A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES LƯƠNG THỊ LAN HƯƠNG A STUDY ON THE USE OF NEW ENGLISH FILE ELEMENTARY TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILLS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE MILITARY TECHNICAL ACADEMY Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng giáo trình New English File sơ cấp để dạy kỹ nói cho sinh viên năm thứ Học viện kỹ thuật quân M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES LƯƠNG THỊ LAN HƯƠNG A STUDY ON THE USE OF NEW ENGLISH FILE ELEMENTARY TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILLS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE MILITARY TECHNICAL ACADEMY Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng giáo trình New English File sơ cấp để dạy kỹ nói cho sinh viên năm thứ Học viện kỹ thuật quân M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Đỗ Tuấn Minh, Ph.D HANOI – 2015 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF THE THESIS I certify my authorship of the thesis entitled: A STUDY ON THE USE OF NEW ENGLISH FILE ELEMENTARY TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILLS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE MILITARY TECHNICAL ACADEMY in terms of Statement of Requirements for Theses and Field Study Reports in Masters’ Programs, and this thesis has not, wholly or partially, been submitted for any degree to any other universities or institutions HANOI, 2015 LƯƠNG THỊ LAN HƯƠNG i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr Đỗ Tuấn Minh, who has given me a lot of valuable advice, timely encouragement and constructive comments during the completion of my thesis If not for his support, this thesis would have never come into existence I would also like to give my special thanks to all teachers at Faculty of PostGraduate Studies, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University for their interesting lectures, which inspired me to this research My gratitude also extends to all my colleagues and students at the Military Technical Academy for their enthusiastic participation and constructive suggestions Finally, my sincere thanks go to my family members, who have given me a great deal of energy and support to accomplish this study ii ABSTRACT It has been widely accepted that coursebooks play an important role in the EFL context Coursebook evaluation, therefore, is of great importance so that its pedagogical contribution to the teaching and learning process can be assured In the context of the Military Technical Academy (MTA), the coursebook New English File Elementary (NEFE) first published in 2004 by Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig and Paul Seligson has been in use for years without any real evaluation This study investigated the suitability of this coursebook in teaching and developing speaking skills for first-year students, thereby improving English language teaching and learning in this educational environment The study was conducted with a combination of document analysis, survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews The findings revealed a number of such strengths as course objectives obtained, integrated speaking skills, communication-orientedness, adequate supply of speaking activities and support for speaking, attractive layout, motivating speaking tasks, etc which far outweighed its weaknesses Once problems have been identified, suggestions for better use involving coursebook adaptation and the implementation of the book in the classroom would be made iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality of the thesis……………………………………………… i Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………ii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… iii Table of contents………………………………………………………………… iv List of abbreviations……………………………………………………………… vi List of tables, charts and figures………………………………………………… vii PART A: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………… 1 Rationale for the study………………………………………………………… Aims of the study…………………………………………………………………1 Research questions……………………………………………………………… Scope of the study……………………………………………………… ………2 Methods of the study…………………………………………………………… Design of the study……………………………………………………………….2 PART B: DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………………3 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………3 1.1 Materials in Language Teaching and Learning…………………………… 1.1.1 The role of teaching materials…………………………………………….3 1.1.2 Types of teaching materials……………………………………………….4 1.1.3 Description of New English File Elementary ……………………………5 1.2 Materials Evaluation…………………………………………………………6 1.2.1 Definition………………………………………………………….………6 1.2.2 Types of materials evaluation…………………………………………… 1.2.3 Models for materials evaluation………………………………………… 1.2.4 Criteria for materials evaluation………………………………… …… 10 1.2.5 Materials Adaptation…………………………………………………….12 1.3 Speaking Skills………………………………………………………… …13 1.3.1 Definition and importance of speaking skills……………………… ….14 1.3.2 Approaches to teaching speaking skills………………………………….14 1.3.3 Types of classroom speaking activities………………………………….16 1.3.4 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity…………………… .17 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY…………………………… 19 2.1 Description of the context…………………………………………………… 19 2.1.1 The setting…………………………………………………………… …19 2.1.2 Course objectives…………………………………………………………19 iv 2.1.3 Course assessment……………………………………………………… 20 2.2 Research Method………………………………………………………………20 2.2.1 Participants……………………………………………………………….20 2.2 Data collection instruments…………………………………………… 21 2.2.3 Data analysis procedure………………………………………………… 22 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION……………………… 23 3.1 Document analysis…………………………………………………………….23 3.2 Teacher Survey……………………………………………………………… 28 3.3 Student Survey……………………………………………………………… 31 3.3 Major Findings……………………………………………………………… 34 3.3.1 Strengths of the coursebook………………………………………… 34 3.3.2 Weaknesses of the coursebook…………………………………………36 3.3.3 Suggestions for better use of the book……………………………….…36 PART C: CONCLUSION……………………………………………………… 39 Conclusion of the study……………………………………………………… 39 Limitations of the study……………………………………………………… 40 Suggestions for further research……………………………………………… 40 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………….42 APPENDIX 1………………………………………………………………………I APPENDIX 2………………………………………………………………………III APPENDIX 3………………………………………………………………………IV APPENDIX 4…………………………………………………………………… VII APPENDIX 5………………………………………………………………………X v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS GE General English ESP English for Specific Purpose ESL English as a second language EFL English as a foreign language MTA Military Technical Academy NEFE New English File Elementary CEFR Common European Framework of Reference vi LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND FIGURES Figure 1: The materials evaluation model by Hutchinson and Waters (2001) Table 1: Comparison of the objectives of speaking activities in NEFE and the course objectives 26 Table 2: Characteristics of speaking tasks 27 Table 3: Teachers’ evaluation on the course objectives 28 Table 4: Teachers’ evaluation on the speaking content of the book 29 Table 5: Students’ evaluation on the course objectives 31 Table 6: Students’ evaluation on the speaking content of the book 32 Table 7: Students’ evaluation on classroom speaking practice 34 Chart 1: Sections of skills throughout the book 27 Chart 2: Teachers’ evaluation on speaking topics 30 Chart 3: Teachers’ and students’ evaluation on speaking topics 33 vii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study Nowadays, it is undeniable that English has become an international language and English teaching and learning is hectically taking place everywhere At the Military Technical Academy (MTA) in particular and Vietnamese universities in general, teaching English tends to focus on teaching four skills, among which, speaking seems to receive the most attention as Vietnamese students are often said to be bad at speaking English or communicating in English even though they have spent many years at school learning it Moreover, it is obvious that successful English language teaching depends on many factors, among which, the coursebook plays a significant role At MTA, the coursebook ‘New English File Elementary’ (NEFE) first published in 2004 by Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig and Paul Seligson has been employed to teach General English for first-year students for years However, so far there have been no evaluations conducted to identify the strengths and weaknesses of this coursebook as well as to measure its suitability in this educational environment From that real situation, I chose “A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy” as the subject of my M.A thesis in the hope that the findings will partially contribute to improving the quality of English language teaching and learning Aims of the study The ultimate aim of the study is to improve English language teaching and learning at MTA by means of evaluating the suitability of the coursebook: NEFE in teaching and developing speaking skills for first-year students in this educational setting The specific objectives of the study are as follows: - To identify the strengths and weaknesses of the coursebook in terms of teaching and developing speaking skills for first-year students at MTA - To make some recommendations for better use of the book Research questions APPENDIX I II APPENDIX A1-level speaking skill descriptors as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference in the context of the Military Technical Academy The Common European Framework of Reference defines A1-level speaking skills as follows: At this level, basic users can use simple phrases and sentences to describe what they do, where they live and people they know They can ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics They can interact in a simple way provided the other person is prepared to repeat or rephrase things at a slower rate of speech and help them formulate what they are trying to say The table below is the specifications of A1-level speaking skill in the context of the Military Technical Academy SPEAKING Spoken Production - I can introduce myself and someone stating name, origin, age, school, marital status, address, phone number - I can briefly describe my family - I can briefly describe where I live A1 - I can express my basic needs (e.g food, drink, washroom) - I can list several items in a topic (e.g jobs, countries, nationalities, food) - I can say what I like/ dislike - I can count, give quantities and tell the time and the date - I can briefly talk about daily activities, past activities - I can talk about weather with such adjectives as: cold, sunny, hot, etc - I can briefly describe future plans III Spoken Interaction - I can make an introduction and use basic greeting and leave-taking expressions - I can reply in an interview to simple questions spoken slowly and clearly in direct non-idiomatic speech about personal details - I can ask people for things and give people things in a concrete situation (e.g in a restaurant, at a hotel) APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS My name is Lương Thị Lan Hương I am conducting an M.A thesis on “A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy” This questionnaire was designed to collect feedback on the teaching of speaking skills based on the coursebook ‘New English File Elementary’ from English teachers at the Military Technical Academy who have experienced using it The results will be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the book and to make necessary suggestions for better use in the future I would be grateful if you could spend some of your precious time completing this questionnaire Your anonymity and confidentiality will be ensured Thank you for your cooperation! *********** PART 1: COURSE OBJECTIVES After learning with New English File Elementary, what can your students do? Please tick (√) the box you agree most for each question (1) Strongly disagree; (2) Disagree; (3) Undecided; (4) Agree; (5) Strongly agree No 10 11 12 13 My students can ……… Introduce themselves and someone stating name, origin, age, school, marital status, address, phone number Briefly describe their family Briefly describe where they live Express their basic needs (e.g food, drink, washroom) List several items in a topic (e.g jobs, countries, food) Say what they like/ dislike Count, give quantities and tell the time and the date Briefly talk about daily activities, past activities, experiences Talk about weather with such adjectives as: cold, sunny, hot, etc Briefly describe future plans Use basic greeting and leave-taking expressions in conversations Reply in an interview to simple questions spoken slowly and clearly in direct non-idiomatic speech about personal details Ask people for things and give people things in a concrete situation (e.g in a restaurant, at a hotel) IV PART 2: CONTENT Please tick (√) the box you agree most for each question (1) Strongly disagree; (2) Disagree; (3) Undecided; (4) Agree; (5) Strongly agree No 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Speaking in this book integrates with other skills and sections Speaking sections are eye-catching with colour pictures/ photos, tables and charts Instructions for speaking section are clear and readily understandable for your first-year students The book provides a lot of pairwork, groupwork The book provides mechanical drills/ controlled practice first and then freer speaking practice The book provides enough language inputs (vocabulary + grammar) for speaking activities The book pays much attention to getting students to practise English sounds, word stress, and sentence stress The book provides basic communication strategies to prevent or repair communication breakdowns The book provides enough speaking activities in a unit Speaking activities in the book give students ‘a reason’ to talk Speaking tasks in the book ask students to relate to their personal experience 25 Generally, what you think of the topics for speaking in New English File Elementary? Very interesting Interesting Normal Boring Very boring 26 Tick all the speaking topics which are of your first-year students’ interests Famous people Music Food and drinks Daily activities Films Future Personal information House and furniture Past activities Likes and dislikes Neighbours People description Jobs Town/city Weather Family Holidays TV shows Adventures Personal experiences Ordering/ Buying a meal Checking-in/out at a hotel Buying clothes Asking for directions Others:………………………………………………………………………………………… PART 3: CLASSROOM SPEAKING PRACTICE Please tick (√) the box you agree most for each question (1) Strongly disagree; (2) Disagree; (3) Undecided; (4) Agree; (5) Strongly agree V No 27 28 29 30 Teachers make full use of all speaking activities in the student’s book as well as the teachers’ book Teachers create opportunities for students to interact Teachers manipulate physical arrangements (seats, desks,…) to promote speaking Teachers use hi-tech devices (projectors) to motivate students Thank you very much for your cooperation! VI APPENDIX PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT Ý KIẾN SINH VIÊN Tôi tên Lương Thị Lan Hương Hiện tiến hành làm luận văn thạc sỹ “Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng giáo trình New English File Elementary để dạy kỹ nói cho sinh viên năm thứ Học viện kỹ thuật quân sự” Phiếu khảo sát nhằm thu thập ý kiến đánh giá em sinh viên việc dạy phát triển kỹ nói dựa giáo trình New English File sơ cấp Học viện kỹ thuật quân Ý kiến đánh giá em phần quan trọng đề tài nghiên cứu này, từ giúp tơi tìm điểm mạnh điểm yếu giáo trình, có điều chỉnh bổ sung hợp lý nhằm nâng cao chất lượng dạy học tiếng Anh trường Xin chân thành hợp tác em! *********** PHẦN 1: MỤC TIÊU KHÓA HỌC Sau học xong giáo trình New English File Elementary, bạn nói tiếng Anh? Đánh dấu (√) vào ô mà bạn đồng ý cho câu (1) Rất không đồng ý;(2) Không đồng ý; (3)Không định ; (4) Đồng ý; (5) Rất đồng ý Stt 10 11 12 13 Bạn có thể…………………………… tiếng Anh Giới thiệu thân người tên, tuổi, trường, lớp, tình trạng hôn nhân, địa chỉ, điện thoại Vắn tắt giới thiệu gia đình bạn Vắn tắt giới thiệu nơi bạn sống Trình bày nhu cầu thân (ăn, uống, vệ sinh) Liệt kê theo chủ đề (nghề nghiệp, thức ăn, đất nước…) Nói bạn thích khơng thích Đếm, nói số lượng, ngày tháng Nói hoạt động hàng ngày hoạt động khứ Nói thời tiết sử dụng tính từ đơn giản: nóng, lạnh, mát,… Vắn tắt mơ tả kế hoạch tương lai thân Sử dụng cụm từ chào hỏi, tạm biệt hội thoại Đáp lại vấn nói chậm, rõ, không dùng thành ngữ hỏi thông tin cá nhân Hỏi yêu cầu người khác đưa thơng tin/ đồ vật yêu cầu tình thực tế (ở nhà hàng, khách sạn, ) VII PHẦN 2: NỘI DUNG Đánh dấu (√) vào ô mà bạn đồng ý cho câu (1) Rất không đồng ý;(2) Không đồng ý;(3)Không định ;(4) Đồng ý;(5) Rất đồng ý No 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Kỹ nói lồng ghép với kỹ phần khác (ngữ pháp, từ vựng, phát âm) sách Phần nói trình bày bắt mắt với tranh ảnh bảng biểu Phần hướng dẫn cho hoạt động nói sách rõ ràng, dễ hiểu bạn Sách có nhiều hoạt động cặp, nhóm Sách cung cấp hoạt động nói nhắc lại, thay trước đến với hoạt động nói tự Sách cung cấp đủ vốn ngơn ngữ (từ vựng, ngữ pháp) để bạn hồn thành hoạt động nói sách Sách ý tới việc giúp bạn luyện âm tiếng Anh (âm phụ âm âm nguyên âm), trọng âm từ, trọng âm câu Sách có cung cấp chiến lược giao tiếp để bạn trì hội thoại nối lại hội thoại Sách cung cấp vừa đủ hoạt động nói Các hoạt động nói sách đưa cho bạn ‘lý do’ để nói Các nhiệm vụ nói sách có yêu cầu bạn liên hệ với kinh nghiệm thân 25 Nhìn chung, bạn nghĩ chủ đề nói sách New English File Elementary? Rất thú vị Thú vị Bình thường Chán Rất chán 26 Đánh dấu (√) vào tất chủ đề nói sách mà bạn thích Famous people Music Food and drinks Daily activities Films Future Personal information House and furniture Past activities Likes and dislikes Neighbours Peope description Jobs Town/city Weather Family Holidays TV shows Adventures Personal experiences Ordering/ Buying a meal Checking-in/out at a hotel Buying clothes Asking for directions Các chủ đề khác:……………………………………………………………………………… PHẦN 3: TỔ CHỨC BÀI HỌC NÓI TRÊN LỚP Đánh dấu (√) vào ô mà bạn đồng ý cho câu (1) Rất không đồng ý;(2) Không đồng ý;(3)Không định ;(4) Đồng ý;(5) Rất đồng ý VIII No 27 28 29 30 Bạn tích cực thực tất hoạt động sách hoạt động mà giáo viên phơ tơ sách giáo viên Bạn có hội tham gia vào tất hoạt động nói lớp Bạn sẵn sàng với thay đổi môi trường (chỗ ngồi, không gian,…) để tham gia tốt vào hoạt động nói Bạn hào hứng giáo viên sử dụng công nghệ cao dạy học PHẦN 4: ĐỀ XUẤT SỬ DỤNG GIÁO TRÌNH TỐT HƠN Cuối cùng, bạn vui lòng cho biết vài gợi ý để sử dụng giáo trình tốt Học viện kỹ thuật quân theo mục sau Kỹ nói: ……………………………………………………………………….……………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Vai trị giáo viên: ……………………………………………………………………….……………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Ý kiến khác (nếu có): ……………………………………………………………………….……………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Xin chân thành hợp tác em! IX APPENDIX Transcripts of teacher interviews Interview 1: Researcher: Good morning! Thank you very much for your participation in my survey questionnaire which was conducted weeks ago and now my interview You know, I am doing my M.A thesis entitled “A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy” According to the questionnaire results, there are several issues that need clarification So I would like you to share your ideas about them Before we start, I want to tell you that your name will be strictly confidential and I want to record our conversation for research purpose only Can I have your permission? Teacher 1: Yeah, I think it is ok Researcher: How long have you been teaching New English File Elementary? Teacher 1: I have been teaching English at MTA for 10 years and working with NEFE for years Researcher: Wow, you have experienced this book for up to years What you think of this coursebook in terms of teaching and developing speaking skills? Teacher 1: In my opinion, this is a good book to teach and develop speaking as compared with other coursebooks before like New Headway, New Cutting Edge, etc A lot of speaking tasks, communication activities are available in the student’s book and the teacher’s book On the part of teachers like me, I love this because I not have to spend hours creating or searching for interesting communicative activities What is more, using these activities in classroom increases students’ talking time; in other words, students’speaking skills will be gradually improved Researcher: What you think of the fact that 20% of the teachers in the survey disagree that the book provides a lot of pairwork/ groupwork activities? Teacher 1: Personally, I agree with the statement: the book provides a lot of pairwork/ groupwork activities As I said before, I love this book because it supplies users with a lot of communicative activities, most of which are in the form of pairwork and groupwork It is likely that these are put at the back of the teacher’s book and the student’s book, so teachers might forget them Researcher: You say that there are a lot of communicative activities in the book, have you ever been at a loss when choosing the best activities for your students? X Teacher 1: No, never In fact, in the teacher’s book there is one communicative activity for each lesson and in the student’s book there is one or two more depending on each lesson They were all designed to practise a language item communicatively Overall, I think these activities are appropriate Researcher: What about the provision of basic communication strategies? Do you think they are appropriate? Teacher 1: No, I not think that the book provides basic communication strategies Sometimes, I highlight one or two strategies but it is when I find it useful for my students to speaking tasks Researcher: 20% of the teachers cannot make their decisions when being asked if your students can reply in an interview to simple questions spoken slowly and clearly about personal details What reasons can you give for this? Teacher 1: Sorry, I have no ideas about this because I see my students can it very well after working with NEFE Researcher: What you think of students’ attitude towards speaking practice in the classroom? Teacher 1: They are well-behaved, excited when teachers use hi-tech However, they seemed to be reluctant when I first asked them to change their seats to pairwork or groupwork Researcher: What are your suggestions for better teaching speaking with the use of the coursebook: NEFE? Teacher 1: Regarding speaking sections in the book, I think there should be a ‘Communication Tips’ section Additionally, teachers should give clear and simple instructions with clarification when necessary; provide more background information accompanied by pictures/ short video for unfamiliar topics Researcher: Thank you so much for your participation ……………………… Interview 2: Researcher: Good morning! Thank you for your acceptance into my interview You know, I am doing my M.A thesis entitled “A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy” According to the results of the questionnaire which was conducted weeks ago, there are several issues that need clarification That is also XI the main aim of this interview Before we start, I want to tell you that your name will be strictly confidential and I want to record the interview for research purpose only Is it Ok for you? Teacher 2: No problem Researcher: How long have you been teaching New English File Elementary? Teacher 2: I have been working with it for only one year Researcher: What you think of this coursebook in terms of teaching and developing speaking skills? Teacher 2: I think this book is quite good in that topics for speaking are quite interesting and familiar to students like personal information, family, likes and dislikes, etc So students can relate to their personal experience when speaking Researcher: You say topics are interesting, so what you say about students’attitude in speaking lessons? Teacher 2: Most of my students seem very interested, eager to communicate to achieve the task goals Researcher: Your students seemed very interested in speaking lessons, what did you to achieve this? Teacher 2: Well, first of all, I think topics themselves are interesting and familiar Second, I made full use of all speaking activities in both the teacher’s and the student’s books Next, I used projectors to display colour pictures/ short videos However, there is one thing which I am not satisfied with; that is I cannot manipulate the physical environment to promote speaking Researcher: Why? Teacher 2: It is very difficult for me to change the physical environment which encourages speaking activities because arrangements of desks and chairs are relatively fixed, not much free space in the classroom Researcher: What you think of the fact that 20% of the teachers in the survey disagree that the book provides a lot of pairwork/ groupwork activities? Teacher 2: There is no statistics of pairwork/ groupwork activities throughout the book, so perhaps teachers find it difficult to make a right decision Researcher: Many teachers doubt the provision of basic communication strategies in the book What is your opinion of this issue? XII Teacher 2: I agree with those teachers since the book does not have any separate sections for this, we must study the book, draw strategies by ourselves and indicate to our students Researcher: What are your suggestions for better teaching speaking with the use of the coursebook: NEFE? Teacher 2: To help students communicate successfully, I think there should be a separate section for communication strategies Also, teachers should set an example first so that students are clear about tasks, and act as instructors, monitors, facilitators Researcher: Thank you so much for your participation ……………………… Interview 3: Researcher: Good afternoon! Thank you for your acceptance into my interview You know, I am doing my M.A thesis entitled “A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy” According to the results of the questionnaire which was conducted weeks ago, there are several issues that need clarification That is also the main aim of this interview Before we start, notice that your name will be strictly confidential and recording the interview is for research purpose only How long have you been teaching New English File Elementary? Teacher 3: I have been working with it for years Researcher: What you think of this coursebook in terms of teaching and developing speaking skills? Teacher 3: The book is very good in terms of teaching and developing speaking A perfect balance of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and skills to get my students speaking English with confidence Researcher: Oh, you have said about pronunciation which plays an important element in speaking skills What is your comment on pronunciation in the book? Teacher 3: Unlike other coursebook like New Headway, New Cutting Edge, there is a pronunciation section in every lesson in this book Personally, I think they are very useful for my elementary students Researcher: What you think of the fact that 20% of the teachers in the survey disagree that the book provides a lot of pairwork/ groupwork activities? XIII Teacher 3: I myself disagree with this statement, to tell the truth As I said earlier, I think there is a balance here or in other words, pairwork and groupwork activities are sufficient Researcher: Many teachers mentioned a lack of basic communication strategies throughout the book What you think? Teacher 3: Yeah, I agree There is no separate ‘communication strategies’ section Researcher: What are your suggestions for better teaching speaking with the use of the coursebook: NEFE? Teacher 3: Firstly, for more productiveness, teachers should get students better ready for speaking tasks by either providing them with more background knowledge or asking them to look for prior to class Next, during instructions, give specific examples before leaving them practice to get students on track Lastly, better always act as a motivator in class, moving around with help, not with interference Researcher: Thanks a lot for your ideas ………………… Interview 4: Researcher: Good afternoon! Thank you for your acceptance into my interview You know, I am doing my M.A thesis entitled “A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy” According to the results of the questionnaire which was conducted weeks ago, there are several issues that need clarification That is also the main aim of this interview Before we start, notice that your name will be strictly confidential and recording the interview is for research purpose only How long have you been teaching New English File Elementary? Teacher 4: I have been teaching it for years Researcher: What you think of this coursebook in terms of teaching and developing speaking skills? Teacher 4: It’s good! Frankly speaking, it is the best among a number of books like New Headway, New Cutting Edge, Global at the same level which were used at MTA Speaking or communicative activities are available, pronunciation receives proper attention, instructions for tasks are clear and comprehensible to elementarylevel students, and language input (I mean vocabulary and grammar) is appropriate for speaking tasks XIV Researcher: You have just claimed strong points of the book Is there anything that needs to be improved? Teacher 4: Uh…let me think a little bit… Sorry, I have no ideas at this moment Researcher: It is ok Never mind What you think of the fact that 20% of the teachers in the survey disagree that the book provides a lot of pairwork/ groupwork activities? Teacher 4: For me, it is obvious that the book provides a lot of pairwork or groupwork activities When some teachers did not agree, it is probable that they forgot some of the activities because most of them are at the back of the book Researcher: Ok, I got your point One more thing, many teachers doubt the provision of basic communication strategies in the book What is your opinion of this issue? Teacher 4: You know, nowadays more and more attention is paid to communication strategies because they can compensate for lack of linguistic knowledge in communication However, in this book there is no separate section for this At this level, I think some basic communication strategies like asking for the correct term ‘What is it called in English?’, ‘What called?’ and so on should be added in the book Researcher: Thanks for your answer Now, last question: What are your suggestions for better teaching speaking with the use of the coursebook: NEFE? Teacher 4: For me, teachers should follow the procedure of the book and explore all the supplementary sections in the book since this is a good book What is more, the teacher acts as a guide in all tasks especially in speaking ones Researcher: Once again, thank you so much for your participation XV ... views on materials evaluation Tomlinson (1998) defines materials evaluation as ? ?the systematic appraisal of the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the learners... introduction, and the table of contents The evaluation at this stage helps the evaluator to determine whether the material is potentially appropriate or not If the external evaluation shows that the material... three categories: aim, content and classroom speaking practice 1.5.5 Materials adaptation Materials adaptation is an essential step after evaluation as no materials are, in fact, perfect Its aim