Đánh giá giáo trình English for navigation students dành cho sinh viên Khoa Điều khiển tàu biển tại trường Cao Đảng nghề Bách Nghệ Hải Phòng

Vietnam National University, Hanoi
University of Languages and International studies
Faculty of Post-graduate studies






Trần thị nga



AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSE BOOK ENGLISH FOR NAVIGATION
STUDENTS FOR THE STUDENTS AT NAVIGATION DEPARTMENT,
Haiphong polytechnic college
(Đánh giá giáo trình English for navigation students dành cho sinh viên
khoa điều khiển tàu biển tại tr-ờng Cao Đẳng nghề Bách Nghệ Hải Phòng)





M.A Minor Thesis
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Trần Thanh Nhàn, MA

hanoi - 2010

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration i
Acknowledgments ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
Abbreviations vii
List of tables and charts …. viii
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale for the study 1
2. Aims and objectives of the study 2
3. Significance of the study 2
4. Scope of the study 2
5. Methods of the study 2
6. Organization of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
1.1 An introduction 4
1.2 Textbook, course book, and materials 4
1.2.1 Definitions 4
1.2.2 A wide range of Maritime English materials 5
1.2.3 The roles of materials in a language program 6
1.3 Materials evaluation 7

1.3.1 Definitions of materials evaluation 7
1.3.2 Purposes of materials evaluation 8
1.3.3 Types of materials evaluation 9
1.3.3.1 Pre-use evaluation 9
1.3.3.2 In-use evaluation 9
1.3.3.3 Post use evaluation 10
1.3.4 Methods of materials evaluation 10

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1.3.4.1 The impressionistic method 10
1.3.4.2 The checklist method 11
1.3.4.3 The in-depth method 11
1.3.5 Criteria for materials evaluation 11
1.3.5.1 What should be included in the criteria checklist? 11
1.3.5.2 The individualized checklist 13
1.4 The roles of materials evaluation to adaptation of the course book
“English for navigation students” 13
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 15
2.1 The current ESP teaching and learning situation at HPPC 15
2.1.1 The context 15
2.1.2 The course objectives 16
2.1.3 General description of the material 17
2.2 Research questions 18
2.3 Research method 18
2.4 Participants 18
2.4.1 The ESP teachers 19
2.4.2 The subject teachers 19
2.4.3 The students 19
2.5 Instruments 20
2.5.1 Questionnaire 20

2.5.2 Interview 20
2.6 Data collection procedure 22
2.7 Data analysis procedure 22
CHAPTER 3: ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS AND SUGGESTIONS
FOR MATERIALS ADAPTATION 23
3.1 The realization of each criterion in the course book “English for
navigation students” 23
3.1.1 Format and organization 23
3.1.2 Maritime content 25
3.1.3 Language content 27

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3.1.4 Language skill 30
3.1.5 Methodology 32
3.2 Suggestions for materials adaptation 33
3.2.1 Format and organization 33
3.2.2 Maritime content 34
3.2.3 Language content 35
3.2.4 Language skill 35
3.2.5 Methodology 36
PART C: CONCLUSION 37
1. Conclusion 37
2. Limitations and suggestions for further study 38
References: 39
Appendix 1: Evaluation checklist for the students (in English) i
Appendix 2: Evaluation checklist for the students (in Vietnamese) v
Appendix 3: A sample of an original unit ix
Appendix 4: A sample of a newly-adapted unit xv

vii

List of abbreviations

ULIS, VNUH:
University of Languages and International Studies,
Vietnam National University, Hanoi
EFL:
English as a Foreign Language
ELT:
English Language Teaching
ESL:
English as a Second Language
ESP:
English for Specific Purposes
ENS:
English for Navigation Students
HPPC:
Haiphong Polytechnic College
TEFL:
Teaching English as a Foreign Language


viii
List of charts and tables

Table & chart 3.1: The realization of the format and organization criteria
Table & chart 3.2: The realization of the maritime content criterion
Table & chart 3.3: The realization of the language content criterion
Table & chart 3.4: The realization of the language skill criterion

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has developed to become one of the most prominent
areas of ELT teaching. The growth of ESP has also led to an increasing number of
specialized materials. Maritime English materials are not an exception. The importance of
materials is undeniable due to its important role in the curriculum as Nunan (1988, cited in
Pritchard, 2003:1) states that “…materials, in fact, are an essential element within the
curriculum, and do more than simply lubricate the wheels of learning. At their best they
provide concrete models of desirable classroom practice, they act as curriculum models,
and at their very best they fulfill a teacher development role.” Moreover, materials,
whether commercially developed or teacher-produced, are considered a key component in
most TEFL programs essential for both teachers and learners. Obviously, most teachers
use materials as their primary teaching resource in providing the content of the lessons and
class room practice. In some situations, however, materials are only used to supplement the
teacher‟s instruction. For learners, materials generally serve as the basis for the language
input they receive and the language practice they take part during their classes. Materials
are also considered a reference source for learners on various aspects of language such as
pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc. Nevertheless, as Swales (1980) points out that
materials exhibit problems and in extreme cases are examples of educational failure.
Although materials are a core element in most ESP classes, there has been little materials
evaluation made. Therefore, in order to exploit the materials at best, it is necessary for
individuals, especially language teachers, to carefully examine all aspects of the materials.
The course book “English for Navigation Students” was designed for the second and third-
year students at Navigation Faculty with the greatest effort of the teachers at the English
Department. It has been used at Haiphong Polytechnic College (HPPC) for nearly 3 years,
however, since then there has been no evaluation to the course book by the college
administrators prior to the introduction of the course book to recognize its strengths and
shortcomings, and to see how much the course book meets students‟ occupational purposes

and needs, and the employers‟ requirements. For this reason, the researcher decided to
choose materials evaluation as the theme for this thesis.

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2. Aims and objectives of the study
This study is carried out with the aim of improving the quality of the teacher-generated
material “English for Navigation Students” to meet the students‟ occupational
requirements. In order to achieve this aim, the objectives were worked out below:
- To evaluate the material “English for Navigation Students” from the view points
of the ESP teachers, subject teachers and students at Navigation Faculty to
identify its strengths, deficiencies and weaknesses;
- To offer suggestions for adaptation of the materials basing on the major findings.
3. Significance of the study
First of all, the study will provide the findings which are not only useful to the researcher
herself but also to the course book designers and the teaching staff. These findings help
them to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the course book so that they can make
optimum use of the book‟s strengths and adjust the shortcomings of certain tasks and every
unit throughout the course book.
In addition, the findings will be the foundation for enhancing the quality of the in-house
material “English for Navigation Students” in order to meet the students‟ occupational
requirements.
Lastly, it is expected that the results of the study would serve as a useful source of
reference for teachers who are in charge of teaching ESP and/or interested in materials
development for ESP, especially Maritime English.
4. Scope of the study
The study mainly focuses on evaluating the course book “English for Navigation Students”
from the view points of the ESP teachers, subject teachers and students at Navigation
Faculty in terms of format and organization, subject content, language content, language
skill, and methodology among a great number of criteria for materials evaluation.

5. Methods of the study
The accomplishment of this thesis is first based on the review of materials in the area of
evaluation to build up a theoretical background for the research.

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Survey research will be exploited with two principle instruments to collect data for this
study as follows:
- Survey questionnaire is designed for the second-year students at Navigation
Faculty, who have worked with two-thirds of the course book;
- Interviews are conducted with the ESP teachers who have experienced using
and teaching the course book, and with the subject teachers who both have
taken part in lectures at college and have worked on board a ship on
worldwide routes for years alternately.
6. Organization of the study
This study consists of three parts as follows:
Part A will provide general information about the rationale for choosing the theme, aims
and objectives, significance, scope, methods, and organization of the study.
Part B is divided into three main chapters. In order to provide readers with literature review
relevant to this study, the important notions of materials, materials evaluation, types,
methods, and criteria for materials evaluation are discussed in chapter one. Also in this
chapter, the significant role of materials evaluation to adaptation of the course book is
presented.
The next chapter will give the readers an overview of the current ESP teaching and
learning situation at Navigation Faculty, HPPC, and a detailed analysis of methodologies
employed in the study, research procedures and participants involved in the research
process.
Based on the collected data, chapter three will analyze and discuss the findings of the
study, and give suggestions for adaptation of materials evaluation.
Part C will summarize the major findings, reveal the limitations remaining in the study,

and offer some suggestions for further study on the same topic.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. An introduction
Materials evaluation is part of a language course and plays an important role in a materials
development; and teaching and learning process. Therefore, this issue has not only become
a topic of great interest among foreign researchers but also Vietnamese ones. Being aware
of its importance, in Vietnam, as Tran Thanh Nhan (2006) stated that “only recently has
evaluation confirmed its vital role in guaranteeing educational quality. Its significance still
holds true within the scope of materials evaluation.” Hence, this research field has drawn
attention to numerous postgraduates at ULIS, VNUH, who chose and wrote their theses on
materials evaluation, especially evaluation of ESP materials. The following researchers are
worthy to be mentioned: Nguyen Do Thu Hoai (2004); Tran Thanh Nhan (2006); Giap Thi
Yen (2008) and Nguyen Thi Xuan Thuy (2008), etc. They made a great deal of
contribution to the post-graduate research field of materials evaluation at ULIS, VNUH
and their previous works help lay a reliable foundation for this study. Although each thesis
was carried out with different aims, contexts and participants, and based on various
theories of linguists abroad, fundamentally they shared the framework for materials
evaluation namely: types, purposes, methods, models and criteria. In this present study, the
researcher is going to exploit the framework for evaluation of the course book “English for
Navigation Students” which is currently used at Haiphong Polytechnic College.
1.2. Textbook, course book, and materials
1.2.1. Definitions
As the theme of this thesis is the evaluation of the course book “English for Navigation
Students” that is being exploited for teaching and learning at HPPC, the researcher would
like to start the literature review by considering and clarifying the three basic terms:
textbook, course book, and materials. These terms are commonly used in discussing

materials evaluation.
As defined in Longman Dictionary (1998:1394), textbook is a book which contains
information for the study of a particular subject, for example, a history textbook or a

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literature textbook, especially one that is used by students because it is generally
considered as providing information that can be trusted.
Course book, as defined by Tomlinson (1998: ix), is referred to “a textbook which provides
the core materials for a course. It aims to provide as much as possible in one book and is
designed so that it could serve as the only book which the learners necessarily use during a
course. Such a book usually includes work on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation,
functions and the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.”
Meanwhile, in a broader sense, the term “materials”, as defined by McGrath (2002:7) and
Tomlinson (1998:11), is something which is deliberately used to raise the learner‟s
knowledge and experience of the language. Thus, materials can be
anything that is used by learners or teachers to facilitate language learning. It can be “in the
form of a textbook, a workbook, a cassette, a CD-Rom, a video, a photocopied handout, a
newspaper, a paragraph written on a whiteboard…” Whatever they are, materials can be
the ones which have been specially designed and published for teaching and learning or
they can be what teachers have carefully selected, exploited, or designed specially for
teaching purpose in classroom, not excluding learner-generated materials.
To serve the purpose of the study, the three basic terms mentioned above will be used
interchangeably throughout this thesis.
1.2.2. A wide range of Maritime English materials
As a subset of ESP, Maritime English not only shares the same characteristics of ESP but
also has its own characteristics. According to Pritchard (2003), Maritime English materials
possess general features as follows:
- There is rarely a comprehensive, all-inclusive Maritime English textbook or other
learning/teaching material.

- No single materials (textbooks or others) have imposed itself yet as the materials with
worldwide use of the one setting standards to other Maritime English materials.
Within the Maritime English sphere, he also suggests a wide range of the materials listed
below:

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a) General (i.e. comprehensive) Maritime English course book; i.e. conventional
textbooks following the methodology of materials design and development in ELT,
EFL, and ESP;
b) Register/genre/job-specific materials in Maritime English, or, more specially, in
sub-specializations such as maritime law, shipping, maritime technology, marine
electronics, maritime safety, etc.;
c) Visual and aural materials with textbooks, i.e. video-taped materials, usually on a
specified topic;
d) Courses on CD-ROM and multimedia;
e) Dedicated programmes, narrow-scope courses in maritime communication;
f) PC-based programmes and software;
g) Various types of specialized software obtainable from the internet;
h) Published vs. in-house materials;
i) Self-access materials;
j) Supplementary materials
. (Pritchard, 2003: 2)
Based on the classification of Maritime English materials mentioned above, it can be
concluded that the material “English for Navigation Students” belongs to a mixed type of
general and in-house materials.
1.2.3. The roles of materials in a language program
Numerous theorists have discussed about the roles of materials so far. We will find out the
reasons why it is worth considering the roles that materials have played.
According to Richards (2005), textbooks and instruction materials are a key component in

most language programs. In some situations they serve as the basis of much of the
language input learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom.
They may provide the basis for the content of the lessons, the balance of skills taught and
the kinds of language practice the students take part in. In other situations, the textbook
may serve primarily to supplement the teacher‟s instruction. For learners, the textbook may
provide the major source of contact they have with the language apart from input provided
by the teacher. In the case of inexperienced teachers textbooks may also serve as a form of

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teacher training – they provide ideas on how to plan and teach lessons as well as formats
that teachers can use.
Referring to the roles of materials in a curriculum, Nunan (1991:209) states that
“Materials, whether commercially developed or teacher-produced, are an important
element within the curriculum, and are often the most tangible and visible aspect of it.”
Materials do not only play an important role in general English but also seem significant in
ESP context since they enhance students‟ motivation. Therefore, Dudley-Evans & St. John
(1998:170) point out four convincing reasons for using materials in the ESP situation as
follows:
- As a source of language
- As a learning support
- For motivation and stimulation
- For reference
To sum up, materials are of an importance in language teaching and learning process,
especially in ESP context. However, in order to make the most effective use of materials in
a particular situation, it is necessary to conduct materials evaluation of which theoretical
background is going to be discussed in the next section.
1.3. Materials evaluation
1.3.1. Definitions of materials evaluation
Evaluation is an essential and indispensable part of planning and implementation of a

language course, the other parts being the following: needs analysis, course design,
teaching and learning process, and assessment. Though in theory there should be a circular
movement and linear sequence of the above elements or stages of course planning, in
practice evaluation stands in close interaction and interdependence relationship with the
teaching and learning process; and course design. There are many theories we can draw
upon on course book evaluation, which are dispersed in the works of such overseas
linguists as Sheldon (1988), Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Robinson (1991), McDonough
and Shaw (1993), Cunningsworth(1995), Tomlinson (1998), Dudley-Evans and St. John
(1998), etc. Among them, the following should be taken into consideration.

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Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 96) point out that evaluation is a matching process designed
to establish the degree of match between the needs and available solutions. It refers to the
attempts to measure the value of materials and is aimed at assessing the fitness of e.g. a
Maritime English material for a particular purpose, e.g. completing a diploma within a
maritime college or university or for a particular certificate of competency on board ship
(Deck Watch-keeping Officer on ships of 500 Gross Tonnage or more).
According to Tomlinson (1998: xi), materials evaluation is “the systematic appraisal of the
value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the learners using
them.” He also suggests that “materials evaluation is a procedure that involves measuring
the value (or potential value) of a set of learning materials. It involves making judgments
about the effect of the materials on the people using them…”
Dudley-Evans and St John (1998:128) define that “Evaluation is a whole process which
begins with determining what information to gather and ends with bringing about change
in current activities or influencing future ones”. This means that evaluation must be more
than collecting and analyzing data.
In summary, although each linguist has his or her own way of giving opinions on materials
evaluation, materials evaluation must include the features such as systematicity and
measurement of the value and fitness of materials.

1.3.2. Purposes of materials evaluation
Regarding the purposes of materials evaluation, Sheldon (1988) has offered several other
reasons for textbook evaluation. He suggests that a thorough evaluation would provide for
a sense of familiarity with a book's content thus assisting educators in identifying the
particular strengths and weaknesses in textbooks already in use. This would help teachers
make the optimum use of a book's strong points and recognizing the shortcomings of
certain exercises, tasks and entire texts.
Another reason for materials evaluation is the fact that it can be very useful in teacher
development and professional growth. Cunningsworth (1995) suggests that textbook
evaluation helps teachers move beyond impressionistic assessments and acquire useful,
accurate, systematic, and contextual insights into the overall nature of materials. Materials
evaluation, therefore, can potentially be a particularly worthwhile means of conducting
action research as well as a form of improvement.

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Moreover, materials play a significant role in foreign language teaching. They are not
simply the everyday tools of the language teachers; they are an embodiment of the aims
and methods of the particular teaching and learning situation. In the words of
Cunningsworth (1995: 70), course book is “a resource in achieving aims and objectives
that have already been set in terms of learner needs.” Through evaluation, the evaluators
can assess whether the course book is the most appropriate for the target learners at various
levels and in various teaching settings.
1.3.3. Types of materials evaluation
There are many different types of materials evaluation offered by a number of researchers.
Robinson (1991: 59) divides materials evaluation into three types: preliminary, summative
and formative. Whereas, Tomlinson (2003: 23-26) shares the same categories of materials
evaluation with McGrath (2002: 181-203). They classify materials evaluation into three
stages namely: pre-use, in-use and post use evaluation. In spite of the different terms used
to refer to types of materials evaluation, these terms are basically similar and discussed in

detail as follows.
1.3.3.1. Pre-use evaluation
According to Tomlinson (2003: 23), pre-use evaluation often takes place before the
materials are used to predict the potential value of materials for their users as well as to
select a course book for use with a particular class. It seems that pre-use evaluation tends
to be the most difficult type since there is no actual experience of using the materials.
1.3.3.2. In-use evaluation
The second type, in-use evaluation as its name suggests, is a kind of evaluation that
involves measuring the value of materials while using them or while observing them being
used. In comparison with pre-use evaluation, it is more objective and reliable as this type
of evaluation makes use of measurement rather than prediction. (Tomlinson, 2003: 24)
Beside its strength mentioned above, Tomlinson (2003) also points out the limitation of
this type. In-use evaluation can measure “what is observable” and cannot measure “what is
happening in the learners‟ brains”.

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1.3.3.3. Post use evaluation
Post use evaluation refers to an assessment of a textbook‟s fitness over a period of
continual use. According to Tomlinson (2003: 25), evaluation of this kind can be “the most
valuable as it can measure the actual effect of the materials on the users.” Basing on the
data measured, evaluators can make reliable decisions about the use, adaptation or
replacement of the materials. However, this type of evaluation is normally time-
consuming.
In summary, each type of materials evaluation has its certain advantages and
disadvantages. Therefore, when making an evaluation, it is essential for the evaluators to
determine what type of materials evaluation will be suitable for their contexts. As for a
specific context in Haiphong Polytechnic College, the researcher decided to exploit in-use
evaluation to measure the merits and demerits of the course book and offer some
implications for further improvement of the material.

1.3.4. Methods of materials evaluation
Most of advice on conducting evaluations can be found in publications of Cunningsworth
(1995), McDonough and Shaw (1993), Sheldon (1988), Tomlinson (1998; 2003). Many
methods of materials evaluation suggested in these publications provide a useful starting
point for any evaluators conducting a materials evaluation. Among them, the following
three basic methods: the impressionistic method, the checklist method, and the in-depth
method are going to be mentioned below.
1.3.4.1. The impressionistic method
Cunningsworth (1995: 2) states that the impressionistic method is designed to be able to
gain an impression of a book by looking rather more carefully at representative features,
such as the organization, topics, layout, visuals and the design of a unit or lesson, or more
specific features, such as the treatment of particular language elements. Therefore, this
method is wide-ranging but relatively superficial due to the fact that „techniques of
impressionistic evaluation cover a wide spectrum‟.

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1.3.4.2. The checklist method
In addition to the potential limitations of this method as McGrath (2002) argues that „a
checklist is likely to need tailoring to suit a particular context, and this can involve a good
deal more than simply deleting checklist items which are inapplicable‟. Moreover,
Williams (1993, cited in McGrath, 2002:27) points out that “checklists cannot be a static
phenomenon”. This means that the items in all materials evaluation checklists reflect the
time at which they are conceived. The checklist has at least four advantages:
1. It is systematic, ensuring that all elements that are deemed to be important are
considered.
2. It is cost effective, permitting a good deal of information to be recorded in a
relatively short space of time.
3. The information is recorded in a convenient format, allowing for easy comparison
between competing sets of material.

4. It is explicit, and, provided the categories as well understood by all involved in the
evaluation, offers a common frame work for decision-making.
(McGrath, 2002: 27)
1.3.4.3 The in-depth method
In-depth method consists of a focus on specific features (Cunningsworth, 1995), close
analysis of one or more extracts (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987), or thorough examination
of two units using predetermined questions (McGrath, 2002). According to McGrath
(2002: 28), beside its advantages, this evaluation method has certain disadvantages. Firstly,
samples selected for analysis may not representative of the book as a whole. Secondly,
only a particular section of the material is focused. Moreover, this method takes time and
requires expert knowledge.
In short, among the three methods of materials evaluation mentioned above, the checklist
method seems to prevail over the rest. Therefore, the researcher decided to adopt it as the
major method to gauge the course book ENS.
1.3.5. Criteria for materials evaluation
1.3.5.1. What should be included in the criteria checklist?
Tomlinson (1998) asserts that it is extremely useful to develop a set of formal criteria for
use on a particular evaluation and then to use that set as a basis for developing subsequent
context-specific sets. Initially it is demanding and time consuming, but it not only helps the

12

evaluators to clarify their principles of language learning and teaching but also ensures that
future evaluations are systematic, rigorous and above all, principled.
Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 99) present their own checklist of criteria for objective and
subjective analysis, which is not an exhaustive list, and is based on the following four
aspects: audience, aims, content, and methodology.
In addition to Hutchinson and Waters‟ checklist, Ur (1996, cited in Prichard, 2003:12-13)
offers sixteen textbook evaluation criteria. Among them, the following should be
highlighted here:

- objectives explicitly laid out in an introduction, and implemented in the material
- systematic coverage of syllabus
- content clearly organized and graded (by difficulty)
- appropriate visual materials available
- varied topics and tasks so as to provide for different learners, learning styles,
interests, etc.
- clear instructions
- periodic review and test sections
- plenty of authentic language
- good pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar explanation and practice
- fluency practice in all four skills
- encourage s learners to develop own learning strategies and to become independent
in their learning
- adequate guidance for the teacher
- audio cassette
Meanwhile Sheldon (1988) suggests that there is no general list of criteria which can really
be applicable to all teaching and learning contexts without considerable modification. In
the same vein, Cunningsworth (1995) assures that any selection procedure should be
modified to suit personal circumstances. Therefore, selecting and modifying particular
items to produce an individualized checklist is the best method to make sure that it is
suitable to the particular teaching and learning context.

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1.3.5.2. The individualized checklist
This individualized checklist was created basing on a number of the checklists mentioned
above and after having consulting from the supervisor and discussing with the researcher‟s
colleagues at HPPC. It was selected from the most important features suitable to the
teaching context. This checklist consists of five criteria namely format and organization,
Maritime English content, language content, language skill, and methodology.

One of the most useful starting points in any textbook evaluation is an analysis of format
and organization. Format and organization should be clear, attractive, logic, sequential and
uniform. They should include a glossary and a table of contents where an overview of
topics, structures/grammar, vocabulary and skills within each unit can be found.
Subject content is one of the features of an ESP course book. Therefore Maritime English
content has become an indispensable criterion in the checklist. The subject content should
be sequenced from easier to more difficult in a logic order throughout the course book,
from guided to free within a unit, and organized around the language points. In addition,
the subject matter areas should be practical and useful for the students‟ future jobs with
various topics and themes, and diverse in non-text types.
Language content is the third criterion in this checklist. This criterion should consist of
basic and main grammar points and vocabulary items which are organized in the level of
difficulty and its content needs to be in various text types to attract and encourage the
students.
Another criterion that can not be deficient in the checklist is language skill. The four skills
should be well-integrated and distributed to serve occupational purposes, of which the
speaking and listening should be priority, then reading and speaking.
The last criterion is methodology. This should be designed basing on the communicative
approach so as to meet the occupational requirements of the students. In so doing, the
course book should be designed with more pair and group work to improve the students‟
communicative competence.
1.4. The roles of materials evaluation to adaptation of the course book
“English for Navigation Students”
Before the course book “English for Navigation Students” was introduced in 2008, the ESP
teachers had collected Maritime English materials from different maritime English course

14

books available to serve the ESP courses for navigation students at HPPC. As a result,
most of the graduates did not satisfy the occupational requirements when working on a

foreign ship due to their poor Maritime English.
In great demand of the ESP teachers, the students at HPPC and the employers for a
Maritime English course book which must serve as an effective tool for the navigation
students studying at college and working well on foreign ships sailing around the world,
the HPPC administrators assigned the Foreign Languages Department to design a course
book of Maritime English. This was really a challenging job for the ESP teachers as they
were not professional materials designers and did not receive any training in the skills and
techniques of materials writing. After nearly one year, with the assistance of the subject
teachers from Navigation Faculty and the great effort of the ESP teachers, right after its
objectives were set out, the course book ENS was designed, completed and exploited in the
classes. However, after having been used for nearly three years, the course book received
both positive and negative feedback from the ESP teachers and nautical students as well.
All these things call for the need to evaluate the material to identify its strengths and the
weaknesses. In order to conduct effectively the evaluation on the course book ENS from
the view points of both the ESP teachers, subject teachers and students, the checklist
method was exploited with two principal instruments for collecting data: questionnaire and
interview.
Based on the evaluation results, the evaluators can either replace the course book in use to
adopt the most suitable one or to adapt it. However, in HHPC context, further adapting the
course book in use is the best method as adapting the material can help the teachers to
achieve more compatibility and fitness between the course book and teaching environment,
and maximize the value of the book for their benefit of their particular learners and for the
most effective occupational outcome to be achieved.
In summary, this chapter has provided a brief review of literature on materials evaluation.
It includes three sections. The first section addressed major issues regarding the notions of
materials, their roles in a language program; and a wide range of maritime English
materials. The second section discussed major issues in materials evaluation including
definitions, purposes, methods, types and criteria for materials evaluation. The last section
mentioned the roles of materials evaluation to the adaptation of the course book ENS.

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
In order to reach the objectives of the study, at first this chapter will describe the current
ESP teaching and learning situation at Navigation Faculty, HPPC in which the study was
carried out. The next concern of this chapter is going to discuss the choice of research
methodology. This will be followed by a reiteration of the research questions. At the end of
the chapter will be data collection procedure with description of stages in which the data
was collected.
2.1. The current ESP teaching and learning situation at the Navigation
Faculty, HPPC
2.1.1. The context
Haiphong Polytechnic College has become one of the leading vocational colleges in the
maritime section since it was founded on the 11
th
July 2001. As a newly-established
vocational college, it consists of six main faculties: Navigation, Marine Engine,
Shipbuilding Technology, Information Technology, Economics, and Electricity and
Electronics. Among them the marine engine and navigation faculties can be said to be by
far the most important ones of HPPC. These two faculties train students to become deck
officers, engineer officers, deck ratings and engine ratings. After graduating from HPPC,
the students will work not only on domestic ships but also on foreign ones sailing around
the world. A ship crew is divided into two departments: deck department and engine
department. Deck crew normally use more spoken and written English than engine crew
because they are responsible for communicating with other ships, agents, pilot stations,
coastguards, port authorities, ship owners, etc. Their English plays an extremely important
role in safe and economical navigation of the ship. Because of this, HPPC leaders always
consider English to be the key subject for the students of the two faculties.
As for navigation students, most of them come from rural areas. Before entering HPPC,
some of them learned English for six years, some learned English for three years and some

learned Russian or French. The problem is that quite few students have a good knowledge
of general English because most of them may have paid almost no attention to learning
English at school.

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In a three-year course for students of Navigation Faculty, English subject is taught in five
semesters in the whole course with totally 315 school periods. The first two semesters for
general English occupy 120 periods and the next three semesters for ESP occupy 195
periods in total with the course book “English for Navigation Students”. The third semester
makes up ninety periods, the fourth semester sixty periods and the fifth semester forty-five
periods. After 120 periods – in two semesters, the students have to complete twelve units
in the textbook New Cutting Edge - Elementary by Peter Moor and Chris Redston in 2005,
which provides the students with general knowledge of English with the integration of four
skills equivalent to elementary level. In the next stage, the course book “English for
Navigation Students” provides a step-stone to enable them to cross from knowledge of
general English to a position where they can start to get to know the sort of textbooks and
instructions within themes relevant to maritime studies. During a term, depending on
number of periods, the students have two or three mid-term tests and at the end of each
term, they have to take an oral test.
2.1.2. The course objectives
In maritime field, English has been considered as “the language at sea”. Being aware of the
importance of English to this field, the International Maritime Organization points in
Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping Convention (1978) that deck
officers are required knowledge of written and spoken English adequate to understand
charts, nautical publications, meteorological information and messages concerning the
ship's safety and operation, and adequate to communicate with other ships and coast
stations and multilingual crew, and use the International Maritime Organization‟s Standard
Maritime Communication Phrases. Moreover, the deck officers who are required to
comply with standards of competence for Global Maritime Distress and Safety System

radio operators and obtain General Operator Certificates will require knowledge of
English, both written and spoken, for the communication of information relevant to the
safety of life at sea. In addition, recommendatory guidance in Part B of the Standards of
Training, Certification and Watch-keeping Convention (1978) concerning basic training
for seafarers with designated safety or pollution prevention duties suggests that flag states
should consider ensuring that seafarers have an ability to use at least an elementary English
vocabulary with an emphasis on nautical terms and situations.

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Therefore, English language requirements to Deck Officers stipulated in the Standards of
Training, Certification and Watch-keeping Convention by the International Maritime
Organization had been taken into thorough consideration before the ESP teachers worked
out the main objectives of the Maritime English course with the assistance of the subject
teachers from Navigation Faculty as follows:
At the end of the three- semester course, the students should be able to achieve:
- listening skills: listening and understanding common orders on board a ship.
- speaking skills: communicating with multilingual crews on board vessels, other ships,
agents, pilot stations, coastguards, port authorities, ship owners during navigation at sea, in
port approaches, waterways and harbors.
- reading skills: reading and comprehending manuals for operating equipment and nautical
documents
- writing skills: writing letters, messages and sea-protests
2.1.3. General description of the material
English for Navigation Students is an in-house material which was designed by the
teachers of English Department in 2007. All the dialogues and reading texts were
excerpted from different sources: Welcome on board published by All Japan Seamen‟s
Union in 1998, English for Seafarers- Pack 1 published by Marlins in 1997, English at Sea
- Module 1 published by Canadian Coast Guard College Press in 1995, Deck Cadet Course
by Training and Seafarers Education Department – VINIC company in 2003; and Standard

Marine Communication Phrases by the International Maritime Organization. The course
book consists of three parts. Part one consists of six units, part two four units and part three
five units. Each unit is typically divided into six sections, namely Vocabulary, Text or
Dialogue, Grammar Notes, Discussion, Reading Comprehension and Translation as
follows:
(i) Section one provides a list of new words, which is categorized into word forms
with phonetic transcription, explanation in English with examples, and followed by
a gap-filling exercise.
(ii) Section two consists of a reading text or a dialogue that is covered by a numerous
topics relevant to the maritime area. Right after the text or dialogue is usually an
exercise in form of answering questions or true/false.

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(iii) Section three presents main grammar points including uses, forms and rules with
examples.
(iv) Section four is designed with speaking activities, normally in form of discussion in
pair or group by answering one or more questions basing on the content in Section
2.
(v) Section five normally offers topical reading texts.
(vi) Section six includes one or two translation exercises mainly requiring learners to
give the equivalent technical terms within a unit.
2.2. Research questions
This study was conducted in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the course
book so as to make the most effective use of the former and overcome the latter by making
adjustments. In order to reach these objectives, the following questions were worked out.
1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the course book in the view of the
students and teachers?
2. What should be improved in the course book in order to get better outcomes to
meet the future occupational requirements?

2.3. Research method
To achieve the research questions mentioned above, the research method exploited in this
study is the survey for a number of advantages. The first reason for choosing this method is
that in order to get the judgments of the students and teachers on the course book, it is
essential to collect data from a large number of respondents, therefore, survey research is
more feasible than other methods. Secondly, using this method is cheap, time-saving and
convenient as the researcher can collect ideas of many respondents at the same time.
2.4. Participants
According to Pritchard (2003:7), evaluation of materials are both needed and made by:
- The Maritime English teacher
- The Maritime English learner
- The Maritime English administrator (educational authorities, maritime
administrations, shipping companies, ports, etc.)

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In a specific context of Haiphong Polytechnic College, however, beside the first two
groups of participants, the subject teachers from Navigation Faculty were chosen to take
part in the materials evaluation process instead of the Maritime English administrator. The
following sections will describe the three groups of participants in detail.
2.4.1. The ESP teachers
The structured interviews were carried out with the five teachers of English who are in
charge of teaching English for the Navigation Faculty. Two of them hold M.A degrees;
two are pursuing the Master course in ULIS, VNUH. Although no ESP teachers have had
any training in the skills and techniques of materials writing, they have a lot of experience
with Maritime English. Two of them have taught Maritime English for over ten years, the
rest nearly six years. All of them have experienced teaching ENS for at least one year since
it was introduced in 2008. In addition, three of them took part in the design of the course
book ENS in 2007.
2.4.2. The subject teachers

Four subject teachers were invited to participate in this study. They are not only the
teachers who teach the subjects relevant to nautical studies at HPPC but also the
experienced navigators having worked on foreign ships on worldwide routes for years.
This fact may lead to a conclusion that their judgments about ENS in terms of Maritime
English content and language skill are reasonably reliable.
2.4.3. The students
162 out of 448 second-year students from the Navigation Faculty at the college were
chosen to take part in this study. They are all male students in four classes: ĐKT02-CĐ1,
ĐKT02-CĐ3, ĐKT02-CĐ5 and ĐKT02-CĐ10 and have the same English proficiency
level. At the time when the researcher did the data collection, these students were in the
fourth semester. All of them finished two semesters of General English course in which
they had to go through New Cutting Edge Elementary. They have just worked with the
second-thirds of the course book ENS. They were required to review thoroughly and rate
the course book according to the criteria basing on their own experience.