Luận văn an evaluation of course book english unlimited elementary for first year students of university of information and communication technology under thai nguyen university

UNIVERSLTY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDLES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES BÙI THU TRANG AN EVALUATION OF COURSE BOOK “ENGLISH UNLIMITED- ELEMENTARY” FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS O

UNIVERSLTY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDLES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

BÙI THU TRANG

AN EVALUATION OF COURSE BOOK

“ENGLISH UNLIMITED- ELEMENTARY” FOR

FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY UNDER THAI NGUYEN

UNIVERSITY

(ANH GIA GIAO TRINH “ ENGLISH UNLIMITED

“TRÌNH DO A2 DUNG CHO SINH VIEN NAM THU

NHẤT TRƯỜNG DẠI HỌC CÔNG NGIIỆ THÔNG TIN

VA TRUYEN THONG THUQC PAI HOC THAI

NGUYEN)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 6014.0111

Hanvi- 2017

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAT STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

BUI THU TRANG

AN EVALUATION OF COURSE BOOK

“ENGLISH UNLIMITED- ELEMENTARY” FOR

FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY UNDER THAI NGUYEN

UNIVERSITY

(ANH GIA GIAO TRINH “ ENGLISH UNLIMITED ”TRINH BO A2 DUNG CHO SINH VIÊN

NAM THU NHAT TRUONG DAI HOC CONG NGHE

THONG TIN VA TRUYEN THONG THUOC DAI

HOC THAI NGUYEN)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology

Code: 6014.0111

Supervisor: Dr.Do Tuan Minh

Hanoi, 2017

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report

antitled An evaluation of course hook “English unlimited- elementary” for first- pear students of university of information and communication technology under

Thai Nguyen University submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

s Fxcepl where the reference is indicated, no

degree of Master in English Tingui

other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

Hanoi, April 2017 Signature

Bai Thu Trang

My deepest gratitude goos to Dr.Do Tuan Minh, my supervisor, for his valuable instructions, comments and criticisms as well as his stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growing this thesis

I am deeply indebted to the teachers and students at ICTU for their gensrous cooperation and enthusiasm from which I have benefited a lot during my study

Finally, 1 wish to express my sincerely thanks to my family for the sacrifive they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work.

The coursebook “English Unlimited- Elementary” is written by Alex Tilbury,

‘Theresa Clementson, Leslie Anne Hendra & David Rea in 2010 and used for the first-year students at University of Information and Communication Technology

under Thai Ngnyen University since 2014 However, up lo now, there has been no

official research conducted to evaluate the relevance of the coursebook to the

learners’ purposes as well as its outcome requirements The purpose of this study is

to reveal the findings and inftermation about the coursebook evalualion from the

perspectives of students and teachers of ICU With this regard, the study tries to

assess the relevance of the coursebook to the students’ needs in terms of knowledge,

skills and inelhodology The study is divided into twee paris including

Introduction, Development and Conclusion Ten teachers of English and 120 first-

‘year students participated in the survey ‘The findings show that the coursebook is

rather relevant lo the needs of learners.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART A: INTRODUCTION:

2 Aims of the study 2

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.2.5 Criteria for materials evalualiem 11

1.2.6 Materials cvaluationi modeÌs ococceooses ¬"”

1.3 Needs analysis .ccccccsssssesssssesseessansoesesesunssseeessessssseesessassssasasseeisasvveeeseeen L4

CHAPTER TE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1 An overview of current GL teaching and learning at ICTU

2 2.3 Data collection instruments

2.4 Data collection procedure

CHAPTERT: RESEASRCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Unlimited Elementary”

3 Evaluation on the needs satisfied by the course book

3.2 1 earners’ and teachers’ evaluation of the coursebook “English Unlimited

3.2.2 General evalualion on the students’ process

3.2.3 The evaluation on skills cece ieenee

3.2.4, Evaluation on the methodology

3.3 Teachers’ suggestions fr the materials improvement.

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 Summary of the study

3 Some conclusions

3 Limitations of the study

4 Suggested for further study

PART A: INTRODUCTION:

1 Rationale of the stady

Since Vietnam began its open-door policy, English teaching, and learning has strongly developed and Unglish is considered an important subject taught at both schools and universities University of Information and Communication Technology (ICTU) under Thai Nguyen University is not an exception Appropriate materials are thought to stimulate effective teaching and leaming, Because of materials’ role

to second language acquisition, material evaluation has become a major concern of

several researchers Cunnings worth (1998) and Fils (1997) have suggested that course book evaluation helps teachers move beyond impressionistic assessments

and help them to acquire useful and contextual susighis into the overall nature of the

anaterial

In the curriculum for ICTU students, English courses account for 10 credits,

which are distribuled into lwo phases: General English (GR) and English for

Specific Purposes (ESP) General English consisting of two courses (a total of six credits) aim to train students in four general skills of linglish SP including two courses wilh four credits in total is designed to teach students English language for specific purposes, such as English for Hlectronics and ‘felecommnunications, Hnglish for Automation Technology and Tinglish for Information Technology

In ICTU, course books are mostly used in aching and learning materials for both teachers and the learners ‘fhey not only provide a framework for teachers in achieving the aims and objectives of the course but also play an important role as a

guide Lo the leacher in conductity: the lesson Therefore, using a course book is

probably the most common way of teaching Lnglish today Ilowever, now with a

variety of textbook available on the market each with a different methodology and

syllabus, if can be much more difficult ta choose the best suitable book for #

particular teaching situation Thus, it is necessary for language teachers to carefully

examine all aspects of the materials and to take advantage of the materials

The course buok “English Unlimited- Elementary” is used for leaching GE

for the first year students at ICI'U since 2014 and also both positive and negative

xesponse from both students and teachers However, up to now, no research on the course book evaluation has been conducted to recognize its strength and weakness

as well as how suitably the course book matched the goal of the course In response

to the problem, it is an urgent demand to carry out an evaluation of the course book

to determine its appropriateness for students at our university then provide the adaptation for the better use

Yor these above-mentioned reasons, the researcher decided to choose materials evaluation as the theme of this minor thesis titled as:

“AN EVALUATION OF COURSE BOOK “ENGLISH UNLIMITED- ELEMENTARY” FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY UNDER TIEAT

NGUYEN UNIVERSITY”

2 Aims of the study

The study is carricd oul lo evaluate the course book “English Untimited-

Elementary ” which is used as teaching materials for first- year students at ICTU to see how is the appropriate degree of the course book to meet the requiremem of the course learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and alliludes The specific

aims are:

* To evaluate the appropriateness of the material to the course requirements in

term of knowledge, skills and attitudes

« To offer suggestions for its better use

3 Research question:

2, How is the course book English Unlimiled- Elementary relevant to the course

outcomes requirements in terms of knowledge, skiils and methodology?

2 What should be done so that this coursebook is used better?

4, Scape uf the study

‘The course book Linglish Unlimited- Mlementary is only for the first year

students at ICTU, thus the study focuses on the evaluation of the first year students

aL ICTU on course book currently used Tn material evaluation, there have been a

number of criteria that should be taken into consideration, such as the content, the

methodology, the layout, the culture bias, the authenticity, and so on It will be highly precious to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the course book

However, within the scope of a munor thesis, the ertteria for evaluation were based

on Ilutchinson and Waters’ (1987) with focus on three criteria: Knowlegde, Skills

and Methodology to see how the course book is relevant to learners’ needs

5 Methods of the study

To conduct this study, two main instruments were used to collect data:

- Survey questionnaires - were designed for both first-year students of Faculty of

Tnformation Technology and ten mvolved teachers ol Enghsh at ICTU

- Semi-structured interviews - were conducted to look for both teachers and

students’ Curther opinions on the courss book based om their experience in using i

or to clarify any misunderstanding

6 Design of the study

The study crmsists of three parts:

Part A: Introduction presents the rationale, aims, the research questions, scope, methodology and design of the thesis

Part B: Development — imeludes th

chaplers:

Chapter I: Literature review provides theoretical basis for the stady with literature review on the aspects relating to material evaluation such as: materials in language icaching and learning, matorials evaluation Readers are provided with concise understandings of the definition of materials evaluation, purposes, types, methods of

materials evaluation, criteria and materials evaluation models Besides, in this

chapter, materials adaptation for the betler use has been presented

Chapter Ll: Research methodology describes the methods employed in this thesis

Chapter IIT: Analysis of data and suggestion for materials adaptation - is devoted to

the analysis of the survey questionnaire and interview of the course book evaluation carried cut at ICTU in which description, data collection, and analysis are

demonstrated in detail This chapter also reports main findings of the thesis to

address the 1escarch questions.

Part C: Conclusion summarizes the content of the thesis with regard to the relevance of the course book in terms of three evaluated aspects, and points out some limitations of the study.

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is concerned with the review of a theoretical base to develop an

operalional framework for the evalualion of the coursc book “Fngiish Unlintited-

Elementary” used for first-year students at ICTU ‘The first section in this chapter

presents materials in language leaching and learing with regard Next, the study

presents an overview of materials evaluation Then, need analysis will be prosented

At last, the chapter will end up with theoretical discussion about materials adaptation

1.1 Materials in languape teaching and learning

LAL Definition

It is important to give a good definition about textbook, course book and

amaterial to do a book evaluation in a correct way

Tomlinson (1998) defines that a textbook provides the core materials for a

course Tt aims lo provide as much as possible in one book and is designed so that it

could be serve as the only book which the leamer necessarily use during a course Such a book usually includes work on grammar, vocabulary, fimetion and the skills

of reading, wriling, listening and speaking

Ur (1996: 183) has given a simple one; it is very useful and easy to

‘understand It reads as follows

The term ‘course book’ means, a text book of which the teacher and each

student has a copy and which is in principle to be followed systematically as the hasis for a language course Therefore, from the above definition one can get that a

course book must have at least being available in the hand of students and teachers,

and used systematically in a course of study, and a course of study in this article refers to an English course of study

In Richards (2001:251) definition “Materials can be instructional,

experiential, elucidative and exploratory, in that they can inform learners about the

language, they can provide experience of the language in use, they can stimulate

language use or they can help learners to make discoveries about the language for

themselves”

1.1.2 The rale of material in peneral English course

In language teaching and leaming, materials play important roles which are mentioned by different authors in the literature There are five important components involved in English language instruction namely students, teachers, materials, teaching methods, and evaluations among which essential constituents are

the textbooks and instruction materials because these instruction materials provide

the foundation for the content of the lesson, the balance of the skill taught, as well

as the kinds of language practice the students engage in during class activities

Nuran (1988) mentions the vital role of leaching materials:

“Materials arc in fact an cssential clement within the curriculum, and do

more than simply lubricate the wheels of leaming At their best they provide

comerele models of desirable classroom practice, they act as cummeulumn models for

teachers to follow in developing their own materials.” (p.98)

Stressing on the role of materials, Richard (2001) states that materials

provide a basic for the content of the lesson, the appropriate proportion of skills

taught, and the type of language practice students take part in Furthermore, useful teaching materials provide great assistance to inexperienced teachers or poorly

tramed (cachers They can serve as “a fonn of teacher (raimmg” (Richard, 2001:251)

and teachers can get ideas on how to plan and teach the lesson from the materials

13 Types of materials

Published materials

Published materials refer to any kind of materials which is commercially

offered in the market There are several advantages for basing the curriculum on a

series of EST textbooks First, the texibooks have a clearly identified set of

achievement objectives which include what the leamers are expected to be able ta

do and what to expect next Second, there is a consistency in the topics and genres

in the four skills arca (listening, spcaking, reading, and writing) This allows for

greater autonomy in the learning process Finally, ESL course books are the

cheapest and most convenient ways of providing leaming materials to each student All of these reasons make using these textbooks a very popular choice in the English leaming curriculum The most obvious advantage of these materials is its availability for use

However, these published materials do have some limitations First, most textbooks contain a lot of activities where students do “questions and answers”

After a few lessons, many studems may find the learning process boring and

uninteresting The second issue that teachers should consider is student motivation

Most college sludenls expect their Enghsh courses to be something different from their high school English classes So when we give them textbooks that are

similarly designed as their past learning materials, the studenls may quickly lose

their interest and motivation to study Finally, although most ESL textbooks are well organized with many different kinds of activities, however, they do not provide

enough details im other aspects of language study

Home-made materials

iiome-made materials refer to those materials developed by teachers or

practitioners for their own siudcnls in their teaching comlext There are also

arguments for and against the use of hame-made materials Firstly, Block (1991) argued that an important advantage of home-made materials is contextualization Home-made materials are likely to be more specific and appropriate than published ones and to have greater face validity in terms of the language deal with and the context it is presented in Secondly, home-made materials may be more flexible In

designing their own materials teachers can also make decisions about the most

appropriate organizing principle or focus for the materials and activities And this

can be changed over the course of the programmed if necessary A further

advantage of home-made materials is timeless (Block, 1991) Teachers designing

their own materials can respond to local and international events with up-to-date,

relevant and high interest topics and tasks In conclusion, the advantages of home-

made malcnals can be summed up in the idea that they avoid the ‘one-size-fils-all”

approach of most commercial matenals.

Despite the above mentioned advantages, home-made materials have some limitations Firstly, there are potential pitfalls for teachers who would be materials designers like organization Home-made materials may lack overall coherence and a clear progression Without some overall organizing principle, materials may be piecemeal and can result in poorly focused activities lacking clear direction Secondly, the most common criticism against home-made materials is to do with their quality At the surface level, home-made materials may “seem ragged and

unprofessional next ta those produced by professionals”

Finally, the key factor inhibiting many teachers from producing their own teaching materials is time It must be take a lot of time for the teachers to design

suilable materials for their learners im thei particular leaching and leamnmg context

because all the involved clements of the textbooks, such as linguistic content, culture values, and authenticity should be taken into consideration

1.2 Material evaluation

1.2.1 Definilion of materials evaluation

Up to now, there have been a number of researchers express their own point

of view regarding the definilicn of material evaluation

According to Tomlmson (2001), “Marterial evaluation is a procedure that

involves measuring the value (for potential value) of a set of learning, material”

Hulchmson and Waters (1993:p96) also give definition of maicrials

evaluation, as “Kvaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purposes Give a certain need, and in light of the resources available,

which is oul of a uumber of possibilities can represent the best solution?” In other

words, “Livaluation is basically a matching process: matching needs to available

solutions”

From Dudiey (1998:128) defines “evaluation 1s a whole process which

begins with determining what information to gather and ends with bringing about

the change in current activities or influencing future ones”

Matcrial evaluation is “a process nol a final product” with “ailempis to

measure the value of materials” (omlinsan, 1998) or “the systematic appraisal of

the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the leamers using them”

With regards to this issuc, Murphy (1985:210) considers evaluation one of the key concepts in ELT to “determine the extent to which a programmed is worthwhile, and to aid decision-making through the purposeful gathering information” In the programmed evaluation, material evaluation is given a great deal of attention

In conclusion, from above authors’ general definition of evaluation, it can be inforred thai evalualiem is a process of giving judgments, determining requirements, collecting data, evaluation must include actions

1.2.2 Purposes of material evaluation

‘An evaluation of teaching, materials helps to identify articular strengths and weaknesses of material in use After being used in the classroom for a certain period

of tine, teaching materials need to be evaluated to sce if they have worked well for

‘the intended situation and students

According to Cunningsworth (1995), through evaluation, we can assess whether the course book is the most appropriate for the largel learners at various levels and in various teaching settings

Tillis (1997) mentions that, there are two main reasons for carrying out 1uaterials evaluation Firslly, here may be need lo choose amoug the maleials available the most suitable ones to use for a particular situation Secondly, there can

be a need for materials evaluation to determine whether the material, which has been chusen, works Cor that situation aller ìLhas been used for a period of time This may help in deciding whether to use the material again or replace it with a better one

Anderson (1992) sels out a list of purposes of malerials evaluation as follow

«© To decide whether the taterials have had the intended effeel

« To identify what affect materials have had

« ‘To vindicate a decision

«To justify the future course of action.

« To compare approaches/methodologies

« To identify the areas for improvement in the future use

« To show the positive achievements of teachers and students

« To motivate teachers

« — To allay suspicions among parents and sponsors

1.2.3 Types of materials evaluation

There are different researchers having different ways of dividing course- book evaluation according lo different researchers

According to Cunningsworth (1995, p 76) and McGrath (2!

2, pp 14-15),

there are three Lypes of material evaluation: pre-use, in use and post use evaluation

This classification 1s similar to Ellis (1997) with different names: Preliminary,

Formative, and Summative Evaluation respeotively In spite of different terms used toveler types of malorials evaluation, thesc ierms are basieally similar and discussed

as containing three types

Pre-use evaluation: according to Tomlinson (2003:23) often takes place

before the materials are used Lo prediel the potential valuc of materials for their

users to select a course book for use with a particular class It seems that pre-use evaluation tends to be the most difficult type as there is no actual experience of

‘using the materials

Jn-use evaluation is a kind of evaluation of suitability, involving “matching the course book against a specific requirement including the learner's objectives,

the learners’ background, the rosourves available, ele.” (Cumningsworth, 1995, p14)

Post-use evaluation refers to an assessment of a textbook's fitness over a period of continual use According to Tomlinson (2003:25), evaluation of this kind

T

can be “the most valuable as it can measure the actual effect of ic material on the

users” Basing on the data measured, evaluators can make reliable decisions about

the use, adaptalion or replacement of the materials However, this type of material is

normally time — conswning

in summary, there is no difference in distinguishing evaluation process

Preliminary or pre-use evaluation established potential suitability of the matorials

Formative or in-use evaluation examines how materials really work in by gathering data on planning, decisions, implementation and response Summative or post-use evaluation is uscd at the ond of the course in order to provide retrospective assessment and identify which strengths and weaknesses of the materials Basing on

the current context of ICTU, the writer decided to choose the post — use evaluation

to measure the appropriateness of the course book and offer some method of adaptation for its better use

1.2.4, Methods of materials evaluation

L241 The impressionistic method

According to Cunmingsworth (1995:2), the impressionistic method is

designed (o be able lo gain an impression of a book by looking rather more carefully

at representative features, such as the organization, topics, layout, visuals and the design of a unit or lesson or more specific features, such as the treatment of

particular language elements Therefore, this method is wide ranging bul relatively

superficial due to the fact that “techniques of impressionistic evaluation cover the wide spectrum”

12.4.2 The checklist method

McGrath (2002) states that “a checklist is likely to need tailoring to suit a particular context, and this can involve a good deal more than simply deleting

checklist items which are im applicable Morcover, Wilham (1993, ced in

McGrath, 2002:27) points out that “checklist camot a static phenomenon” This

means that the items in all materials evaluation checklist reflect the time at which

they are conceived

1.243 The in-depth method

In-depth method consists of a focus on specific features (Cunningsworth,

1995), close analysis of one or more extracts (Hulchinson and Waters, 1987), or

throughout examination of two units using predetermined questions (MoGrath,

2002) McGrath also argued that besides its advantages, this evaluation method has

conan disadvantages Firstly, samples selccled for analysis may not be

representative of the book as a whole Secondly, only a particular section of the

material is focused Moreover, this method takes time and requires expert Imowledge (McGrath, 2007:28)

1.2.5, Criteria for materials evaluation

Criteria is what evaluators use to “reach a decision regarding what needs to

be evaluated” (Tomlinson, 1998: 220) In other words, they are the bases upon which the evaluators depend when making judgments Many scholars have suggested different ways to help evaluators do their evaluation more systematically

©) Grammar criteria offer meaningful situations and variety of techniques for

teachmg structural units

* Vocabulary criteria: dislinguish the different purposes and skills involved in

the teaching of vocabulary

¢ Reading criteria: provide the guidance on the initial presentation of passages for reading comprehension

« Writing criteria: domonstrate the various devices for controllmg, and guiding content and expression in compositions exercises

« Technique criteria: contain appropriate pictures, diagrams, table, etc

Hutchinson and Waters (1993, p.99-10) suggest five evaluation criteria for objective and subjective analysis as follow

« Auchenee: the leamers and the materials intended for

« Aims: the aims of the course and the aims of the materials

« Content: language desoription, language points, proportion of work, micro-

skill, toxL-typos, macro-skills, proportion, level of knowledge, fypes of

© Methodology: theory of learning learners’ attitudes, kinds of exercises, teaching-learning techniques, aids, guidance/ support for teaching, the flexibility of materials

«Other criteria: price, quantities, availability

With regard to my context, the criteria set out by Iutchinson and Waters (1993) is the most suitable one

1.2.6 Materials evaluation model

There are several different models for materials evaluation, the mos!

commonly models are suggested by Ellis (1997), McDonough & Shaw (1993), and

Hutchinson and Water ( 1987)

1.26.1 Evaluation by Ellis (1997)

In his model, Lllis suggests the practice of a detailed empirical evaluation and

focuses on evaluation al the task level with reference 10 ils actual teaching and

learing context The steps arc as follows

1 Choosing the task to follow;

2 Describing the task with spevification of inpul, procedures, language aclivitics

and outcomes;

3 Planning the evaluation with reference to the dimensions above,

4 Collecting information before, while and aller the lask was used, and whial how

the task performed;

5 Analyzing the information collected:

6 Reaching conclusions relaling to what has been discovered, and making recommendations for the future teaching

7 Writing the report

Ellis’s model is a micro-evaluation “The ann of this model is to identify the

match between task planned and task in use Ilowever, it can only be conducted

when the materials are being used in the classroom

12.6.2 Evaluation by Hutchinson and Waters (1987)

‘There is a difference between Ellis’s model and this model If Elllis’s model

is a micro-evaluation, this one is actually a macro-evaluation as to be shown in this

Figure 1: Materials evaluation model of Hutchinson and Waters (1987:97}

There are objective and subjective analyses in a checklist and the evaluators should supplement other important criteria in the process of evaluating ‘hen

identifying the evaluator’s requirements, analyzing the material and comparing

findings those two aspects by awarding poinls However, the authors also note (hat highest number of points does not necessarily indicate the most suitable material as

the points may be concentrated in one area

1.263 Evaluation by McDonough and Shaw (1993)

McDonough and Shaw show a combination between macro and micro evaluation This model includes three stages: external evaluation, internal

evaluation, and overall evaluation ‘Ihe internal stage requires an in-depth look at

two or more units to examine whether claims made by the author are the one found

in the intemal evaluation The intemal stage will be carried out if the external

evaluation shows that the materials are potentially appropriate If the findings show

that the materials are inappropriate, the evaluation will be finished at the external

stage

‘the model proposed by Mc Donough and Shaw (1993) illustrates a logical procedure for materials evaluation However, the figure does not discuss the objectives and criteria of the materials which are important to ensure the learners’ learning success as well as teachers’ effective teaching

In summary, analyzing learners’ needs is useful in teaching foreign

languages And the author thinks thal Hutchinson and Water (1987) recommend an

effective model It clearly shows the evaluator the whole picture to analyze the

malerials im accordance with the first year students al TCTU Hence, in this slacdy,

the author adopts the this model to cxamine whether the currently —used materials is

suitable for the students at (CTL

1.3 Needs analysis

Need analysis (also known ax needs assessment) has a vilal role im the

process of designing and carrying out any language course, whether it be English

for Specific Purposes (USP) or general English course, and its centrality has been

acknowledged by scveral scholars and authors

This term “ need analysis” according to laine Larone and George Yule ( 1999), when it has been used in the context of language instruction, has usually

relerred to the collection and evaluation of information to answer the question: “

What aspects of the language does some particular group of learners need to

#mow?” Mountford (1981) offers the definition that needs can be defined as what

students should be able to do af fhe end of their language course or “whal the user —

institution or society at large regards as necessary or desirable ia be learnt from a

program of language of language instruction Another definition given by Brindley

(1981.27) is that needs refer to wants, desires, demands, expectations, motivations,

lacks, constraints, and requirements It is evident that course designers may take students’ needs ino consideration when designing a course Clearly, the role of

needs analysis in any ESP couse is indisputable For Johns (1991), needs analysis

is the first step in course design and it provides validity and relevancy for all subsequent course design activities Different approaches to necds analysis attompt

to meet the needs of the Jeamers in the process of leaming a second language Among which, a modem and comprehensive concept of needs analysis is proposed

by Dudley-Evans and St John (1998: 125) which reflects other approaches Their concept of need analysis is as follows:

Environmental situation - information about the situation in which the course will be run (means analysis);

Personal information about learners - factors which may affect the way they Jearn (wants, means, subjective needs);

Language information about learners - what their current skills and language

use are (p

sent situation arvlysis),

Leamer's lacks (the gap between the present situation and professional

imfortmation about learners); Learner's needs from course - whal is wanted

from the course (short-term needs);

Language learning needs - effective ways of learning the skills and language determined by lacks;

Professional information about leamers - the tasks and activities English learners are/will be using English for (Target Situation Analysis and objective needs),

How to communicate in the target situation — knowledge of how language and skills are used in the target situation (register analysis, discourse analysis, genre analysis)

Today, (cachers arc aware of thai different types of needs analyses are in clase

association to complete the jigsaw of needs analysis (Tigure 2).

Discourse Genre Analysis:

investigates how regularities of

sentences combine structure that

into discourse distinguishes one

type of text from

another

Figure 2 Needs Analysis Jigsaw

As can be seen from the figure, need analyses should be the common

concem of not only ESP but also the general English because the needs of the

leamers play paramount importance in any language process, Therefore, what the

designers should do is to analyze students’ needs in order to design appropriate

courses so that students feel motivated and learn English faster and more

effectively It is clearly that need analysis is of great importance to the effectiveness

of teaching and learning process

1.4 Materials adaptation

Materials adaptation is a process of language teaching and learning It

matches materials with the learner's needs, the teacher's demands, and

administration’s purpose The aim of materials adaptation is to make the teaching

materials the most appropriate in a particular teaching context by making some

changes

‘There are many forms of adaptation According to Gabrielatos (2000) (cited

in Isakovos Tsiplakides (2011:761))when adapting the coursebook, teachers may add the materials and tasks omit the materials and tasks included in the book, replace materials and tasks included in the book and re- order or combine materials and tasks inchided in the materials

(1) Addition: Addition is an adaptation procedure which involves supplementation of extra linguistic items and activities to make up for the

insufficiency of materials Addition of extra materials is appropriate when the

following situations are laced

® Areas are not covered sullicionlly

« Texts/pictures’tasks are not provided,

« Texts/picturestasks are fewer than needed

«Tasks are mited in scope

Tasks are of limited range

(2) Deletion: Deletion is an adapiation procedure which mvolves removal of

some of the linguistic items and activities which are found to be extra and

unnecessary So, deletion is a process in which materials are taken out rather than

added Materials should be reduced through omission when the following situations are faced:

« Leamers are clear about a language point

¢ Leamers are competent ina skill

¢ There are too many tasks on a particular area/point

«The ilern/area concemed is ol a priority

« The item/task is not well designed

« The item/task is not well-suited to its aim(s)

‘the topic is not appropriate for learners

(3) Modification: Modification means changes in different aspects of materials, such as linguistic level, exercises, assessment system and so on Modification of materials is appropriate in the following situations:

¢ Texts are of inappropriate longth

« Materials are inappropriate to the aim

« Materials are inappropriate to the learners’ age/ experience

« Materials are unclear, confusing or misleading

« Yasks are badly designed

(4) Simplification: This procedure is employed ta make materials less

complicated or easier to understand TI'the language teaching material is found to be

difficult or mechanical for the target learner, the materia] can be made suitable for

the learner through the process of simplification

(5) Rearrangement/ro-ordering: Rearangemont is a procedure of materials adaptation through which different parts of a course book are arranged in a different order or sequence Rearrangement of materials helps ta make them comparatively snore interesting and appropriate for the learner as well as the teacher Learners may reorder materials by:

¢ Matching their aims

«Using a practice lask for lead-in and clicitation

«Revising an area earlier hau the course book does

*# Comparing and contrast areas

* Providing thematic unity

«Providing an appropriate follow-up

(@ Replacement: teacher may decide to replace any text or exercise which is

evaluated to be meffective or mclevant by a more suitable one

Textbook adaptation can be done at three levels The first level is macro

adaptation, which is ideally done before the language program begins After

comparing whal is covered in a textbook and whal is required by the syHabus or

examination, the teacher may find that certain areas or even whole units of the book

can be onntted, and certain contents need to be supplemented Macro adaptation is

very important because it helps the teacher to avoid waste time It also helps the teacher to see in advance what he or she needs to supplement so that he or she can

kecp an cyc on malerials that could be uscd

‘The second level of adaptation is adapting a wit ‘This could be reordering the activities, combining activities, omitting activities, rewriting, or supplementing exercise material, etc Unit adaptation helps to make the classroom teaching more

smooth and cohesive It also helps the teacher to better fulfill the aims of a unit

The third level is adaptation of specific activities in a unit Occasionally an activity is regarded as valuable, but it is not well-designed or it is not feasible in particular classes If the teacher does not want to give up the activity, he or she

needs to adapt it

Very often, adaplation involves supplomontation, thal is, teachers add materials from other resources to the textbook they are using It is believed that

authentic materials are betler thar: non-aulhenic materials for supplementation So

teachers who make a point of collecting authentic matorials find it much casier to adapt textbooks This is especially true in ELT contents where authentic English

malcrals are nol always readily to hand

It is believed that a good teacher has full awareness of materials adaptation’s

importance [le profound knows how to use the textbook to make the best of the value of the bock for his spevilic learners Hence, it is adapting materials thal is an indispensable pat in the teaching process in order to make the teaching more and

more effective and interesting

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1, An overview of current GE teaching and learning at LCTU

2.1.1, Context

Universily of Tnfonmauon and Communication Technology (CTU), which

formerly was Faculty of Information ‘Yechnology founded in 2001, is one of the

member institutions under Thai Nguyen Uriverstly (TNU) Its specialized tratmng

domain is Information and Communication Technology There are five main faculties: Faculty of Information ‘lechnology, I'aculty of conomic Information System, Faculty of Antonomie Technology, Faculty of Hlectronics and Communication Technology, Faculty of Basic Science, Faculty of Multimedia Communication and two other departments

At ICTU, English is a compulsory subject with 12 credits It is taught

continuously in four semesters from the first semester of the first year Two first semesters are the Basic English program with the course book English Unlimited

Flementay, a work of Alex Tilbury, Theresa Clementson, Leslie Anne Hendra &

David Rea, first published in 2010 The Basic English program is divided into two

periods The first one is counted three credits dealing with the seven first units of

the course book Studenls aliand iwo classes per week The olher is counted three

credits solving the rest seven units with two classes every week The teaching and

leaning English Unlimited Elementary follows the learner- centered approach,

aiming al developing sluderls’ English communicative competence as the course

book is in accordance with Al to A2 level of the Common European Framework

During each period, students have one mini-test, and a final exam

Remember and use major grammatical points and vocabulary provided during the course

Skills,

i Can take part in a routine conversation on simple predictable topics

ii, Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related ta areas of most immediate relevance (e.g very basic personal and family mformation, shopping, local geography, employment)

iii, Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct

exchange of mfunmation on familiar and rouline matters

iv Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate

enviroment and matters in areas of immediate need

It can be said that these objectives are too genoral and immeasurable while

teachers and students needs them be clearer and more detailed Therefore, teachers

can wrile lesson plans or organive activities as well as tasks to help their sludonis

gain the course objectives

2.1.3 Coursebook description

The course book “Fnglish Untimited- Elementary” is written by Alex Tilbury,

‘Theresa Clementson, Leslie Anne Hendra & David Kea in 2010 It consist of 14

modules with 14 different topics relating to our life such as greetings, introducing themselves, talking about family, hobbies, jobs, favorite things, cic English Unlimited- Elementary gives students an all-round practical knowledge of grammar, skills, vocabulary and real-life frmetional language

A lypical module consists of the following sections

- Language focus: New grammar structures are presented by using discussion

questions or asking students to read or listen to a conversation After the form, and

the rule, students have charices to practice with a variety of exercises

- Vocabulary the students are asked to predict new wards and their meaning based

on the words given in the table with several available pictures, conversations or

small games, Aller that, the students listen to the CD player/lypeseript to practice

pronunciation pronoun Good dictionaries, such as the Longman Basic English Dictionary or Oxford Dictionary will also help students to raise their vocabulary

- Tasks (4 skills) For cach module, different skills are paid attention to practice the

section of language focus and vocabulary

In the reading and listening sections: students can understand very short simple texts in a single phrase at time Completing the note, answering the questions base

on the text and picking up familiar names, words and basic phrases are required

In speaking and writing sections, pictures and discussion are used to help the

students aclivale their knowledge about the topic The students practice speaking skills in pairs or groups

+ Prommeiation: the students pronounce the sound under teachers’s direction, then

they listen to the CD player to check Finally, they practice to remember and pronoum smoothly

Afler every module, there are porlfolin part which helps students to revise theorics

and practice more exercises Grammar reference, vocabulary reference and transcription of difficult words and their meanings are presented at the end of the

course book Besides, coming with this material is | CD

2.2 Research Method

2.2.1, Research question

This study aims lo find out the answer lo the Lollowing rescarch question:

L How is the course book Hnglish Unlimited- Elementary relevant ta the course objective in terms of knowledge, skills, and methodology?

2 What should be done so that this coursebook is used better?

The researcher used the convenionce sampling as il is lime-saving and cost

effective; therefore, the sample comprises all ten teachers of English who are

responsible for toaching the course “#mipisk Uwlimifed- kiemenfarp”, and 120 first-year students who are both male and female students from three classes: K13A, KI3B and K13¢ of the academic year 2014 ~ 2015

2.2.2.3, Description

The teachers

All of ten English teachers of Faculty of Basic Science chosen to participate

in this survey hold Master degree in English Their ages range from 3 to 45, all of them have approximately ten-year experienced in teaching English And all of them have been teaching this couse-book at Ieasl two years since it was introduced in

2014

The students

120 students took part in this study All of them have been studying English for six or seven years af schools and can use English to communicate al basic level They come from three classes: K13A, K13B and K13C They were required to review thoroughly and evaluate the coursebook according to the criteria basing on their own experienc

: in using the coursebook

2.2.3 Data collection instruments

To evaluate the coursebook pursuant to leamers’ needs in terms of knowledge, skills and ailitudes, wo instruments for collecting dala used im this

study were questionnaires and semi-structured interviews

Questionnaires

Survey questiounaire is a popular instrument in the social sciences as if is helpful

collecting opinions and would be extremely beneficial in specifying aims and

analyzing the teaching and leaming situation (Litz, 2005) They have a lot of

advantages among which the tmosl obvious may be the fact that the respondents can complete them without any pressure; as a result, they can express their thought

freely Besides, closely ended questions are straight forward to answer (Gillham,

2006) In ikis study, queslionmaires were used for both teachers and sludenls to

collect their attitude and information on evaluation of curently used coursebook

“English Untimited- Elementary” Hach questionnaire is divided into four sections,

and written in Vietnamese:

Section 1: Consists of five questions (questionnaires for students) or four questions (questionnaires for teachers) aiming at discovering the students’ linglish tbackpround, their expectations as well as their evaluation on the necessity of language aspects of the coursebook Through these analyses of data collected, it helps to identify the learners’ purposes

Section 2: Two questions aim at finding out students’ and teachers’ attitude or evaluation of the content of the coursebook including evaluation of topivs,

-vooabulary, language points and skills

Section 3: is designed to gel students’ and teachers’ opmdons about the

ancthodology of the cvaluated coursebook

Section 4: is designed ta get students’ and teachers’ opinions about the

methodology of the evaluated coursebook

Semi-structured interviews

‘The purpose of the interview is to collect supplementary ideas for teachers and students after responding to the above questionnaires Johnson (D.M 1992:115)

states thal response rates from 1rderview can be quite high and respondents are more

likely to answer the questions presented because of their personal involvement with

the interviewer Therefore, the interviewer can obtain more meaningful information

because he/she car rephrase quostions thal arc not clear Lo the respondent

Yor these reasons, the second method used in this study is structured

interview This type of interview was conducted with ten English teachers at ICTU

The inlerview questions are guile similar fo the questions in [he questionnaires, and

the interviews were also conducted in Vietnamese

2.2.4, Data collection proceduce

The rescarcher carried out the data collcetion through questionnaires for beth teachers and students,

- First, the researcher designed the questionnaires basing on the criteria she had identified and chosen with regard to three main aspects under the study

- Then, the students were request to complete the questionnaire during the class time so that they were more confident to do it and could clarify the ambiguous questions (if any)

- Next, the survey questionnaires for teachers were launched to all ten teachers of English

- Finally, to clarity some collected data, the semi-structued interviews were conducted with ten teachers of English and some group of students These interviews were conducted after synthesizing the data collected from the

questionnaire