Investigation of demotivators in English speaking lessons of the 10th grade students at Nam Sach High School = Nghiên cứu các yếu tố gây nên sự mất hứng thú tro

1

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************




ĐOÀN PHƯƠNG NGÂN


TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ EVALUATION OF
ENGLISH 1.1 TEXTBOOK IN USE AT VIETNAM
UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE
ĐA
́
NH GIA
́
CỦA GIA
́
O VIÊN VÀ SINH VIÊN VỀ GIÁO TRI
̀
NH
TIẾNG ANH 1.1 ĐANG SƯ
̉
DU
̣
NG TA

̣
I TRƯƠ
̀
NG ĐA
̣
I HO
̣
C
THƯƠNG MA
̣
I

M.A. Minor Programme Thesis


English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10




Hanoi - 2010


2

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************

ĐOÀN PHƯƠNG NGÂN


TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ EVALUATION OF
ENGLISH 1.1 TEXTBOOK IN USE AT VIETNAM
UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE
ĐA
́
NH GIA
́
CỦA GIA
́
O VIÊN VÀ SINH VIÊN VỀ GIÁO TRI
̀
NH
TIẾNG ANH 1.1 ĐANG SƯ
̉
DU
̣
NG TA
̣
I TRƯƠ
̀
NG ĐA
̣
I HO

̣
C
THƯƠNG MA
̣
I

M.A. Minor Programme Thesis


English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Nguyễn Minh Huệ, M.A.




Hanoi - 2010

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements…………… ………………………………………………
i
Declaration…………… ………………………………………………………
ii
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………
iii
Table of contents………………………………………………………………….
iv
List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………

vi
List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………
vii
List of Figures and Charts……………………………………………………….
viii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………….
1
1.1 Rationale of the study………………………………………………………….
1
1.2 Aims of the study………………………………………………………………
2
1.3 Research questions……………………………………………………………
2
1.4 Scope of the study……………………………………………………………
2
1.5 Significance of the study………………………………………………………
2
1.6 Overview of the paper …………………………………………………………
3
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………
4
2.1 Materials……………………………………………………………………….
4
2.1.1 Definition …………………………………………………………………
4
2.1.2. Categories of materials ……………………………………………………
4
2.2 Material evaluation ……………………………………………………………
5
2.2.1 Definitions of material evaluation …………………………………………

5
2.2.2 Types of material evaluation ………………………………………………
6
2.2.3 Purposes of material evaluation ……………………………………………
6
2.2.4 Approaches to material evaluation ………………………………………….
7
2.2.5 Principles for material evaluation …………………………………………
7
2.2.6 Models for material evaluation ……………………………………………
9
2.2.7 Criteria for material evaluation ……………………………………………
11
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY………………………………………
14
3.1 An introduction to English 1.1 course and English 1.1 textbook……………
14
3.1.1 English 1.1 course …………………………………………………………
14
3.1.2 English 1.1 textbook ………………………………………………………
14

7

3.2 Participants……………………………………………………………………
15
3.3 Data collection instruments …………………………………………………
16
3.3.1 Questionnaires ………………………………………………………………
16

3.3.1.1 Student questionnaire……………………………………………………
16
3.3.1.2 Teacher questionnaire ……………………………………………………
17
3.3.2 Interviews……………………………………………………………………
17
3.4 Procedures ……………………………………………………………………
17
3.5 Data analysis …………………………………………………………………
18
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ………………
19
4.1 Results and discussion…………………………………………………………
19
4.1.1 Questionnaire results ………………………………………………………
19
4.1.1.1 Student questionnaire results ……………………………………………
19
4.1.1.2 Teacher questionnaire results ……………………………………………
23
4.1.2 Follow-up interview results …………………………………………………
28
4.1.2.1 Student follow-up interview results ………………………………………
29
4.1.2.2 Teacher follow-up interview results ………………………………………
31
4.2 Major findings …………………………………………………………………
32
4.2.1 Summary of main findings…………………………………………………
32

4.2.2 Strengths and weaknesses of the textbook …………………………………
33
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION……………………………………………
37
5.1 Summary……………………………………………………………………….
37
5.2 Limitations of the study………………………………………………………
37
5.3 Implications …… ………………… ……………………………………….
38
5.4 Recommendations for further studies.………………………………………
39
Reference………………………………………………………………………….
40
Appendix 1………………………………………………………………………
I
Appendix 2………………………………………………………………………
VI
Appendix 3………………………………………………………………………
IX
Appendix 4………………………………………………………………………
XIII

8

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviation
Meaning
A

Agree
D
Disagree
EFL
English as Foreign Language
M.
Mean
N
Neutral
Ord.
Order
SA
Strongly Agree
SD
Strongly Disagree
Sd.
Standard Deviation
VUC
Vietnam University of Commerce

9

LIST OF TABLES

Table
Page
3.1 Description of Student Participants
15
3.2 Description of Teacher Participants
16

4.1 Students‟ Evaluation of the Textbook Aims
19
4.2 Students‟ Evaluation of the Textbook Design and Organization
20
4.3 Students‟ Attitudes toward the Textbook Topics
21
4.4: Students‟ Opinions on the Textbook Language Content
22
4.5: Students‟ Evaluation of the Textbook Language Skills
22
4.6 Teachers‟ Evaluation of the Textbook Aims and Approach
24
4.7 Teachers‟ Evaluation of the Textbook Design and Organization
25
4.8 Teachers‟ Evaluation of the Textbook Topics
26
4.9 Teachers‟ Opinions on the Textbook Language Content
26
4.10 Teachers‟ Evaluation of the Textbook Language Skills
27


10

LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS

Figures and Charts
Page
Figure 2.1: The Materials Evaluation Model of Hutchinson and
Waters (1987: 98)

9
Figure 2.2: A preliminary framework for materials analysis and
action by Littlejohn (1998)
10
Chart 4.1: Students‟ main studying purposes for the course
20
Chart 4.2: Teachers‟ Opinions on Purposes of the Course
24

11

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale of the study
The textbook, a key component in most language programs, is one of the major teaching
and learning resources used both inside and outside the classroom (Richard 2005). It has an
enormous influence on what is taught in class and how it is taught. In Tyson‟s research
(1997), he found “those new and in-experienced teachers, or those who lack adequate time
for lesson planning, may actually teach from the first page of the textbook to the last,
skipping little or nothing” (p. 89). Due to its very important role, selecting a right textbook
for an English course is not an easy task for each EFL teacher.
Nguyen (2007) reviews all the advantages and disadvantages of using the textbook in her
research. On the one hand, the textbook offers certain advantages like instruction and
assessment standardization (Richard 2005), providing syllabus for a program
(Cunningsworth 1995), receiving students‟ credibility (Sheldon 1988) and making an
effective resource for learning in the classroom and self-directed learning (Cunningsworth
1995). On the other hand, it also shows several reservations like being able to control the
methods, processes, and procedures of classroom practice and „deskill‟ teachers (Allwright
1982); and not suiting all classrooms as it is written for global market (Richard 2005).
Being aware of all the above advantages and disadvantages, the teachers at English
Department, University of Commerce carefully selected content for English 1.1 textbook,
which is used for English 1.1 course, the first English course for the students at this
university. The content selection for the textbook is based on the course objectives,
students‟ levels and their needs and the course length. Sources of the textbook are Business
Basics (2000) written by David Grand and Robert Mc Larty, published by Oxford Press,
and Market Leader (2004) written by David Cotton, David Falvey and Simon Kent,
published by Longman.
This textbook has been in use at Vietnam University of Commerce since 2008. It has,

undeniably, contributed greatly to the English language teaching and learning there, but for
some unanticipated problems, it remains unsatisfactory. As a matter of fact, no research on
evaluation of this textbook had been carried out to see how far it suited the course. Thus,

12

this study was conducted to evaluate the textbook and suggest ways to improve the quality
of the textbook as well as the course.
1.2 Aims of the study
This study is aimed at evaluating English 1.1 textbook used at Vietnam University of
Commerce from perspectives of teachers and students. It is designed to find the strengths
and weaknesses of the textbook, and also suggest some solutions for further improvement
of the textbook which undoubtedly will enhance the learning efficiency as well as
stimulate students‟ interest in the language learning process.
1.3 Research questions
In order to meet the aims of the study, the following research questions are generated:
1. What are the strengths of English 1.1 textbook from the perspective of teachers and
students at Vietnam University of Commerce?
2. What are the weaknesses of English 1.1 textbook from the perspective of teachers and
students at Vietnam University of Commerce?
1.4 Scope of the study
As its name “ Teachers’ and Students’ Evaluation of English 1.1 Textbook in Use at
University of Commerce” suggests, the thesis will focus on the communicative nature of
the English 1.1 textbook and the ease of its use from the perspectives of teachers and
students in the studied context. The textbook will be evaluated under certain categories
namely aims and approach, design and organization, topic, language content and
language skills.
1.5 Significance of the study
The findings of the thesis give teachers and students at Vietnam University of Commerce a
comprehensive look at their textbook. They have a systematic evaluation of the book

which “may even constitute the main source of language input that learners receive and the
basis for language practice that occurs both inside and outside the classroom” (Nguyen

13

2007). Practically, those findings are beneficial to both teachers and course designers in
improving the quality of the course
1.6 Overview of the paper
The study consists of five chapters as follows:
Chapter 1 introduces the background to the thesis, the aims, significance, scope and
methods of the thesis
Chapter 2 is a review of literature on material evaluation.
Chapter 3 presents an overview of English 1.1 course and English 1.1 textbook, and
describes the methodologies employed in the study.
Chapter 4 analyses data and discusses the findings of the study.
Chapter 5 concludes the study.

14

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
The present chapter reviews previous research related to evaluating EFL materials. It first
sheds light on materials with their definitions and classifications (section 2.1). Then, the
chapter reviews material evaluation with its associated issues (section 2.2). In this section,
definitions, types, purposes, approaches, and principles of materials evaluations are
explored. The section also outlines criteria and models for evaluating materials with
different viewpoints of different researchers.
2.1 Materials
2.1.1 Definition
Language learning materials are often associated with coursebooks as they have been the
main source of people‟s experience of using materials. However, according to Tomlinson

(1998), materials are a “term used to refer to anything which is used by teachers or learners
to facilitate the learning of a language”. He affirmed teachers can adapt materials
according to ages and proficiency level of the students.
2.1.2 Categories of materials
Materials can vary from textbooks, audio, and video tapes to electronic documents like
power point files or e-books. According to McGrath (2002), these materials can be
categorized into four main types.
Published materials
This category includes books and reference materials such as dictionaries, grammars, test
practice materials, tapes accompanying coursebooks or supplementary skills books.
Authentic materials
Authentic materials are those taken from real life. They consist of newspaper, magazines,
user manuals, leaflets and brochures, foreign mission information, letters faxes, emails,
videos (films or documentaries) and songs.
Adapting and supplementing published materials

15

Materials in this category are those refer to published ones that have been adapted or
supplemented in some way. These cut-up materials can be self-standing or deliberately
designed to supplement the coursebooks.
Specially-prepared materials
This kind of materials proves to be useful as there is always a need for material that is
more precisely tailored to the needs of students working on their own.
Whatever types of materials they are, EFL materials should be appropriate to the specific
body of learners. In other words, when choosing EFL material, factors like learners‟ level,
needs, culture, course‟s length, and objectives should be taken into consideration. Whether
an EFL material is appropriate calls for material evaluation.
2.2 Material evaluation
2.2.1 Definitions of material evaluation

In the words of Williams (1983), “any textbook should be used judiciously, since it cannot
cater equally to the requirements of every classroom setting”. Thus material evaluation has
been given a great deal of attention. Murphy (2000) strengthens this point when he
considers evaluation one of the key concepts in ELT to “determine the extent to which a
programme is worthwhile, and to aid decision-making through the purposeful gathering
information”.
Sheldon (1988, p.237) agrees with Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.97) that textbook
evaluation is basically a straightforward, analytical “matching process: matching needs to
available solutions”.
Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) regard material evaluation “as a whole process which
begins with determining what information to gather and ends with bringing about change
in current activities or influencing future ones.”
In order to evaluate a textbook, Cunningsworth (1984, p.2) raises a number of questions
and emphasizes the one: “Good for what and bad for whom?” He believes that textbook
evaluation does not mean making “absolute judgments in the abstract” and that it is
“making relative judgments, taking the learning situation in consideration.”

16

2.2.2 Types of material evaluation
In classifying material evaluation, different authors suggest different terms. Johnson
(1989) and Robinson (1991) both agree on three types of material evaluation: preliminary,
formative and summative. Cunningsworth (1995) and McGrath (2002) introduce similar
distinction but in different terms: pre-use, in-use and post-use evaluation. Preliminary or
pre-use evaluation establishes potential suitability of the materials. Formative or in-use
evaluation examines how materials really work in the classroom by gathering data on
planning decisions, implementation and response. Summative or post-use evaluation
provides reflective assessment of a coursebook‟s performance and can be useful for
identifying strengths and weaknesses which emerge over a period of continuous use.
Ellis (1997) classifies materials evaluation into two types which includes predictive

evaluation and retrospective evaluation. They are respectively designed to make a
decision regarding what materials to use, to determine which best suited to their purposes
and to examine materials that have actually been used, to determine whether the materials
have “worked” for them.
According to Ellis, retrospective evaluation can be impressionistic or empirical.
Impressionistic evaluation is characterized by teachers‟ assessing whether particular
activities “work” during the course and at the end of the course their summative judgments
of the materials are made. Empirical evaluation is time-consuming as teachers have to
collect information in a more systematic manner; they report using students‟ journals and
end-of-course questionnaires to judge the effectiveness of their teaching, including the
materials they used.
This particular paper can be classified as the „retrospective‟ type of evaluation in which an
attempt is made to check the characteristics of the textbook under study against a list of
criteria proposed by Cunningsworth (1995), which will be presented in the subsequent
part.
2.2.3 Purposes of material evaluation
According to Swales (1985, cited in Low, 1987, p. 21), there are very few published works
about the effectiveness of coursebooks in use. Teachers, material designers and education

17

researchers tend to be less reflective about what is happening when one textbook is used.
Many reasons can be account for this. Firstly, it attributes to a centrally prescribed
curriculum and coursebooks. Secondly, it is the workload and time constraints so teachers
have little time or motivation to judge the fitness of the textbooks.
As discussed earlier, materials, especially authentic materials, play a significant role in
foreign language teaching. They are not simply the everyday tools of the language
teachers; they are a representation of the aims and methods of the particular
teaching/learning context. In the words of Cunningsworth (1995, p. 7), coursebook is “a
resource in achieving aims and objectives that have already been set in terms of learner

needs”. Evaluation helps assess whether the coursebook is the most appropriate for the
target learners at various levels and in various teaching context. Moreover, the evaluation
process will involve elements of comparison, especially where existing materials are being
challenged by newly produced materials.
2.2.4 Approaches to material evaluation
Cunningsworth (1995) distinguishes between two approaches to textbook evaluation which
are impressionistic overview and in-depth evaluation. The former is defined as forming
“a general impression of a course book fairly quickly, just by looking through it and
getting an overview of its possibilities and its strengths and weaknesses, noting significant
features which stand out.” The latter is identified by “seeing what is prominent and
obvious in a course book” together with “examining how specific items are dealt with,
particularly those which relate to students” learning needs, syllabus requirements, how
different aspects of language are dealt with, etc.”
2.2.5 Principles for material evaluation
Cunningsworth (1984, pp.5-7) proposes four principles for materials evaluation:
Relate the teaching materials to your aims and objectives.
When designing a course, its aims and objectives are set first. Based on these, teaching
materials should be sought. In other words, the aims of a teaching programme should
determine the course materials to be used and not vice-versa.

18

If one does a retrospective evaluation of a selected material, this principle reminds him or
her to consider whether the material matches the aims and objectives of a language
programme first. This is a very important consideration.
Be aware of what language is for and select teaching materials which will help equip
your students to use language effectively for their own purposes.
The materials selected must consider what the learners will do with English on completing
their course. The activities students participate in class should be a preparation for their
real-life interactions in the outside world. The real aim of language teaching is to bring the

learners to a point where they can use the language for their own purposes, and this goes
far beyond manipulating structure drills.
Keep your students’ learning needs in mind.
If materials meet students‟ learning needs, they will surely motivate the students. Learning
needs are not limited solely to considerations of the language. Learners have intellectual
and emotional needs too. Course materials can help by using subject matter that is
intellectually stimulating and to which the students can relate personally. It is also
important that materials should include different types of activities like whole class, group
work, pair work and individual. This is because students need to be catered for both as
individuals and as members of a group. Within the space of one lesson, a student may act
alternately as an individual and a group member, depending on several factors including
the sort of exercise he is doing, the skills that are being practiced and his own learning
strategies.
Consider the relationship between language, the learning process and the learner.
These are vital aspects of language teaching. It is now a common belief that there is no one
„best‟ way of learning and that learners adopt different learning strategies, often switching
strategies from time to time.
These principles are realized in the criteria checklists that Cunningsworth released in 1995.
These checklists will be revisted in the subsequent part.

19

Looking from different viewpoint, material evaluation should be based firstly on theory of
learning and teaching. This is the foundation for second language teaching and learning. A
teacher/ an evaluator must acquire this theory before conducting any research on material
evaluation. Second language acquisition (SLA) research findings are another guiding
principle for material evaluation. Research findings on SLA are mortar that build language
teaching and learning qualities. They help teachers find way to improve their teaching
effectively. When one has to evaluate a material, these research findings assist him/her
with criteria checklists and models for the evaluation. He/she can adopt or adapt one

checklist and one model which best suit his/her teaching and learning circumstance
It is critical for evaluators to apply their principles of evaluation to the contextual
circumstances of their own evaluation in order to determine the most reliable and effective
procedures.
Evaluators must be cautious in making generalizations of their evaluation. A material can
be judged to be suited to this circumstance but not to others and vice versa.
2.2.6 Models for material evaluation
Evaluation, according to Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 97), is basically a process of
matching needs to available solutions. Accordingly, the evaluation process is divided into
four steps which are presented in the following diagram:










Figure 2.1: The Materials Evaluation Model of Hutchinson and Waters (1987: 98)
DEFINE CRITERIA
On what bases will you judge
materials? Which criteria will be
more important?
SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
What realizations of criteria do
you want in your course?
OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
How does the material being

evaluated realize the criteria?
MATCHING
How far does the material match your needs?


20

In Hutchinson and Waters' point of view, teaching - learning materials must meet the
demands of teachers, learners and sponsors; so in the early stage of analysis the subjective
factors should not be allowed to obscure objectivity.
To ensure an objective matching, it is advisable to look at the needs and solutions
separately. But in the final analysis, any choice will be made on subjective grounds.
Hutchinson and Waters also point out that the subjective analysis should not be seen as "a
fixed set of requirements" (1987: 97)
On this issue, Littlejohn (1998) suggests a preliminary framework for material analysis and
evaluation as following:






Figure 2.2: A preliminary framework for materials analysis and action by Littlejohn
(1998)
The diagram shows that the two steps of describing target situation and analyzing materials
are conducted spontaneously and independently. After that, match and evaluation are taken
which reveals the level of appropriateness to the target situation. From these analyses,
decision on materials is reached in the last stage.
MATCH AND EVALUATION
How appropriate are the aspects of design and the

aspects of publication to the target situation of use?
ACTION
Adopt the materials
Reject the materials
Adapt the materials
Supplement the materials
Make the materials a critical object
ANALYSIS OF TARGET SITUATION
OF USE
- The cultural context
- The institution
- The course (proposed aims, content,
methodology, measures of evaluation)
- The teachers
- The learners
MATERIAL ANALYSIS
From analysis
1. What is their explicit nature?
2. What is required by users?
3. What is implied by their use?
To description:
- aspects of design
- aspects of publication

21

These two models vary in the processes but both are invaluable in setting out a way to
evaluate materials.
2.2.7 Criteria for material evaluation
Criteria are crucial since they serve as the basis for evaluators‟ judgments. Various writers

have suggested ways of helping teachers to be more sophisticated in their evaluative
approach, by presenting evaluation 'checklists' based on supposedly generalizable criteria
that can be used by both teachers and students in many different situations.
According to Sheldon (1988), no general list of criteria can ever really be applied to all
teaching and learning contexts without considerable modification. However, most of these
standardized evaluation checklists contain similar components that can be used as helpful
starting points for ELT practitioners in a wide variety of situations. Criteria should help
evaluate both physical and logistical characteristics of textbooks (Williams, 1983),
(Sheldon, 1988), (Brown, 1995), (Cunningsworth, 1995) and (Harmer, 1996). Other
important criteria that should be incorporated are those that assess a textbook's
methodology, aims, and approaches and the degree to which a set of materials is not only
teachable but also fits the needs of the individual teacher's approach as well as the
organization's overall curriculum. Moreover, criteria should analyze the specific language,
functions, grammar, and skills content that are covered by a particular textbook as well as
the relevance of linguistic items to the prevailing socio-cultural environment. Finally,
textbook evaluations should include criteria that pertain to representation of cultural and
gender components in addition to the extent to which the linguistic items, subjects, content,
and topics match up to students' personalities, backgrounds, needs, and interests as well as
those of the teacher and/or institution.
Recent researches on material evaluation have used variable checklists. Ali Jahangard
(2007) proposed a cross-checklist to evaluate EFL textbook taught at Iranian Public High
Schools. In his research, he “browsed about 10 checklists proposed by different authors
and selected 13 features which were common to most of these checklists to do the
evaluation”. Followings are his checklist:
1. Are objectives explicitly laid out in an introduction, and implemented in

22

the material?
2. Good vocabulary explanation and practice

3. Approaches educationally and socially acceptable to target community
4. Periodic review and test sections
5. Appropriate visual materials available
6. Interesting topics and tasks
7. Clear instructions
8. Clear attractive layout, print easy to read
9. Content clearly organized and graded
10. Plenty of authentic language
11. Good grammar presentation and practice
12. Fluency practice in all four skills
13. Encourage learners to develop own learning strategies and to become
independent in their learning
(Checklist used by Ali Jahangard 2007)
Research by Roseman, Kulm, and Shuttleworth (2008) proposed quality indicators to judge
a textbook. These indicators look at textbooks at a quite different point. They organized the
instructional characteristics of effective materials (textbooks) into broad categories that
include:
Taking account of student ideas
Textbooks should help teachers in attending the ideas that students already have and to
help students gain a better understanding of key concepts and skills. This will help in
concept building. Concepts are key building blocks for the structure of knowledge of
various academic disciplines. All concepts possess at least four components i.e. attributes,
examples, definitions and hierarchical relation (Tennyson & Park, 1980).
Engaging students with relevant contexts, experiences, and phenomena
Textbook should use a variety of contexts-from visual models to symbolic representations
of hands-on activities and first-hand experiences-to build formal ideas and skills.
Promoting student thinking about phenomena, experiences, and knowledge
Textbooks should help students make sense of their experiences and ideas. Textbooks that
provide carefully chosen and sequenced questions and tasks can help students reflect on,
clarify, and explain their reasoning and ideas.

23

Developing and using scientific and mathematical ideas
Textbooks should provide a wide range of problem-solving and practice tasks to help
students see the link between concepts and skills.
Project by Nguyen (2007) on evaluation of Vietnam upper secondary English textbooks
adopted checklists provided by Cunningsworth (1995) with some modification. These
checklists, which include two parts, cover the most important evaluation criteria.
Quick-reference checklist
- Aims, approaches and principles
- Design and organization
- Topic
- Skills and language contents
- Teachers‟ books
Checklist for communicativeness
- General evaluation
- The teaching of listening skills
- The teaching of speaking skills
- The teaching of reading skills
- The teaching of writing skills
- The teaching of grammar
- The teaching of vocabulary
- The teaching of phonology
These checklists appear to be more suitable to the evaluation of English 1.1 textbook.
They are adapted and modified to be questions with options to gain objective evaluation
from teachers and students at VUC. Together with the materials evaluation model by
Hutchinson and Waters which was deliberately chosen as basis for conducting the
research, these criteria appear to be more practical and manageable in the time constraint
of the thesis and in the context of VUC.

24

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
The present chapter introduces English 1.1 course and English 1.1 textbook, and describes
the research design and methodological steps and procedures used to carry out this study. It
describes, in detail, the participants, data collection instruments, procedures, methods of
data analysis, etc. that were involved in the investigation.
3.1 An introduction to English 1.1 course and English 1.1 textbook
3.1.1 English 1.1 course
To prepare VUC students for the needs of English for their job, a business English
program which consists of six courses from English 1.1 to English 1.6 is offered. The
objective of these courses is to provide the students with a command of English so that
they can fruitfully use it in their future job. The whole English program lasts 12 credits,
equivalent to 450 hours, 330 hours of which are spent in classroom.
English 1.1 is the first English course which students have to take at VUC. Its level is
elementary. It aims at providing students with basic knowledge of grammar, vocabulary
and necessary skills to get used to communicating in international business environment.
The course lasts two credits with the structure 24.9.12, which means 24 periods are spent
on teaching, 9 periods on discussion and 12 periods on self-study (each period is 50
minutes long).
3.1.2 English 1.1 textbook
English 1.1 textbook is the main teaching and learning material in the course. The topics in
the textbook are collected from two sources which are Business Basics (2000) written by
David Grand and Robert Mc Larty, published by Oxford Press, and Market Leader (2004)
written by David Cotton, David Falvey and Simon Kent, published by Longman. The
textbook mainly develops three linguistic skills (reading, listening and speaking) and
linguistic knowledge (grammar and vocabulary). It covers some common situations in
business such as self introducing, talking about work and leisure, telephoning solving
problems, making bookings and checking arrangements, entertaining, presenting a product,

dealing with problems, participating in discussions.

25

The textbook consists of 8 units, Supplementary grammar, and key to supplementary
grammar. Each unit is divided into four or five sections which are Starting up,
Vocabulary, Reading, Listening and Skills. Starting up includes activities such as
listening, speaking or vocabulary exercises to warm students up. Vocabulary activities
extend learners‟ vocabulary in a given lexical area and give them the opportunity to
practice the new terms in both controlled and free contexts. Reading texts always present
new language and vocabulary, and help students practice information-finding or general
comprehension. Listening activities give practice in understanding new language in its
spoken form, in listening for specific information, in understanding the gist of the
dialogue. Skill activities are used for discussion around a theme, to access students'
knowledge of a language point, and to provide controlled and free practice of target
language. After each unit, teachers revise English basic grammar using the Supplementary
grammar part. Teachers usually have 150 minute class time to cover content of each unit
plus grammar.
3.2 Participants
The participants in the study were 100 first - year economic majored students from
Vietnam University of Commerce. These students have taken English 1.1 course. They
come from five faculties of VCU: Business Administration (23 informants), Economics
(18 informants), E-commerce (21 informants), Finance and Banking (16 informants.), and
Hotel and Hospitalism (22 informants). The participants had learnt EFL for at least 7 years
in lower and upper secondary schools before enrolling in university programs. A general
description of students‟ variables is reported in Table 3.1 in number and percentages.
Table 3.1 Description of Student Participants (N=100)
Variable
Age

Sex

English Learning Experience
18-20 yrs
≥20 yrs
Male
Female
7-9 yrs
10-12 yrs
≥13 yrs
Number
71
29
35
65
43
47
10
Percentage
71%
29%
35%
65%
43%
47%
10%
In addition, 8 teachers were given questionnaire forms to fill in, and then interviewed.
These Vietnamese teachers come from English faculty of VUC. The reason for choosing
these teachers is that they have taught English 1.1 classes. They have different teaching

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experience and academic degrees. These variants are reported in Table 3.2 in number and
percentages
Table 3.2 Description of Teacher Participants (N=8)
Variable
Academic Degree
Sex
Teaching experience
Bachelor
Master
In-program Service
Male
Female
1-5 yrs
≥6 yrs
Number
3
4
1
1
7
3
5
Percentage
37.5%
50%
12.5%
12.5%
87.5%

37.5%
62.5%

3.3 Data collection instruments
A descriptive research design incorporating both qualitative and quantitative instruments
was used to accomplish the objectives of the study. The use of both types of instruments
provides a more comprehensive picture of the participants‟ attitudes than could be possible
with one data collection method alone. (Creswell, 2008). The instrument employed were
(1) two questionnaires (quantitative treatment): a learners‟ evaluation questionnaire and a
teachers‟ evaluation questionnaire; and (2) interviews with both learners and teachers from
a representative sample of the participants (qualitative treatment). The analysis of the data
collected was used to draw conclusions related to the research questions already identified.
3.3.1 Questionnaires
3.3.1.1 Student questionnaire
To determine the participating students‟ evaluation of English 1.1 textbook, a
questionnaire was used (see Appendix A). Most of the items were developed from
previous studies (Cunningsworth, 1995; Nguyen, 2007).
The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first part was designed to collect students
demographic and background information. The second part included 31 items (items 2-32)
to which the participants responded using a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from
1(Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). The students were asked to express their
degree of willingness by selecting one of the following alternatives: Strongly Disagree,
Disagree, Neutral, Agree, and Strongly Agree. In this questionnaire, item 2 asked the
students to respond to statements about aims of the textbook, items 3-6 are about the

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design and organization, items 7-11 are about the topics, items 12- 17 are related to the
language content, and items 18 through 32 concern the language skills.
To avoid any misunderstanding on the part of the students, the questionnaire was translated

into Vietnamese, the learners‟ mother tongue (see Appendix B).
3.3.1.2 Teacher questionnaire
This questionnaire was created to determine the teachers‟ evaluation of English 1.1
textbook (see Appendix C). The content and format of the teacher questionnaire is similar
to student one. Like the student survey, the teacher questionnaire consisted of two parts,
with the first part designed to collect demographic information related to purpose of the
study.
The second part included 33 statements (items 2-34) to which the teachers responded
according to a five-point Likert-type scale. Items 2-3 asked the teachers to respond to
statements about aims and approach of the textbook, items 4-7 about the design and
organization, items 8-12 related to the topics, items 13- 18 concerning the language
content, and items 19-34 about the language skills.
3.3.2 Interviews
In order to provide a deeper understanding of students‟ and teachers‟ evaluation of English
1.1 textbook, it was deemed useful to conduct interviews. Interviews were conducted with
all 8 teachers and a subgroup of 22 students randomly selected from those who had agreed
in advance to participate in follow-up interviews for the purpose of the study. The
interviews were audio-taped and then transcribed to be analyzed
The questions in both learner and teacher interviews were the same. (See Appendix E).
However, the interviews with the students were conducted in Vietnamese, their L1, to
overcome likely deficiencies in their ability to speak and understand the target language.
These interviews were transcribed and translated into English.
3.4 Procedures

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The required data was collected at the end of English 1.1 course in May, 2010. As
mentioned earlier, the plan was to use questionnaires and follow-up interviews in order to
collect the required data for the purpose of the study
The questionnaire was administered by the researcher in person to ensure effective

implementation. After the introductions were made, the research topic was explained to the
students in Vietnamese, their native language, in order to increase the students‟ comfort
and understanding. The students were given 25 minutes to complete the questionnaire.
None were allowed to leave before the scheduled time so as to avoid them trying to rush to
fill out the questionnaire in order to leave the class early.
Upon completion, the students were informed that interviews would be conducted in order
to gain more insights about their evaluation. They were also informed that the interviews
would take no more than 15 minutes each, would be conducted in Vietnamese, and would
be confidential. Moreover, the students learned that the interviews would be audio-
recorded and that the tapes would be destroyed upon completion of the study.
Appointments were set with those who agreed to be interviewed.
Unlike the students, the participating teachers were given one week to complete the
questionnaire. The 8 teachers were introduced the research topic, the purpose of the
questionnaire and also the subsequent interview to set a date for the interview after they
returned their completed questionnaire forms. The interviews were held as agreed.
3.5 Data analysis
The results of this study were based on questionnaires and follow-up interviews used as
instruments for data collection. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 17.0 for
Windows. Means, frequency counts or number, percentages and standard deviation were
used to analyze collected data in order to describe the teachers‟ and learners‟ evaluation of
English 1.1 textbook. Questionnaire items were given equal balance in a 5-point Likert
scale (Strongly Disagree= 1, Disagree= 2, Neutral = 3, Agree= 4, and Strongly Agree = 5).
For the qualitative analysis, the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Similar
teacher responses were grouped together. Student answers (in Vietnamese) were translated
by the researcher. Relevant quotations were then grouped together.