one: coursebooks should correspond to learners’ needs They should match the aims and objectives of the language programme

Aims and objectives of a learning/ teaching programme can reflect learners’ needs in terms of both language content and communicative abilities, so they should determine which course materials are used, and not vice-versa It is very important that coursebooks should facilitate learners’ progress and take them forward as effectively

as possible towards their goals Consequently, the content of the material should correspond to what students need to learn, in terms of language items, skills and communicative strategies

™ Guideline two: Coursebooks should reflect the uses (present or future) which learners will make of the language Select coursebooks which will help to equip

students to use language effectively for their own purposes

The learning/ teaching programme should have at its base a clear view of what students need to learn in order to make effective use of the language in personal, professional, academic or whatever other situations are relevant Learner-centred language teaching aims to bring learners to a point where they reach a degree of autonomy and are able to use the language themselves in real situations outside the classroom Coursebooks can contribute to achieving this aim by incorporating authentic materials, creating realistic situations and encouraging learners to participate in activities which help develop communicative skills and strategies

™ Guideline Three: Coursebooks should take account of students’ needs as learners and should facilitate their learning processes, without dogmatically imposing a rigid ‘method’

Coursebooks also embody certain learning styles and strategies which can influence how individual students go about their own learning The approach taken by a coursebook towards learning strategies may not be explicit but certain learning styles and strategies will be promoted in the book, explicitly or implicitly, and it is important

to identify what they are and how they are put forward

The approach to learning adopted by a coursebook should not so much impose learning styles as meet students’ needs by allowing them to use styles of learning which suit them, where possible encouraging the use of a range of styles so as to offer students some choice in the way they learn

Coursebooks can promote learning by contributing to student motivation Motivation is one of the most powerful forces for good and effective learning and can often be more important than other factors, including teaching method

™ Guideline Four: Coursebooks should have a clear role

as a support for learning Like teachers, they meditate between the target language and the learner

Coursebooks facilitate learning, bring the learner and the target language together in a controlled way They support the student in a number of ways, but particularly by supplying models of English which are learnable at the student’s level of proficiency They also provide exercises and activities designed to promote fluency in the use of English and they often give explanations or contextualized examples which help learners to understand how the language work

Coursebooks support teachers by providing ready-made presentation materials, ideas for teaching different topics, reading texts, listening passages, dialogues, etc They also provide a methodology, or at least an approach to learning

2.2.6 Criteria for a book evaluation

It has been considered an impossible task to evaluate a coursebook without using specific criteria Criteria should be taken into account in the materials evaluation process because different types of evaluation must have different criteria and different criteria will apply in different circumstances Cunningsworth (1995: 3-4) has selected what seems to be some of the most important general criteria for evaluation and selection purpose and presents them as a basic quick-reference checklist

Here is “The quick-reference checklist for evaluation and selection” presented

by Cunningsworth

Aims and approaches

o Do the aims of the coursebook correspond closely with the aims of the teaching programme and with the needs

of the learners”

situation?

o How comprehensive is the coursebook? Does it cover most

or all of what is needed? Is it a good resource for students and teachers?

o Is the coursebook flexible? Does it allow different teaching and learning styles?

Design and organization

o What components make up the total course package (e.g students’ books, teachers’ books, workbooks, cassettes, etc.)?

structures, functions, topics, skills, etc)? Is the organization right for learners and teachers?

o How is the content sequenced (e.g on the basis of complexity, ‘learnability’, usefulness, etc)?

o Is the grading and progression suitable for the learners? Does it allow them to complete the work needed to meet any external syllabus requirements?

o Is there adequate recycling and revision?

o Are there reference sections for grammar, etc? Is some

of the materials suitable for individual study?

o Is it easy to find your way around the coursebook? Is the layout clear?

Language content

appropriate to each level, taking learners’ needs into account?

o Is material for vocabulary teaching adequate in terms

of quantity and range of vocabulary , emphasis placed

on vocabulary development, strategies for individual learning?

o Does the coursebook include material for pronunciation work? If so what is covered individual sounds, word stress, sentence stress, intonation?

o Does the coursebook deal with the structuring and conventions of language use above sentence level, e.g how to take part in conventions, how to structure a piece of extended writing, how to identify the main points in a reading passage? (More relevant at intermediate and advanced levels.)

o Are style and appropriacy dealt with? If so, is language style matched to social situation?

Skills

o Are all four skills adequately covered, bearing in mind your course aims and syllabus requirements?

o Is there material for integrated skills work?

o Are reading passages and associated activities suitable for your students’ levels, interest, etc? Is there sufficient reading material?

possible, accompanied by background information, questions and activities which help comprehension?

o Is material for spoken English (dialogue, role-play, etc) well designed to equip learners for real-life interactions?

o Are writing activities suitable in terms of amount of guidance/ control, degree of accuracy, organization of

o Is there enough variety and range of topic?

o Will the topic help expand students’ awareness and enrich their experience?

o Are the topics sophisticated enough in content, yet within the learners’ language level?

o Will your students be able to relate to the social and cultural contexts presented in the coursebook?

o Are women portrayed and represented equally with men?

o Are other group represented, with reference to ethnic origin, occupation, disability, etc?

Methodology

o What approach/ approaches to language learning are taken by the coursebook? Is this appropriate to the learning/ teaching situation?

expected? Does this match your students’ learning styles and expectations?

o What techniques are used for presenting/ practising new language items? Are they suitable for your learners?

o How are the different skills taught?