INTRODUCTION
Rationale
In Vietnamese high schools, textbooks or coursebooks are an indispensable part in English teaching and learning For non-specialized high schools, they have used the standard textbooks set by Ministry of Education and Training (MOET)
Nevertheless, in addition to the use of piloted textbooks, other schools like specialized high schools have selected coursebooks for their own students With the current numerous number of books, the decision to choose one coursebook cannot be taken lightly and whether it is acceptable or not is one challenging question
Hence, teachers need to be knowledgeable enough to opt for the most suitable ones for their students through evaluating these materials based on the guidelines and criteria Foreign Language Specialized School (FLSS) is a specific instance which has chosen the coursebooks for their own students in learning English Teachers at English Division held a meeting and came to the conclusion that they selected
“Solutions Upper-intermediate” as the core material for tenth-grade English major students, and this material has been used for three years A question that plagues the researcher is just whether this coursebook suits the students or not Nevertheless, there have been no strict criteria established or research on evaluating this coursebook carried out so far
For that reason, the current research is undertaken to gauge this coursebook and it specifically seeks to see how far the main factors - the content and language skills suit the students‟ levels of English and general expectations of the coursebook In other words, the researcher will conduct a study titled An evaluation of the coursebook “Solutions Upper-intermediate” for tenth-grade English majors at FLSS, ULIS, VNU This research will acquaint teachers and administrators at FLSS with a general picture about the content and language skills of this material in the eyes of their students after collecting and analyzing data Following that, the impetus for improvements which suit students‟ levels and expectations is evident.
Aims and objectives
By doing this study, the author wishes to find out students‟ and teachers‟ evaluation on the coursebook with the focus on the suitability of the content and language skills for the students‟ language levels and general expectations From that, the learning and teaching situation will be identified and some recommendations about adaptation appropriate to the learners will be made, which aims at improving the quality of language teaching at FLSS
The achievable goal of the study is to answer the following research questions:
“To what extent does the coursebook suit tenth-grade English majors‟ levels in terms of the content and language skills?”
“To what extent does the coursebook match tenth-grade English majors‟ general expectations of the coursebook in terms of the content and language skills?”
Significance
The undertaking of this research has a profound significance for FLSS Evaluative feedback from the students and the teachers will help teachers and those in positions of authority at FLSS have a better understanding about the learning and teaching situation From that, they will have necessary improvements for English course in the future.
Scope
Firstly, this paper will highlight the suitability of the content and language skills for students‟ levels and expectations of the coursebook Due to this, other criteria to evaluate the coursebook and other factors relating to learners will not be referred to
Secondly, the study is carried out with tenth-grade English majors at FLSS of the 2014-2015 school year and teachers who are teaching them Finally, the study is limited to judging the coursebook “Solutions Upper-intermediate” – Student‟s book so that its companying teacher‟s book and workbook will not be mentioned.
Methodology
In order to achieve the objectives of this thesis, qualitative and quantitative research methods are employed Data are collected from the students through questionnaires and from the teachers through interviews The questionnaire is designed to gather data about the students‟ ideas on the intended criteria Information gained from interviews with the teachers will be taken notes, analyzed and used for providing more information.
Organization of the thesis
Chapter 1 “Introduction” is an overview of all main contents of this study
Chapter 2 “Literature review” presents a review of literature concentrating on the definitions of coursebook, evaluation, and materials evaluation After that, types of and purposes materials evaluation, textbook evaluation methods, and criteria for evaluating coursebook are shown Finally, some previous studies are mentioned
Chapter 3 “Methodology” has the first part about the course, the coursebook, the students and the teachers at FLSS The second part includes participants, data collection instruments and data collection process and analysis
Chapter 4 “Results and discussion” reports the result of analysing data from collected questionnaires, interviews and discuss them
Chapter 5 “Conclusion” summarizes all the main issues mentioned in the study It consists of the conclusion of the research, recommendations based on the research, limitations of the research and suggestions for further studies.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition of coursebook
The coursebook has become a significant part of ELT and it has contributed enormously to the teaching and learning of English (Hutchinson & Torres, as cited in Tomlinson, 2003) In order words, it is the visible heart of any ELT program (Sheldon, 1988)
“Coursebook” is considered as a different name of “textbook” by both McGrath
(2002) and Tomlison (1998) Tomlinson states that it is “a textbook which provides the core materials for a course” (p ix) In his opinion, such book is the only book which the learners need and it consists of some fundamental parts such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions and four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) In addition, he shows that language teaching materials are anything which is used by teachers or learners to facilitate the learning of a language It 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 white board”
(Tomlinson, 1998, p xi) Accordingly, a textbook is a form of language teaching materials and McGrath also consents to this Textbook is a kind of text materials and a coursebook is “a textbook on which a course is based” (McGrath, 2002, p 7)
Hence, the terms “textbook”, “coursebook” and “materials” in this thesis are used interchangeably for the convenience of explanation and the repetition avoidance.
Definition of evaluation
In an educational setting, evaluation is “a process of collecting, analyzing and interpreting information about teaching and learning so as to make informed decisions that enhance student achievement and the success of educational programs” (Rea-Dickins & Germaine, 1993; Genesee & Upshur, 1996; O‟Malley &
Valdez-Pierce, 1996, as cited in Carter & Nunan, 2001, p 144) In order to make the definition of evaluation clearer, three following characteristics are given by Genesee (as cited in Carter & Nunan, 2001, p 144) He asserts that evaluation can concentrate on various aspects of teaching and learning What is more, evaluation can be made for different reasons and the reasons impact in substantial ways
Finally, evaluation consists of four components:
Figure 1: Four basic components of evaluation
Identify and collect relevant information
From the figure above, the purpose of the evaluation is first mentioned After that, the relevant information is identified and collected Next, the collected information is analysed and interpreted before any decisions are made
One of examples which Genesee (as cited in Carter & Nunan, 2001) gave is as follows:
The English Language Institute at Central University, South Africa offers courses in oral and written English for business purposes to adult non-native speakers of English whose employers want to transfer them to international operations They have designed an evaluation to decide whether to continue using them in the coming year Questionnaires will be used to collect feedback from the students, their teachers and their employers (p 144)
This evaluation is comprised of four main components, including the purpose of the evaluation to decide whether to continue using courses in oral and written English in the coming year, relevant information (feedback from students, teachers and employers), the interpretation of the feedback, and decisions made on whether the materials should be kept or rejected
In this thesis, the evaluation also consists of four parts as follows:
The purpose of the evaluation to identify the current situation and to have suitable changes in the coursebook,
Relevant information (feedback from students and teachers),
The interpretation of the feedback,
Decisions made about what can be adapted.
Definition of materials evaluation
Materials evaluation has become such a crucial activity that has attracted the attention of several linguistic researchers with various definitions
“Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose”
(Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p 96) The authors does not consider the evaluation as an activity to find out what is good or bad of the material, just the suitability of something for a purpose Furthermore, making materials evaluation is considered as
“a procedure that involves measuring the value (or potential value) of a set of on the people using them” (Tomlinson, 2003, p 15) This process measures, for instance, the appeal of the materials to the learners, the ability of the materials to interest the learners and the teachers and so forth (Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2004)
Tomlinson (2003) also indicates that there is a distinction between an evaluation and an analysis He explains that an evaluation concentrates on the users of the materials and an evaluator will make judgements about their effect on the users
This process is subjective An analysis focuses on the materials only and this way is objective Littlejohn (1998, as cited in Tomlinson, 2003) also agrees with this separation
While Hutchinson, Waters and Tomlinson just mention what materials evaluation is, Brown (1995) adds the benefits of this process in his definition Textbook evaluation is the collection and analysis of all relevant information in a systematic way necessary to improve a curriculum and assess its effectiveness within a certain context
From the above definitions, this research highlights some following aspects:
Judging the fitness of the content and language skills of the coursebook for the students‟ levels and expectations,
Making judgements about the effect of the material on the users (tenth-grade English majors),
Promoting the improvement of the English coursebook at FLSS,
Evaluating within the specific context which is at FLSS.
Types of materials evaluation
Two ways of categorization suggested by Ellis (as cited in Tomlinson, 1998), Tomlinson (2003), McGrath (2002) and Cunningsworth (1995) are mentioned in the existing literature The first way, according to Ellis, is based on the aspects of evaluation whereas in the second one, Tomlinson, McGrath and Cunningsworth divide the process into 3 types built on 3 stages of evaluation These two methods of classification complement each other to help the evaluator have a full view of materials evaluation
Firstly, Ellis divides materials evaluation into macro-evaluation and micro- evaluation As shown in the article “The evaluation of communicative tasks”, they have some differences as follows:
Marco-evaluation can be defined as evaluation that seeks to answer one or both of the following questions:
1 To what extent was the program/project effective and efficient in meeting its goals?
2 In what way can the program/project be improved?
He claims that the implementation of a macro-evaluation of a program or project involves collecting various kinds of information relating to administrative matters and/or curriculum matters (materials, teachers, and learners)
Micro-evaluation, according to Ellis (as cited in Tomlinson, 1998, p 219), “is characterized by a narrow-focus on some specific aspects of the curriculum or the administration of the program.” As can be seen from the figure, timetable evaluation, task evaluation, evaluation of questioning practices, and evaluation of levels of participants are examples of this type
Learner evaluation task evaluation, etc evaluation of questioning practices, etc evaluation of levels of participation, etc timetable evaluation , etc
Figure 2 : Macro and micro-evaluation in language teaching
The second way mentioned by Tomlinson (2003), McGrath (2002) and Cunningsworth (1995) shows that there are three types of materials evaluation, including pre-use, in-use or whilst-use, and post-use evaluation This means that the evaluation can take place before a coursebook is used, during its use and after its use respectively
As shown by Tomlinson (2003), evaluators predict about the potential value of language teaching materials for their users It can be context-free, context- influenced or context-dependent Pre-used evaluation is often impressionistic and a teacher can gain a quick impression of its potential value Nonetheless, in order to reduce subjectivity and make the evaluation more principled, evaluators can establish an evaluation criterion As commented by Cunningsworth (1995), this is the most challenging kind of evaluation The reason is that teachers and learners have not been working through the coursebook for some time Thus, they cannot make a good evaluation of that book
2.4.2 In-use evaluation or whilst-use evaluation
According to Tomlinson (2003, p 24), in-use evaluation means “measuring the value of materials while using them or while observing them being used”; therefore, this process is less subjective than pre-use evaluation However, it is a fact that people only can measure what is observable
Tomlinson includes what can be measured in an in-use evaluation as follows: clarity of instructions, clarity of layout, comprehensibility of texts, credibility of tasks, achievability of tasks, achievement of performance objectives, potential for localization, practicality of the materials, teachability of the materials, flexibility of the materials, appeal of the materials, motivating power of the materials, impact of the materials, and effectiveness in facilitating short-term learning
Post-use evaluation is considered by Tomlinson (2003, p 25) as “the most valuable type of evaluation as it can measure the actual effects of the materials on the users”
He points out that this process can answer some huge questions below:
What do the learners know which they did not know before starting to use the materials?
What do the learners still not know despite using the materials?
What can the learners do which they could not do before starting to use the materials?
What can the learners still not do despite using the materials?
To what extent have the materials prepared the learners for their examinations? (p
He also indicates methods of measuring the post-use effects of materials including:
tests of what has been „taught‟ by the materials;
tests of what the students can do;
criterion – referenced evaluations by the users;
post – course „shadowing‟ of the learners;
post – course reports on the learners by employers, subject tutors, etc (p 25)
The main problem is that it takes time and expertise to measure post-use effects reliably However, as shown by Cunningsworth, this type of evaluation can be useful for identifying strengths or weaknesses of the coursebook over a period of continuous use It can be useful in helping to decide whether to use the same coursebook in the future
This study belongs to micro-evaluation and the post-use evaluation method is used to carry out the evaluation to collect useful information about real effects of the coursebook on the students.
Purposes of materials evaluation
There are various reasons for materials evaluation
The first reason is to select a new suitable material, which is the frequent and major reason for evaluation as shown by Cunningsworth (1995), Hutchinson and Waters
(1987) and Ellis (1997) Secondly, thanks to the materials evaluation, teachers can be aware of their teaching and learning situation (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987)
Finally, teachers can identify strengths and weaknesses of in-use coursebook in order that strong points can be made use of and weak points can be substituted or adapted (Cunningsworth, 1995) or decide whether to continue using the material or to replace it with a better material (Ellis, 1997)
By virtue of the materials evaluation in this current research, teachers and administrators at FLSS can understand their teaching and learning situation
Furthermore, suitable and unsuitable points to the students‟ levels and expectations will be identified and inappropriate ones will be substituted or adapted.
Methods of textbook evaluation
Three methods for evaluating textbooks identified by McGrath (2002) include the impressionistic method, the checklist method, and the in-depth method
This method is “to obtain a general impression of the material” (McGrath, 2002, p
25) Cunningsworth (1995, p 1, as cited in McGrath, 2002, p 25) uses the term
“impressionistic overview” for this method which suggests that it is “wide-ranging but relatively superficial.” He shows that in the case of global textbooks, when using this method, evaluators will skim through the publisher‟s “blurb” (i.e the brief description of the book on the back cover), the content page, organization, layout, topics, and visuals Therefore, it is inadequate if it intends for textbook evaluation and selection
A checklist consists of “list of items which is referred to for comparison, identification or verification” (Collins English Dictionary, 1992, as cited in McGrath, 2002, p 26) The use of checklists for specific evaluation purposes has at least four following benefits:
1 It is systematic, ensuring that all elements that are deemed to be important are considered
2 It is cost effective, permitting a good deal of information to be recorded in a relatively short space of time
3 The information is recorded in a convenient format, allowing for easy comparison between competing sets of material
4 It is explicit, and, provided the categories are well understood by all involved in the evaluation, offers a common framework for decision-making
The systematicity of the checklist method ranks the first among all the advantages
It is well brought out by Skierso (1991, p 440, as cited in McGrath, 2002):
A textbook evaluation checklist should consist of a comprehensive set of criteria based on the basic linguistic, psychological, and pedagogical principles underlying modern methods of language learning These criteria should be exhaustive enough to insure assessment of all characteristics of the textbook And they should be discrete enough to focus attention on one characteristic at a time or on a single group of related characteristics (Tucker, 1978, p
However, this method also has its limitations Firstly, the systematicity is only strength if the criteria of which a checklist is composed are relevant to the specific context in which it is used Secondly, a checklist cannot be a statistic phenomenon as indicated by Williams (1983, as cited in McGrath 2002, p 27) This means that the categories in the checklist are “a reflection of the time at which they were conceived and of the beliefs of their designer.”
In-depth techniques are explained by McGrath (2002, p 27-28) as follows:
“go beneath the publisher‟s and author‟s claims to look at, for instance, the kind of language description, underlying assumptions about learning or values on which the materials are based on.”
In a broader sense, this method explores whether the materials are likely to live up to the claims being made for them
McGrath argues that while such techniques ensure that the selection process is a more considered affair, they may also have certain disadvantages:
1 Representativeness of samples: the samples (e.g exercises, lessons, units) selected for analysis may not be representative of the book as a whole, and this may therefore distort any judgment
2 Partiality: because in-depth analysis is normally narrowly focused (being based either on a particular section of the material or one or more threads running through it)
It gives only a partial insight into what the material offers
3 Time and expertise required: some proposals for in-depth evaluation would involve a good deal of time; others require expert knowledge (e.g of language description) that is not available Though it can be argued that the time spent on evaluation is well spent if a potentially unsuitable textbook is rejected, there may be more economical ways of arriving at this decision (p 28)
In this thesis, the checklist method is chosen for evaluating the coursebook
“Solutions Upper-intermediate” because it is cost effective and convenient for the researcher Additionally, the advantages of this method when applied in this research paper overweigh its disadvantages Two potential limitations are not true in the case of this research This study only evaluates the coursebook used for tenth- grade English major students at FLSS in the 2014-2015 school year; therefore, the criteria in the checklist are relevant to the context in which it is used The categories in the checklist reflect the time at which the study is undertaken, which is obvious.
Criteria for materials evaluation
A set of criteria for evaluation is a basis to “reach a decision regarding what to be evaluated” (Tomlinson, 1998, p 220) This means they are the foundation on which evaluators base when making judgments Accordingly, one of the most crucial steps that evaluators should spend time on is determining evaluation criteria
According to Dudley-Evans and John (2007), criteria for materials evaluation depend on what is being evaluated and the reason why they need to be evaluated A number of experts such as Cunningsworth (1995), Hutchison and Waters (1987), Tomlinson (2003) and MOET (2015) have tried to establish practical checklists on textbook evaluation
Cunningsworth (1995) suggests a list of checklists covering seven areas: Aims and approaches; design and organization; language content; skills; topic; methodology; teachers‟ books and practical considerations
Tomlinson (2003) agrees that material evaluation is a procedure to measure some or all of the aspects such as: appeal to learners; credibility to learners, teachers and administrators; validity; reliability; ability to interest learners; ability to motivate learners; short-term and long-term learning value; learners‟ and teachers‟ perception of the value of the material; assistance given to teachers in terms of preparation, delivery and assessment, and so on
MOET (2015) suggests a checklist (see appendix 1) for the process of evaluating materials, which is composed of 45 criteria under 4 main headings:
Objectives, teaching principles and methodology (from item 1 to 10): focus on the aims of the coursebook corresponding with the aims of the teaching program and the methods of teaching
Design and organization (from item 11 to 18): give an overview of the organizational foundation of the coursebook through its cover, introduction and table of contents statements, visuals, book size and weight
Content and language skills (from item 19 to 42): concentrate on topics, content, four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), the language content (vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation)
Textbook user supports (from item 43 to 45): mean evaluating the supplementary materials
To evaluate the coursebook “Solutions Upper-intermediate”, the author is going to apply the criteria adapted from a tentative checklist for textbook evaluation of MOET (2015) The checklist is undeniably appreciated by the evaluator in this thesis because of its clear-cut and coherent criteria and its suitability in the Vietnamese context As shown by Tomlinson (2003), coursebook criteria are emphatically local and no one is really certain what criteria can be applied in ELT contexts worldwide In detail, this study focuses on the evaluation on general learning-teaching content, language skills (Listening, speaking, reading and writing) and language content (grammar and vocabulary) Pronunciation is not evaluated because it is not covered in this coursebook.
Previous studies on materials evaluation
The author would like to mainly mention several of works which investigate the same field with this thesis - materials evaluation
First of all, the author Isil Cakit (2006) evaluated the coursebook “New Bridge to Success 3” from the perspectives of the teachers and students This study was conducted at four high schools, three of which are Super Lycees and one of which is an Anatolian Fine Arts in the province of Mersin, Turkey The evaluation of the textbook was conducted at macro level on the basis of eleven criteria In the review of literature, the author mentioned roles of textbooks, approaches to materials evaluation in ELT, models for the evaluation of materials, and criteria for materials evaluation Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through student questionnaires administered to 336 students and interviews with 8 teachers The results revealed that both teachers and students felt negative about the most of the characteristics of the textbook The majority of the students and all the teachers mentioned that the level of the textbook was not appropriate for the particular age group It also indicated that the materials failed to consider learning style preferences of the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learner On the other hand, one of the strengths of the textbook was up-to-date and helpful for the students to understand the lessons
The material “Lifelines” for the first-year non-English major students was appraised by Tran Thi Chung Oanh (2010) at Hai Phong University The author adopted the criteria of Hutchison and Waters (1987) and employed questionnaires and informal interviews as the research instruments Major findings of the study revealed that the material‟s content and methodology suited the students‟ requirements but there was some mis-match in time allocation Finally, the suggestions for the material improvements on time proportion for each unit and time allocated for the course were made
Next, in her research, Tran Thi Thu Trang (2011) evaluated an intermediate textbook titled “English Written Proficiency” which is an instructional in-house material for freshmen in their first term at Faculty of Foreign Languages – Thainguyen University from the perspectives of teachers and students The author mainly used five criteria given by Hutchinson and Waters as criteria for materials evaluation The results revealed that both teachers and students felt positive about most of the characteristics of the textbook However, there were some gaps that need to be fulfilled in terms of the layout and organization of the book, some aspects in its content and methodology so that the book would bring the most benefits to those who were using it
Le Thi Bac (2013) conducted a study on the piloted coursebook “English 6” to find out whether the book was suitable for the requirements of the 2020 Project as well as the Piloted English Language Curriculum for lower secondary education in the context of teaching and learning this book in some lower secondary schools in Hai Duong province A survey questionnaire was designed based on a combination of evaluation checklists and criteria suggested by different authors and informal talks with the respondents are utilized as the research instruments of the study The results and analysis of the textbook indicated that the book was suitable enough to be used in the teaching and learning situations in some lower secondary schools in Hai Duong province In response to the research questions, it was also demonstrated that the book was compatible with the requirements of the National Foreign Language 2020 Project and the Piloted English Language Curriculum
All things considered, although there is a similarity between the above studies and this thesis about the materials evaluation, they differ in the content of literature review, the criteria and aspects for evaluation Firstly, in the review of literature, some studies do not mention the definition of evaluation and methods of textbook evaluation Secondly, all of the authors above mentioned use one single checklist or a combination of two or more checklists of criteria, depending on their specific purposes In Post Graduate Studies of ULIS, one of the common points in these studies is that they all used Hutchinson and Waters‟ criteria (1987) to evaluate materials Nonetheless, in the present study, criteria by MOET will be modified to suit the specific situation Finally, numerous research papers are conducted to evaluate all the aspects of a coursebook while some focus on several specific aspects such as content and methodology In this research, only the content and language skills are concentrated on What is more, this study stress two factors associated with learners - levels and general expectations of the coursebook.
Summary
Chapter 2 discusses the concepts relating to coursebook, evaluation, materials evaluation, types of materials evaluation, purposes of materials evaluation, methods of textbook evaluation, and criteria for evaluating coursebook Finally, some previous studies are mentioned Tomlinson, Cunningsworth and McGrath are three influential authors whose theories are mainly referred In this study, the terms
“material”, “textbook” are alternative names of “coursebook.” Among types of materials evaluation, the post-use evaluation will be employed in this research The understanding of the teaching-learning situation and identification of suitable and unsuitable points of the coursebook to the students‟ levels and expectations in order to have appropriate changes are two purposes of materials evaluation in this thesis
Of three methods used for materials evaluation namely the impressionistic, the checklist, and the in-depth method, the checklist method would be adopted in this study Many criteria suggested by different authors notwithstanding, the criteria in the checklist by MOET are chosen and adapted.
METHODOLODY
THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
Before referring to information about the course for ten-grade English majors, the author would like to give an overview about FLSS This school is a reputable high school for gifted students studying foreign languages This school, which was established in 1968, is a member of ULIS, VNU
As regards language teaching materials in this school, apart from English 10 (Advanced) provided by MOET, “Solutions” is chosen by teachers at English Division as the core coursebook for all English-major and non-English major students, which means the eleventh form students and the twelfth form students also use this book but there is a difference in the level of the coursebook
The objective of English course for tenth grade English majors is to help them reach B2 level According to Common European Framework of Reference for Languages by Council of Europe (2001), at that time, students can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his or her field of specialisation They can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that make regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party They can produce clear-cut and detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options
In order to become students of this school, they have to pass the stiff entrance exams of three subjects (Literature, Maths and English) with the mark of at least 24/30 In grade 10, there are 11 classes in total and each class has from 40 to 45 students However, there are only 5 English specialized classes (10A, 10B, 10H, 10I, 10K) When they learn English, each class is divided into two small classes to achieve the effectiveness in learning this foreign language The students have six 45-minute periods a week taught by Vietnamese teachers In their academic school year, the students have to take 10 tests (45-minute test and 90-minute test) in total and 2 end-of-term exams
3.1.2 The coursebook “Solutions Upper-intermediate” – Student’s book
Tim Falla and Paul A Davies are two authors of “Solutions Upper-intermediate”, published by Oxford University Press This coursebook belongs to one of five-level English courses for teenagers (Solutions Elementary, Pre-intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-intermediate and Advanced) This coursebook has been used for tenth-grade English majors at FLSS for 3 years It supports students through its straightforward layout and clear-cut presentation There are 10 topic-based units in this 151-page long book
Each teaching unit covers a general topic and is structured into 7 sections: A
Vocabulary and Listening, B Grammar, C Culture, D Reading, E Grammar, F
Speaking, G Writing analysis and Writing task
In each section, there is a specific topic For example, Unit 1 has the general topic is
“Against the odds” and the specific topic of part A is “Talking about people.”
Part A “Vocabulary and Listening” is the beginning section in this unit Although this part is about vocabulary and listening, there are also speaking activities for students This is true for other parts like “Grammar”, “Reading”, and “Writing”
The course develops language and skills so that speaking and listening becomes frequent and familiar Part A introduces the topic of the unit and the main vocabulary Students practice new words through listening and other activities
Students can consolidate their words in “Vocabulary Builder” at the end of the book
Following this, it is part B “Grammar” which contains the first grammar point of the unit and exercises for students to practice There are the boxes called “Learn this” and “Look out” This lesson connects to the “Grammar Builder” at the back of the book providing more practice and grammar reference
Part C “Culture” is closely related to people and cultures about Britain, the USA and other English-speaking countries However, this part is optional in the teaching program for the students at FLSS
Part D “Reading” contains the reading texts of the unit The texts link to the topic of the unit and recycle the main grammar points of the unit New words are highlighted in color and practiced in a follow-up activity and in the workbook
Part E mentions the second grammar point of the unit “Learn this!” boxes provide key information in a clear way The speaking activity in this part helps students personalize the new language
In part F “Speaking”, students have chances to listen to draw more ideas, new words, and understanding There are functional phrases for students to practice
Part G “Writing analysis and Writing task” concentrates on writing and involves the typical type required for exams In this part, learners have also chances to listen to get more ideas, new words, and understanding Each unit has two writing lessons, including “Writing analysis and Writing task” Sample texts and a “Check your work” part are included in this part
“Writing analysis” provides a sample and exercises for students to do on this
“Writing task” arranges phrases for students to write
There are “Get ready for your exam” lessons after each unit which prepares students for exams These lessons include exam tasks for reading, speaking, listening and use of English After every two units, there is a review about vocabulary and grammar, which is aimed at consolidating students‟ language knowledge called “Language Review” Students have opportunities to do many exercises about new words and grammar points which they have learned in these two units Additionally, after every two units, there is a part namely “Skills round-up” which is a review part about 4 skills such as Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing
At the end of this coursebook, there are a grammar builder and references which provide grammar points and exercises In addition, there is vocabulary builder section, from which students get masses of practice There are wordlist and communicative activities in which wordlist includes new words appearing in each Unit and communicative activities complement activities for speaking in some units
Ten-grade English majors at FLSS are specialized students who are 15 and 16 year old teenagers According to the results of the first small survey, here are their expectations of the coursebook in general:
Helping them broaden their horizons,
Opportunities to accumulate vocabulary and enhance language skills with various activities and useful guidance
METHODOLOGY
The study will utilize both quantitative and qualitative research methods together, which is the common approach with the combination of questionnaires and interviews The result of quantitative research into students‟ evaluation in the survey questionnaire can be quantified However, the statistics produced do not tell about their reasons, their explanations or their comments, hence qualitative research method is also used in the study Qualitative data will be obtained from
“Comments” in the questionnaires with the students and from interviews with the teachers
This research belongs to survey research because according to Brown (1988, p 3),
“survey studies focus on a group‟s attitudes, opinions, and characteristics.” He also shows that “the advantage of this type of research is that substantial amount of information can be collected in a relatively short time.” However, he also indicates the disadvantage that “the number of people who respond to a questionnaire, especially when it is mailed, is often low” In this thesis, questionnaires are distributed to tenth-grade English majors at their classes, not via emails, and the enthusiasm of the participants will help to overcome the disadvantage
In this study, the teachers and the students (tenth-grade English majors) at FLSS are the users of this coursebook For this reason, the researcher decided to get them involved in the evaluation process as participants In other words, there are two groups of participants in the survey:
Group one includes the participants who are tenth-grade English-major students
The sample size is 70 students from 5 classes (10A, 10B, 10H, 10I and 10K), accounting for approximately 33.3 % of the whole population (about 210 students)
The sampling strategy adopted here is the systematic sampling According to Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2000), in order to make sure that the sample represents the whole population, the starting point is selected randomly More specifically, at FLSS in the 2014-2015 school year, there are 5 classes for English majors, including 10A, 10B, 10H, 10I and 10K It is a population of 210, a sample of 70, and every third person can be selected The starting point for the selection is chosen at random This sampling strategy is used because it is simple and easy to apply and design
Another group consists of 4 teachers who are teaching English to the tenth form students As mentioned in the context of the study, there are 7 teachers in charge of teaching English to tenth-grade English majors However, due to convenience and time limitation, 4 teachers can take part in the survey All the teachers are qualified in English teaching They are interviewed for providing further information
Questionnaire and semi-interview are used as two instruments for collecting data
There are some reasons why they are chosen in this study
Firstly, the questionnaire, which is a relatively popular means of collecting data according to Nunan (1992), is appropriate for this paper This is because it allows the study to access a significant number of participants All the close and open- ended questions are to reply to the research questions and the use of Vietnamese and term explanations will help to clarify the questions As a result, possible misunderstandings leading to the inaccuracy of the outcomes might be avoided
Secondly, this paper will hold semi-structured interviews for the teachers as an instrument in researching The interviews have a structured framework but the participants have more flexibility They can change the order of questions or add more follow-up questions As pinpointed by Dowsett (1986, p 53), the semi- structured interview is “quite extraordinary – the interactions are incredibly rich and the data indicate that you can produce extraordinary evidence about life that you do not get in structured interviews or questionnaire methodology.” Mc Donough and
Mc Donough (1997) also have the same idea that this kind of interview allows
“richer interactions and more personalized responses” (p 184) Though the researcher cannot access more subjects for the interviews, detailed discussions with the teachers that are taken notes will provide more valuable data to answer the research questions
Finally, as shown in types of materials evaluation, according to Tomlinson (2003), questionnaires and interviews are two of among methods of measuring the post-use effects of materials
In this thesis, the questionnaire for students (see appendix 2 and 3) consists of two sections as follows
Section one called “Learner‟s information” is open-ended questions designed to “allow the respondents to feel that they can contribute more individual points of view and more detailed information” (Mc Donough &
Mc Donough, 1997, p 176) In this thesis, this kind of question is used to obtain factual information on the learners: their ages, the duration of learning English, their language level, and their reasons for learning English This section aims at providing more information about the learners in the context of the study
Section two, namely “Student‟s evaluation of the coursebook”, is scaled questions designed to pool the students' opinions about the evaluation of the suitability of the content and language skills for their levels and general expectations, which aims at providing answers to two research questions This questionnaire section is under the form of a checklist using three-point scale (0 - poor, 1 - satisfactory, 2 - good.) According to Mc
Donough and Mc Donough (1997), this kind of questions is used to “elicit opinions” (p 176) Moreover, “comments” are added at the end of each part to get more ideas, explanations, or comments on what they ticked It is noted that before creating section two, a small survey about the students‟ general expectations of the coursebook was made in order to design the criteria
What is more, the checklist is referred from MOET‟s one
Although the author bases on the checklist by MOET, there are some changes made, for example, editing or adding by the researcher The checklist for evaluating
“Solutions Upper-intermediate” includes 40 criteria, in which the author adapts as follows:
1, 2 Edited from criterion 19 19-21 Copied from criterion 31-33
3, 4 Edited from criterion 20 22 Added by the researcher
5, 6 Edited from criterion 21 23 Copied from criterion 34
7, 8 Edited from criterion 23 24 Edited from criterion 35
9 Copied from criterion 24 25 Edited from criterion 36
10 Copied from criterion 26 26 Added by the researcher
11 Copied from criterion 27 27 Copied from criterion 37
12 Added by the researcher 28 Copied from criterion 38 13-15 Edited from criterion 28 29, 30 Edited from criterion 39
16 Copied from criterion 29 31, 32 Edited from criterion 40
18 Copied from criterion 30 38, 39 Edited from criterion 41
Table 1 : Adaption from MOET’s checklist
More specifically, the checklist used for this thesis comprises 40 criteria under 6 main headings as follows:
General content (from item 1 to 10): concentrates on evaluating whether the content in general is suitable for students‟ levels and general expectations or not
Listening (from item 11 to 17): evaluates whether listening skills are suitable for students‟ levels and general expectations or not
Speaking (from item 18 to 22): evaluates whether speaking skills are suitable for students‟ levels and general expectations or not
Reading (from item 23 to 26): evaluates whether reading skills are suitable for students‟ levels and general expectations or not
Writing (from item 27 to 30): means evaluating whether writing skills are suitable for students‟ levels and general expectations or not
Language content (from item 31 to 40): focuses on evaluating whether vocabulary and grammar are suitable for students‟ levels and general expectations or not
The interviews for the teachers (see appendix 4) are designed regarding the following issues
Section one “Teacher‟s information” is open-ended questions designed to obtain factual information on the teachers, including their age, their qualifications, and their years of experience in teaching English This section aims at providing more information about the teachers in the context of the study
Section two “Teacher‟s evaluation of the coursebook” with 10 open- ended questions is designed to gather more information about the teachers‟ evaluation on the appropriateness of the coursebook This part aims at providing more information for answers to the research questions Another aim is to get their suggestions in improving the textbook This section consists of 10 open-ended questions based on MOET‟s criteria which are related to teaching content as follows:
Question 1 is to ask about the suitability of the coursebook for students‟ levels
Questions 2-9 are about evaluation the suitability of the coursebook for students‟ expectations, which are based on the checklist in the questionnaires for the students Question 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are designed based on the criteria 7, 8, 11, 18, 23, 27, 34, and 39 in the questionnaire respectively
Question 10 is to ask them about suggestions for any changes to improve the coursebook
The procedures of pooling the data were conducted in the middle of May, 2015 that was at the end of the 2014-2015 school year as follows:
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Findings for the first research question
Number of students based on evaluation rubric (percentage)
12 The difficulty level of listening tasks is suitable for the learners‟ ability
16 The length and difficulty levels of the listening passages are appropriate to the learners‟ ability
22 The difficulty level of speaking tasks is suitable for the learners‟ ability
25 The length and difficulty levels of the reading passages are appropriate to the learners‟ ability
26 The difficulty level of reading tasks is suitable for the learners‟ ability
30 The writing tasks are appropriate to the students‟ level
33 The number of new words in each lesson is 15 33 22
As can be seen, this table describes the results about the learners‟ evaluation of whether the content and language skills are suitable for their levels of English In terms of listening skills, almost half of the students found that listening tasks and listening passages were not suitable for their level In terms of the difficulty level of listening tasks, 46% of the students disagreed that they were appropriate to their level because they were easy for them as confirmed by some students in the survey
48% of people showed that the length and difficulty of passages were unsuitable for their ability at all because they stated that the listening passages were quite short and not difficult at all Conversely, the findings show that tenth-grade English majors were satisfied with the difficulty of speaking tasks The majority of the students (56%) were satisfied and 30% of the participants were totally happy with speaking tasks About reading, 67% of the students felt the length and difficulty level of reading passages were eminently suitable for them while reading tasks seemed quite suitable for more than half of the students Writing tasks were generally appropriate to the students‟ levels with 71% of the learners marking it as
“satisfactory” As regards the language content, the students were only satisfied with vocabulary and the number of new words in the textbook was acceptable to nearly half of the students In the survey, there was only one teacher who stated that vocabulary was a bit difficult Nonetheless, she also admitted that her students loved learning difficult words in this book The high figure of the respondents (70%) gauged that the difficulty of vocabulary exercises fitted their levels In contrast, with regard to grammar, more than half of the learners identified that grammar students‟ level (11%) (70%) (19%)
37 The coursebook covers the main grammar items appropriate for the students‟ level
40 Exercises about grammar are suitable for the students‟ level
Table 2: Students’ evaluation on the appropriateness of the content and language skills to their levels items and exercises did not satisfy them In the survey, five students also commented that in order to prepare for the entrance exam into this school, they spent a lot of time practicing grammar exercises; therefore, grammar in this book seemed easy for them As the results in the interview, teachers shared that listening and grammar seemed somewhat simple for the students In short, reading is highly suitable for the students The content including speaking, writing, and vocabulary is relatively appropriate to the students‟ language levels, whereas listening and grammar seem inappropriate to them.
Findings for the second research question
Number of students based on evaluation rubric (percentage)
1 The textbook covers a variety of topics from different contexts and cultures
2 The textbook helps enrich the learners‟ knowledge and experiences
3 The subject and content are popular 5
4 The subject and content are educational in terms of behaviour and life skills development
5 The content is up-to-date 9
6 The content is interesting, which encourages the learners‟ motivation and interests
7 The teaching-learning activities are various, well-organized, leading learners
53 (76%) from easy to difficult, simple to complex tasks
8 The teaching-learning activities have clear objectives and instructions
9 The English language contents are logically allocated in each lesson and language skills are practised either integratedly or individually but, in the latter case, the focused skill also involves the practice of other skills
10 The textbook provides a balance of activities and tasks that focus both on fluency and accuracy
Table 3 : Students’ evaluation on the appropriateness of general content to their expectations
Table 3 illustrates the students‟ evaluation on general content 58 students agreed that “Solutions Upper-intermediate” covered various topics from different contexts and cultures, in which 40 of them evaluated that it was a “good” point However, the rest considered that this book did not cover a wide range of topics because as indicated in the survey, some students criticized that this book did not cover topics about the young or current affairs Another student confirmed this by giving his opinions that this book, for instance, mentioned the topic about Technology but just told about telephone and the Internet Secondly, the majority of students (81%) argued that this book helped them enrich their knowledge and experiences As commented in the questionnaires, they could learn from the content of reading passages, listening passages, and especially in the Culture part, for example, from the content of “The price of fame” on page 52 Next, the subject and content were popular There were 27 students marking this criterion as 1 (satisfactory), and 38 others marking as 2 (good) The fourth criterion shows that the majority of students perceived that “the subject and content are educational in terms of behaviour and life skills development” while only 9 students were satisfied with this issue In terms of the update, 61 students thought that this coursebook was up-to-date
However, there was a not small number saying that it has some out-of-date content
As shown in the survey, they gave some outdated topics such as in pages 29, 69, 81 and they suggested that more updated information should be added to the coursebook to fulfil their expectations Most of them (33) felt that the content made them interested and 27 students felt satisfied with this statement Only 10 students reckoned that the content was not interesting to them The majority of the learners were satisfied with the topics in this coursebook which gave them more motivations in learning English However, some said it was a marvelous idea to provide more interesting topics in order to satisfy more learners Next, the high figure of the students (76%) evaluated the variety and organization of learning-teaching activities as “good” which leading students from simple to complex Interviewed teachers also totally had the same opinions with them One teacher confirmed that students could see what they were going to achieve at the beginning of each lessons They all had chances to receive clear guidance from the book In terms of the objectives and instructions, in general, students really appreciated 80% of the students evaluated the objectives and instructions as “good” In the interview, 4 teachers‟ ideas were similar to these students The teacher confirmed that the students adored the part “I can…” in the lessons She gave an instance that the students could see the line “I can talk about actions and events and their consequences in the past” at the top of page 10 when they learned Grammar - “Past perfect simple and continuous” Only one teacher added that in several writing section, she had to explain some complex instructions in which one question was related to other parts However, it is not a big problem and it is the job of a teacher in the class Regarding two last criteria, interestingly, all students strongly agreed with it Summarily, the content of this coursebook satisfies students‟ expectations
4.2.2 The appropriateness of listening skills to students’ expectations
Number of students based on evaluation rubric (percentage)
11 The listening tasks are various, which helps learners to develop their listening comprehension skills
13 The listening material is well-recorded 0
14 The listening material is authentic or close to real language situations
15 The listening material focuses on English linguistic competences such as stress, intonation, and aspects of connected speech
17 The listening material is accompanied by background information, questions and activities which help comprehension
Table 4 : Students’ evaluation on the appropriateness of listening skills to their expectations
The table shows the evaluations on listening skills from the learners‟ perspective
Broadly speaking, students were dissatisfied with listening tasks in terms of helping them enhance their listening comprehension skills The number of participants rated this criterion as “good” (17 students) was the lowest because bigger numbers (35 students) assumed that the listening tasks did not focus on developing specific listening skills, but the listening comprehension in general The results of the interviews also showed that they all underestimated the variety of listening tasks
One teacher affirmed that it was not enough for her students to practice listening skills However, all of the students recognized that the listening material was entirely well-recorded and the material focused on English linguistic competences, which lived up to their expectations in learning listening skills In terms of the authentication of listening texts and the guidance for developing listening skills, they were fully appreciated by the large percentage of learners In brief, listening skills only fulfil the students‟ expectations to some extent
4.2.3 The appropriateness of speaking skills to students’ expectations
Number of students based on evaluation rubric (percentage)
18 The speaking tasks are well-designed, encouraging learners to speak, and naturally develop their communication skills
19 The learners are provided with sufficient input and language content, and are led from controlled to guided and/or free speaking activities
20 Speaking activities are developed to encourage student-student and student- teacher communication
21 There is sufficient material for spoken English (role-play, discussion, work in pair, work in group, presentation, debating, project work, etc.)
Table 5 : Students’ evaluation on the appropriateness of speaking skills to their expectations
It is clear that the table describes the results in the survey about whether speaking skills match the students‟ expectations There was a substantial number of student
(56 students) scored 2 (good) on the criterion “The speaking tasks are well-designed, encouraging learners to speak, and naturally develop their communication skills”
Information in the interviews with four teachers showed a stark contrast with the students‟ opinions The teachers argued that speaking tasks were not well-designed and did not help students much in developing their skills One teacher demonstrated that “Sometimes in a speaking lesson in this book, there are more listening, reading, and writing activities than speaking ones.” Next, all students (100%) heartily agreed that they were provided with sufficient input, language content and useful guidance
They were equipped with numerous activities to help them gain more information and useful structures in preparing for speaking Students even had moments to read and listen in a speaking lesson, as commented by a student in the survey For the other criteria, students had limited opportunity to develop the communication with their friends and teachers or in other activities like role-play, discussion, pair work, group work, presentation, debating, project work, and so forth Therefore, succinctly, this coursebook does not fully satisfy the students‟ expectations in terms of speaking skills
4.2.4 The appropriateness of reading skills to students’ expectations
Number of students based on evaluation rubric (percentage)
23 The reading passages are various, helping learners develop their reading comprehension skills
24 The reading passages are natural and authentic
Table 6 : Students’ evaluation on the appropriateness of reading skills to their
Table 6 gives information about the students‟ evaluation on reading skills to see whether they match their expectations The highest percentage of students (100%) affirmed that their reading comprehension skills were developed thanks to this coursebook As the results of the interviews, four teachers were also content with the variety of reading passages The language in the passages was close to them, and 52 students supposed it “good” To sum up, students at FLSS appreciate the content of reading part in this book
4.2.5 The appropriateness of writing skills to students’ expectations
Number of students based on evaluation rubric (percentage)
27 The writing tasks enhance varied writing opportunities, developing the writing skills of learners
28 Learners are provided with sufficient input and language content, and are led from controlled to guided and/or free writing activities
29 The writing tasks are authentic and contextualized
Table 7 : Students’ evaluation on the appropriateness of writing skills to their expectations
This table provides information on the results of the survey about the student‟s evaluation on the part of writing They were satisfied with the variety of writing tasks and interviewed teachers‟ views also coincided with that The high figure of students was content with useful guidance to develop writing skills and the authentication and contextualization of writing tasks The large numbers of students
(68 students) said that the coursebook was “good” in terms of providing writing guidance for them In most cases, the learners are fairly happy with what the writing part covers in this coursebook
4.2.6 The appropriateness of language content to students’ expectations
Number of students based on evaluation rubric (percentage)
31 The textbook provides appropriate and context-based vocabulary
32 There is a reasonable distribution of vocabulary load across the whole book
34 Material is adequate in terms of range of vocabulary
36 The presentation of grammar is clear and understandable
38 The grammar points are contextualized 0
39 The grammar points are taught communicatively with a focus on both form and use
Table 8 : Students’ evaluation on the appropriateness of vocabulary and grammar to their expectations
As can be seen, the results about what students evaluated vocabulary and grammar are presented in table 8 For vocabulary, 2 points (good) were awarded for the criteria “The textbook provides appropriate and context-based vocabulary” and
“There is a reasonable distribution of vocabulary load across the whole book.”
However, in term of its range, most of the students just scored 1 point (satisfactory)
In the interview, all teachers felt happy with the variety of vocabulary in this book
As far as grammar is concerned, most of the students rated each criterion on a scale students that grammar was taught communicatively with the focus on form and use
In a nutshell, the participants have a positive look at the content of vocabulary and grammar in this coursebook.
Summary
All in all, this part answers two research questions about the suitability of the content and language skills for the students‟ levels and expectations The results are displayed from table 2 to table 8 Reading is the part which the largest number of the students gave “good” marks While speaking, writing, and vocabulary are suitable for the students‟ levels to some extent, listening part and grammar are inappropriate to them The content in general matches the students‟ expectations to some extent Nonetheless, speaking and listening parts need to be improved.
CONCLUSION
Conclusion
In this study, literature on coursebooks and materials evaluation has been reviewed by many authors, of whom two prominent authors are Tomlinson (1998, 2003) and McGrath (2002) Based on the reality of teaching and learning situation at FLSS, the criteria used for evaluating “Solutions Upper-intermediate” in terms of the content and language skills with students‟ levels and expectations are adapted from the criteria of MOET Quantitative and qualitative data are collected from questionnaires with 70 students and interviews with 4 teachers at FLSS After analyzing the data, the conclusions can be drawn or in other words, the ramifications of the findings are briefly described below:
Research question 1: “To what extent does the coursebook suit tenth-grade English majors‟ levels in terms of the content and language skills?”
In terms of the appropriateness of the content and language skills of the coursebook to students‟ levels, it can be affirmed that they suit students‟ levels of English to some extent Reading passages are fully appreciated by the respondents Speaking, writing, and vocabulary relatively match students‟ levels Conversely, listening skills and grammar are unsuitable for them Listening passages are somewhat short and easy and the book is not provided with enough complex grammar items and exercises for the students
Research question 2: “To what extent does the coursebook match tenth-grade English majors‟ general expectations of the coursebook in terms of the content and language skills?”
In terms of the appropriateness to the students‟ expectations, in general, the survey results indicate that the coursebook fulfils the learners‟ expectations in terms of the content and language skills to some extent Firstly, the topics in this coursebook are various and impressive but it should be better if more new topics are added What is more, reading and writing are two parts which are appreciated by both students and teachers Listening and speaking are unable to meet the expectations of the students because they have slim chances to develop their listening and speaking skills in a listening or speaking lesson, which should be adapted Finally, the language content including vocabulary and grammar are generally suitable.
Recommendations
Based on the findings from the survey questionnaire with the students and interviews with the teachers, the author would mention some recommendations that focus on content adaptation which can be included in a supplementary material
Broadly speaking, the results of analysis show that it is better to cover contemporary topics about the young or current affairs It is recommended to introduce compelling and updated topics As far as listening skills are concerned, teachers can explore more authentic materials outside the book to design more tasks, for example, from the Internet to assist students in sharpening their listening comprehension skills as well as to get students more involved in listening lessons
Recorded texts or listening texts should contain interesting information or present situations the learners may encounter outside the classroom Listening passages are made sure of the length and the difficult level which are suitable for students‟ levels and expectations For speaking skills, more activities and tasks on developing speaking skills which are well-designed are vital to fulfil the students‟ expectations from the viewpoints of the students and the teachers In terms of reading, although the students and the teachers appreciated it, the reading texts with more up-to-date information should be introduced Although vocabulary is relatively suitable for the students‟ levels, it is better for lessons with many complex words or technical terms to have more guidance and activities Finally, as regards grammar, more complex points of grammar and exercises can be given to suit students‟ levels
Therefore, supplementary materials to close the gap of the current material should be thought of and designed to match both students‟ level and expectations.
Limitations
Although the researcher has devoted large amounts of time and effort to finish this thesis, some limitations of the study are unavoidable Firstly, this research is undertaken by only one evaluator and it will be better if there is more than one person evaluating this coursebook together as indicated by Tomlinson et al (2001)
They argues that it would be better if more than one person take part in the evaluation and if their individual evaluations were combined (Tomlinson et al,
2001, as cited in Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2004) Secondly, the sample is small in which the survey is only conducted with a limited number of participants (70 students and 4 teachers) Finally, the study only concentrates on exploring the appropriateness of the coursebook to the students‟ levels of English and general expectations in terms of the content and language skills.
Suggestions for further studies
This part deals with several valuable suggestions for other researchers who might want to carry out further studies relevant to this topic Firstly, it is better for more than one individual to do the evaluations and then average their results Secondly, a study with larger sample involving more students and teachers is recommended
Finally, it is hoped that next studies will broaden the scale of the study The focus of this study is on the content and language skills, and it can be suggested for further painstaking research on a larger scale to do about other aspects such as objectives, teaching principles and methodology, design and organization, textbook user supports and so forth In addition, future studies on the appropriateness of the coursebook “Solutions Upper-intermediate” with other learners‟ factors can be valuable in developing students‟ comprehensive abilities
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2 Brown, J., D (1995) Overview of the curriculum The Elements of language curriculum: A systematic approach to program development Boston, M.A:
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4 Cakit, I (2006) Evaluation of the EFL textbook “New Bridge to Success 3” from the perspectives of students and teachers Ankara, Turkey: Middle East
5 Carter, R., & Nunan, D (2001) Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6 Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K (2000) Research Methods in Education London: RoutledgeFalmer
7 Council of Europe (2001) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Retrieved November 19 th , 2015 from www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/Source/Framework_EN.pdf
8 Cunningsworth, A (1995) Choosing Your Course Book London: Macmillan
9 Dowsett, G (1986) Interaction in the semi-structured interview In M.Emery (e.d.), Qualitative Research Canberra: Australia Association of Adult Education
10 Dudley-Evans, T., & John, M J S (2007) Developments in English for Specific Purposes: A Multi – Disciplinary Approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
11 Ellis, R (1997) The Empirical Evaluation of Language Teaching Materials
12 Hutchinson, T & Waters, A (1987) English for Specific Purposes
13 Kiely, R & Rea-Dickins, P (2005) Program evaluation in language education Great Britain: Palgrave Macmillan
14 Le Thi Bac (2013) Evaluating the coursebook Tieng Anh 6- tap 1 (Sach thi diem) compiled under the national foreign language project entitled
“Teaching and language foreign languages in the national education system, period 2008-2020 M.A Thesis Hanoi: Learning Resource Center of ULIS,
15 McDonough, J & McDonough, S (1997) Research Methods for English Language Teachers London: Arnold
16 McDonough, J & Shaw, C (1993) Materials and Methods in ELT Oxford:
17 McGrath, I (2002) Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
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19 Richards, J C (2001) Curriculum Development in Language Teaching
20 Sheldon, L (1988) Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials ELT Journal, 42 (4), pp 237-246
21 Tomlinson, B (Ed.) (1998) Materials Development in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
22 Tomlinson, B (Ed.) (2003) Developing Materials for Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
23 Tomlinson, B., & Masuhara, H (2004) Developing Language Course Materials Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Center
24 Tran Thi Chung Oanh (2010) An evaluation on the material "Lifelines" for the first year non-English major students at Hai Phong University M.A
Thesis Hanoi: Learning Resource Center of ULIS, VNU
25 Tran Thi Thu Trang (2011) An evaluation of the material "English Written Proficiency - Intermediate 1" for first year students of Foreign Languages Faculty, Thai Nguyen University M.A Thesis Hanoi: Learning
Resource Center of ULIS, VNU
1 English textbook evaluation form of MOET……… V
2 Questionnaire for the students (English version)……… XI
3 Questionnaire for the students (Vietnamese version)……… XV
4 Interview prompts with the teachers……… XX
5 Note-taking of interviews with the teachers ……… XXI
APPENDIX 1 ENGLISH TEXTBOOK EVALUATION FORM OF MOET
(FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN VIETNAM)
(Accompanying Circular……./ TT-BGDĐT date… month… 2015 of the Minister of
(Evaluation rubric: 0: poor; 1: satisfactory; 2: good)
I Objectives, Teaching Principles and Methodology
The textbook provides proper foundations for the teaching and learning of English, satisfies the objectives regarding the knowledge and skills required in the English teaching curriculum, and is relevant to the standard teaching volume
2 The components, structure and layout of the textbook help teachers to choose appropriate teaching aids and methods
3 The contents of the textbook are relevant to the learners' cultures and related to their needs and interests
The textbook shows a consistency among the teaching components including the objectives, teaching methods, teaching-learning activities, testing and assessment, and teaching aids
5 The textbook makes a balance of the four main skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing
6 The textbook encourages the use of modern teaching methods, which are consistent with the teaching objectives, creating and fostering learners‟ communicative competences and autonomy
7 The teaching methods used in the textbook are applicable to different groups of English teachers
The teaching-learning activities are various, which enables the teachers to flexibly apply different teaching methods to different learners
The teaching-learning activities are purposeful, making a balance of the development of language content and skills, facilitating individual, pair and group work opportunities
The textbook is consistent and systematic in terms of both language content and skills, and is compatible with the learning outcomes of each educational level, which are specified in the six-level framework of foreign language competences for Vietnamese people
The textbook covers are attractive and informative (title, users, levels, authors, publisher, year of publication, etc.), the sub-titles, logo, text fonts, text sizes, punctuation marks, page numbers, etc are of consistency and convention, and are error-free
The textbook is logically and effectively organised, and the lessons are systematically presented with proper components of Introduction, Table of Contents, Units/Lessons, Revisions, Grammar Reviews, Pronunciation, Glossary, Cultural Notes, References, etc
13 The visuals used in the textbook are attractive, functional, and relevant to the age groups of the learners, as well as the culture and customs of Vietnam
The visuals used in the book stimulate creativity of teachers and learners, providing input for communication and language practice
15 The textbook size and weight, the number and sizes of the visuals are relevant to the age groups of the learners
16 The volume of each lesson fits well with the standard class hours of each educational level
17 The textbook offers a balance of the introduction of new language and practice activities
The textbook has periodical revision lessons and tests to help review and consolidate learners‟ language knowledge and skills
III Content and language skills
The textbook covers a variety of topics from different contexts and cultures, which helps enrich the learners‟ knowledge and experiences
The subject and content are popular and suitable to the learners‟ capabilities, and educational in terms of behaviour and life skills development
21 The content is up-to-date and interesting, which encourages teachers‟ creativity, and learners‟ motivation and interests
The content of the textbook is free from stereotypical images and information about gender, ethnic origins, religion, occupations, social groups, age groups, etc
The teaching-learning activities are various, well-organized, leading learners from easy to difficult, simple to complex tasks with clear objectives and instructions
24 The English language contents are logically allocated in each lesson and language skills are practised either integratedly or individually but, in the later case, the focused skill also involves the practice of other skills
25 The language used in the textbook is natural, authentic and appropriate to the age groups of the learners
26 The textbook provides a balance of activities and tasks that focus both on fluency and accuracy
27 The listening tasks are various, helping learners to develop their listening comprehension skills
The listening material is well-recorded and authentic, focusing on English linguistic competences such as stress, intonation, and aspects of connected speech
The length and difficulty levels of the listening passages are appropriate to the learners‟ ability and encourage post- listening practice of other language skills
30 The speaking tasks are well-designed, encouraging learners to speak, and naturally develop their communication skills
The learners are provided with sufficient input and language content, and are led from controlled to guided and/or free speaking activities
32 Speaking activities are developed to encourage student- student and student-teacher communication
There is sufficient material for spoken English (role-play, discussion, work in pair, work in group, presentation, debating, project work, etc.)
34 The reading passages are various and interesting, helping learners develop their reading comprehension skills
35 The reading passages are natural, authentic, and relevant to the learners‟ capabilities and interests
The length and difficulty levels of the reading passages are appropriate to learners‟ ability and encourage post-reading practice of other language skills
37 The writing tasks enhance varied writing opportunities, developing the writing skills of learners
Learners are provided with sufficient input and language content, and are led from controlled to guided and/or free writing activities
39 The writing tasks are authentic, contextualised, goal-oriented and achievable
The textbook provides appropriate, context-based vocabulary presenting techniques with a reasonable distribution of the vocabulary load across the whole book
41 The grammar points are contextualized and taught communicatively with a focus on both form and use
Pronunciation activities are integrated in the listening and speaking tasks with an emphasis on natural pronunciation, including stress and intonation
The textbook has proper supplementary materials which support the teachers to develop active and efficient teaching, innovative testing and assessment methods, through which professional development is fostered
The supplementary materials for learners‟ use are relevant to the contents of the textbook, promoting learners‟ self-study and self-assessment, with which the learners‟ active learning methods are developed
45 The supplementary materials of the textbook enhance the application of information technology in teaching-learning activities, which is appropriate to particular teaching conditions
APPENDIX 2 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS (English version)
AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSEBOOK “SOLUTIONS UPPER- INTERMEDIATE” FOR TENTH-GRADE ENGLISH MAJORS AT FOREIGN
LANGUAGE SPECIALIZED SCHOOL, ULIS, VNU
This questionnaire is designed to evaluate the suitability of the content and language skills to the students’ levels of English and general expectations of the coursebook Your opinions will be fully appreciated and strictly kept confidential Thank you for your help
Age: … How long have you been learning English?
What are your reasons of learning English?
Section II Learners’ evaluation of the coursebook
I would like you to indicate your opinion after each criterion by putting a tick in the box that best indicates the extent to which you evaluate
Evaluation rubric: 0: poor; 1: satisfactory; 2: good
1 The textbook covers a variety of topics from different contexts and cultures
2 The textbook helps enrich the learners‟ knowledge and experiences
3 The subject and content are popular
4 The subject and content are educational in terms of behaviour and life skills development
5 The content is up-to-date
6 The content is interesting, which encourages the learners‟ motivation and interests
7 The teaching-learning activities are various, well-organized, leading learners from easy to difficult, simple to complex tasks
8 The teaching-learning activities have clear objectives and instructions
9 The English language contents are logically allocated in each lesson and language skills are practised either integratedly or individually but, in the latter case, the focused skill also involves the practice of other skills
10 The textbook provides a balance of activities and tasks that focus both on fluency and accuracy
11 The listening tasks are various, which helps the learners to develop their listening comprehension skills
12 The difficulty level of listening tasks is suitable for the learners‟ ability
13 The listening material is well-recorded
14 The listening material is authentic or close to real language situations
15 The listening material focuses on English linguistic competences such as stress, intonation, and aspects of connected speech
16 The length and difficulty levels of the listening passages are appropriate to the learners‟ ability
17 The listening material is accompanied by background information, questions and activities which help comprehension
18 The speaking tasks are well-designed, encouraging learners to speak, and naturally develop their communication skills
19 The learners are provided with sufficient input and language content, and are led from controlled to guided and/or free speaking activities
20 Speaking activities are developed to encourage student-student and student-teacher communication
21 There is sufficient material for spoken English (role-play, discussion, work in pair, work in group, presentation, debating, project work, etc.)
22 The difficulty level of speaking tasks is suitable for the learners‟ ability
23 The reading passages are various, helping the learners develop their reading comprehension skills
24 The reading passages are natural and authentic
25 The length and difficulty levels of the reading passages are appropriate to the learners‟ ability
26 The difficulty level of reading tasks is suitable for the learners‟ ability
27 The writing tasks enhance varied writing opportunities, developing the writing skills of learners
28 Learners are provided with sufficient input and language content, and are led from controlled to guided and/or free writing activities
29 The writing tasks are authentic and contextualized
30 The writing tasks are appropriate to the students‟ level
31 The textbook provides appropriate and context-based vocabulary
32 There is a reasonable distribution of vocabulary load across the whole book
33 The number of new words in each lesson is appropriate to the students‟ level
34 Material is adequate in terms of range of vocabulary
35 Exercises about vocabulary are suitable for the students‟ level
36 The presentation of grammar is clear and understandable
37 The coursebook covers the main grammar items appropriate for the students‟ level
38 The grammar points are contextualized
39 The grammar points are taught communicatively with a focus on both form and use
40 Exercises about grammar are suitable for the students‟ level
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!
APPENDIX 3 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS (Vietnamese version) ĐÁNH GIÁ GIÁO TRÌNH “SOLUTIONS UPPER-INTERMEDIATE” DÙNG CHO HỌC SINH CHUYÊN ANH LỚP 10 TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT CHUYÊN
NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐH NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐH QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
Câu hỏi này được thiết kế để đánh giá sự phù hợp của kiến thức kỹ năng và ngôn ngữ với trình độ tiếng Anh và mong đợi chung của học sinh về giáo trình Ý kiến của bạn sẽ được đánh giá cao và giữ bí mật Cảm ơn bạn rất nhiều vì sự giúp đỡ của bạn
Phần I Thông tin học sinh
Tên (Không bắt buộc): Lớp (Không bắt buộc):
Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu? …………
Lý do học tiếng Anh của bạn là gì?
Phần II Đánh giá của học sinh về giáo trình
Bạn hãy đưa ra câu trả lời của mình cho mỗi nhận định bằng cách đánh dấu "" vào MỘT trong các lựa chọn dưới đây
Các mức đánh giá: 0: không đạt; 1: đạt; 2: tốt
Các mức đánh giá Tiêu chí
1 Sách giới thiệu các chủ đề phong phú, đa dạng phản ánh các bối cảnh văn hoá, xã hội khác nhau
2 Sách giúp mở rộng nhận thức và trải nghiệm của người học
3 Các chủ đề và nội dung của sách phổ biến
4 Các chủ đề và nội dung của sách mang tính giáo dục cao về hành vi và kỹ năng sống
5 Nội dung sách cập nhật
6 Nội dung sách thú vị, tạo động lực và hấp dẫn đối với người học
7 Sách có các hoạt động dạy học được thiết kế khoa học, đa dạng, được triển khai từng bước, từ dễ đến khó, từ đơn giản đến phức tạp
8 Sách có các hoạt động dạy học được thiết kế có mục đích và hướng dẫn rõ ràng
9 Nội dung dạy học được phân bổ hợp lý trong từng đơn vị bài học, các kỹ năng ngôn ngữ được rèn luyện theo hình thức tích hợp hoặc đơn lẻ nhưng tạo cơ hội phát triển đồng thời các kỹ năng khác
10 Sách tạo ra sự cân đối trong các hoạt động nhằm rèn luyện sự trôi chảy trong giao tiếp và độ chính xác trong sử dụng ngôn ngữ
11 Các hoạt động dạy nghe được thiết kế đa dạng, phát triển được các kỹ năng nghe hiểu khác nhau của người học
12 Bài tập của kỹ năng nghe phù hợp với trình độ người học
13 Bài nghe được ghi âm rõ ràng
14 Ngữ liệu nghe thực tế, gần gũi với các hoàn cảnh ngôn ngữ tự nhiên
15 Ngữ liệu nghe quan tâm tới việc phát triển năng lực ngôn ngữ như trọng âm, ngữ điệu và các yếu tố lời nói liên kết trong tiếng Anh
16 Độ dài và độ khó của bài nghe phù hợp với trình độ người học
17 Ngữ liệu nghe cung cấp thông tin cơ bản, các câu hỏi và các hoạt động giúp ích cho việc nghe hiểu của học sinh
18 Các hoạt động thực hành nói được thiết kế cẩn thận, tạo hứng thú, phát triển kỹ năng giao tiếp tự nhiên của người học
19 Người học được cung cấp đầy đủ về thông tin, nội dung ngôn ngữ và được dẫn dắt từng bước trong các giai đoạn thực hành nói
20 Các hoạt động thực hành nói trong sách khuyến khích tương tác giữa người học với người học và người học với giáo viên trong luyện tập nói
21 Người học có cơ hội thực hành nói qua nhiều hoạt động khác nhau (đóng vai, thảo luận, làm việc theo cặp, theo nhóm, trình bày, tranh luận, thực hiện dự án, v.v.)
22 Độ khó của các bài tập nói phù hợp với người học
23 Sách có hệ thống các bài đọc đa dạng, phát triển được các kỹ năng đọc hiểu khác nhau của người học
24 Ngôn ngữ sử dụng trong bài đọc tự nhiên và thực tế
25 Độ dài và độ khó của bài đọc phù hợp với trình độ của người học
26 Bài tập của kỹ năng đọc phù hợp với trình độ người học
27 Sách có các hoạt động phát triển kỹ năng viết đa dạng, tạo cơ hội cho người học viết nhiều thể loại khác nhau
28 Người học được cung cấp đầy đủ về thông tin, nội dung ngôn ngữ và được dẫn dắt từng bước trong các giai đoạn thực hành viết
29 Yêu cầu bài tập viết được giới thiệu trong ngữ cảnh, thực tế
30 Bài tập của kỹ năng viết phù hợp với trình độ của học sinh
31 Từ vựng được dạy phù hợp, gắn liền với ngữ cảnh
32 Lượng từ vựng được phân bổ hợp lý trong sách
33 Số lượng từ mới trong mỗi bài học phù hợp với trình độ của học sinh
34 Ngữ liệu cung cấp từ vựng một cách phong phú
35 Bài tập về từ vựng phù hợp với trình độ học sinh
36 Nội dung ngữ pháp rõ ràng và dễ hiểu
37 Các mục ngữ pháp phù hợp với trình độ của học sinh
38 Các mục ngữ pháp được dạy trong ngữ cảnh
39 Các cấu trúc ngữ pháp trong sách được dạy dưới dạng thực hành giao tiếp, đảm bảo sự cân bằng giữa dạy dạng thức ngữ pháp và cách sử dụng
40 Bài tập về ngữ pháp phù hợp với trình độ học sinh
CẢM ƠN BẠN VÌ ĐÃ HỢP TÁC!
APPENDIX 4 INTERVIEW PROMPTS WITH THE TEACHERS Section I Teacher’s information
2 What qualification did you get? (BA, MA, PhD, …)
3 How many years have you been teaching English?
Section II Teacher’s evaluation of the coursebook
1 Which parts (listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar) do you reckon suitable for students‟ levels? Why do you think that?
2 Do you think that the teaching-learning activities are various, well-organized, leading learners from easy to difficult, simple to complex tasks? Can you clarify this point?
3 Do the teaching-learning activities have clear objectives and instructions? Can you give me examples?
4 Are the listening tasks various, which helps your learners to develop their listening skills? Can you explain for me?
5 Are the speaking tasks well-designed, encouraging your students to speak, and naturally develop their communication skills? Why do you think so?
6 Are the reading passages various, helping learners develop their reading comprehension skills? Please tell me why
7 Do the writing tasks enhance varied writing opportunities, developing your writing skills? Can you clarify your point?
8 Is the material adequate in terms of range of vocabulary?
9 Do you think the grammar points taught communicatively with a focus on both form and use? Can you specify your point?
10 If you can change anything in this coursebook, what would you suggest to change?
APPENDIX 5 NOTE-TAKING OF INTERVIEWS WITH TEACHERS
1 Which parts (listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar) do you reckon suitable for students’ levels? Why do you think that?
- Teacher A: Of four language skills, reading and writing seem suitable for my students‟ levels The real problem is listening which is quite short and easy
- Teacher B: In general, this upper-intermediate book is suitable for the students‟ levels However, it is ideal to have more difficult points of grammar for students
- Teacher C: Some parts are simple like listening whereas some are challenging like vocabulary because there vocabulary is a little bit difficult However, my students liked this challenge
- Teacher D: Except for listening, I think everything is ok
2 Do you think that the teaching-learning activities are various, well-organized, leading learners from easy to difficult, simple to complex tasks? Can you clarify this point?
- Teacher A: Yeap! Before a lesson, students have chances to think about vocabulary, what they will learn or see in various ways, which are helpful for them
They can move from easy to difficult
- Teacher B: Yes, of course Take an example in a reading lesson Students have chances to discuss issues relating to reading texts After that, they answer general questions about the reading texts before specific or inference questions
- Teacher C: I totally agree with this That is one point that I like in this book
Learners feel comfortable in lessons with this organization of content
- Teacher D: This book provides variety of activities for students and they are well- organized In addition, I think, that is what they expected
3 Do the teaching-learning activities have clear objectives and instructions?
Can you give me examples?