000060815 THESIS TITLE AN EVALUATION OF THE ESP MATERIAL FOR THIRD YEAR STUDENTS AT ACADEMY OF FINANCE TÊN LUẬN ÁN ĐÁNH GIÁ TÀI LIỆU ESP DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ BA TẠI HỌC VIỆN TÀI CHÍNH
IN T R O D U C TIO N
Background to the stu d y
1.1.1 The English program at Academy of Finance
Since the early 1990s, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has established itself as a vigorous movement in English Language Teaching (ELT) across colleges and universities in Vietnam, driven by students’ future job requirements and growing social demand In response, the Academy of Finance (AOF) introduced ESP into its language program to better prepare students for the professional world.
English course for students at AOF is a two-stage program totaling 270 periods Stage 1, the General English (GE) phase, comprises 150 periods—120 in class and 30 for self-study—using the Business Basics textbook Stage 2 provides English for Specific Purposes (ESP) with 120 periods—90 in class and 30 for self-study The program schedule outlines how these periods are distributed between in-class instruction and self-study.
Table 1: the schedule of the English program at AOF
Historically, the ESP material used was “English for Finance and Accounting.” However, due to the emergence of new faculties and changes in training objectives at some faculties, since 2008 the in-house ESP material “English for Finance” has been officially used as the core material for third-year students.
In the first stage, the textbook Business Basics introduces essential business English vocabulary, core grammatical structures, and a basic ESP lexicon By the end of this stage, students should be able to use English for social communication and to broaden their general knowledge, while also becoming familiar with ESP vocabulary to lay the groundwork for ESP studies in the second stage.
In the second stage, spanning 120 periods, the ESP course aims to equip students with specialized English vocabulary for reading documents in economics, finance, banking, accounting and auditing, marketing, taxation, and customs It also focuses on grammatical forms frequently used in English specialist texts and on improving students’ reading skills.
Within the English language program at AOF, the second stage plays a pivotal role in achieving the stated aims, prompting staff to choose materials carefully Since published resources do not fully align with our specific course objectives or provide the appropriate level of difficulty, we decided to develop in-house materials The resulting English for Finance course was officially created to suit our students’ needs and is now used to teach second- and third-year students.
The 2008 curriculum consists of 42 units, with 30 compulsory units for all students and 12 reference reading texts Units are organized by topics including economics, money and banking, finance, accounting and auditing, financial analysis, marketing, and international trade Each unit follows a consistent pattern—Reading; Comprehension/Interpretation; Language Focus; Word Study; and Vocabulary The Reading component provides a text related to one of the university's majors, while the Comprehension/Interpretation component offers exercises such as questions and multiple-choice items to practice reading skills.
Within the Language Focus component, students review grammar learned in General English and learn and practice new structures that are commonly used in specialist documents The Word Study component then helps learners practice ESP vocabulary, while the Vocabulary component explains both the meaning and the form of new words and provides practical examples of how to use them.
Materials that align with course objectives and meet students' needs significantly contribute to a course's success With the emergence of new faculties, changes in training objectives across departments, and identified weaknesses in the old materials, a new ESP (English for Specific Purposes) curriculum was developed by a team of English teachers and has been officially used for the third year.
Since its rapid production to meet photocopying and classroom use deadlines, the new English teaching material, used after one year of teaching, has revealed several weaknesses identified by teachers and the researcher First, each unit is overloaded time-wise; a unit is taught in three periods, leaving insufficient time to cover all required items Second, the material focuses heavily on grammar and vocabulary, with each unit offering only a single reading exercise, giving students few opportunities to practice reading skills and strategies Additionally, the material has been in use for two years and has never undergone formal evaluation.
This study evaluates ESP material for second- and third-year students at AOF, aiming to identify its strengths and weaknesses and to assess how well the material aligns with the course objectives, meets students’ needs, and reflects the aims, content, and teaching methods outlined in the ESP syllabus.
Aims of the study and research questions
This material evaluation aims to determine whether the design of the material is suitable for an ESP (English for Specific Purposes) syllabus, meets learners’ needs, and aligns with the course objectives across aims, content, and methodology, while also assessing its overall applicability to the ESP context It investigates how well the material supports ESP goals and facilitates effective language learning for the target audience The findings are intended to inform decisions about future use of the material and identify specific changes to improve its effectiveness, ensuring better outcomes and stronger alignment with ESP course objectives.
The purpose of the study is to find the answers to the following general research questions:
1 To what extent does the material meet the requirements of the course in terms of aims, content and methodology?
This question can be subdivided into the following specific ones:
• Does the material match up with the aims of the course?
• Is the material appropriate to the content requirements of the course?
• Is the material appropriate to the methodology requirements of the course?
2 What should be done to improve the material?
Scope of the stu d y
One of the most widely accepted approaches to evaluation, including the evaluation of teaching materials, is to anchor judgments in suitable criteria These criteria depend on many factors, and given the scope of this study and time constraints, it is not feasible to examine every possible criterion by which teaching materials could be evaluated Consequently, this study concentrates on four main criteria defined in the ESP course requirements for third-year students at AOF, and these four criteria guide the assessment to align with course goals and learner needs.
• Content (in terms of vocabulary, grammar, reading texts (topics, text length, text type) and reading skills)
• Methodology (in terms of exercises and teaching- learning techniques)
Several factors may have influenced the outcomes of this evaluation Although the material is intended for all AOF students, the study’s participants were limited to K45, so their feedback may not be representative of the entire AOF student body.
Significance of the stu d y
This study aims to provide findings that are highly useful to researchers, teachers, syllabus designers, and students alike The results offer insight into the constructive adoption of the current teaching material used by third-year students at AOF, contributing to the quality improvement of the material Additionally, the findings reveal the material’s strengths and weaknesses, equipping the Foreign Language Department with scientific evidence to guide the necessary changes for improving the material for future use.
This thesis contributes to the field of materials evaluation by outlining new frameworks for assessing teaching materials It also aims to extend evaluation studies to other teaching materials used at our Academy, with the goal of improving teaching and learning quality To date, no prior research on this aspect has been carried out at our college, underscoring the study’s novelty and potential impact.
Outline of the th esis
This study assesses the current ESP materials for second- and third-year students at AOF It is organized into five chapters: Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results and Discussion, and Recommendations and Conclusion.
Chapter one Introduction , introduces the background to the study and the statement of the problem, the aims of the study and research question, the scope of the study, the significance of the study and outline of the study.
Chapter two, Literature review gives an overview of the theories related to ESP materials and material evaluation It First presents the roles and types of ESP materials Second, it presents materials for teaching ESP reading Third, it states procedure for teaching reading Then it reports major issues in materials evaluation including the definitions of materials evaluation; the reasons for material evaluation; the types of materials evaluation; principles for materials evaluation; materials evaluation models and criteria for materials evaluation The two next sections state materials adaptation and materials evaluation by outsiders and by insiders This chapter also presents some research projects previously done on materials evaluation in different settings in the world.
Chapter Three, Methodology, outlines the research design and the methodological framework guiding this study It specifies the research questions, presents the evaluation model and the evaluation criteria adapted from Hutchinson and Waters, and describes the data collection instruments employed The chapter also identifies the subjects of the study and details the data collection procedures, including recruitment, administration, and data handling, to ensure a transparent and replicable approach for evaluating the study’s outcomes.
Chapter four, Results and Discussion, reports the results and gives some discussions of the results.
Chapter five, titled Recommendations and Conclusion, presents actionable recommendations for improving the material and outlines concrete steps for enhancement, while also highlighting directions for further research and clearly stating the conclusions of the thesis, making this chapter the culmination of the study and a concise guide for readers and researchers looking to build on the work.
LITERATURE R E V IE W
ESP materials
Materials are central to all language teaching and learning, and their influence is especially significant in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Citing Dudley-Evans & St John (1998) and Richards (2001), this overview outlines the roles that ESP materials play—supporting authentic, task-based practice, matching learner needs with professional or academic contexts, and guiding curriculum alignment—and describes the main types of ESP materials used to address diverse learner profiles and goals.
2.1.1 The roles of ESP materials
The important role of teaching materials in language teaching is mentioned by different authors in the literature.
Brown (1995) defines teaching material as any systematic description of the techniques and exercises used in classroom instruction, which makes clear that teaching materials are virtually ubiquitous in the language classroom Even in the most austere settings, some form of material is present, underscoring the central role that instructional resources play in language teaching and learning According to Richards (2001), these materials supply the bulk of language input learners receive and the practice opportunities that drive classroom activity, serving as the foundation for learners’ exposure to the language and their ongoing development.
Cunningsworth (1995, p.7) identifies seven functions of teaching materials, including presenting language (both spoken and written), providing opportunities for learner practice and communicative interaction, and stimulating classroom language activities They also serve as reference resources for learners on grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, and act as supports for self-directed or self-access learning, as well as guiding less experienced teachers who are still building confidence.
In ESP, materials are particularly significant because they are often the primary source through which learners are exposed to the target language They help learners navigate a complex mass of language by providing a guided path and by offering engaging, needs‑driven tasks that align with students’ specific requirements For teaching, ESP materials supply models of correct and appropriate language for particular purposes and can introduce teachers to new approaches and techniques in language instruction Echoing Tomlinson, who argues that materials facilitate language learning and broaden learners’ knowledge and experience, and Richards, who views materials as the main source of language input and practice in the classroom, ESP curricula rely on well‑designed resources to shape both language input and classroom practice Dudley‑Evans and colleagues likewise emphasize the importance of materials for ESP courses.
According to St John (1998), teaching materials play four primary roles: providing authentic language input, supporting the learning process, stimulating motivation and engagement, and serving as a reference resource This section examines each function in detail, showing how instructional materials contribute to language exposure, reinforce learning, spark learner motivation, and offer accessible reference information for ongoing study and practice.
In English as a Foreign Language contexts, the ESP classroom may be the primary, or even the sole, source of authentic English exposure for learners In these settings, materials play a crucial role by providing direct access to the language learners need to encounter Therefore, such materials should present real language as it is actually used and cover the full range of linguistic needs—vocabulary, grammar, discourse patterns, and functional language—essential for effective learning.
Reliable learning materials work consistently, follow a recognizable pattern, and reflect real content, without prescribing a rigid unit structure or fixed format; they must engage learners in thinking about and using the language To be truly effective, these materials should be designed so learners can apply language in meaningful communication rather than simply practicing under teacher- and materials-controlled conditions Tomlinson (1998) emphasizes that qualified learning supports give learners opportunities to use the language for authentic communication, not only in controlled drill-like situations. -**Support Pollinations.AI:** -🌸 **Ad** 🌸Powered by Pollinations.AI free text APIs [Support our mission](https://pollinations.ai/redirect/kofi) to keep AI accessible for everyone.
As a source for stimulation and motivation
To stimulate and motivate learners, educational materials should be challenging yet achievable, presenting new ideas and information while remaining grounded in learners’ existing experience and knowledge (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998, p 172) The input should mix familiarity with novelty, offering a reason for learners to communicate and participate actively; as Tomlinson (1998, p 20) notes, the content should not be trivial or banal but should stimulate thought and emotion Activities should be neither too simple nor too easily accomplished, requiring learners to draw on their previous experience and mental effort Dudley-Evans & St John (1998) also emphasize that materials should encourage fun and creativity among learners.
Educational materials should enable learners to use resources efficiently to foster self-discovery According to Tomlinson (1998, p.11), effective materials provide clear explanations, illustrative examples, and varied practice activities, all accompanied by answer keys and discussion prompts that support self-study and independent learning.
Teaching materials are a key component in any language teaching context and have a significant impact on the success of a program, especially the teaching and learning of ESP Teachers must consider the roles and requirements of materials when designing, selecting, or adapting resources to align with learner needs and the course aims By ensuring materials match the instructional goals, learner interests, and classroom realities, educators can maximize engagement, relevance, and outcomes in ESP and general language teaching Practical material design and selection involve evaluating content quality, authenticity, task types, and the flexibility to fit the specific teaching situation.
Teaching materials are central to language programs, encompassing published textbooks, institutional materials, and teacher-created resources (Richards, 2001) Robinson (1991) distinguishes the first category as published textbooks and the second as in-house materials.
Textbooks are commercially published materials; their primary advantage is ready availability, making them a reliable resource in language programs They are a vital teaching and learning aid that supports both instruction and student progress For students, a textbook offers reassurance, like a map for a traveler navigating unfamiliar territory (Grant, 1987, p 8) For teachers, textbooks provide numerous advantages, as Harmer (1998, p 17) notes.
Most researchers agree that textbooks are the most common form of teaching materials in language teaching, as noted by Richard (2001) and Hutchinson & Torres (1994) However, Edge (1993) argues that published materials lack certain elements—insight, decision, and creativity—so textbooks should be supplemented by additional materials to address these gaps.
One of the main advantages of in-house materials is that they are designed for a specific group of learners, ensuring they align with learners’ needs and match the aims and objectives of the language learning program By using in-house materials, educators can tailor content, tasks, and assessments to the learners’ context, proficiency level, and learning goals, thereby increasing relevance, motivation, and instructional effectiveness As Robinson (1991) notes, such materials provide a closer fit between classroom activities and real-world language use, strengthening the overall coherence of the language curriculum.
58) claims three advantages as follows:
In-house materials are typically more specific and appropriate than published texts, offering greater face validity in terms of the language, contexts, and learner needs they address They also provide more flexibility than published textbooks, allowing educators to tailor content and instructional approaches to their particular learners Moreover, the writer can ensure that the chosen methodology aligns with the learners’ characteristics and goals However, developing in-house materials can be time-consuming, and their production can be relatively expensive.
Materials for teaching ESP reading
Effective ESP reading materials must develop learners' reading ability while embedding the linguistic features typical of documents in the specialist field The content should be tailored to learners' needs and learning objectives, with a methodology that aligns with their level and goals Among the different lenses through which ESP texts can be analyzed, the language content and the instructional approach are the most important aspects, as they determine how well the material supports specialized reading comprehension and professional communication.
Linguistic features of a specialist field are identifiable through vocabulary, structures, functions and discourse (Richards, 2001) In ESP reading materials, the language content is demonstrated through the vocabulary, the structures, and the reading texts themselves.
Each field has its own vocabulary, consisting of specialist terms and general English words that take on discipline-specific meanings As Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) explain, specialized vocabulary includes both field-specific terms and general words used with precise meanings in a given discipline, while semi-specialized words are common vocabulary that occurs more frequently within a particular field Recognizing this distinction helps learners target core technical meaning and context-dependent terms for clearer, more accurate communication in professional contexts.
Reading material should introduce and explain the specialist terms One way to do is to attach a glossary of new terms with straightforward explanation.
An essential, but often neglected, facet of vocabulary teaching is equipping learners with strategies for coping with new words Since learners cannot possibly know every word they encounter, instruction should empower them to guess meanings from contextual clues and to infer both meaning and usage through understanding word formation These strategies deserve priority in ESP reading materials to help students handle unfamiliar vocabulary, enhance comprehension, and foster independent language learning.
In scientific English, as analyzed by Ewer and Hughes-Davies (1971, pp 65–70), there is a high frequency of several key structures: gerund forms replacing relative infinitives as substitutes for longer phrases, the predominance of structural and qualifying phrases, compound nouns, passive conditionals, anomalous finites, frequent past participle usage, and two-part verbs.
ESP reading materials should guide learners toward the specialized structures they will encounter in their field By explicitly directing attention to these forms, they help students analyze the structures, understand how meaning is conveyed, and learn to use them accurately within the discipline This targeted approach enhances comprehension, retention, and the ability to apply language skills in real-world, discipline-specific contexts.
Choosing reading texts has a major impact on students' motivation to read and their engagement with the material An ESP reading material should offer a selection of high-quality texts for reading development, which, as Nutall (2000) shows, satisfy the criteria of authenticity, suitability of content, exploitability, and readability Moreover, the texts must meet the criterion of specialty, i.e., they must be subject-specific However, there is no strict boundary between these criteria; a criterion can be incorporated into another, and sometimes achieving one criterion may compromise the others.
Kennedy and Bolitho (1984) characterize an authentic text as one written for a specific audience other than language learners, whose primary purpose is to convey subject content rather than to teach language form They suggest that the best way to familiarize students with reading specialist materials is to have them practice with the exact materials they will encounter later Consequently, ESP reading materials should include authentic texts to bridge classroom study and real-world reading tasks.
Authentic texts vary in linguistic and conceptual difficulty, so the second criterion for selecting reading material is content suitability Texts should interest readers, ideally engage and delight them, because engaging content makes learners' tasks more rewarding and class work more effective, even though skills can be developed from texts that bore them In academic settings such as at AOF, suitable texts are those that provide new knowledge or information—especially knowledge related to the students' specialist subject—or materials they will need after leaving the foreign language classroom for real-life purposes Moreover, the issues raised and the information presented must be up-to-date, controversial, and factual to sustain learners' interest in the material.
Exploitability, also called the facilitation of learning, is a key criterion in educational text selection When you exploit a text, you actively use it to develop students’ reading competence and analytical skills A text that cannot be exploited offers limited teaching value, even if learners find it enjoyable Therefore, effective teaching materials should be chosen for their ability to be exploited to build skills, foster comprehension, and support measurable learning outcomes.
In the reading lesson, the focus is to help students extract meaning from the language that conveys it, turning them into independent, effective readers who can tackle any kind of text they are likely to encounter Reading texts, therefore, should be exploitable to help students develop interpretative strategies that can be applied to other texts.
Readability refers to the combination of structural and lexical difficulty in a text For foreign readers, the most obvious barrier is unfamiliar vocabulary If a text introduces too much new vocabulary, learners are discouraged from trying to read and from fully understanding the content.
Along with new lexical items, new grammatical structures challenge foreign readers, but in EAP contexts sentence length and complexity are the main obstacles to comprehension While tenses and structural words can be mastered, lengthy and intricate sentences often prevent learners from identifying the functional parts of a text Therefore, EAP reading materials should avoid overlong, complex sentences that discourage study Instead, they should offer strategies for tackling long sentences and the typical sentence structures found in subject-specific documents to improve reading comprehension and learning outcomes.
Beyond the usual factors, readability also hinges on how familiar readers are with the topic, the amount of prior knowledge they bring to the text, and how interested they are in the subject.
In ESP, the term speciality denotes the orientation toward the learner’s specialist field, and reading materials should reflect this focus through the selection of texts, text types, and topics The themes and topics of the texts must closely relate to the students’ specialist field so learners can become familiar with the field’s vocabulary, sentence structures, and discourse, making the material more engaging and relevant When the topics align with the learners’ subject area, they are less likely to be discouraged by texts whose themes and topics have little connection to their speciality, thereby boosting motivation and authentic language use in ESP.
Materials evaluation
Materials evaluation in ELT is the process of determining the suitability of teaching materials for a given program This section surveys how leading researchers frame evaluation to provide an overview of the field Brown (1995) defines materials evaluation as assessing whether materials fit a particular program, underscoring the need to verify that they meet their intended functions since materials are central to language learning and teaching George (2004) explains that evaluation has emerged as a specialized form of testing or assessment, reflecting its relatively recent rise in prominence, and he views it as the basis for decisions related to learners, teachers, materials, and other aspects of the learning context In practice, findings from evaluation can justify continuing a project, prompt changes to materials, or suggest how an innovation might be made more effective.
Evaluation, as defined by Hutchinson & Waters (1993), is the process of judging how well something meets a particular purpose Given a set of needs and the resources available, the best solution is the option among several that offers the greatest degree of fitness for the intended use Evaluation centers on relative merit rather than an absolute measure of good or bad—there is no universal standard, only how well a choice aligns with the required purpose.
Materials evaluation is the systematic process of deciding what to evaluate, defining the objectives and requirements for the materials, and judging their value against those criteria By applying general evaluation concepts to a specific field, this approach ensures assessments align with the intended use, performance standards, and stakeholder needs, enabling clear, criterion-based decisions about material suitability.
Language course organizers and teachers worldwide undertake materials evaluation for many reasons, but two main objectives typically drive the process: ensuring that the materials align with learning goals and curriculum, and assessing their quality, relevance, and effectiveness in classroom use.
Selecting materials for a specific group of students in a given context means identifying resources that best meet those learners’ needs In this view, evaluation centers on relative merit rather than absolutes: there is no universally good or bad material, only the degree to which a resource is fit for the intended purpose (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p 96).
After a period of use, it is necessary to determine whether the chosen materials fulfill their intended purposes (Ellis, 1997) As Robinson (1991) notes, evaluation functions as part of quality control, with its results providing input for changes to improve future effectiveness The evaluation process yields actionable recommendations that help materials work more effectively over time For one-off courses, evaluation serves as a valuable resource for designers, administrators, and teachers to rethink how similar courses are run Overall, the findings from materials evaluation supply responsible stakeholders with evidence to assess the materials’ effectiveness.
Until now, there have been different terms to indicate types of materials Robinson (1991) suggests three types of materials evaluation: preliminary, formative and summative Rea- Dickens
(1994), Cunningsworth (1995), and Tomlison (1998) also propose the same three kinds of materials evaluation but under different names, i.e ‘pre-use’, ‘while-use’, and ‘post-use’ evaluation With the same view, those three types of materials evaluation are introduced by Richards (2001) under the terms: illuminative evaluation, formative evaluation and summative evaluation Although the different terms are used to classify types of materials evaluation, they are basically similar.
Firstly, preliminary, predictive or pre-use evaluation
This kind of evaluation takes place before a course begins w ith the aims of choosing the materials that will be relevant and appropriate for a particular group of learners This also has the purpose of identifying which aspect of the published materials needs to be adapted to suit the purposes of the evaluators (Robinson, 1991) This could be done by ‘determining a set of criteria, which are used to reach a decision regarding which materials to be adopted and how it needs to be adapted (Ellis cited in Tomlinson, 1993, p 220) It can be noted that preliminary evaluation tends to be the most demanding among the three since there is no actual experience of using the material for evaluators to draw on.
Secondly, formative or while- use evaluation
Formative evaluation, or while-use evaluation, is normally carried out while the course is ongoing so that modifications can be made to the material from the findings as they arise The main techniques used in this revision evaluation are tests, questionnaires, interviews, discussions, and observation According to Dudley-Evans and St John (1998), tests in formative evaluation focus on examining the materials rather than the students and should be conducted frequently Questionnaires may be administered to both teachers and students to elicit information and impressions about items, exercises, and units It is also noted that formative evaluation of language teaching materials has received relatively little attention in the past, and there is limited knowledge about the usefulness of certain techniques.
Lastly, summative or ‘post- use’ evaluation
Summative evaluation is typically conducted at the end of a course or after its implementation Johnson (1989, p 229) defines its purpose as determining whether the program is successful and effective According to Ellis (1997), summative evaluation is highly important after each course because its findings influence decisions about whether to reuse or repeat the materials, which tasks and activities are suitable, and which are not; it also identifies which aspects of the materials need to be changed and how to modify them to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency for future use.
This study evaluates the current ESP materials used at AOF to determine if they align with the course aims and meet the program’s content and methodological requirements The materials were designed by a group of teachers and have been used for teaching for only one year, so the researcher conducted a summative evaluation to assess their effectiveness Based on the findings, the study provides concrete recommendations to improve the materials, making them more appropriate and effective for students.
According to Cunningsworth, evaluating a material’s language content involves identifying which aspects of the language system are covered (such as form and function), which language skills and language styles are taught, and whether these elements are appropriate to the social context and presented in a complete, systematic way.
Selection and grading of language items
Examining the selection, sequencing, and recycling of language items in the material reveals the governing syllabus and instructional approach, and shows how the language content is graded and revisited across the course This analysis clarifies whether the material follows a communicative, structural, or task-based framework, how items are weighted in assessment, and how repeated exposure supports retention and mastery.
Presentation and practice of new language items
Checking the presentation and practice of new language items entails analyzing how grammatical and lexical elements are introduced and drilled in the material, as well as evaluating the comments and feedback that accompany those presentations and activities This involves examining the clarity of explanations, the relevance of examples, the sequencing of tasks, and the alignment between instruction and practice to determine how effectively the resource supports learners in mastering the new items and improving their performance.
Developing language skills and communicative abilities
Activities carried out during the lesson such as activities for free production of spoken English or for integrating language skills are also needed to take into account.
2.4.4.2 Evaluation model by Hutchinson and Waters (1987)
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) define materials evaluation as the art of judging the fitness of a resource for a particular purpose, and they present this as a four-step process that systematically determines whether the material best serves learners and instructional aims, as illustrated in the accompanying diagram.
Figure 2.1: Hutchinson and Waters ' materials evaluation model (1987)
Materials evaluators
While the decision to use and evaluate a particular material is established, everyone involved in the teaching and learning process will be able to undertake the evaluation project (Chambers,
1997) At this point, the issue o f ‘outsiders’ and ‘insiders’ arises.
III the process of materials evaluation, the outsiders are the ones that have not been involved in the program, for example consultants, inspectors and administrators According to Richards
External evaluators can supplement teachers’ perceptions of what happens in a course with independent observation and opinions, enabling more objective judgments of the program and its matters Yet, outsiders may not fully understand the teaching and learning context in which the evaluation occurs, which can hinder their ability to make precise judgments and realistic recommendations (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998).
Insiders in an evaluation are individuals who have participated in the language teaching program—including teachers, students, course designers, and materials designers They can provide the most valid information in the evaluation process because they understand the teaching and learning context and learners’ needs better than anyone else (Tomlinson, 1998).
(2001) states that the insiders’ role is very important and it can decide the success of an evaluation process, because ‘as a consequence, they will have a greater degree of commitment to
Richard contends that students are the key participants in summative evaluation, providing evidence of their language proficiency gains and assessing how the program was taught and the relevance of what they learned to their needs He also notes that insiders, particularly teachers, can control and monitor how materials are used, enabling them to determine whether the materials work in their specific teaching context and to adapt them to improve effectiveness Yet insiders may be too close and involved, risking subjective judgments based on their teaching experience (Dudley-Evans and St John, 1998, p 131) To mitigate this issue, the study triangulates multiple data sources to minimize subjectivity.
This study evaluates how well the English for Finance ESP materials meet the course requirements through insider evaluation by ESP teachers and AOF students who have used the material, offering first-hand insights into its alignment with learning objectives By capturing the perspectives of both instructors and learners, the findings highlight the strengths of the ESP content and identify areas for improvement to better support the target course.
Materials adaptation
Materials adaptation is the process of aligning teaching materials with the specific context by altering certain internal features of a course book to better fit particular circumstances (Me Donough & Shaw, 1993, p.85) They contend that the reasons for modifying materials—and the actual changes you might choose to make to your own materials—depend on the full range of variables present in your teaching situation, as outlined in their lists (Me Donough & Shaw, 1993, p.87).
• Not enough grammar coverage in general
• Not enough practice of grammar points of particular difficulty to these learners
• The communicative focus means that grammar is presented unsystematically
• Reading passages contain too much unknown vocabulary
• Comprehension questions are too easy, because the answers can be lifted directly from the text with no real understanding
• Not enough guidance on pronunciation
• Subject-matter inappropriate for learners of this age and intellectual level
• Amount of material too/ 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
• Too much or too little variety in the activities
• Vocabulary list and a key to the exercises would be helpful
Beyond the possibilities already discussed, many additional elements can be added to the list In the language classroom, virtually every aspect can be covered, including language use, essential skills, classroom organization, and supplementary materials (Me Donough and Shaw, 1993, p.86).
McDonough and Shaw (1993) suggest five main techniques for adaptation including modifying, simplifying, adding, deleting, and re-ordering The following is a brief introduction of these commonly used techniques:
Modifying, per McDonough and Shaw, means an internal change to a small component of the material—such as an exercise, a text, or a classroom activity—that can be applied to any aspect of content and is subdivided into re-writing and re-structuring Re-writing refers to altering linguistic content; for example, where straightforward comprehension questions require students to locate information in the text, they can be modified to require interpretation or to prompt students to relate different parts of the text Re-structuring, on the other hand, applies to classroom management and the way a class is organized In sum, material modification may vary depending on context and objectives, but it centers on changing how content is engaged with rather than changing its coverage.
Text simplification is a modification technique closely related to rewriting While many aspects of material can be simplified, its main application is in texts and reading passages By adjusting sentence structure, grammar patterns, and vocabulary, we can tailor texts to the proficiency level of a specific group of learners, improving readability and comprehension.
Addition in educational materials refers to supplementing content either quantitatively or qualitatively to support language learning Quantitative addition adds more of the same component within the existing methodological framework—for example, providing extra grammar exercises when learners struggle with a new grammar point before moving on to practice material Qualitative addition expands the curriculum by introducing a new component, such as pairing listening comprehension activities with a reading passage that uses the same vocabulary and ideas to strengthen listening skills Together, these approaches help balance grammar practice, listening, reading, and vocabulary development while preserving the core instructional framework.
Deletion is straightforward: it involves removing content deemed inappropriate, offensive, or unproductive for a given group Like addition, deletion can be applied to part of an exercise or an entire unit in a course book, and the two techniques often work together When content is deleted, it can be compensated by a more suitable task to meet the unit’s objectives In applying adaptation techniques, it’s important to balance the lesson and manage time allocation to maintain coherence and effectiveness.
Content sequencing involves reordering parts of the material, changing the presentation order within a unit, or presenting units in a different sequence from the original plan This flexible approach lets you optimize flow, pacing, and emphasis, making it easier for readers to follow and retain key ideas while preserving the core material.
Adaptation is a practical activity that significantly enhances the effectiveness of teaching materials for both teachers and learners By tailoring content, it makes resources more relevant and appropriate for a specific group of learners Therefore, every teacher should consider the basic principles of adaptation and the techniques that best fit their context The choice of technique depends on the teaching context and students' learning abilities At AOF, for example, adding, modifying, and reordering materials would be used to develop a more suitable set of resources for the current teaching situation.
Previous materials evaluation studies
Being considered as an important aspect in language teaching and learning, materials evaluation has been given a great deal of attention The works of William (1983), Cunningsworth (1984),
Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Sheldon (1988), Me Donough and Shaw (1993), Littlejohn
(1996), Ur (1996), Ellis (1997) or Davies (2000) have provided teachers- evaluators with the theoretical frameworks of materials evaluation These works served as previous guides to numerous materials evaluation studies.
Foreign studies on materials evaluation
A 2001 study by Akin and Guceri at Bilkent University School of English Language (BUSEL) is widely regarded as a landmark in materials evaluation, aiming to determine whether instructional materials are suitable for a task-based syllabus, meet learner needs, and align with course objectives Feedback was collected from 14 teachers and 500 students on material layout, learner motivation, interest, perceived usefulness, task variety, and the relationship between materials and course goals To ensure reliability, the researchers triangulated data through questionnaires, interviews, and observations, presenting a systematically designed method for materials evaluation Triangulation served as the core methodology, illustrating a rigorous approach to evaluation However, the study spanned the entire academic year and evaluated roughly 300 materials across 10 courses, highlighting the substantial time, financial resources, and effort required for detailed materials evaluation.
Ayman (as cited in Figen, 2002) conducted a materials evaluation at Bilkent University to explore the perceptions of both students and teachers regarding an EAP textbook designed for upper-intermediate BU learners The evaluation assessed criteria such as content, organization of content, level, language, activities, and supporting resources, using questionnaires and interviews as data collection instruments Based on the findings, the researcher offered suggestions to improve the textbook’s effectiveness; however, a limitation of the study was the lack of document analysis, particularly formal material analysis, which may have limited the precision of the criterion-based evaluation.
Along with foreign studies on materials evaluation, this field of research has been attracting the attention of researchers at some Universities in Vietnam.
Among the studies, Tran Thi Thuy Nga's 2005 thesis stands as a notable example of adapting English materials for first- and second-year marine students at the Nha Trang Navy Academy The research applies the Hutchinson and Waters model, focusing on four criteria—audience, aims, content, and methodology—to guide material adaptation A key strength is its research design, which enhances the reliability of evaluative results through document analysis and questionnaires; however, incorporating interviews with teachers could provide more in-depth insights into the material.
A micro evaluation of Market Leader Pre-Intermediate for second-year students at Hanoi University of Business and Technology (HUBT) by Tran Thi Thu Cue (2007) examined the case-study task of Market Leader Pre-Intermediate for Business and Management students to assess its alignment with task objectives, its level of difficulty, and its motivational impact on HUBT learners Using a mixed-methods design, Cue collected data through questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observation The findings indicate that many aspects of the evaluated task meet the objective of improving students' speaking skills, but issues persist, including the task’s difficulty for students, insufficient time allocation, and the objective of improving writing skills not being met A key strength is the use of questionnaires to gather data from teachers and students, while the study would be more convincing with the addition of document analysis.
These studies provide researchers with general insights into materials evaluation and outline the basic steps and principles for preparing a thesis on the topic They indicate that the most popular data-collection tools—document analysis, questionnaires, and interviews—can be combined to gather information on the effectiveness of the material in use and its alignment with course aims However, the studies were conducted in different contexts and with different types of textbooks or materials, leading to different evaluation approaches Although these approaches work well in their own contexts, they cannot be applied verbatim to our specific situation.