An evaluation of the material reward for the first year non english major students at hai phong private university m a thesis linguistics 6

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ MINH NGUYỆT AN EVALUATION OF THE MATERIAL “REWARD” FOR THE FIRST-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY (Đánh giá giáo trình “Reward” dành cho sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên trường Đại học Dân lập Hải Phòng) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 HA NOI, 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ MINH NGUYỆT AN EVALUATION OF THE MATERIAL “REWARD” FOR THE FIRST-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY (Đánh giá giáo trình “Reward” dành cho sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên trường Đại học Dân lập Hải Phòng) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Vũ Thị Thu Thủy, M.A HA NOI, 2010 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ………………………………………………………………… ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………… TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………… LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………… LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES……………………………………………… Part A: Introduction…………………………………………………………… Rationale of the study…………………………………………………… Aims of the study………………………………………………………… Methods of the study……………………………………………………… Scope of the study………………………………………………………… Design of the study……………………………………………………… Part B: Development……………………………………………………………… Chapter 1: Literature review……………………………………………………… Textbook, course book and materials…………………………………… 1.1 Definitions…………………………………………………………… 1.2 The role of materials in a language program………………………… Materials evaluation……………………………………………………… 2.1 Definition…………………………………………………………… 2.2 Types of materials evaluation………………………………………… 2.3 Criteria of materials evaluation……………………………………… 2.4 Materials evaluation procedure……………………………………… Materials adaptation……………………………………………………… An overview of Communicative Language Teaching…………………… 4.1 Communicative competence………………………………………… 4.2 Communicative Language Teaching………………………………… iv 4.2.1 Definition of CLT……………………………………………………… 4.2.2 Principles of CLT……………………………………………………… 4.2.3 Good points and limitations of CLT…………………………………… Chapter 2: The study………………………………………………………………… 13 Description of data collection instruments and procedures…………………… 13 1.1 Survey questionnaires……………………………………………………… 13 1.1.1 Participants……………………………………………………………… 13 1.1.2 Description of the survey questionnaires……………………………… 13 1.2 Formal interviews and class observation…………………………………… Preliminary results and analysis ……………………………………………… 2.1 Students’ English background and their expectations from the course…… 2.1.1 Students’ English learning time and their results ……………………… 2.1.2 Students’ difficulties in learning English……………………………… 2.1.3 Students’ expectations from an English course………………………… 2.2 Students’ improvement after learning the textbook………………………… 2.2.1 Students’ level of fluency in language points………………………… 2.2.2 Students’ tasks completion …………………………………………… 2.2.2.1 Students’ reading tasks completion……………………………… 2.2.2.2 Students’ writing tasks completion……………………………… 2.2.2.3 Students’ speaking tasks completion……………………………… 2.2.2.4 Students’ listening tasks completion……………………………… 2.2.2.5 Students’ satisfaction level in each skill and teachers’ assessment on their skill improvement………………………………………………………… 2.3 Teachers’ and students’ evaluation on the content of the materials……… 2.3.1 Topics of the textbook………………………………………………… 2.3.2 Skills allocation ………………………………………………………… 26 2.3.3 Aims of the units……………………………………………………… 2.3.4 Tasks and exercises in the textbook…………………………………… v 2.4 Teachers’ and students’ evaluation on the m 2.5 Teachers and students’ opinions on the textbook’s appearance and current time for teaching and learning the textbook………………………………………… Chapter 3: An evaluation of the textbook “Reward” for the first-year non-English major students at Haiphong Private University…………………………………… Materials requirements of the course…………………………………………… 1.1.Objectives…………………………………………………………………… 1.2.Contents…………………………………………………………………… 1.3.Methodology………………………………………………………………… Analysis of the material “Reward Pre – intermediate” ………………………… 2.1 Objectives of the material………………………………………………… 2.2 Contents of the material…………………………………………………… 2.3 Methodology of the textbook……………………………………………… Evaluation findings …………………………………………………………… Suggestions for the textbook’s adaptation……………………………………… 4.1 Supplementing……………………………………………………………… 4.2 Editing……………………………………………………………………… 4.3 Expanding………………………………………………………………… 4.4 Personalizing……………………………………………………………… 4.5 Simplifying………………………………………………………………… 4.6 Localizing or modifying cultural/ situational content……………………… PART C: Conclusion……………………………………………………………… REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………… APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………… Appendix 1……………………………………………………………………… Appendix 2……………………………………………………………………… Appendix 3……………………………………………………………………… vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching ELT: English Language Teaching ESP: English for Specific Purposes GE: General English HPU: Haiphong Private University Ss: Students Ts: Teachers vii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: The materials evaluation process (by Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters) Table 1: Students’ English learning time Table 2: Teachers’ and students’ assessment of students’ results in learning English Table 3: Students’ difficulties in learning English Table 4: Students’ expectations from an English course Table 5: Students’ level of fluency in language points Table 6: Students’ reading tasks completion Table 7: Students’ writing tasks completion Table 8: Students’ speaking tasks completion Table 9: Students’ listening tasks completion Table 10: Students’ satisfaction level in each skill Table 11: Teachers’ point of view on students’ improvement in each skill Table 12: Students’ point of view on the aims of the units Table 13: Teachers’ and students’ opinions on the tasks and exercises of the textbook Table 14: Teachers’ and students’ points of view on the methodology of the book Table 15: Teachers’ and students’ opinions towards the layout of the textbook and the current time for teaching and learning the book Table 16: The distribution of tasks in each unit -1- PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Responding to the changes brought by the international integration tendency, mastering foreign languages, especially English, has become one of the prerequisites for success English is, hence, necessary for both undergraduates and on-the-job employees The demand of English study has resulted in the development of ELT industry as well as ELT materials Publishing commercial textbooks is considered a million – dollar industry and serves as an abundant materials resource so that English teachers and learners have quite a wide range of selection of the textbooks that are suitable for their own purposes Regarded as “an inevitable teaching partner” and “the visible heart of any ELT program” by Sheldon (1988, p.237), ELT materials in general and textbooks in particular have been proving themselves one of the most important factors in every English class, functioning as the teaching and learning tool, the tutor, guidebook as well as gauge However, among various textbooks commercially available in the market, choosing the one that is appropriate to the students‟ learning purposes and that can help students enhance their communicative competence is not an easy job It is, therefore, necessary for the teachers to be good at assessment skill for the evaluation of materials so as to ensure that their students can get much benefit from their textbooks The importance of materials evaluation to the teachers of English in an ELT program has urged me to choose it as the theme of this study The second reason for this choice originated from the fact that in the recent two years, there have been different opinions of both teachers and learners on the actual effectiveness of the textbook Reward Pre – intermediate by Simon Greenall currently used in teaching English for first – year non – English major students at Haiphong Private University The textbook itself has revealed many potentials as well as shortcomings in the teaching and learning environment of HPU It is really essential that we should conduct an evaluation of the textbook to assess its appropriateness against the learning purposes and then find out the solutions to improve the quality of English teaching in the university Aims of the study The purpose of the research projects are: - To investigate the evaluation methods discussed by a number of researchers and choose the most appropriate one for the project -2- - To evaluate the currently-adopted textbook Reward Pre – intermediate from the viewpoints of both teachers of Foreign Languages Department and first – year non - English major students at Haiphong Private University - To give suggestions for the textbook‟s adaptations Methods of the study The following methods are employed to collect data for the study: - Survey questionnaires designed for both teachers and first – year non – English major students at Haiphong Private University who have experienced using the book - Formal interviews with the teachers and students regarding their experience in teaching and learning the textbook - Direct class observations Among these, survey questionnaire serves as the major instrument for data collection while the interviews and direct class observation are applied with an aim to get more information for any confirmation of the evaluation findings Scope of the study The study limits itself at evaluating the student‟s book, excluding the accompanied teacher‟s book, workbook and cassette tape with the focus on the evaluation of post-used textbook The evaluation criteria enclosed in the thesis is largely based on Communicative Language Teaching approach and the objectives set in the syllabus of the first and second semester designed for first – year non - English major students at Haiphong Private University Design of the study The thesis is divided into three parts: Part A Introduction presents the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study Part B Development consists of three chapters Chapter handles the literature review of the issues relating to materials, materials evaluation and adaptation and CLT approach Definitions of materials, materials evaluation, evaluation types, models and criteria, its role in materials development and materials adaptation have been discussed there Also, readers are provided with a brief introduction of communicative language teaching, the approach that is applied in the evaluation of the textbook Reward Pre – intermediate, in this chapter -3- Chapter is devoted to the analysis of the survey questionnaire of the textbook evaluation implemented at Haiphong Private University in which objectives, description, data collection and analysis are discussed in detail Chapter deals with the evaluation of the textbook Reward Pre – intermediate for the first – year non – English major students at Haiphong Private University in terms of the materials requirement of the course, the analysis of the textbook, and gives out the evaluation findings as well as encloses suggestions for the textbook adaptation Part C Conclusion summarizes all the obtained results and includes suggestions for further study VII Appendix Phiếu khảo sát Đối tượng: Sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên trường Đại học Dân lập Hải Phịng Mục đích: Để đánh giá giáo trình tiếng Anh “Reward Pre – intermediate” dành cho sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ trường Đại học Dân lập Hải Phòng theo đường hướng giao tiếp, chúng tơi cần tìm hiểu ý kiến đánh giá, nguyện vọng nhu cầu bạn học giáo tình Những thơng tin mà chúng tơi nhận cần thiết quan trọng để giúp chúng tơi đánh giá giáo trình, tìm điểm cịn chưa thật phù hợp để có điều chỉnh hợp lí, nhằm nâng cao chất lượng dạy học tiếng Anh trường Bạn vui lòng trả lời đầy đủ, xác câu hỏi đánh dấu √ vào ô bạn chọn Chúng xin chân thành cảm ơn! Phần 1: 1.Thời gian học Tiếng Anh bạn kết môn học nào? Giỏi Từ tiểu học Từ trung học sở Từ trung học phổ thông Chưa học tiếng Anh Bạn gặp khó khăn q trình học tiếng Anh? Vốn từ không phong phú Không nắm vững kiến thức cấu trúc ngữ pháp Kĩ nghe Không thể dùng tiếng Anh giao tiếp tình thơng thường sống Phát âm Bạn mong đợi từ khóa học tiếng Anh trường đại học? Củng cố nâng cao vốn ngữ pháp tiếng Anh Có thể giao tiếp tiếng Anh tình giao tiếp thơng thường Phát triển kĩ đọc hiểu Có thể viết số loại văn thông thường tiếng Anh (viết thư, viết đoạn văn ngắn theo chủ đề) Phần 2: Bạn đạt sau học xong giáo trình “Reward Pre-intermediate? Khả sử dụng cấu trúc ngữ pháp bạn nào? Thuần thục Present simple tense VIII Articles Plural Present continuous tense Past simple tense Comparison Relative clauses Past continuous tense Past perfect tense Conditional sentence type Possessive „s/ Possessive adjectives Expressions of future time Prepositions of place Prepositions of time Expressions of quantity Present perfect tense Modal verbs Present simple passive conditional sentence type Bạn hoàn thành nhiệm vụ đây? Reading tasks Reading for main ideas Reacting to a passage and comparing information in a passage with personal opinion inferring Reading for specific information Writing tasks Writing simple sentences with adverbs of frequency Writing connected sentences about daily routines using “and” and “then” Writing about customs of hospitality Writing a story about something went wrong using and, but, so and because Writing and replying an invitation IX Writing a paragraph describing recent changes in your life Writing some advice Writing about ritual and or festival Speaking tasks Talking about suitable questions to ask people Talking about people‟s lifestyles Talking about customs and traditions of hospitality Talking about surprising behavior Talking about experiences Talking about typical meals and food in different countries Talking about typical entertainment Talking about a memorable journey Talking about safety instructions Predicting what happens next in a story Talking about ritual or festival in your country Listening tasks Listening for main ideas Listening for specific information Mức độ hài lòng bạn vể tiến thân kĩ nào? Nghe Nói Đọc Viết Phần 3: Trong phần này, mong muốn nhận ý kiến đánh giá bạn nội dung giáo trình Reward Pre-intermediate Theo bạn, chủ đề sách có cập nhật khơng? X Có Ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Các chủ đề sách có phù hợp với khả năng, sở thích lứa tuổi bạn khơng? Có Ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn đánh giá cách phân bổ kĩ sau giáo trình? Hợp lí A day in the life of the USA The world‟s first package tours How ambitious are you? It‟s a holiday The skylight Lovely weather Ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… Theo bạn, giáo trình chủ yếu cung cấp cho bạn? kiến thức xã hội kiến thức văn hóa vốn từ cấu trúc ngữ pháp Các ý kiến khác:……………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn nhận xét tập sách nào? khó khơng thú vị khó thú vị Dễ thú vị Dễ nhàm chán XI Đáp ứng đủ nhu cầu học tập bạn Chưa đáp ứng nhu cầu học tập bạn Ý kiến khác: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Phần 4: Bạn có nhận xét tiêu chí giáo học pháp sách? Đồng tình Khơng đồng tình Khơng có ý kiến Cuốn sách giúp bạn phát triển khả giao tiếp thân Cuốn sách có tình cho bạn hoạt động theo cặp theo nhóm Cuốn sách góp phần tạo khơng khí tích cực học, kích thích trí tị mị, tinh thần sáng tạo bạn Cuốn sách cung cấp lời khuyên bạn chiến lược học tập Phần 5: Bạn cho biết ý kiến bạn về: Cách trí sách Thời gian biểu mơn tiếng anh Nếu bạn chưa thực hài lịng, bạn có gợi ý để sửa đổi bổ sung? Bạn có nhận xét phần mục lục, danh mục từ vựng phụ lục giáo trình ? Hữu ích Khơng hữu ích Vơ ích Ý kiến khác XII Nhìn chung, bạn thấy giáo trình có đáp ứng nhu cầu mục đích học tiếng Anh bạn không? - The End – Thank you once again! XIII Appendix TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed with an aim to evaluate the course book Reward Pre – intermediate In the questionnaire, your attitudes towards whether the objectives, contents and especially the methodology of the materials are appropriate for the course as well as your students are expected to be found out Your answers play a very important and useful part, making a great contribution to my study Thank you in advance for your cooperation! Please answer the following questions or tick √ in the box where necessary SECTION 1: How you think about your students‟ English when starting the course? Excellent Good Average Under average What difficulties your students often meet during the course? Which of the following objectives you think most appropriate to meet your students‟ needs in an English course? Getting to know and bettering grammatical structures Communicating in English in daily conversations Developing reading skills Writing some normal types of documents in English (letters or short paragraphs about a given topic) SECTION 2: What you think of your students‟ level of fluency in using the following language points? Fluent Present simple tense Articles Plural XIV Present continuous tense Past simple tense Comparison Relative clauses Past continuous tense Past perfect tense Conditional sentence type Possessive „s/ Possessive adjectives Expressions of future time Prepositions of place Prepositions of time Expressions of quantity Present perfect tense Modal verbs Present simple passive conditional sentence type Which of the following tasks are your students able to fulfill? Reading tasks Reading for main ideas Reacting to a passage and comparing information in a passage with personal opinion inferring Reading for specific information Writing tasks Writing simple sentences with adverbs of frequency Writing connected sentences about daily routines using “and” and “then” Writing about customs of hospitality Writing a story about something went wrong using and, but, so and because Writing and replying an invitation Writing a paragraph describing recent changes in your life XV Writing some advice Writing about ritual and or festival Speaking tasks Talking about suitable questions to ask people Talking about people‟s lifestyles Talking about customs and traditions of hospitality Talking about surprising behavior Talking about experiences Talking about typical meals and food in different countries Talking about typical entertainment Talking about a memorable journey Talking about safety instructions Predicting what happens next in a story Talking about ritual or festival in your country Listening tasks Listening for main ideas Listening for specific information How are your students‟ language skills after learning the book? Good Listening Speaking Writing Reading SECTION 3: According to you, the topics in the textbook are updated? Yes Others (please specify) No XVI …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… Are the topics appropriate to your students‟ age, abilities and hobbies? Yes Others (please specify) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… In the following lessons of the book, what is your opinion about the distribution of skills? Reasonable Unreasonable No idea A day in the life of the USA The world‟s first package tours How ambitious are you? It‟s a holiday The skylight Lovely weather Others:…………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… According to you, the lessons in the textbook aim at providing: Social knowledge Cultural knowledge Vocabulary Grammatical structures Others:…………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… The tasks and exercises of the book are Difficult and boring Difficult but interesting Easy and interesting Easy and boring Sufficient to the students‟ learning demand Insufficient to the students‟ learning demand Others: XVII …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… SECTION 4: What are your opinions towards methodological criteria of the book? The communicative abilities book The book provides chances for pair-work and group work The material helps create a learning environment that welcomes students‟ curiosity and creativity The material provides students with help/ advice on learning strategies Others: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… If you disagree, please specify the reason: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… SECTION 5: What is your opinion towards the textbook‟s appearance and the current timetable for teaching the textbook? Is the timetable reasonably appropriate? If No, please specify the reason? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………… - The End Thank you once again! ... Chapter handles the literature review of the issues relating to materials, materials evaluation and adaptation and CLT approach Definitions of materials, materials evaluation, evaluation types, models... defines materials evaluation as ? ?the systemic appraisal of the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the learners using them” The focus of materials evaluation. .. of teachers and first – year non – English major students at Haiphong Private University 2.3 Criteria of materials evaluation One of the most difficult problems of any materials evaluators is to