From the above analysis, it can be concluded that a vast majority of students had poor level of English.
74%
21%
5% 0%
Poor Average Good Excellent
4.1.3. Learners’ purposes of learning English
As can be seen from table 4.2 below, very few students ranked these purposes of learning English as “unimportant” or “not very important”. Most of them were aware of the importance of these objectives. 65.4% of the students agreed that it is “important” and “very important” to learn English to communicate with foreigners. More than half of the students (54.6%) supposed that learning English to prepare for future work is “important” and almost a quarter of the students (26.7%) thought that this purpose is “very important”.
Surprisingly, as compared to those two purposes, less students attached the importance of learning English to getting high scores at school with 32.7% of the students thinking it is “important” and 25.4% “very important”. For this purpose, most of them found it “neutral” (38%). For personal preferences, a majority of the students (46%) held a “neutral” attitude, though some acknowledged that it was “important” (24%) and “very important” (16%).
Table 4.2: Learners’ purposes of learning English
Rating Purposes
1 2 3 4 5
To communicate in English with foreigners
2.6% 4% 28% 38.7% 26.7%
To prepare for future work 1.3% 2.6% 16.6% 54.6% 26.7%
To get high scores at school 2.6% 1.3% 38% 32.7% 25.4%
To serve personal preferences
(listening to music, watching movies in English…)
3.3% 10.7% 46% 24% 16%
Notes: 1 = Unimportant 2 = Not very important
3 = Neutral 4 = Important 5= Very important
To sum up, a majority of students thought it is most important to learn English to prepare for their future work, to communicate in English, to get high scores and to serve their personal preferences respectively.
4.1.4. Learners’ favorite learning styles
The information about learners’ preferred learning styles helps schools and teachers choose a coursebook which can meet their needs. For example, if most of the students prefer learning visually, how the book presents knowledge should be taken into consideration. The chart below illustrates students’
favorite learning styles.
Chart 4.4: Students’ favorite learning styles
It is obvious from the chart that most of the students (87%) preferred learning verbally, i.e. using words in speech and writing. The same number of students (68%) liked “visual”, “aural” and “solitary” style. It means that they can acquire the knowledge more easily using pictures, videos, music and learning alone. About half of the students (53%) preferred social learning style or in other words, they can learn more effectively in pairs and groups. Only 33% of the students love physical learning style. They might be mature enough, so they were unwilling to use their body parts in learning activities.
Category 1
Visual 68%
Aural 68%
Verbal 87%
Physical 33%
Logical 53%
Social 68%
Solitary 33%
68% 68%
87%
33%
53%
68%
33%
10% 0%
20% 30%
40% 50%
60% 70%
80% 90%
100%
4.2. The suitability of the coursebook to the objectives of the course
This part presents the information collected from both questionnaires and interview questions in which students and teachers were asked to state their views towards the suitability of the coursebook “English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” to the objectives of the course.
4.2.1. Data collected from the questionnaire
Results from three questions for teachers and students in the questionnaires are presented in two tables and one chart below.
Table 4.3: Students’ and teachers’ evaluation of the objectives of the coursebook
Rating
Objectives
Students (%) Teachers (%)
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Review and reinforce basic English knowledge that students have learnt at high school.
26 68 3.3 2.7 0 12.
5 62.
5 12.
5 12.
5 0
Prepare students with essential knowledge and skills to enter universities/ colleges
0 13.
3 12 50 24.
7 0 0 25 75 0
Extend students’
vocabulary of familiar topics
0 5.3 24.
7 63.
3 6.7 0 0 12.
5 75 12.
5 Exercise four skills:
listening, speaking, reading and writing for basic communication
0 6.7 13.
3 66.
7 13.
3 0 0 0 87.
5 12.
5 Develop students’ skills
of working individually and collaboratively (in pairs/ groups)
0 32.
7 62.
7 4.6 0 0 0 12.
5 62.
5 25 Develop students’
language competences to communicate in English independently and confidently.
2 4.6 56.
7 31.
4 5.3 0 0 50 37.
5 12.
5 Note: 1 = Poorly 2 = Not very well 3 = Neutrally
4 = Well 5 = Very well
The table indicates that both students and teachers agreed the coursebook
“English File Beginner Student’s Book – Third Edition” met most of the course’s objectives “well” except for the first objective. Moreover, neither teachers nor students thought that these objectives were “poorly” met, except for the first and final objectives.
For the first objective which is to review basic knowledge at high school, the judgment of the teachers and students is quite similar when a majority of them supposed that it was not met by the coursebook very well (62.5% and 68% respectively). Some of the teachers and students even ranked the purpose as “poorly” met by the material (12.5% and 26% respectively). Very few teachers and students thought that it was “neutrally” or “well” met, and no one rated it “very well”. Most of teachers (75%) and students (50%) evaluated the coursebook “well” prepared students with essential skills and knowledge for university and colleges. The two objectives to extend students’ vocabulary of familiar topics and to practice four English skills were highly valued by both teachers and students to be “well” (63.3% - 87.5%) and “very well” (6.7% - 13.3%) met by the coursebook. For the two final objectives, teachers seem to be more optimistic than students about the appropriateness of the coursebook with the course’s objectives when no teacher rated that the objectives were
“poorly” or “not very well” achieved by the material. Besides, quite of lot of teachers (37.5% - 62.5%) commented that the book met these two objectives
“well” whereas a majority of students (56.7% - 62.7%) ranked them
“neutrally”.
Table 4.4: Students’ ability to communicate in English about the topics in the coursebook.
Topics
Students (%) Teachers (%)
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
You and
me 2 5.3 31.4 58.7 2.6 12.5 25 50 12.5 0
Our lives 1 0 2.6 32.7 42.2 22.5 0 0 25 62.5 12.5
Community 5.8 20.7 42.2 26.7 4.6 12.5 25 37.5 25 0
Recreation 0 13.3 42 31.4 13.3 0 12.5 50 12.5 12.5
People and
places 0 7.3 26.7 50 16 0 0 25 50 25
Our lives 2 0 4.6 32 56.7 6.7 0 12.5 12.5 62.5 12.5
Note: 1 = Badly 2 = Not very well 3 = Neutrally 4 = Well 5 = Very well
In terms of students’ ability to communicate in English about the topics in the book, as presented in table 4.4, most of the students claimed that they could communicate “well” about topics “You and me” (58.7%), “Our lives 2”
(56.7%), “People and places” (50%), “Our lives 1” (42.2 %). Especially, for the topic “Our lives 1”, 22.5% of the students can communicate in English
“very well”. For topics “Community” and “Recreation”, most of the students could only interact “neutrally” and some even did not communicate very well (13.3% - 20.7%).
Like the students, a majority of the teachers also agreed that their students can communicate “well” or “neutrally” about most of the topics in the book.
Apart from the two topics “You and me” and “Community”, both teachers and students evaluated that there were not any students who “badly” communicated about the other topics.