An Evaluation of the book Target Pet for the first year non-English majors at Vinh University from the perspective of teachers and students

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the suitability of the book “Target Pet” tothe non-English majors’ needs, level and learning goals and the requirements of thecourse in relation

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

Pham Thi Luong Giang

YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT VINH UNIVESITY FROM THE

PERSPECTIVE OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language (TESOL)

Vinh, 2014

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify my authorship of the M A thesis submitted today entitled:“ An evaluation of the book Target Pet for 1st year non-English majors at Vinh university” in terms of the statement of requirement for the thesis and the

field study reports in TESOL program has been performed and interpreted solely by myself, except where otherwise acknowledged and that this minor

or any part of the same had not been submitted for any other form for the fulfillment of any other degrees or qualifications.

Vinh, August 27, 2014

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the suitability of the book “Target Pet” tothe non-English majors’ needs, level and learning goals and the requirements of thecourse in relation to aims, content, and methodology from the perspective ofstudents and teachers at Vinh university

To achieve the above purpose, qualitative and quantitative research methods informs of questionnaires, materials analysis are used In this sequence, the material

in use is analyzed basing on the criteria suggested by Hutchinson and Waters’(1987) with an aim to determine how the material realizes the course requirements

A survey on the teachers' and students’ opinions about the extent to which thematerial meets the requirements of the course in terms of the aims, content andmethodology is conducted

Research results have revealed some strengths and weaknesses of the materialwhich allows the author to conclude that to some extent the book has not fulfilledthe course aims, content and methodology in improving listening and speakingskills

Based on the findings, the study offers recommendations on material adaptationsuch as addition, deletion, and replacement that should be made to remedy theweaknesses of the material so that the students can benefit more from it in futurecourses

Many people have helped me complete this thesis First, I would like toexpress my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, for herpatient guidance, helpful suggestions, encouragement and constructive supervision

in the course of writing this research Without her help, this work would have beenimpossible My thanks also come to Dr Tran Ba Tien, the FLD’s Dean, who gave

me the chance and the time to come to the end of this study I also would like toacknowledge my gratitude to Ms Tran Thi Phuong Thao, who has been helpful andsupportive to me during the completion of my thesis I would like to take thisopportunity to express my thankfulness to all of my English colleagues and students

at Vinh University for their great help and kind cooperation in completing thequestionnaires for the thesis Finally, my special appreciation goes out to all theteachers who taught me during the two-year course

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF FIGURES vii

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF TABLES viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY 1

1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY 2

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 3

1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY 3

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 5

2.1.1 What are language- learning materials? 5

2.1.2 Types of Materials 6

2.1.2.1 In-house materials 7

2.1.2.2 Commercial materials 7

2.1.3 Roles of teaching materials 12

2.1.4 Materials evaluation 15

2.1.4.1 Definitions of Materials Evaluation 15

2.1.4.2 Types of Materials Evaluation 16

2.1.4.3 Purposes of Materials Evaluation 18

2.1.4.4 Materials Evaluators 19

2.1.4.5 Models for Materials Evaluation 20

2.1.4.6 Criteria for Materials Evaluation 23

2.1.5 Materials adaptation 25

2.2 LITERATURE REVIEW 27

2.2.1 In the world 27

2.2.2 In Vietnam 29

2.3 SUMMARY 30

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 31

3.1 AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING AT VINH UNIVERSITY 31

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 34

3.3 PARTICIPANTS 34

3.3.1 Teachers 34

3.3.2.Students 35

3.4 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS 36

3.4.1 Questionnaires 36

3.4.2Materials and syllabus analysis 38

3.4.3 Tests 38

3.5 DATA COLLECTION ANALYSIS 38

3.6 RESEARCH PROCEDURES 38

3.7 SUMMARY 39

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 40

4.1 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 40

4.1.1 Aims of the Course syllabus and “Target Pet” 40

4.1.1.1 Aims of the course syllabus 40

4.1.1.2 Aims of “Target Pet” 41

4.1.1.3 Comments on the material evaluation in term of aims 45

4.1.2 Content of the course syllabus and the book “Target Pet” 45

4.1.2.1 Content requirement of the course 45

4.1.2.2 Content of the book “Target Pet” 46

4.1.2.3 Comments on material evaluation in term of content 52

4.1.3 Methodology Requirements of the Course and “Target Pet” 53

4.1.3.1 Methodology Requirements of the Course 53

4.1.3.2 Methodology Requirements of “Target Pet” 54

4.1.3.3 Comments on material evaluation in terms of methodology 56

4.1.4 Survey results analysis 56

4.1.4.1 Analysis of 1st year non-English majors’ needs and English learning goals at Vinh University 56

4.1.4.2 The suitability of the book “Target Pet” to the students’ needs and the English course aims at Vinh University 60

4.1.4.2 The suitability of “Target Pet” to the content requirements of the course and students’ needs at Vinh University 62

4.1.4.3 Teachers’ and students’opinions the Suitability of the Material to Methodology Requirements of the Course 69

4.2 ANALYSIS OF TEST RESULTS 71

4.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MATERIAL IMPROVEMENT 72

4.3.1 Addition 72

4.3.2 Deletion 73

4.3.3 Replacement 73

4.4 SUMMARY 74

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 75

5.1 A SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 75

5.2 IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS 76

5.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 77

5.4 SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDY 78

REFERENCES 79 APPENDICES I

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Materials Evaluation Model of McDonough and Shaw (1993: 75) 21

Figure 2: Materials Evaluation Process (Hutchinson and Waters 1987: 98) 22

Figure 4.1: Students’ interested topics in English learning 57

Figure 4.2: Language Point and Skill Importance Ranking 57

Figure 4.3: Students perceived Language Strengths and Weaknesses (By Percent of Respondents) 58

Figure 4.4: Language Points and Skills vs Class-Time Distribution 59

Figure 4.5: Preferred Type of Interaction 59

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Distribution of Time and Units in 2 Semesters 33

Table 3.2:Teachers’ Background Information 35

Table 3.3: Students’ Background Information 36

Table 4.1: The vocabulary list of unit 1 (Target Pet, p 122) 42

Table 4.2: The content requirements of the course 45

Table 4.3: The methodology requirements of the course 53

Table 4.1: Subjects’ Perception on the suitability of “Target Pet” to the aims of the course and students’ needs 60

Table 4.2: Subjects’ Perception on the suitability of “Target Pet” to the content requirements of the course and students’ need in terms of macro skills and language type 63

Table 4.3: Subjects’ Perception on the suitability of “Target Pet” to the content requirements of the course and students’ need in terms of micro skills and language type 64

Table 4.4: Subjects’ Perception on the suitability of “Target Pet” to the content requirements of the course and students’ need in terms of topics, text types and organization and sequence of content 67

Table 4.5: Subjects’ Perception on the suitability the organization and sequence of content in “Target Pet” 69

Table 4.6: Teachers’ and students’opinions the Suitability of the Material to Methodology Requirements of the Course 70

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

Course books have a great effect on the process of language teaching and learning

as suitable materials can stimulate effective teaching and learning Thus, to have asuccessful language- teaching program, it is essential to have good course books,especially in Vietnamese setting

English has been taught at Vinh University for a long time, and English coursebooks for non-English majored students have been changed from time to time to beappropriate for the training objectives as well as the students’ needs Althoughmany textbooks are available on the market, it is really difficult to choose thematerials that meet the needs of non-English major students whose Englishproficiency is comparatively varied

In 2008 Vietnam issued Government Decision 1400, the goal of which is: “Torenovate thoroughly the tasks of teaching and learning foreign languages within thenational educational system" Ministry of Education and Training's NationalForeign Language 2020 Project, or Project 2020 for short, was created in 2010 toimplement this national renovation

Among the objectives of the project is establishing regional foreign languagecenters as a major strategy to address teacher development and language teachingquality throughout the country

Under Project 2020, Vietnam expects to enable a majority of students to use aforeign language, especially English, confidently in their study, dailycommunication, and work by 2020 According to this project, non-English majoredstudents when graduating from Vinh university are projected to achieve the third-highest level of English referring to the Vietnamese Language ProficiencyFramework (6 levels compatible with the Common European Framework) Because

of these reasons, the teachers of English at Vinh University have decided to use thetextbook “Target Pet” for the first year non- English majors in the credit-basedsystem

To my best knowledge there has been no research on the course book to examinehow well the materials being in use match the students’ needs and the courserequirements in terms of aims, content and methodology Therefore, I conduct this

study entitled “An evaluation of the book “Target Pet” for the 1 st year English majors at Vinh University from the perspective of teachers and students”

non-with the ambition that it will not only help improve the material’s quality but alsoenhance the learning efficiency as well as stimulate students’ interest in languagelearning

1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY

The aims of the study are as follow:

+ to assess the suitability of the course book to the level and the needs of the students and the requirements of the course in relation to aims, content, and methodology from the perspective of students and teachers.

+ to evaluate the effectiveness of the course book in helping the students achieve the goals and objectives from the perspective of students and teachers.

+ to suggest the material adaptations in responding to the course requirements and students’ needs.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In order to meet the aims of the study, the following research questions aregenerated:

1 How far does the book “Target Pet” match the 1 st year non - English majors’ level, needs and the course requirements in relation to aims, content, and methodology at Vinh university?

2 What adaptations should be made to the book “Target Pet” to make it more effective in response to the course requirements and the non - English majors’ needs?

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is based on Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987) criteria for evaluating thebook “Target Pet” in use for the first year non-English majors at Vinh Universitywith focus on the three following criteria: aims of the material, content of thematerial, and methodology

1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

The thesis consists of the following parts:

Chapter 1 Introduction

This part provides the rationale, the aims, the scope, research questions andorganiztion of the thesis

Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Background

Theoretical background related to the topic and surveys of articles, books and otherresources relevant to the study topic will be presented This part also providesdescription, summary, and critical evaluation of each work quoted

The part discusses the findings of the study; points out the strengths andweaknesses of the book “Target Pet”, and offers the recommendations for thematerial supplements and adaptations.

Chapter 5 Conclusion

The conclusion provides a summary of all the major parts being presented in thestudy, the conclusions drawn out and suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an extensive review of the literature as itrelates to the overall perspectives of language teaching and learning materialsevaluation Firstly, the theoretical foundations for evaluating language teaching andlearning materials are discussed, including definition of materials in languageteaching and learning, the types of materials in general English courses Next,definition of materials evaluation, the role of materials in language teaching, typesand purposes of materials evaluation, materials evaluators, models and criteria formaterials evaluation, and the concept of materials adaption are provided Presented

in the last part of the chapter is literature review in the world and in Vietnam

2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1.1 What are language- learning materials?

A textbook is considered to be one of the major tools for a foreign languageteaching As textbooks are varied in purposes, it becomes difficult to make accurategeneralization about them As a result, language practitioners have come up withtheir own definition and description of it According to Tomlinson (2001:66)language- learning materials are defined as “anything which is used by teachers orlearners to facilitate the learning of a language In other words, they can be anythingwhich is deliberately used to increase the learners’ knowledge and/ or experience ofthe language” He supposed keeping this pragmatic concept of materials in mindcan help materials developers to utilize as many sources of input as possible and,even more importantly, can help teachers to realize that they are also materialsdevelopers and that they are ultimately responsible for the materials that “can beinstructional in that they provide exposure to the language in use, they can beelicitative in that they stimulate language use, or they can be exploratory in that theyfacilitate discoveries about language use” (Tomlinson 2001:66)

Ur (1996), used the term “course book” to refer to a textbook of which the teacherand usually, each student has a copy, and which is in principle to be followedsystematically as the basis for a language course Similarly, Hutchinson and Torres(1994) also consider textbooks as providers of input into classroom lessons in theforms of texts, activities, explanations and so on In the same way, Sheldon (1987)defines “textbook” as a published book whose explicit aim is to assist foreignerlearners of English in improving their linguistic knowledge and/or communicativeability

The above mentioned definitions characterize textbooks as a constant companion of

a learner, provider of classroom input, and a generative device for educationalinteraction On the other hand, Grant (1987) categories textbooks as traditionaltextbooks and communicative textbooks The traditional textbook tries to getstudents to learn the language as a system The main emphasis is the forms orpatterns of the language whereas the communicative textbook emphasizes thecommunicative functions of the language Though there are different stances on thedefinition of textbooks, it seems that there is no strong position that disregards themfrom teaching process Textbooks are considered to be the most importantingredients available in a foreign language classroom Similarly, in the Vietnamesecontext, textbooks play a crucial role in a providing a base of materials for bothteachers and students Most teachers follow at least one textbook as their mainsource of guidance in the process of language teaching Much of language teachingthat occurs through the country could not take place without the extensive use oftextbooks

2.1.2 Types of Materials

According to Harrison (2002) who is a teacher, teacher trainer and writer of anumber of EFL courses e.g Better Writing , English Please , and New Headway Academic Skills, Level 1 (Oxford University Press), teaching materials come in all

shapes and sizes depending on the situation and the intended audience However,

we can identify two main types:

+ In-house/ Teacher - produced materials

+ Commercial materials

2.1.2.1 In-house materials

They are materials written for and produced by an institution They are extensiveand usually cover a module or perhaps an entire course For example, an Englishdepartment may decide that their current course book does not give studentsadequate writing practice at the right level, so they decide to design a writingmodule to go alongside the published course

2.1.2.2 Commercial materials

There is a certain amount of controversy associated with the use of commercialmaterials, particularly course-books One of the major concerns is that any givencourse-book will be incapable of catering the diversity of needs, which exists inmost language classrooms

Commercial materials (textbooks) are largely produced in various levels, andavailable in the market They can be for general English and English for specificpurposes

When selecting commercial materials, it is important to match the materials with thegoals and objectives of the program, and to ensure that they are consistent withone's beliefs about the nature of language and learning, as well as with learners'attitudes, beliefs and preferences

Sheldon in Nunan (1991:209) provides an extensive checklist of questions, whichcan aid in the selection of commercial materials He proposes that materials should

be evaluated according to criteria such as their rationale, accessibility, layout andease of use A somewhat more accessible list of evaluative questions is provided byBreen and Candlin (1987:14-23) Their checklist invites the teacher to adopt acritical stance toward the materials' aims, appropriateness and utility

Furthermore, Littlejohn and Windeatt (1991:209) in Nunan suggest thatcommercial materials can be evaluated from six different perspectives: (a) thegeneral or subject knowledge contained in the materials, (b) views on the nature andacquisition of knowledge, (c) views on the nature of language learning, (d) rolerelations implicit in materials, (e) opportunities for the development of cognitiveabilities, and (f) the values and attitudes inherent in the materials.

Commercial materials, such as the Headway series, Cutting Edge, Business Objectives, etc, are produced through mainline educational publishers with one or

more authors Sometimes, authors approach publishers for ideas for textbooks, orsometimes publishers decide there is a need for a certain type of course and recruitauthors and others to develop the course Published courses may also develop fromin-house materials

The use of commercial textbooks in teaching has both advantages anddisadvantages, depending on how they are used and the contexts for their use.Among the principal advantages are:

- They provide structure and a syllabus for a program Without textbooks a programmay have no central core and learners may not receive a syllabus that has beensystematically planned and developed

- They help standardize instruction The use of a textbook in a program can ensurethat the students in different classes receive similar content and therefore can betested in the same way

- They maintain quality If a well developed textbook is used students are exposed

to materials that have been tried and tested, that are based on sound learningprinciples, and that are paced appropriately

- They provide a variety of learning resources Textbooks are often accompanied byworkbooks, CDs and cassettes, videos, CD ROMs, and comprehensive teachingguides, providing a rich and varied resource for teachers and learners

- They are efficient They save teachers' time, enabling teachers to devote time toteaching rather than material's production.

- They can provide effective language models and input Textbooks can providesupport for teachers whose first language is not English and who may not be able togenerate accurate language input on their own

- They can train teachers If teachers have limited teaching experience, a textbooktogether with the teacher's manual can serve as a medium of initial teacher training

- They are visually appealing Commercial textbooks usually have high standards ofdesign and production and hence are appealing to learners and teachers

However there are also potential negative effects of the use of textbooks Forexample:

- They may contain inauthentic language Textbooks sometimes present inauthenticlanguage since texts, dialogs and other aspects of content tend to be speciallywritten to incorporate teaching points and are often not representative of reallanguage use

- They may distort content Textbooks often present an idealized view of the world

or fail to represent real issues In order to make textbooks acceptable in manydifferent contexts, controversial topics are avoided and instead, an idealized whitemiddle-class view of the world is portrayed as the norm

- They may not reflect students' needs Since textbooks are often written for globalmarkets they often do not reflect the interests and needs of students and hence mayrequire adaptation

- They can deskill teachers If teachers use textbooks as the primary source of theirteaching leaving the textbook and teacher's manual to make the major instructionaldecisions for them the teacher's role can become reduced to that of a technicianwhose primarily function is to present materials prepared by others

- They are expensive Commercial textbooks may represent a financial burden forstudents in many parts of the world.

Both the benefits and limitations of the use of textbooks need to be considered, and

if the textbooks being used in a program are judged to have some negativeconsequences, remedial action should be taken, e.g by adapting or supplementingbooks or by providing appropriate guidance and support for teachers in how to usethem appropriately

Cunningsworth (1995) proposes four criteria for evaluating textbooks particularlycourse books:

- They should correspond to learners’ needs They should match the aims andobjectives of language learning program

- They should reflect the uses (present of future) which learners will make of thelanguage Textbooks should be chosen to enable students to use languageeffectively for their own purposes

- They should take account of students’ need as learners should facilitate theirlearning processes, without dogmatically imposing a rigid method

-They should have a clear role as a support for learning Like teachers, they mediatebetween the target language and the learners

They feel that it is very difficult for them to teach systematically without textbooks.Indeed, textbooks play a crucial role in providing a base of materials for bothteachers and students O’Neill (1982) points out that most teachers are inclined tofollow texts methodology, vocabulary and sequence to letter There are indeed anumber of advantages of using a textbook Ur (1996) provides a summary of criteria

in favor of using a coursebook as follows:

- Framework: a textbook provides a clear framework for teachers and learners to

know where they are going and what is coming next, and build up a sense ofstructure and progress

- Syllabus: in many places, the course book serves as a syllabus If the syllabus is

followed systematically, a carefully planned and balanced selection of languagecontent will be made

- Ready- made texts and tasks: the course book provides texts and learning tasks,

which are likely to be of an appropriate level for most of the class This of coursesaves time for the teacher who would otherwise have to prepare his or her own

- Economy: a book is the cheapest way of providing learning material for each

learner; alternatives, such as kits, set of photocopied papers or computer software,are likely to be more expensive relative to the amount of material provided

- Convenience: A book is a convenient package It is bound, so its components stick

together and stay in order Moreover, it is light and small enough to carry aroundeasily It is also of a certain shape/ size that is easily packed and stacked Inaddition, it does not depend for its use on hardware or a supply of electricity

- Guidance: For teachers who are inexperienced or occasionally unsure of their

knowledge of the language, the course book can provide useful guidance andsupport

- Autonomy: The learners can use the course book to learn new material, review and

monitor progress with some degree of autonomy A learner without a course book ismore teacher- dependent

However, not everything in the textbook is wonderful (Hammer, 1991) Though thetextbooks are well planned, they can be inappropriate for teachers and students Thecounter-arguments for using textbooks are also listed by Ur (1996) as follows:

- Inadequacy: In every class, every learner has his/ her own learning needs: no one

textbook can possibly supply these satisfactorily

- Irrelevance, lack of interest: the topics dealt with in the textbook may not

necessarily be relevant or interesting for any individual class

- Limitation: a textbook is confining that is, its set structure and sequence may

inhibit a teacher’s initiative and creativity, which leads to boredom and lack ofmotivation on the part of the learners

- Homogeneity: Textbooks have their own rationale, chosen teaching, and learning

approach

- Over-easiness: Teachers find it too easy to follow the textbook uncritically instead

of using their initiatives; they may find themselves functioning merely as mediators

of its content instead of as teachers in their own right

In practice, the teacher should take into consideration the given advantages anddisadvantages when choosing a published textbook so as to enhance the strengthsand minimize the weaknesses which might incur in the course of teaching andlearning

Published textbooks materials offer both good points and bad points, so choosingwhich one as a teaching and learning material depends largely on the purposes ofthe course as well as the available facilities and constraints of a particular situation

2.1.3 Roles of teaching materials

Materials are also crucical ingredients in learning the intended curriculum They are

a media through which teacher and pupils communicate with each other in an effort

to forward the teaching and learning process The principal advantages of materials

in EFL/ESL classroom forwarded by Richards (2001) and Ur (1996) are:

+ They provide structure and syllabus for a program

+ They help standardize instructions.

+ They provide a variety of learning resource

+ They can provide effective language models and input

+ They provide ready-made texts and tasks

In most educational systems, the relationship that may exist between teacher,students and materials is extremely important To this end, Allwright (1990) assertsthat materials should teach students to learn that they should be resource books forideas and activities for instruction and that they should give teachers rationales forwhat they do In addition, Cunningsworth (1995) stated that materials can be used

as guidance for teachers who are inexperienced or occasionally unsure of theirknowledge of the language and as a medium of initial teacher training

As with all examples in favor of materials, there are also potential negative effectsforwarded by scholars in using materials in EFL classrooms For instance, Richards(2001) stipulated that if teachers use textbooks as the primary source of theirteaching, the teacher’s role can become reduced to that of a technician whoseprimary function is to present materials prepared by others Ur (1996) also addedthat every learner has their own needs; no single course book can possibly supplythese satisfactorily For this reason, materials do not usually cater for the variety oflevels of ability and knowledge or of learning styles and strategies that exist in mostclasses

To sum up, the role of the materials in the language classroom is a difficult one todefine perfectly because as Cunningsworth (1984: 6) confirmed no course book will

be totally suited with a particular teaching situation However, the role of the coursebook is to be the service of teachers and learners but not to be their master So therelationship between teacher and the material is a partnership which shares commongoals to which each side brings its special contribution Besides, the aims of thecourse book should seek to meet the needs of the learner to the highest degree

According to Richards (2001) textbooks play a component role in most language

programs Emphasizing the role of materials, he states that “The teaching materials can serve as basis for much of language input that the learners receive and as the source for much of the language practice that occurs in the classroom.”

Richards (2001: 251) further explains that materials provide “basis for the content

of the lesson, balance of skills taught, and the kind of language practice studentstake part in.” In other situations, textbooks may be used to supplement the teacher'sinstructions For learners, textbooks may provide a major source of contact theyhave with the target language, excluding the input provided by the teacher In thecase of novice teachers, textbooks may also be utilized as a form of teacher training;that is, they provide the teachers with ideas on how to plan and teach lessons as well

as with formats that teachers can use Much of the language teaching that occursthroughout the world today could not take place without the extensive use ofcommercial textbooks Hence, learning how to use and adapt textbooks is animportant part of a teacher's professional knowledge

It is true that in many cases, teachers and students rely heavily on textbooks, andtextbooks determine the components and methods of learning, that is, they controlthe content, methods, and procedures of learning Students learn what is presented

in the textbook, and the way the textbook presents material is the way students learn

it The educational philosophy of the textbook will influence the class and thelearning process Therefore, in most situations, materials are the center ofinstruction and one of the most important influences on what goes on in theclassroom

According to Nunan (1991), good teaching materials help inexperienced and poorlytrained teachers a lot, but they also help experienced teachers Theoretically,experienced teachers can teach English without a textbook However, it is not easy

to do it all the time, though they may do it sometimes Many teachers do not haveenough time to design supplementary materials, so they just follow the textbook

Textbooks, therefore, take on a very important role in language classes That is alsothe reason why the writer chooses one of the materials in use in her university forevaluation to see if it is appropriate or not to the current teaching circumstance.

2.1.4 Materials evaluation

2.1.4.1 Definitions of Materials Evaluation

There are many ways of defining evaluation According to Hutchinson and Waters(1987: 96) materials evaluation is defined as “a matter of judging the fitness ofsomething for a particular purpose.” Evaluation is, then, concerned with relativemerit It is neither absolutely good nor bad - only the degree of fitness for therequired purpose is taken into account Trochim (1989) at Cornel Universitysupports Hutchinson and Waters (1987) by stating, “evaluation is the systematicacquisition and assessment of information to provide useful feedback about someobject” This definition emphasizes “acquiring and assessing information” ratherthan assessing worth or merit because all evaluation work involves collecting andsifting through data, making judgments about the validity of the information and ofinferences we derive from it, whether or not an assessment of worth or merit results

From the above definitions of evaluation, it can be seen that material evaluationinvolves the determination of what needs to be evaluated, the objectives andrequirements of the materials, and the judgments of the value of the materials beingevaluated in relation to the objectives and the requirements determined

2.1.4.2 Types of Materials Evaluation

It is possible to apply basic principles of material evaluation to all types ofevaluations but it is impossible to make generalization about procedures whichapply to all Evaluation differs, for example, in purpose, in personnel, in formalityand timing Grant (1987) and Tomlinson (2003) regard materials evaluation as ongoing process and suggest three stages/types of evaluation They are

1 Preliminary or pre- use evaluation

2 Formative or in- use evaluation

3 Summative or post- use evaluation

According to Tomlinson (2003), the pre-use evaluation involves making predictionsabout the potential value of materials for their users In order to accomplish thisaim, Grant (1987) purposed a practical test called ‘CATALYST’ simply speakingthe eight letters represents the eight criteria by which we can decide whether atextbook fits its purpose and the practical needs of the students For this reasons, theteacher should shortly ask the key question represented by the word CATALYST

T Tried and tested?

The in- use evaluation involves measuring the value of materials whilst using them

or whilst observing them Tomlinson (2003) has listed some basic points that can betaken in to consideration in an in-use evaluation These are: clarity of instruction,clarity of layout, comprehensibility of texts, credibility of tasks, achievability oftasks, achievement of performance, objectives potential for localization, practicality

of the materials, teachability of the materials, flexibility of the materials, appeal ofthe materials, motivating power of the materials and impact of the materials

Tomlinson (2003) and Grant (1987) stated post-use evaluation is probably the mostvaluable (but least administrated) type of evaluation as it can measure the actual

effect of the materials on the users Ways of measuring the post-use effect ofmaterials include: tests of what has been taught by the materials, tests of what thestudents can do, examinations, interviews, questionnaires, criterion referencedevaluation by users, post course diaries, post course reports and etc.

In addition to the above leading scholars, McDonough and Shaw (1993) offer aworking model which they hope will be an effective one to use for teachers working

in a variety of contexts The models which they suggest is based on the view that it

is useful to perform an external evaluation of materials first in order to gain anoverview of the organization principles involved After this, teachers can move on

to a detailed internal evaluation of the material in question match up with author’sclaims as well as the aims and objectives of a given teaching program

The framework by McDonough and Show (1993) suggests that teachers begin with

an ‘external evaluation,’ consisting of an examination of the claims made on thecover of the students and teachers book, the introduction and the table of contents.This will help to determine the intended audience, the proficiency level, the context

in which the writers of the materials intend them to be used, the way the languagehas been organized into teachable units and the writers view on language andmethodology In the same taken, Tomlinson (1998) has named this aspect apublication and relates it to the ‘tangible’ or physical aspects of the materials andhow they appear as a complete set or book

The second section in the framework, ‘internal evaluation’, requires an in-depthlook at two or more units in order to investigate the presentation of skills in thematerials, the grading and sequencing of the materials, the kinds of texts used andthe relationship between exercises and tests McDonough and Show (1993)

Taken together, the areas, listed in the framework should provide a comprehensivecoverage of the methodological and content aspects of any set of material Armedwith such an analytical description of a set of materials, teachers, material

designers, educational administrators and, indeed, learners would be in goodposition to take decisions about the usefulness and desirability of the materials.

In short, there are different types of materials evaluation so when making anevaluation, the evaluators have to determine what type of materials evaluation will

be suitable with their work

As for Vinh University situation, it is the first time the book “Target Pet” has beenused The researcher decided to use formative/ in–use evaluation with an aim todetermine whether this material is effective or not and offer some recommendationsfor further improvements of the material in the future

2.1.4.3 Purposes of Materials Evaluation

An evaluation of teaching materials helps to identify particular strengths andweaknesses of the materials in use After being used in the classroom for a certainperiod of time, teaching materials need to be evaluated to see if they have workedwell for the intended situation and students

According to Ellis (1997), there are two main reasons for carrying out materialsevaluation Firstly, there may be a need to choose among the materials available themost suitable ones to use for a particular situation Secondly, there can be a need formaterials evaluation to determine whether the material, which has been chosen,works for that situation after it has been used for a period of time This may help indeciding whether to use the material again or replace it with a better one

addition, it may take them more time to be aware of the local situation such aslearners’ needs, facilities and time constraints so it may be difficult for them tomake truly judgments and recommendations of the program.

In contrast to the outsiders, the insiders are those who have been directly involved

in the language-teaching program such as teachers, students, course and materialsdesigners Therefore, they can provide the most valid information in the evaluationprocess Also, their understanding of cultural and political factors of the institution

in which the evaluation takes place would enhance the reliability of judgments andrecommendations To stress the role of the insiders as evaluators, Richard (2001:296) states that the involvement of the insiders plays an important part in thesuccess of evaluation because “as a consequence, they will have greater degree ofcommitment to acting on its result” He also adds that the teachers can watch out forwhen the materials are being used Consequently, they can know exactly the extentthat the materials work for their purposes and they can make modifications toimprove the effectiveness of the materials However, there are also disadvantages toinsiders when they are “too close and involved” (Dudley- Evan and St John, 1998:131) so the evaluation may be influenced by their subjective points of view andtheir teaching experience

In short, who will carry out the evaluation, outsiders or insiders, should bedetermined according to the purposes of the evaluation In this research, due to thelimited scope of a thesis, the insiders, especially, the teachers have been chosen asmaterial evaluators because they have been teaching this material so theyunderstand clearly about the material, the teaching context and the learners Theiropinion and their evaluation, therefore, are critical to the improvement of thematerial in particular and of teaching and learning in general Also, the data havebeen collected from various sources to minimize the subjectivity of the study

2.1.4.5 Models for Materials Evaluation

There are many different models for materials evaluation However, the mostcommonly adopted models are suggested by Ellis (1997), McDonough and Shaw(1993), and Hutchinson and Waters (1987).

Evaluation by Ellis (1997)

This is a micro- evaluation In this model, Ellis suggests the practice of a detailedempirical evaluation and focuses on evaluation at the task level with reference to itsactual teaching and learning context Following are its steps:

1 Choosing a task to follow;

2 Describing the task with specification of input, procedures, languageactivities, and outcomes;

3 Planning the evaluation with reference to the dimensions above;

4 Collecting information before, while and after the task was used, and whatand how the task was performed;

5 Analyzing the information collected;

6 Reaching conclusions relating to what has been discovered, and makingrecommendations for the future teaching;

7 Writing the report

The aim of this model is to identify the match between task planned and task in use

It can be conducted when the materials are being used in the classroom

Evaluation by McDonough and Shaw (1993)

This is a combination of macro- and micro- evaluation In this model, the authorssuggest a three-stage evaluation model called: external evaluation, internalevaluation, and overall evaluation (see Figure 1)

The external stage (macro- evaluation) is used to identify whether the material ispotentially appropriate, then the internal stage starts and if the findings show thatthe material is inappropriate, the evaluation will be finished at the external stage.

The internal stage (micro- evaluation) requires an in-depth investigation into thematerials so we need to examine at least two or more units of the book to examine theextent to which the factors in the external evaluation stage actually match the internalconsistency and organization of the materials staged by the author/ publisher

The final step is the overall evaluation It helps to determine the suitability of thematerials for specified groups or individuals by considering a number of the factorssuch as the usability, the generalizability, the adaptability, and the flexibility Thismodel is shown in figure 1:

Macro- evaluation inappropriate/ potentially appropriate (External)

EXIT

Micro- evaluation inappropriate/ appropriate adopt/ select (Internal)

EXIT

Figure 1: Materials Evaluation Model of McDonough and Shaw (1993: 75)

The model suggested by McDonough and Shaw (1993) presents a logical procedurefor materials evaluation To examine if the materials are suitable for a certain group

of learners or not, there must be certain criteria against which our judgments orevaluation are based It is also necessary to determine the objectives or therequirements for the materials because we cannot measure the success of aparticular activity or a whole set of materials if there is not clear objective for it

Evaluation by Hutchinson and Waters (1987)

Evaluation by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) is a macro- evaluation According tothem, the materials evaluation process can be divided into four major steps (seefigure 2)

Figure 2: Materials Evaluation Process (Hutchinson and Waters 1987: 98)

As can be seen above, the first step is to define the criteria on which the evaluation

is based In this step, the evaluator has to define on what bases the materials will bejudged and which criteria the evaluator wants to include in the course The secondstep is to determine the subjective analysis, that is, to identify the requirements formaterials so the evaluator should describe in detail on what criteria the course isbased The third step is to determine the objective analysis, that is, to evaluatewhether the existing materials realize the criteria set in the subjective analysis The

OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS

How does the material being evaluated realize the criteria?

MATCHING How far does the material match your needs?

What realization of the criteria do

you want in your course?

last one is the matching process, which finds out how far the material matches thecourse requirements

In summary, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) suggest a logical model for materialsevaluation It can help the evaluators know exactly what must be done to analyzethe materials in comparison with the course requirements

Therefore, in this study, the author has chosen the evaluation framework byHutchinson and Waters (1987) to check whether the existing material is suitable forthe students at Vinh University Also, it is very useful for the author to set out bothsubjective analysis (i.e analysis of Vinh University curriculum) and objectiveanalysis (i.e analysis of the materials being evaluated) Then the findings of the twoanalyses are compared to find out whether they match to each other and if not, towhat extents they do not match up Based on the research results, good aspects aswell as problematic parts of the material can be identified, which may serve as areliable ground for further suggestions on material improvements

2.1.4.6 Criteria for Materials Evaluation

According to Dudley- Evans and St John (1998), in the evaluation process,evaluators must take evaluation criteria into account before any evaluation takesplace Criteria for materials evaluation depend on what is being evaluated and whythey need to be evaluated

William (1983) suggests seven criteria, each of which has the following aspects:

- General criteria: give introductory guidance on the presentation of

language items and skills

- Speech criteria: suggest aids for the teaching of pronunciation: e.g.

phonetic system

- Grammar criteria: offer meaningful situations and a variety of techniques

for teaching structural units

- Vocabulary criteria: distinguish the different purposes and skills involved

in the teaching of vocabulary

- Reading criteria: provide guidance on the initial presentation of passages

for reading comprehension

- Writing criteria: demonstrate the various devices for controlling and

guiding content and expression in composition exercises

- Technical criteria: contain appropriate pictures, diagrams, tables, etc…

The criteria suggested by William (1983) seem to be very useful and appropriate forevaluating a course book However, such frameworks are more suitable for theselection of course books available in the market than for the examination of an in-house material to see whether they meet the intended objectives With its morecomprehensive content, the evaluating criteria defined by Hutchinson and Waters(1987), therefore, seem to be a more helpful tool to language materials evaluators.According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), there are four main criteria formaterials evaluation that any evaluator should concern: the audience, the aims, thecontent, and the methodology

- The audience of the materials: the evaluator should obtain information

about and from learners to find out whether the materials are suitable to thestudents’ age, knowledge of English, interest and so on

- Aims of the materials: the evaluator has to check if the materials match the

aims and objectives of the course

- Content of the materials: the evaluator has to check whether the materials’

language points, macro-skills/ micro-skills, and topics suit the learners’needs

- Methodology of the materials: the evaluator has to find out if techniques,

aids, guidance provided in the materials satisfy the learners and the teachers

of the course

Comparing the two sets of criteria presented above by William (1983) and byHutchinson and Waters (1987), it is obvious that the work of developing andchoosing evaluating criteria is rather subjective and depends on what the evaluatorsconsider to be important In this evaluation research, the three criteria includingaims, content and methodology suggested by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) areadopted to see how much ‘Target pet’ match with the aims and the requirements ofthe course

2.1.5 Materials adaptation

Materials adaptation is a process of matching the teaching material with the needs,interests of learners, and the teachers’ own capabilities Its purpose is to maximizethe appropriateness of teaching materials in context, by changing some of theinternal characteristics of a course book to better suit the particular circumstances.McDonough and Shaw (1993: 86) state that reasons for adaptation rely on four mainaspects namely “language use; skills; classroom organization; supplementarymaterial” and there are also six important ways of modifying materials

- Adding: the materials are supplemented simply by putting more into them.

In the quantitative way, we can add the technique of extending but the modelremains unchanged The qualitative way, which can be termed as expandingrefers to the development of the methodology in new directions by putting indifferent language skills or a new component This can be thought of as “achange in the overall systems.” (McDonough and Shaw, 1993: 90).Therefore, addition can be made before, during or after the intended area

- Deleting or omitting: deletion means cutting one or more stages within an

activity or omitting a whole activity or even a whole lesson Therefore,

addition and deletion often work together The tasks in the material may bedeleted and compensated by a more suitable one to meet the objectives of thewhole unit However, when the techniques for adaptation are applied, it isnecessary to take into account the balance of the lesson as well as the timeallocation.

- Modifying: Modification can be divided into two specific ways: re-writing

and re-structuring Re-writing refers to the modification of the linguisticcontents whereas the re-structuring applies to the classroom management,especially the structuring of the class In short, teachers may occasionallydecide to rewrite material, especially exercise material, to make it moreappropriate, more ‘communicative’, more demanding and more motivating

to their students

- Simplifying: simplification is a type of modification namely re-writing

activity Many elements of the material can be simplified such as theinstructions, explanations or even the visual layout of materials but the texts

or most often reading passages are applied to this technique Teachers cansimplify the texts with sentence structures, the grammar structures, and thelexical content

- Re-ordering: teachers may decide that the order in which the material is

presented is not suitable for their students They can use the technique of ordering to put parts of a course book in a different order, adjusting thesequence of presentation within a unit, or to arrange different units in acourse book

- Re-placing: after being evaluated, text or exercise material which is

considered ineffective or inappropriate for whatever reasons may be replaced

by a more suitable one

In short, materials adaptation plays an important part in the process of languageteaching and learning It makes the teaching materials more relevant to the needs ofstudents and to the objectives of the course, and therefore, would stimulate theeffectiveness of teaching and learning

White (2003) examined several evaluation methods and adopted the model designed

by McDonough and Shaw to appraise the strengths and weaknesses of High Impact coursebook 4 taught to beginners and intermediate Korean students The researcher

stated that the course book and workbook were appropriate

Lin (2006) surveyed English textbook selection of junior high schools in TaipeiCity and Taipei County after the implementation of the Nine-year IntegratedCurriculum and explored English teachers' opinions of these textbooks It focused

on the criteria highlighted by English teachers when evaluating the new textbooks,the committees and the procedure of English textbook selection in each school, thejunior high school English teachers' satisfaction and opinions about the contents ofthe new teaching materials, including students’ book, workbook and teacher’s book,the reasons for teachers’ changing textbooks and its consequences After dataanalysis, the main findings stated that teachers were more satisfied after changingthe textbooks

Liu (2007) utilized questionnaires and conducted interviews with 239 Englishteachers in Taiwan to survey teachers' evaluation and selection of the elementaryEnglish textbooks and the degree of satisfaction towards the textbooks (student’sbook, workbook and teacher’s book) He mainly focused on teachers’ evaluation ofthe elementary English textbooks, including student’s book, workbook andteacher’s book and the teaching aids, the problems teachers encounter when usingthose textbooks, and the selection of the textbooks The main findings were thatmost teachers' were dissatisfied with teacher’s book due to unclear explanations,poor activity design, poor background information, no content related informationand no translation of the texts

Riasati and Zare (2010) attempted to evaluate the suitability of New Interchange Series from the Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers‘ perception.

Thirty-five Iranian EFL teachers comprising males and females participated in thisstudy The instrument employed was a textbook evaluation questionnaire developed

by Litz (2000) Descriptive statistics were carried out to interpret the data Resultsdemonstrated the strong points and weak points of the series One strong point thatthe teachers mentioned was the practical consideration of the series, which includedthe reasonable price, its accessibility, and the existence of teacher’s book as well asaudio tape

Alamri (2008) aimed at evaluating the Sixth Grade English Language Textbook English for Saudi Arabia for Saudi Boys' Schools that was recently released for the

first time.The findings were generally in favor of the textbook except for theteaching methods and some other sub-items

2.2.2 In Vietnam

Le Thi Hue (2002) did an evaluation of the textbook English 11 used at PhanDinh Phung secondary school, Hanoi Its findings revealed that the textbook trulyfollowed the objectives for the course It was suitable to the students’ level andinteresting for students to learn to some extent However, the teachers require someaddition and modification in the textbook so that it will become more effective inthe future

Doan Phuong Ngan (2010) investigated teachers’ and students’ evaluation ofEnglish 1 textbook in use at Vietnam University of Commerce (VUC) The analysisindicated that both the teachers and the students demonstrated positive attitudestoward approach, organization, topics, vocabulary, grammar difficulty, and reading,listening, and speaking components of textbook However, the participants alsoindicated aspects of the textbook that need improving such as design, number ofreview units, pronunciation work and writing skill The research later proposedpractical implications to enhance the effectiveness of the book for the future use

So far there has been no research on how far the book “Target Pet” matches

the students’ needs and the course requirements in terms of aims, content andmethodology at Vinh university prior to the introduction of the textbook to thelanguage program

2.3 SUMMARY

In this chapter, the literature on materials evaluation is reviewed A variety ofmaterials evaluation such as the definition, roles and purposes of materialsevaluation, types of materials evaluation, materials evaluators, models and criteriafor materials evaluation and some theoretical discussions about materials adaptationare discussed In addition, numerous previous studies on materials evaluations are

presented and commented on This chapter can be seen as the theoretical foundationfor the applications for the study in Chapter III and the improvements that should bemade to the course book “Target Pet” for non- English majors at Vinh University.This section helps to design the tool of the study that is going to be discussed in thefollowing chapter

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT ENGLISH TEACHING AND

LEARNING AT VINH UNIVERSITY

The study is conducted at Vinh University, where English as a foreign language is acompulsory subject to a majority of students of different majors Especially,according to the assessment standard of student learning outcomes, non-Englishmajored students of the 54th course when graduating from University are projected

to achieve the third-highest level (B1) of English referring to the VietnameseLanguage Proficiency Framework (6 levels compatible with the Common EuropeanFramework) Therefore, the teachers of English at Vinh University have decided touse the book “Target Pet” for the first year non- English majors of the 54th course inthe credit-based system from the school year 2013 -2014 They have to complete 7credits of English (equivalent to 105 periods of 50 minutes each) at university Prior

to this stage, students are supposed to pass the placement test (equivalent to exam atlevel A2) as a prerequisite to enroll in classes With the score of 5 (accounting for50%), students are given opportunities to attend any English class they want Ingeneral, students’ English level is quite low and of mixed ability A number ofstudents have learned English for 7 years; several have learned English for 3 yearshigh school where only written English is taught and some do not have a chance tolearn English at high school Because of these reasons, they can hardlycommunicate in English They often feel shy and afraid of making mistakes due tolack of social knowledge as well as their poor English knowledge In addition, theclass time is limited and the class size is too large, which is a real problem foreffective classroom management In class, only some strong students are motivated

to follow new methods of teaching and participate actively in group discussions,presentations, and so on A majority of the students do not have appropriate learningstrategies or the habit to learn independently or creatively They sit quietly noting