A proposal for esp coursebook selection for third year students in tourism and hospitality department in a university based on needs analysis approach

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION THESIS A PROPOSAL FOR ESP COURSEBOOK SELEC

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION THESIS

A PROPOSAL FOR ESP COURSEBOOK

SELECTION FOR THIRD-YEAR STUDENTS IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY DEPARTMENT IN A UNIVERSITY BASED ON NEEDS - ANALYSIS

APPROACH

Supervisor: Dr Le Thi Hong Duyen

Student: Ta Minh Loan

Course QH17E6

HA NOI – 2021

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHOÁ LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

ĐỀ XUẤT LỰA CHỌN GIÁO TRÌNH TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM 3 KHOA QUẢN TRỊ DU LỊCH VÀ KHÁCH SẠN DỰA VÀO

PHÂN TÍCH NHU CẦU

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: TS Lê Thị Hồng Duyên

Sinh viên: Tạ Minh Loan

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2021

Signature of Approval:

_ Supervisor’s Comments & Suggestions

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1

ABSTRACT 2

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 3

1 Rationale 3

2 Research aims 4

3 Research questions 4

4 Scope of the study 4

5 Research method of the study 5

6 Significance of the study 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 English for Specific Purpose 6

2.1.1 Definition of ESP 6

2.1.2 Classification of ESP 8

2.2 Needs analysis 10

2.2.1 Definition of Needs analysis 10

2.2.2 The role of Needs analysis in ESP 10

2.2.3 Models of Needs Analysis 11

2.3 Material evaluation 12

2.3.1 Definition of material evaluation 12

2.3.2 Reasons for material evaluation 13

2.3.3 Types of material evaluation 13

2.3.4 Approaches to material evaluation 14

2.4 Review of previous studies 17

2.4.1 International studies 18

2.4.2 Domestic studies 18

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 20

3.1 Participants and sampling` 20

3.1.1 The students 20

3.1.2 The recruiters 20

3.2 Data collection instruments 21

3.2.1 Document analysis 21

3.2.2 Questionnaires 22

3.2.3 Interviews 23

3.3 Data collection procedures and methods 23

3.4 Summary 24

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25

4.1: The analysis of recruiters' expectations 25

4.2 The analysis of students' needs 29

4.2.1 Present situation analysis 29

4.2.2 Learning needs analysis 36

4.3: Material evaluation and suggested adaptation 45

4.3.1 Aims 45

4.3.2 Contents 45

4.3.3 Methodology 55

4.4 Matching and suggestions for material adaptation 56

4.4.1 Matching 56

4.4.2 Suggestion for material adaptation 57

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 59

5.1 Summary of the findings 59

5.2 Implications and suggestions 59

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 60

REFERENCE 61

APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire for third-year students 63

APPENDIX 2: Questionnaire for recruiters from travel agencies 71

APPENDIX 3: Semi-structured interview questions for recruiters 73

APPENDIX 4: Questionnaire consent form 74

APPENDIX 5: Samples of interview transcription with travel agencies 76

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: ESP classification by experience, (Robinson, 1991, p.3) 9

Figure 2: Levels of analysis of language teaching materials (Littlejohn, 2011, p.185) 15

Figure 3: A preliminary framework for materials analysis, evaluation and action, (Littlejohn, 2011, p 202) 16

Figure 4: Students' evaluation on their English Proficiency according to CEFR Scale 30

Figure 5: Students' opinions about the content organization throughout the course 32 Figure 6: Students' most confident skills 33

Figure 7: Students' most challenging skills 33

Figure 5: Students' opinions on the content organization throughout the course 37

Figure 9: Students' opinions on methods to teach grammar points 38

Figure 10: Students' expectations on language skills and language components 39

Figure 11: Students' opinions on text-types preferenceError! Bookmark not defined Figure 12: Students' opinions on content organization within the course unit 42

Figure 13: Student's awareness of professional competences 49

Figure 14: The book map of English for Tourism Intermediate 53

Figure 15: The table of contents of Oxford for Careers Tourism 1 53

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 The structure of student's questionnaires 23

Table 2 Students' opinions about the usefulness of professional competences 30

Table 3 Students' previous learning English experience 33

Table 4 Students' aims from the textbook 37

Table 5 The level of importance of four skills 41

Table 6 Students' preferences in topics from the material 43

Table 7 Students' opinions about the sequence of content in each unit 46

Table 8 The usefulness of reading and listening exercises from students' perspectives 47

Table 9 The usefulness of speaking exercises from students' perspectives 48

Table 10 The usefulness of writing exercises from students' perspectives 48

Table 11 Students' opinions about recommended guidance material in the textbook 49

Table 12 The number of exercises to practice micro and macro skills in Book 2 53

Table 13 The similarity in text types Book 1 and Book 2 54

Table 14 Additional text types offered in Book 1 and Book 2 55

Table 15 Shared topics in Book 1 and Book 2 57

Table 16 The recruiters' opinions on the usefulness of professional skills from different topics 58

Table 17 Types of speaking and writing exercises in Book 1 and Book 2 63

Table 18 A summary of the matching process between the results of needs analysis and that of material evaluation 66

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EAP English for Academic Purpose ELT English language Teaching EOP English for occupational purpose ESP English for Specific Purpose LSA Learning situation analysis PSA Present situation analysis TSA Target situation analysis

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled "A proposal for ESP coursebook selection for third-year students in Tourism and Hospitality Department of a university in Ha Noi based on needs-analysis approach" is the result of my own

research, and that it has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other universities or institutions I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library can be accessible for the purposes of study and research

Hanoi, 2021

Tạ Minh Loan

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, my deepest appreciation goes to my thesis supervisor, Dr

Lê Thị Hồng Duyên, for supporting me to complete this research Without her guidance and persistent help, this thesis would not have been completed She has given insightful comments and suggestions for my research weekly and answers all

my questions I am also grateful for her useful and inspiring lectures during the English for Specific Purpose Course at ULIS, which has motivated me to conduct this research

My appreciation and gratitude are also extended to a group of six third-year students majoring in Hospitality and Tourism who have assisted me greatly in contacting with participants during my data collection process

Last but not least, I would like to express my deep appreciation to my partners, Hoang Minh Anh, who has provided me with warm encouragement during the completion of my thesis

ABSTRACT

Materials have been considered as a crucial element for a learning process since

it is the guidance for not only teachers but also students This thesis attempts to select

an ESP textbook for a group of third-year students majoring Tourism and Hospitality Department in a university based on needs analysis of learners and headhunters in travel agencies

The data collection instruments in this study were questionnaires, interviews and the document analysis Two potential textbooks are analyzed according to the criteria in Hutchinson and Waters' models The surveys conducted for travel agencies and students focus on three aspects of needs which are target situation analysis, present situation analysis, and learning needs Finally, the findings from the document analysis and the surveys are discussed

The result of the thesis would select the most appropriate textbook for the target group of learners

However, the application of ESP programs for mainstream students in the Tourism and Hospitality Department in a university in Ha Noi has not been fully developed Instead, students from mainstream program are mainly provided with a general English course Meanwhile, most of them are aware of the needs for an ESP programs since a general English course can barely provide them with specialized vocabulary and professional skills practice

Therefore, it is necessary to design an ESP program for this group of students starting off by selecting an appropriate material catering for the specific students’ needs in this department The crucial role of selecting materials is noticeable when it can determine the learning and teaching process According to Sheldon (1988), textbooks "represent the visible heart of any ELT program" (Sheldon, 1988,p.237) Also, Hutchinson and Torres suggested that "the textbook is an almost universal element of teaching and no teaching-learning situation can complete until it has its relevant textbook” (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994, p.315)

Although there is a plethora of English for tourism coursebooks introduced in the market, the selection has never been easy since each textbook has its own strengths and weaknesses and hardly can teachers find a material that meets all the requirements set out with regard to content, language focus, methodology Due to the difficulty encountered by teachers, the researcher has decided to carry the following

research: "A proposal for ESP coursebook selection for third-year students in

Tourism and Hospitality Department of a university in Ha Noi based on a analysis approach"

needs-2 Research aims

The study aims at selecting an appropriate textbook for third-year students in the Hospitality and Tourism Department by evaluating two textbooks that are currently available in the market while conducting a comprehensive needs analysis

It focuses on the needs of learners and recruiters from 2 travel agencies Then, the two textbooks are evaluated according to the model of Hutchinson and Waters (1987) based on three main criteria including aims, content, and methodology of the materials

3) Among the chosen textbooks (English for Tourism Intermediate and Oxford English for Careers Tourism 1), which textbook is the most desirable based

on the identified needs?

4 Scope of the study

The study conducts needs-analysis focusing on target situation analysis, present situation analysis and learning needs Moreover, two chosen textbooks are evaluated based on a number of criteria such as audience, aims, content, methodology according

to the model of Hutchinson and Waters (1987) The main purpose of this study is to select the most appropriate material which is available in the current market rather than designing a new textbook for the chosen learners

Due to the limited scope of the thesis, 104 third-year students studying in the Hospitality and Tourism Department in the chosen university are invited to fulfill the survey questions Moreover, two headhunters from two travel agencies also take part

in the interview

5 Research method of the study

As this study requires the evaluation of two ESP textbooks, a mixed method is applied with the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods The former approach is applied through questionnaires for students and recruiters, while the latter

is practiced in the form of a semi-structured interview with recruiters from two travel agencies and document analysis This mixed method allows the researcher to obtain quantitative results from a sample but then follow up with a few individuals to help explain those results deeply (Creswell, 2009)

6 Significance of the study

It is hoped that the findings of this study would help teachers bridge their knowledge gap about what students expect from the course and what the job market demands from students in terms of language proficiency, contributing to the curriculum development in the chosen university Teachers in Tourism and Hospitality Department can use the research findings as a reference for their decision

in designing a comprehensive ESP course for students

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

The first part of this chapter presents an overview of ESP, needs analysis in ESP and relevant framework concerning material evaluation To be more specific, the first part discusses the overview of ESP in terms of its definition, categorization and needs analysis in ESP, while theories related to material evaluation regarding its roles, approaches and criteria are proposed in the second part This chapter ends with the review of some previous studies concerning the material evaluation process

2.1 English for Specific Purpose

English for Specific Purpose (ESP) has generally been considered as a brand of English Language Teaching (ELT), but it has developed its own methodology (Dudley Evans & St John, 1998) While ELT aims at providing learners with general knowledge, ESP always emphasizes practical outcomes and concerns the specific use

of language according to different groups of learners English is considered as the medium to perform tasks in the target environment rather than an end of itself Therefore, the underlying methodology of ESP stems from the specific learner’s needs

However, there is still vague clarification between teaching English for Specific Purposes and teaching general English For this reason, several concepts and theories related to ESP are clearly presented before the textbook evaluation process takes place

and language appropriation focusing on syntax, lexi discourse, semantics As for distinguished characteristics, ESP tends to prioritize restricted skills such as listening

or speaking skills and the order of priority might be changed during the course However, compared to the definition discussed by Strevens, that of Dudley-Evans eliminates the confusion factor in terms of content related requirements It also clarifies the relation and the differences between ELT methodology and ESP by stating general characteristics of ESP learners in terms of age, language’s level, and their target environment

Hutchinson and Waters (1987), on the other hand, see ESP as an approach rather than a product, in which all decisions for content and method selection are based on the learner's reasons for learning This means that ESP entails the relation of learners' needs, the language required and the learning context (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) ESP, according to their definition, is not a matter of teaching specialized varieties of English In fact, it is an approach to teach language based on the learners' needs for meaning Robinson (1991) also agrees with the primacy of needs analysis when defining ESP with two key defining criteria: normally goal-directed and a limited time period (Dudley-Evans & John, 1998)

Overall, although there are many ways to define ESP, some common ideas about ESP can be withdrawn Firstly, what lays the foundation of ESP is the learners’ needs to acquire a language and the specific requirement of where language is used This is, in fact, also a distinctive feature of ESP compared to general English In ESP, English is not taught as a subject separated from the learner's real world, but subject matter is highly integrated into the course (Rahman, 2015) A similar idea is also presented by Nahid et al (2017) when they also agree that:

"English for specific purposes is recommended to learners who are

required to meet the essential, specific and precise needs to respond

to the considerable demands in vocational or academic training

(Nahid et al, 2017, p.86)

Secondly, ESP should not be separated from ELT, in fact it is an approach with its own methodology to language teaching Since ESP approaches English as a medium

for learning other specialized subjects, their principles of teaching always place emphasis on practical outcomes (Dudley-Evans & John, 1988)

2.1.2 Classification of ESP

In this study, ESP is categorized according to experience of learners introduced

by Strevens (1977) The underlying reason is that this classification can inform the degree of specificity of the tasks and the level of professional knowledge that are appropriate to learners To illustrate, if the group of learners are pre-experience tour guides who are still in their preparation to be a tour guide, the requirement for knowledge and skills taught are mainly in the beginning level as they have little exposure to the target environment However, if the group of learners are experienced tour guides, the level of language and skills taught should be more demanding since they are highly likely familiar with basic terms

The tree below illustrates how ESP is divided into different areas according to the experience of learners

Figure 1: ESP classification by experience, (Robinson, 1991, p.3)

According to Tony Dudley-Evans Maggie Jo St John, ESP has traditionally divided into two main areas: EAP and EOP

English for occupational purpose (EOP) refers to English that is for professional

purposes such as in tourism, engineering, medicine The language use in these courses

is specifically designed for people working in these environments from the typical

grammar point, vocabulary, topic of discussions and preferred skills English for Academic Purpose (EAP) caters for students learning English for their studies The

language selected is based on particular subjects that students are specialized in or intended to acquire For example, while EAP courses are designed for students majoring in tourism and hospitality, EOP serves working people such as travel agencies, tour guides, and receptionists to effectively use English in their working tasks

Pre-experience

EOP Stimulation/in service

Post-experience Pre-study ESP

In-study For study in a specific

discipline Post study EAP/EEP

As a school subject Independent

Integrated

2.2 Needs analysis

2.2.1 Definition of Needs analysis

Needs in ESP, according to Hutchinson and Waters (1987) are defined from the perspective of a learning- centered approach They claimed that “needs are the ability

to comprehend or produce the linguistic features of the target situation" (Hutchinson

& Waters, 1987, p.54) Moreover, Brown (2006) defines needs analysis as "a systematic collection and analysis of all subjective and objective information necessary to define the curriculum purposes" in order to satisfy the learning requirements of students (Brown, 2006, p.102)

Another idea about “Needs analysis” is introduced by Michael West, which believes that needs aim at covering what learners will be required to do with the foreign language in the target situation and how learners might best master the language during the period learning (West, 1994) This definition concerns the questions of “What” and “How” in the learning process

2.2.2 The role of Needs analysis in ESP

As mentioned above, needs analysis is especially important to ESP because it considers the involvement of teachers, employees and commercial interests of the standard of professional association Moreover, each learner has a different profile in terms of educational background, expectations, the level of language and knowledge Therefore, teachers often find themselves dealing with learners’ diverse biographies, causing difficulty in not knowing whose needs to prioritize and how to satisfy needs from all stakeholders and their own needs To achieve this aim, it is essential to establish whose needs teachers should focus on from multiple perspectives and multiple contexts

Needs analysis has always been considered as an essential component of an ESP course Dudley-Evan and St John (1998) believed that needs analysis is the cornerstone of ESP and leads to a focused course, and Strevens (1988) suggests that needs analysis is a necessary first step for specific purposes of language teaching

2.2.3 Models of Needs Analysis

Dudley-Evans and St John’s (1998) model has synthesized a plethora of terms related to needs into four main types: a target situation analysis (TSA); a learning situation analysis (LSA), a present situation analysis (PSA) and mean analysis which suggests the environment that the course will take place (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998) TSA includes the objective, perceived and product-oriented needs; an LSA works on the subject and process-oriented needs and PSA estimates the strengths and weaknesses in terms of language, skills and learning experiences of learners They propose a concept of needs analysis encompassing seven criteria:

A Professional information about the learners (target situation and objective needs)

B: Personal information about the learners

C: English language information about the learners (present situation analysis) D: The learner's lack

E: The language learning information (learning needs)

F: Professional communication information about

G: what is wanted from the course

H: information about the environment in which the course will be run (mean analysis)

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) conceptualized “needs” in ESP learning into two aspects: the situation analysis and the learning needs In their model, it deals with the specific context where the learnt language is used and the attitudes towards situations

of various participants (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) The framework to gather information from an analysis of targets needs will answer the questions:

(1) Why is the language needed?

(2) How will the language be used?

(3) What will the content areas be?

(4) Who will the learners use the language with?

(5) where will the language be used?

(6) When will the language be used?

Learning needs, moreover, is considered as the route to get from the starting point to its destination While the analysis of target needs informs teachers what to teach, learning needs explores the question of how to teach

In this study, with the aim of selecting the most appropriate textbook for a group

of learners, the needs analysis is conducted according to the model of Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) However, due to the limited scope, the study only focuses on target situation analysis, present situation analysis, and learning needs

2.3 Material evaluation

2.3.1 Definition of material evaluation

Material evaluation plays a crucial role in developing an ESP course So far, many definitions of this process have been presented

Material evaluation is seen as a systematic appraisal measuring the value of material in terms of the compatibility between the objectives of the materials and those of learners using them (Tomlinson, 2012)

The definition presented by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) shared some similarities when claiming that evaluation is basically a matching process, which concerns matching the learners' needs to available solutions (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987)

Both definitions imply two separate acts involved in the evaluation process The first one explores the objective analysis including the learners’ descriptions and needs, expectations and requirements from teachers about the course The second task

is to objectively evaluate what a textbook can offer for users, which includes topics, organization and its underlying teaching theory in the coursebook

In brief, material evaluation is the process which is responsible for providing useful information according to specific criteria for comparative purpose The result

of this comparison indicates the strengths, weakness of the materials, which enables the teacher to decide whether to select, adapt or remove the materials

2.3.2 Reasons for material evaluation

ESP practitioners evaluate materials for a variety of reasons Cunningsworth (1995) emphasized two major reasons for evaluating a material The first reason can

be the need to adapt a new coursebook since evaluation involves finding out the success and revealing the less successful aspects of the coursebook Such information assists teachers in deciding whether or not this textbook is suitable or worth using Another reason is to identify the strengths and weaknesses in the coursebook already

in use, which can optimize the usefulness of the coursebook for later use

Ellise (1997) analyzes the driving force behind the textbook evaluation which

is the need to choose what to teach with a view to satisfying different parties' expectations Another justification is “to determine whether the materials have worked for students” when teachers have experienced the textbook and felt the need for further evaluation (Ellise, 1997, p.36)

In short, the main purpose of textbook evaluation is to unlock the merits and demerits of the selected materials before making the decision whether to use or adapt the materials In this study, material assessment attempts to analyze the potential of two chosen textbooks before making the final decision on which to choose and how

to adapt if necessary

2.3.3 Types of material evaluation

Based on the time when the material is evaluated, three types of evaluation use, in-use and post-use evaluation are identified by Cunningsworth (1995) Pre-use evaluation concerns the potential performance of the coursebook In-use evaluation refers to the assessment of the book while it is being used This kind of evaluation is usually required when a newly introduced coursebook is being monitored Lastly, post-use evaluation provides retrospective assessment of a coursebook’s effectiveness The strengths and weaknesses of the coursebook are elaborately analyzed after the book being used Furthermore, Ellise (1997) introduced two types

pre-of evaluations which were predictive evaluation and retrospective evaluation The former could be implemented by expert reviewers or teachers based on numerous checklists and guidelines available The later evaluation type provides teachers with

evidence to determine whether it is worthwhile using the materials again, which activities work, and which do not, and how to modify the materials to make them more effective for future use

In brief, despite the differences in terms, the essence of these evaluation forms shares similarities as they are both based on the time when the material is evaluated This study focuses on pre-use evaluation, however, due to the negative effects of subjectivity in this type of evaluation, researcher also conducts needs analysis from learners and headhunters to increase the validity and objectivity of the result

2.3.4 Approaches to material evaluation

2.3.4.1 Cunningworth’s approach

There are four guidelines introduced by Cunningsworth (1988), which are considered as the foundation for the 45-question checklist It covers criteria such as aims, design, language content, skills, and methodology, as well as practical considerations such as cost and obtainability

Firstly, aims and approaches are evaluated by comparing the learning objectives

of the textbook and that of the teaching program Design and organization clarify the organization and sequence of the content and to what extent it can match with the expectations from teachers and learners

In terms of language content, skills and topics, Cunningsworth's approach considers the suitability of core grammars for each level, vocabulary sections, structuring and conventions of language use, style and appropriateness Moreover, whether the skills are desirable will be seen through the selection of activities in the textbook Lastly, topics are analyzed by evaluating the content of the textbooks which considered the variety and range of topics, attractive topics, social cultural contexts, and people and group representations in the textbooks

The last criterion is methodology which compares the approaches, techniques and communicative abilities offered by the textbook and that desired by the teachers and learners The two final criteria are the adequate guidance and level of support, and practical consideration such as package cost and the availability

The major strength of this model is the well-presented and detailed criteria However, one drawback of this approach is the simultaneous evaluation of what the book offers and what students and teachers need, leading to the lack of objectivity in result

2.3.4.2 Littlejohn ‘s approach

Littlejohn (2011) proposes a three-level framework for material evaluation including the objective description of what the material offers, subjective analysis of what the users required and subjective inference The level 1 and level 2 are conducted separately to guarantee subjectivity while the evaluation process is seen from the perspective of textbooks itself and learners An elaborate model is presented below:

Figure 2: Levels of analysis of language teaching materials (Littlejohn, 2011, p.185)

In each level, Littlejohn (2011) proposes a related framework to specify how to analyze For example, a preliminary framework for the level 3 can briefly summarize what should be done in each level and how these three levels scaffold each other While in level 1, the analyst discovers the title and publication information, a description of what materials can provide, a description of what is included in each unit, and an overview of one unit of the student’s book, Level 2 concerns with what

is required of learners for each task Level 3 is the subjective inference about the coursebook based on Levels 1 and 2 This level enables teachers to infer the aims, selection, and sequencing of content, subject matter, types of activities, participation

expectations, roles of teachers and learners, and role of the material as a whole The detailed framework is demonstrated below:

Figure 3: A preliminary framework for materials analysis, evaluation and action,

(Littlejohn, 2011, p 202) The advantage of this model is the separation between analysis and evaluation process Analysis at each level allows materials to “speak for themselves” (Littlejohn,

2011, p 182) before being evaluated It enables teachers to see exactly what materials contain, what they ask for from learners and teachers, and the role of the materials in the classroom

Since Level 2 is an analysis of each task, the analyst has a chance to examine to what extent the tasks meet what is claimed from the authors Additionally, it also allows teachers to foresee the potential difficulty of the tasks and their appropriateness for the students' current levels However, the main disadvantage of this model lies on the level 3 when it seems that it is merely a descriptive rather than

an evaluative analysis

2.3.4.3 Hutchinson and Waters’ approach

In Hutchinson and Waters’ (1987) approach, they decide what to evaluate and how to evaluate through four major steps: defining criteria, subjective analysis, objective analysis and matching

In the first step, evaluators determine the list of criteria that are considered important because with different course objectives, the priority for each criterion would be different For example, a course for receptionists is likely to focus on communication skills, hence, the time proportion and tasks allocated for speaking skills would be emphasized, while for a course catered for engineering learners tend

to pay attention to writing and reading skills

After defining the criteria, evaluators assess the materials from subjective analysis and objective analysis separately The subjective analysis provides information about what students want from the course, while the objective analysis figures out what the textbook offers In the final step, information is gathered from the two steps below with a view to comparing and rating the level of compatibility This can be done through a 42-question checklist for objective and subjective analysis also is established with five aspects including audience, aims, content, methodology and some practical consideration

This study would employ Hutchinson and Waters’ model for a number of reasons Firstly, the chosen model can address the weaknesses of Cunningworth's and Little John's frameworks In order to cope with the subjectivity factor in the Cunningsworth’s model, it attempts to evaluate both subjective and objective analysis individually Similarly, it overcomes the descriptive analysis in level 3 of Littlejohn’s model by grading the level of matching instead of merely giving details about the tasks

However, due to the limited scope of the study, some criteria in the Hutchinson and Waters' models are not included The study focuses on the aim of the material; content consisting of language description, language points, skills and proportion of skills text types, topics and organization, and methodology including types of exercises and guidance materials

2.4 Review of previous studies

Until now, there have been many researchers conducted to evaluate materials in ESP programs in both global and Vietnamese context such as Dewi Norma Utami, (2019), Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh (2015); Nguyen Thi Thao (2013)

to a limited number of participants (only 60 participants from 2 classes), the result might not be objective and reliable

Nguyen Thi Thao (2013) evaluated the material named “English for pharmaceutical course” to determine whether the selected textbook satisfies the

requirements in terms of aims, content and methodology This can act as a foundation for the later suggestion to improve the effectiveness The author also follows the model established by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) and uses material analysis and questionnaires to analyze the data The findings of the study finds that the textbook,

in general, does not meet the requirement of the course aim as it cannot provide enough sufficient exercise to practice four skills Moreover, the criteria regarding course content are also disqualified due to the lack of language skills, topics, and skills

There are several research gaps that can be drawn from the analysis above Firstly, all the previous studies that mentioned aim at evaluating materials after it was being used, and none of these studies are predictive evaluation (Ellise, 1997) or pre-use evaluation (Cunningsworth, 1995) Moreover, little attention paid to the evaluation of ESP tourism books for students in Vietnamese context although tourism has received an unprecedented development in Vietnam over the past few years For this reason, the researcher decided to conduct the study focusing on pre-use evaluation of ESP tourism books for students majoring in Tourism and Hospitality

In summary, from the analysis above, it can be concluded that most studies employ the Hutchinson and Waters' model to evaluate the materials and select document analysis and questionnaires as research instruments

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter begins with the description of research method Firstly, it specifies the participants and sampling, then it discusses the data instruments, the subject, and the data collection procedures

3.1 Participants and sampling`

The main subjects in this study are 104 third-year students in Hospitality and Tourism Department and recruiters from two travel agencies Although a needs analysis is a holistic approach which requires the involvement of various stakeholders, due to a limited timeframe of this study, it tries to explore the needs of students and expectations of recruiters

Two headhunters who agree to participate in the research are the CEOs of Lenka Tour (Company A) who is referred as Recruiter 1; the other headhunter is the CEO

of Asian Pioneer Agency (Company B) who is referred as Recruiter 2 in the next chapter of the study

3.2 Data collection instruments

To evaluate two chosen textbooks and conduct needs analysis from two stakeholders, three main data instruments including document analysis, questionnaires and interviews are employed

3.2.1 Document analysis

According to Hutchinson and Waters (1988), document analysis is claimed to

be one of the common instruments in evaluating materials It allows researchers to closely examine and summarize the printed materials In this study, material evaluation was conducted according to the model of Hutchinson and Waters (1987); thus, material analysis is divided into the following sub-criteria:

● Aims of the course

● Content: language description and language points, focused skills, types, topics, and content organization

text-● Methodology: learning theories, task/exercise types, teaching-learning techniques, guidance materials

The focus of the analysis is on the appropriateness of the materials in terms of its aims; the suitability of content, the flexibility and variety of teaching-learning techniques compared to the identified needs of learners, and the expectations of recruiters

Moreover, since there are various ESP well-designed textbooks for Tourism, several criteria are listed in order to select two potential textbooks To begin with, the textbook should be published by authors who have a good academic reputation and a reliable publisher to guarantee the validity and reliability of sources Secondly, the popularity of the material also adds to its credibility, which can be measured by the number of its reprint Lastly, the knowledge presented in the textbooks should suit

students' levels Based on the above criteria, two potential textbooks are "Oxford for Careers Tourism 1" published by Oxford University Press and "English for International Tourism Intermediate" published by Pearson Education Limited

Detailed analysis for the two textbooks is demonstrated in 4.2 Chapter 4

3.2.2 Questionnaires

Questionnaires are usually considered an effective tool to collect data since they can help gather views and opinions from many individuals According to Wilkinson and Birmingham (2003), questionnaires offer three primary benefits for researchers:

“they are usually inexpensive to administer; very little training is needed to develop them; and they can be easily and quickly analyzed once completed” (Wilkinson & Birmingham, 2003 p.8) However, questionnaires also possess certain drawbacks: participants are unable to give a personal answer and decide not to submit the instruments

There are three main types of questions that can be used in a questionnaire including closed questions, multiple-choice or ranking questions, and open-ended questions While closed questions and multiple-choice questions can limit participant’s options to give their opinions, it can be easier for researchers to analyze the collected data Open-ended questions offer participants some blank space to fill

in with their own personal opinions Based on the pros and cons discussed above, the researchẻ decides to include multiple choice questions and open-end questions in this study so that questionnaires can not only save participants time but also offer chances

to give personal opinions

The purpose of questionnaires in this study is to investigate students’ profiles and needs Likert Scale is also employed in the questionnaires (1: very important, 2: important, 3: normal, 4: not important) since it allows researcher to make use of different level of intensity among the indicators to gain deeper insight into the participant's perceptions compared to binary questions

The following table illustrates the structure of the questionnaire for students:

Table 1

The structure of student's questionnaires

Part 2 Learner's background information Q2 - Q6

Part 3 Learner's expectations regarding:

Content Q9 – Q17

Part 2 of the questionnaires focuses on the background information about students such as English current level, previous experience in learning English, their strong and weak skills in English Moreover, learners' expectations about the textbook are intensively investigated in Part 3, which discovers students' expectations in terms

of their desired careers and professional competences, focused content, and preferred learning methodology from the materials

In the pilot stage, 10 questionnaires were sent out to test the creditability and validity The research had invited 10 students who she had known before and asked them to complete the questionnaires and gave some comments on questions that could confuse them They were all from the Hospitality and Tourism management department

3.2.3 Interviews

Due to the lack of personal involvement exerted by questionnaires, structured interviews were employed to analyze deeply the results from the questionnaires By employing an interview, the researcher can identify the underlying reasons behind the respondents' answers In this study, with the aim of analyzing deeply respondents' answers in the surveys, researcher applied semi-structured interviews with headhunters from two companies, especially questions related to professional skills and their expectations in terms of students' language levels

semi-3.3 Data collection procedures and methods

In this study, the needs analysis model of Dudley-Evan and St John (1998) and the material evaluation model of Hutchinson and Waters (1987) were employed to analyze the data collected document analysis, questionnaires, and interviews The process of data collection began with the selection of the criteria for evaluating materials in terms of aims, content and methodology After that, needs analysis was conducted, which was separately taken place from the material evaluation stage Next, the researcher developed questionnaires for students and asked for their

agreement to participate in the study with a clear clarification for the purpose of the survey These questionnaires were collected immediately and checked for the quality All the questions were translated into Vietnamese to eliminate misunderstanding After the survey was conducted, two headhunters from two travel agencies were invited for an interview, which were recorded with their consents Then, the data derived from the needs analysis questionnaires and the interviews were analyzed descriptively

Finally, the information gathered document analysis is expected to point out the strengths and weaknesses of each selected material, together with the results from surveys and interviews from learners and headhunters to select the most suitable material

3.4 Summary

This chapter has given a detailed description of the subject of the study, means

of data collection and procedure of data collection on a preliminary evaluation The participants involve three groups: (1): third-year students in the hospitality and tourism department; (2): two headhunters from tow travel agencies, and (3) the two

textbooks which are English for international Tourism (intermediate) and Oxford – English for careers Tourism 1 The material analysis was based on the criteria

according to Hutchinson's model, which consists of material's aims, material's content, and material's methodology

For the convenience during the analyzing process, the textbook "Oxford English for Careers Tourism" is coded as Book 1 and the English for International Tourism intermediate is called Book 2

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION This chapter presents and discusses the result from the student's questionnaires,

recruiter's interviews, and document analysis The data is classified and analyzed in terms of students' needs, aims, content and methodology, which is also the findings for research question 1, 2 and 3

1) What are the expectations of recruiters in tourism agencies from graduate students in terms of skills, language proficiency, specialized knowledge? 2) What are the needs of third-year students for learning ESP at the Tourism and Hospitality Department?

3) Among the chosen textbooks: Oxford English for Career: Tourism 1 (Book 1) and English for Tourism Intermediate (Book 2), which textbook is the most desirable?

4.1: The analysis of recruiters' expectations

This part aims at analyzing the target situation to clarify what tasks and activities that learners will be using English for However, before investigating specific work-related tasks, the researcher attempts to identify the foreign language standard output

in order to have a general look on the overall expectation in terms of language level

of recruiters

4.1.1 Expectations from recruiters about students' language levels

When the CEOs of two travel agencies were asked about their expectations about the learning outcome of students, both of them gave the same answer:

"They should obtain specialized vocabulary thoroughly in various areas in tourism… Moreover, skills to perform work-related tasks should be given high priority…."

(Recruiter 1)

When headhunter from Company 2 were asked about whether students should

be able to perform professional skills apart from using specialized language, he said:

"… it would be great because as a company, providing training for newcomers

is not desirable Therefore, if schools can provide adequate training before they

graduate so that they can be ready to start the job right away, it would be such

a relief for companies."

(Recruiter 2)

Both recruiters from the two companies expected that fresh graduates possess a rich repertoire of specialized vocabulary and familiar to several professional skills

Recruiter 1 also said that she did not want to employ people who only meet the

B1 standard outputs for university students but fail to acquire the language beyond what has been taught at school This implies that the language requirement from at least two interviewed agencies, especially those who mainly work with foreign visitors, is very challenging If students fail to prepare themselves to master the language, there is a high chance that they could not be qualified to work in agencies that are involved foreign elements

4.1.2 Expectation of recruiters in language skill

In terms of the importance of each skill, students and recruiters have different views While a large number of students assumed that speaking and listening are the most important skills to perform well at work, recruiters firmly claimed that all skills are equally essential

"In general, all four skills are very important However, it also depends on each position in the company."

therefore, it is a must for them to excel at speaking and listening skills By contrast, for back-office employees such as in the HR department, they are not necessarily

good at speaking and listening, but they should be able to write and read well

This does not mean that they can underestimate any skills because most jobs

require students to practice all four skills Recruiter 2 said that for tour guides, if they

cannot read well, then they might fail to understand the travel itinerary This might lead to dissatisfaction for customers Besides, without good writing skills, they cannot write tour reports, emails to respond to customers

To conclude, according to the requirements of the workplace, the importance of four language skills are equally shared; however, depending on the duties of each job, the frequent application of each skill is different

4.1.3 Expectations about work-related tasks that students can perform

In order to select the most relevant tasks for students to practice, recruiters from two travel agencies were asked to give their opinions about the usefulness of 10 skills extracted from two textbooks Similarly, in student's questionnaires, they were also asked to give their opinions to the same matters The table 1 demonstrates the result

of students' opinions about the usefulness of professional competences:

Table 2

Students' opinions about the usefulness of professional competences

Professional skills Very useful Useful Normal Not

useful Taking a telephone

Travel recruiters from both companies ranked all of the tasks to be "very useful",

especially the skills of "producing media publication" Recruiter 1 said:

"….we really expect that we can find someone who is able to produce advertising products for us in different languages It is what we are usually looking for in a candidate."

(Recruiter 1) However, she has encountered many difficulties to find a qualified candidate for this task due to a high-demanding requirement in terms of language proficiency She pointed out that to produce a great content on media publications, it requires employees not only to be an expert in using English as a means of communication, but also have deep understanding about the cultures, the way of thinking of native speakers Therefore, employers are still struggling with finding qualified employees

By contrast, from students' point of views, the skill of producing media publication has received the second highest vote to be "not useful" of all skills (10 votes)

For this mixed opinion about the task, the opinion of recruiters would be considered as more valid since students themselves might not be as experienced as the recruiters who have been working in the field for over nine years Therefore, the

skills of producing media publication lies on the top priority when evaluating the

tasks offered from the materials

In addition, there is also a disagreement between the students' opinions and that

of recruiters in "investigating clients' needs" task While more than half of students

ranked them to be "very useful", the recruiters do not expect fresh graduates to be

able to do this task, despite its usefulness at work because of its complexity:

"Fresh graduates are usually not capable of this task because in order to perform this task, people need to have a long-year experience so that she/he can evaluate and suggest potential trends in tourism."

With regards to the skills of writing emails and reports, both interviewees think

that these are necessary skills that students should acquire They should not be underestimated since they are the fundamental competences when embarking on the world of work

To sum up, target situation analysis has shed light into what specific tasks and activities that students will use English for All the listed tasks are crucial to be taught,

except for "investigating the needs of clients" Moreover, higher priority should be given to the skills of "producing media publication" Finally, to effectively work in

the field, the foreign language standard output is around B1 to B2 level and the level

of importance in four skills is equal

4.2 The analysis of students' needs

After analyzing the target working environment, this part examines their current language levels In other words, it analyzes the present situation of students including the current levels, strengths and weaknesses From then, what students lack and want can be drawn with a view to finding the most effective way for them to learn (learning needs)

4.2.1 Present situation analysis

a Students' current levels

In question 2, students were provided with a description of six levels in CEFR scale so that they could reflect on their own language level Moreover, question 3 was designed for those who have taken English certificates They were encouraged to list their band score for each skill so that their strengths and weaknesses could be revealed

The pie chart 4 presents how students evaluated their English levels according to the CEFR Scales

Figure 4: Students' evaluation on their English Proficiency according to CEFR

Scale The pie chart shows that most students claimed that they were in A2 level with the ability to communicate in situations that exchange basic personal information in familiar topics They also believed they could describe and explain basic definitions

in a simple language structure About a quarter of surveyed students evaluated themselves in B1 level and few students were confident enough to assess themselves

in B2 level

Moreover, among the group, only nine students out of 104 students have taken English Proficiency test To be more specific, two students reported that they have taken VSTEP and got B1 level; one student got 925 TOEIC (440 in reading and 485

in listening); one student got 905 in TOEIC; one student got 430 TOEIC overall, and one student has taken the IELTS test with 5.5 overall band score

The result implies that in general, most students are around their A2 (+) level

(B1-) when they can function properly in routine tasks and understand simple terms aspects of his/her immediate environment and matters From the analysis above, the material chosen should be B1 so that students in A2 level have meaningful purposes

to learn, while students who have obtained English certificate can develop all four skills and consolidate their learnt knowledge

b Student's previous learning experience

Question 4 requires students to describe how they have learnt English so that a conclusion about students' preferences on teaching methods can be drawn

Table 3

Students' previous learning English experiences

Study in a communicative method 42 40,4%

As can be seen from the table, more than half of the surveyed participants learned in

a traditional method, which primarily focuses on grammar structure and forms rather than usage However, 40% of students have been exposed to a communicative approach with the focus on all four skills equally Only 03 students said that they have learnt English from watching English TV shows, and through online applications

Moreover, question 12 investigates students' preferences of teaching method, which

is shown in figure 5: