INTRODUCTION
Rationale
Coursebooks are generally considered as the core materials and “the visible heart of any ELT program” (Sheldon, 1988) They play a lot of essential roles in ELT such as a source of learning and teaching activities, a resource of learners’ self-study, a syllabus, and a support for inexperienced teachers (Cunningsworth, 1984) However, coursebooks are usually designed and written for the general market, thus they cannot fit in all teaching and learning contexts with possibly inappropriate cultural and social contents or teaching methods That is the reason why selecting a suitable coursebook for a particular teaching course is a challenging It also takes on special importance because the chosen coursebook would determine the teaching and learning process and reflect the value of the educational institution Therefore, the need of evaluating coursebooks should also take on the same importance It helps identify the strong points and weak points of the materials so that future decisions can be made about whether or not to keep using the materials, or adapting them to better fit learners’ needs and learning objectives However, very few of such a retrospective evaluation has been undertaken in comparison with the predictive evaluation, which is carried out before using the materials to decide if they are to be selected (Ellis, 1997) In terms of retrospective evaluation, the evaluation of the materials that have actually been used, there are two ways of evaluating: impressionistic and empirical evaluations While the former involves evaluation based on observation of learners’ engagement and enthusiasm in activities and contents of the book, it is more commonly conducted than the latter one, which relates to collecting data in a more systematic way
The importance and the inadequate quantity of empirical evaluations of coursebooks triggers a desire in the researcher to apply an evaluation of this type to the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” for non-English major students in a preparatory school in Viet Tri Since English was incorporated into the school program as a compulsory subject, there has not been an official coursebook approved by the Ministry of Education for the school It is the teaching staffs who select the book that they consider best fit the objectives of the course and corresponds to students’ needs based on predictive evaluation of the books The coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” is currently used as the main coursebook in the school after several choices of different materials After a year of piloting the book, the researcher, also the teacher who has worked with this book, finds it quite interesting to students with a lot of authentic videos and meaningful tasks; however, it also reveals several problems which renders it difficult to meet students’ needs and achieve the ultimate goal of teaching and learning program To present, there has not been any careful and systematic evaluation of this material That is the reason why the researcher desires to perform an empirical evaluation on this book to examine the validity of the predictive evaluation of the teachers in English groups of the school and that of her personal impressionistic evaluation, as well as to evaluate the appropriateness of the book for learners, learning and teaching context and purposes.
Aims of the study
This study mainly aims at evaluating the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” by Christina Latham-Koenig, Clive
Oxenden (Oxford University Press, 2014), which is used for non-English major students at a preparatory school in Viet Tri to determine whether it meets the requirements of the course in terms of the objectives, students’ needs and methodology.
Scope of the study
In terms of book evaluation, Cunningsworth (1984) listed a number of important evaluating criteria in the quick-reference checklist for evaluation such as: aims and approaches, design and organization, language content, skills, topic, methodology, teachers’ book, practical considerations Besides, evaluation can be conducted predictively or retrospectively for different purposes (Ellis, 1997) Due to the time constraint and the length limitation a master’s thesis, the subject of the evaluation is narrowed down to one type of retrospective evaluation, the empirical evaluation of the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” for non-English major students at a preparatory school in Viet Tri with main focus its suitability to the course’s objectives, students’ needs and current methodology.
Research questions
The study will be conducted to answer the following three questions:
- To what extent does the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” meet the objectives of the course?
- To what extent does the book meet students’ needs?
- To what extent is the book suited to the current teaching and learning methods?
Significance of the study
The findings of the thesis would contribute to the school’s decision of using the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” or parts of the book again, or substituting and adapting inappropriate parts of book with more suitable ones, or replacing the book with another one Thus, it would benefit both teachers and learners who work with the material Teachers would have a chance to apply the most appropriate materials and teaching methods for their students with different levels whereas students could find the materials that best fit their needs and their learning purposes The result will also be valuable for teachers and learners in other preparatory schools in the country with similar teaching and learning context
Structure of the study
The study consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1: Introduction - presents a general overview of the study with specific references to the rationale, the aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, and structure of the study
Chapter 2: Literature Review - provides theoretical basis for the study with the detailed discussion about some relevant theories related to textbook, coursebook, material, material evaluation and need analysis
Chapter 3: Research methodology – describes the methodology employed in the study
Chapter 4: Findings and discussion – includes a detailed description of the findings as well as full explanation and interpretation of these findings
Chapter 5: Conclusion – gives conclusion and limitations of the study and then provides suggestions for further study
Chapter 1 has introduced the rationale, aims and scope of the study
Research questions, significance and structure of the study were also included
The importance of coursebook and coursebook evaluation, together with the inadequate quantity of empirical evaluation of the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” used for non-English major students at a preparatory school in Viet Tri have triggered the researcher’ desire to conduct the study The main focus of the study is on the suitability of the coursebook to the course objectives, students’ needs and current teaching and learning methods Therefore, this study aims at evaluating this coursebook to find out if it meets the course objectives, students’ needs and current teaching and learning methods The findings of the study will help the school to make decision about keep using the book or replace it or part of it by more suitable materials.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Text book, coursebook and material
Teaching materials are an indispensable component of any language teaching curricula There are a number of ways researchers defined this concept but they shared the same viewpoint that materials can be anything used to facilitate language teaching and learning (Littlejohn 1998, Tomlinson 1998, McGrath 2002) Littlejohn (1998) and Tomlinson (2011) viewed materials in various forms which can be students’ books, workbooks, teacher’s guides, videos, CDs, DVDs, lesson plans, website activities and more Similarly, McGrath (2002) provided a broad sense of materials in which he explained that they could be “realia” (real objects) or presentations (drawings or photographs)
He also added textbooks, worksheets, computer software and recordings as sources of materials Among these forms, textbook is considered the official material and “the visible heart of any ELT programs” (Sheldom, 1988) It plays an important role of teaching a particular subject in schools and colleges and serves a basis of study for students and a primary teaching instrument for teachers (Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com, 2008)
As a type of teaching materials, a coursebook is defined as “a textbook that students and teachers use as the basic of a course” (Collinsdictionary.com,
2018) In other words, it is used to refer to a book “used by students when they do a particular course of study” (Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2018) In accordance with the dictionary definition, Ur (1996) and Tomlinson (2011) explain that coursebooks function as the core materials for a language-learning course that a teacher and each student has a copy It aims to provide as much as possible in one book and serves as the only book which learners basically use during a course A coursebook usually includes exercises not only on language elements like grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation but also on functions and skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking
From the above view of “materials”, “textbook” and “coursebook”, it can be pointed out that text book and coursebook are types of materials and these three terms can be used interchangeably in ELT teaching and learning context
2.1.2 Roles of materials in ELT classrooms
According to Richards and Rogers (2001) as cited in Ulaş Kayapinar
(2009), coursebooks play an indispensable part in the curriculum because they specify content and define coverage for syllabus items They play multi essential roles in ELT such as a source of learning and teaching activities with systematic and standard knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc., a resource of learners’ self-study, a syllabus in accordance with determined learning objectives, and a support for inexperienced teachers (Cunningsworth,
1995) Coursebooks also help standardize instruction, frame the language contents, and provide language models and practice activities for teachers and students to follow in class (Ur, 1996) Ur adds more advantages of coursebooks
For example, they provide available and appropriate texts and exercises for most learners and classes They are also the most economic and convenient ways of providing teaching and learning materials for both teachers and learners Thus, the use of coursebooks is more and more popular among universities, private schools and some state schools It is the ready-made syllabi in the ready-made coursebooks that are preferred by both school administrations and teachers of English Besides, coursebooks provide opportunities for learners to practice the target language in the classroom before they use it in real life situations
However, coursebooks as preplanned instruction materials have some possible disadvantages According to Richards and Renandya (2002), as cited in Ulaş Kayapinar (2009), coursebooks fail to present real-life language models and contextualize language activities They fail to address linguistic competence as well as to teach idioms in everyday language Lack of equity in gender representation and the inadequate cultural understanding encouragement are also among the disadvantages of coursebooks Ur (1996) adds the following drawbacks of coursebooks Firstly, coursebooks are inadequate in that every class and learner has their own learning needs and a coursebook cannot supply these satisfactorily Secondly, coursebooks are irrelevant because the topics dealt within the books may not necessarily be interesting for the class Coursebooks may lead to boredom and lack of motivation on the part of the learners Also, they do not cater for variety of levels of ability and knowledge that exist in most classes Moreover, although coursebooks are considered as the magical instruction tool for language teachers, highly structured coursebooks may even lead to the de-skilling of teachers (Hutchinson & Torres 1994 as cited in Osman Dülger 2016)
In conclusion, on one hand, coursebooks prove to be very advantageous for both school administrations, language teachers and students with available syllabi and already designed texts and tasks which are suitable for a large portion of language learners On the other hand, coursebooks reveal some limitations such as inadequacy, irrelevance, inauthenticity That is the reason why any coursebooks should be evaluated to see whether or not they match the school curriculum and learners’ needs and interests.
Coursebook evaluation
Coursebook evaluation is of great significance as it seeks to identify the strengths and weaknesses’ of the books and helps to make decisions about adapting the materials or adopting new ones In order to conduct the evaluation of a coursebook, it is necessary to understand what the process of evaluation involves There are a number of definitions of evaluation provided by researchers According to Tomlinson (2011), coursebook evaluation is an attempt to measure the potential value of the coursebooks It involves making judgements about the effects of coursebooks on such agents as learners, instructors, administrators who use them through such features of the books as credibility, validity, flexibility, etc Coursebook evaluation is also defined by Rea-Dickins and Germanie (1994) as “the means by which we can gain a better understanding of what is effective, what is less effective and what appears to be no use at all” Effective evaluation relies on asking appropriate questions and interpreting the answers to them (Cunningsworth, 1995)
In summary, coursebook evaluation is the process of collecting data, giving judgement on the effectiveness of books based on the collected data to make precise decisions of effectively using the materials or replacing them
Material evaluation is “a dynamic process which is fundamentally a subjective, rule-of-thumb activity" where "no neat formula, grid, or system will ever provide a definitive yardstick" (Sheldon, 1988) There are a variety of approaches and criteria of coursebook evaluation which vary according to the ELT contexts Administrators and instructors should choose the most suitable criteria to evaluate coursebooks, considering the specific teaching and learning contexts
The following sets out a range of approaches to coursebook evaluation which all tend to evaluate coursebooks on four main aspects, including the internal content, the aims and approaches, the supporting sources and the physical appearance of the coursebook
According to Ellis (1997), there are two main types of coursebook evaluation: predictive evaluation and retrospective evaluation A predictive evaluation is designed to help teachers decide what coursebooks to use whereas a retrospective evaluation may be conducted once the book is used to find out if the material matches the learners’ need and current teaching methodology
Predictive evaluation, according to Ellis, can be carried out in two principal ways One involves teachers relying on evaluations carried out by experts specializing in coursebook evaluation Alternatively, teachers can carry out their own predictive evaluations by making use of various checklists and guidelines available in the literature Another kind of evaluation – retrospective evaluation – is carried out while a coursebook is in use (whilst-use evaluation) or after it has been used (post-use evaluation) There are two ways of retrospective evaluations: impressionistic and empirical one While the impressionistic evaluation is based on observation of learners’ engagement and enthusiasm in activities and contents of the book, empirical one relates to
“collecting data in a more systematic manner” (Ellis, 1997) To conduct empirical evaluation, teachers use “end-of-course questionnaires to judge the effectiveness of their teaching, including the material used”; therefore, it is often more objective and reliable than other kinds of evaluation as it is based on users’ feedback Such an evaluation provides information that can be used to determine whether the material is worth using again In addition, Ellis (1997) states that retrospective evaluation is a good way of testing the validity of a predictive evaluation
Another approach of evaluating coursebooks is proposed by Tomlinson
(2003) with a three-stage process of evaluation: pre-use evaluation, whilst-use evaluation and post-use evaluation The first stage, pre-use evaluation, according to Tomlinson (2003), is “impressionistic and consists of a teacher flicking through a book to gain a quick impression of its potential value” It involves assessing the potential value of materials for their users, including a quick scan of a book’s physical appearance and content pages to get an impression of its potential value The second stage, whilst-use evaluation, involves evaluating materials in use This can be more reliable than pre-use evaluation, as it involves deeper evaluation of the content of materials and makes use of classroom observation and feedback from the users although, according to Tomlinson (2003), this stage includes controversial issues about what exactly can be measured The criteria seem to be general and some (e.g credibility of tasks, achievement of performance objectives, motivating power of the materials, etc.) are not easy to measure However, he also suggests that these criteria “can be estimated during an open-ended, impressionistic observation of materials in use but greater reliability can be achieved by focusing on one criterion at a time” They can be measured by different methods For example, to measure the motivating power of the materials he suggests ‘noting such features as student eye focus, proximity to the materials, time on task and facial animation’ (Tomlinson, 2003) In the last stage of evaluation in this approach, post-use evaluation, most evaluators tend to seek answers to such questions as: What is the impact of the coursebook on learners?
What is its impact on teachers? And what is its impact on administrators?
According to Tomlinson (2003), this stage is probably the most valuable stage in the evaluation process as it involves measuring the effects of the materials on users after the coursebook has been used Also, as Cunningsworth (1995) points out, post-use evaluation is useful in helping to decide whether to continue using a coursebook or not in the future
The third major approach for coursebook evaluation is suggested by Littlejohn (1998 & 2011) He suggested a three-level evaluation checklist including: (1) What is there? (2) What is required of users? and (3) What is implied? At the first level, there are questions about the physical properties of the coursebook These cover publication date, intended audience, physical aspects (number of pages, paper quality, artwork, etc.), and are similar to the ones in Tomlinson (2003) Level 2 focuses on the language learning activities and tasks in the coursebook to see what teachers and learners using the coursebooks need to do It moves slightly deeper into an analysis of what is assumed to be the most important aspect of coursebooks At the third level, there are questions on the approach, philosophy and aims of the coursebook
Littlejohn points out that his levels of evaluation move from more objective criteria to less objective ones The first level is the most objective while the third level is the least
The fourth approach to coursebook evaluation is suggested by McGrath
(2002) He points out the aspects which need evaluating in a two-stage process of systematic materials evaluation They are ‘first-glance’ evaluation and ‘in- depth’ evaluation Each stage consists of a series of criteria by which to evaluate the coursebook The ‘first glance’ evaluation has four steps In step 1 – practical considerations, features evaluated in this step include: availability, cost, and the levels of the book which are available If these are judged satisfactory, the evaluation proceeds to step 2 – support for teaching and learning Features assessed at this step include the teacher’s book and how well it relates to the student book, supporting resources (e.g cassette recordings, photocopiable worksheets, etc.) If all these are satisfied, the evaluator proceeds to step 3 - context relevance.At this stage the evaluator assesses the suitability of the coursebook in terms of aims, syllabus, length and its suitability for learners’ proficiency level, age and background If all of these meet the requirements, the evaluator goes further to step 4 - learner appeal This step involves considering the appeal of the book to learners This is mainly related to the appearance of the book The evaluation starts from the first sub-step If a coursebook meets all of the key criteria for each step, the process continues with the next one If it does not meet the key criteria in any sub-step, the process stops and the coursebook is rejected If all of the above-mentioned key criteria are met, the in-depth evaluation step is carried out to assess the coursebook in detail
According to McGrath (2002), the in-depth evaluation tends to address the following points:
- The aims and content of the book
- What they require learners to do
- What they require the teacher to do
- Their function as a classroom resource
- Learner approaches to language learning
- The teaching-learning approach in the teacher’s own classroom
Another important approach for coursebook evaluation is suggested by McDonough and Shaw’s (1993 & 2003) with three stages: external evaluation, internal evaluation and overall evaluation This implies that evaluation is continuous and never static, as the criteria can be changed to suit different teaching and learning contexts External evaluation is similar to McGrath’s
(2002) ‘first-glance evaluation’, Tomlinson’s (2003) ‘pre-use evaluation’ and Littlejohn’s (1998 & 2011) ‘level 1 evaluation’ It focuses on the intended audience, the proficiency level, the context, the organization and presentation of units, the author’s views and methodology, the learning process and the learner, and the physical appearance Issues of layout and design and local availability, supporting resources (teacher’s book, audio-visual materials, etc.) are also included in this stage The internal evaluation is concerned with the content, including grading and sequencing This stage seems to resemble McGrath’s (2002) ‘in-depth evaluation’ and Tomlinson’s (2003) ‘whilst-use evaluation’
In general, each approach to coursebook evaluation, as mentioned above, has its own strengths and weaknesses Evaluators should choose or even devise an approach which is the most principled, systematic and suitable for their context In the researcher’s opinion, it is also important for evaluators to combine approaches, in order to offset the weaknesses of one approach with the strengths of others The present study uses a mixed approach, mainly based on Ellis’s framework (1997), though modified, with evaluation criteria from other authors
From different approaches to the evaluation of coursebooks, there are also different sets of criteria for evaluating coursebooks
Criteria proposed by Hutchinson and Water (1987)
Hutchinson and Water (1987) proposed a checklist of material evaluation including items related to subjective and objective analysis of the book such as: audience, aim, content, methodology, price and its availability
Needs analysis
Needs analysis (also known as needs assessment) play a vital role in the process of designing and carrying out any language courses, and its importance has been acknowledged by several scholars and authors
The term “needs analysis”, according to Elaine Tarone and George Yule
(2000), refers to the collection and evaluation of information to answer the question: “What aspects of the language does some particular group of learners need to know?” Mountford (1981) offers the definition that “needs” can be defined as what students should be able to do at the end of their language course, or “what the user institution or society at large regards as necessary or desirable to be learnt from a program of language instruction” Another definition given by Brindley (1984) is that “needs” refers to wants, desires, demands, expectations, motivations, lacks, constraints, and requirements It is evident that course designers may take students’ needs into consideration when designing a course For Johns (1991), needs analysis is the first step in course design and it provides validity and relevancy for all subsequent course design activities Different approaches to needs analysis attempt to meet the needs of the learners in the process of learning a second language Among which, a modern and comprehensive concept of needs analysis is proposed by Dudley- Evans and St John (1998) with the concept of needs analysis as follows:
Environmental situation – information about the situation in which the course will be run (means analysis)
Personal information about learners – factors which may affect the way they learn (wants, means, subjective needs)
Language information about learners – what their current skills and language use are (present situation analysis)
Learner’s lacks (The gap between the present situation and professional information about learners): learner’s needs from the course – what is wanted from the course (short-term needs); language learning needs – effective ways of learning the skills and language determined by the lacks
Professional information about learners – the tasks and activities English learners are/will be using English for (Target Situation Analysis and objective needs)
How to communicate in the target situation – knowledge of how language and skills are used in the target situation (register analysis, discourse analysis, genre analysis)
Different types of need analysis are presented in the below figure: Needs analysis jigsaw
As can be seen from the figure, these types of needs analyses are not exclusive but supplementary Each of them provide a piece to complete the jigsaw of needs analysis.
Previous studies on coursebook evaluation
Up to now, there have been a number of studies on coursebook evaluation In 2009, Ulaş KAYAPINAR conducted a study which revealed the teachers’ views on the quality of foreign coursebook packages (from beginner to intermediate level) widely used in the teaching process of English preparatory classes in twenty-five different high schools In the study, widely used (best-selling) coursebooks with the same sub-domains were chosen to be evaluated by teachers The data were gathered from the questionnaire results of ninety-four teachers and standard open-ended interview results of forty teachers who teach in English preparatory classes and use particular coursebook packages in the classroom environment (n4) The views revealed that teachers did not have positive impressions about the coursebook packages used in general Moreover, the general conceptions of the teachers suggest that coursebooks should be developed and used to meet the needs of the learners in the national context In the same year, Azadeh Nemati carried out a study to evaluate English Pre-University textbook of Karnataka state in India with respect to general criterion as well as vocabulary teaching Firstly, a questionnaire was made with reference to some critical features extracted from different material evaluation checklists The prepared questionnaire was completed by 26 Pre-University teachers from 12 randomly selected governmental and non-governmental schools Then strong points and weaknesses of the coursebook were discussed in detail In the second phase, to analyze the vocabulary of the book systematically, some texts of the book were randomly selected, submitted to vocabulary profile to see if they are sequenced from the most frequently used words to the less used ones which according to Nation (1990) is an important factor in vocabulary teaching
In Vietnam, Tran Minh Thanh (2014) conducted a study to evaluate the book “English for Information Technology” for second-year students of a university in Thai Nguyen to see how the coursebook is relevant to the learners’ needs in terms of content, format and methodology Survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were employed to investigate both students and teachers’ perception of the book The result revealed that the coursebook was relatively relevant to the needs of the learners and it should be further used by second-year students in the university with some changes and adaptation
In 2015, Tran Thi Thuy carried out an evaluation of the coursebook
“New English File - Elementary” for the first year students at a university in Hanoi The aim of the study is to evaluate the material to determine whether it matches the course’s requirements in terms of the audience, content, aims and methodology The criteria suggested by Hutchinson and Warter (1987) together with two data collection instruments: document analysis and survey questionnaires were selected The findings of the study showed that the book basically met the requirement of the Faculty of English Department of the university besides some demerits to be changed and adapted
This study is also carried out to evaluate the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – third edition”, but the evaluation is only focused on the suitability of book to the aims and methodology of the course as well as the needs of the students The researcher does not use a single model to conduct the evaluation but criteria from different evaluators are chosen and adapted for the evaluation by means of delivering questionnaire and interviewing both teachers and students It is hoped that the study will reveal reliable and valuable results
Chapter 2 has provided theoretical framework for the thesis Knownedge of text books, coursebooks and materials has been discussed and an agreement has been reached that these three terms can be used interchangeably Roles of coursebook, definition, approaches and criteria of coursebook evaluation were also provided together with related studies on coursebook evaluation In this thesis, the researcher uses mixed approaches, mainly based on Ellis’ framework (1997) together with a selection of different criteria by different evaluators to evaluate the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition”.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The setting
3.1.1 English teaching and learning context
The preparatory school in which this study is conducted was founded in
1975 in order to prepare the necessary knowledge and skills for students who have just graduated from high schools to enter university All of the students between the age of eighteen and twenty are from ethnic groups, mainly in northern areas of the country Most of them have studied English for about seven or ten years but the non-English major students are almost at beginning level while those whose major is English are at elementary or pre-intermediate level They only study at the school for one year with two semesters, each lasting three months
The school year 2017-2018 is the second year the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” officially used for non-English major students at the school At first, the coursebook “English Know-how Opener” was applied for non-English major students of blocks A, B, C, then it was substituted by a new, state-of-the-art coursebook namely “New English File Beginner”, and finally replaced by a new more updated version called
“English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition”, which is currently used as the main coursebook in the school The teaching and learning of English File Beginner series follow communicative language teaching approach
English File Beginner was designed by Christina Latham-Koenig, Clive Oxenden in 2014 It is the third edition of the original book “New English File Beginner Student’s Book” The package of book “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” includes a Student’s Book, a Teacher’s Book, one Workbook without keys for students and one with keys for teachers, English File Beginner iTools and MultiPACK, Class Audio CDs and DVD and the e-book version of the Student’s Book, Teacher’s Book and Workbook
The English File Beginner Student’s Book consists of twelve units/ files divided into two teaching sections Each file presents and practises grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation with a balance of reading and listening activities and lots of opportunities for speaking At the end of every two units, there is one “Practical English” section, which teaches useful, high-frequency, social English and everyday English with real-world In-The-Street interviews There are also Practical English drama and documentary videos that motivate and engage students with English language and culture The Revise and Check pages after every two units help students to consolidate and measure their progress Besides, at the back of the book includes additional resources such as Grammar Bank, Vocabulary Bank and Sound Bank which offer additional support for students
The English course provided by the preparatory school aims to review and reinforce basic English knowledge that students have learnt at high school as well as prepare for students with essential knowledge and skills to enter universities/ colleges After the course, the students are expected to extend their vocabulary of familiar topics such as our life, community, recreation and so on
Also, they are expected to be able to exercise and improve four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing for basic communication Moreover, after finishing the course, students can develop skills of working individually and collaboratively in pairs or groups
Because the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third edition” is applied for non-English major students, there is only one kind of summative assessment which includes two forty-five-minute end-of-term tests.
Research methodology
The informants of the study were 150 non-English major students out of
356 students of the academic year 2017-2018 and 08 Vietnamese teachers of English who were using the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third edition” Of nine classes, four classes including 56 female students and
94 male students from eighteen to twenty years old were randomly chosen by the researcher They all had just finished high school and most of them learned English for seven years or more However, they have different levels of English proficiency because they come from different places in Vietnam with different background knowledge, though most of them are only at beginning level
Regarding English teachers, most of them have more than two years in teaching English File at the school One teacher is taking the M.A course and three of them are M.A degree holders in teaching methodology or linguistics
Moreover, all the teachers are willing and enthusiastic toward their teaching and they always pay attention to the improvement of the course Therefore, they show a lot of interest in this study
To evaluate if the coursebook meets the requirement of the course in terms of methodology, objectives and needs of the students, two instruments for collecting data were used, which were questionnaires and semi-structured interviews
In this study, both questionnaires were used for both teachers and students to collect their attitude and evaluation of the currently used coursebook
“English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” in terms of its suitability to the objectives of the course, students’ needs and current teaching and learning method Each questionnaire is divided into five sections with student version being written in Vietnamese and teacher version in English
Section 1 consists of four questions in questionnaires for students and one question in questionnaires for teachers While the students’ questionnaires ask about students’ English learning background and their motivation, the teachers’ version aims at finding out learners’ level of English
Section 2 is to identify the suitability of the coursebook to the aims of the course Three questions in both questionnaires for teachers and students aim at investigating students’ progress after the course as well as the extent to which the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third edition” meets the aims of the course
Section 3 includes five questions in both questionnaires for students and for teachers which are to identify the suitability of the course to students’ needs
Questions about the topics of the book, the language elements and the skills taught in the book are asked to collect data about its fitness to students’ needs
Section 4 is designed with three questions in both students’ and teachers’ questionnaires to measure the suitability of the coursebook to the current teaching and learning methods through questions about the teaching and learning techniques used in the book and the teaching aids required by the book
Section 5 is teachers’ and students’ general evaluation of the coursebook as well their suggestions and expectations for the book adjustment if necessary
In order to get supplementary ideas besides those collected from the questionnaires, the semi-structured interviews are designed for both teachers and students For teachers, there are four questions to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the book, its suitability to the course aim, students’ needs and the current teaching and learning methods, the difficulties teachers and students have when using the material and their suggestions for better use For students, there are also four questions about what students like or dislike about the coursebook, their progress after the course, the suitability of the book to their level, learning purposes and learning method, the difficulties they have using this material and their suggestion for future use
Data collection was carried out through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews for both teachers and students
- First, the researcher designed the questionnaires based on the criteria that she had carefully chosen and adapted from different evaluators
- Next, the questionnaires were distributed to the students and the teachers who are participants of the study They were returned on the same day
- Then, the semi-structured interviews were conducted All of eight teachers from English group of the school were interviewed and coded as teacher
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 Two groups of students were selected randomly from two classes, with one group including four students coded as student A, B, C, D and another group including three students coded as student E, F, G These interviews were carried out after synthesizing the data collected from the questionnaire Their answers were collected and analyzed to support the questionnaire results about the suitability of the coursebook to the course’s objectives, students’ needs and current teaching and learning method
- Finally, the data were processed manually and the results of the study would be revealed and discussed in the next chapter
The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively For analysis of the questionnaires, the Likert scale was used and necessary calculations were carried out For the analysis of the semi-structured interviews and the open-ended questions in the questionnaires, qualitative techniques were used to categorize and analyze the data
Chapter 3 has presented the setting and methodology of the study
English teaching and learning context at the preparatory school where the study was conducted, course objectives and course assessment applied in the school were discribed There were 150 students and 8 teachers answered the questionnaires 7 of those 150 students and all of 8 teachers were interviewed after the data collected from questionnaires were synthesized Finally, data were processed and analyzed both quatitatively and qualitatively to reveal the findings of the study.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
About the learners
Background information about learners such as their age, years of learning English as well as their current English levels or their purposes of learning is very important for educational institutions to build up the appropriate curriculum and decide on the suitable coursebook for students to study The charts and tables below summarize some major information of the learners at the preparatory school
The two pie charts below present students’ age and their background of learning English as the result collected from students’ questionnaires
As can be seen from Chart 4.1, a large majority of the students (92%) were nine-teen years old at the time of survey, which means that they entered the preparatory school right after they graduated from high school The rest (8%) who were twenty years old joined the school one year after high school graduation
Chart 4.2: Students’ background of learning English
It is obvious from chart 4.2 that all students have been learning English for a long period of time Almost half of them (57%) have spent 7 years studying English while the other half have studied the subject for 10 years (28%) or more than ten years (15%) It means half of them started learning English at primary school and the other half at secondary school
While chart 4.3 presents students’ self-assessment of their English level at the beginning of the course, table 4.1 below shows teachers’ assessment of their students’ level It can be seen that 74% of the students were at “poor” level, which is consistent with teachers’ assessment based on the result of the placement test at the beginning of the school year All teachers assessed that from 70% to 90% of the students had “poor” result in English Nearly a quarter of the students (21%) supposed that they were at “average” level and very few (5%) admitted that they were “good” at English This result is similar to
10 yearsMore than 10 years teachers’ assessment that from 10% to 30% of the students were at average level and from only 1% to 10% of them were good Both teachers and students did not highly appreciate students’ ability in learning English when none of them assessed the students were “excellent”
Table 4.1: Teacher’s assessment of students’ English level at the beginning of the course
Chart 4.3: Students’ self-assessment of their English level at the beginning of the course
From the above analysis, it can be concluded that a vast majority of students had poor level of English
4.1.3 Learners’ purposes of learning English
As can be seen from table 4.2 below, very few students ranked these purposes of learning English as “unimportant” or “not very important” Most of them were aware of the importance of these objectives 65.4% of the students agreed that it is “important” and “very important” to learn English to communicate with foreigners More than half of the students (54.6%) supposed that learning English to prepare for future work is “important” and almost a quarter of the students (26.7%) thought that this purpose is “very important”
Surprisingly, as compared to those two purposes, less students attached the importance of learning English to getting high scores at school with 32.7% of the students thinking it is “important” and 25.4% “very important” For this purpose, most of them found it “neutral” (38%) For personal preferences, a majority of the students (46%) held a “neutral” attitude, though some acknowledged that it was “important” (24%) and “very important” (16%)
Table 4.2: Learners’ purposes of learning English
To communicate in English with foreigners
To prepare for future work 1.3% 2.6% 16.6% 54.6% 26.7%
To get high scores at school 2.6% 1.3% 38% 32.7% 25.4%
To serve personal preferences (listening to music, watching movies in English…)
Notes: 1 = Unimportant 2 = Not very important
To sum up, a majority of students thought it is most important to learn English to prepare for their future work, to communicate in English, to get high scores and to serve their personal preferences respectively
The information about learners’ preferred learning styles helps schools and teachers choose a coursebook which can meet their needs For example, if most of the students prefer learning visually, how the book presents knowledge should be taken into consideration The chart below illustrates students’ favorite learning styles
Chart 4.4: Students’ favorite learning styles
It is obvious from the chart that most of the students (87%) preferred learning verbally, i.e using words in speech and writing The same number of students (68%) liked “visual”, “aural” and “solitary” style It means that they can acquire the knowledge more easily using pictures, videos, music and learning alone About half of the students (53%) preferred social learning style or in other words, they can learn more effectively in pairs and groups Only 33% of the students love physical learning style They might be mature enough, so they were unwilling to use their body parts in learning activities
The suitability of the coursebook to the objectives of the course
This part presents the information collected from both questionnaires and interview questions in which students and teachers were asked to state their views towards the suitability of the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” to the objectives of the course
4.2.1 Data collected from the questionnaire
Results from three questions for teachers and students in the questionnaires are presented in two tables and one chart below
Table 4.3: Students’ and teachers’ evaluation of the objectives of the coursebook
Review and reinforce basic English knowledge that students have learnt at high school
Prepare students with essential knowledge and skills to enter universities/ colleges
Extend students’ vocabulary of familiar topics
Exercise four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing for basic communication
Develop students’ skills of working individually and collaboratively (in pairs/ groups)
Develop students’ language competences to communicate in English independently and confidently
Note: 1 = Poorly 2 = Not very well 3 = Neutrally
The table indicates that both students and teachers agreed the coursebook
“English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” met most of the course’s objectives “well” except for the first objective Moreover, neither teachers nor students thought that these objectives were “poorly” met, except for the first and final objectives
For the first objective which is to review basic knowledge at high school, the judgment of the teachers and students is quite similar when a majority of them supposed that it was not met by the coursebook very well (62.5% and 68% respectively) Some of the teachers and students even ranked the purpose as “poorly” met by the material (12.5% and 26% respectively) Very few teachers and students thought that it was “neutrally” or “well” met, and no one rated it “very well” Most of teachers (75%) and students (50%) evaluated the coursebook “well” prepared students with essential skills and knowledge for university and colleges The two objectives to extend students’ vocabulary of familiar topics and to practice four English skills were highly valued by both teachers and students to be “well” (63.3% - 87.5%) and “very well” (6.7% -
13.3%) met by the coursebook For the two final objectives, teachers seem to be more optimistic than students about the appropriateness of the coursebook with the course’s objectives when no teacher rated that the objectives were
“poorly” or “not very well” achieved by the material Besides, quite of lot of teachers (37.5% - 62.5%) commented that the book met these two objectives
“well” whereas a majority of students (56.7% - 62.7%) ranked them
Table 4.4: Students’ ability to communicate in English about the topics in the coursebook
Note: 1 = Badly 2 = Not very well 3 = Neutrally
In terms of students’ ability to communicate in English about the topics in the book, as presented in table 4.4, most of the students claimed that they could communicate “well” about topics “You and me” (58.7%), “Our lives 2”
(56.7%), “People and places” (50%), “Our lives 1” (42.2 %) Especially, for the topic “Our lives 1”, 22.5% of the students can communicate in English
“very well” For topics “Community” and “Recreation”, most of the students could only interact “neutrally” and some even did not communicate very well (13.3% - 20.7%)
Like the students, a majority of the teachers also agreed that their students can communicate “well” or “neutrally” about most of the topics in the book
Apart from the two topics “You and me” and “Community”, both teachers and students evaluated that there were not any students who “badly” communicated about the other topics
Chart 4.5: Students’ progress after the course
Regarding students’ progress after the course, it is very obvious from chart 4.5 that most of the students were evaluated by both teachers (50%) and students themselves (46.7%) to make moderate progress after the course
Besides, teachers were generally more positive about the students’ progress
12.5% of them valued that the progress was considerable, which almost trebled
60% the number of students of the same rating (4%) A quite large number of both teachers (37.5%) and students (45.3%) admitted that though students had progress in English after the course, the progress was not very much There were no students with “no progress at all” as assessed by both teachers and students
4.2.2 Data collected from semi-structured interviews
Most of the interviewed teachers agreed that the coursebook was quite suitable to the course’s objectives because “it helps to develop students’ four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing, which prepares them for university program” (teacher 7) Teacher 8 added that the book was
“fundamentally appropriate with the course objective to extend the vocabulary and exercise four skills” However, they agreed that the knowledge taught in the book was quite easy so “students cannot review much of the knowledge they have learned at high school” This result is consistent with the result collected from questionnaires
In terms of students’ progress after the course, all the students interviewed confirmed that they made progress, though at different rates of progress
Students A and F were very optimistic when saying that then he could learn basic knowledge in English “I am able to communicate in simple English about most of the topics in the book, except for the two topics “Community” and “Recreation” because the content introduced in these two units was not very familiar and the language is of difficult level to me”, said student A
Student B confirmed that this book helped him “practice much about listening and speaking skill” and well prepared him for university Although rating the book good, student F replied that he could not make much progress after the course because “I do not spend much time reviewing and practicing at home”, he admitted
From the analysis of the questionnaires and interviews above, it can be concluded that the coursebook basically met most of the course’s objectives well and after the course, most of the students could communicate well about the topics in the book However, the material cannot help students to review the knowledge they have learnt at high school because the knowledge presented in the material is very simple and it does not include as many grammar and vocabulary practices as in high school Moreover, some students failed to talk about the topics “You and me”, “Community” and “Recreation” because of the unfamiliar and difficult language content; therefore, the amount of time for these topics should be increased so that teachers and students can focus more on them Another finding is that after the course, students did make progress although for many of them, the progress was not very much.
The suitability of the coursebook to students’ needs
This part is designed to investigate the suitability of the coursebook to the students’ needs The students and teachers were asked to share in the questionnaires and interviews about their opinion of the topics, language elements, language skills and the appropriateness of the coursebook with their learning purposes
Chart 4.6 below presents teachers’ and students’ evaluation of the topics in the book The figures say that teachers and students have similar judgement of the topics covered in the coursebook None of them thought the topics were
“boring” or “very boring” A majority of both teachers (75%) and students
(53.3%) judged they were “exciting” Besides, while some (12.5% - 20%) thought the topics were “normal”, some other (12.5% - 26.7%) found them
“very exciting” Therefore, it can be concluded that the students seem to be interested in the topics in the book
Chart 4.6: Students’ and teachers’ evaluation of the topics of the coursebook
In terms of language elements, as can be seen from table 4.5 below, a great number of both students and teachers had positive opinion about the grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation presented in the coursebook Not any students and teachers strongly disagreed with the comments In terms of grammar, more than half of the students (66.7%) and teachers (75%) agreed that it was taught in context with interesting examples, and the grammatical items were appropriate to students’ level The other students and teachers strongly agreed with these comments, except for 3.3% of the students disagreeing With regard to vocabulary, most of the teachers and students agreed that the words were contextualized and efficiently recycled throughout the book with appropriate level of difficulty Half of the teachers even strongly agreed with the statements The number of students who strongly agreed is also considerable with 34% For pronunciation, a vast majority of both students (66.7%) and teachers (62.5%) agreed that it was contextualized and appropriate to students’ level
Very boring Boring Normal Exciting Very exciting
Table 4.5: Students’ and teachers’ evaluation of the language elements in the coursebook
The grammar is contextualized, appropriate to students’ level
The vocabulary load in each lesson is appropriate to students’ level
Words are contextualized and efficiently repeated and recycled across the book
It is contextualized and appropriate to learner’s level
Note: 1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neither agree nor disagree
The three tables 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8 below illustrate students’ and teachers’ evaluation of the skills in the coursebook as well as their suggestions on the proportion of each skill
Table 4.6: Students’ and teachers’ evaluation of the skills in the coursebook
The material offers a broad range of listening tasks set in meaningful contexts with authentic language used, good sound quality and appropriate level of difficulty
A wide range of activities are well- designed to motivate students to talk and to equip them for real-life interaction
There is a wide range of reading texts and associated tasks appropriate for students in terms of length and level of difficulty
Models are provided for different genres
Tasks are appropriate for students’ level with achievable goal
Note: 1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Neither agree nor disagree
Table 4.7: Students’ suggestions on the proportion of the skills
Table 4.8: Teachers’ suggestions on the proportion of the skills
As can be seen from table 4.6, no students and teachers strongly disagreed or disagreed with the statements about the four skills, except for few students disagreed with listening skill However, overall, for listening, a vast majority of students (94.4%) and teachers (87.5%) agreed and strongly agreed that the coursebook provided a wide range of listening tasks set in meaningful contexts with authentic language used, good sound quality and appropriate level of difficulty Regarding the number of tasks and amount of time for this skill, no one would like fewer tasks and less time spent, except for only 2.6% of the students who preferred less listening time A great number of students preferred more listening exercises (73.3%) and more time to practice this skill (64.1%) Half of the teachers (50%) also suggested the numbers of tasks and time allocation increase; however, another half suggested “unchanged”
In terms of speaking skill, 96.7% of the students and 87.5% of the teachers agreed and strongly agreed that a wide range of activities were well- designed to motivate students to talk and to equip them for real-life interaction
Like listening skill, most of the teachers and students suggested more time (75% and 64.3% respectively) and more activities (62.5% and 76.6% respectively) for them to practice speaking
With regard to reading and writing skills, no one disagreed or strongly disagreed with the comments As compared to students, teachers seemed to more positively evaluate these two skills in the book Up to 62.5% and 87.5% of the teachers strongly agreed that both skills were diverse in terms of tasks and suitable for learners in terms of difficulty There were more students who agreed (61.3% for reading and 70% for writing) with these comments than those who strongly agreed Besides, neither teachers nor students preferred fewer tasks for these two skills Most of them would like the number of tasks and amount of time to be unchanged whereas a significant number of them (33.3% - 48.8%) preferred more tasks and more time for both reading and writing skills A few students (2.6% - 4%) expected less time for these two skills
Chart 4.7: The appropriateness of the coursebook with students’ learning purposes
Chart 4.7 illustrates students’ evaluation of the appropriateness of the coursebook with students’ purposes It can be clearly seen that the material can meet students’ purposes of getting high result at school the best (56.7%), then preparing for future work (46.7%), personal preferences (36%) and communication (30%) respectively In the analysis of students’ learning purposes, students supposed that the most important purpose was to prepare for their future work, then to communicate in English, to get high scores and finally to serve their personal preferences Although these results are not very consistent, they show that all the purposes were achieved by the coursebook
4.3.2 Data collected from semi-structured interviews
In terms of the topics of the book, both interviewed teachers and students found that these topics were familiar and interesting For example, students could learn more about countries and nationalities around the world, about small things around them, so they could practice and communicate about these topics in real life (teacher 2 and student A) Nevertheless, some of them found some tasks unsuitable to Vietnamese students As teacher 5 said “some tasks failed to attract students’ attention and engagement because of the unfamiliar knowledge, for example to guess different brands of cars or tell names of some famous people in the world” that students do not now Another example is asking about things students leave on the plane whereas most of them haven’t had flying experience (student G)
When being asked about the strengths and weaknesses or what they like or do not like about the book, a lot of teachers and students had good reviews
Teacher 2 and student B found the grammar bank, vocabulary bank and sound bank in the book helpful with the illustrated pictures for vocabulary and sounds and clear examples and explanation for grammar “The book is very easy to use with the vocabulary bank, grammar bank and sound bank After each grammar point, we can practice the exercises right in class and we also have further exercises in the Workbook to practice at home” (student B) Teacher 5 added that “the vocabulary load is quite sufficient” for most of the students, but for some good students, “the grammar and vocabulary knowledge is rather simple and not enough” (teacher 6) With regard to four skills, teacher 7 supposed that this material helped “to develop students’ four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing” However, not only teachers but also students thought that they needed more time to practice listening and speaking skill because they were bad at communicating (students A and B, teacher 6) Student B suggested some videos teaching how to pronounce the sounds for pronunciation part
Overall, it can be concluded from the above analyses that the coursebook corresponds quite well to students’ needs Most of the topics are of students’ interest, so most of them found the topics exciting and very interesting
However, there were still some tasks in these topics inappropriate for Vietnamese students because they had no experience and interest in the information presented Both the language elements and skills in the book were positively evaluated by both teachers and students that they were authentic, contextualized and appropriate for students’ level The book can also meet all students’ learning purposes, but not in the priority of importance that they have attached to each purpose Therefore, teachers should pay more attention to the purposes that students found most important like learning for future work or for better communication For example, teachers can introduce some topics related to future work and create more opportunity for them to interact with each other in the four experience/ supplementary weeks of the course.
The suitability of the coursebook to the current teaching and learning methods 46 1 Data collected from questionnaires
Questions in this part are used to find out how much the coursebook is suited to the current teaching and learning methods Things which the author based on to investigate are as follows: the effectiveness of the teaching and learning interactions used with the coursebook, the frequency of the teaching aids used with the coursebook and students’ and teachers’ evaluation on the methodology of the coursebook
Table 4.9: Effectiveness of the teaching and learning interactions used with the coursebook
Note: 1 = Very ineffective 2 = Ineffective 3 = Neither ineffective nor effective
Table 4.9 indicates students’ and teachers’ evaluation of the effectiveness of the teaching and learning interactions used in the coursebook Generally, most of the interactions were assessed “effective” by both teachers and students Pair work, group work, individual work and teacher presentation were considered to be the most effective No teacher thought that these four patterns of interaction were “very ineffective” whereas no or just a few students (0% - 2.6%) evaluated them as “very ineffective” or “ineffective” This result is compatible with students’ preferences of learning style as analyzed above
Most of the students preferred verbal style, visual, aural, solitary, social and physical style respectively This explains why they found it most effective to listen to the teacher, work on their own or work together in some class activities For student presentation and whole class work, although quite a lot of the students (38% - 41.3%) supposed “effective” and “very effective”, more of them rated “neither ineffective nor effective” (50% - 52%) for these two types of interactions In contrast, teachers considered both student presentation and whole class work to be equally “effective” (62.5%) and “very effective”
(12.5%), almost as efficient as the other interactions
Table 4.10: The frequency of the teaching aids used with the coursebook
As can be seen from table 4.10, the teaching aids most frequently used with the book was cassette recorders, projectors and videos because there are a lot of audios and videos for listening tasks in each unit After every two units, there is a Practical English Practice or Revise and Check which includes In- the-street videos, short films, or authentic videos about life of two main characters Jenny and Rob Charts and regalia were almost not used with this book 100% of the teachers and 63.3% of the students confirmed that the charts were “never” used; other students supposed they were “rarely” used Regalia were “sometimes” (32.6% - 37.5%) or “never” (9.4% - 12.5%) used but mainly they were “rarely” used (50% - 58%) These results match with students’ learning preference of visual and aural style as analyzed above
Table 4.11: Students’ and teachers’ evaluation on the methodology of the coursebook
The material provides a good balance of four-skill practice, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar reinforcement
The material provides tasks and activities to practice language and integrated skills in meaningful communication
The material includes language guidances for students and suggestions for their further self- study
The material is flexible in orders of different units and language points It can also be linked to other materials for references
Note: 1 = Poorly 2 = Not very well 3 = Neutrally
According to the figures in table 4.11, almost no or very few teachers and students supposed that the criteria were met “poorly” or “not very well” by the coursebook There was a slight difference between teachers’ and students’ opinions Teachers were more optimistic about the appropriateness of the book with the given criteria when no one rated “poorly” or “not very well” for the criteria and only 12.5% of them rated “neutrally” for the first and fourth criteria; in the meantime, some students still thought the coursebook “poorly” met or did not meet the criteria very well Quite a lot of the students (3.35% – 24.7%) hold the neutral attitude for these criteria For all criteria, the majority of both teachers and students agreed that the material can meet these requirement “well” (25% - 75%) and “very well” (3.3% - 75%) Among four criteria, that the material provides knowledge and skills taught integratedly and meaningfully, and that it provides language guidance and suggestion for further study were evaluated to be best met by the book All teachers and from 48.6% to 95.7% of the students thought these two criteria were “well” or “very well” met by the book
4.4.2 Data collected from semi-structured interviews
In general, the interviewed teacher and students agreed that the coursebook is communicative and suitable for the current teaching and learning method of teachers and students They explained that the language elements and skills in the book were “usually linked to each other, which helps students to practice them regularly” (teacher 8) Besides, there are “Communication” parts in the book with information gap activities in almost every unit of the book for students to interact with their friends to find out the missing information (teacher 3 and student C) When being asked, student C was very excited about it: “we have a lot of fun in the activities”, she shared What students and teachers enjoyed about the material is the authentic videos in the
Practical English part (teacher 6) “I love to follow the episodes about Jenny and Rob in the Practical English It’s really enjoyable when I can study and watch the film in English at the same time The In-the-street interviews are also very interesting”, student D shared Besides, students are satisfied to have chances to listen regularly in each unit (student F) For topics like colors, small objects or school things, teachers sometimes used real objects in the classroom such as books, notebooks, pens, etc to illustrate the words, which is so interesting to learn (student G)
Overall, from the questionnaire and interview result, it can be evaluated that the coursebook is almost appropriate to the current teaching and learning methods of teachers and students in the school Individual work, teacher presentation, pair work and group work were considered to be the most effective interactions in class while student presentation, and whole-class work were not very positively evaluated Cassette recorders, videos and projectors were most frequently used with this book These results means that this coursebook is quite suitable for students’ method because as synthesized, most of them preferred verbal, visual, aural and solitary style The coursebook is also basically appropriate with the current teaching methods when it meets quite well most of the requirements of the communicative language teaching approach currently applied at the school.
General evaluation and suggestion for further use of the coursebook
This part investigates teachers’ and students’ overall evaluation of the coursebook and asks for suggestions for better further use of the material
Chart 4.8 below reveals the overall rating of the coursebook by students and teachers It is obvious that no one rated the quality of the book “poor” or
“excellent” Few of them rated it “fair’ (12.5% - 21.4%) or “very good” (14%
- 25%) whereas most of them evaluated the book of “good’’ quality (62.5 –
Chart 4.8: Students’ and teachers’ overall rating of the coursebook
In terms of time allocation for each unit, as can be seen from chart 4.9 below, no one thought that 3 lessons (135 minutes) for each unit with totally 84 lessons for the whole course was too much Though a majority of both teachers and students (62%- 62.5%) supposed that the time allocation was enough and suitable, some of them (23.3% - 25%) thought that it was quite little and a few (12.5% - 14.7%) thought it was rather much It means that most of them would like the time allocation to be unchanged Some of them expected to have more time for each unit and a few preferred less time Teachers can base on the ability of students in each group to allocate the time more flexibly
Poor Fair Good Very good Excellent
Chart 4.9: Students’ and teachers’ judgement on the time allocation for each unit
Through the data collected from the questionnaires, most of the students had no suggestions for further use though some of them suggested more time and practices for speaking and listening skills This result is consistent with what was collected from the interview Students hoped to practice listening and speaking more because more time was spent in class on vocabulary, grammar and reading than on these two skills (student E) Teacher 8 also shared this idea
Another student thought teachers should redesign some tasks so that it is more suitable to Vietnamese students “For example, they can replace some famous people in Europe or America by our Vietnamese or Korean idols”, student B shared Some teachers suggested that more time should be spent on each unit and teachers can more flexibly use the book For example, they can combine two grammar points in two units into one for better use “Teachers can teach subject pronouns and verb be in one unit, instead of in three units like Unit 1A
Little Enough Much Too much
(verb be (singular): I and you), unit 1B (verb be (singular): he, she, it) and (verb be (plural): we, you, they)”, teacher 3 suggested Teacher 2 recommended that teachers survey and classify students’ learning styles and purposes to modify the materials to best fit their needs “For example, if more students prefer visual learning style, teachers can make use of the pictures in the books to design suitable activities for them If most students learn the subject to communicate in English, teachers can focus more on speaking and listening skills and give them more time to interact with each other”
Chapter 4 has analyzed and discussed the results from the questionnaires and interviews Information about learners’ English background, level, learning styles was presented Most of the students have learnt English for 7 years or more, but they were at poor level They studied English mainly for their future work, and to communicate in English They prefer verbal, visual, aural and solitary learning styles It was revealed that the coursebook basically met the course objectives, students’ needs and fit in with current teaching and learning methods, though it still contains some unsuitable parts/ knowledge.
CONCLUSION
Conclusion
This thesis is carried out to evaluate the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third edition”, which is used for non-English major students at a preparatory school in Viet Tri to determine whether or not it meets the requirements of the course in terms of the objectives, students’ needs and methodology
5.1.1 The suitability to the objectives of the course
The analysis revealed that the coursebook basically meet the objectives of the course After the course, most of the students made progress and they could communicate well about the topics in the book However, for some of them, the progress was not very considerable Some failed to talk about the topics “You and me”, “Community” and “Recreation” because of the unfamiliar and difficult language content Also, the material with simple knowledge for beginners almost failed to review the knowledge students have learned at high school
5.1.2 The suitability to students’ needs
In general, it can be concluded that the coursebook met students’ needs quite well Most of the topics are exciting to them and the language elements and skills were overall assessed to be authentic, contextualized and appropriate to students’ level The book can also fit in with all students’ learning purposes, but the most important purposes as rated by students were not most effectively met by the book Therefore, some certain suggestions are proposed so as to more satisfactorily meet students’ purposes
5.1.3 The suitability to current teaching and learning methods
In general, the coursebook is quite appropriate to the current teaching and learning method The teaching and learning interactions such as teacher presentation, individual work, group work, pairwork etc used with this material were the most effective for students and appropriate with students’ learning styles Some teaching aids were used frequently with this coursebook including cassette recorders, videos and projectors because there were a lot of audios and videos for listening tasks used in the book The coursebook is also suitable with the currently applied method of teaching, i.e communicative language teaching because it met most of the requirements of this method
It can be concluded that the coursebook basically met the objectives of the course, and it could also fit in quite well with students’ needs and the current teaching and learning method applied at the school The general evaluation of the students that the book was good and the time allocation was suitable can support this conclusion
In order to make the coursebook more appropriate, some suggestions are offered such as: focusing more on some topics that are difficult and unfamiliar to students, providing students with more materials for reference so that they can review more knowledge at highschool, adding more suitable knowledge to help students achieve their purposes/ objectives of learning English, giving more listening and speaking practices, etc These suggestions are expected to make a contribution to the improvement of the coursebook for more effective use in future courses at the school.
Limitations and suggestions for further studies
Within the limited scope of the current study, these limitations are unavoidable Firstly, only one type evaluation - the empirical evaluation - was conducted, the other types - impressive and predictive evaluation were not carried out Besides, only three criteria which are the suitability of the coursebook to the course’s objectives, students’ needs and current teaching and learning methods were selected to evaluate the material; therefore, the result was not thorough Secondly, only the students’ book was evaluated; the workbook and teacher’s book were not involved Thus, it is proposed that all the predictive, impressive and empirical evaluation be conducted together in further research Also, more criteria should be chosen to evaluate the book in the future such as the book’s content, topics, format, etc Alternatively, future researchers can evaluate all the books’ package including students’ book, workbook and teacher’s book
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27 Ur, P (1996) A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge
28 Wong Pak Wing Lawrence (2011) Textbook Evaluation: A Framework for
Evaluating the Fitness of the HongKong New Secondary School (NSS) Curriculum MA Thesis University of HongKong
PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT Ý KIẾN SINH VIÊN Đối tượng: Học sinh không chuyên Anh (Khối A, B, C) trường Dự bị Đại học Mục đích: Để đánh giá giáo trình Tiếng Anh “English File Beginner Student’s
Book – Third Edition” dành cho học sinh không chuyên Anh (Khối
A, B, C) trường Dự bị Đại học, tôi cần tìm hiểu và thu thập những ý kiến đóng góp, nhận xét cũng như nhu cầu, nguyện vọng của các bạn khi học giáo trình này Những ý kiến đóng góp của các bạn sẽ có giá trị cho quá trình nghiên cứu đánh giá giáo trình này để qua đó tôi có thể tìm ra những điểm chưa thật phù hợp của giáo trình, và có những điều chỉnh hợp lý, nhằm nâng cao chất lượng giảng dạy và học tập tại trường Để trả lời những câu hỏi dưới đây, vui lòng đánh dấu () vào ô mình chọn
PHẦN I: Thông tin cá nhân
1 Bạn bao nhiêu tuổi? ………… tuổi
2 Bạn đã học Tiếng Anh được bao lâu rồi?
3 Trình độ Tiếng Anh của bạn trước khi bắt đầu khoá học Tiếng Anh tại trường?
4 Mục đích (động lực) học Tiếng Anh của bạn là gì? Bạn đánh giá mức độ quan trọng của các mục đích đó như thế nào?
Không quan trọng Ít quan trọng
Giao tiếp với người nước ngoài Chuẩn bị cho công việc sau này Đạt kết quả cao trong các kỳ thi tại trường
Phục vụ sở thích cá nhân (nghe nhạc, xem phim…) Ý kiến khác (nếu có): …………
5 Phong cách học yêu thích của bạn là gì? (có thể chọn nhiều phong cách)
Học hỏi bằng thị giác Học hỏi bằng logic Học hỏi bằng thính giác Thiên hướng xã hội Học hỏi bằng lời nói Thiên hướng cá nhân Học qua hoạt động thể chất
PHẦN II: Mức độ phù hợp của giáo trình với mục tiêu của khoá học
1 Bạn đánh giá như thế nào về mức độ đáp ứng của giáo trình đối với các mục tiêu dưới đây của khoá học?
Trung bình Tốt Rất tốt Ôn tập và củng cố những kiến thức Tiếng Anh cơ bản đã học ở bậc trung học phổ thông
Chuẩn bị cho học sinh kiến thức và kỹ năng để vào học đại học, cao đẳng
Mở rộng vốn từ chung về các chủ đề quen thuộc
Rèn luyện các kỹ năng giao tiếp cơ bản: nghe, nói, đọc, viết
Phát triển kỹ năng làm việc cá nhân, theo cặp/ nhóm
Phát triển năng lực Tiếng Anh để bước đầu sử dụng độc lập, tự tin trong giao tiếp
2 Sau khi kết thúc khoá học, bạn có thể giao tiếp bằng Tiếng Anh như thế nào về các chủ đề trong giáo trình?
Chủ đề Kém Không tốt lắm
Trung bình Tốt Rất tốt
Unit 1B: Where are you from?
Unit 2B: What’s your phone number?
Unit 3A: What’s in your bag?
Unit 4A: Family and friends Unit 4B: Big cars or small cars?
Unit 5A: Breakfast around the world
Unit 5B: A very long flight Unit 6A: She works for Armani Unit 6B: A day in my life
Unit 7A: What do you do in your free time?
Unit 8A: Can you start the car, please?
Unit 8B: What do you like doing?
Unit 9A: What are they doing?
Unit 10A: Is there really a monster?
Unit 10B: Before they were famous…
Unit 11A: It changed my life Unit 11B: Life in a day Unit 12A: Strangers on the train Unit 12B: A weekend in Venice
3 Sau khi kết thúc khoá học mức độ tiến bộ của bạn như thế nào?
Rất tiến bộ Có tiến bộ nhưng không đáng kể
Tiến bộ Không tiến bộ
Phần III: Mức độ phù hợp của giáo trình với nhu cầu người học
1 Bạn đánh giá như thế nào về những chủ đề trong giáo trình này?
Rất nhàm chán Nhàm chán Bình thường Thú vị Rất thú vị
2 Bạn đánh giá như thế nào về các thành tố ngôn ngữ trong mỗi bài học của giáo trình này?
Nhận xét Rất không đồng ý
Ngữ pháp phù hợp với trình độ của học sinh, được dạy trong ngữ cảnh Trình bày, ví dụ dễ hiểu, thú vị
Từ vựng Lượng từ mới trong mỗi bài học hợp lý Từ vựng được dạy trong ngữ cảnh từ dễ đến khó, có lặp lại trong các bài học
Phát âm Được dạy trong ngữ cảnh, phù hợp với trình độ học sinh
3 Ý kiến của bạn về 4 kỹ năng trong mỗi bài học của giáo trình này như thế nào?
Nhận xét Rất không đồng ý
Không đồng ý Không chắc chắn Đồng ý
Tài liệu nghe phong phú, thực tế, phù hợp trình độ học sinh
Chất lượng âm thanh, hình ảnh tốt
Ngữ liệu, chủ đề hoạt động nói đa dạng, hiệu quả, khích lệ học sinh thực hành nói và trang bị cho học sinh kỹ năng giao tiếp trong các tình huống thực tế Đọc
Bài đọc và các bài tập đọc hiểu đa dạng, phù hợp với trình độ của học sinh
4 Theo bạn nên phân bổ 4 kỹ năng như thế nào cho hợp lý?
Nhiệm vụ thực hành Phân bổ thời gian Ít hơn Không thay đổi
Nhiều hơn Ít hơn Không thay đổi
5 Giáo trình đã đáp ứng những mục tiêu nào sau đây của bạn?
1 Giao tiếp với người nước ngoài Chuẩn bị cho công việc sau này Đạt kết quả cao trong các kỳ thi tại trường Phục vụ sở thích cá nhân (nghe nhạc, xem phim…)
Phần IV: Mức độ phù hợp của giáo trình với phương pháp dạy và học hiện tại
1 Các tương tác/ kỹ thuật dạy và học nào được đề xuất sử dụng trong giáo trình này? Tính hiệu quả của chúng như thế nào?
Hiệu quả Rất hiệu quả
Làm việc theo cặp Làm việc theo nhóm Làm việc cá nhân Học sinh thuyết trình Giáo viên trình bày Làm việc tập thể lớp
2 Những phương tiện hỗ trợ giảng dạy dưới đây được sử dụng đi kèm với giáo trình này như thế nào?
Máy chiếu Tranh ảnh Video Vật thật Khác (nếu có)……
3 Bạn đánh giá như thế nào về mức độ đáp ứng của giáo trình về các tiêu chí sau?
Giáo trình cung cấp đầy đủ, cân đối các hoạt động nghe nói đọc viết, luyện ngữ âm, củng cố ngữ pháp, từ vựng Các hoạt động trong giáo trình khuyến khích học sinh và vận dụng tích hợp các kỹ năng với mục đích giao tiếp thực tế
Giáo trình cung cấp tài liệu hỗ trợ hoạt động tự học của học sinh
Giáo trình có thể thay đổi linh hoạt giữa các đơn vị, nội dung bài học bài học, có thể liên kết với các tài liệu khác
1 Ý kiến đánh giá chung của bạn về giáo trình:
Kém Khá tốt Tốt Rất tốt Tuyệt vời
2 Theo bạn 84 tiết học cho khoá học với 2-3 tiết/ đơn vị bài học là Ít Phù hợp Nhiều Quá nhiều
3 Theo bạn giáo trình cần có những thay đổi gì?
4 kỹ năng (nghe, nói, đọc, viết)
Nội dung các chủ đề
Chân thành cảm ơn sự hợp tác của các bạn!
This questionnaire is designed to investigate opinions of English teachers at a preparatory school in Viet Tri about the coursebook “English File Beginner
Student’s Book – Third Edition” for non-major English students at the school
Your ideas are very meaningful and valuable for this research of evaluating the material, from which appropriate adjustments will be made in order to improve the quality of future teaching and learning English at the school Please answer the following questions by putting a tick () at the appropriate options and/or filling in the blanks
Thank you for your cooperation!
1 What are your learners’ level of English before taking the English course at your school? Write the percentage in the suitable column (Use the result of the placement test at the beginning of the school year)
SECTION 2: The suitability of the coursebook to the objectives of the course
1 In your opinion, how does the material meet the following objectives of the course?
Review and reinforce basic English knowledge that students have learnt at high school
Prepare for students with essential knowledge and skills to enter universities/ colleges Extend students’ vocabulary of familiar topics Exercise four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing for basic communication Develop students’ skills of working individually and collaboratively (in pairs/ groups) Develop students’ language competences to communicate in English independently and confidently
2 After the course, how well can your students communicate in English about the following topics in the material?
Unit 1B: Where are you from?
Unit 2A: We aren’t English We’re American
Unit 2B: What’s your phone number?
Unit 3A: What’s in your bag?
Unit 4A: Family and friends Unit 4B: Big cars or small cars?
Unit 5A: Breakfast around the world
Unit 5B: A very long flight Unit 6A: She works for Armani Unit 6B: A day in my life
Unit 7A: What do you do in your free time?
Unit 8A: Can you start the car, please?
Unit 8B: What do you like doing?
Unit 9A: What are they doing?
Unit 9B: Working undercover Unit 10A: Is there really a monster?
Unit 10B: Before they were famous…
Unit 11A: It changed my life Unit 11B: Life in a day Unit 12A: Strangers on the train Unit 12B: A weekend in Venice
Note: 1 = Badly 2 = Not very well 3 = Neutrally
3 What is your students’ progress after the course?
Considerable progress Not much progress Moderate progress No progress at all
SECTION 3: The suitability of the coursebook to students’ needs
1 What do you think about the topics in this material?
Very boring Boring Normal Exciting Very exciting
2 What do you think about the language elements in this material?
The grammar is contextualized, appropriate to students’ level
The vocabulary load in each lesson is appropriate to students’ level Words are contextualized and efficiently repeated and recycled across the book
Pronunciation It is contextualized and appropriate to learner’s level
3 What do you think about the four skills in this materials?
Listening The material offers a broad range of listening tasks set in meaningful contexts with authentic language used, good sound quality and appropriate level of difficulty
Speaking A wide range of activities are well- designed to motivate students to talk and to equip them for real-life interaction
Reading There is a wide range of reading texts and associated tasks appropriate for students in terms of length and level of difficulty
Writing Models are provided for different genres Tasks are appropriate for students’ level with achievable goal
4 In your opinion, how should the four skills be reallocated?
Fewer Unchanged More Less Unchanged More
5 Which of your following learning purposes are met by this coursebook?
1 To communicate in English with foreigners
To prepare for future work
To get high scores at school
To serve personal preferences (listening to music, watching movies in English…)
SECTION 4: The suitability of the coursebook to the current teaching and learning methods
1 How effective are the following teaching and learning interactions used in this material?
Ineffective Neither effective nor ineffective
Pair work Group work Individual work Student presentation Teacher presentation Whole class work
2 How often are the following teaching aids used with this material?
Charts Videos Realia Other (if any)……
3 In your opinion, how does the coursebook meet the following requirements?
The material provides a good balance of four-skill practice, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar reinforcement
The material provides tasks and activities to practice language and integrated skills in meaningful communication
The material includes language guidance for students and suggestions for their further self-study
The material is flexible in orders of different units and language points It can also be linked to other materials for references
1 What is your overall rating of the coursebook?
Poor Fair Good Very good Excellent
2 In your opinion, 84 lessons for the whole course with 2-3 lessons/ unit is…
Little Enough Much Too much
3 What are your suggestions for the improvement of the current coursebook?
Four skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing)
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
APPENDIX 3: TRANSCRIPT OF TEACHER INTERVIEW Researcher: Good morning everyone! I am very glad to welcome and thank all of you for coming here today As you know, I am doing the thesis entitled “An empirical evaluation of the coursebook “English File Beginner
Student’s Book - Third Edition” for non-English major students at a preparatory school for ethnic groups in Viet Tri” My research is going to find out the extent to which the coursebook “English File Beginner Students’
Book – Third Edition” meets the course’s objectives, the students’ needs and suits the current teaching and learning methods of the course All of you here have at least two years of teaching this material; therefore, I would like you all to share and give recommendations on the matters above You are ensured that all your names and identities will be kept confidentially, and please be aware that all of the interviews will be recorded and transcribed later on Now we will start with question 1
Researcher: Question 1: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the coursebook “English File Beginner Students’ Book – Third Edition”?
Teacher 1: Well, generally speaking the book is quite suitable for non-
English major students at our schools because although they have learned English for many years, their English knowledge is very poor, just at beginning level In terms of weaknesses, I think the knowledge covered in the book is quite simple, so students cannot review much of the knowledge they have learned at high school
Teacher 2: Compared to the coursebook previously used “English
Know-How Opener”, English File Beginner is much more interesting The topics are familiar to students and of students’ interest There are vocabulary banks illustrated with pictures, grammar banks with clear examples and explanation, and sound banks with picture illustration of 44 sounds in English