an evaluation of the text book new english file pre intermediate for the first year non english majored students at university of social sciences and humanities suggestions for book use and adaptat pdf

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration .................................................................................................................................. i
Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................ii
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iii
Table of contents ....................................................................................................................... iv
List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................... viii
List of figures and tables ....................................................................................................... viii

PART A: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………….

1

1. Rationale for the thesis …………………………………………………………….. 1
2. Aims of the thesis ………………………………………………………………….. 1
3. The significance of the thesis………………………………………………………. 2
4. Scope of the thesis………………………………………………………………….. 2
5. Methods of the study……………………………………………………………….. 2
6. Design of the study…………………………………………………………………

3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………………...

4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………….

4

1.1. Text book, coursebook and materials………………………………………….

4

1.1.1. Definitions ………………………………………………………………………………

4

1.1.2. The roles of Course-book ……………………………………………………………

5

1.2. Materials evaluation……………………………………………………………

6

1.2.1. Definition ……………………………………………………………………... 6
1.2.2. Purposes of materials evaluation and the importance of materials evaluation 7
1.2.2.1. Purposes………………………………………………………………………………

7


v

1.2.2.2. The importance……………………………………………………………………….
1.2.3. Types of materials evaluation………………………………………………….
1.2.4. Material evaluators ……………………………………………………………
1.2.5. Models for Materials evaluation ………………………………………………
1.2.5.1. Evaluation by Ellis (1997)………………………………………………………….

7
7
8
9
9

1.2.5.2. Evaluation by McDonough and Shaw (1993)……………………………………

10

1.2.5.3. Evaluation by Hutchinson and Water (1987) ……………………………………

10

1.2.6. Criteria for Materials evaluation……………………………………………… 11
1.2.7. Need analysis………………………………………………………………….

14

1.2.8. Materials adaptation…………………………………………………………..

16

1.3. Suitability of the present study in the research area………………………….

18

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………………………….

20

2.1. Description of the context………………………………………………………. 20
2.1.1. The setting……………………………………………………………………………….

20

2.1.2. Course material…………………………………………………………………………

21

2.1 3. Course objectives……………………………………………………………………….

23

2.1.4. Course assessment……………………………………………………………………... 23
2.2. Research methodology …………………………………………………………

23

2.2.1. Subjects …………………………………………………………………………………

23

2.2.2. Instruments ……………………………………………………………………………... 23
2.2.3. Methods and procedures ……………………………………………………………… 24
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS DISCUSSION……………..

26

vi

3.1. Data analysis ……………………………………………………………………. 26
3.1.1. Overall rating of the course book New English File pre-intermediate…………

26

3.1.2.Teachers’ and students’ preference of the course book New English File pre – 26
intermediate…………………………………………………………………………………….
3.1.3. What teachers and students do not like about the book…………………………… 27
3.1.4. The decision to choose the book for future use……………………………………

27

3.1.5. Does the material provide students with the opportunity to develop their 27
communicative competence?.........................................................................................
3.1.6. The language points available in this material……………………………………

28

3.1.7.The participants’ opinions about language skills in the book New English File 29
pre-intermediate……………………………………………………………………………….
3.1.8. What do you think about the topics in this material?..........................................

30

3.1.9. The update information of the book ………………………………………………

30

3.1.10. Class time ……………………………………………………………………………..

31

3.1.11. Teachers and students’ preferences for the topics in New English File pre- 31
intermediate……………………………………………………………………………………..
3.1.12. Teachers’ suggestions for the materials improvement ………………………….
3.2. Summary of major findings ……………………………………………………
3.3. Recommendation for future material improvements ………………………...
3.3.1. Why teachers have to adapt the book …………………………………………
3.3.2. Adaptation Techniques………………………………………………………..

32
34
35
35
36

3.3.2.1. Addition………………………………………………………………………………..

36

3.3.2.2. Deletion ……………………………………………………………………………….

36

3.3.2.3. Replacement ………………………………………………………………………….

36

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3.3.2.4. Reorder or combination……………………………………………………………..

36

PART C: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………… 38
1. The Conclusion of the study………………………………………………….

38

2. Limitation and suggestions for future research………………………………. 39
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………

41

APPENDICE…………………………………………………………………………

I

Appendix 1……………………………………………………………………………. I
Appendix 2……………………………………………………………………………

VI

Appendix 3……………………………………………………………………………. VII
Appendix 4……………………………………………………………………………. XIII
Appendix 5……………………………………………………………………………. XVIII

Appendix 6……………………………………………………………………………

XXI

Appendix 7……………………………………………………………………………. XXVII


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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
USSH
HULIS
Ss
Ts
VNU

University of Social Sciences
Humanities
Hanoi University of Languages
International studies
Students
Teachers
Vietnam National University

and
and


ix

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
No
Figure 1

Title
Materials Evaluation Model of McDonough and Shaw ( 1993, p.75)

Page
10

Figure 2

Materials Evaluation Process (Hutchinson and Waters 1987, p98)

10

Figure 3

Teachers’ and students’ assessment of the book New English File- pre

26

intermediate
Figure 4

Teachers’ and students’ opinions about the topics in New English File

30

pre-intermediate

Figure 5

Participants’ opinions about the update of the topics in New English

30

File – pre intermediate
Table 1

Teachers’ and students’ opinions of the language point available in the

28

book New English File pre-intermediate
Table 2

Teachers and students’ viewpoints about the language skills in New

29

English File pre-intermediate
Table 3

Teachers and students’ thought of class time each week

31

Table 4

Teachers and students’ preferences for the topics in New English File

31

pre-intermediate


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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the thesis
There are many factors leading to learning English successfully including: teachers,
suitable course book choice, learning objectives, and environment and ect. Among which,
choosing an effective course book is always related to the objectives defined. How to
evaluate the course book so that we know whether our aims are well- matched with the
chosen book or not is really a demanding task. At the present, I am teaching English for
the first year non- English majored students. Two years ago, I taught New Way A- the
third edition. But since 2010, I have taught them New English File – from elementary to
pre-intermediate, and intermediate. One notable thing is that all the universities among the
Vietnam national University of Languages and International Studies have chosen New
English File from elementary to upper intermediate. According to Marji Napper (2006), the
author who reviews the New English File pre-intermediate, the book is comprehensive,
well-organised, and provides materials for a good progression through this level. That is
the first reason motivating me to investigate the effectiveness of the book after teaching.
With the growth of computer- assisted language learning, students have an access to many
sources of learning materials. It is essential that teachers make use of the assessment tools
to evaluate materials so that their students

can have an opportunity to learn the highest

quality books providing students both communicative competence and diverse learning

experience. However, most of teachers have not been adequately trained in the selection
process and how to make the best choice of text suitable for learners. That research gap
inspires me to choose textbook evaluation as topic for this master thesis.
Last but not least, it is true that teachers teach students to learn English best when teachers
have profound knowledge of what their students really expect when learning English.
For all- above reasons, I will choose my minor thesis “ An Evaluation of New English
file – pre- intermediate for the first year non- English majored students at University
of Social Sciences and Humanities; Suggestions for book use and adaptation”
2. Aims of the thesis
The primary goal of this thesis is to evaluate the textbook New English File preintermediate from both lecturers and students’ viewpoints and then investigate the ways


2

teachers adapt the book so that the book meets students’ needs and interests. To achieve
the aims of the thesis, the following research questions are proposed.
(a) To what extent does New English File Pre-intermediate satisfy students’ needs and
interests?
(b) What improvements should be made to the material to meet the students’ needs and
interests?
3. The significance of the thesis
The results of the thesis will provide useful information not only for the researcher, the
course books designers but also for the teaching staff and the first- year non- English major
students at University of Social Sciences and humanities. In addition, the findings are
regarded as the bases for recommendations of teaching New English File series more
successful. Last but not least, the research results are hoped to make small contribution to
the field of materials evaluation.
4. Scope of the thesis
At the present, a set of New English File is being taught at University of Social Sciences
and Humanities. The researcher, who is in charge of teaching New English File preintermediate, teaches the first year students. That is the reason why the thesis will firstly

focus on evaluating the post use of course book New English File – pre-intermediate.
Secondly, due to the limit of the minor thesis, the course book will be evaluated in terms
of language providing and skills developing
5. Methods of the study
According to research type, this thesis is categorized as an action research. To support the
research with varied and valid data, the author combined both qualitative and quantitative
approaches. As the study deals with two questions: (1) To what extent does New English
File Pre-intermediate satisfy students’ needs? ; (2) What improvements should be made to
the material to meet students’ needs? The following methods will be employed to collect
data for the study:
Survey – questionnaires: Two sets of questionnaires on New English File preintermediate evaluation designed for both teachers and the first –year students who have
experienced using the book


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Teachers’ informal interviews: Interviews were conducted with the author’s colleagues
who teach the second semester of the school year 2010-2011 for their assessment of the
book and their suggestions for better use of the material.
Teacher’ weekly self- reports: A free writing report is gradually produced by the
research weekly after finishing teaching each unit to record her judgments on each file.
The items in the questionnaires are based on the checklists of Hutchinson & Waters
(1987), Cunningsworth’s (1995), Tomlinson’s (1998) and Mc Grath’s ( 2002) frameworks
and basic principles for evaluating ELT textbook. These criteria when applied in the study
are adapted suitably with the context of University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
6. Design of the study
There are three main parts in this thesis: introduction, development, and conclusion.
The introduction comprises the rationale, the aims, the significance, the scope, and the
design of the study.
The development consists of three chapters

Chapter one provides a theoretical background related to materials evaluations. It discusses
the functions and types of materials in language teaching and learning and present major
issues of materials evaluation: definitions, purposes, and types of materials evaluation,
materials evaluators, models for materials evaluation, criteria for materials evaluation, as
well as material adaptation.
Chapter two concentrates on research methodology used in the thesis comprising a brief
introduction of current English teaching and learning at University of Social Sciences and
Humanities, research methods, and the data collection procedures.
Chapter three shows the findings of data analysis of the research and makes suggestions
for the material improvement.
The conclusion gives a brief summary of what discussed in the study and recommends
room for further research.


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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
It is common knowledge that in order to conduct a research, the related bases should be
looked at. Therefore, this chapter gives a brief overview of the literature relevant to the
research.
1.1. Text book, coursebook and materials
1.1.1. Definitions
Materials:
Most people associate the term “language learning materials” with coursebooks because
that has been their main experience of using materials. However, according to Brian
Tomlinson (2005), the term is used to refer to anything which is used by teachers or
learners to facilitate the learning of a language. Materials could obviously be cassettes,
videos, CD-Roms, dictionaries, grammar books, readers, workbooks or photocopied
exercises. They could also be newspapers, food packages, photographs, live talks by

invited native speakers, instructions given by a teacher, tasks written on cards or
discussions between learners. In other words, they can be anything which is deliberately
used to increase the learners’ knowledge and or experience of the language. It is obvious
that teachers who are materials developers can choose different sources of input to help
their students learn the most effectively.
To do book evaluation in a correct way, first defining characteristics and giving a good
definition about course book is necessary. A coursebook is a book which provides the core
materials for a course. It aims to provide as much as possible in one book and is designed
so that it could serve as the only book which the learners necessarily use during a course.
Such a book usually includes work on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions, and
the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Although the definition which Ur
(1996: 183) has given is a simple one, it is very useful and easy to understand. It reads as
follows:
The term ‘course book’ means, 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. Therefore, from the above definition one can get that a course book must have at


5

least being available in the hand of students and teachers, and used systematically in a
course of study, and a course of study in this article refers to an English course of study.
According to McGrath (2002), the term “course book” refers to a textbook on which a
course is based, therefore, the terms “course book” and “textbook” in my study will be
used interchangeably by the researcher.
1.1.2. The roles of Course-book
Textbooks are a key component in most language programs. According to Richards (2005),
the use of commercial textbooks in teaching has given us the following principal
advantages: firstly, they provide structure and syllabus for a program because thanks to
textbooks, a language program has a central core and learners may receive a syllabus that

has been systematically planned and developed. Secondly, they help standardize
instruction. It is obvious that textbooks used in a program can ensure that students in
different classes receive similar content and therefore can be tested in the same way.
Thirdly, course books maintain quality. If a well – developed textbook is used, students are
exposed to materials that have been tried and tested, that are based on sound learning
principles, and that are paced appropriately. Fourthly, they provide a variety of learning
resources. Textbooks are often accompanied by workbooks, CDs and cassettes, videos,
CDROMs, and comprehensive teaching guides, providing a rich and varied resource for
teachers and learners. Fifthly, they are efficient: they save teachers’ time, enabling teachers
to devote time to teaching rather than material’s production. Sixthly, they can provide
effective language models and input as textbooks can provide support for teachers whose
first languages are not English and who may not be able to generate accurate language
input on their own. Moreover, they can train teachers. If teachers have limited teaching
experience, a textbook together with the teachers’ manual can serve as a medium of initial
teacher training. Finally, textbooks are visually appealing. It is the fact that commercial
books usually have high standards of design and production and hence are appealing to
teachers and learners. However, there are also potential negative effects of using textbooks.
Firstly, they may contain inauthentic language because texts, dialogues, and other aspects
of content to be specially written to incorporate teaching points

and are often not

representative of real language use. Secondly, they may distort content. It is clear that
textbooks often present an idealized view of the world or fail to represent real issues. In
order to make textbooks acceptable in many different contexts controversial topics are


6

avoided and instead an idealized white middle class view of the world is portrayed as the

norm. What is more, textbooks may not reflect students’ needs since textbooks are often
written for global markets they often do not reflect the interests and needs of students and
hence may require adaptation. In addition, they can deskill teachers. If teachers use
textbooks as the primary source of their teaching, leaving the textbooks and teachers’
manual to make the major instructional decisions for them the teachers’ role can become
reduced to that of a technician whose primary function is to present materials prepared by
others. The final drawback is that they are expensive.
To sum up, textbooks supply us with both advantages and disadvantages. The matter is
when using textbook which have some negative consequences, remedial action should be
taken, e.g. by adapting or supplementing books or providing appropriate guidance and
support for teachers in how to use them appropriately.
1.2. Materials evaluation
1.2.1. Definition
As a key area in English language teaching, the significance of material design and
evaluation has grown steadily since materials, especially authentic materials are not simply
the everyday tools of the language teachers; they are an embodiment of the aims and
methods of a particular teaching or learning situation Evaluation is basically a matching
process, which concerns matching learners’ needs to available solutions (Hutchinson and
Waters 1987:97). Low (1987: 21) reminds us that “teachers generally need to screen
materials, in order to predict their suitability for particular classes”. Moreover, material
evaluation, according to Brian Tomlinson (2005), is regarded as the systematic appraisal of
the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the learners
using them.
However, the following definition seems to be a comprehensive one to suit the views and
the aims of the research.
“Evaluation is the systematic collection and analysis of all relevant information necessary
to promote the improvement of a curriculum, and assess its effectiveness and efficiency, as
well as the participants’ attitudes within the context of the particular institutions involved.”
(Brown, 1995: 218)
Briefly, different authors have different ways of defining what the materials evaluation is.

In my view, these authors share the view that materials evaluation is a matching process


7

between the learners’ needs and designers’ purposes with a view to improving the teaching
– learning contexts when choosing a course book. I myself find the definition given by
Brown (1995: 218) is the most comprehensive and applicable in my research context at
University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
1.2.2. Purposes of materials evaluation and the importance of materials evaluation
1.2.2.1. Purposes
When we evaluate any materials, we want to identify the good points and bad points of the
materials in use. After we use them in the classroom for a long time, we need to evaluate
teaching materials so that we can know whether the materials match with the teaching
context or not. According to Ellis (1997), there are two primary reasons why we carry out
material evaluation. Firstly, there may be a need to choose among the materials available
the most suitable ones to use for a particular situation. Secondly, there can be a need for
materials evaluation to determine whether the material, which has been chosen, works for
that situation after it has been used for a period of time. This may help in deciding whether
to use the materials again or replace it with a better one.
1.2.2.2. The importance
It is said that a learner without a course book is more teacher - dependent. While
developing materials for a class is a challenging job, now there is a variety of textbooks
available on the market each with a different methodology and syllabus, it can be much
more difficult to choose the best suitable book for a particular teaching situation. Hence, in
this situation the importance of book evaluation is clear. A thorough evaluation paves the
way for teaching staff of each organization and policy makers to have this ability to
discriminate amongst all the available books in the market. After considering weak points
as well as strong points of each book, educators can choose the most appropriate book.
Thus, through identifying strengths and weaknesses in textbooks, optimum use can be

made of strong points, and weaker points can be adapted or substituted from other books
(Cunningsworth 1995: 14).
1.2.3. Types of materials evaluation
There is a variety of classifications of materials evaluation by different authors. Robinson
(1991: 59) classifies materials evaluation into three types: preliminary, summative and


8

formative while McGraph divides materials evaluation into three stages: pre- use, in- use
and post- use evaluation. Although different terms are used to indicate types of materials
evaluation, these terms are fundamentally similar.
Preliminary or pre- use evaluation often takes place before the course starts with the aim to
select the materials most suitable for the particular group of learners and for the aims of the
course.
Formative or in- use evaluation occurs during the learning process, the result obtained can
be used to modify what is being done or in other words, such results may suggest the
development of the material in the future.
Summative or post- use evaluation is normally conducted when the course is finished with
this evaluation will lead to the decision whether to repeat or use the materials again or not.
According

to Cunningsworth (1995), pre- use evaluation tends to be the most difficult

kind since 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, the resources available, etc. On the other hand, post-use evaluation
refers to an assessment of a textbook’s fitness over a period of continual use which helps
teachers to decide whether to use the same textbook in future or not.

In brief, there are various kinds of materials evaluation. Therefore, the evaluators have to
determine what type of materials evaluation will be appropriate with their context. For
University of Social Sciences and Humanities, New English has been employed for two
years, the researcher decided to use summative or post- use evaluation to determine
whether this material is effective or not and offer some suggestions for further
improvement.
1.2.4. Material evaluators
According to Robinson (1991), Tomlinson (1998), Richards (2001), and Dudley – Evan &
St. John (1998), evaluators can be either outsiders or insiders.
Outsiders are those who have not been involved in the program such as consultants,
inspectors, and administrators. Accordingly, they may not fully understand the teaching
and learning situation in which the evaluation is being carried out. Moreover, it may take
them more time to be aware of the local situation such as learners’ needs, facilities, and


9

time constraints so it may be difficult for them to make truly judgments and
recommendations of the program.
The insiders, in contrast, are those who have been directly involved in the language –
teaching program such as teachers, students, course, materials designers. Therefore, they
can provide the most valid information in the evaluation process. In addition, their
understanding of cultural and political factors of the institution in which the evaluation
takes place would enhance the reliability of judgments and recommendations. To stress the
role of the insiders as evaluators, Richards (2001) states that the involvement of the
insiders plays an important part in the success of evaluation because “as a consequence,
they will have greater degree of commitment to acting on its results” (p.296). He also adds
that the teachers can watch out for when the materials are being used. Consequently, they
can know exactly the extent that the materials work for their purposes and they make
modifications to improve the effectiveness of the materials. However, there are also

disadvantages to insiders when they are “too close and involved” (Dudley-Evan and St.
John, 1998, p.131) so the evaluation may be influenced by their subjective viewpoints and
their teaching experience.
1.2.5. Models for Materials evaluation
Although there are many different models for materials adaptation, the most commonly
models are suggested by Ellis (1997), McDonough & Shaw (1993), and Hutchinson and
Water ( 1987).
1.2.5.1. Evaluation by Ellis (1997)
This is a micro – evaluation. In this model, Ellis suggests the practice of a detailed
empirical evaluation and focuses on evaluation at the task level with reference to its actual
teaching and learning context. The steps are as follows:
1. Choosing the task to follow;
2. Describing the task with specification of input, procedures, language activities and
outcomes;
3. Planning the evaluation with reference to the dimensions above;
4. Collecting information before, while and after the task was used, and what how the task
performed;


10

5. Analyzing the information collected;
6. Reaching conclusions relating to what has been discovered, and making
recommendations for the future teaching
7. Writing the report.
The aim of this model is to identify the match between task planned and task in use. It can
be conducted when the materials are being used in the classroom.
1.2.5.2. Evaluation by McDonough and Shaw (1993)
This is a combination of macro and micro evaluation. In this model, the authors suggest a
three stage evaluation model called: external evaluation, internal evaluation, and overall

evaluation as presented in the following figure.
Macro- evaluation

→

(External)
Micro – evaluation
( internal)

→

inappropriate/potential →
↓
EXIT
inappropriate/ appropriate → adopt
↓
EXIT

Figure 1: Materials Evaluation Model of McDonough and Shaw ( 1993, p.75)
It is clear that the model proposed by Mc Donough and Shaw (1993) illustrates a logical
procedure for materials evaluation. However, the figure does not discuss the objectives and
criteria of the materials which are important to ensure the learners’ learning success as well
as teachers’ effective teaching.
1.2.5.3. Evaluation by Hutchinson and Water (1987)
Hutchinson and Water (1987) proposed a perfect evaluation model. According to them, the
materials evaluation process can be classified into four main following phases.
Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3
Phase 4

DEFINING CRITERIA
On what bases will you judge materials? Which criteria will be more
important?
SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
What realizations of the criteria do you want your course?
OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
How does the material being evaluated realize the criteria?
MATCHING
How far does the material match your needs?


11

Figure 2: Materials Evaluation Process (Hutchinson and Waters 1987, p98)
It is clearly seen from the chart that in the first stage, the criteria are defined to create basis
for material evaluation. It means that in this step, evaluator must examine what bases the
materials will be assessed and which criteria the evaluator want to adopt for his teaching
course. The second phase is to make the subjective analysis, which means to identify the
requirements for the materials so the evaluator should describe what criteria the course is
based in details. At the third stage, evaluator is supposed to determine the objective
analysis by gauging if the existing materials reveal the criteria set in the subjective
analysis. According to Brindley (1984) and Nunan (1991) ( cited in Hoang Van Van
(2010), objective analysis is in relation with the identifying the teaching content whereas
subjective needs are associated with teaching methods. However, in reality, there is
relation between objective needs with methodology (for example teachers will consider
which the best method to teach) and subjective needs with teaching contents (for instance,
learners define what they want to learn).

The final step is the matching process, which investigates how the materials meet the
course requirements.
In summary, analyzing learners’ needs is useful in teaching foreign languages. And the
author thinks that Hutchinson and Water (1987) recommend an effective model. It clearly
shows the evaluator the whole picture to analyze the materials in accordance with the first
year non- English majored students. Hence, in this study, the author adopts the this model
to examine whether the currently –used materials is suitable for the students at USSH.
1.2.6. Criteria for Materials evaluation
As mentioned previously, if one accepts the value of textbooks in ELT then it must
surely be with the qualification that they are of an acceptable level of quality,
usefulness, and appropriateness for the context and people with whom they are being
used. While

the

literature on the subject of textbook evaluation is not particularly

extensive, 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. Although Sheldon (1988) suggests that no general list of
criteria can ever really be applied to all teaching and learning contexts without
considerable modification, most of these standardized evaluation checklists contain


12

similar components that can be used as helpful starting points for ELT practitioners in a
wide variety of situations. Prominent theorists in the field of ELT textbook design
and analysis such as Williams (1983), Sheldon (1988), Brown (1995), Cunningsworth

(1995) and Harmer (1996) all agree, for instance, that evaluation checklists should have
some criteria pertaining to the physical characteristics of textbooks such as layout,
organizational, and logistical characteristics. 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

institution.
It is beneficial to consider some guidelines for evaluation and considering criteria of book
evaluation. According to Dudley- Evan and St. John (1998), in the evaluation process,
evaluators must take evaluation criteria into account before any evaluation takes place.
Criteria for materials evaluation depend on what is being evaluated and why they need to
be evaluated. Williams (1993) suggests seven criteria, each of which

has following

aspects:
- General criteria: give introductory guidance on the presentation of language items and
skills.
- Speech criteria: suggest aids for the teaching of pronunciation: e.g. phonetic system
- Grammar criteria: offer meaningful situations and a variety of techniques teaching
structural units.

- Vocabulary criteria: distinguish the different purposes and skills involved in the teaching
structural units.
- Reading criteria: provide guidance on the initial presentation of passages for reading
comprehension.


13

- Writing criteria: demonstrate the various devices for controlling and guiding content and
expression in composition exercises.
- Technical criteria: contain appropriate pictures, diagrams, tables.
The criteria suggested by Williams(1993) seem to be very useful and appropriate for
evaluating a course book. However, such frameworks are more suitable for the selection of
course books available in the market than for the examination of an – in house material to
see whether they meet the intended objectives. With its more comprehensive content, the
evaluating criteria defined by Hutchinson and Waters, therefore, seem to be a more helpful
tool to language materials evaluators.
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987) there are four main criteria for materials
evaluation that any evaluator should concern: the audience, the aim, the content, and the
methodology.
The audience of the materials: the evaluator should obtain information about and from
learners to find out whether the materials are suitable to the student’s age knowledge of
English, interest and so on.
Aims of the materials: the evaluator has to check if the materials match the aims and
objectives of the course.
Content of the materials: the materials: the evaluator has to check whether the materials
language points, macro – skills or micro - skills, and topics suit the learners’ needs.
Methodology of the materials: the evaluator has to find out if techniques, aids, guidance
provided in the materials satisfy the learners and the teachers of the course.
With regard to my context, the criteria set out by Cunningsword (1984: 5-6) is the most

suitable one. Here are his four criteria which are applied by many teachers and students in
a great variety of teaching and learning contexts.
 Relate the teaching materials to your aims and objectives
 Be aware of what language is for and select teaching materials, which help equip your
students to use language effectively for their own purposes
 Keep your students’ learning needs in mind
 Consider the relationship between language, the learning process and the learner
Among those criteria, analyzing students’ needs is the key to the research.


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1.2.7. Need analysis
Need analysis (also known as needs assessment) has a vital role in the process of designing
and carrying out any language course, whether it be English for Specific Purposes (ESP) or
general English course, and its centrality has been acknowledged by several scholars and
authors.
This term “ need analysis” according to Elaine Tarone and George Yule ( 1999), when it
has been used in the context of language instruction, has usually referred to the collection
and evaluation of information to answer the question: “ What aspects of the language does
some particular group of learners need to know?”. Mountford (1981) offers the definition
that needs can be defined as what students should be able to do at the end of their language
course or “what the user –institution or society at large regards as necessary or desirable to
be learnt from a program of language of language instruction. Another definition given by
Brindley (1981:27) is that needs refer to wants, desires, demands, expectations,
motivations, lacks, constraints, and requirements. It is evident that course designers may
take students’ needs into consideration when designing a course. Clearly, the role of needs
analysis in any ESP course is indisputable. For Johns (1991), needs analysis is the first step
in course design and it provides validity and relevancy for all subsequent course design
activities. Different approaches to needs analysis attempt to meet the needs of the

learners in the process of learning a second language. Among which, a modern and
comprehensive concept of needs analysis is proposed by Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998:
125) which reflects other approaches. Their concept of need analysis is as follows:
 Environmental situation - information about the situation in which the course will
be run (means analysis);
 Personal information about learners - factors which may affect the way they learn
(wants, means, subjective needs);
 Language information about learners - what their current skills and language use
are (present situation analysis);
 Learner's lacks

(the gap between

the present situation and

professional

information about learners);Learner's needs from course - what is wanted from the
course (short-term needs);
 Language learning needs - effective ways of learning the skills and language
determined by lacks;


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 Professional information about learners - the tasks and activities English learners
are/will be using English for (Target Situation Analysis and objective needs);
 How to communicate in the target situation – knowledge of how language and
skills are used in the target situation (register analysis, discourse analysis, genre
analysis).

Today, teachers are aware of that different types of needs analyses are in close
association to complete the jigsaw of needs analysis (Figure 3.

Figure 3.Needs Analysis Jigsaw
As can be seen from the figure, need analyses should be the common concern of not
only ESP but also the general English because the needs of the learners play paramount
importance in any language process. Therefore, what the designers should do is to
analyze students’ needs in order to design appropriate courses so that students feel


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motivated and learn English faster and more effectively. It is clearly that need analysis
is of great importance to the effectiveness of teaching and learning process.
1.2.8. Materials adaptation
Materials adaptation is a process of matching materials with the learner’s needs, the
teacher’s demands, and administration’s purpose. The aim of materials adaptation is to
make the teaching materials the most appropriate in a particular teaching context by
making some changes. According to McDonough and Shaw (1993: 86) and Isakovos
Tsiplakides (2011:761), what we adapt depend on the following aspects: the specific needs
and experiences of their students, the general context in which the course book will be
used, language use, skills, classroom organization, and supplementary material.
There are many forms of adaptation. According to Gabrielatos (2000) (cited in Isakovos
Tsiplakides (2011:761))when adapting the coursebook, teachers may add the materials and
tasks, omit the materials and tasks included in the book,

replace materials and tasks

included in the book and re- order or combine materials and tasks included in the materials.
(1) Addition: Addition is an adaptation procedure which involves supplementation of extra

linguistic items and activities to make up for the insufficiency of materials. Addition of
extra materials is appropriate when the following situations are faced:


Areas are not covered sufficiently.



Texts/pictures/tasks are not provided.



Texts/pictures/tasks are fewer than needed.



Tasks are limited in scope.



Tasks are of limited range.

(2) Deletion: Deletion is an adaptation procedure which involves removal of some of the
linguistic items and activities which are found to be extra and unnecessary. So, deletion is
a process in which materials are taken out rather than added. Materials should be reduced
through omission when the following situations are faced:


Learners are clear about a language point.



Learners are competent in a skill.



There are too many tasks on a particular area/point.



The item/area concerned is not a priority.



The item/task is not well designed.



The item/task is not well-suited to its aim(s).


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

The topic is not appropriate for learners.

(3) Modification: Modification means changes in different aspects of materials, such as
linguistic level, exercises, assessment system and so on. Modification of materials is
appropriate in the following situations:



Texts are of inappropriate length.



Materials are inappropriate to the aim.



Materials are inappropriate to the learners’ age/ experience.



Materials are unclear, confusing or misleading.



Tasks are badly designed.

(4) Simplification: This procedure is employed to make materials less complicated or
easier to understand. If the language teaching material is found to be difficult or
mechanical for the target learner, the material can be made suitable for the learner through
the process of simplification.
(5) Rearrangement/re-ordering: Rearrangement is a procedure of materials adaptation
through which different parts of a course book are arranged in a different order or
sequence. Rearrangement of materials helps to make them comparatively more interesting
and appropriate for the learner as well as the teacher. Learners may reorder materials by:


Matching their aims.



Using a practice task for lead-in and elicitation.



Revising an area earlier than the course book does.



Comparing and contrast areas.



Providing thematic unity.



Providing an appropriate follow-up.

(6.) Replacement: teacher may decide to replace any text or exercise which is evaluated
to be ineffective or irrelevant by a more suitable one.
Textbook adaptation can be done at three levels. The first level is macro adaptation, which
is ideally done before the language program begins. After comparing what is covered in a
textbook and what is required by the syllabus or examination, the teacher may find that
certain areas or even whole units of the book can be omitted, and certain contents need to
be supplemented. Macro adaptation is very important because it helps the teacher to avoid

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waste time. It also helps the teacher to see in advance what he or she needs to supplement
so that he or she can keep an eye on materials that could be used.
The second level of adaptation is adapting a unit. This could be reordering the activities,
combining activities, omitting activities, rewriting or supplementing exercise material, etc.
Unit adaptation helps to make the classroom teaching more smooth and cohesive. It also
helps the teacher to better fulfill the aims of a unit.
The third level is adaptation of specific activities in a unit. Occasionally an activity is
regarded as valuable, but it is not well-designed or it is not feasible in particular classes. If
the teacher does not want to give up the activity, he or she needs to adapt it.
Very often, adaptation involves supplementation, that is, teachers add materials from other
resources to the textbook they are using. It is believed that authentic materials are better
than non-authentic materials for supplementation. So teachers who make a point of
collecting authentic materials find it much easier to adapt textbooks. This is especially true
in ELT contents where authentic English materials are not always readily to hand.
It is believed that a good teacher has full awareness of materials adaptation’s importance.
He profound knows how to use the textbook to make the best of the value of the book for
his specific learners. Hence, it is adapting materials that is an indispensable part in the
teaching process in order to make the teaching more and more effective and interesting.
1.3. Suitability of the present study in the research area
In this chapter, the author has briefly discussed materials evaluation. Firstly, the author
addressed the definitions, roles, and types of material. Secondly, materials evaluations
issues including definitions of materials evaluation, purposes of materials, types of
materials evaluation, materials evaluators, and models for materials evaluation and criteria
for materials adaptation are presented. Finally, some basic theoretical background related
to materials adaptation is discussed. As a result, this chapter is regarded as the theoretical
foundation for the applications for the study in chapter 3 and the recommendation made to
the course book New English File for non – English major students at University of Social

Sciences and Humanities.
It is necessary to clarify how the present study fits into the area of investigation. Firstly,
with the real teaching context, the researcher found it vital not only to assess the New
English File so that learners can make the best of the book but also enable teachers to


19

apply the best methods. Therefore, in this thesis, the writer assesses the book whether it is
suitable for the learners or not.

Secondly, from two years’ teaching experience, the

researcher has found the significance of adapting the book to make the learners feel
motivated as well as learner- friendly.
In brief, the study is supposed to enhance the context of the learning and teaching New
English File for English department at the pre-intermediate level at University of Social
Sciences and Humanities.