A formal evaluation on plenty to say a speaking skill book and adaptations for second degree students at hue college of for foreign language

Topic A Formal Evaluation on “Plenty to Say”: A Speaking Skill Book and Adaptations for Second Degree Students at Hue College of Foreign Languages 1.3.. Based on this formal evaluation,

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale 5

1.2 Topic 7

1.3 Research aims 7

1.4 Research questions 7

1.5 Outline of the thesis 8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Needs Analysis 9

2.1.1 The definitions of needs 9

2.1.2 Types of needs 10

2.1.3 Needs Analysis 11

2.2 Basic information about the in-service EFL program in Hue University – College of Foreign Languages 12

2.2.1 Objectives 12

2.2.2 Learning time 13

2.2.3 Adult learners as participants in the program 13

2.2.4 Curriculums 13

2.3 Teaching Speaking skill 14

2.3.1 Definition of speaking 14

2.3.2 Definition of teaching speaking 15

2.3.3 The importance of speaking skill 15

2.3.4 Activities for teaching speaking skill 16

2.3.5 Teaching speaking in Asian context 19

2.3.6 Materials for teaching speaking skill 20

2.4 Textbook and its role in a language program 21

2.4.1 Definition of textbook 21

2.4.2 The role of textbook in a language program 21

2.5 Materials evaluation 24

2.5.1 Purposes of materials evaluation 24

2.5.2 Types of materials evaluation 25

2.5.3 Criteria for materials evaluation 26

2.6 Materials adaptation 27

2.6.1 Definitions 27

2.6.2 Reasons for adapting 27

2.6.3 Techniques for adaptation 29

2.6.4 Framework for materials adaptation 30

2.6.5 “Plenty to Say” in speaking classes at Hue College of Foreign Languages 31

2.7 Previous studies 32

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research design and Approach 36

3.2 Participants 36

3.3 Materials 37

3.4 Instruments 37

3.5 Data analysis 39

3.6 Procedure 39

3.6.1 Piloting the questionnaires 39

3.6.2 Administering the questionnaires 40

3.6.3 Interviewing participants 40

3.6.4 Analyzing collected data and suggesting some adaptations 40

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Needs analysis 42

4.1.1 Reasons and purposes 42

4.1.1.1 Reasons for learning 42

4.1.1.2 Purposes of using English 43

4.1.2 Students‟ necessities 44

4.1.2.1 Background knowledge 44

4.1.2.2 Strengths in speaking 46

4.1.3 Students‟ lacks 47

4.1.4 Students‟ wants 48

4.2 The textbook evaluation 49

4.2.1 Reliability of teachers‟ and students‟ data 49

4.2.2 Descriptive statistics of teachers‟ and students‟ total mean scores 50

4.2.3 Descriptive statistics of teachers‟ and students‟ cluster mean scores 51 4.2.4 Practical considerations, Layout, and Design 52

4.2.4.1.Practical Considerations 52

4.2.4.2 Layout and Design 54

4.2.5 Content 56

4.2.5.1 Activities 57

4.2.5.2 Language 61

4.2.5.3 Subject and content 63

4.2.6 Overall consensus 65

4.2.7 Evaluation on the textbook‟s sections and activities 67

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Strengths and weaknesses of “Plenty to Say” 69

5.1.1 Strengths 69

5.1.2 Weaknesses 70

5.2 Implications and suggestions 73

5.3 Suggested sample units 78

5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further research 95 REFERENCES

APPENDICES

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

English teaching-learning programs, due to many reasons such as job

requirement as well as needs to get to a higher level in education, have become an essential part in education in Vietnam With the issue of Circular Letter No

08/2009 of Ministry of Education and Training on Master training program, which made either IELTS or TOEFL certificate or a BA degree in English a prerequisite, a great number of learners have enrolled in English training courses In that context, second degree training program in Hue College of Foreign Languages seems to increase its enrollees considerably

However, due to various reasons, there is a fact that the learners of this

second degree training program do not reach the standard which is required for participants of the program After finishing the course, these learners are expected

to have wide knowledge about four English skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing Among these four skills, it is easy to see that most second degree training program‟s learners have low ability in speaking skill In the attempt to find out the reasons for this fact, I see that apart from internal factors from learners, the

subjective reasons which come from the curriculum also need to be taken into

consideration

As proved by many researchers, materials play a vital role in acquiring a language Tomlinson (1998:xi) defines materials as „anything which is used to help

to teach language learners‟ According to his definition, materials can be in the form

of a textbook, a workbook, a cassette, a CD-Rom, a video, a photocopied handout, a newspaper, a paragraph written on a white board; anything which presents or

informs about the language being learned As for Wright (1987), the goals of a teaching-learning process can be set and achieved with the support of the materials

More specifically, Dudley-Evans, A and M J St John (1998), when

referring the significant role of materials, focus on four main points Firstly,

materials are source of language In their views, in some situations, where English

is a foreign language, materials play a crucial role in exposing learners to the

language, which implies that the materials need to present real language as it is used, and the full range that learners require Secondly, materials are viewed as a learning support With the role of learning support, materials need to be reliable and consistent as well as to have some recognizable pattern To enhance learning,

materials must involve learners in thinking about and using the language Thirdly, materials need to be challenging yet available For Dudley-Evans, materials must contain concepts and knowledge that are familiar but they must also offer

something new, a reason to communicate and to get involved Fourthly, materials must be used as a reference Materials support as a source for self-study and self-explanatory They suggest that materials need to take into account of different learning styles and allow the learners to explore the language in the most

appropriate ways

However, materials can also have unexpectedly counterproductive effects on both teachers and learners Allwright (1982) considers textbooks as inflexible tool which controls teachers‟ methods and imposes external objective on students

Another shortcoming of textbooks is that they are actually too contrived and

artificial in their presentation of the target language Prodromou (1988) and

Alptekin (1993) even think that learners of a language may refuse to learn since they are forced to be in the situations, provided in learning materials, which are not familiar to them

Though textbook is an indispensable part of a teaching-learning program in Vietnamese context, it is obvious that no one single published material perfectly matches all teaching-learning situations Consequently, the act of evaluating

materials in order to make adaptations should be carried out As Low (1987, p 21) reminds, “teachers generally need to screen materials, in order to predict their suitability for particular classes” Through identifying strengths and weaknesses in

textbooks, optimal use can be made of strong points, and weak points can be

adapted or substituted from other sources of materials (Cunningsworth, 1995) This implies that it is important for teachers to evaluate, select, and adapt teaching

materials to meet their teaching and learning needs in order to maximize learners‟ learning potentials

“Plenty to Say” published by Longman has been used as a speaking skill textbook for both in-service students and regular students for several years

However, except for oral comments of teachers and students on the textbook, no formal evaluation on the book has been carried out Together with the fact about the speaking skill level of second degree students, a formal evaluation on “Plenty to Say” was decided to make with the attempt to find out its strengths and weaknesses The findings of my research will set lights into the quality of the corresponding activities in the textbook to be applied in the semesters to come

1.2 Topic

A Formal Evaluation on “Plenty to Say”: A Speaking Skill Book and Adaptations for Second Degree Students at Hue College of Foreign Languages 1.3 Research aims

The purposeful evaluation on this textbook and the subsequent adaptations aim to provide myself as well as my colleagues with a closer look at its strengths and weaknesses Based on this formal evaluation, my research aims at suggesting some adaptations on this textbook in ways that make it congruent in the English learning and teaching context in second degree training program at Hue College of Foreign Languages

Foreign Languages with reference to students‟ needs?

2 What adaptations should be made for effective teaching and learning of the textbook?

1.5 Outline of the thesis

The thesis consists of five chapters Chapter I introduces the contexts and purposes of the study Chapter II presents a discussion of the literature relating to major elements in the study Chapter III provides the research methodology and chapter IV displays findings and discussions The thesis ends with chapter V which gives a brief summary of the coursebook‟s strengths and weaknesses, suggests some adaptations to improve it, and points out some limitations of the research and from that gives suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Needs Analysis

2.1.1 The definitions of needs

As the learner is at the heart of any teaching program (McDonough, 1984), knowing what their needs are is important to course designers As pointed out by Hutchinson (1987), a course should be based on the analysis of learner needs

because anything that can motivate and help learners find the purpose and interest in what they are doing in the course is useful

Depending on what kind of “needs” is referred, the term “needs” is explained differently As for Widdowson (1981, as cited in Robinson, 1991), “needs” can be referred to students‟ study or job requirement that is what students have to be able

to do at the end of the language course While Widdowson thinks of “needs” as an external motivation, Berwick (1989) links the term to individual matter He refers

“needs” to personal aims which means what students want to gain from a language course Looking at “needs” with a far different view, Robinson (1991) interprets needs as lacks that is what students do not know or cannot do in English All those ways of understanding are synthesized in Hutchinson (1987) “Needs”, in his view,

is analyzed in terms of necessities, lacks and wants, as explained in more detail later

Despite different ways in understanding the term “needs”, it cannot be

denied that “needs” has an essential role in a process of course design Being aware

of this role and sharing the same view on what “needs” is with Hutchinson (1987), the set of questionnaire for students is designed to get a further understanding about what second degree learners have to know before attending the course, what they still need to reach the target proficiency in speaking, and what they want to achieve from the course

2.1.2 Types of needs

Since it is defined differently, the classification of “needs” also varies In this part, only the following types of needs are taken into concern: objective needs and subjective needs, target needs and learning needs

Objective and Subjective needs

Dudley-Evans and Jo St John (1998) state that objective needs is seen as derived by outsiders from facts, from what is known and can be verified And

subjective needs is derived from insiders and corresponds to cognitive and affective factors

Those facts and internal factors are specified in Robinson (1991) According

to Robinson, when analyzing objective needs, different kinds of factual information about learners are taken into account: how they use language in real-life

communication situations, as well as their current language abilities and difficulties Subjective needs, as for his suggestion, can be grouped into factors such as

personality, confidence, attitudes, learners‟ wants and expectations, and learning styles

Target needs and learning needs

Target needs focuses on the learner language needs, which specifically

means what students have to be able to do at the end of the language course

Dudley-Evans and Jo St John (1998) refer target needs to objective, perceived and product-oriented needs

Hutchinson (1987) classifies target needs into necessities, lacks, and wants

“Necessities” is what students have to know in order to function effectively in the target situation “Lacks” may be understood as the target proficiency needs to be matched against learners‟ existing proficiency “Wants” is what the learner needs

In other words, “wants” refers to subjective needs or the needs perceived by the learner It, therefore, can be said that what the leaner really wants or feels they need

is related to their motivation

Learning needs, according to Robinson (1991), can be understood as what the learner needs to do during the course to acquire the language It is called by the term “process-oriented” and it relates to the means of learning It examines the conditions of learning situation such as learners‟ knowledge/skills, learning styles and strategies, and learners‟ motivation

In Hutchinson‟s (1987) view, learning needs looks beyond the language use and investigates how learners learn to do what they do with language It takes into account the factors of circumstances of a language course, i.e why the learners take the course, how they learn, where and when the course takes place

Again, each type of needs is understood and defined differently according to each author Yet, the more important thing is that how the “needs” of learners

should be aware and analyzed

2.1.3 Needs Analysis

In his book about syllabus design, Nunan (1988) mentions needs analysis as

a family of procedures for gathering information about learners It is understood that needs analysis can offer the answer for why the learner attends a course, and aims to specify as closely as possible what exactly it is that students have to do in target situations That is why teachers should be aware of the significance of needs

analysis Teachers should know what learners want and expect out of a language course so that they could know if they achieve it or not and how to help them

at the end of the course

Sharing the same idea with Flinders, Richterich and Chancerel (1980)

suggest that “needs analysis” is an on-going process and is certainly not confined to

the beginning of a course, it may not occur until after a course has begun Richterich (1983, p.3) also notes the identification of language needs is an essential

prerequisite to the task of setting objectives For him, the identification of needs can

be one of the tools for obtaining relative, partial, temporary and circumstantial information Those gathered information will help us make choices and take

decisions without any pretension to scientific, definitive truth

Brindley (1984) has exploited another aspect of the problem He assumes most of teacher-based needs analysis will take the form of informal monitoring by the teacher during the course delivery Though there is something almost

contradictory about needs analysis since it does not involve the learner, such

analysis might be sufficient for initial course development The degree to which such pre-course analysis can be conducted will be depending largely on the

experience of the teacher with the type of student for which the course is being developed This is to say, with the subjects of second-degree program, especially first-year students, teachers‟ experience in teaching the same subjects in the

previous years is important in identifying their needs or their purposes when taking the course That general understanding about them through experience only can help teachers form the direction for teaching activities

2.2 Basic information about the in-service EFL program in Hue University – College of Foreign Languages

Understanding the more and more important role of foreign languages in society, and to meet the need of society, together with establishing and developing regular foreign languages program, Hue University – College of Foreign Languages has successfully held many in-service foreign languages programs aiming to serve different participants

2.2.1 Objectives

 To provide students with basic and professional language skills

 To meet students needs on getting a second university degree

(Retrieved from the notice about in-service EFL program on HUCFL‟s website)

2.2.2 Learning time

In-service programs, mainly, are organized in the evening; from 5.30 p.m to

9 p.m from Monday to Saturday, and on Sunday for most students have to work all daytime This creates good conditions for learners to easily participate in the

program However, the second degree program which provides the regular degree may take place in daytime This is an obstacle to most learners of this course

2.2.3 Adult learners as participants in the program

Adult learners can be defined as people who are no longer dependent on parents, have assumed major life responsibilities (e.g work, family, community) whose self-identities are beyond those of a fulltime student and who operate

independently in society (Mancuso, 2001) Researches on adult learners suggest some important differences from their younger counterparts, including prior

knowledge and experience (Mancuso, 2001; Reid, 2000), self-directedness (Reid, 2000; Brookfield, 1986), a greater capacity for critical reflection (Reid, 2000), and more active engagement in the learning experience (Mancuso, 2001; Reid, 2000)

Adult students also differ from younger students in another important aspect which Sheehy (1976) described as “market experiences” (e.g marriage, divorce, getting a job, changing careers, etc.) Market experiences may provide stronger motivation to learn specific skills or knowledge than younger students As for adults, who can be aware of their own intentions and specific goals, their

participation in learning mostly is regarded as voluntary

Taking part in these in-service EFL class, these adult students differ from levels, ages, jobs, and even learning motivation Therefore, it is not easy to meet all students‟ needs

2.2.4 Curriculums

In Hue University – College of Foreign Languages, there are many different kinds of in-service EFL programs, ranging from short-term to long-term ones which

aim to serve different learner‟s targets

- The in-service training program to provide the first university degree

The training duration is 4 years with 8 semesters

- The in-service training program to provide the second university degree The training duration is 2 years with 5 semesters

- The in-service training program to provide the university degree for college students

The training duration is 2 years with 4 semesters

2.3 Teaching Speaking skill

2.3.1 Definition of speaking

Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997) The context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking, decides its form and meaning

Though speech is spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving; it is not always unpredictable Adjacency pairs in certain discourses (e.g., declining an invitation or thanking), can be identified and charted (Burns & Joyce, 1997) For example, when

a salesperson asks "May I help you?" the expected reply includes a statement of need, response to the need, offer of appreciation, acknowledgement of the

appreciation, and a leave-taking exchange

Speaking, as for Florez (1999), is not just producing specific points of

language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary, but also understanding when, why, and in what ways to produce language It is to say that in order to be a good speaker of a language, the language learner is required to have not just

linguistic but sociolinguistic competence

By considering what speakers of a language need, and what specific needs

learners report, teachers can decide what speaking tasks can be used in class and help learners improve their speaking skill as well as overall oral competency

2.3.2 Definition of teaching speaking

Kayi (2006) defines teaching speaking is to teach learners to:

 Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns

 Use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the second language

 Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social setting, audience, situation and subject matter

 Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence

 Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments

 Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses, which

is called as fluency (Nunan, 2003, as cited in Kayi, 2006)

With this definition, teachers teaching speaking skill should create a classroom environment where students have real-life communication, authentic activities, and meaningful tasks that promote oral language

2.3.3 The importance of speaking skill

The importance of speaking skill in learning a foreign language is insisted by many researchers Brown (2000), considering a common question “Do you speak English?” used by foreigners when they seek for a common language, makes a remark that human beings have a natural tendency to look at speaking as the major index of language proficiency That does not mean, he explains, that we exclude the notion of comprehension in the knowledge of the language, but when we think of foreign language learning, we first think of speaking

Since of all the four macro English skills, speaking seems to be the most important skill required for communication (Zaremba, 2006), and EFL students, when choosing English as a language to learn, aim to be able to communicate with

both native speakers and non-native speakers of English (Chlopek, 2008), many language students consider that developing speaking skill should be one of their primary goals of study This internal motivation, together with the external one pointed out in a study by Zaremba (2006), that is speaking skills or communication skills are usually placed ahead of work experience, motivation, and academic

credentials as criteria for new recruitment for employment, explains why achieving

a certain level in speaking skill is the target that most learners direct their studying

to

For speaking skill plays such a significant role in learning a language, and seeing the real situation of second degree students‟ speaking ability at Hue College

of Foreign Languages, this research chooses this skill to focus on

2.3.4 Activities for teaching speaking skill

Providing students with a variety of situations and frequent speaking tasks plays a significant role in the improvement of students‟ fluency when speaking (Tam, 1997) In one of their studies, Gairns and Redman (2002) developed some criteria for speaking activities which seem to be very useful to form the basis for the evaluation and adaptations in my research

 They would have to be achievable, engaging and purposeful

 They would need to be “language rich” in that they push learners into

intensive and varied language use, and did not allow them to fall back on a very limited range of expression

 They should range across different time frames (past, present and future)

 They would need to cover important, everyday topics, e.g work,

relationships, education, entertainment

 They should cover a range of activity types, e.g casual conversation,

discussion, service encounters in role plays, problem-solving, etc

 They should vary in tone: fun, business-like, factual, etc

Beside these criteria, some specific activities are also suggested to promote a speaking lesson Among the activities considered as appropriate for teaching

speaking, Kayi‟s suggestions (2006) seem to be the most adequate and systematic ones

 Discussion: fostering critical thinking and quick decision making Students learn how to express and justify themselves in polite ways while disagreeing with the others

With this activity, Kayi adds, it is important for the teacher to assign the number of students in each group, rearrange groups in every discussion activity so that students can work with various people and learn to be open to different ideas,

as well as encourages students to ask questions, paraphrase ideas, express support, check for clarification, and so on However, there is still a contrasting idea about group work A research conducted by Singh (2007) points out that many students find working in groups difficult because they can never think of intelligent things to say, they can never contribute idea to the group

 Role play: helps students get to know various social contexts and have a variety of social roles In role-play activities, the teacher gives information to the learners such as who they are and what they think or feel Students, in their turn, put themselves in the situations given and play their parts Thus, the teacher can tell the student that "You are David, you go to the doctor and tell him what happened last night, and…" (Harmer, 1984, as cited in Kayi, 2006)

 Simulations: similar to role play but more elaborate In simulations, students can bring items to the class to create a realistic environment For instance, if

a student is acting as a singer, she brings a microphone to sing and so on The advantages of role plays and simulations are: (1) since they are

entertaining, they motivate the students; and (2) they increase the self-confidence of hesitant students, because in role play and simulation activities, they will have a

different role and do not have to speak for themselves, which means they do not have to take the same responsibility (Harmer, 1984, as cited in Kayi, 2006)

 Information gap: In this activity, students are supposed to be working in pairs One student will have the information that other partner does not have and they will share the information with each other

Information gap activities serve many purposes such as solving a problem or collecting information Also, these kinds of activity provide equal role for speakers because the task cannot be completed if the partners do not provide the information the others need Another advantage of information gap activities is that they can integrate all the four skills (Venkateswaren, S., 1995)

 Brainstorming: is important for getting ideas about a topic On a given topic, students can produce ideas in a limited time Students can do this activity either individually or in group and generate ideas quickly and freely

The good characteristic of brainstorming is that the students are not criticized for their ideas so students will be open to sharing new ideas

 Storytelling: fosters creative thinking Students can briefly summarize a tale

or story they heard from somebody beforehand, or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates Students also can tell riddles or jokes It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning, development, and ending, including the characters and setting a story has to have

 Interviews: Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various people It is a good idea that a rubric should be provided so that students know what type of questions they can ask or what path to follow, but

students should prepare their own interview questions After interviews, each student can present his or her study to the class

Conducting interviews with people gives students a chance to practice their speaking ability not only in class but also outside and helps them becoming

socialized

 Story completion: This is a very enjoyable, whole-class, free-speaking

activity in which students sit in a circle For this activity, the teacher starts a story, but after a few sentences he or she stops narrating Then, each student starts to narrate from the point where the previous one stopped Each student

is supposed to add from four to ten sentences Students can add new

characters, events, descriptions and so on

 Reporting: This activity requires preparation at home Before coming to class, students are asked to read a newspaper or magazine and, in class, they report to their friends what they find as the most interesting news Students can also talk about whether they have experienced anything worth telling their friends in their daily lives before class

 Pictures narrating and picture describing: This activity fosters the creativity and imagination of the learners as well as their public speaking skills

 Games: play cards and find the differences

Being aware of the importance of teaching speaking in language learning, the activities that Kayi suggests help avoid leading students to pure memorization, which causes inability in communication, and provide a rich environment where meaningful communication takes place With that sense, the above listed activities contribute a great in developing basic interactive skills necessary for life for

students Also, these activities make students more active in the learning process and at the same time make their learning more meaningful and fun for them

2.3.5 Teaching speaking in Asian context

As we know, in Asian countries, English is either a foreign language or a

second language

Basing on the well-known three-circle metaphor of Kachru (1992) about the use of English, it can be seen that Asian countries do not belong to the inner circle; some are in the outer circle and some in the expanding circle Most of us do not get opportunities to hear and speak English Consequently, unlike people who are

Outer Circle (India, Philippines, Nigeria, etc.)

Inner Circle (US, UK, etc.)

within the inner circle, we are “primarily visual learners, not auditory learners” (Patil, 2008)

Since students who study English as a foreign language (EFL) usually have limited opportunities to speak English outside the classroom (Zhang, 2009) and also have limited contact with English speakers, it turns back to the role of English teachers to provide more situations and activities for students to strengthen their speaking competence

2.3.6 Materials for teaching speaking skill

Communicative language teaching over the last fifteen years has emphasized the importance of “real communication” and “authentic” teaching materials (Nunan, 1987) Not excluded from this trend, course materials focusing on oral language development have increasingly promoted themselves as offering “real-life

communication” skills (Seedhouse, 1996) The examples which are available in

Expanding Circle (Russia, China, Japan, Egypt)

Vietnam include Speaking naturally (Tillett & Bruder, 1985) and Headway (Soars

& Soars, 1989) However, the evaluation towards these materials is not high

Cathcart (1989) and Slade and Gardner (1993) claim that representations of

authentic spoken interaction in teaching materials are generally hard to find, even in such ostensibly communicatively-oriented publications With the same concern, as for Carter and McCarthy (1995), the reason why materials for teaching speaking skill still lack of authentic spoken language is that the majority of currently

available materials draw extensively on models of grammar which are rooted in descriptions of written English This leads to an attentive fact that learners of

English speak English like reading it out of some texts The fact about teaching materials forces me to take a closer look at the current textbook being used to teach speaking skill for first year learners participating in our college‟s second degree training program

2.4 Textbook and its role in a language program

2.4.1 Definition of textbook

A textbook is simply defined by Ur (1987) as a book which each teacher and usually each student has a copy, and which is followed systematically as the basis for a language course

2.4.2 The role of textbook in a language program

Many educators and researchers have studied the roles textbook plays in a language-teaching program and each of them has developed their own concepts and ideas as following:

According to Hutchinson and Torres (1994), it seems that no

teaching-learning situation is complete until it has its relevant textbook

To make Hutchinson and Torres‟s opinion clearer, Ur (1996) claims that a textbook forms a backbone of any language-teaching program More specifically, it provides framework of the program so that teachers and learners know where they are going and what is coming next Without textbooks, a program may have no

central core and learners may not receive a syllabus that has been systematically planed and developed

Similarly, Richards (2001) adds that textbook is a key component in most language programs As for students, he states, textbooks provide (1) the basis from which the content of the lessons is developed, (2) the balance for skills teaching, and (3) practicing activities As for teachers, the textbooks may serve as a primary supplement to the teacher‟s instruction

Not only representing as “the visible heart of any ELT program”, textbooks also offer considerable advantage for both the teacher and the students (Sheldon,

1988, p 237) As O‟Neill (1982) indicates, textbooks are generally sensitive to students‟ needs, even if they are not designed specifically for them, they are

efficient in terms of money and time With teachers, since textbooks are relatively inexpensive and involve low lesson preparation time, they can help reduce potential occupational overload and allow teachers the opportunity to spend their time

undertaking more worthwhile pursuits (O‟Neill, 1982; Sheldon, 1988)

In addition, the use of textbooks is also an advantage for the ELT curriculum (Cunningsworth, 1995) He argues that they are an effective resource for self-

directed learning, an effective resource for presentation material, a source of ideas and activities, a reference source for students, a syllabus where they reflect pre-determined learning objectives and support less experienced teachers

Sharing the same idea, Richards (2001) adds that textbooks also help to standardize instruction The use of a textbook in a program can ensure that the students in different classes receive similar content and therefore can be tested in the same way

Though the roles of textbooks seem to be obvious, the over-reliance on them

is not supported Some theorists have given warnings about the inherent danger of the inexperienced teacher who may use a textbook as pedagogic crutch They state that such an over-reliance may have the opposite effect of saving students from a teacher‟s deficiencies (O‟Neill, 1982; Williams, 1983; Kitao & Kitao, 1997)

Having the same idea, Richard (2001) claims that textbook can deskill teachers if the teachers use textbooks and teachers‟ manual as the primary source of their

teaching and to make the major instructional decisions for themselves

However, McDonough and Christopher (1993) did not support this opinion They thought that textbook cannot deskill teachers but can train them In their view, inexperienced teachers can make use of a textbook together with the teacher‟s

manual as a medium of their initial teacher training

Though textbooks seem to be beneficial as indicated by the above theorists, there are still some opinions against their use in a teaching-learning situation

Allwright (1982), for example, has written a scathing commentary on the use of textbooks in the ELT classroom He states that textbooks are too inflexible and generally reflect the pedagogic, psychological, and linguistic preferences and biases

of their authors For this view, textbooks determine and control the methods,

processes and procedures of language teaching and learning by indirectly imposing external language objectives and learning constituents on students as well as

inappropriate instructional paradigms on teachers

Other authors such as Prodromou (1988) and Alptekin (1993) focus on the cultural factors that are embedded in teaching the language in textbooks They argue that this forces learners to express themselves within a culture of which they have scarcely any experience and may result in alienation, stereotype, or even reluctance

or resistance to learning

Another shortcoming of textbooks is that they are actually too contrived and artificial in their presentation of the target language The authors who support this prove their opinion by many scripted textbook language models and dialogues which are unnatural and inappropriate for communicative and cooperative language teaching This is because they do not adequately prepare students for the types of pronunciation (Brazil, Coulthard, & Johns, 1980; Levis, 1999), language structures, grammar, idioms, vocabulary and conventional rules, routines, and strategies that they will have to use in the real situations (Cathcart, 1989; Yule & Hopkins, 1992)

They further assert that the scripted unauthentic language found in many textbooks does not lend itself to communicative practice but instead can lead to an

oversimplification of language and unrealistic views of real-life situations

To sum up, although there are still opposite opinions about the roles of textbooks in language classrooms, their advantages seem to be over their

disadvantages since they still an indispensable part of any language classroom The point is that no textbook is absolutely perfect or appropriate for a particularly

situation; thus, it is the role of the teachers to know how to use the available sources

of materials in their current teaching situations appropriately As O‟Neill (1982) remarks, textbooks can and should allow for adaptation and improvisation Before adapting teaching materials, evaluation is an essential step

2.5 Materials evaluation

As pointed out by Hutchinson (1987), evaluation of existing materials can provide a good source of ideas of what to avoid as well as what to do White, R V (1988) offers an odd argument that evaluation is important as a means of course improvement Considering these views, this section looks at theories of material evaluation to make a base for the one of the two main parts of this present study: investigating the current course material (CCM) and examining how it matches the students‟ needs

The analysis of the materials evaluation focuses on purposes of materials evaluation, types of materials evaluation, and criteria for materials evaluation

2.5.1 Purposes of materials evaluation

Cunningsworth (1995) suggests four purposes for materials evaluation Firstly, it intends to adopt a new coursebook Secondly, it aims to identify particular strengths and weaknesses in a coursebook already in use so that the optimum,

adaptation or the substitution could be made This study‟s purposes correspond to this Thirdly, it sensitizes the students and teacher to some of the more important features to look for in the coursebooks Fourthly, it familiarizes the students and teacher with a range of published materials

To summary the aims and purposes of materials evaluation, the following main points can be focused on:

 Seeing the value of measuring the materials for certain purposes

 Indicating whether the materials suit the learners‟ needs and level

 Considering some changes where necessary and possible in order to

encourage the learning and teaching process and evaluation must be based on some comparative criteria

2.5.2 Types of materials evaluation

Robinson (1991) proposes three types of material evaluation: preliminary, formative, and summative evaluation Preliminary evaluation takes place before a course begins and involves selecting the most appropriate from the publications that are available Formative evaluation takes place while the course is ongoing and addresses the efficiency and acceptability of the program so that modifications can

be made to the materials Summative evaluation takes place at the end of a course and addresses the question of whether the materials have been effective Summative evaluation may be used to support decision about the continuation and modification

in use to see whether it should be considered for adaptation or replacement use evaluation provides retrospective assessment for a course book‟s performance and can be useful for identifying strengths and weaknesses that emerge over a period of continuous use Evaluation of this kind can be useful in helping to decide whether to use the same coursebook on future occasions, particularly in respect of

Post-short shelf-contained courses that are repeated from time to time

Materials evaluation in this study focuses on the pre-use and post-use types

2.5.3 Criteria for materials evaluation

In materials evaluation, it is important to state what should be evaluated or what will be the subject of evaluation process using criteria which are most relevant

to teacher‟s and students‟ concern

As illustrated by Cunningsworth (1995), textbooks should correspond to learners‟ needs, help equip learners to use language effectively for their own

purposes, facilitate students learning process, and have a clear role in mediating the target language and the learner Consequently, he has selected some of the most important general criteria for evaluation and presents as a basic quick reference checklist His checklist includes 8 following points:

1 Aims and approaches

2 Design and organization

In McDonough and Shaw‟s research (1993), they state that there is a direct relationship between evaluating and adapting materials In this research, evaluating

is taken as the base to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the textbook as well

as at which level it matches learners‟ needs in order to make suitable adaptations

2.6 Materials adaptation

As pointed out by Ur (1996), every learner has his/her own learning needs, and no textbook can possibly supply these satisfactorily Since the textbook cannot cater equally to the requirements of every classroom setting, it should be used judiciously and need adaptation for a better use

2.6.2 Reasons for adapting

There have been a great number of reasons why materials should be adapted

to harmony the mismatches if any to make fit the learners‟ needs

McDonough and Shaw (1993) has given a list of reasons which is not

intended to be comprehensive but simply to show some of the possible areas of mismatch that teachers identify and can be dealt with

* Not enough practice of grammar points of particular difficulty

* The communicative focus means that grammar is presented

unsystematically

* Reading passages contain too much unknown vocabulary

* Comprehensive questions are too easy, because the answers can be lifted directly from the text with no real understanding

* Listening passages are inauthentic

* Not enough guidance on pronunciation

* Subject-matter inappropriate for learners of this age and intellectual level

* Photographs and other illustrative material not culturally acceptable

* Amount of material too great/too little to cover in the time allocated to lessons

* No guidance for teachers on handling group work and role play activities with a large class

* Dialogues too formal and not really representative of everyday speech

* Audio material difficult to use because of problems to do with room size and technical equipment

* Too much or too little variety in the activities

* Vocabulary list and a key the exercises would be helpful

* Accompanying tests needed

The reasons for adapting as we can see above dealing with the modification

of content, texts, instructions, test and so on In other words, the focus is on what the materials measured against the requirements of a particular teaching

environment Beside the factors of context, the teachers themselves also play a decisive role in materials adaptation According to McDonough and Shaw (1993,

p 87), the three terms “personalize, individualize, and localize” should be taken into account when adapting materials “Personalize” means to increase the

relevance of the content in relation to learners‟ interests and their academic,

educational or professional needs “Individualize” addresses the learning styles both

of individuals and of the members of a class working closely together “Localize” considers the international geography of English language teaching and the

suitability for a pedagogical ends

2.6.3 Techniques for adaptation

McDonough and Shaw (1993) stated the techniques for adaptation as follow:

Adding

The notion of addition is implying that materials are supplemented by putting more into them, while taking into account the practical effect on time allocation We certainly can add in this simple quantitative and qualitative way by the technique of extending and expanding Extending means to supply more of the same, the

techniques are being applied within the methodology framework of the original materials Expanding, then, as distinct from extending, adds to the methodology by moving outside it and developing it in new directions, for instance by putting in a different language skill or a new component This can be thought of as a change in overall system

Deleting or omitting

Deletion, or omission, is clearly the opposite process to that of addition However, although material is taken out rather than supplemented, as a technique it can be thought of as “the other side of the same coin” As we saw in the previous section that material could be added both quantitatively (extending) and

qualitatively (expanding), the same point applies when a decision is taken omit material Again, as with addition, the technique can be used on a small scale, for example over part of an exercise, or on the larger scale of a whole unit of a course book

Modifying

Modification at one level is a general term in the language applying to any kind of change In order to introduce further possibilities for adaptation, we restrict its meaning here to an internal change in the approach of focus of an exercise or other piece of material It is a rather important and frequently used procedure,

which, like all other techniques can be applied to any aspect of “content” It can be sub-divided under two related headings The first of these is re-writing, when some

of the linguistic content needs modification; the second is re-structuring, which

applies to classroom management

Although being seen in the restricted sense, modifying is the technique that has a wide range of applications

Simplifying

To fit the learning context as well as learners‟ backgrounds and levels, many elements of language in the materials can be simplified Teachers simplify the length of instructions and explanations that accompany exercises and activities or reduce the complex sentences in the reading passages and even the layout of

material to make learners easier to understand With the purpose of bridging the gap between the learners‟ characteristics and materials, simplification has a number of further implications Beside the simplification in lexical or grammatical which will influence on stylistics and may change the meaning or intention of the original text,

we also regard the other considerations of the simplification

Re-ordering

Referring to the possibility of putting the parts of a coursebook in a different order, this may mean adjusting the sequence of presentation within a unit, or taking units in a different sequence from that originally intended Based on the learners‟ level, we can re-order different available language items within a unit by putting them in the notion of relationship and scales of systematic

2.6.4 Framework for Material adaptation

McDonough and Shaw (1993) also provides a workable framework on which the principles of adaptation are based to fit together:

Adding Deleting Modifying Simplifying Re-ordering

applied to

Content areas

Language practice Texts Skills Classroom management etc

2.6.5 “Plenty to Say” in speaking classes at Hue College of Foreign Languages

“Plenty to Say” is a Longman Group‟s publication which appeared in market

in 1989, twenty two years ago As far as I know through members of English

Department in our college, “Plenty to Say” has been being used as primary

materials to teach speaking skill for first year students of both full-time and second degree training program for over 20 years However, as time passes by, the textbook has revealed its limitations Consequently, although it is still mentioned in Speaking 1‟s unit description as main material, depending on each teacher and each subject of

teaching, the ways of using it are varied Some teachers, to save time, still lean their teaching on the activities in the textbook with little and even no changes The others just use it as a minor tool in their class They might use the topics, some simple activities and design added materials and speaking tasks as well as make lots of changes to the activities by themselves Students‟ uses of the textbook, following that fact, are different

Apart from the textbook, the setting also involves first year students of

second degree training program and the teachers responsible for speaking skill teaching Learners in this program are all adults who finished their first university degree in other fields and enrolled in the program with different reasons and

purposes Thus, ages, knowledge background, viewpoints and motivations are very differential As for teachers, they are members of Department of English or English for specific purposes, members of school staffs who meet the requirements for teaching speaking, and MA students They are also varied in ages, viewpoints and motivations for teaching Those differences might be the causes to different learning and teaching attitudes towards “Plenty to Say”

In second degree training program, 60 periods are allotted for Speaking 1 With 3 classes a week and 4 periods an evening, Speaking 1 will be finished after 5 weeks It means 28 units are expected to be covered within that period of time During that time, a midterm test will take place at around week 3 After finishing the course, learners continue learning other subjects until the exam time The final test is conducted in the form of teacher-student interview Topics with familiar themes are provided in pieces of paper Individually, students pick up any papers to have their questions After 10 minutes preparation for the first 5 examinees, each one will be called to conduct a small speech related to their chosen topic Then some additional questions from examiners may be put to students to check their understanding and reaction

2.7 Previous studies

It is revealed through the search for this study‟s references that there are

many researches conducted in the fields of evaluating and adapting textbook

However, the two aspects are rarely combined The ones which made evaluation suggested no adaptations for the textbook‟s teaching and learning such as Litz‟s thesis on textbook evaluation and ELT management in South Korea (2005) and Le Thanh Hung‟s thesis on The Interactions 2‟s evaluation in Principles and

methodology in English language education major (2008) By contrast, the ones which suggested adaptations made no evaluation on the textbook first such as

Nguyen Ha Quynh Nhu‟s thesis on adapting English teaching material for teaching and learning English in Hue College of Economics (2004)

Litz‟s thesis focused on the evaluation of teachers and students at Sung Kyun

Swan University in Suwon, South Korea on English Firsthand 2 – a multi-skills

syllabus It aimed to determine the overall pedagogical value and suitability of the book towards the specific language program in the school The aspects of the

textbook evaluated in his survey were practical considerations, layout and design, activities and tasks, skills, language type and content, and subject and content While the initial purpose of his study was to identify disconcerting problems with the textbook, the results demonstrate a positive evaluation from both teachers and

students The English Firsthand 2 was concluded to be suitable for not only the

university‟s language-learning aims but particular classes of senior Korean students

as well Some limitations of the textbook were also mentioned such as repetitive activities, inadequate treatment of pronunciation, and failure in encouraging truly meaningful practice, promoting realistic discourse, and leading to the internalization

of language Although some suggestions were given and there was a quick touch on the adaptations made by the teachers to alleviate or eradicate the textbook‟s

superfluous concerns mentioned in his thesis‟s conclusion, no specific adaptation was made or pointed out

Similarly, but conducted in Vietnamese context and with another textbook,

Le Thanh Hung‟s thesis was a formal evaluation on The Interaction 2 – A

Listening/Speaking skill book His scope was 35 teachers and 70 students at Cantho

University – College of Education It aimed to find out to which extent the textbook

fits in the English teaching and setting in Cantho University The focuses of Le‟s thesis are the textbook‟s practical consideration, layout and design, activities, skills, language type, subject and content, and overall consensus The results of the study showed that Interactions 2 was relatively suitable with the language teaching and learning situation in his institute More specific, it was said to meet the survey‟s target learners‟ needs with its emphasis on listening and speaking skills, and its application was reported to be suitable for the type of class in credit-based

curriculum in Cantho University However, shortcomings were unavoidable,

namely repetitive activities, the unbalance of listening and speaking skills, lack of supplementary materials, failure in engaging variety of accents, encouraging truly meaningful practice, promoting realistic discourse, and leading to the internalization

of language Improvements were concluded as essential factors for a better use of

Interaction 2 Yet, once again, no suggestions for improvements or adaptations

were found

Another thesis I would like to mention is Nguyen Ha Quynh Nhu‟s Her study sought for adaptations for ESP teaching material used to teach students at Hue College of Economics Her study‟s participants included 60 students and 12

teachers who were involved in the teaching and learning situation Through data collected from two sets of questionnaires, an understanding about teachers‟ methods and performances and students‟ needs, preferences and interests in activities were obtained Interviews and class observations were also conducted to get a deeper, more reliable, and more accurate conclusion From the above information, without indicating any shortcomings or limitations of the current teaching materials,

adaptations were made to the textbook‟s approach, language content, skills, work arrangement, class management, and class interaction

After making reference to these three studies, a feeling of deficiency stayed

in my mind With the first two theses, that feeling was for the missing solutions It

is obvious that both the two textbook evaluated are still worth using with the

advantages they bring back However, shortcomings should not be ignored Thus, taking advantage of the materials and making its use more effective should be

carried out at the same time Suggestions for adapting could have been a useful reference for teachers at those institutions if there had been With the third thesis, the missing part, as for me, was a detailed evaluation on the material which revealed what the textbook failed to provide students with in accordance to their needs, preferences and interests The adding of that part might make the adaptations sound more convincing

These drew me to the decision of combining the two acts in my thesis on evaluating “Plenty to Say” – a textbook for speaking skill conducted with another subject and in another setting – second degree students at Hue College of Foreign Languages

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research design and Approach

This is a descriptive research design which employs both quantitative and qualitative methods

Quantitative method with the tool of two sets of questionnaires (one for teachers and one for students) sought for both teachers and students‟ evaluation on the textbook From the collected data, the insights and tentative conclusions will be evolved

Besides, qualitative method with the tool of interviews was also applied to confirm and get a deeper view on the results from the questionnaires The

interviews were done with individual participants and conducted in oral form or written form, depending on each situation

3.2 Participants

3.2.1 Teachers

15 teachers from the English Department and ESP Department of Hue

College of Foreign Languages will be asked to complete the questionnaire showing their personal evaluation on the textbook, the adaptations they have made, and their suggestions for further adaptations Five of them will be interviewed for further understanding about their evaluation and the changes they made when using the textbook

3.2.2 Students

60 first-year and second-year students who are taking the second-degree training program in English major at HUCFL were involved in the research They used or are using “Plenty to Say” so they are the ones who see clearly which parts meet their needs and which not They were asked to complete a similar

questionnaire in order to see if there is any gap between the evaluations of the two

different subjects Their suggestions for making the best use of the textbook were also considered seriously with the open-ended question in the questionnaire Ten of them were chosen randomly to conduct the interviews individually

3.3 Materials

“Plenty to Say” has been being used as a textbook to teach speaking skill for first year fulltime students as well as second degree students in Hue College of Foreign Languages for over 20 years It is designed for elementary students to become involve in conversations about topics that lie within their own personal experience such as sport, food, families and friends, health, and so on Using this book, students are asked to relate the ideas presented to themselves, their

surroundings, and their everyday lives Some help about vocabulary and grammar

as well as ideas for students to talk about are provided

There are 28 theme-based units in the textbook which cover 14 topics Each unit consists of:

- Lexical areas which form the idea of the angles from which the topic is presented

- Language actively practiced which introduces the language items that are used throughout the unit

The speaking activities such as role plays, interviews, discussions, word association games, information gap tasks are designed with the aim to reinforce the knowledge provided in these two sections of each unit

- The type of pair work which is set up in the You and me partner work sections

There is also a cut-out key available at the back of the book for closed

answer It is quite convenient for teachers when preparing the lessons

The original version of the textbook is no longer available Thus, both

teachers and students have to use photocopied ones with black and white pictures

3.4 Instruments

Two sets of questionnaire were given to two groups of participants: 15

teachers and 60 students The questionnaires focused on the evaluation of teachers and students on the current speaking skill coursebook The two questionnaires were designed to answer the research questions set up at the beginning

The student questionnaire included 10 closed and opened questions focusing

on students‟ needs, 24 detailed statements about different aspects of textbook evaluation, and 13 sections of the textbook for personal evaluation With a slight difference, the teacher questionnaire includes 34 statements and13 sections of the textbook

There are 37 items in the evaluation form for students and 47 others for teachers All the items are grouped into categories as following:

Table 3.2 Items for students

The questionnaires were designed in the form of a five-point scale checklist The scale expands from 1 – indicating “strongly disagree” to 5 – indicating

“strongly agree” They asked for the participants‟ degree of agreement on the

statements given

The set for students were translated into Vietnamese so that the participants can fully understand all the statements Also, some questions for the purpose of getting known students‟ needs were included in this set of questionnaire

Open-ended questions were also put in the questionnaire which aimed to find out teachers as well as students‟ opinions about the ways to adapt the textbook

The interviews helped get more detailed and reliable information The

content of the interviews considers detailed explanations of teachers‟ and students‟ evaluation

3.5 Data analysis

The data from questionnaires will be classified and analyzed using SPSS and the results of statistical frequency and percentage will be showed in various tables and figures

The information from interviews will be carefully analyzed to provide more valid information about the evaluation on the textbook and how appropriate and effective the adaptations are

3.6 Procedure

The research was carried out in the following steps:

(1) Piloting the questionnaires

(2) Administering the questionnaires

(3) Interviewing participants

(4) Analyzing collected data

(5) Suggesting some adaptations

3.6.1 Piloting the questionnaires

A pilot version of the questionnaires were handed out to 20 first year

students participating in second degree training program in HUCLF and 10 teachers who used and are using the evaluated textbook to check the reliability of the

questionnaires and each item included

The reliability coefficient of student and teacher questionnaire was

respectively α = 928 and α = 894 The results showed that the data collected would

With careful instructions, eighty second degree students of first and second year to are asked to fill out the questionnaire in Vietnamese Oral and visual

explanations were provided when there were strange terms or when students found hard to remember details about the textbook Twenty unreliable questionnaires were eliminated to guarantee the reliability of the collected data

The questionnaires for teachers were sent through emails for convenience With this group of participants, no more explanations were made

3.6.3 Interviewing participants

Ten students and five teachers were chosen randomly to conduct the

structured interviews To maintain the focus and consistency of the interviews, an interview guide had been prepared in advance Interviews were done with

individual participants, and conducted face to face or through emails, in Vietnamese

or English, depending on each situation Immediate feedback, detailed comments and opinions were elicited through them With oral interviews, the answers were taken note

3.6.4 Analyzing collected data and suggesting some adaptations

Data were collected, coded and processed using Statistic Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software The results were shown in tables and charts