Output file VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES HỨA THỊ MAI HOA EVALUATING THE TEXTBOOK “ENGLISH FOR ENGINEERING” FOR[.]
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES HỨA THỊ MAI HOA EVALUATING THE TEXTBOOK “ENGLISH FOR ENGINEERING” FOR STUDENTS AT HANOI INDUSTRIAL VOCATIONAL COLLEGE (HNIVC) (ĐÁNH GIÁ GIÁO TRÌNH “TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH CƠ KHÍ” DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN TRONG TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG NGHỀ CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân HANOI- 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration………………………………………………………………………… …… iii Retention and use of the thesis……………………………………………………… … iv Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………… v Abstract……………………………………………………………………… ………… vi Table of content………………………………………………………………………… vi List of abbreviations………………………………………………………… ………… xi Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study……………………………………………………………… 1.2 Aims of the study…………………………………………………………… … 1.3 Research questions………………………………………………………… …… … 1.4 Scope of the study………………………………………………………… ……… 1.5 Methods of the study………………………………………………………………… 1.6 Design of the study………………………………………………… ……………… 1.7 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………… Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 2.2 Materials in language teaching and learning……………………………………… 2.2.1 Roles of textbooks in EFL/ESL class…………………………………………… 2.2.2 Types of textbooks……………………………………………………………… 2.3 English for specific purpose ( ESP) 2.3.1 What is ESP? 2.3.2 Characteristics of ESP…………………………………………………………… 2.3.3 Conditions of applying ESP…………………………………… ……………… 2.4 Textbooks evaluation 2.4.1 What is textbooks evaluation? 2.4.2 Why textbooks evaluation? ……………… 2.4.3 Types of textbooks evaluation…………………………………………………… 10 2.4.4 Models for materials evaluation………………………………………………… 12 2.4.5 Criteria for textbooks evaluation………………………………………………… 18 2.5 Materials adaptation……………………………………………………… 19 2.6 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………… 21 Chapter RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 22 3.2.Research methodology……………………………………………………………… 22 3.3 Description of teaching ESP and its objectives at HNIVC 3.3.1 Description of the students at HNIVC…………………………………………… 23 3.3.2 Description of the teachers at HNIVC…………………………………………… 23 3.33 The teaching and learning ESP at HNIVC………………………… …………… 24 3.4 Data collection procedures 3.4.1 Document analysis……………………………………………… ……………… 24 3.4.2 Questionnaires……………………………………………………………………… 24 3.4.2.1 Questionnaires for teachers (Q1)……………………… 24 3.4.2.2 Questionnaires for students (Q2)……………………………………………… 26 3.5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………… 26 Chapter DATA ANALYSIS 4.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 27 4.2 Objectives of the course…………………………………………………… …… 27 4.3 Significance of each criterion…………………………………………………… 28 4.3.1 Audience………………………………………………………………………… 28 4.3.2 The aims of the materials………………………………………… …………… 28 4.3.3 The contents of the textbook…………………………………………………… 29 4.3.4 The methodology……………………………………………………………… 29 4.4 The realization of each criterion in the textbook “English for Engineering” (EFE) 4.4.1 Audience…………………………………………………………………………… 29 4.4.2 The aim of EFE…………………………………………………………………… 30 4.4.3 The content of EFE………………………………………………………………… 30 4.4.4 The methodology…………………………………………………………………… 31 4.5 Data analysis and discussion 4.5.1 Result……………………………………………………………………………… 31 4.5.2 The appropriateness of the material to the aims of the course 4.5.2.1 The appropriateness of the aims of the coursebook in terms of language aspects 31 4.5.2.2 The appropriateness of the aims of the coursebook in term of language skills… 34 4.5.3 The appropriateness of the material to the content requirements of the course 4.5.3.1 Language points 34 4.5.3.2 Language skills…………………………………………………………………… 35 4.5.3.3 Text types………………………………………………………………………… 35 4.5.3.4 Topics…………………………………………………………………………… 35 4.5.3.5 The appropriateness of the content of the coursebook in terms of language aspects…………………………………………………………………………………… 35 4.5.3.6 The appropriateness of the content of the courrsebook in terms of language skills……………………………………………………………………………………… 36 4.5.3.7 Matching and discussion………………………………………………………… 37 4.5.4 The appropriateness of the material to the methodology requirements of the course 4.5.4.1 Material analysis result…………………………………………………………… 37 4.5.4.2 Matching and discussion………………………………………………………… 39 4.6 The teachers' teaching experience and suggestions………………………………… 40 4.7 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………… 40 Chapter CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Result obtained……………………………………………………………………… 41 5.2 Areas for adaptation………………………………………………………………… 41 5.3 Suggestions for further study………………………………………………………… 42 5.4 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………… 43 REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………… 44 Appendix Evaluation checklist for the teachers' questionnaire……………………… I Appendix Evaluation checklist for the students‟ questionnaire……………………… IV Appendix Syllabus design……………………………………………………………… IX Appendix Sample lesson……………………………………………………………… XI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VNU : VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI ULIS : University of Language and International Studies ESP : English for Specific Purpose TESP : Teaching English for Specific Purpose HNIVC : Hanoi Industrial Vocational College EFE : English For Engineering ESL : English as a Second Language ESOL : English for Speakers of Other Languages EFL : English as a Foreign Language ELT : English Language teaching TESL : Teaching English as a Second Language TESOL : Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages TEFL : Teaching English as a Foreign Language EST : English for Science and Technology 10 Chapter INTRODUCTION In this chapter, we discuss about the rationale that we choose this topic, why this topic is necessary for our career Then, we say the aims of the study and the research questions, these are like the way we go through the research Next, we explore the scope and the methods of the study, and at last, we design the form that we will during conducting to work on this thesis 1.1 Rationale of the study In this thesis, we will look at the textbook which aims to suggest, to the teacher, ways of going about the task of materials evaluation Generally, the textbook evaluation is so necessary for us as the teachers, because it can give us the chance to know whether the textbook we used is good enough for teaching and learning or whether it can be adapted something Let us now begin by discussing some of the different emphases that can be found in texts about materials analysis; especially, here we will focus on the textbook of English for Specific Purpose (ESP) While producing our own materials, we should check that ESP materials meet target needs and that the language taught matches the language that the students will use Besides we should put emphasis on the development of specific skills and strategies for operating in the ESP context In fact, textbook work approach fits comfortably within teaching English for Specific Purpose (TESP) since it responds to the learners specific purposes, the students operate in the target language, it is activity and research based, multiskilled (develops linguistic & research skills), involves learners in both individual and group work, uses authentic material, is set up in collaboration with subject teachers It provides an opportunity for real world and classroom experience to overlap, gives learners a feeling of achievement Besides, this textbook can also encourage positive classroom behaviors such as co-operation, enjoyment, motivation and interest It can be an elegant culmination of the ESP course Being aware of the importance of the English learning for their students, the Hanoi Industrial Vocational College (HNIVC) and the Faculty of Basic Sciences are always searching for the most suitable materials used as core material And since 2007, the text book English for Engineering (EFE) edited by Tran Lan Phuong used in teaching ESP at the third semester for technical students Though the material has been in use at HNIVC for years and applied to technical students since 2007, it has never been formally evaluated So, it is 11 essential, therefore, that we should establish and apply a wide variety of relevant and contextually appropriate criteria for the evaluation of the textbook to assess its appropriateness against the learning purpose 1.2 Aims of the study An evaluation of teaching materials helps to identify particular strengths and weaknesses of the materials The finding of the thesis will be very useful for both the researcher and the teachers, who are teaching the coursebook “English for Engineering” It will provide the authorities and the teachers with scientific evidence to improve the quality of the current book used for the second-year students of HNIVC 1.3 Research questions The thesis will be conducted to answer the following research question : How does the textbook, used for the second-year students at HNIVC, meet the course requirements in terms of the aims, the contents and the methodology? In order to answer the question above, the researcher intents to carry out the following procedures: - Reviewing the literature relating to material evaluation and setting up the criteria for evaluating the material Based on the theoretical framework the researcher analyses the material; - Conducting a questionnaire for the students to find out their opinions about the materials they have learned; - Conducting a questionnaire for the teacher to find out the opinion about the material they have used; - Finally, the researcher makes suggestion and recommendations on the development of the material 1.4 Scope of the study Evaluating teaching is complicated work and it needs to take into consideration lots of different aspects such as materials effectiveness, efficiency, attitudes, specialty, validity, reliability, etc In this study, the researcher just focuses on three criteria which are stated in the requirements of the students at Hanoi Industrial Vocational College: in terms of the aims, the content and the methodology in the textbook „ English for Engineering‟ 1.5 Methods of the study To collect the data, the methods used in this thesis are document analysis, survey questionnaires, and informal interviews 12 Document analysis here refers to the analysis of the materials itself and the requirements of the course Survey questionnaires specifically designed for both the teachers and the secondyear students who have experienced using the book Informal interview is used to seek for detailed and objective opinions of examples of teachers and students on the material and students‟ needs This method we used when researching some opinions on the aims, the content and the methodology of the teachers and students in our college Therefore, it is not written in the appendix 1.6 Design of the study The study is organized into five main chapters as follows : - Chapter Discusses the background to the study and statement of problem, the aims, the researcher question, the limitations and overview of the thesis; - Chapter Presents a review of literature, concentrating on the issues related to ESP material evaluation; - Chapter Describes the research methodology; description of teaching ESP and its objectives at HIVC; the data collection instruments, the subjects as well as the data collection procedures; - Chapter Discusses findings of the data analysis, objectives of the course; significance of each criterion; - Chapter Suggests solutions to improve the material and concludes the study 1.7 Conclusion In this chapter, we showed the procedure that we will in the thesis; the reason that we chose this topic; the aims of the study that needs to evaluate this textbook; to conduct the work, we need to give the research questions, whether this question need to analysis during working on the thesis; then we introduced the scope of the study, we focus more on the aims, the content and the methodology in the textbook when we analysis the data that we collected for the study; next we discussed about the methods of the study; and finally, the design of the thesis is introduced in order to join all the parts of the thesis closely and consequently 13 Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction This chapter gives an overview of the literature of the evaluation materials It introduces the theorical apparatus of the theory of materials in language teaching and learning; roles of textbooks in EFL/ESL class; types of textbooks It includes the definition of English for specific purpose (ESP), its characteristics and the conditions of applying ESP, also in this chapter we will describe the textbooks evaluation, why here we need textbook evaluation, the types of textbook evaluation and there obtains the different models for materials evaluation in the literature; a collection of criteria proposed by various researchers; and finally, we say some types of the materials adaptation: addition, deletion/ omission, and modification/ changing 2.2 Materials in language teaching and learning ESL (English as a Second Language), ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with a different native language The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is described below These terms are most commonly used in relation to teaching and learning English, but they may also be used in relation to demographic information ELT (English Language Teaching) is a widely-used teachercentred term, as in the English language teaching divisions of large publishing houses, ELT training, etc The abbreviations TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) are also used The literature on the subject of textbook evaluation is not very extensive Various writers have suggested ways of helping teachers in particular to be more sophisticated in their evaluative approach, by positing „checklists‟ based on supposedly generalizable criteria These sometimes elaborate systems use a variety of „scoring‟ methods to assess how well specific textbooks measure up under scrutiny (see Tucker 1975, van Lier 1979, Allwright 1981, and Williams 1983) Tucker, for example, proposes an ingenious method whereby textbooks are assigned numerical scores, which are then plotted on a „Value Merit Product Graph‟, the object of which is to compare the resulting score curve against an ideal target profile drawn up in advance by the teacher 14 According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), textbook evaluation is basically a straightforward, analytical „matching process: matching needs to available solutions‟ Our own view is that this issue is rather more emotive and controversial for teachers; many would agree with Swales (1980) that textbooks, especially course books, represent a „problem‟, and in extreme cases are examples of educational failure We would like to explore the reasons for such strong reactions, and to put forward possible evaluative solutions We wish to concentrate on course books because, whether we like it or not, these represent for both students and teachers the visible heart of any ELT program The selection of a particular core volume signals an executive educational decision in which there is considerable professional, financial and even political investment This high profile means that the definition and application of systematic criteria for assessing course books are vital Supplementary textbooks and materials on the other hand may not carry the same burden The evaluative criteria for these can to some extent remain implicit, or be allowed to define themselves more informally in the local situation 2.2.1 Roles of textbooks in EFL/ESL class Back in 1934, McElroy stated that “the textbook is decidedly not the sole condition of an effective class; quality of teaching is more important” 75 years later, an enormous body of research on the role of the textbook in EFL classrooms has accumulated around the globe, indicating that „successful‟ learning and teaching in primary and secondary EFL school environments is dependent on a wider spectrum of factors, not only on the quality (or quantity) of English language learning materials The importance of the teacher is, of course, undisputed (see, for instance, Butzkamm 2005) Over the past decades, it has become increasingly clear that context-sensitive EFL instruction requires teachers to take into account many anthropological and sociocultural factors which influence the conditions under which English is taught Currently, global textbooks produced for teaching and learning English as a foreign language in many different countries are criticized for paying too little attention to this, especially for largely failing to assist EFL teachers in bridging the cultural background(s) of „their‟ individual learners and the diversity of English-speaking target language cultures 2.2.2 Types of textbooks 22 level Regarding the skills introduced in the materials, the questions about whether the four skills are adequately covered and whether they are suitable to the course aims and syllabus requirements and so on should be answered Additionally, the question about methodology of the materials should find out whether they are appropriate to the learningteaching situation, and what techniques are used for presenting new language items, how different skills are taught Evaluation model by Hutchinson and Water (a macro – evaluation) Hutchinson and Waters (1993) define materials evaluation as “a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose” According to them an evaluation should be served a certain need, and lighted by resources available Therefore, evaluation is basically a matching process: matching needs to available solutions In this view, an evaluation can be split into four major steps They are described in the model below (see figure 2) Define criteria On what bases will you judge materials? Which criteria will be more important? Subjective analysis What realization of the criteria you want in your course? Objective Analysis How does the material being evaluated realize the criteria? Matching How far does the material match your needs? Figure Materials evaluation model of Huchinson and Waters (1993) In this process, firstly, the evaluator will set out the criteria on which the evaluation is based Additionally, among defined criteria, he can mention on his own preferred ones The second step is to determine the subjective analysis It is the time to analyze the requirements of the course in aspects related to the criteria According to Hutchinson and 23 Waters (1993), the subjective analysis should not be considered as a fixed set of requirements The evaluator should use the materials evaluation process as a means of questioning and developing his own ideas as to what is required After a subjective analysis, an objective analysis needs to be carried out This is the stage to analysis the materials in term of the selected criteria Finally, the finding of which are used to compare with the materials requirements in the fourth step in order to evaluate and determine the matching the materials and the requirement In this model, it can be seen that three options may happen after the evaluation process: the materials may not meet ant requirements When the materials partially mismatch the requirements in some criteria Hutchinson and Waters think that the evaluator should consider the more important criteria to the various people concerned (teachers, students, sponsors), and choose the easier criteria to adapt Hutchinson and Waters (1993) also propose their own checklist of criteria for objective and subjective analyses The purpose of the checklist is for evaluating English teaching materials by focusing on such big issues as the audience, the aims, the content, the methodology, and other criteria including price, and availability Audience According to Hutchinson and Waters (1993), one of the most important factors is learner The overall aim of course or a program is to meet the needs of a particular group of learners English teaching materials in general must be selected or designed based on those needs In order to evaluate materials on what criterion, there is so much different information dealing with students should be regarded such as ages, sex, study, knowledge of English, education background, interests, and so on It includes the students‟ attitude when learning English, they can want more about English because now English seems a means to discover much more knowledge in the world: from the games to the specific materials that they need for their job It means that we should pay more attention to our students who we transmit the knowledge to Aims 24 In any language course, the aims of the course must be defined clearly At the same time, matching the aims of the materials and the objectives of the course is necessary to be carried out in materials evaluation process Content Content is one of the most important elements of the materials With the purpose of evaluating materials, Hutchinson and Waters (1993) state that it is necessary to examine if the content of the materials is suitable to the content prescribed in terms of language points, macro- skills and their proportion, micro skills, as well as the kind of texts In many cases, the aspects of subject matter areas, learners' level of knowledge, type of topic and how those topics are presented are also considered Last but not least, the evaluation needs to learn about whether the way the content is organized and sequenced within the course units, throughout the course is appropriate or not Methodology Hutchinson and Waters (1993) suggest many aspects dealing with material methodology that need to be evaluated Firstly, the evaluation must indicate whether the theories of learning on which the course based on are in line with the ones of the materials Secondly, the aspects of the learners' attitude to expectations about learning English should be considered Thirdly, it is necessary to determine whether the kinds of exercises / tasks included in the materials are suited to the course requirements Teachinglearning techniques are another aspect that needs to be evaluated At this time, evaluators must decide whether the teaching – learning techniques that can be used with the materials are those required by the course and suitable to the learners Moreover, the materials evaluation should take the aspects such as teaching aids, and guidance support for teaching Finally, it is necessary to determine if the materials are flexible so that they can be used in different order to suit the teaching contexts Other Criteria Apart from the criteria mentioned above, Hutchinson and Waters also suggest some those criteria such as the price and availability of the materials These issues are considered as practical concerns and they must be acknowledged They may be one of the deciding factors in textbook selection In fact, not all textbooks can be purchased by students because of their high price and scarcity in the local market Sometimes it is the 25 purchase that becomes economic burden faced by students Therefore, materials may be evaluated by these criteria 2.4.5 Criteria for textbooks evaluation Preeminent theorists in the field of ELT textbook design and analysis, such as Williams (1983), Sheldon (1988), Brown (1995), Cunningsworth (1995) and Harmer (1996) all agree, for instance, that evaluation checklists should have some criteria pertaining to the physical characteristics of textbooks such as layout, organizational, and logistical characteristics Other important criteria that should be incorporated are those that assess a textbook's methodology, aims, and approaches and the degree to which a set of materials is not only teachable but also fits the needs of the individual teacher's approach as well as the organization's overall curriculum Moreover, criteria should analyze the specific language, functions, grammar, and skills content that are covered by a particular textbook, as well as the relevance of linguistic items to the prevailing socio-cultural environment Finally, textbook evaluations should include criteria that pertain to the representation of cultural and gender components, in addition to the extent to which the linguistic items, subjects, content, and topics match up to students' personalities, backgrounds, needs, and interests as well as those of the teacher and/ or institution Cunningsworth (1995) and Ellis (1997) have suggested that there are three different types of material evaluation They argue that the most common form is probably the „predictive‟ or „pre-use‟ evaluation that is designed to examine the future or potential performance of a textbook The other types of textbook evaluation are the „in-use‟ evaluation designed to examine material that is currently being used, and the „retrospective‟ or „post-use‟ (reflective) evaluation of a textbook that has been used in any respected institution This particular study can be classified as the „retrospective‟ type of evaluation in which an attempt is made to check the characteristics of the textbooks under study against a collection of criteria proposed by various researchers We know that evaluate the textbook materials is very important for the educators who will make plans to develop the teaching and learning matter, and the teachers who directly introduce the knowledge to the learners As mentioned above, there are a lot of types to evaluate the materials, but here we will choose the Hutchinson and Waters (1993) model, because it is suitable to our scope and the objectives of study 2.5 Materials adaptation 26 Materials adaptation means matching materials with the learner‟s needs, the teacher‟s demands and administration‟s purpose To adapt materials we have to consider five major factors (1) Addition: Addition is an adaptation procedure which involves supplementation of extra linguistic items and activities to make up for the inadequacy/ insufficiency of materials Addition of extra materials is necessary/ applicable/ appropriate when the following situations are faced: Areas are not covered sufficiently Texts/pictures/tasks are not provided Texts/pictures/tasks are fewer than needed Tasks are limited in scope Tasks are of limited range (2) Deletion/ Omission: Deletion is an adaptation procedure which involves removal of some of the linguistic items and activities which are found to be extra and unnecessary So, deletion is a process in which materials are taken out rather than added Materials should be reduced through omission when the following situations are faced: Learners are clear about a language point Learners are competent in a skill There are too many tasks on a particular area/point The item/ area concerned is not a priority The item/ task is not well designed The item/ task is not well-suited to its aim(s) The topic is not appropriate for learners (3) Modification/ Changing: Modification means changes in different aspects of materials, such as linguistic level, exercises, assessment system and so on Modification of materials is applicable/ appropriate in the following situations: Texts are of inappropriate length Materials are inappropriate to the aim Materials are inappropriate to the learners‟ age/ experience Materials are unclear, confusing or misleading 27 Tasks are badly designed (4) Simplification: This procedure is employed to make materials less complicated or easier to understand If the language teaching material is found to be difficult or mechanical for the target learner, it (material) can be made suitable for the learner through the process of simplification (5) Rearrangement/ Re- ordering: Rearrangement is a procedure of materials adaptation through which different parts of a course book are arranged in a different order or sequence Rearrangement of materials helps to make them comparatively more interesting and appropriate for the learner as well as the teacher Learners may reorder materials by: Matching their aims Using a practice task for lead-in and elicitation Revising an area earlier than the course book does Comparing and contrast areas Providing thematic unity Providing an appropriate follow-up 2.6 Conclusion In chapter 2, we tried to review the literature of the material evaluation Why we need textbook evaluation We remind the types of textbook that the students use everyday; we would expect the ESP community to have a clear idea about what ESP means; the characteristics of ESP; the conditions of applying ESP in HNIVC, why our students need to learn ESP To evaluate a textbook, reviewers examine each content-matched activity of each special book To make the most effective use of a textbook, however, teachers must decide which textbooks are appropriate for their needs Here we say about three types of textbooks evaluation: preliminary, formative and summative evaluation and why we choose formative evaluation for this project Depending on purpose and kinds of materials evaluation, we use the Hutchinson and Waters (1993) model to evaluate our English teaching material 28 Chapter RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction In this chapter, some research methodologies are introduced for our project: document analysis and questionnaire Then we describe the teaching and learning ESP and its objectives at Hanoi Industrial Vocational College (HNIVC) After that, this chapter says about data collection procedures: how to the document analysis; and finally, we discuss about questionnaires for the teachers and for the students to discover whether this textbook can be taught and learned 3.2 Research methodology In this study, the researcher employed two of the instruments: document analysis and questionnaire We realized that they are suitable with our evaluative purpose and time for our research They will be detailed in the next chapter According to Robinson‟s model, we can describe these methods as follow: Document analysis: Document analysis is use of “content analysis and other techniques to analysis and summarize printed materials and existing information” (Taylor & Steel, 1996) The purpose of using this instrument is to utilize any preexisting information that may be available The documents that need to be analysis “can include data sources within a program such as the materials under the evaluation, the course syllabus, the curriculum, or external data source” (Brown, 1995) Questionnaire: Questionnaire aims to seek evidence of the teachers‟ and the students‟ opinions about the aim, content and methodology of the material Questionnaires are chosen because they allow wider sampling, they ask everybody the same questions and they are time-saving technique to collect information from a large respondents at the same time (Wallace, 1998) The respondents would feel more comfortable and willing to fill the questionnaires than they were asked to answer the questions directly during a face to face interview Also questionnaire with closed question can help analysis the data straightforwardly and conveniently 3.3 Description of teaching ESP and its objectives at HNIVC 3.3.1 Description of the Students at HNIVC 29 Students at Hanoi Industrial Vocational College graduated from High School in Vietnam They come to HNIVC: - To learn and train their future job; - To learn about English and ESP; - to encourage an awareness of English for Technical knowledge; - to collect printed and visual materials from the media in various languages in addition to English; - to conduct interviews and organize the close relation between ESP and their own knowledge through ESP texts; to exercise note-taking; - to design questionnaires; to make oral presentation and reporting 3.3.2 Description of the teachers at HNIVC At HNIVC, there are English teachers; age from 28 to 48 Because ESP teachers did not have sufficient technical background and teacher training, qualified teachers to teach ESP are lacking All teachers indicated that there are no in-service ESP training courses available, especially for technical purposes Three of the six teachers had attended General English training courses, which provided TEFL/ TESL training, or sometimes, multi-media or Teaching English for Children In other words, teachers are inadequately trained to teach ESP Generally, ESP teachers are primarily the teachers of General English When transferring from General English to ESP teaching, they might have encountered several difficulties One is a difference of attitude difficulty, between literature and science in particular Therefore, ESP teachers need to orient themselves to a new environment for which they are not well-prepared 3.3.3 The teaching and learning ESP at HNIVC As far as English is concerned, HNIVC considered General English to be the main focus, rather than technical English This is due mainly to the subjects they teach, mostly General English One of the HNIVC emphasised that General English should be the basis, then technical English will be easier to focus on A similar view was expressed by teachers Five of the six teachers argued that General English should be concentrated on and supplemented 30 with technical knowledge From the surveys, the majority of English teachers in colleges of technology supported this view This was also confirmed by informal interviews whose learners‟ needs analysis and survey indicated that the learners concern language proficiency level more than technical knowledge 3.4 Data collection procedures 3.4.1 Document analysis Document analysis is a technique used to gather requirements during the requirements elicitation phase of a project It describes the act of reviewing the existing documentation of comparable business processes or systems in order to extract pieces of information that are relevant to the current project, and therefore should be consider projects requirements It means that, for this thesis, we need to collect materials from the library; the experience teachers that use this book or know about the career mentioned in the book; and the students who learns this book regularly 3.4.2 Questionnaires According to the aim, the content and the methodology of the course, we conduct some questions for the teachers and for the students Most of them are the same because we want to explore their opinions about one question; only some questions are distinguished to discover whether this textbook can be taught or it can be learned After using this book, we give these questionnaires to the teachers and the students in our college We also translate the questions for students into Vietnamese in order to show them the exact meaning we want to ask them and they can answer what they think about these questions 3.4.2.1 Questionnaires for teachers The questionnaire for the teachers (see appendix 1) was also carried out simultaneously with the questionnaire for the students It was divided into three sections and consisted of 27 questions In the first section, the teachers‟ questionnaire contained ten questions aimed to ask the teachers about the aim of using EFE, whether the material is suitable to the aims of the course The teachers can agree or not with the aims of the questions; in fact, we want to find out that this textbook can be taught in our college Of course, in this material, four skills all were not presented together, because we emphasis only reading and writing skill, and sometimes students can practice saying the conversation but the listening does not pay more attention because the students only listen to the teacher when he/ she reads the text 31 The second section consists of ten questions to find out the content of EFE In this section, we want to know whether the teachers agree or not about the content of the textbook corresponding the requirement of the course; the grammar presented in the coursebook was enough for the students to learn or the structures introduced in the coursebook were adequate to the students' need The last section contains seven questions about methodology that teachers use when they utilize this textbook These questions are so important because we need to know how the teachers use this book and whether they think it can be acceptable to teach It depends much on the teachers‟ methods to transmit the textbook‟s knowledge to the students and how the students react at the lessons In this questionnaire, the questions were designed to find out the teachers' analyses towards the textbook relating to the suitability of the textbook to requirements of the course in terms of the aims, the content, and the methodology The scales used in the teachers‟ questionnaire were as same as those used in the students‟ questionnaire This would make it easier for the researcher to compare students‟ and teachers' views later They were also asked if they faced any difficulty in teaching the textbook, and to make suggestions for the improvement of the materials The purpose of these sections was to suggest procedures to help the teachers exploit the textbook more effectively 3.4.2.2 Questionnaires for students (Q2) The questionnaire for students (see appendix 2) consisted of parts with 27 questions The first part consisted of 10 questions They were designed to find out the students' evaluation in terms of suitability of the ESP textbook to the aims and objectives of the course; whether students perceive the aims of the materials; the students were required to answer if they are provided or deleted any tasks and exercises, what parts they thought were most suitable to their level and what were least suitable The second part included 10 questions in order to collect the students' information relating to suitability of the textbook to the content requirements of the textbook in terms of grammar, structures, vocabulary; the structures introduced in the coursebook were adequate to the students' need In fact we need to know, whether the students can perceive all the knowledge and can apply them in their real working condition In the third part, seven questions were used to send to the students to analyze suitability of the textbook to the methodology requirements of the course: how they understand the 32 materials in the textbook through the lessons; whether the techniques the teachers used are appropriate to them 3.5 Conclusion The view of the research methodologies that we have outlined in this chapter relates the way that we for this thesis The model we chose here is Robinson‟s, it means: document analysis and questionnaire Then we showed the description of teaching ESP and its objectives; description of the students and the teachers at Hanoi Industrial Vocational College Next the teaching and learning ESP at HNIVC; the data collection procedures; we discussed about document analysis, it is a technique used to gather requirements of a project and the questionnaires According to the aim, the content and the methodology of the course, we conduct some questions for the teachers and for students to discover that this textbook can be taught or it can be learned 33 Chapter DATA ANALYSIS 4.1 Introduction The data analysis is the analysis about the data that we gather for this thesis As mentioned above, we collect the data by analyzing the documents and through the questionnaire; so first, we say about the objectives of the course; second, the significance of each criterion from Hutchinson and Water‟s model, we rearrange our project for the following criteria: the audience, the aim of materials, the contents of the textbook and the methodology that we use while teaching; next, according to this model, we compare the realization of each criterion in the textbook “EFE”; then we make the data analysis and discussion: the appropriateness of the material to the aims, the content and the methodology requirements of the course; and finally, we discuss about the teachers' teaching experience and suggestions 4.1 Objectives of the course Its objectives include: To develop an understanding about the factors that led to the emergence of ESP and the forces, both theoretical and applied, that have shaped its subsequent development; To assist students develop needs assessments and genre analyses for specific groups of learners; To provide guidelines to adapt or create authentic ESP materials in a chosen professional or occupational area and to critically evaluate currently available materials, including technology-based ones; To become knowledgeable about assessment procedures appropriate for ESP and apply this knowledge in developing course and lesson evaluation plans in their professional or occupational area 4.2 Significance of each criterion From all the models for materials evaluations above we realize that the evaluation model by Hutchinson and Water (a macro – evaluation) is the most suitable for our 34 assessment of this textbook It means that we will rearrange our work for the following criteria: The audience; The aim of materials; The contents of the textbook; The methodology that we use while teaching 4.2.1 Audience According to Hutchinson and Waters, one of the most important factors is learner The overall aim of course or a program is to meet the needs of a particular group of learners English teaching materials in general must be selected or designed based on those needs In order to evaluate materials on what criterion, there is so much different information dealing with students should be regarded such as ages , sex, study, knowledge of English, education background , interests, and so on Tải FULL (61 trang): https://bit.ly/3RdXjZW 4.2.2 The aims of the materials Dự phòng: fb.com/TaiHo123doc.net According to the ESP curriculum specifications, students need to be familiar with the main scientific concepts and ideas of science in English as well as the register and related vocabulary This means that students are expected to have a comprehensive knowledge on the topics and themes in ESP Mackay & Mountford (1978) added that it is evident where science is taught in English or science reference materials are in English, students need to acquire a considerably higher standard of language proficiency to enable them to comprehend and manipulate difficult intellectual material The main aim of the English for Specific Purposes textbooks is to prepare students for study in a particular discipline It may also be used in technical colleges, on in-sessional courses, or by postgraduate students Finally, information on getting qualified and finding an ESL teaching job will help those wishing to enter the profession 4.2.3 The contents of the textbook The main concern is effective learning and how this can best be achieved in ESP courses In the content, the author can describe the procedure of the learning course, the aim of each unit and the demand for each stage of the textbook The ESP syllabus gives 35 emphasis on content accessibility, giving priority to the ability to read and comprehend science and technical materials in English In addition, science and technical materials that are available in the market focuses on preparing students with essential skills needed to understand and solve problems which promote higher order thinking skills 4.2.4 The methodology The methodology used in ESP has therefore consolidated the notion of a linguistic community within scientific disciplines and emphasized vocabulary as well as the kinds of tasks normally required in these fields Specific techniques for teaching ESP have also evolved such as the use of models (Master, 1997), journals (Sheppard and Stoller, 1995), and visuals (Nooreen, 2003) The methodology of the book is modern and communicative based New language is presented in PPP form (presentation, practice and production) in the first sections of the unit and then students are expected to produce the language firstly in more controlled activities and then finally in freer fluency promoting tasks at the end of each unit Language structures are given clear examples in the language study section and then students are expected to practice specific grammar points or chunks of language by first practicing simple writing activities Gatehouse (2001) states that „the catchword in ESL circles is learner-centered or learning-centered.‟ 4.3 The realization of each criterion in the textbook “EFE” 4.3.1 Audience At our college most students are age from 18 to 25, may be some is over, they are males and females They all graduated High Secondary School They have finished English course for 12th grade at school After learning 60 lessons of General English at our college, they continue to learn ESP for their future career For this research, 60 second-year technical students are required to participate in our survey 4.3.2 The aims of EFE Tải FULL (61 trang): https://bit.ly/3RdXjZW Dự phòng: fb.com/TaiHo123doc.net The aims of the course for the second-year technical students at HNIVC are as follows: Getting students familiar with English as a Foreign Language; Practicing essential grammar; functional language; structures and vocabulary; Helping students to understand the specific fields, that they work for; 36 Building up learners' confidence in using the four language skills of reading, speaking, writing, and listening to communicate in real life and work situations The essential grammar, functional language, structures and vocabulary that the aim of the course mentioned, were the content of grammar, structures, functions and the areas of vocabulary the students should achieve after learning the coursebook In addition, they can use at least 400 basis ESP words in their career 4.3.3 The contents of EFE As required by the course, the coursebook should cover a fair range of language points and skills Specifically, the coursebook should cover grammar, vocabulary, and four skills of reading, writing, speaking and a little listening because students only listen to their teachers In addition, a variety of text types and topics should be introduced into the coursebook Following is the specification of the content requirement of the course This textbook is used for the students who know the basic English for communication and the basic specific knowledge about their career in Vietnamese so that they can catch ESP more conveniently and clearly The content of EFE is chosen upon following criteria Revise and improve basic grammar; Consolidate the necessary vocabulary for technical students; The content of the texts obtains the basic technology such as materials, the details of the machines as well as its specific technology as the methods of production, the cutting tools, the measurement instruments and the metal cutting machines Beside, EFE remind the labour safety matter, this is very important when students go to work in real condition 4.3.4 The methodology The English course at HNIVC aimed to teach the students to use English both accurately and fluently The method of language teaching was combination of traditional and communicative approach Throughout EFE, the students were presented with useful language and they had the opportunity to personalize the language they learned, made use of their own knowledge and experiences and expressed their ideas and opinions in their career The teachers were also expected to make use of variety of teaching-learning techniques such 6815767 ... criteria which are stated in the requirements of the students at Hanoi Industrial Vocational College: in terms of the aims, the content and the methodology in the textbook „ English for Engineering? ??... the English learning for their students, the Hanoi Industrial Vocational College (HNIVC) and the Faculty of Basic Sciences are always searching for the most suitable materials used as core material... carry out the following procedures: - Reviewing the literature relating to material evaluation and setting up the criteria for evaluating the material Based on the theoretical framework the researcher