Students' evaluation of ESP coursebook in Faculty of Geography, Hanoi National University of Education = Đánh giá của sinh viên đối với giáo trình tiếng Anh chu20150227

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EG: English for Geography
ESP: English for Specific Purposes
GE: General English
HNUE: Hanoi National University of Education

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LIST OF CHARTS, FUGURES, AND TABLES

Chart 3.1: Learners’ attitude towards skill development
Chart 3.2: Learners’ attitude towards the usefulness of exercises in skill development
Chart 3.3: Learners’ fulfillment of exercises and activities
Chart 3.4: Learners’ attitude towards the necessity of an ESP course
Chart 3.5: Learners’ expectations in terms of the the time allocation for ESP course
Chart 3.6: Learners’ expectations of additional topics
Chart 3.7: Learners’ preference in terms of additional topics of the coursebook

Figure 1.1: Stages in the ESP process
Figure 1.2: The material evaluation process
Figure 1.3: A preliminary framework for materials analysis and action

Table 3.1: Learners’ ranking of their purposes of learning ESP
Table 3.2: Learners’ needs met by the ESP coursebook
Table 3.3: Learners’ attitude towards the content of the ESP coursebook
Table 3.4: Learners’ evaluation on time allocation for ESP
Table 3.5: Learners’ attitude towards vocabulary and grammar

Table 3.6: Learners’ attitude towards exercises and follow-up activities
Table 3.7: Learners’ preference for types of exercises and activities
Table 3.8: Learners’ suggestions for better coursebook
Table 3.9: Learners’ satisfaction towards classroom activities
Table 3.10: Learners’ attitude towards teacher’s use of language and the coursebook

Table 1: Teachers’ views of physical characteristics
Table 2: Teachers’ views of content
Table 3: Teachers’ perceived limitations of the coursebook
Table 4: Students’ reactions to the coursebook as observed by teachers
Table 5: Challenges to the students in using the coursebook as observed by teachers
Table 6: Teachers’ self-reported challenges in using the coursebook



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of originality of study project report i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
List of abbreviations iv
List of charts, figures and tables v
Table of contents vi
PART I: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1. Rationale 1

1.2. Aims of the study 1
1.3. Scope of the study 2
1.4. Research questions ……………………………………………………………2
1.5. Method of the study 2
1.6. Composition of the thesis 2
PART II: DEVELOPMENT 3
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 3
1.1. Approaches to ESP……………………….……………………………………….3
1.1.1. Learner-centeredness in ESP……………………………………………………3
1.1.2. Learner-centeredness vs. learning-centeredness in ESP……………………… 3
1.2. Coursebook evaluation 5
1.2.1. Definition of coursebook evaluation 5
1.2.2. Purposes of coursebook evaluation 6
1.2.3. Types of coursebook evaluation 6
1.2.4. Coursebook evaluation in ESP 8
1.2.5. Rationales of students’ evaluation 9
1.2.6. Models for evaluation 10
1.2.7. Criteria for evaluation 12
1.3. Conclusion 12
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 13
2.1. The context of the study 13
2.1.1. The course 13
2.1.2. The coursebook 13
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2.1.3. The ESP teachers 14
2.1.4. The students 14

2.2. The methodology 15
2.2.1. Participants 15
2.2.2. Data collection instruments 16
2.2.3. Procedure 17
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 18
3.1. Results and discussion 18
3.1.1. Learners’ attitude towards learning ESP 18
3.1.2. Learners’ evaluation of ESP coursebook 19
3.1.3. Learners’ evaluation of the teachers’ exploitation of ESP coursebook 29
3.1.4. Learners’ evaluation of the teachers’ exploitation of ESP coursebook 31
3.1.5. Teachers’ views of ESP coursebook 33
3.2. Major findings 34
3.2.1. The suitability of the coursebook to the audiences 34
3.2.2. The suitability of the coursebook to the aims 35
3.2.3. The suitability of the coursebook to the content requirements 35
3.2.4. The suitability of the coursebook to the methodology 36
3.3. Recommendations 37
3.3.1. Content improvements 38
3.3.2. Methodology improvements 38
3.3.3. Other recommendations……………………………………………………… 39
PAER III: CONCLUSION 41
1. Conclusion 41
2. Limitations of the study 41
3. Suggestions for further researches 42
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………… 43
APPENDIX 1 (Students questionnaire) I
APPENDIX 2 (Teachers’ views as stated in the interviews) ……………………….VI
APPENDIX 3 (A sample unit in the coursebook)………………………………….VIII

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PART I: INTRODUCTION

1. RATIONALE
From the early 1960s, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown to become
one of the most prominent areas of English foreign language teaching. This development is
reflected in an increasing number of publications, conferences and journals dedicated to
ESP discussions. Similarly, more traditional general English courses gave place to courses
aimed at specific areas, for example English for business purposes, English for travelling
purposes.
ESP is really one of the major activities around the world today. It is an enterprise
involving education, training and practice. ESP draws upon three major realms of
knowledge: language, pedagogy, and the students’ specialist areas of interest. ESP teachers
generally have a great variety of often-simultaneous roles, such as researchers, course
designers, materials developers, testers, evaluators as well as classroom teachers.
Nowadays it is still urgent to discuss what to teach and how to teach a foreign language
taking into account the objective social and professional needs of future specialists in our
country. Beside businessmen, tradesmen, engineers, scientists and scholars all over the
world must know English because it is the international means of exchange of information
and experience.
To meet the needs of the learners, many ESP coursebooks have been designed.
Together with the worldwide trend to learn ESP, the teaching staff of Faculty of English at
Hanoi National University of Education (HNUE) has compiled some ESP coursebooks for
some specific fields including the ESP coursebook for Faculty of Geography. The main
objective of ESP coursebook is to provide the students with linguistic input relevant to their

field and skills up to the expectation of their future employment. However, no research on
the coursebook evaluation has been carried out to see how far it meets the students’ needs
and expectations. Therefore, it is necessary to have the coursebook English for Geography
(EG) evaluated by the learners themselves at Faculty of Geography at HNUE for the
improvement of the coursebook in the following courses.
2. AIMS OF THE STUDY
This study was carried out to have a better insight into the learners’ evaluation of
the ESP coursebook at Faculty of Geography, HNUE. The aims of the study are:
- To find out students’ evaluative comments on ESP coursebook in Faculty of
Geography, HNUE.
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- To offer suggestions for further improvement of the coursebook which is
appropriate to the needs and expectations of the students in the light of learner-centered
approach.
3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study was carried out to answer the following questions:
1) What are the learners’ evaluative comments on the ESP coursebook?
2) What are the learners’ expectations for learning ESP in Faculty of Geography,
HNUE?
3) How should the ESP coursebook be improved to be more relevant to the
learners’ needs and expectations?
4. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The ESP course is only for the second year students at HNUE, thus the study
focuses on the evaluation of the second year students of Faculty of Geography at HNUE on
ESP coursebook currently used.
5. METHOD OF THE STUDY

The study follows a quantitative research method. Specifically a survey
questionnaire was designed and administered to the second year students in Faculty of
Geography to explore their evaluation of ESP coursebook. In addition, interviews with
teachers were conducted to gain supplementary information to the questionnaire data.
6. COMPOSITION OF THE THESIS
The thesis is comprised of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion.
Part I presents the rationale, aims, scope, research questions, method and
composition of the thesis.
Part II consists of three chapters:
- Chapter 1, Literature Review, provides the relevant theories related to
approaches to ESP and coursebook evaluation.
- Chapter 2, Methodology introduces the context of the study and describes the
methodology employed in the study.
- Chapter 3, Data Analysis and Discussion, presents and discusses the findings
that arise from the data collected. Then, it offers the recommendations for
further improvement of the coursebook.
Part III presents what have been found out from the study, the limitations and
suggestions for further study.

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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is aimed at providing a theoretical base to develop a framework in
which the study operates. Firstly, approaches to ESP with a focus on learner-centeredness
and learning-centeredness are reviewed. Secondly, an overview of coursebook evaluation is

provided including definition, purposes of coursebook evaluation, types of coursebook
evaluation, coursebook evaluation in ESP, rationales of students’ evaluation, models for
evaluation and criteria for evaluation.

1.1. APPROACHES TO ESP
A variety of linguistic scholars, such as Hutchinson and Waters (1987) and Tudor
(1993) have taken pains to study learner-centered approach. In this study, two major
approaches namely learner-centeredness and learning-centeredness will be distinguished in
the viewpoints of Hutchinson and Waters.
1.1.1. Learner-centeredness in ESP
The learner-centered approach is based on the principle that learning is totally
determined by the learner. In other words, this approach focuses on the learner. Hutchinson
and Waters (1987, p.72) states, “As teachers we can influence what we teach, but what
learners learn is determined by the learners alone.” Then, learning is seen as a process in
which the learners use what knowledge or skills they have in order to make sense of the
flow of new information. This process depends on the knowledge the learners already have
and their ability and motivation to use it. According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987),
however, a truly learner-centered approach does not really exist at the current time due to
two reasons. Firstly, it is very difficult to see how such an approach could be taken in
current institutionalized systems. Secondly, most syllabuses, materials, coursebooks, etc
which have designed and compiled for learners are pre-determined ones. Therefore, the
term learner-centeredness should be replaced by learning-centeredness to indicate that the
concern is to maximize learning.
1.1.2. Learner-centeredness vs. learning-centeredness in ESP
While learner-centered approach focuses on learner, learning-centered approach
focuses on activities. In other words, this approach considers learning process in the
context it takes place. Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.72) note that “Learning is not just a
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mental process; it is a process of negotiation between individuals and society.” Society sets
the target (in the case of ESP, performance in the target situation) and the individuals must
do their best to get as close to that target as is possible (or reject it). Therefore, learner is
one factor to be considered in the learning process, but it is not the only one. When the
learning-centered approach is taken, further questions will be asked and other factors will
be considered to evaluate the coursebook. Then, it will maximize the potential of the
learning situation.
While the language-centered approach only determines the ESP course as the nature
of the target situation performance, and the skill-centered approach determines the ESP
course as the nature of the target situation performance and looking behind the target
performance data to discover what processes enable someone to perform, the learning-
centered approach says that is not enough either. It is because that although the language-
centered approach starts from the learner and learner’s needs, in fact the learner is treated
as a means of identifying the target situation. It means that only a restricted area of the
language is taught instead of teaching the whole English is taught to learner. Meanwhile,
the skill-centered approach considers the ESP course as helping the learner to develop
skills and strategies which will continue to develop after the ESP course. (Hutchinson &
Waters, 1987) However, the two authors claimed that this approach still treats learner as a
language user rather than a language learner, and the processes it is concerned are that of
language use not language learning.
The learning-centered approach determines the ESP course as the nature of the
target situation performance, looking behind the target performance data to discover what
processes enable someone to perform, and looking beyond the competence that enables
someone to perform because what we really want to discover is not the competence itself,
but how someone acquires that competence. (Hutchinson and Water, 1987) These features
of the learning-centered approach seem to make it outweigh the two co-existing approaches
in ESP, namely the language-centered approach and the skill-centered approach.
In conclusion, although Hutchinson and Waters (1987) make a distinction between

two approaches - learner-centered and learning-centered approaches to ESP - I think
such a distinction is not necessary because learning-centeredness is part of learner-
centeredness. Therefore, in this study, the term “learner-centeredness” is used as an
umbrella term.


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1.2. COURSEBOOK EVALUATION
1.2.1. Definition of coursebook evaluation
To have a good definition of coursebook evaluation, giving a good definition of
coursebook is necessary.
McGrath (2002, p.7) defines a coursebook as “a textbook on which a course is
based”. Tomlinson (1998, p.ix) shares similar point with McGrath when he considers a
coursebook as “a textbook which provides the core materials for a course”. In his
viewpoint, a coursebook is used to provide as much as possible in one book and it is
designed to serve as the only book which the learners necessarily use during a course. It
usually includes not only work on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions but also
work on the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.
In Materials Development in Language Teaching, the term “materials” is defined as
“anything which is used to help to teach language learners. 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.” (Tomlinson, 1998, p.xi). Therefore, it can be point
out that coursebook is a type of materials.
Materials evaluation has been defined differently by different authors from their
personal stance. Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.96) consider valuation as “a matter of
judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose”. Evaluation is, then, concerned

with relative merit. There is no absolute good or bad - only degrees of fitness for the
required purpose. Evaluation, therefore, can be based on not only the opinions of course
designers, material writers, teachers but also the opinions of learners. Tomlinson has the
same point with the two scholars in defining the term materials evaluation. In his opinion,
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.” (Tomlinson, 1998, p.xi).
From the above definitions, it can be pointed out that cousebook evaluation is the
systematic appraisal of the value of the coursebook in relation to both its objectives and the
learners’ objectives. In other words, the value of a material or a coursebook should be
evaluated by considering whether the learning points are potentially useful to the learners,
whether the learning procedures can maximize the likelihood of the learners actually
learning what they want and need to learn. Thus, it is vital to consider the learners’ opinion,
not only the objectives stated by the writers of the coursebook. This definition is actually
given in the light of the learning-centered approach.

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1.2.2. Purposes of coursebook evaluation

Evaluation plays a very important role in the development of materials.
Robinson (1991) asserts the purposes of evaluation as to provide information about
the advantages, disadvantages and the effectiveness of the being used materials so that the
material can be decided to be reused, adapted to meet the need of the particular teaching
situation or changed.
Also, Ellis (1997) points out two reasons for materials evaluation. Firstly,
evaluation is carried out to choose among the available materials the most suitable one to
use for a particular situation and such valuation is taken before the course takes place.

Secondly, evaluation is carried out to determine whether the material which has been
chosen works for that situation after it has been used for a period of time. This helps to
decide whether to continue using the material or to replace it with a better material.
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”. For him, through
evaluation, we can assess whether the coursebook is the most appropriate for the target
learners at various levels and in various teaching settings. What is more, the evaluation
process will involve elements of comparison, especially where existing materials are being
challenged by newly produced materials.
Besides the above purposes, another author, Torres (1993) adds more purposes of
material evaluation. In his opinion, evaluation should be taken not only to assess the
effectiveness of materials but also to afford general insights how teachers use materials.
Hence, evaluation may be planned to suggest adjustments for both materials development
and professional development activities.
In summary, 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 an embodiment of the aims and methods of the particular teaching/learning
situation. Materials evaluation in general and coursebook evaluation in specific is very
necessary and important. It may be taken for two reasons: first, it confirms the coursebook
and second, it adjusts the coursebook. Then, it will increase the strengths and minimize the
drawback of the coursebook.
1.2.3. Types of coursebook evaluation
There are many different ways of dividing coursebook evaluation according to
different researchers.
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According to some scholars, material evaluation in general and coursebook

evaluation in specific are divided into three main types depending on the reasons for
evaluation, namely Preliminary, Formative and Summative.
The first type, preliminary evaluation, is carried out by determining a set of criteria
which are used to reach a decision regarding which book to adopt and how it needs to be
adapted (Ellis cited in Tomlinson, 1998); thus, it is done before the beginning of a course.
The purposes of this type are to select “the most relevant and appropriate materials for a
particular group of learners”, and identify “specific aspects of the published materials”
needed adapting to suit the purposes of the evaluators. (Ellis cited in Tomlinson, 1998,
p.220)
The second type, formative evaluation, is carried out during the course. This type is
aimed at shaping the material during its lifetime and suggesting the improvement of the
material in the future. (Dudley-Evans & St John, 1998)
The third one, summative evaluation, is carried out at the end of the course.
According to Dudley-Evans & St John (1998, p.128), this type of evaluation is obtained to
“assess impact and to provide information that can be fed into repeat versions” of the
material. In addition, they believe that summative evaluation is especially valuable for
durable courses. Also, Richards (2001) claims that this type of evaluation can determine the
effectiveness of the material. Findings will help to decide whether to use the material again
or not; which tasks and activities are suitable and which are not; which aspects of the
materials need to be changed and how to modify them to make the materials more effective
and efficient for future use (Ellis, 1997). In short, summative evaluation is carried out to
determine the worth and value of teaching materials after they have been used. This is
study is, accordingly, a formative evaluation.
In addition to the above division, there is another way of dividing materials
evaluation introduced by Tomlinson (1998) and McGrath (2002). These authors identify
three types of materials evaluation namely Pre-use, Whilst-use and Post-use.
Tomlinson (1998, p.xi) who affirms that evaluation is “the systematic appraisal of
the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of learners using
them” distinguishes three types of materials evaluations as follows:
- Pre-use evaluation focuses on predictions of potential value.

- Whilst-use evaluation focuses on awareness and description of what the learners
are actually doing whilst the materials are being used.
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- Post-use evaluation focuses on analysis of what happened as a result of using
the materials.
McGrath (2002) shares the similar point with Tomlinson when he introduces three
concepts: Pre-use, In-use and Post-use. From his opinion, McGrath (2002) claims that these
three types and their purposes are interrelated.
- Pre-use evaluation establishes potential suitability.
- In-use evaluation gathers data on planning decisions, implementation and
response; may stimulate preliminary reconsiderations of selection criteria.
- Post-use evaluation uses data on in-course use and data on effects to access
suitability of selection and selection procedures.
In summary, although types of materials evaluation are indicated with different
terms, there is no difference in distinguishing evaluation process. Preliminary or pre-use
evaluation establishes potential suitability of the materials. Formative or in-use evaluation
examines how materials really work in by gathering data on planning decisions,
implementation and response. Summative or post-use evaluation is used at the end of the
course in order to provide retrospective assessment and identify which strengths and
weaknesses of the materials.
The present study is a formative, while-use evaluation of the materials with a view
to understanding students’ perspectives on the currently-used coursebook so that
improvements can be made to respond better to the students’ needs and expectations.
1.2.4. Coursebook evaluation in ESP
To meet the needs of learners in colleges and universities, many ESP coursebooks
have been designed and compiled for some specific fields. However, there can be a need

for materials evaluation to determine whether the material which has chosen works for that
situation after it has been used for a period of time (Ellis, 1997).
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), a careful coursbook evaluation in ESP
can save a lot of expense and frustration. On the positive side, it can also help in justifying
requests to sponsors or other members of an ESP team for money to buy materials or time
to write them.
In ESP, evaluation in ESP has been viewed in the broad context of the teaching and
learning process. From the perspective of Dudley-Evans and St.John (1998), evaluation
does not stand alone, but occupies a prominent place in the ESP process, giving an ESP
teacher a wealth of information on their needs, expectations and comments about the
material (See Figure 1.1).
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evaluation need
analysis

assessment course
design


teaching-
learning

Figure 1.1: Stages in the ESP process
(Taken from Dudley-Evans and St. John, 1998, p. 121)
Obviously, materials evaluation is an indispensable part of the key stages in ESP
process (Dudley-Evans and St. John, 1998). In other words, coursebook over a period of

being used needs to be evaluated to see whether it has worked well for the target situations
and students.
1.2.5. Rationales of students’ evaluation
Together with the worldwide trend to learn ESP, many ESP coursebooks have been
designed for some specific fields. Coursebook evaluation in ESP is an indispensable part of
the key stages in ESP process (Dudley-Evans and St. John, 1998), and students’ evaluation
is really necessary and important because of the following reasons.
Firstly, in addition to teachers, students are the most important users of the
coursebook. ESP coursebook is designed to provide the learners with some basic concepts
and knowledge relevant to their field and skills up to the expectation of their future
employment. As a result, the students can give their own evaluative comments on the
coursebook related to their own needs and expectation.
Secondly, being the people who use directly the coursebook, the learners are
believed to have information of the strengths and weaknesses of the coursebook. Therefore,
they will give comments on the coursebook according to their own needs and expections
which the coursebook designers and teachers may not be aware of.
In short, it is necessary to have the coursebook “English for Geography” evaluated
by the learners themselves at Faculty of Geography at HNUE to see how far it meets the
learners’ expectations. Also, this evaluation is valuable for the improvement of the
coursebook in the coming years.
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1.2.6. Models for evaluation
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), evaluation is a process of matching
needs to available solutions. Thus, the evaluation process is divided into four steps as
follows:

- Defining criteria
- Subjective analysis
- Objective analysis
- Matching
The above steps are presented in the following diagram as the following:
















Figure 1.2: The material evaluation process
(Taken from Hutchinson and Waters, 1987, p. 98)

In Hutchinson and Waters’ view, a teaching material in general and a coursebook in
particular has to suit the needs of a number of parties such as teachers, students, sponsors,
so it is important that the subject factors should not be allowed to obscure objectivity in the
early stages of analysis. In order to have an objective matching, it is advisable to look at the
needs and solutions separately. However, in the final analysis, any choice will be made on
subjective ground.

DEFINE CRITERIA
On what bases will you judge material?
Which criteria will be more important?
SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
What realizations of the 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?
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Another author, Littlejohn (1998) introduces the framework as follows:

Figure 1.3: A preliminary framework for materials analysis and action
(Taken from Littlejohn, 1998)

It can be demonstrated from the above diagram that the two steps of describing the
target situation and analyzing materials are conducted spontaneously and independently.
The next step of matching and evaluation in which the level of appropriateness to the target
situation is discussed. In the last step, the decision on materials is made.
Obviously, although these two models consist of different steps, they both set out
the way to evaluate the material. Based on the above discussion, the materials evaluation
model suggested by Hutchinson and Waters is chosen as the framework for evaluation in
this study.

ANALYSIS OF TARGET
SITUATION OF USE
- The cultural context
- The institution
- The course (proposed aims,
content, methodology, measures
of evaluation)
- The teachers
- The learners

MATERIAS 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

MATCH AND EVALUATION
How appropriate are the respects 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

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1.2.7. Criteria for evaluation
Various scholars have suggested different ways to help evaluators become more
systematic and objective in their method of evaluation by using a checklist.

Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p.99-104) suggest five evaluation criteria for
objective and subjective analysis as follows:
- Audience: the learners and the materials intended for
- Aims: the aims of the course and the aims of the materials
- Content: language description, language points, proportion of work on each
macro-skill, mocro-skills, text-types, subject-matter areas, level of knowledge,
types of topics, treatment, organization of content within the course units,
sequence of content throughout the course, sequence of content within a unit
- Methodology: theory of learning, learners’ attitudes, kinds of exercises,
teaching-learning techniques, aids, guidance/ support for teaching, the flexibility
of materials
- Other criteria: price, quantities, availability
Another list of evaluation criteria is presented by Sheldon (1988). It consists of:
rationale, availability, user definition, layout/ graphics, accessibility, linkage,
selection/grading, physical characteristics, appropriacy, authenticity, sufficiency, cultural
bias, education validity, stimulus/ practice revision, flexibility, guidance, and overall value
for money. He also emphasizes that in different situations, upgrading, modification and
extension to these criteria are needed to suit the specific requirements.
1.3. CONCLUSION
This chapter reviews the literature related to ESP. One of the key principles of ESP
is the focus on learners’ needs and expectations. This principle should be observed
throughout the ESP course in terms of all aspects of the course, including the coursebook.
Giving the students a chance to have their voice heard about the coursebook is one way of
making the course more learner-centered. This is the aim behind the current study. Chapter
2 will present the methodology used for this study.

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CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, the current situation at HNUE related to the study will be taken in
close-up and the research methodology will be discussed.
2.1. THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
2.1.1. The course
Faculty of English – HNUE was founded in 2004, formerly being a division of
Faculty of Foreign Languages. At first, its primary task is to train teachers of English and to
teach General English (GE) as a compulsory subject to students of other majors. Since
2005, with the requirement of the improvements in education in general and with the
learners’ needs in particular, ESP has gained an increasing importance in teaching and
learning English. Now, therefore, Faculty of English has two fundamental tasks: teaching
English to English-major students and teaching English (both GE and ESP) to English-non-
major students.
The whole curriculum of English for non-major students is divided into 4 stages as
follows:
Stage 1 (Semester 1) consists of 75 periods of GE
Stage 2 (Semester 2) consists of 75 periods of GE
Stage 3 (Semester 3) consists of 90 periods of GE
Stage 4 (Semester 4) consists of 45 periods of ESP
Accordingly, ESP is taught to non-major students of 28 different faculties in the
third and the fourth semester. The teachers are assigned to design syllabus and coursebooks
and take the responsibility for teaching and assessing the students they teach. The
objective of the ESP course is to provide the students with linguistic knowledge relevant to
their field and skills up to the expectation of their future employment.

2.1.2. The coursebook
The following is a description of the coursebook currently used in the ESP course
for students of Faculty of Geography:
- The coursebook title: English for Geography
- The objectives of the coursebook: to introduce some basic concepts in geography
and provide students with specialized vocabulary and knowledge which is useful for their
jobs in the future.
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- The coursebook content: consists of 5 units, each of which has 6 sections namely
Vocabulary, Reading, Grammar, Speaking/ Discussion, Writing and Translation. It covers
5 topics: The solar system, The structure of the earth, Weather, Volcano and Earthquakes.
- Types of task and exercise in the coursebook:
+ Vocabulary: guessing the meanings of words and gap filling
+ Reading: matching, scanning, skimming, comprehension questions, True-False
sentences, gap filling, finding synonyms and matching words with their
definitions
+ Grammar: building sentences, sentence transformation and gap filling
+ Speaking/ Discussion: role-play and discussion
+ Writing: writing summary, sentence building and sentence transformation
+ Translation: translating from English into Vietnamese and translating from
Vietnamese into English
2.1.3. The ESP teachers
The teaching staff of Faculty of English at HNUE consists of above 50 teachers
aged between 25 and 55. There are about 25 teachers who take the charge of teaching GE
and ESP, of which only 3 teachers are responsible for teaching ESP at Faculty of
Geography. Most of the ESP teachers have finished or are doing their MA degrees. They

always try their best to give their students attractive and interesting ESP lessons. However,
due to their inexperience in ESP, they have to face with some difficulties in terms of
knowledge of the specific field they have to teach and the teaching methodologies
appropriate to ESP.
2.1.4. The students
The students whose evaluation this study focuses on are all the second-year students
of Faculty of Geography. Their age ranges from 19 to 22. They have been learning English
for the period of 2 to 12 years. Additionally, most of them are expected to learn English
related to their speciality which will help them much in studying materials for their jobs in
the future. Those factors seem to be their advantages in learning English.
However, those students have some disadvantages in learning English as follows:
The first disadvantage is related to the students’ language background. These
students come different parts of the countries, some from distant provinces and some from
rural areas with different language background and different attitudes toward learning
English. The students who come from cities have learned English a lot at high schools
before going to university whereas others who come from rural areas have learned only
ESP M.A Thesis



22
little. This mixture has caused certain problems to teaching and learning because some
students find activities in classroom easy and interesting while the others find them too
hard in the same classroom. It is really a challenge for teachers in such a mixed class
because the teachers cannot meet and satisfy all students’ needs.
The second disadvantage is about the students’ learning styles. They do not have the
habit of learning independently and tend to depend much on teachers and the given
coursebook for knowledge. Accordingly, it is difficult for them to follow a new learning
style which is used in learning English in general and ESP in particular. The teachers,
therefore, have to help students be familiar with this new learning method.

The third disadvantage is related to student’s limited timeframe for ESP. They do
not have much time in class, so they cannot learn much but only learn a few of
geographical terms or concepts in English. Thus, the students find it hard acquire and
develop their English communicative competence to meet the needs of their future jobs.
To summarize, the above provides an overview of ESP learning and teaching
situation at Faculty of Geography – HNUE with a description of the course, the
coursebook, the ESP teachers as well as the students. These are realities making this study
to be developed in the following part.
2.2. THE METHODOLOGY
2.2.1. Participants
Questionnaire
The participants of the study were divided into 3 groups.
They were 112 second-year students including 103 female and 9 male of K58
Faculty of Geography – HNUE. They are from three classes K58A, K58B and advanced
class K58. At the time when the survey was conducted, these students had finished three
first GE semesters and were in the second semester of the ESP course. Among these 112
students, over one third has been learning English for 9 to 10 years and the others have
been learning English for 2 to 5 years and a few of them have learned English for 12 years.
Interview
The participants were 3 respondents who are currently working as ESP teachers of
Geography at HNUE.
All these participants were invited to participate in this study at their own will.
Also, they were selected for reasons of convenience rather than by means of randomization.
2.2.2. Data collection instruments
Questionnaire
ESP M.A Thesis



23

A questionnaire was used as an instrument for collecting data for this study. It is
designed to collect students’ information on evaluation of the current- used ESP
coursebook in Faculty of Geography, HNUE.
The questionnaire (See Appendix 1) consists of four sections:
- Section 1 was designed to get the information of the learners: the time of learning
English, the level of English, the thought of the importance of learning ESP and their
purpose of learning ESP.
- Section 2 was designed to collect the information on the learners’ evaluation of the
current ESP coursebook for Geography at HNUE related to needs met by the coursebook,
content of the coursebook, time allocation of ESP, vocabulary, grammar, skill development
and follow-up activities.
- Section 3 was designed to gather the information about the learners’ evaluation of
the teachers’ exploitation of ESP coursebook related to classroom practice, exercises and
delivery methods.
- Section 4 was designed to collect the information about the learners’ expectations
of the course organization, the time of the course, the provision of extra materials and other
activities.
Interview
To gather more information for the study, interviews were also used as an
instrument of data collection. To make the result of the interviews objective, three
interviews were conducted with three ESP teachers of Geography at three points of time.
(See Appendix 2 for the results of the interviews)
The interviews were designed with the same questions related to the following
issues:
- Physical characteristics of the coursebook
- The content of the coursebook
- The teachers’ perceived limitations of the coursebook
- The students’ reactions to the coursebook as observed by teachers
- The challenges to the students in using the coursebook as observed by teachers
- The teachers’ self-reported challenges in using the coursebook

The reason for using interviews as an instrument of data collection for teachers
simply because the number of teachers involved in the study is too small (n = 3) for the use
of questionnaire. Another reason is that by interviewing these teachers, I can gain in-depth
ESP M.A Thesis



24
information about their specific opinions and suggestions regarding the coursebook they
have been using.
2.2.3. Procedure
The questionnaires were delivered to the learners while they were in their
classrooms. The researcher explained the nature and purpose of the study, then guided to
the students how to write the answers appropriately. The researcher also helped them when
necessary. The students spent about 30 minutes thinking and answering the questions. After
all the questionnaires were collected, data was analyzed and results were then interpreted.
In addition to questionnaires, three interviews were carried out with three ESP
teachers of Geography at three different points of time in the teachers’ classrooms. The
researcher raised the same questions to each teacher and collected all the answers. Each
interview took about 15 minutes. Then, all the answers were represented in six tables (See
Appendix 2).
This chapter have presented the current situation at HNUE related to the study and
discussed the research methodology of this study. In the next chapter, the results and major
findings will be presented. Finally, recommendations for better coursebook will be
provided.

ESP M.A Thesis



25
CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION


3.1. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1.1. Learners’ attitude towards learning ESP
As mentioned in the previous chapter, these learners are the second-year students
who finished two semesters of GE courses and are in the second semester of ESP course.
112 students participating the research provided us with a variety of answers to the
question about their time of learning English. Most of them (42/112 = 37.5%) have learned
English for 9 to 10 years, another 29.5% have been learning English for 8 to 9 years, 8.9%
have been learning English for 2 to 3 years. Surprisingly, there are 12 students (10.7%)
have learned English for 12 years. The rest of the learners have been learning English for 5,
7, and 8 years. Additionally, most of these learners (75.9%) are at Pre-intermediate level,

only 8% of the learners are at Upper-intermediate level and the rest of 16.1% are at
Intermediate level. The difference in the time of their learning English and in levels of
English, to some extend, lead to the difference in identifying their purposes of learning
ESP. The following table shows a variety of purposes among these students:

Purposes
Least
Important
Important
Very
important
Most
important
To improve English basis
grammar
17%
15%
38%
30%
To widen ESP vocabulary
3%

10%
40%
47%
To read technical documents/
texts in English
11%
20%
29%

40%
To apply for a job in a foreign
company
45%
30%
10%
15%
No purpose
0%

0%
0%
0%

Table 3.1: Learners’ ranking of their purposes of learning ESP
(N=120; group 1: 50, group 2: 49, group 4: 13)

ESP M.A Thesis



26
Table 3.1 indicates that the most important purpose of learning ESP to many
learners is to widen ESP vocabulary and to read technical documents in English. About
47% of the learners consider widening ESP vocabulary as their most important purpose
when taking ESP course whereas only 3% of them rank this purpose of the least
importance. Similarly, reading technical documents in English is seen as the most
important purpose to most of the learners (40%). Besides, there are still 30% thinking that
improving English basis grammar is the most important. In contrast, applying for a job in a
foreign company seems to be the least important purpose to these learners when 43% of

them do not see this purpose of any importance.
Obviously, all the learners take part in the ESP course purposefully. Although some
learners consider the purpose of learning ESP as a means of improving English basis
grammar, most of them are aware that ESP is really a means of broadening technical
vocabulary as well as specialized knowledge in English.
3.1.2. Learners’ evaluation of the ESP coursebook
This part presents and discusses the information on learners’ evaluation of the
current ESP coursebook in terms of its relevance and usefulness, its content, its time
allocation, vocabulary, grammar, skills development and exercises/ activities.

Section 1: Learners’ evaluation on needs met by the ESP coursebook
In terms of learners’ needs met by the ESP coursebook, the learners were asked to
evaluate how much the coursebook meet their needs. This is shown in the following table:
Categories
Group 1
No/ (%)
Group 2
No/ (%)
Group 3
No/ (%)
Average
No/ (%)
The coursebook meets learners’
needs:
1. very much
2. much
3. enough
4. little
5. very little
6. none

4 (8)
8 (16)
16 (32)
21 (42)
1 (2)
0 (0)


3 (6.1)
10 (20.4)
17 (34.7)
19 (38.8)
0 (0)
0 (0)


1 (7.7)
3 (23.1)
4 (30.8)
5 (38.5)
0 (0)
0 (0)


8 (7.1)
21 (18.8)
37 (33)
45 (40.2)

1 (0.9)
0 (0)
Table 3.2: Learners’ needs met by the ESP coursebook
(N=112 ; group 1: 50, group 2: 49, group 4: 13)
ESP M.A Thesis



27
As shown in Table 3.2, only about one third of the learners (33%) satisfied with the
ESP coursebook. One noticed thing is that there is a significant percentage of the learners
(40.2%) finding that the ESP coursebook meets their needs little while only 21 of 112
informants (account for 18.8%) think that the ESP coursebook meets their needs much.
Obviously, the findings indicate that the ESP coursebook does not really meet most
of the learners’ needs, and it should have some changes to be more appropriate to the
students and meet more their needs.

Section 2: Learners’ evaluation on the content of ESP coursebook
Categories
Group 1
No/ (%)
Group 2
No / (%)
Group 3
No / (%)
Average
No / (%)
Topics are
1. very interesting
2. interesting

3. OK
4. boring
5. very boring
The information in the
coursebook is
6. very useful
7. useful
8. not very useful
9. useless

8 (16)
16 (32)
24 (48)
2 (4)
0 (0)


19 (38)
31 (62)
0 (0)
0 (0)

7 (14.3)
19 (38.8)
21 (43)
2 (4.1)
0 (0)


15 (30.6)

29 (59.2)
5 (10.2)
0 (0)

2 (15.3)
4 (30.8)
6 (46.2)
1 (7.7)
0 (0)


4 (30.8)
9 (69.2)
0 (0)
0 (0)


17 (15.1)
39 (34.8)
51 (45.6)
5 (4.5)
0 (0)


38 (33.9)
69 (61.6)
5 (4.5)
0 (0)

The coursebook provides
learners with
10. update information
11. no update information



25 (50)
25 (50)



23 (46.9)
26 (53.1)



5 (38.5)
8 (61.5)



53 (47.3)
59 (52.7)

Table 3.3: Learners’ attitude towards the content of the ESP coursebook
(N=112; group 1: 50, group 2: 49, group 4: 13)

Topics covered in the ESP coursebook
As can be seen from Table 3.3, no one thinks that the topics covered in the ESP

coursebook are very boring and only 4.5% of the learners think that the topics are boring.
Most of the learners (45.6%) think that the topics covered in the ESP coursebook are Ok
and 34.8% find that the topics are interesting. In general, those figures show that the
majority of the learners satisfy with the topics in the ESP coursebook. However, it is a good
idea to provide more interesting topics in order to satisfy more learners.
ESP M.A Thesis



28
Information in the ESP coursebook
Table 3.3 indicates that no one in the 3 groups think the information in the ESP
coursebook is useless. In addition, no one in group 1 and group 3 find that the information
is not very useful. There is only 5 out of 49 informants (10.2%) think that the information
is not very useful. Most of the learners (61.6%) find that the information is useful (62% in
group 1, 59.2% in group 2 and 69.2% in group 3). This finding indicates that most of the
learners are satisfied with the usefulness of the information given in the coursebook.
However, information in the ESP coursebook shoud be paid more attention in terms
of its update. Although thsere is a slight difference in the proportions of the learners who
think that the coursebook should provide them with more update information (52.7%) and
47.3% of them find that the information in the coursebook is update. Obviously, more
learners are not satisfied with the information given in the coursebook. Accordingly, more
update information should be added to the coursebook to meet the learners’ needs better.

Section 3: Learners’ evaluation on time allocation for ESP
Categories
too much
N/ (%)
much
N/ (%)

enough
N/ (%)
little
N/ (%)
too little
N/ (%)
Time for the course
4 (3.6)
4 (3.6)
31 (27.7)
65 (58)
16 (7.1)
Time for each unit
13 (11.5)
19 (17)
63 (56.3)
12 (10.7)
5 (4.5)
Table 3.4: Learners’ evaluation on time allocation for ESP (N=112)

As mentioned in the previous chapter, time allocated for an ESP course is 45
periods and time allocated for each of 5 units in the ESP coursebook is 6 periods. On
answering the survey question of time allocation for ESP course, most of the learners
(58%) agree that it is little and the other (7.1%) think that it is too little. Only 4 out of 112
informants (account for 3.6%) find that it is too much and the other 3.6% find that it is
much. With respect to time allocated for each of 5 units in the coursebook, more than a half
of the learners (56.3%) claim that it is sufficient. In most of the learners’ opinion, time for
an ESP course should be 75 periods, so the coursebook should cover more topics with more
various and interesting content.

Section 4: Learners’ evaluation on vocabulary and grammar
Besides providing the learners a range of technical vocabulary through reading
texts, the ESP coursebook introduces to the learners new grammar items and structures.