LUẬN VĂN TỐT NGHIỆP CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH

Bài tóm tắt khoá luận tốt nghiệp ( graduation research) đề tài Evaluating the curriculum (đánh giá chương trình đào tạo). Đây là bản tóm tắt đầy đủ của bản báo cáo hoàn chỉnh gồm tất cả các danh mục introduction , litterature review , data analysis và conclusion. Bài luận văn đạt 9 10 điểm

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study

In globalization era, English is considered as an international language which plays a vital role to communicate, connect to the world and develop economy In Vietnam, tendency of using English

is increasing evidently along with industrialization and integration trend It is the fact that English plays a critical role as the official language transactions in all areas of business, trade, communications, tourism, etc in over the world so that proficiency in English will improve competitive advantages as well as ability to integration with the international labor market Thus, the problem of enhancing the quality of training English becomes a prime target for the present educational system

Along with of accessing WTO and other international organization, joining ASEAN Economic Community – AEC 2015, a community in which countries are probably free to exchange skilled labors, has been posing numerous challenges for Vietnam education and human resources “In the near future, the competitiveness for employment opportunities is huge Students graduate from schools during both deep integration and a recovery period of global economic crisis , so the career opportunities for students are not only fiercely competing with domestic students but also confronting the students to from other countries in the ASEAN region” (Tran Dung, 2013) Therefore, Vietnamese students have to possess enough essential knowledge and skills, especially English skills, to assert themselves, because English is considered as a prerequisite to obtain competitive advantages For this reason, the importance of learning and educating English becomes pressing than ever

To tackle this statement, the government has had special interest in issues of teaching and learning foreign languages in recently years

On September 30, 2008 the Prime Minister signed Decision No

1400/QD-TTg approving the project "Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system" - referred to as the National Foreign Language 2020 project (NFL2020) The overall objective of the project is “to implement the comprehensive innovation for teaching and learning foreign languages in the education system, including higher education, to ensure achieving significant improvement in the level and capacity of using of foreign language of human resources, especially for some priority areas" Expressing determination to enforce NFL2020, on April 4, 2011, the Minister of Education and Training Department signed Decision No 1400/QD-BGDDT establishing the project “Teaching and learning of foreign languages in the national education system for the period 2008-2020 " Whereby, we find that the government has significant interest in foreign language training strategies for the future generation of the country aiming to satisfy requirement of social and economic development during integration period of the nation

It is clear that to achieve these objectives of training English which stated above, having a good curriculum for training English is one of important fundamental steps It leads to the importance of evaluation

so as to ensure the success of a curriculum

School of foreign languages was established in 2007 with various majors aiming to educating human resource for the midlands and northern mountainous region The curriculum for Bachelor of English is one of important major which enables students to have a proficient knowledge and skills of English Despite the fact that SFL has constant effort to develop the curriculum for Bachelor of English, numerous problems are raised by the rapidly changing of society and the need of learners Moreover, since the program was established, no study has been fulfilled to determine how effective the curriculum implementation is Therefore, evaluating the English Bachelor curriculum is urgent to assess the success of the program in

order to attain necessary information for suitable revision decision in methodology, content and other features that keeping up with the reality

That has given me a desire to conduct the thesis “Evaluating the curriculum for Bachelor of English Language at SFL-TNU via alumni and employers”

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum for Bachelor of English at School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University through investigating satisfaction and assessments of graduates and employers Simultaneously, the paper also analyzes data collected from questionnaire and interview on participants to reveal strengths and weaknesses of the current curriculum By means

of this study, the author suggests some relevant adaptations in accordance with the reality in order to contribute to the improvement

of the curriculum for Bachelor of English

The objectives of this study are to:

- Indicate satisfaction of English Bachelor alumni and employer on the curriculum

- Study the strengths and drawbacks of the current Bachelor of English Language curriculum

- Evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum for Bachelor of English

- Suggest some solutions to improve the current curriculum

1.3 Significance of the study

This paper was conducted to gather comments and feedbacks of English Bachelor graduates on the curriculum they enrolled in order

to find out strengths and drawbacks of the program Thus, the results

of this study will provide valuable information for the school figures out how the effectiveness of the curriculum for Bachelor of English

is Through conceiving of the existing program, it is hoped that the

study will causes relevant revisions such as applying new methodologies, techniques in teaching and supplying suitable elements to the needs of learners and employers so as to improve the quality of the curriculum Moreover, the thesis is expected to capture the overall of social needs in order to encourage learners set up their individual studying and practicing plan To do this, the administrators also have a vital role in orienting learners

1.4 Scope of the study

The study focuses on investigating the curriculum for Bachelor of English via alumni enrolled the 2009 – 2013 academic year at SFL – TNU and employers of companies and organizations in Thai Nguyen and Hanoi

1.5 Structure of the study

The study consists of five chapters Chapter I, Introduction, deals with

general backgrounds, aims, significances, scope of the study, and the

organization of the study Chapter II, Literature review, reviews the

theoretical literature involving the curriculum development, need analysis

and curriculum evaluation Chapter III, Methodology, mentions approaches used in the study Chapter IV, Results and discussion,

presents and discusses findings of questionnaire and interview on both alumni and employers about the curriculum for Bachelor of English

Language at SFL-TNU Chapter V, Conclusion, identifies,

synthesize findings in order to give some suggestions for the recent curriculum and provide recommendations for future research

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Conception of curriculum

Curriculum is an essential element of any educational process However, it is not easy to exactly indentify its definition as a single

concept During the history, the term curriculum has been broadened from the narrow sense referring to the term syllabus; to the wider

sense, a complex component of many elements such as planning, implementation and evaluation an educational program In this paper, the conception of curriculum is considered as a crucial component of four elements which are not independent each other but have a close relationship and mutual interaction: educational purposes, the contents, teaching procedures and evaluation the curriculum’s effectiveness

2.2 Curriculum development

In language teaching, curriculum development is “an aspect of a broader field of educational activity known as curriculum development and curriculum studied” (Richard, p.2) It is a cyclic process including various interactive elements which plays an important role as a foundation of any educational process

2.3 Need analysis

2.3.1 Definition

In language teaching program, need analysis is an important part

of developing curriculum considering as a procedure of gathering information about the need of learners in order to define and validate defensible curriculum purposes that satisfy the language learning requirements of students within the context of particular institutions

that influence the learning and teaching situation (Brown, p.35).

2.3.1 Purposes of need analysis

In different period of implementing the curriculum, need analysis

is used for a variety of purposes In this thesis, I implement a need analysis on alumni and employers in order to indentify whether the curriculum’s objectives as well as the expectation of learners and employer as were achieved or not, also help to consider relevant revision to improve the curriculum

2.4 Curriculum evaluation

2.4.1 Definition and purposes of evaluation

Oliva (2012) defined curriculum evaluation is as “the process of delineating, obtaining, and providing useful information for judging

decision alternatives The primary decision alternatives to consider based upon the evaluation results are: to maintain the curriculum as is; to modify the curriculum; or to eliminate the curriculum” Through this statement, it is can be assumed that the curriculum evaluation is used for judging whether the curriculum should be alternated or not Information gathered from the evaluation process is significant for making decision how to continuously implementation the curriculum: keeping, modifying or eliminating unsuitable elements Thus, evaluating curriculum is a crucial component for ensuring the worth the educational program

2.4.2 Summative and formative evaluation

2.4.3 CIPP curriculum evaluation model

2.4.4 Criteria for evaluation

According to the set of criteria published by TNU, the effectiveness of a curriculum is evaluated through eight standards which include total 36 items elaborated to judge the curriculum in detail: Objective and output standard, content, teaching and learning strategies, assessment, staffs and faculties, learners, equipments and materials, and the quality assurance of teaching and learning process However, due to aim of the thesis is to evaluate the curriculum through alumni and employers, I focused solely 7 criteria standing for 7 fundamental components of a curriculum which includes total

23 items

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions

- To what extent are alumni and employers completely satisfied with the curriculum for Bachelor of English at SFL?

- To what extent do knowledge, skills and attitudes that the curriculum provided to learners meet employers’ expectation and the requirement of workforces?

- What are the strengths and drawbacks of the current curriculum for Bachelor of English Language at SFL?

3.2 Subjects of the study

To conduct sufficient evidences for “evaluating the curriculum for Bachelor of English at SFL- TNU”, this paper focused on two main subject groups including alumni and employers

3.2.1 Alumni

Seventy graduates attending the Bachelor of English program in the academic year 2009 at SLF is the first group to gather information for the thesis

3.2.2 Employers

The questionnaires were also sent to eight companies, organizations located at Thai Nguyen and Hanoi including four companies in Thai Nguyen (International School – TNU, Masan JSC, AMA English Center, Pyramid JSC) and four companies in Hanoi (Langmaster, Hanaro TNS, Childfund International, Templaza JSC

3.3 Data collection instruments

Data in this thesis were simultaneously collected by using a combination of questionnaires and interviews procedures in order to guarantee the thesis’s objectiveness

3.4 Procedures of data collection

3.5 Data analysis

The data from questionnaires and interviews was collected with the help of Google Docs program

To judge qualitative data, frequencies (f) and percentage (%) value were demonstrated The percentage value is also illustrated by charts and tables in order to conduct descriptive statistics

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Overview of the survey

The questionnaires were designed and carried out in convenient way for respondent to respond by the online form provided by Google Docs The number of respondents was 70 alumni and 8 employers The qualitative data were analyzed via content analysis

4.2 Findings and discussion data from questionnaire

4.2.1 Questionnaires for alumni

Criterion 1: Output Standards and Objectives

Through data from alumni questionnaire, it can be assumed that the objectives and output standard of the curriculum were not as completely effective as it is expected

Criterion 2: Program structure and content

Over 40% of respondents who slightly agreed that the curriculum’s content is balanced This figure was approximate double higher than that at level 4 (21.4%) and level 5 (23.2%)

Of these items, coherence of all subjects in the curriculum framework accounted for the highest proportion of agreement (60%) The content’s depth and breadth, by common consent, was at somewhat level (51.4%) Thereby, over half of alumni slightly agreed that the curriculum provides sufficient insight into the content and fully satisfy learners and employers

Criterion 3: Teaching and learning strategies

57.1% of respondents strongly agreed that the university used the learner - centred teaching method during the curriculum implementation This figure is double higher than the proportion of alumni who agreed (28.6%) Virtually the percentage of respondents who agreed this statement accounted for 30% while just eight alumni had neutral opinion (11%) and not a single respondent to the survey totally disagreed opinion

For the second item, 28.6% of alumni agreed with that the institution counseled students about how to learn effectively The

percentage of those who strongly agreed was 24.3% However, the proportion at level 2 (disagreement) was slightly higher than that at others level, made up 30%

A remarkable proportion (43%) was disagreement with the statement that the curriculum set up a variety of activities for learners

to learn and exchange knowledge, experiences in order to improve their own capacities while just 15% of graduates agreed with this statement

Criterion 4: Student assessment

To brief, over half of alumni positively evaluated that a range of assessment methods was relevant to the objectives and was explicit, valid and reliable to assess student’s performance Assessment schemes and standards were clearly presented for learners Beside, the result complaining procedure is available for students and all results were stored sufficiently

Criterion 5: Instructors

It is apparent from the data supplied that more than half of alumni (55.7%) agreed that academic staffs of the university had master knowledge, teaching skills and experiences in professional work The percentage of alumni who strongly agreed with this statement accounted for a fifth of total proportion

With regard to the quantitative of instructors, the significant number of respondents, 44 alumni, agreed that the quantity of academic staffs is adequate for the curriculum Just 10% of respondents somewhat agreed while the percentage of those who strongly agreed is over double higher, 24.3%

Criterion 6: Learners

About half of respondents had neutral opinion that essential information about content, objectives, output standards or assessment methods were presented obviously and sufficiently Almost two – fifth of respondents reported that the university has given guidance

or advices for student in order that they could choose their specialized major which is sufficient to their abilities This figure was just slightly higher than proportion of those who expressed their somewhat agreement (33%)

Half of respondents agreed that regulations and social policies were provided adequately for students More than a – fourth of total percentage expressed their strongly agreement with in this evaluation item The proportion of respondents who agreed accounted for the highest one, 47.1%

The last item showed the noticeable figure (55.7%) of respondent who agreed with the effectiveness of activities which are supported for learners Beside, the number of those who agreed with this statement slightly higher than that of those who somewhat agreed (21.6%)

Criterion 7: Infrastructures

55.7% of alumni asserted that learning materials are sufficient to deliver the curriculum while only 8.6% disagreed with this statement The proportion at the level of totally agreement was also higher than that of totally disagreement (almost 13%)

Virtually 53% of graduates thought that the number of facilities is adequate for the needs of curriculum

In the last item of this criterion, 58.6% of respondent agreed that the infrastructure of computer and information technology is set up

to keep up with the needs of learning and researching of learners and faculties

It can be assumed that alumni highly evaluated the importance of Informatics and Second foreign language subjects in their career due

to these subjects provided crucial abilities to deal with professional tasks Meanwhile, many alumni considered that Philosophy and