A Preliminary Evaluation of the English Course for Academic Purposes at the International Department, Thai Nguyen University = Đánh giá sơ bộ khóa học tiếng Anh

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES


NGUYỄN THỊ THẢO



A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF THE ENGLISH COURSE FOR
ACADEMIC PURPOSES AT THE INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT, THAI
NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
(ĐÁNH GIÁ SƠ BỘ KHÓA HỌC TIẾNG ANH PHỤC VỤ MỤC ĐÍCH HỌC
THUẬT TẠI KHOA QUỐC TẾ, ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN)

M.A. Minor Programme Thesis
Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410









Hanoi, 2012
iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
PART A: INTRODUCTION………… ……………………………………
1
1. Rationale of the study………… ……………………………………………
1
2. Objectives and significance of the study………… ………………………
1
3. Research questions………… ………………………………………………
2
4. Scope of the study………… ………………………………………………
2
5. Methods of the study………… ……………………………………………
3
6. Organization of the study………… ………………………………………
3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT………… ………………………………………
4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW………… …………………………
4
1.1. English for Academic Purposes………… ………………………………
4
1.1.1. Definition of EAP………… …………………………………………
4
1.1.2. The relationship between EGAP and ESAP………… …………………
5
1.1.3. English for GBP and English for SBP………… ………………………
6
1.2. Course evaluation………… ……………………………………………
6

1.2.1. Definition of course evaluation………… ……………………………
6
1.2.2. The importance of course evaluation………… ………………………
7
1.2.3. Common features of course evaluation………… ………………………
8
1.2.4. Coursebook evaluation………… …………………………………
9
1.2.4.1. Definition of coursebook………… …………………………………
9
1.2.4.2. The significance of coursebook evaluation ………… ……………
10
1.2.4.3. Criteria of coursebook evaluation………… …………………………
10
1.2.5. Previous studies………… ……………………………………………
12
CHAPTER 2: METHODS OF THE STUDY………… ……………………
13
2.1. Background of the study………… ……………………………………
13
2.1.1 The International Department and its teaching and learning conditions….
13
2.1.2. An overview of the course applied for the 1
st
year students of IDTNU….
14
2.2. Methods of the study………… ………………………………………….
15
v

2.2.1. Restating the research questions………… ……………………………
15
2.2.2. The subjects………… ……………………………………………….
15
2.2.3. Data collecting instruments………… ……………………………….
16
2.2.3.1. Questionnaires………… …………………………………………
16
2.2.3.2. Interviews………… ……………………………………………
17
2.2.4. Procedures………… …………………………………………………
17
2.2.4.1. Questionnaire for students………… …………………………………
17
2.2.4.2. The interviews………… …………………………………………
18
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION…………………….
19
3.1. Findings of the study………… …………………………………………
19
3.1.1. The results of the questionnaire………… …………………………
19
3.1.1.1. Students‟ background of learning English………… ………………
20
3.1.1.2. Students‟ assessment on time spent for each skill…………………….
22
3.1.1.3. Students‟ assessment on the teaching materials for each skill……….
23
3.1.1.4. Students‟ assessment on the sub-skills that they were taught………
25

3.1.1.5. Students‟ self-assessment on the skills they have gained…………….
26
3.1.1.6. The evaluation on teaching performance…………………………….
27
3.1.2. The results of the interviews………… ………………………………
32
3.1.2.1. Answer to textbooks………… ……………………………… …
32
3.1.2.2. Workload………… ………………………………………………
33
3.1.2.3. Students‟ English proficiency………… …………………………
33
3.2. Discussions about the study results………… …………………………
34
3.3. Summary………… …………………………………………………….
36
PART C: CONCLUSION………… …………………………………………
37
1. Summary of the main findings and conclusion……………………………
37
2. Pedagogical implications………… ……………………………………
38
3. Limitations and suggestions for further research……………………………
39
REFERENCES………… …………………………………………………
41
APPENDICES………… ……………………………………………………
I
vi

APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire………… ……………………………………
I
APPENDIX 2: Interviews………… …………………………………………
VI


















1

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
IDTNU: International Department, Thai Nguyen University
MMU: Manchester Metropolitan University
DMU: Demonfort Metropolitan University
IB: International Business
IBA: International Business and Administration

U.K: United Kingdom
EAP: English for academic purposes
EGAP: English for general academic purposes
ESAP: English for specific purposes
ELT: English language teaching













2

LIST OF TABLES AND FINGURES

Page
Figure 1: The variety of years that students have learnt English before
going to university
20
Figure 2: The subjects that students had to study for the entrance exam
21
Figure 3: Students‟ assessment on time spent for each skill
22

Figure 4: Students‟ assessment on the applicability of the textbook into
business major
23
Figure 5: Students‟ assessment on the textbooks‟ suitability with
students‟ level
24
Table 1: Students‟ opinion about the sub-skills they were taught
25
Table 2: Students‟ self-assessment on the skills they have gained
26
Table 4: students‟ evaluation on teacher A‟s teaching performance
28
Table 5: Students evaluation on Mr. B‟s teaching performance
29
Table 6: Students' evaluation on Ms. C‟s teaching performance
30
Table 7: Students' evaluation on Mr. D‟s teaching performance
31
Figure 6: Comparison of the students‟ satisfying about the English
teachers
31






3

PART A: INTRODUCTION

This part is comprised of six sections including the rationale for the study,
the objectives and significance of the study, the research questions, the scope of the
study, the methods used in the study and the organization of the study.
1. Rationale of the study
Nowadays, in many countries whose mother tongue is not English, English is
not a general subject but a language used to instruct other subjects. In recent years
in Viet Nam, the development of education has required many universities to import
curricula from other countries, whose official language used to teach those subjects
is English. This raises another challenge for learning and teaching English: how to
teach English for Academic Purposes. The International Department, a new
department under Thai Nguyen University, with the aim of applying imported
advanced programs into the school, has implemented an advanced program
collaborated with Manchester Metropolitan University. In this program, students are
going to use English as a medium of listening to lectures in their major. Therefore,
for the first year of studying, students are taught English in such a way that they can
use it for their academic purposes in the later years. In fact, the school year of 2011-
2012 is the first year the International Department has implemented the English
course for academic purposes so the preliminary evaluation of the course is
important for the course designers to get the feedback from students about the
program.
2. Objectives and significance of the study
Firstly, the thesis is carried out to investigate the effectiveness and weakness
of the English course for the purpose of preparing study skills in English for the first
year students, International Department – Thai Nguyen University. Secondly, the
aim of the study is to find out what aspects of language skills that students still need
to learn so that they can use English as a medium of instruction in their major. Last
4

but not least important, some suggestions are given to improve the course of
English for academic purposes at the International Department, Thai Nguyen

University.
This study is done in a hope that it will help better the quality of teaching and
learning English for academic purposes at IDTNU. Thus, it will help enhance
students‟ English competence.
3. Research questions
In order to draw the conclusion, the following research questions are raised:
1. To what extent does the course satisfy students?
2. What do the students still need to learn?
3. How can the course be improved?
Hopefully, based on its findings, the International Department would bring
about the improvements in the course. It would also help teachers have a clear view
of what aspects of the program that cause difficulties to students and which skills/
activities they should add in their lessons. Finally, with regard to researchers, the
information in the study would be a reference for other related researches.
4. Scope of the study
The research limits its scope to the English course for general academic
purposes for the first year students at IDTNU. The choice of participants is simply a
matter of convenience as the researcher is working as a training managing staff for
IDTNU.
5. Methods of the study
To achieve the aims, the qualitative and quantitative approach including
survey questionnaires and interview is used to collect the data. The method used in
this research is formative evaluation. In common, the data for the study were
obtained through the following instruments:
5

The questionnaires which were delivered to the first year students at IDTNU
to discover the students‟ background of learning English, their self-assessment on
the course books used during the course, what they were taught and what they
gained from the course.

The interviews were used to get the feedback from the lecturers of the course
on the students‟ English proficiency, the course books used as well as the suitability
of the workload on each English skill.
6. Organization of the study
The thesis consists of three main parts:
Part A is the introduction, which presents an overview of the study with the
rationale for the research, the aims and the research questions of the study. It also
narrows the scope, presents the research method and outlines the content of the
study.
Part B is the development, which includes three chapters as follows:
* Chapter 1 is the literature review. This chapter presents all the
related theoretical background that precedes and necessitates the information of the
research.
* Chapter 2 describes the research methods used in the study with
some necessary components.
* Chapter 3 is devoted to a detailed description of data analysis and
thorough discussion of the findings of the study. In this chapter some explanation
and interpretations of the findings are explored.
Part C is the conclusion which presents the study conclusions and teaching
implications. Besides, it also offers the limitations and suggestions for further study.
6

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, all the related theoretical background that precedes and
necessitates the information of the research is presented. There are three main parts:
English for Academic Purposes and Course Evaluation. The first part deals with
definition of English for academic purposes, the relationship between English for
general academic purposes and English for specific academic purposes and the
relationship between English for general business purposes and English for specific

business purposes. The second one refers to the definition of course evaluation, its
importance, teaching evaluation and course book evaluation.
1. 1. English for Academic Purposes
1.1.1 Definition of EAP
According to Flowerdew & Peacock (2001:p8; Jordan, 1997: p.1), English
for Academic Purposes (EAP) is generally defined as teaching English with the aim
of facilitating learners‟ study or research in that language. The definition explains
that EAP requires not only study-skills teaching but also all the general English
skills. K. Hyland, L. Hamp-Lyons (2002: p2) gives his opinion about EAP, which
refers to language research and instruction that focuses on the specific
communicative needs and practices of particular groups in academic contexts. This
means learners have to practice to develop new kinds of literacy: communicative
skills to participate in particular academic and cultural contexts. Scarcella, Robin
(2003, p9) defines EAP as a variety or a register of English used in professional
books and characterized by the specific linguistic features associated with academic
disciplines. In his opinion, Academic English tasks include reading abstracts,
understanding the key ideas, research projects, expository essays. Academic English
includes many diverse sub-registers associated with different disciplines such as
science, economic, and mathematics (Johns, 1997). Compared with the definition in
7

the past, nowadays, literacy is understood differently. It involves mechanics such as
decoding as well as higher-order thinking – conceptualizing, inferring, inventing,
and testing. Then, literacy includes not only the ability to read and write but also
communication skills (August & Hakuta, 1997).
English for Academic Purposes, often identified as a sub-category of English
for Specific Purposes, is defined as a student‟s need for „quick and economical use
of the English language to pursue a course of academic study‟ (Bernard Coffey,
1984, p.4). Therefore, Jordan agrees to divide EAP into two additional groups:
„common core‟ or „English for General Academic Purposes‟ (EGAP) and „subject-

specific‟ or „English for Specific Academic Purposes‟ (ESAP). We can easily find
out from his opinion that studying English for General Academic Purposes focuses
on reading, writing, speaking and listening skills while English for Specific
Academic Purposes concentrates on vocabulary and skills specific to a subject of
study. In common, study skills are „key component‟ of EAP.
1.1.2 The relationship between EGAP and ESAP
English for academic purposes can be divided into 2 sub types: English for
General Academic Purposes (EGAP) and English for Specific Academic (ESAP) as
mentioned above. Dudley – Evans and St John distinguished EGAP and ESAP as
follows: „EGAP refers to the teaching of the skills and language that are common to
all disciplines; ESAP refers to the teaching of the features that distinguish one
discipline from others‟ (Dudley – Evans & St John, 1998, p. 41). According to
Blue, 1993, English for General Academic Purposes integrates the skills in study
activities, for example, reading a text consists of understanding the main ideas and
guessing the author‟s point of view or scanning for specific information. Whereas,
English for Specific Academic Purposes integrates EGAP skills in order to help
students in their actual subject tasks. In other words, ESAP is the instrument for
students to study their actual lectures. Tonny Dudley – Evans and Maggie Jo St
John (p.42, 1998) conclude the difference between EGAP and ESAP is that ESAP
8

pays attention to the actual skills for students to carry out while EGAP covers more
general context
1.1.3 English for General Business Purposes (EGBP) and English for Specific
Business Purposes (ESBP)
English for General Business Purposes (EGBP) courses are often for pre-
experience learners or those at the very early stages of their career (Dudley – Evans
and Maggie Jo St John, 1998, p. 55). EGBP includes traditional four skills plus
specific grammar and vocabulary development. Presentation through listening or
reading, followed by exercises to practice grammar and vocabulary is much focused

(Dudley.et.al, 1998, p.56). In contrast, English for Specific Business Purposes
(ESBP) courses are for job-experienced learners who bring business knowledge and
skills to the language learning situation‟ (Dudley.et.al, 1998, p.56). Unlike EGBP
courses, ESBP concentrates on fluency practice including listening, speaking,
reading and writing skills. In these courses, „settings and carrier content are mainly
taken from the learners‟ own business contexts‟ (Dudley – Evans and Maggie Jo St
John, 1998, p. 56). Dudley – Evans and Maggie Jo St John point out 6 key variables
in Business English courses: course duration, participants, group size, location,
mode of learning and trainers (p.57). Therefore, in the situation of the International
School, English course is for the general business purposes where four English
skills plus grammar and vocabulary are focused.
1.2 Course evaluation
1.2.1 Definition
Course evaluation involves the evaluation on course content, teaching
performance, the suitability of the course to students‟ level, workload and students‟
self assessment on their achievement (Cashin, 1995).
Therefore, course evaluation refers to course content, teaching performance,
the course difficulty, workload and students‟ self assessment on their achievement,
using questionnaire to collect the data.
9

1.2.2 The importance of course evaluation
Course evaluation which has been used in many universities in the world is
of great importance for both teachers and students. Marsh (1987) points out five
purposes of course evaluation. First, it is a diagnostic feedback to faculty about the
effectiveness of their teaching that will be useful for the improvement of teaching.
Second, it is a measurement of teaching effectiveness to be used in administrative
decision-making. Also, the evaluation gives students information to use in the
selection of courses and instructors. Fourth, it is a measure of the quality of the
course which is used in course improvement and curriculum development. Finally,

the evaluation‟s findings are an outcome or process description for research on
teaching.
Hutchinson and Water (1987:96) gives the reason for evaluation „Evaluation
is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose.‟
Cunningsworth (1984:64) puts toward the idea „…that the process of evaluation
could not be a purely mechanical one and that professional judgment was involved
at every stage.‟ In Pamela Gravestock and Emily Gregor-Greenleaf‟s point of view
(2008: 10), „the quantifiability and comparability of most course evaluations makes
the imprecise art of evaluating teaching seem more objective and manageable‟.
Among many kinds of teaching and learning assessment, course evaluations
are considered one of the most common tools used to assess classroom teaching and
believed the most heavily weighted for personnel decisions (Franklin , 2001).
Regarding to course evaluation, many linguists have conceded that there is
not any better options than course evaluation for providing the same sort of
quantifiable and comparable data. (Abrami, 2001)
In general, most of researchers have appreciated the students‟ evaluation in
being a useful measure of the instructional behavior that contributes to teaching
effectiveness (Beran, Violato & Kline, 2007; Abrami, 2001; Schmelkin, Spencer &
Gellman, 1997; Marsh, 1987). The results getting from formative feedback are used
10

to facilitate improved teaching and course development (Pamela Gravestock and
Emily Gregor-Greenleaf, 2008:10).
1.2.3 Common features of course evaluation
To many linguists, course evaluations generally assess different and
separable aspects of an instructor‟s teaching behaviours and particular aspects of a
course (Beran, Violato & Kline, 2007). According to Pamela Pamela Gravestock
and Emily Gregor-Greenleaf, 2008: 13, course evaluation forms are almost always
anonymous and most frequently incorporate both qualitative and quantitative
responses. They also state that „evaluations generally request specific feedback on

measures of teaching effectiveness and on particular aspects of a course‟ (p13).
Regarding to course design and delivery and instructor behaviour, Cashin
lists six aspects needed in evaluations: 1) questions about course content; 2)
questions about the instructor‟s communication skills; 3) questions about student-
teacher interaction; 4) questions about course difficulty and workload; 5) question
about assessment practices in the course; and, 6) students self-assessment questions.
Marsh (1987) developed the Student Evaluation of Educational Quality
(SEEQ) questionnaire with a list of 9 elements: 1) learning/academic value, 2)
instructor enthusiasm, 3) individual rapport, 4) examinations/grading, 5)
organization/ clarity, 6) breadth of coverage, 7) group interaction, 8)
assignments/reading and 9) workload/difficulty.
Harry Murray (1987) referred to the evaluation with the evaluation on 60
instructor behaviours and teaching activities. These behaviours and activities are
grouped into 9 categories: 1) clarity, 2) expression; 3) interaction, 4) organization,
5) pacing, 6) disclosure, 7) speech; 8) rapport, and 9) teaching aids.
1.2.4 Course book evaluation
1.2.4.1 Definition of course book
Course book is one of the factors playing an important role in the success of
the whole course. Many researchers have done a lot of studies on course book
11

evaluation with a new wave of interest in the development of the English course.
Therefore, there are many definitions of course book given:
Ur (1986: 183) put a simple and easy –to – understand definition. According
to him, course book is „a text book of which the teacher and each student has a copy
and which is in principle to be followed systematically as the basis for a language
course‟. Thus, the course book must be the one used by both teacher and students
systematically during the course.
Course book is defined by Sheldon (1988:237) as „the visible heart of any
ELT programme‟ or it is considered as „an almost universal element of ELT

teaching‟ by Hutchinson (1994:315). Especially, Low (1989) considers teaching
materials as „one of the major determinants of what gets taught in language teaching
programmes‟ (p.136).
Many linguists claim that course books are a magical tool giving learners a
sense of system, cohesion and progress, and help to achieve consistency and
continuation (Allwright, 1981; O‟Neil, 1982; Littlejohn, 1998). According to
Hutchinson & Torres (1994), course books are inevitably superficial and
reductionist in their coverage of language items and they impose uniformity of
syllabus and remove initiative from teachers.
Therefore, course book can be broadly defined as the textbook that both
teacher and students use as a „road map‟ of the course. A suitable course book plays
a very important role in the success of the course. As the result, the course
evaluation should include the evaluation of the teaching materials.
1.2.4.2 The significance of course book evaluation
The importance of course book leads to the importance of course book
evaluation. As that Harmer (1991) explains the importance of course book for
giving teachers ideas about what to teach and how to teach, doing course book
evaluation is not a concern of educational researchers but also teachers using it.
The evaluation helps the selection of course book, which serves as an important
step of making - decision process. Sheldon mentions that:
12

„The selection of a particular score volume signals an executive educational
decision in which there is considerable professional, financial and even political
investment. This high profile means that the definition and application of
systematic criteria for assessing course books are vital.‟ (1988:237)
In terms of book evaluation, Cunningsworth (1995: 14) claims that thorough
evaluation pave the way for teaching staff of each organization and policy makers
to have the ability to discriminate amongst all the available books in the market
and considering weak, as well as strong points of each book educators can choose

the most appropriate book.
Hutchinson (1997) gives an interactive idea of materials evaluation as
follows:
„…materials evaluation plays such an important role in language teaching
that its potential for influencing the way teachers operate is considerable. Materials
evaluation can and should be a two-way process which enables teachers not just to
select a textbook, but also to develop their awareness of their own
teaching/learning situation.‟ (37-38)
Evaluation of course book is viewed as a kind of educational judgment. To
conclude, it helps to make decisions in selecting course books, to form professional
judgments as well as to raise awareness of the teaching and learning experience.
1.2.4.3 Criteria of course book evaluation
It is beneficial to draw some guidelines for evaluation and considering
criteria of book evaluation. Referring to the criteria for book evaluation, Sheldon
(1988) claims that no list of criteria satisfies all different situations, and then the
researchers can only commit themselves to checklists or scoring systems.
However, still, there are a lot of linguists who have published their ideas of criteria
for course book evaluation.
Cunningsworth (1995: 7-15) presents that course book should correspond to
learners‟ needs, help to equip learners to use language effectively for their own
purposes, facilitate students‟ learning process, have a clear role in mediating the
13

target language and the learner. In terms of course book evaluation, a list of
successful listening, speaking, reading, and writing can be also applied (Nunan,
1989).
To inhibit subjective factors from influencing judgment in the early stage of
analysis, Hutchinson and Waters (1987:97) emphasize the importance of
objectivity in evaluation: „Evaluation is basically a matching process: matching
needs to available solutions. If this matching is to be done as objectively as

possible, it is the best to look at the needs and solutions separately‟. They divide
the evaluation process into four major steps: defining criteria, subjective analysis,
objective analysis and matching.
To Breen and Candlin (1987), a set of questions divided into two phases can
play a role of a guide for evaluation. The first one poses some initial questions
about the usefulness of the teaching materials in question, and the second one
offers specific questions leading to a more searching analysis of materials with
particular learners and the actual classroom in mind.
In terms of when to evaluate a course book, Cunningsworth (1995) classifies
evaluation into three kinds: „pre-use‟, „in-use‟ and „post-use‟ evaluation. According
to him, pre-use evaluation may be the most difficult because there is no actual
experience of using the course book. From another perspective, in-use evaluation is
a kind of evaluation for suitability, involving, matching the course book against a
specific requirement including the learner‟s objective, the learner‟s background,
and the resources available. On the other hand, post-use evaluation refers to an
assessment of a text book‟s fitness over a period of continual use, which helps to
decide whether to use the same text book in the future or not. He also distinguishes
the two approaches of evaluation: impressionistic overview and in –depth
evaluation.
1.2.5. Previous studies
Numbers of experts have done a lot of researches in course evaluation.
According to Richard Kiely and Pauline Rea – Dickins (2005:5), evaluation in
14

language programs is „part of the novice teacher‟s checklist to guide the
development of initial lesson plans and teaching practice, a process of determining
learning achievements or student satisfaction, and a dimension of the analysis of
data in a formal evaluation or research study‟. Many other researchers share these
ideas. Kiely (1998) expressed the purposes for the evaluation activity were that it
was a demonstration of quality assurance at program implementation level or a

means of getting feedback from students on the appropriateness of activities for
their learning needs. Marsh (1987:259) showed the aim of students‟ evaluation on
teaching effectiveness: “Diagnostic feedback to faculty about the effectiveness of
their teaching that will be useful for the improvement of teaching”. According to
Wright (2006), course evaluations or student ratings are one of the most common
tools used to assess classroom teaching and may be the most heavily weighted for
personnel decisions.
From the points of the previous researchers and educators about the purposes
of course evaluation, it is very useful to have a course evaluation in the
International Department in order to put some improvements in the course.










15

CHAPTER 2: METHODS OF THE STUDY
In this chapter, the researcher will provide some information about the
background in which the study took place, which includes IDTNU and its teaching
and learning conditions, and the English course design. The second part of this
chapter will deal with the methods of the study including the qualitative approach,
data collecting instruments and the procedures of the research.
2.1. Background of the study
In this section, the discussion of the International Department, where the

study is conducted, is given. In details, the researcher will refer to the factors that
play a great part in her research, for example teaching and learning conditions, and
the English course which have been used for the first year students in IDTNU.
2.1.1. The International Department and its teaching and learning conditions
The International Department, a new faculty under Thai Nguyen University,
is located in Thai Nguyen city. The faculty was established in August 2011 with the
aims of contributing to the improvement of the quality of training, and building the
capacity of human resources to develop international integration and the socio-
economic community. Therefore, the department has implemented two main
programs: imported advanced program and joint programs. In these programs, the
language used to deliver the lessons is English or Chinese. For imported advanced
program, English is the language for instruction. In addition, the International
Department is currently cooperating with Manchester Metropolitan University
(MMU) and De Monfort University (DMU), the United Kingdom, to recruit
students for business majors. In the school year of 2011-2012, the school has 40
students learning bachelor program of international business, which is a joint
program with MMU, and 20 students of international business and administration in
the cooperation with Honghe University. Therefore, the department has 2 classes:
class of International Business (IB) with 40 students and class of international
16

business and administration in the cooperation (IBA) with 20 students. The
language for instruction of IB class is English and Chinese is used for IBA class.
Currently, there are 5 English language teachers and 4 Chinese language
teachers. In this study, the researcher will only focus on the English course, students
and teachers of IB class where English is a mediums of instruction.
With the aim of equipping students with language skills serving their study
in English, the department has decided to spend the first school year for students to
study an intensive English course. For that purpose, the department has invested
many types of equipment for teaching and learning, for example, wifi network,

projector, speakers and air conditioner. Especially, thanks to the cooperation with
the universities in the United Kingdom, many delegations from the UK have visited
the department, which has created many chances for students to practice speaking
and listening to English.
2.1.2. An overview of the course applied for the first year students of IDTNU
In this course, the intensive English course, the English program has been
designed to equip students with listening, speaking, reading and writing skills so
that they are able to study their major in English in the following years. Therefore,
the course covers 6 subjects: phonics, listening and speaking, reading, writing,
grammar and Business English. The purpose of the course is to provide students
with study skills in English. Below is the program of the course.
Firstly, for the grammar subject, the instructor is Vietnamese with 180
teaching hours (50 minutes per each). The subject aims to provide students with a
basic knowledge of English grammar. During the course, students have been using
the book Essential Grammar in Use by Murphy, which is designed for elementary
learners. Therefore, the vocabulary used in this book is restricted.
Secondly, the course has spent 45 teaching hours for phonics. The subject
has been delivered by Malaysian teacher using the text book Phonics, A handbook
for Grades 3-6. The objective of the subject is to introduce the students to the sound
17

system of the English language (vowels, consonants…) and provide them chances
to compare English and Vietnamese sounds and practice them.
For the speaking and listening subject, New English File _ Beginning
Student’s Book and New English File _ Elementary Student’s Book have been used
to help students improve their English skills for conversation. Students have spent
240 hours learning this subject with a Philippino teacher
Fourthly, the reading subject with 240 teaching hours has been introduced by
a Malaysian teacher. The teacher has been using the books Read all about it and
Reading 2_ Advantage. The purpose of this subject is to widen students‟ vocabulary

and improve their reading skills, as well.
Write Traits is the book used for writing skill. The workload for this subject
is 100 hours. The teacher has taught students how to write a paragraph and organize
the ideas logically. The teacher of this subject is the one who teaches Phonics and
Reading
Finally, Business English is the subject introduced by an Australian teacher
with 150 teaching hours. Market Leader _Elementary Student‟s Book is the main
text book for the subject. In this subject, students have learnt vocabulary in the areas
of business.

2.2. Methods of the study
2.2.1. Restating the research questions
As mentioned in part 1, in order to test the hypothesis the research focuses on
three following questions:
1. To what extent does the course satisfy students?
2. What do the students still need to learn?
3. How can the course be improved?
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2.2.2. The subjects
The subjects are 40 freshmen and 2 teachers at IDTNU. They are both
male and female students coming from different hometowns in Viet Nam.
Especially, these students at high schools have prepared for different subjects for
the national entrance university examination. Some students sat for the exam in
which they did the exams on Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry (group A). Other
students had the exams on Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology (group B). Others
took the exams on Mathematics, Literature and English (group D). The rest did the
exams on Literature, History and Geography (group C). Therefore, their English is
not at the same level. The two teachers who were chosen to be the subjects of the
research are English speaking teachers who have taught English to those students.

For students, questionnaires were given while teachers were
interviewed to get the feedback from the English course.
2.2.3. Data collecting instruments
The study employed two instruments to obtain the data. They are the
questionnaire and interview. The combination of these instruments will increase the
preciseness and reliability of the data collected because the data obtained from one
method will help to inform and refine the other.
2.2.3.1. Questionnaires
The questionnaire was used to get the students‟ attitudes and
evaluation toward the intensive English course. According to Nunan, „the
questionnaire is a relatively popular means of collecting data‟ (Nunan 2002: 143).
The questionnaire was designed with 5 main parts which focused on the following
aspects that the researcher would like to investigate: (Appendix 1)
+ Part 1 including 2 questions worked out the students‟ background of
learning English.
+ Part 2 providing students with 6 questions was aimed at students self –
assessment on the suitability of workload and the textbooks used for the first year.
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+ Part 3 gave students the opportunity to give their self-identification in what
sub- language skills they have been equipped when studying English (5 questions).
+ Part 4 with 8 questions was designed to help students self-evaluate their
gained skills after taking the intensive English course.
+ Part 5 designed for students‟ evaluation on teaching performance. This part
includes 10 questions.
Questionnaire for students was in Vietnamese so that there was no
misunderstanding of the questions, which helped ensure the reliability and validity
of the data collected.
2.2.3.2. Interviews
The interviews were designed for the English teachers to evaluate

students‟ ability, the textbooks as well as workload. For each language skill, the
researcher designed the interview questions focusing on the sub-language skills that
the students need to obtain for their future study. Thus, the interviews were divided
into 3 parts: part 1 for speaking and listening skills, part 2 for writing and reading
skills and the last one used for business English. (Appendix 2)
All the interview questions were in English because the two teachers are
English speaking teachers. The interviews were recorded to get the full information
for the research.
2.2.4. Procedures
The study was conducted in four months, beginning from 20
th
April, 2012
and finishing by 20
th
August, 2012 at the International Department, Thai Nguyen
University. The procedures are as follows:
2.2.4.1. Questionnaire for students
After students finished the intensive course, they were given the
questionnaire. The researcher then collected the information from this questionnaire
to find out the students‟ self-assessment on the program, workload, the teaching
20

materials, language skills they gained after the English course and teaching
performance done by the lecturers.
2.2.4.2. The interviews
To ensure the reliability and validity of data collected from students, the
research designed some questions for the interview with the English teachers of the
program. The interviews were conducted in an informal way after the researcher
collected the questionnaire from students. Those interviews gave the researcher the
broad and deep view about the course as well as the students‟ language ability

before and after taking the course.
The methods of the study were mentioned in detail above. The next chapter
analyses these various types of data collected and interpretations are made with an
attempt to answer the research questions.













21

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents and discusses the findings that arise from two types of
data collected instruments: questionnaire and interviews.
3.1. Findings of the study
3.1.1. The results of the questionnaire
The aims of the questionnaire were to explore students‟ self-assessment to
the English course in terms of workload for each language skill, teaching materials,
and the objectives of the course as well as the teaching performance.
3.1.1.1. Students’ background of learning English
Figure 1: The variety of years that students have learnt English before
going to university

2
4
11
1
2
3
2
1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
4 years
6 years
7 years
8 years
9 years
10 years
11 years
13 years
number of students
number of students

As can be seen from figure 1, the students have learnt English for a different
number of years before starting the university. The students have studied for at least
4 years of English before university. The maximum number of years that students

spent learning English is 13 years. 11/40 of them have studied English for 7 years.