Đánh giá giáo trình the business pre intermediate dùng cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất chuyên ngành tiếng anh trường đại học thương mại

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ******************* HOÀNG THỊ ANH THƠ AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSEBOOK “THE BUSINESS PRE-INTERMEDIATE” FOR THE FIRSTYEAR STUDENTS MAJORING IN ENGLISH AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE ĐÁNH GIÁ GIÁO TRÌNH “THE BUSINESS PRE-INTERMEDIATE” DÙNG CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC THƢƠNG MẠI M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi – 2017 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ************************ HOÀNG THỊ ANH THƠ AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSEBOOK “THE BUSINESS PRE-INTERMEDIATE” FOR THE FIRSTYEAR STUDENTS MAJORING IN ENGLISH AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE (ĐÁNH GIÁ GIÁO TRÌNH “THE BUSINESS PRE-INTERMEDIATE” DÙNG CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC THƢƠNG MẠI M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Kiều Thị Thu Hƣơng Hanoi – 2017 DECLARATION I, hereby, certify the study entitled “An evaluation of the coursebook “The business Pre-Intermediate” for first-year students majoring in English at Vietnam University of Commerce” is the result of my own research for the Minor Degree of Master of Arts at University of Language and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi This study has not, wholly or partially, been submitted for any degree at any other universities or institutions Hanoi, 2017 Hoàng Thị Anh Thơ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Kiều Thị Thu Hương, who gave me instructions, encouragement and inspiration during my research Without her valuable feedback and criticism, my study would not have been accomplished I also would like to express my special thanks to my teachers at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their lectures and suggestions for the idea of the study My gratitude also extends to my colleagues and my students at Vietnam University of Commerce for their help in completing questionnaires, interviews and as well as constructive suggestions Lastly, I would like sincerely to say thank you to my family for their endless love and support from the beginning to the end of the study They always stand by me even in the most difficult situation ii ABSTRACT This present study evaluates the coursebook The business Pre-Intermediate for the first-year students majoring in English at English Faculty, Vietnam University of Commerce The study aims at finding out some strengths and weaknesses of the coursebook from the students’ perspectives, then addressing some recommendations for effective coursebook usage The evaluation was based on data collected from 115 students and teachers in the form of questionnaires and interviews The questionnaires were used to elicit the students’ perspectives towards the coursebook and their suggestions for improvement The interviews were conducted to collect the teachers’ recommendations for improvement The researcher analyzed the questionnaire data by SPSS program with means, standard deviation and percentage The data for suggestions was collected and summarized for analysis The results of the evaluation show that the strengths of the coursebook consist of providing the students business language and skills to communicate in business contexts, suitable layout and organization, variety of topics, the appropriateness of number of vocabulary and grammar items The weaknesses of the coursebook include printing quality, pronunciation, challenge of some topics, listening and writing tasks, and assistance in self-study Based on the result, some improvements are recommended such as using supplementary materials, exercise redesign, activity rearrangement and reduction iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aims of the study and research questions To achieve the aims of the study, the following research questions are proposed 1.3 Scope of the study .2 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Methodology of the study 1.6 Design of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Materials in teaching and learning 2.1.1 Definition of materials 2.1.2 Roles of materials .6 2.2 ESP materials 2.2.1 Background information of ESP 2.2.2 Definition of ESP .8 2.2.3 Roles of ESP materials .10 2.3 Materials evaluation 11 2.3.1 Definition of materials evaluation 11 2.3.2 Roles of materials evaluation 12 2.3.3 Types of materials evaluation 13 2.3.4 Criteria for materials evaluation .14 2.4 Previous researches on materials evaluation 19 iv CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21 3.1 Description of the context .21 3.1.1 The setting 21 3.1.2 Course material .22 3.1.3 Course objectives 24 3.2 Research methodology 24 3.2.1 Participants .24 3.2.2 Instruments .25 3.2.3 Procedures 27 3.2.4 Data analysis 27 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 28 4.1 Results and discussion 28 4.1.1 Questionnaire results 28 4.1.2 Interview results .37 4.2 Major findings 41 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .44 5.1 Recapitulation 44 5.2 Implications 44 5.3 Limitation of the study 45 5.4 Recommendations for further studies .45 REFERENCES 46 APPENDICES I v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VUC Vietnam University of Commerce CLT Communicative Language Teaching ESP English for Specific Purposes ELT English Language Teaching EMT English as a Mother Tongue ESL English as a Second Language EST English for Science and Technology EBE English for Business and Economics ESS English for Social Studies EGBP English for General Business Purposes ESBP English for Specific Business Purposes GE General English EFL English as a foreign language L2 Second Language MA Master of Arts CD Compact Disc SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences M Mean SD Standard Deviation No Number SD Strongly disagree D Disagree U Undecided A Agree SA Strongly agree vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES No Title Page Figure 2.1 The Materials Evaluation Model of Hutchinson and Waters 15 (1987: 98) Table 4.1 Summary of students’ evaluation of the coursebook 29 Table 4.2 Students’ evaluation of the coursebook aims and approach 29 Table 4.3 Students’ evaluation of the coursebook design and organization 30 Table 4.4 Students’ evaluation of the coursebook language content 31 Table 4.5 Students’ evaluation of the coursebook skills 32 Table 4.6 Students’ evaluation of the coursebook topics 33 Table 4.7 Students’ evaluation of the coursebook methodology 34 vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study One of the important factors leading to successful English acquisition is the suitable and effective coursebook, especially towards students of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) The importance of coursebooks is affirmed by many scholars such as Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Brown (1995), Cunningsworth (1998) and Tomlinson (1998) The role of coursebooks is proved in the learning and teaching context of English Faculty, Vietnam University of Commerce (VUC) In search for a variety of materials, the teachers at the English Faculty have chosen The Business as an official coursebook for the English major students to enhance both business knowledge and English skills The set of books includes three levels from preintermediate up to upper-intermediate, and first-year students study pre-intermediate level First-year students face many difficulties in learning such as choosing appropriate learning methods and ways of exploiting the coursebook They have already spent a long time studying English at school, but their focuses are mostly grammar and reading to pass university entrance exams As one of the result of teacher-centered approach, many of them remain passive in class and have to struggle to improve other English skills such as speaking, listening and writing Therefore, freshmen and their coursebook at VUC are of the researcher’s interest Despite the fact that first-year students at VUC pass the university entrance exam, many of them cannot define what their target destinations, their wants and their lacks are Hutchinson and Waters (1987:57) claim, “there is no necessary relationship between necessities as perceived by sponsors or ESP teachers and what the learners want or feel they need” Teachers may often choose a coursebook quickly on the basis of their observation and experience instead of taking students’ perspectives into consideration Neglecting the students’ opinions might hinder them from learning and cause demotivation among students Cunningsworth (1995:7) says, “the aims of the coursebook should correspond as closely as possible to the aims of the teacher, and both should seek to meet the needs of the learners to the highest degree” The teachers are supposed to understand the aims of the Appendix : Questionnaires for students (Vietnamese) PHIẾU ĐÁNH GIÁ SÁCH GIÁO TRÌNH (Dành cho sinh viên) Các em học sinh thân mến, Tơi tên Hồng Thị Anh Thơ Hiện tiến hành nghiên cứu “Đánh giá giáo trình “The business Pre-Intermediate” dành cho sinh viên năm thứ chuyên ngành tiếng Anh Trường Đại học Thương Mại” Phiếu đánh giá thiết kế nhằm mục đích thu thập ý kiến em giáo trình “The business Pre-Intermediate” sau em sử dụng chúng học kỳ vừa Ý kiến đánh giá em nguồn thông tin quan trọng cho đề tài nghiên cứu góp phần nâng cao việc sử dụng giáo trình năm tới Cảm ơn hợp tác em Các em cho ý kiến cách khoanh tròn lựa chọn 1: Rất đồng ý 2: Đồng ý 3: Chƣa định 4: Không đồng ý 5: Rất khơng đồng ý A Mục đích phƣơng pháp giảng dạy Giáo trình giúp tơi giao tiếp nhiều tình thương mại định Giáo trình giúp nâng cao kỹ tiếng Anh Giáo trình mở rộng vốn từ vựng thương mại 5 Giáo trình giúp tơi vượt qua kỳ thi Giáo trình có phương pháp phù hợp với phong cách học Những điểm cần cải thiện mặt mục đích phương pháp? ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… B Thiết kế bố cục Bố cục sách giáo trình rõ ràng V Chất lượng in giáo trình cao Nội dung sách xếp theo mức độ phức tạp Cách bố cục giúp cho sinh viên tự học dễ dàng 10 Phần ôn luyện giúp xem lại kiến thức ngơn ngữ nhanh chóng dễ dàng Những điểm cần cải thiện thiết kế bố cục? ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… C Nội dung ngôn ngữ 11 Số lượng từ phù hợp với trình độ tơi 12 Phần phát âm giải thích cách rõ ràng 13 Sách giáo trình bao gồm nhiều kiến thức mặt ngữ âm khác ví dụ âm đơn, trọng âm ngữ điệu 14 Kiến thức ngữ pháp sách hữu ích với 15 Các tập ngữ pháp phù hợp với trình độ tơi Những điểm cần cải thiện mặt nội dung ngôn ngữ? ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… D Kỹ 16 Sách giáo trình giúp tơi phát triển bốn kỹ nghe, nói, đọc, viết 17 Có đủ ngữ liệu để luyện tích hợp kỹ VI 5 18 Bài đọc hoạt động liên quan phù hợp với trình độ tơi 5 5 19 Ngữ liệu nghe có chất lượng thu âm tốt 20 Ngữ liệu nghe ngữ liệu thực 21 Bài tập nghe phù hợp với trình độ tơi 22 Hoạt động nói thiết kế tốt phù hợp với hoạt động giao tiếp đời sống thực 23 Phần viết hữu ích nhiều tình thương mại Những điểm cần cải thiện mặt kỹ năng? ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… E Chủ đề 24 Có đủ đa dạng chủ đề 25 Các chủ đề giúp mở rộng kiến thức chuyên môn làm giàu kinh nghiệm 26 Các chủ đề phù hợp với mức độ hiểu biết 27 Giáo trình khơng miêu tả khuôn mẫu tiêu cực Những điểm cần cải thiện mặt chủ đề? ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… F Cách thức giảng dạy VII 28 Giáo trình có tạo cho học sinh hội tham gia hoạt động lớp khác (làm việc cá nhân, theo cặp hay theo nhóm) 29 Giáo trình có hỗ trợ kỹ học tập phương pháp học tập 30 Các hoạt động giảng dạy phù hợp với mong đợi Những điểm cần cải thiện mặt cách thức giảng dạy? ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn em cộng tác VIII Appendix 3: Questions for interviewing teachers What is your overall rating of the coursebook The business Pre-Intermediate? Is it poor or good? What you like about the coursebook The business Pre-Intermediate? What you dislike about the coursebook The business Pre-Intermediate? Which parts of this coursebook we need to adapt? Why? What are your suggestions to teach listening, speaking, reading and writing more successfully? IX Appendix 4: The answer of the interview questions – Teacher Interviewer: What is your overall rating of the course book The business PreIntermediate? Is it poor or good? Teacher 1: My rating for this course book is 8/10 It is rather good Interviewer: What you like about the course book The business Pre-Intermediate? Teacher 1: I like this one because I think that is is helpful to students I like the knowledge it brings students in business situations It does not only provide knowledge but also the key skills for businessmen in the future The format of the book is clear and logical It has a dynamic and effective approach to business With its new listening content and thoroughly updated material from authentic business sources, it reflects the fast-changing world of business Interviewer: What you dislike about the course book The business PreIntermediate? Teacher 1: With the first level (pre-intermediate), the topics are rather popular and it is easier for students to the tasks However, the end is absolutely challenging to students Even with the instruction from teacher, students sometimes feel definitely confused if they not have good knowledge base about business in advance Interviewer: What’s else? Teacher 1: Their pronunciation and intonation are not good as the result of high school education which does not focus on speaking and listening much while they have to make individual or pair-work speaking immediately from the first unit I think that it had better to have a pronunciation course in advance that can help them be more confident and familiar with speaking in a right way In addition, there are so many English accents in this textbook which make students have difficulty in focusing the standard accent Anh the difference between the communication vocabulary and business vocabulary, between formal and informal language is also a problem when students have had such a long time learning communication and informal language Nevertheless, the textbook doesn’t show this difference clearly and scientifically Interviewer: Do you think that the course book The business Pre-Intermediate meets the students’ needs in terms of aims, design, organization, topics, skills, language content and methodology? Teacher 1: Sure The aim, design and organization are absolutely logical and coherent It also covers all the topics in the business and all the skills to obtain language The methodology is the combination between many types such as Grammar translation, X Communicative approach, Task-based… In general, it is very flexible and suitable in methodology I agree that after learning this book, students can reach a certain level of knowledge and proficiency, but only with full attention and generous guidance from teachers Interviewer: What are the difficulties the students can face when using this course book? Teacher 1: Speaking and listening are the most difficulties for students as the result of lower education which only focuses on paper grammar test while this textbook includes a lot of speaking and listening tasks Moreover, this textbook involves a great deal of new knowledge not only about language but also about business, which requires students to self-study and play a very active role both in class and at home Students have to practice a lot and well-prepare before going to class so that they can absorb everything in class The coursebook does not include fun activities to motivate learning (teachers have to prepare if they want to add some fun in classroom) Interviewer: Which parts of this course book we need to adapt? Why? Teacher 1: There are some speaking topics and tasks relevant to workplace which students not have any experience They can be changed into their studying environment The writing part needs more basic guide like sentence building or paragraph building Interviewer: What are your suggestions to teach listening, speaking, reading and writing more successfully? Teacher 1: It had better to have a supplementary document to help students self-study at home In terms of listening, I think teachers have to re-design almost exercises if they want students to fulfil the requirements And speaking? Teachers can replace difficult topics by some real life topics Reading part is ok to me It is required that students internet research and look up new words at home Pronunciation supplementary should be added And writing, Vietnamese students perform poorly at writing tasks as a result of multiple choice exams in high school They don't even know how to write a proper sentence Regarding this, the book totally lacks skillbuilding exercises for writing Teachers should add more of the very detailed writing lesson for the beginning writers if time is not a major concern XI Appendix 5: The answer of the interview questions – Teacher Interviewer: Can you start by telling me your overall rating of the course book The business Pre-Intermediate? Teacher 2: I think it is ok Interviewer: What you like about the course book The business Pre-Intermediate? Teacher 2: The coursebook offers students opportunities to practice and improve the four basic skills The coursebook contains four main skills and a lot of exercises to help students practice the skills.It also provides knowledge about international business and the language used in real professional contexts The wordlist at the back of the book help students easily look up the new terms and phrases and prepare for the lessons For those who want to study the audio dialogues in detail, full scripts of all the audio recordings are also given Interviewer: What you think of the topics and contents in each unit? Teacher 2: They help learners study different aspects of international business as well as the vocabulary, expressions used in those contexts The language that the book provides students are extremely useful and used frequently in the business contexts In order to help students make the best use of these expressions and structures, many kinds of exercise are given so that students can practice and improve them regularly And although each unit covers one different, the important and useful language is still usually recycled There are also various topics in the material All topics presented in the material are interesting to motivate students though some of them are quite difficult to deal with Interviewer: What you dislike about the course book The business PreIntermediate? Teacher 2: I think the coursebook’s content is not suitable with the students’ background level in some certain aspects and arrangements of tasks in some units And secondly, the copied material is affordable but it is far from good quality It is printed in black and white, which is hard for students to see the words and the illustrations clearly This drawback prevents students from getting involved in such tasks as picture description or numbering Moreover, there are some recordings that are quite long and difficult to listen to because the speakers’ accents are very strange and some of them are not native XII speakers What’s more? Some reading texts are not explored fully The reading tasks are not various, just focus on scan reading, skim reading and answering questions It would be better if the authors could design some more exercises to make use of the large vocabulary in the passage Interviewer: Can the coursebook cause any problems for students? Teacher 2: Yes, you see the students often are the lack of real experience while the things the book asks the students to are really heavy workloads It is easy to go through everything but it is difficult to focus on many parts due to time limitation Interviewer: Which parts of this course book we need to adapt? Why? Teacher 2: The 3rd module of each unit (grammar) because it is about grammar which is not so difficult for the students The other parts sometimes have the tasks which are not really suitable and necessary so we can skip them to save time for more important parts In my opinion, we can exploit our teachers’ book more One of the most useful things that the teacher’s book provides is a page of business background notes before each unit Teacher can use the information on this page to give students an overview of the topic that is going to be discussed There is also an additional photocopiable speaking and reading activity for each of the eight units in the teachers’ book which can be used for revision, further practice, or to fill out a lesson with a higher-level group Because of heavy workload and class time limitation, we can ask the students to study at home more and spend time in class explaining new concepts, listening exercises together The students can reading and writing exercises at home with teachers’ instruction from the previous class XIII Appendix 6: The answer of the interview questions – Teacher Interviewer: What is your overall rating of the course book The business PreIntermediate? Is it poor or good? Teacher 3: I think it’s quite good Interviewer: What you like about the course book The business Pre-Intermediate? Teacher 3: I think this course book is suitable for the students’ level because the background of all the learners is from the elementary level or above, and it will not be difficult for them to begin their study from the pre-intermediate level Moreover, this textbook is considered a modern teaching material with the presence of new concepts and new ways of doing business existing in the real world And another thing I like is that the recordings are quite realistic because the book was written by native speakers Students can learn the expressions English-speaking businesspeople use to express their ideas politely, such as the way to answer a phone call or deal with complaint from customers or the formal way to make a presentation Interviewer: Can you give me more details of the things you like in terms of aims, design and organization, skills, topics, language content and methodology? Teacher 3: Well, this textbook aims at teaching students things: doing business in English and the language needed to it That is the thing the learners need to communicate in business contexts There are connections between parts of the book For example, there is coherence among units which are about different aspects of business and very familiar to the realistic situations, such as customer service, selling, types of companies to globalization Moreover, the contents in smaller modules of each unit are also tied together You see, the first module provides the learners general information about a certain subject, the next several modules deals with vocabulary and expressions used in this business context The last part of each unit is always a case study which requests students to adopt all what they have learned in previous parts to solve problems Interviewer: What about skills and other sections? Teacher 3: About skills, I think this textbook is a comprehensive material with various exercises and activities designed logically to help students improve all basic language skills For example, in order to practise reading skill, the book’s author XIV introduced many kinds of exercises such as: scan reading and answering questions, reading for gist, reading for details, collocations In any units, there are also a lot of listening tasks as listening and note-taking/tablefilling, listening for gist, listening and answering questions, listening for details so that the learners can enhance their listening ability About the writing, students are introduced samples of main types of written documents that they may have to write in their future work such as formal and informal emails, figure describing, reports of recommendation They are also introduced the appropriate format, content structure and language for each type of documents before being asked to complete a certain writing task Besides, the speaking skill is focused in this textbook Through many activities as discussion, role-play, the students have chances to talk freely about their viewpoints on any issues rising from a given situation And in every unit, the author provided a typical type of speaking activities that is similar to the real business situation such as Making small talk, Telephoning-handling complaints, Negotiating, Presentations – handling questions, presented the manner and suitable language applied in that context, then learners are required to use the given language to practise speaking Interviewer: Thank you so much for your ideas and examples What you dislike about the course book The business Pre-Intermediate? Teacher 3: This course book is designed for specific purpose, business English, and the teachers need to have knowledge about some aspects of business world so that they can transfer not only the surface language, but also the underlying content And one more thing is the price of the coursebook The students have to pay 156,000VND for an original book Therefore, to save money, they use the photocopy, just 25,000VND, but the printing quality is not high It can affect a lot to their learning motivation Interviewer: Which parts of this course book we need to adapt? Why? Teacher 3: The learners are the first-year students and not have any background knowledge in business Some topics such as The stock markets, Franchising or Lean manufacturing are quite strange and difficult for first year students to understand thoroughly XV Secondly, in some modules of several units, the content includes up to or 10 exercises and activities It will be difficult for teachers and students to cover all the tasks in the limited time as well as cause boring and tiresome feelings to students Moreover, some long and difficult reading text also create negative effect to the learners Taking the reading text “Toyota Production System” for instance, with the length of more than 500 words, including a lot of technical terms as “lean manufacturing”, “mass production”, “just-in-time production”, the students may find it is a challenging duty for them to catch the main ideas of the text About the listening activities, the length of most of recordings is considered to be inappropriate As it is unusual task that students have to in lower learning level, they may feel unconfident to deal with At the beginning, students should be asked to listen to short conversations and finish simple listening tasks instead of catching ideas in the lengthy recordings, answering complicated questions or taking notes the main content To practise listening more, students can copy the audio recordings and learn the listening parts at home Another thing is the poor design of writing activity Some writing tasks are unrealistic and difficult to assign to first year students and should be replaced by basic writing requirements For example, in unit 6, the task of writing “Agendas and action minutes”, or “Reports of recommendation” in unit are not of the learners’ interest Interviewer: Do you have any suggestions for teaching skills better? Teacher 3: Moreover, to give students opportunities to self-study, students can manage themselves to accomplish the Internet research task for related information in every unit, some writing tasks and grammar exercises at home or for some roleplay activities, they can self-prepare with the instructions of teachers then present in class latter XVI Appendix 7: Quick-reference checklist for evaluation and selection (Cunningsworth, 1995) Aims and approaches  Do the aims of the coursebook correspond closely with the aims of the teaching programme and with the needs of the learners?  Is the coursebook suited to the learning/teaching situation?  How comprehensive is the coursebook? Does it cover most or all of what is needed? Is it a good resource for students and teachers?  Is the coursebook flexible? Does it allow different teaching and learning styles? Design and organization  What components make up the total course package (e.g students’ book, teachers’ book, workbooks, cassettes, etc)?  How is the content organized (e.g according to structures, functions, topics, skills, etc)? Is the organization right for learners and teachers?  How is the content sequenced (e.g on the basis of complexity, learnability, usefulness, etc)?  Is the grading and progression suitable for the learners? Does it allow them to complete the work needed to meet any external syllabus requirements?  Is there adequate recycling and revision?  Are there reference sections for grammar, etc? Is some of the material suitable for individual study?  Is it easy to find your way around the coursebook? Is the layout clear? Language content  Does the coursebook cover the main grammar items appropriate to each level, taking learners’ needs into account?  Is material for vocabulary teaching adequate in terms of quantity and range of vocabulary, emphasis placed on vocabulary development, strategies for individual learning?  Does the coursebook include material for pronunciation work? If so what is covered: individual sounds, word stress, sentence stress, intonation?  Does the coursebook deal with the structuring and conventions of language use above sentence level, e.g how to take part in conversations, how to structure a XVII piece of extended writing, how to identify the main points in a reading passage? (More relevant at intermediate and advanced levels.)  Are style and appropriacy dealt with? If so, is language style matched to social situation? Skills  Are all four skills adequately covered, bearing in mind your course aims and syllabus requirements?  Is there material for integrated skills work?  Are reading passages and associated activities suitable for your students’ levels, interests, etc? Is there sufficient reading material?  Is listening material well recorded, as authentic as possible, accompanied by background information, questions and activities which help comprehension?  Is material for spoken English (dialogues, roleplays, etc) well designed to equip learners for real-life interactions?  Are writing activities suitable in terms of amount of guidance/control, degree of accuracy, organization of longer pieces of writing (e.g paragraphing) and use of appropriate styles? Topic  Is there sufficient material of genuine interest to learners?  Is there enough variety and range of topic?  Will the topics help expand students’ awareness and enrich their experience?  Are the topics sophisticated enough in content, yet within the learners’ language level?  Will your students be able to relate to the social and cultural contexts presented in the coursebook?  Are women portrayed and represented equally with men?  Are other groups represented, with reference to ethnic origin, occupation, disability, etc? Methodology  What approach/approaches to language learning are taken by the coursebook? Is this appropriate to the learning/teaching situation? XVIII  What level of active learner involvement can be expected? Does this match your students’ learning styles and expectations?  What techniques are used for presenting/practicing new language items? Are they suitable for your learners?  How are the different skills taught?  How are communicative abilities developed?  Does the material include any advice/help to students on study skills and learning strategies?  Are students expected to take a degree of responsibility for their own learning (e.g by setting their own individual learning targets)? Teachers’ books  Is there adequate guidance for the teachers who will be using the coursebook and its supporting materials?  Are the teachers’ books comprehensive and supportive?  Do they adequately cover teaching techniques, language items such as grammar rules and culture-specific information?  Do the writers set out and justify the basic premises and principles underlying the material?  Are keys to exercises given? Practical considerations  What does the whole package cost? Does this represent good value for money?  Are the books strong and long-lasting? Are they attractive in appearance?  Are they easy to obtain? Can further supplies be obtained at short notice?  Do any parts of the package require particular equipment, such as a language laboratory, listening centre or video player? If so, you have the equipment available for use and is it reliable? XIX ... (ĐÁNH GIÁ GIÁO TRÌNH ? ?THE BUSINESS PRE- INTERMEDIATE? ?? DÙNG CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC THƢƠNG MẠI M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology... THỊ ANH THƠ AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSEBOOK ? ?THE BUSINESS PRE- INTERMEDIATE? ?? FOR THE FIRSTYEAR STUDENTS MAJORING IN ENGLISH AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE (ĐÁNH GIÁ GIÁO TRÌNH ? ?THE BUSINESS PRE- INTERMEDIATE? ??... from the beginning to the end of the study They always stand by me even in the most difficult situation ii ABSTRACT This present study evaluates the coursebook The business Pre- Intermediate for the