An evaluation by the teachers and students about the course book english unlimited a1 starter at a public security school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI THU TRANG AN EVALUATION BY THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ABOUT THE COURSE BOOK ENGLISH UNLIMITED A1-STARTER AT A PUBLIC SECURITY SCHOOL (Đánh giá giáo viên học viên giáo trình English Unlimited A1-Starter trường trung cấp Công an nhân dân) MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 8140231.01 HANOI – 2018 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI THU TRANG AN EVALUATION BY THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ABOUT THE COURSE BOOK ENGLISH UNLIMITED A1-STARTER AT A PUBLIC SECURITY SCHOOL (Đánh giá giáo viên học viên giáo trình English Unlimited A1-Starter trường trung cấp Công an nhân dân) MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 8140231.01 SUPERVISOR: DR TRAN THANH NHAN HANOI – 2018 DECLARATION I, the undersigned, declare that this thesis is the result of my own research and has not been submitted to any other university or institution partially or wholly Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in text of the thesis Hanoi, 2018 Student Nguyễn Thị Thu Trang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people First and foremost, I would like to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr Tran Thanh Nhan for her enthusiastic guidance, insightful comments, and valuable support throughout my research I would also like to thank all of the lecturers of the Department of Post Graduate Studies, Vietnam National University for their useful lectures and materials which are of great value to my thesis A special word of thanks is dedicated to all of my colleagues and students at the Armed Police School for their useful information and support Last but not least, I owe my gratitude to my family for their support and encouragement ii ABSTRACT It is obvious that materials play an important role in language teaching and learning, and material evaluation is one of the necessary components in the teaching and learning process of any language This thesis was conducted accordingly with the aims to evaluate the suitability of the course book “English Unlimited A1Starter” for the first year students at the Armed Police School in terms of its aims, content and methodology from the teachers and students viewpoints The thesis employed the quantitative and qualitative approach with two research methods: survey questionnaire for the students as the major and informal interview for the teachers as the supplementary In this thesis, the material is analyzed based on the criteria proposed by Hutchinson & Waters (1987) in order to investigate the suitability of the course book with the students’ and teachers’ requirements The results indicated that the aims, content and the methodology of this material are relatively suitable Besides, the author also recommends some adaptation for a better application of the course book Hopefully, the results of the study can help both the teachers and students better understand the course book they are using in order to make reasonable adjustments of their own in future iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Scope and aims of the study 2.1 Scope of the study 2.2 Aims of the study Significance of the study Research questions Methods of the study 5.1 Participants Error! Bookmark not defined 5.2 Instruments Error! Bookmark not defined 5.3 Data collection methods/ Data analysis proceduresError! Bookmark not defined Design of the thesis PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Review of previous related studies 1.2 The roles of materials in language learning and teaching 1.2.1 Definitions of materials 1.2.2 Types of materials 1.2.3 Roles of materials in language learning and teaching 1.3 Materials evaluation 1.3.1 Definition of materials evaluation 1.3.2 Types of materials evaluation 1.3.3 Types of evaluators 10 1.3.4 Models of materials evaluation 11 1.4 Criteria for materials evaluation 14 iv 1.5 Materials adaptation 15 1.5.1 The role of materials adaptation 15 1.5.2 Techniques for adaptation 16 1.6 Summary 16 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 18 2.1 Description of the context 18 2.1.1 The setting 18 2.1.2 Objectives of the course 19 2.1.3 Course material 19 2.2 Research methodology 20 2.2.1 Participants 20 2.2.2 Instruments 20 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 25 3.1 The suitability of the course book with the mastery of the course’s outcomes 25 3.2 The suitability of the course book’s content 30 3.2.1 The suitability of language points 30 3.2.2 The suitability of other elements of the course book’s content 34 3.3 The appropriateness of methodology and learning conditions 41 3.4 Students’ evaluation and suggestions about the course book 48 3.5 Summary of major findings 52 3.5.2 The suitability of the course book’s content 52 3.5.3 The suitability of methodology and learning conditions 54 3.5.4 General comments about the course book 54 PART C: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 55 Recommendations 55 Limitations and suggestions for further study 57 Conclusion 57 REFERENCES 59 APPENDICES I APPENDIX I APPENDIX VI APPENDIX XVI v APPENDIX XVII LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Student’s opinion about their mastery of the course outcomes in terms of grammar 26 Table 2: Student’s opinion about their mastery of the course outcomes in terms of vocabulary 27 Table 3: Student’s opinion about their mastery of the course outcomes in terms of four skills 28 Table 4: Students’ opinion about the necessity of the vocabulary related to the topics in the course book 30 Table 5: Students’ opinion about the suitability of grammar items for their communication need 32 Table 6: Students’ opinion about the suitability of the situations for their daily communication 33 Table 7: Students’ opinion about the topics in the course book 35 Table 8: Students’ opinion about the parts of each unit 36 Table 9: Students opinion about the overall course’s proportion 37 Table 10: Students’ opinion about the format of the course book 39 Table 11: Students’ opinion about the text types of the course book 40 Table 12: Students’ opinion about the teaching and learning fact in their class 42 Table 13: Students’ opinion about suitability of the kinds of tasks in the course book 43 Table 14: Students’ opinion about teacher’s technique usage frequency 45 Table 15: Students’ opinion about the suitability of the teaching aids of the course book 46 Table 16: Teachers’ and students’ opinion about teacher’s adaptation 47 Table 17: Students’ opinion about teacher’s adaptation frequency 48 Table 18: Students’ comments on the course book 49 Table 19: Student’s suggestions for a better course book usage 50 Table 20: Students’ opinion about their favorite topics 51 vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study English, nowadays, has become an international language spoken all over the world Thanks for this language; connections between nations all over the world become possible It is the language used in all aspects of life such as economics, politics, science, technology, tourism, culture, and education For this reason, it can be assumed that the role of English language cannot be just expressed in words In Vietnam, the importance of English was immediately acknowledged by the Vietnamese government and as a result the English language programs were made compulsory beginning at secondary schools and subsequently high schools and finally universities The need of using English in the crime prevention cooperation between Vietnam and other countries in the world is increasing Moreover, many daily situations related to foreign criminals and factors need to be faced by the police force Therefore, English is taught as a compulsory subject in most Public Security Schools in Vietnam aiming to develop four skills – listening, speaking, reading, and writing as well as the knowledge of specific purposes in English As a school of Public Security system, the curriculum of the Armed Police School also consists of English as a subject to equip the students with basic knowledge of the language to communicate with foreigners in their job To master English, it is necessary to consider the factors affecting the teaching and learning process such as learning objectives, learning outcomes, teacher’s methods, and course books Among these factors, course books have played an important role in most language curricula The reason for this is that materials, especially course books play a vital role in exposing the students to the English language (Dudley-Evans & St John, 2000:171) The course book determines the classroom activities, influences teachers’ teaching methods, and the students’ roles Nunan (2003:226) predicates that course book is the main element of any curriculum and “it is difficult to imagine a class without book” The course book chosen at the Armed Police School is English Unlimited A1- Starter which is written by Adrian Doff and published by Cambridge It is used for the first year students and has been used for two years, however, since then no research on the course book evaluation has been carried out by the school administrators prior to the introduction of the course book to recognize its strengths and shortcomings, and to judge to what extent the course book meets students and teacher’s needs For this reason, I will choose the thesis “An evaluation by the teachers and students about the course book English Unlimited A1- Starter at a Public Security school” It is a good opportunity to reveal the suitability of the material for the students’ level from the students’ and the teachers’ views so that adaptation can be made to gain better results of teaching and learning Scope and aims of the study 2.1 Scope of the study This study will focus on evaluating the course book “English Unlimited A1 – Starter” The researcher bases on the Hutchinson and Waters (1987)’s criteria for evaluation with focus on the three following criteria: aims of the materials, content of the materials (in terms of language use, skills, topics, parts of unit, overall course’s proportion, format of course book and text types), and methodology (in terms of teaching and learning facts, kinds of tasks, teaching techniques, and teaching aids) Research participants are primarily confined to the teachers of English who have been teaching the material and the first year students at the Armed Police School 2.2 Aims of the study From the concrete situation of the teaching and learning context, this study aims to evaluate the appropriateness of the course book “English Unlimited A1Starter” for the first year students at the Armed Police School from both teachers and students’ viewpoints with the hope that the collected information for improvement of the course book will be adapted to make it more effective for future use To be more detailed, this study aims to: 2 Reading texts Listening texts Dialogues Pictures Diagrams SECTION 4: The appropriateness of methodology and learning conditions.( Please give your opinion from to 5) Q1 In an English lesson, tick the most appropriate with you Never =1 Rarely=2 Sometimes=3 Usually=4 Always=5 Your opinion Statements Teacher teaches grammar and vocabulary Teacher focuses on teaching skills Teacher translates everything into Vietnamese Teacher uses English in class Teacher interacts with the students Students talks to students and teacher Teacher talks most of the time Q2 These kinds of tasks in the course book are suitable with you Strongly disagree = Disagree= Neutral=3 No Agree= Strongly agree= Kinds of tasks Your opinion 1 Matching Guessing Gap filling Make sentences Ask and answer XII Role- play Games Write sentences Q3 Please give your opinion about the frequency of teacher’s usage these techniques in your class Never = Rarely=2 No Sometimes=3 Pair-work Group –work Individual work Whole class-work Student presentation Games Role –play Always=5 Your opinion Techniques Usually= 4 Q4 The kinds of teaching aids used in this course book are suitable with you Strongly disagree = Disagree= Neutral=3 No Power Point Presentation Realia Pictures Flashcards Photocopied handouts Strongly agree= Your opinion Kinds of teaching aids Agree= 4 Q5 Did your teacher adapt or supplement the course book to suit you? Yes No Q6 Please give your opinion about the frequency of your teacher’s adaptation Never = Rarely=2 Sometimes=3 XIII Usually=4 Always=5 Your opinion No Teacher’s adaptation Teacher omitted some tasks in grammar, vocabulary and skills in the course book Teacher added more grammar activities Teacher designed interesting vocabulary activities Teacher reduced revision for each unit Teacher added more speaking and writing tasks Teacher asked students to some tasks in the course book at home Teacher designed games for the tasks in the course book SECTION 5: Students’ general comments and suggestions ( (Please give your comments and make suggestions by ticking from to 5) Q1 What are your comments and suggestions? Strongly disagree = Disagree= Neutral=3 No Agree= Strongly agree= Comments The course book is quite interesting The language points and skills in this course book are not difficult to achieve The grammar, vocabulary and skills in the course book are useful Some topics are not interesting The time for each unit and the course is not enough The format of the course book is good Some tasks in the course book are boring or difficult Some teacher’s activities are boring XIV Teachers make some changes compared with the requirements in the course book Suggestions The teacher’s activities in class should be more engaging The teaching aids should be more suitable The time for the unit and the course should to be lengthened Teacher should often add some interesting tasks such as role play in a shop, a restaurant, a holiday place… Teacher should often omit some boring tasks Q2 Choose the topics that you think should be included in the course book (put a tick √) and give any alternatives if possible No Topics Friendship Famous people Entertainment Fashion Health Love Education Environment Tick Alternatives Q3 Apart from your response to the questions above, if you have any ideas that may contribute to the design of the course book, please specify in the blank provided below …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! XV APPENDIX INTERVIEW’S GUIDES (Teachers) What is your opinion about the course book English Unlimited A1- Starter? In your opinion, is the course book suitable with the course’s aims? Is the language points appropriate with your student’s level? Are the topics interesting to your students? What you think about each part of each unit and the proportion for them? What you think about the format of the course book? (Tables of content, Book layout, Content sequences, Content organization, Explore and look again sections, Appearance of the book) What you think about the text types presented in the course book? What problems are you facing with in your English class? Are the kinds of tasks designed in the course book suitable for your students? 10 How often you apply these techniques used in the course book such as pair work, group work, individual work, student’s presentation, games, role-play, whole class- work? 11 Are you equipped with different kinds of teaching aids? Are they useful? 12 Did you adapt your course book? If, yes, how often did you adapt your course book? What are your suggestions to make the course book better in use? XVI APPENDIX TRANSCRIPT OF THE TEACHERS’INTERVIEWS What is your opinion about the course book English Unlimited A1- Starter? Teacher A: I think it is a good book It helps students to develop their four skills Teacher B: I think that this course book is suitable for my students Teacher C: Interesting! Teacher D: In my opinion, the course book is mainly designed to help the students develop their skills, so it’s quite interesting Teacher E: The book is really interesting and fully helps students develop their communicative competence with suitable level Teacher F: My students are at A1- level, so this course book is suitable Teacher G: I really like this course book It is not difficult to engage the students to take part in my activities In your opinion, is the course book suitable with the course’s aims? Teacher A: Yes Especially, the speaking tasks in the course book are the same as ones in the final test, so that the students are familiar with the situations This is the reason why they speak quite well In my opinion, reading and writing are two skills in which my students’ outcomes are good Teacher B: I think the course book can meet the requirements of course’s outcomes However, the students are good at simple grammar items, but they cannot learn the complex ones For example, in unit 8, the students study the past simple tense with regular and irregular verbs However, the students have problems distinguishing the verb tobe and ordinary verb, and regular verbs and irregular ones Consequently, the results of the tests related to these grammar items are not high The vocabulary in each part of each unit is not much so the students can remember well, especially the first units Listening, speaking and reading are not difficult to master About writing skill, at starter level, this course book only requires simple grammar usage More importantly, writing techniques are not taught in each unit and many students cannot develop their ideas when writing XVII Teacher C: Yes, my students’ out comes are quite good in grammar, vocabulary, reading, especially in writing My students can write well In my opinion, the course book is useful The listening tasks in the course book begin from simple to complex one They are integrated in other skills’ activities Besides, there are many listening tasks in each unit As a result, the students have more time to practice this skill compared with the other skills Especially, the final listening test is suitable for A1 level The speaking tests are not difficult, so they can these tests quite well Teacher D: With regard to the grammar, vocabulary and skills, the outcomes are quite good However, some listening tasks in the course book are still difficult for the students who have not learnt English for a long time Teacher E: Yes I think my students can learn grammar items quite well They also remember the vocabulary of 10 units well because in each unit, the vocabulary is easy to remember For example, in Unit 1, they only have to remember some words expressing greetings in English This is too simple My students are also quite good in four skills Teacher F: Listening tasks presented in the course book sometimes are difficult for the students who have not learnt English for a long time For instant, task2a part 10.2 in Unit 10 asks students to have to listen to two people talking about themselves to order the sentences Some students will have wrong order if they listen only one time Teacher G: Yes In terms of grammar and vocabulary the learning outcomes are quite good, but the outcomes of skills still have some problems, especially, listening skill is still not good Some listening tasks having songs or talking on phones caused difficulty for the students Despite the fact that in the course book, talking on phones sometimes appeared in listening tasks The writing topics in the final test are what the students have studied Moreover, they were only asked to write a short paragraph Therefore, it is not difficult for them to master In terms of speaking skill, the students’ pronunciation is still bad and they lack skill to communicate with examiners They only learn by heart everything XVIII Is the language points appropriate with your student’s level? Teacher A: Yes, I think they are appropriate All situations in the course book are situations which occur in my students’ daily life For example, how to greet other people and how to make conversations when choosing and buying things are daily situations in which the students have to communicate if necessary Teacher B: Of course, they are useful and suitable for my students Teacher C: I am not sure about the suitability of the language points presented in this course book I think the grammar is too simple for the students to use in their daily life Teacher D: Yes The language points are suitable for A1 level I really like singular and plural nouns, and how much structure By studying these grammar items, my students can use them when they go shopping This is very useful Besides, the vocabulary is highly related to the topics Teacher E: I agree that the language points and situations in the course book are appropriate for my students Grammar items such as like and don’t like or the present simple tense are really helpful for the students They can use these grammar items to express their hobbies or their daily activities Teacher F: Totally agree Teacher G: I doubt that the grammar and vocabulary are really effective to the students especially for who are good in English They are quite simple Are the topics interesting to your students? Teacher A: Yes They are interesting Teacher B: I am not satisfied with topics “People” and “Places” My Students have not known or been to these places, so they need very famous and popular ones I think we should change these topics if necessary Teacher C: My students are satisfied with the topics They have no complaint about this issue Teacher D: I think that the topics in the course book are interesting enough Such topics as Hello, Every day, and Things to buy are my student’s interest because they XIX are related to their everyday life Teacher E: It seems that my students not like topic Places This topic is not interesting enough In my opinion, we should make some changes Teacher F: Of course, they are interesting for my students Teacher G: Yes Very interesting! What you think about each part of each unit and the proportion for them? Teacher A: I am satisfied with all parts of each unit However, due to time limitation, the review section was asked to at home The students only study some new words This is completely suitable for the students’ level With reading skill, the students only have a reading text to study As a result, it is not difficult for them Teacher B: I think most of the parts of each unit are helpful, but the tasks in grammar part are not enough for the students to master and were too simple for them I often ask my students to learn explore and look again sections at home In addition, I think more writing tasks should be given to the students Teacher C: I thinks that some parts of each unit are useful, of course, I want my students to learn explore and look again sections at home as homework With the pronunciation part, the tasks only ask students to listen and repeat How to produce sounds was not paid attention to, my students still have problems with pronunciation I think there is a problem in proportion between parts of each unit We have to teach parts in which grammar, vocabulary, four skills, pronunciation even across culture are included in each part That is too much Sometimes, we have to skip some tasks in order to ensure the total teaching time We need more time to conduct interesting activities for our students About writing part, one task for writing is not enough for my students Teacher D: In my opinion, vocabulary, reading and writing part help my students enrich their vocabulary and improve their skills, but my students are lacking tasks for the writing Moreover, my students should study something at home for their XX self –study Thus explore and look again sections is my choice Teacher F: All parts of each unit are useful except for the grammar The tasks are not interesting enough to engage my students to study Another issue is the low proportion of writing skill What can my student practice when they only have one task asking them to write sentences? Teacher G: Many students in my class have learn English before, so what they received in grammar parts is what they knew, so I not know whether the grammar part is really useful or not Vocabulary, reading and writing parts are necessary for my students, but the writing tasks are not enough for them I am also not sure about explore and look again sections because I cannot check the homework in class What you think about the format of the course book? (Tables of content, Book layout, Content sequences, Content organization, Explore and look again sections, Appearance of the book) Teacher A: I have no complaint about the format of the course book Teacher B: the format of the course book is logical and scientific Teacher C: Format of the course book is ok Teacher D: I am satisfied with the format of the course book Teacher E: I have no ideas about the format Teacher F: Good format! Teacher G: Totally satisfied with the format of this course book What you think about the text types presented in the course book? Teacher A: Many pictures in the course book were not clear enough for the students to guess the meaning of the words Teacher B: They are suitable for my students, but some listening tasks were too easy or difficult for them to master Teacher C: Totally satisfied Teacher D: Reading texts in this course book are too simple for many good students Thus some easy tasks should be replaced by difficult ones XXI Teacher E: Many students not use manuals; even they note everything in the course book Especially, the students often combine English manuals with other subjects Hence, to review the knowledge, they have some problems Teacher F: In my opinion all text types satisfy me a lot Teacher G: Diagrams presented in the course book are too simple The students are not really stimulated They are only required to fill information They cannot make their own diagrams in order to clearly understand what they have learnt What problems are you facing with in your English class? Teacher A: Because of the course book is designed based on communicative approach, so I often focus on teaching four skills for my students Sometimes, I lack time to help my students really understand grammar Although I want my students speak English more and more, English usage still depend on the students’ level For example, if the students are good, I often use English By contrast, I have to use Vietnamese if they are at low level Teacher B: Teaching four skills takes a lot of time I often skip some tasks to make sure that I finish the unit on time Therefore, I often talk all the time despite the fact that in an English class, you need interact with your students in order to help them learn better By interaction, you will easily know how your students understand your lesson Teacher C: It a fact that the teacher could not conduct all activities related to four skills in 45 minutes, so we sometimes skip grammar tasks Yes, I have to talk all time About the interaction, I think my students only interact when I put them in pairs or in groups, but the leader sometimes has to the task himself Teacher D: I rarely pay attention to grammar You know, the grammar in this course book is easy and there are few grammar tasks Therefore, some students complain that they still make grammar mistakes Teacher E: In my class, I often use Vietnamese to help my students get the knowledge I have to lecture all the time If I have more time, I will more focus on designing interesting tasks for my students XXII Teacher F: As a language teacher, I usually teach vocabulary and four skills I have to decide when to use English and vice versa Using English or Vietnamese depends on the students’ level Of course I often interact with my students, but they are sometimes not confident to share, and some students are lazy to the tasks with their friends They leave the task for the leader Teacher G: I still talk too much in my class There are many activities in each lesson Ensuring the time to teach all skills sometimes makes me stressed Are the kinds of tasks designed in the course book suitable for your students? Teacher A: I like matching, guessing, make sentences, but I don’t like games and write sentences I think games designed in the course book are sometimes not interesting Teacher B: I am satisfied with all kinds of tasks They are very useful Teacher C: Because of limited time, I don’t often use role-play and I am not sure about its effectiveness Other kinds of tasks are helpful However, my students still make a lot of mistakes when they are asked to write sentences Besides, some tasks are too easy or difficult for my students For instant, in the part 7.2 the students asked to read a very short paragraph to find out three people This task is too easy for the students Consequently, they are not motivated to study Teacher D: I not like games because they are not engaging Teacher E: My students are not motivated in games because they are simple For example, in task 3a of part Unit 2, the game only asks the students A choose a job and write a sentence Student B guess A’s sentence Besides, writing sentences is still a challenge for the students They still use wrong structure Other kinds are suitable for my students Teacher F: All kinds of tasks are useful for my students But sometimes, the tasks seem difficult for them For example, in task one 1a of part 7.3, the students have to talk about pictures A- D using the words However, the students could not fulfill the task because they did not know how to express This task was difficult for them It XXIII is better to introduce the vocabulary and the way to express first, and then ask students to the task Teacher G: I think the tasks are interesting, but I don’t know whether role-play is useful or not because I not apply this kind of tasks 10 How often you apply these techniques used in the course book such as pair work, group work, individual work, student’s presentation, games, roleplay, whole class- work? Teacher A: I usually apply pair- work, group-work in my class, but I rarely use students’ presentation, games and role -play Teacher B: Pair – work, group-work, individual work are my choice I think they are suitable for me Teacher C: I am not good in controlling and designing games and the games in this course book are not interesting enough Therefore, I not often apply this technique” Teacher D: I often use pair- work, group- work, individual- work and whole class -work, but role- play, games, or the students’ presentations take a lot of time, so I not often used these techniques in my class Teacher E: My students are at A1 level Many of them have not learnt English for a long time They lack confidence to speak in front of class Therefore, student’s presentation is impossible in my class Teacher F: I usually apply pair- work, group-work, and individual technique The others are sometimes used This depends on the student’s level Teacher G: I think pair- work, group-work, individual – work, the whole class work are easy to apply Therefore, I often apply them I rarely used other techniques 11 Are you equipped with different kinds of teaching aids? Are they useful? Teacher A: Yes, most of the teaching aids make me satisfied Teacher B: Yes, but some handouts were not suitable for the students’ level Teacher C: Yes However, I am not sure about the usefulness of photocopied XXIV handouts and the pictures Teacher D: I really like PowerPoint presentation and flashcards, but some pictures in the course book were not clear enough for the students to guess the meaning For example, the picture about “bread” in Unit was not easy to guess the meaning in Vietnamese Teacher E: All teaching aids satisfy me Teacher F: Yes, but I don’t like pictures in the course book Some pictures are not clear Teacher G: Yes, I not often use photocopied handouts The others are acceptable 12 Did you adapt your course book? If, yes, how often did you adapt your course book? What are your suggestions to make the course book better in use? Teacher A: I think I should follow the content of the course book I don’t need to make any changes I think the course book is good I need more time for the whole syllabus to make the course book more effective Teacher B: Yes Sometimes, I change something like the grammar or vocabulary tasks I think the syllabus should be lengthened After teaching, it is necessary to add the future simple tense in order to help the students express more situations Teacher C: Yes I often adapt the materials Despite the fact that the games are used in the course book I not know how to make them more interesting As a result, I rarely use games in my class In my opinion, we should change some topics which are not interesting to the students Teacher D: Yes Grammar and pronunciation should be more focused For example, teachers should design grammar tasks under games to engage students and the time should be lengthened to help me not care about time pressure Teacher E: Yes I often this To make this course book better used, I think that the time should be more suitable Among four skills, I think we should teach our students how to write a simple short paragraph, and reading texts should be more XXV suitable with good students Teacher F: Yes We lack time to conduct all activities in 45 minutes, so changes are not often made I think we need some changes For example, omitting some unnecessary tasks or designing more interesting games or using role- play Teacher G: Of course Some tasks in the course book are not interesting enough Thus, I often omit them I suggest that some changes should be made such as time allocation, tasks in each part and some topics Thank you for your cooperation! XXVI ... materials in language learning and teaching It can be assumed that materials play an important part in any language program The roles of materials are mentioned by many authors in literature According... different authors to evaluate materials In the light of the approaches to the materials evaluation, the evaluation models can be referred to as macro and micro evaluation models Macro evaluation. ..VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI THU TRANG AN EVALUATION BY THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ABOUT THE COURSE