Đặc điểm cú pháp và ngữ nghĩa ngữ dụng học của câu hỏi có không trong tiếng anh và tiếng việt

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: “An evaluation of the material English in Medicine for the third-year students at Hai Phong Medical University” in terms o

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

“An evaluation of the material English in Medicine for the third-year students at Hai Phong Medical University”

in terms of Statement for thesis and Field Study Reports in Masters’ Programs Issued

by the Higher Degree Committee

Vu Thi Hanh June, 2009

First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude to Ms Pham Minh Tam - my supervisor, who during the preparation of this thesis has been most willing and ready to give me valuable advice, inspiration and supervision

I also acknowledge my sincere thanks to Mr Le Van Canh for his interesting lessons and suggestions

My appreciation and gratitude are also extended to my students at Hai Phong Medical University for their enthusiastic help in the data collection procedures; my colleagues for their encouragement and support

I am grateful to the authors of the reference materials whose ideas have inspired me throughout the writing process

Finally, I would like to convey my thanks to my family and my friends without whom the completion of this thesis had been impossible

While ESP materials have played an increasingly important role at Vietnamese universities, the process of ESP material design and evaluation has not become any easier for most teachers and administrators This thesis describes the evaluation that was undertaken at Hai Phong Medical University for its ESP material “English in Medicine” which has been used for the third-year students since 1996 The purpose of this study was

to evaluate the material English in Medicine in terms of Objectives, Layout, Content and Methodology from both students’ and teachers’ perspectives The thesis employed the survey approach with two research methods, i.e survey questionnaire and informal interview The survey results indicated that English in Medicine had such great strengths as

it met the course objectives; its subject areas covered interesting and fundamental topics which were of students’ interest However, the findings also revealed a lot of weaknesses

of the material In terms of Objectives, it failed to meet students’ needs due to the lack of listening and speaking skills With regard to Layout, it not only had an unfavourable format but also lacked a table of content, references… Its Methodology was another weakness of the material due to an unbalance of the skills and inadequacy of exercises and activities After identifying strengths and weaknesses of the material, the thesis suggests some improvements of the material basing on the findings of the research, such as reediting the format, adding listening and speaking skills, providing more exercises, adapting the activities…These improvements are expected to make consideration contributions to the future use of the material as well as the ESP course at Hai Phong Medical University

Certificate of originality of the thesis ……….i

Acknowledgements………ii

Abstract……….iii

Table of contents……… iv

Abbreviations……… vii

List of figures……… viii

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1.1 Rationale for the study 2

1.2 Aims of the study 2

1.3 Significance of the study 3

1.4 Scope of the study 3

1.5 Methodology 3

1.6 Organization of the study 4

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2.1 Introduction 5

2.1 An overview of English for Specific Purposes 5

2.1.1 Definitions of ESP 5

2.1.2 Characteristics of ESP courses 6

2.1.3 English for Medical Purposes (EMP) 7

2.2 Material evaluation 7

2.2.1 Definitions of materials 7

2.2.2 Definitions of material evaluation 8

2.2.3 Types of material evaluation 8

2.2.4 Purposes of material evaluation 9

2.2.5 Models for material evaluation 10

2.2.6 Methods of material evaluation 12

2.2.7 Criteria for material evaluation 13

2.3 Material adaptation 15

2.3.1 Purposes of adaptation 15

2.3.2 Areas for adaptation 15

2.3.3 Techniques for adaptation 16

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3.1 Introduction 18

3.2 The current ESP teaching and learning situation at HPMU 18

3.2.1 The context 18

3.2.2 The course objectives 18

3.2.3 The material description 19

3.3 Research question 20

3.4 Research approach 20

3.5 Participants 21

3.5.1 Population 21

3.5.2 Sampling 21

3.5.3 Description 21

3.6 Instruments 22

3.6.1 Questionnaires 22

3.6.2 Informal interviews 22

3.7 Data collection procedure 23

3.8 Data analysis procedure 23

3.9 Conclusive remark 23

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4.1 Objectives 24

4.2 Layout 24

4.3 Content 25

4.4 Methodology 26

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5.1 Summary of major findings 29

5.2 Recommendations 29

5.2.1 Objectives adjustments 29

5.2.2 Layout improvements 30

5.2.3 Content improvements 30

5.3.4 Methodology improvements 31

5.3 Limitations of the study 33

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1.1 Rationale for the study

The dilemma of choosing appropriate English for Special Purposes (ESP) materials for Vietnamese university students is an ongoing one According to Tran (2008) in the report of English teaching in universities non-major in English, “82.1% ESP textbooks used in non-major in English universities are collected and edited, which needs assessment and evaluation” (p.10) This is the case for Hai Phong Medical University (HPMU) The material English in Medicine for the third-year students at HPMU is also an edited collection from various sources It has been used at HPMU for 13 years but no evaluation

or consultation has been conducted by the university either prior to the introduction of the material or ongoing to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to see how well it suited the desired and attainable goals of the course Evaluating it helps the teachers to gain good and useful insights into the nature of the material The teachers can also respond to the students’ needs and maximize their learning opportunities This is the first reason for me to carry out an evaluation of the material English in Medicine

Furthermore, Cunningsworth (1995) and Ellis (1997) suggest that textbook evaluation helps teachers move beyond impressionistic assessments and it helps them to acquire useful, accurate, systematic, and contextual insights into the overall nature of textbook material Textbook evaluation, therefore, can potentially be a particularly worthwhile means of conducting research as well as a form of professional empowerment and improvement This is another reason for me to execute the research

Conducting this study is a great opportunity for me to discover the teachers and students’ perceptions about the material and gain some experience in evaluating materials 1.2 Aims of the study

This study aims to evaluate the material English in Medicine in terms of its Objectives, Layout, Content and Methodology from both the teachers’ and the students’ perspectives The findings will help the teachers to adjust the exploitation of the material

as well as their teaching method so that they can make optimum use of strong points and adapt or substitute weaker points from other medical materials

1.3 Significance of the study

The study is hoped to be beneficial to both the teachers and the students at HPMU in several ways First, it increases the knowledge and understanding of individual English teachers regarding the aims and purposes of the course and the coursebook Second, it helps the teachers understand the students’ opinion, get their feedback, therefore, can either adjust their ways of teaching or adapt the material to provide their students opportunities

to learn

From the perspective of methodology, it is an effective way of helping teachers to understand and apply theories of language learning - and to achieve personal and professional development (Tomlinson, 2001, p 67)

From a research perspective, it highlights the necessity of doing further research on teachers' materials adaptation to be more appropriate

Finally, this study implies a need of institutional support to teachers in materials development An awareness needs to be developed among administrators of HPMU to encourage and empower teachers of English to adapt the material Provision of resources and facilities would be necessary

1.4 Scope of the study

As a minor thesis, this study limits itself to evaluating only four aspects of the material, namely Objectives, Layout, Content and Methodology among a great number of book evaluation criteria Besides, the evaluation on the material objectives is done by only the teachers, not the students as they are believed to be not qualified enough to do that or the potential findings are of poor validity

1.5 Methodology

This thesis employs survey research with two methods, including survey questionnaires and informal interviews These methods are described in detailed in chapter

3

1.6 Organization of the study

The study consists of five chapters

Chapter 1 – Introduction – presents the rationale, aims, significance, scope and methodology of the study

Chapter 2 – Literature review – provides a theoretical basis for the study First, it surveys the literature on the theories of the basic concepts such as English for Specific Purposes and English for Medical purposes, regarding the definition, characteristics and development Second, it reviews material evaluation in terms of definition, types, purposes, models, criteria and method The last part of the chapter presents the issues involving material adaptation which serve as a base for the improvements recommended at the end of the study

Chapter 3 – Methodology – includes an overview of the approach used in conducting the study It also provides a thorough description of the data collection procedure as well as the analytical procedure

Chapter 4 – Results and Discussion – reports the findings of the survey and discusses the prominent aspects

Chapter 5 – Conclusion – summarizes the study, recommends the improvements to the material and acknowledges the limitations of the study

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2.1 Introduction

According to Swales (1985, as cited in Low, 1987, p.21), there are very few published works about the effectiveness of coursebooks in use Teachers, material designers and education researchers tend to be less reflective about what is happening when one textbook

is used In Vietnam, evaluation of textbooks used in primary and secondary schools seems

to attract more attention than the evaluation of coursebooks for university students In recent years, in-use coursebooks have started to be evaluated, but as far as I am concerned, these evaluations are just impressionistic overview

Almagro and Luisa (2005) highlight that the lack of agreement in this field is obvious: the terminology used to define the different criteria varies greatly, these criteria are not constant, the elements making up each criterion do not always coincide, and the thoroughness in defining the content of each of these criteria varies from one proposal to another All these factors result in a lack of a firmly consolidated base in the field of evaluation of teaching materials The situation is aggravated in the field of ESP, because in addition to the circumstances described, there is also a lack of evaluation proposals

This chapter, however, makes an effort to provide a theoretical basis to evaluate English in Medicine in terms of its Objectives, Layout, Content and Methodology

2.1 An overview of English for Specific Purposes

2.1.1 Definitions of ESP

Despite the fact that it is an approach which has been widely used over the last three decades, there has been considerable recent debate about what ESP means (Anthony, 1997)

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) theorize, "ESP is an approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learner's reason for learning" (p 19)

Dudley-Evans (1998) gives an extended definition of ESP in terms of 'absolute' and 'variable' characteristics:

Absolute Characteristics

• ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners

• ESP makes use of underlying methodology and activities of the discipline it serves

• ESP is centered on the language appropriate to these activities in terms of grammar, lexis, register, study skills, discourse and genre

Variable Characteristics

• ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines

• ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of General English

• ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or

in a professional work situation It could, however, be for learners at secondary school level

• ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students

• Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems

The division of ESP into absolute and variable characteristics is very helpful in defining what is and is not ESP From the definition, we can see that ESP can but is not necessarily concerned with a specific discipline, nor does it have to be aimed at a certain age group or ability range ESP should be seen simple as an 'approach' to teaching, or what Dudley-Evans describes as an 'attitude of mind'

2.1.2 Characteristics of ESP courses

According to Carter (1983), there are three features of ESP courses: a) authentic material, b) purpose-related orientation, and c) self-direction The use of authentic content materials, modified or unmodified in form, is indeed a feature of ESP Purpose-related orientation refers to the simulation of communicative tasks required of the target setting Finally, self-direction is the characteristic of ESP courses in that the " point of including self-direction is that ESP is concerned with turning learners into users" (Carter, 1983, p 134)

Hutchinson and Waters (2007) also point out that traditional ESP course design has two major drawbacks: firstly, the development in the learner of a capacity to communicate

is neglected, and secondly, there is a failure to analyze and take into account the realities of the ESP learning situation

2.1.3 English for Medical Purposes (EMP)

English for Medical Purposes is a subset of English for Specific Purposes education that most often focuses on teaching aspects of medical English, particularly terminology Hull (2004)

Hull also offers characteristics of Medical English Often referred to as English for Specific Purposes but the language of medicine is quite unique It is fraught with technical, academic language and replete with slang, colloquialisms, abbreviations and acronyms It has its own rules and structure Health professionals must read, write, interpret, give directions, etcetera using a wide, wide variety of abbreviations and acronyms that are extremely career-specific Medical English is also contextual Doctors and nurses use academic and technical language interspersed with common speech and workplace jargon

It rarely focuses on complete or proper sentence structure

With regard to the level of Medical English, Hull believes that it is of advanced English, so it cannot be taught at the level of or in the same methods of basic English language teaching She assumes that all EMP learners are health professionals or in the midst of health studies at the college or university level Therefore, career-specific, highly technical language must be contextually based The goal of learning English at this level is not to learn grammar and structure primarily, but to acquire and use the language of practice and social relations within the career

Though there is not much information about EMP, Hull’s description creates a detailed picture of EMP that can assist in teaching and developing EMP materials

2.2 Material evaluation

2.2.1 Definitions of materials

Tomlinson (1998) defines: “Materials are anything which is used to help to teach language learners Materials can be in the form of a textbook, a workbook, a cassette, a

CD-Rom, a video, a photocopied handout, a newspaper, a paragraph written on a whiteboard: anything which presents or informs about the language being learned”

In this thesis, the “material” are not any materials for learning and teaching language

It refers to a set of medical texts and lessons collected from various sources used as the coursebook for the third year students at HPMU

2.2.2 Definitions of material evaluation

A number of researchers express their point of view regarding the definition of material evaluation

According to Dudley (1998), “evaluation is a whole process which begins with determining what information to gather and ends with bringing about the change in current activities or influencing future ones” (p.128)

Material evaluation is “a process not a final product” (Nunan, 1998) with “attempts to measure the value of materials” (Tomlinson, 1998, p.3)

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) define: “Evaluation is basically a matching process: matching needs to available solutions” (p.97) They also note that evaluation is really a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose “Given a certain need, and in the light of the resources available, which out of number of possibilities can represent the best solution There is no absolute good or bad – only degrees of fitness for the required purpose”

Although each researcher has his/her own way of giving opinions on evaluation they still come to the agreement that evaluation is a process of collecting data giving judgments based on the collected data, and the most importantly, evaluation must include action 2.2.3 Types of material evaluation

Regarding types of material evaluation, Tomlinson (1988) indicates that for each dimension of evaluation, there are certain types of evaluation These dimensions include: approach, purpose, focus, scope, the evaluators, the timing and types of information Cunningsworth (1995) points out that there are three types of material evaluation, i.e pre-use evaluation, in-use evaluation and post-use evaluation This classification is similar

to Ellis (1997) with different names, i.e Preliminary, Formative and Summative

Evaluation respectively The first type, pre-use evaluation is carried out before a course begins in order to select the most relevant and suitable materials for a particular group of learners This is probably the most difficult kind as there is no actual experience of using the coursebook In-use evaluation is a kind of evaluation for suitability, involving

“matching the coursebook against a specific requirement including the learners’ objectives, the learners’ background, the resources available, etc” (Cunningsworth, 1995, p.14) The third type, post-use evaluation refers to an assessment of a textbook’s fitness over a period

of continual use Evaluation of this kind can be practical in helping to decide whether to use the same textbook on future occasions

From different perspective, Cunningsworth (1995) has another classification - impressionistic overview and in-depth evaluation The impressionistic overview can only afford us a general introduction to the material, but not enough detail to ensure a good match between the content of the textbooks and the requirements of teaching/learning situation The in-depth evaluation is suitable if we want to examine how specific items and different aspects of language are dealt with

2.2.4 Purposes of material evaluation

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

Robinson (1991) states that evaluation can be used as part of quality control Through evaluation, we can know about the advantages and disadvantages as well as the effectiveness of the being used materials

Apart from its contribution to the evaluation of the effectiveness of materials, Torres (1993) adds an additional benefit: it can afford general insights into how teachers use materials, and therefore suggest directions both for materials development and professional development activities

Alderson (1992) set out a list of purposes of material evaluation as follows:

- to decide whether materials have had the intended effect

- to identify what effect materials have had

- to vindicate a decision

- to justify future courses of action

- to compare approaches/methodologies

- to identify areas for improvement in future use

- to show the positive achievements of teachers and students

- to motivate teachers

- to allay suspicions among parents or sponsors

2.2.5 Models for material evaluation

With regard to the material evaluation process, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) recommend a four – step macro-evaluation presented in the following model

These authors advise to present the criteria for objective and subjective analyses in a check list, and the evaluators should supplement other criteria they think important to them

in the process of evaluating Then, follow the three steps: 1) identify the evaluator’s requirements; 2) analyze the material; 3) comparing findings those two aspects by awarding points Total the points and analyze the result However, the two researchers note

On what bases will you judge material?

Which criteria will be more important?

What realizations of the criteria do you

want in your course?

How does the material being evaluated realize the criteria?

How far does the material match your needs?

that the highest number of points does not necessarily indicate the most suitable material,

as the points may be concentrated in one area

Ellis (1997) suggests a Micro-evaluation model which is probably clearer and more detailed:

1 Choosing a task to follow;

2 Describing the task with specification of input, procedures, language activities, and outcome;

3 Planning the evaluation with reference to the dimensions above;

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

5 Analysis of the information collected;

6 Findings of the evaluation and making recommendations for future teaching; and

7 Writing the report

He points out the advantage of this model is that it can be more manageable than a macro evaluation Nevertheless, this type of evaluation can only be conducted when the materials are being used in the classroom

Littljohn (1998) suggests a preliminary framework for material analysis and evaluation as follows:

Within the scope of this study, the model of Hutchinson and Waters seems to be the most appropriate to follow

2.2.6 Methods of material evaluation

There are three methods of evaluation according to McGrath (2002): the impressionistic method, the checklist method, and the in-depth method

The impressionistic method is concerned to obtain a general impression of the material This is wide-ranging but relative superficial (Cunningworth, 1995, p.1) The

- The cultural context

- The institution

- The course (proposed aims,

content, methodology, measures of

evaluation)

- The teachers

- The learners

From analysis

- What is their explicit nature?

- What is required by users?

- What is implied by their use?

method involves glancing at the publisher’s description on the back cover, the content page, book layout and visuals

The checklist method is the use of a list of items which is referred to for comparison, identification or verification It is considered systematic, cost effective, convenient and explicit

The in-depth method looks at the kind of language description, underlying assumptions about learning or values on which the materials are based (McGrath,2002) It focuses on specific feature (Cunningworth, 1995), close analysis of one or more extracts (Hutchinson, 1987)

Each of these methods has strengths as well as limitations Therefore, it is a good idea

to take an integrated approach in evaluating materials

2.2.7 Criteria for material evaluation

As mentioned at the beginning of Chapter Two, criteria for material evaluation are not constant, the elements making up each criterion do not always coincide Various writers have presented their evaluation checklists As illustrated by Cunningsworth (1995, pp 7-15), coursebooks should correspond to learners’ needs; help to equip learners to use language effectively for their own purposes; facilitate students’ learning process; have a clear role in mediating the target language and the learner

Sheldon (1998) presents a set of criteria including: rationale, availability, user definition, layout, accessibility, linkage, selection, physical characteristics, appropriateness, authenticity, sufficiency, cultural bias, educational validity, stimulus, revision, flexibility, guidance, and overall value for money

Hutchinson and Waters’ checklist focuses on the audience (age, sex, professional field, educational background…); the aims, the content; the methodology, price and the availability

Ur (1991) provides us 19 items in assessing a coursebook in general, for example, clear instruction and fluency practices in all four skills

However, Sheldon (1988) suggests that no general list of criteria can ever really be applied to all teaching and learning contexts without considerable modification Similarly,

Cunningsworth (1995) states, the selection procedure is intended as a “framework, not a straitjacket” (p.5) and any procedure should be modified to suit personal circumstances In

my particular teaching context with this particular coursebook, I have therefore chosen four general criteria: Objectives, Layout, Content and Methodology with the specific criteria as mentioned below

The first aspect to consider is how well the objectives of the textbook match the objectives of the course Ur (1996) identifies the need for thorough coverage of the course objectives in the textbook - the textbook needs to address a reasonable number of course objectives to make it a worthwhile purchase for both teacher and students - A book that addresses at least half of the course objectives is a good one

The next aspect needs to be examined is the Layout of the material Matthews (1985) suggests the layout should be clear and attractive The units should be well-labelled with subdivisions clearly marked and easy to follow, sufficient room for students to write in their books Furthermore, Liz (1998) says that the Layout of a textbook refers to its organization and presentation of language items and activities

Pertaining to Content, Hutchinson and Waters (1987) recommend to evaluate the following aspects: topics (subject-matter areas), language points, text-types, macro-skills and micro-skills proportion, level of knowledge, organization and sequence of content In ESP, it is crucial to evaluate whether the subject-matter of the material is of students’ interest and up to their expectation as it plays an important part in motivating students to learn

Finally, it is absolutely essential to determine whether or not the methodology of a book will reinforce the institutional aims as well as conform to the classroom context when evaluating any textbook (Brown, 1995; Cunningsworth, 1995) According to Cunningsworth (1995), the methodology of a coursebook should be considered in the following specific criteria: appropriate approach to the learning situation; learner involvement matching students’ learning styles and expectation; suitable techniques used for presenting/practising new language items; ways of teaching different skills and developing communicative abilities Besides, the material should include advice to

students on study skills and learning strategies and give them responsibility for their own learning

These criteria may be inadequate, but in my context, they are the most important ones 2.3 Material adaptation

2.3.1 Purposes of adaptation

No textbook is perfect Any textbook should be used judiciously, since it cannot cater equally to the requirements of every classroom setting (Williams, 1983, p.251) That is why a textbook should be adapted Teachers, with direct personal knowledge of their classroom teaching, should see textbooks as their servants instead of masters; as a resource

or an “ideas bank” which can stimulate teachers' own creative potential (Cunnningsworth,

1984, p.65) Adapting materials helps teachers to maximize the value of the book for the benefit of their learners Hence they can improve it so that it is suitable for the particular situation (Apple and Jungck, 1990; Shannon, 1987)

2.3.2 Areas for adaptation

McDonough and Shaw (1993) identify the possible areas to adapt as follows:

• Lack of grammar coverage in general;

• Lack of practice of grammar points of particular difficulty;

• Reading passages contain too much unknown vocabulary;

• Comprehension questions are too easy;

• Subject matters are inappropriate for learners;

• Photographs and other illustrative materials are not culturally acceptable;

• Amount of material is too much / too little to cover;

• Lack of guidance of teachers on group work and role play;

• There are no vocabulary list or a key to exercises

However, they also note that more areas could be added to this list, depending on the actual contexts

2.3.3 Techniques for adaptation

There are various ways to adapt materials Tomlinson (1998) suggests the following

options:

• Omission: the teacher leaves out things deemed inappropriate, offensive and

unproductive… for the particular group

• Addition: where there seems to be inadequate coverage, the teachers may decide to

add material, either in form of texts or exercise material

• Reduction: where the teacher shortens an activity to give it less weight or emphasis

• Extension: where an activity is lengthened on order to give an additional dimension

(For example, a vocabulary activity is extended to draw attention to some syntactic

patterning)

• Rewriting/modification: teachers may occasionally decide to rewrite material,

especially exercise material, to make it more appropriate, more communicative, more

demanding, more accessible to their students

• Replacement: texts or exercise material which is considered inadequate for whatever

reason may be replaced by more suitable material

• Re-ordering: Teachers may decide that the order in which the materials are presented

is not suitable for their students They can then decide to plot different course through

the materials from the one writer has laid down

The overview of adaptation is illustrated in the following framework proposed by McDonough and Shaw (1993)

adding deleting modifying simplifying re-ordering

applied to Content Areas

Language Texts Skills Classroom etc

Figure 1: An adaptation of framework by McDonough and Shaw (1993)

This chapter has addressed key notions about ESP and examined issues in material evaluation and adaptation These issues, where possible, have been supported by academic literature It is my hope that they serve as a consolidate basis to carry out the study in the next chapter

6 '3.1 Introduction

This chapter includes a justification for the approach the author used in conducting the research It also provides a thorough description of how I collected the necessary data

as well as the analytical procedure to draw conclusions based on the collected information

In the first section I give a detailed description of the current context at HPMU In the next sections, I put forward an explanation of my understanding of the methods used in this research and their advantages

3.2 The current ESP teaching and learning situation at HPMU

3.2.1 The context

The students at HPMU learn English for two years and a half (20 credits in total) After two years of studying general English (with the coursebooks: Headway Elementary and Pre-intermediate (published by Oxford University Press in 1993), they learn Medical English (05 credits) in the last semester By the time, they have just finished some basic subjects such as maths, biology, epidemiology… so they have not got much background knowledge of the field They are therefore at a disadvantage of struggling to learn both the language and the content at the time

During this course of medical English, the students have only one class per week (3 periods) in large classes (about 50 students a class) The material is English in Medicine which will be described in the following section At the end of the course, they have a 90-minute written test However, their test results are quite low (about 30 percent of the students fail and the majority of the rest get mark 5-6 ) although all the test questions are taken from the course book

3.2.2 The course objectives

The main objectives of the course is set out by the English Department of HPMU as follows:

At the end of the course, the students should be able to:

• name the organs in human body

• describe these organs in terms of structures, location, functions and properties

• describe a number of diseases, their causes, indications and treatment

• give and follow instructions

• acquire reading skills to read easy medical documents

• understand diagrams and common medical abbreviations

• define the medical terms and abbreviations presented by memory

3.2.3 The material description

English in Medicine is a 52-page-long “in-house” material which was collected and edited by the teachers of English Department It consists of two parts: Part 1 contains 10 units of different topics excerpted from “English for medical student” written by Tr nh Th Thuý Lan, H Liên Bi n, Ph m Gia Kh i, Nguy n V n Tr ng (published in 1990); Part 2 includes 10 reading texts which were taken from different sources, mostly from “English in Medicine” (by Eric H Glendinning, Beverly A Holmstrom,1987) In this part, the teachers designed exercises themselves, often in the form of gap filling or answering questions Though the material was excerpted from these books, there is not any information of the authors or publisher’s credentials on the cover or at References

Besides, English in Medicine does not contain an accessories package or supplementary materials including items such as classroom tape cassettes or CD’s, a student workbook or a teacher’s manual Although the answers for the exercises are shown

in the original books, they are not filed to be a teachers’ book This might be somewhat problematic for certain students who wish to use the book for independent and/or additional study It might also hamper the execution of lesson preparation by some teachers who do not have access to those books Moreover, even when teachers possess those books, they just give answer keys for the exercises in the material (some of them are even incorrect or suggest only one possible answer), they do not help teachers understand the objectives and methodology of the texts Also, the original manual does not provide teachers with additional exercises, tests, and reviews There are merely two review units in the entire book This means that students have few opportunities to review by themselves and teachers must take a lot of time to prepare reviews and tests