An evaluation of the course book new english file elementary for the first year students at university of final and business administration (UFBA)

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

TRẦN THỊ THỦY

AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSE BOOK “NEW ENGLISH
FILE - ELEMENTARY” FOR THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE AND BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION (UFBA)
(Đánh giá giáo trình “New English File - Elementary” dùng cho sinh viên không
chuyên năm thứ nhất Trƣờng Đại Học Tài Chính Quản Trị Kinh Doanh)

M.A. MINOR THESIS

MAJOR: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111

HANOI – 2015


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

TRẦN THỊ THỦY

AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSE BOOK “NEW ENGLISH
FILE - ELEMENTARY” FOR THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE AND BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION (UFBA)

(Đánh giá giáo trình “New English File - Elementary” dùng cho sinh viên không
chuyên năm thứ nhất Trƣờng Đại Học Tài Chính Quản Trị Kinh Doanh)

M.A. MINOR THESIS

MAJOR: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111
SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN ĐỨC HOẠT, Ph.D

HANOI – 2015


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I, first and foremost, would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor,
Nguyễn Đức Hoạt, Ph.D for his continuous support, valuable advice, comments,
criticisms and corrections throughout the study. Without his guidance and help, this
work would not have been accomplished.
I would like to express my gratitude to the whole group of teachers and students at
UFBA by whom meaningful data for the thesis was collected and handed in on time.
The last but not least, thanks to valued encouragements and great support from my
parents, my husband and my son in so many ways that gave me significant
motivations, determination and passion to carry on my thesis.

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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the course book “New English file-Elementary”
which has been currently used for the first year students at UFBA. The following research
question should be answered:

To what extent does “New English file - Elementary” satisfy the course requirements in
terms of the audience, content, aims and methodology for the first year students at the
University of Finance and Business Administration?
The evaluation was conducted at macro level on the basis on four criteria. On the purpose of
achieving the professional goal above, the author had to review the literature in relevance to
materials evaluation, employ document analysis, survey questionnaire and determine the
answer to the research question.
The results revealed that the course book were generally suitable to the intended learners
and course‟s requirements. However, there should be made some changes for more effective
exploitation of the material in the future. Based on the findings, some recommendations on
adapting, adding, modifying several items in the course book have come out in order to
make the best use of the material in coming years.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................................1
1.

RATIONALE ....................................................................................................1

2.

AIMS OF THE STUDY ....................................................................................2

3.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ..................................................................2

4.

RESEARCH QUESTION .................................................................................2

5.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY .................................................................................2

6.

OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY ........................................................................2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................4
2.1. TEXTBOOK, COUSE BOOK, AND MATERIALS ..........................................4
2.1.1. Definitions.....................................................................................................4
2.1.2. Role of materials in English Language Teaching .........................................4
2.2. MATERIAL EVALUATION ..............................................................................5
2.2.1. Definition of Materials Evaluation ...............................................................5
2.2.2. Reasons of Materials Evaluation ..................................................................6
2.2.3. Types of Materials Evaluation ......................................................................6
2.2.4. Types of Evaluators ......................................................................................8
2.2.5. Models of Materials Evaluation ....................................................................9
2.2.6. Criteria for Materials Evaluation ................................................................11
2.3. PREVIOUS STUDIES ......................................................................................13
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .....................................................15
3.1. THE SETTING ..................................................................................................15
3. 2. PARTICIPANTS ..............................................................................................16
3.3. DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS .........................................................17
3.3.1. Document analysis ......................................................................................17

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3.3.2. Survey questionnaires .................................................................................17
3.4. DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES ...........................................................21
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................22
4.1. THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE COURSE BOOK TO THE AUDIENCE IN
TERMS OF THEIR ENGLISH LEVEL ..................................................................22
4.1.1. Material analysis results..............................................................................22
4.2. THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE COURSE BOOK TO THE AIM OF THE
COURSE ...................................................................................................................25
4.2.1. Material analysis results..............................................................................25
4.3. THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE MATERIAL TO THE CONTENT
REQUIREMENTS OF THE COURSE BOOK........................................................27
4.3.1. The material analysis results. ......................................................................27
4.4. THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE MATERIAL TO THE METHODOLOGY
REQUIREMENT OF THE COURSE ......................................................................32
4.4.1. Material analysis results..............................................................................32
4.5. SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS ..............................................................37
CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION .............................41
5.1. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................41
5.2. LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ..........42
5.3. CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................42
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................43
APPENDIXES .............................................................................................................45
APPENDIX 1: THE SYLLABUS OF THE ENGLISH COURSE FOR THE FIRST
YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT UFBA .....................................45
APPENDIX 2: THE CONTENTS OF THE COURSE BOOK “NEW ENGLISH FILE –
ELEMENTARY” ......................................................................................................52

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APPENDIX 3: CHECKLIST FOR EVALUATION BY HUTCHINSON AND WATERS
(1987) ........................................................................................................................53
APPENDIX 4: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS ...........................................59
APPENDIX 5: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS ...........................................65
APPENDIX 6: KHẢO SÁT Ý KIẾN HỌC VIÊN ...................................................71

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 4.1: The students and teachers‟ opinions of the overall difficulty level of the material
Table 4.2: Teachers and students‟ opinions of aim of the course book “New English FileElementary”
Table 4.3: The teachers and students‟ opinions about the language points covered in the
material
Table 4.4: The teachers and students‟ opinions about language skills in the material
Table 4.5: The students‟ onions about the effectiveness of the sub-skills and the familiarity
of the topics to the students‟ knowledge level
Table 4.6: The teachers‟ opinions about the tasks/ exercises of language points and language
skills
Figure 2.1: The material evaluation model by Hutchinson and Waters (1987)
Figure 4.1: The students and teachers‟ opinions of the overall difficulty level of the material
Figure 4.2: Teachers and students‟ opinions of aim of the course book “New English FileElementary”
Figure 4.3: The teachers‟ and students‟ opinions about the tasks/ exercises of language
points and language skills
Figure 4.4: The students and teachers‟ opinions about guidance for doing the types of tasks

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. RATIONALE
It has generally agreed that material plays an essential role in the process of language
teaching and learning. Materials must be important because they could significantly increase
students‟ achievement by supporting students‟ learning and be considered as a guide to assist
teachers. According to McDonough and Shaw (1993), however, no set of materials is likely
to be perfect; it cannot serve equally for the requirements of every classroom setting.
Teachers should not merely know to use but how useful it can be. They must evaluate its
strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, William (1983) suggests that English language
teachers need to know the principles of materials evaluation. The ability of materials
evaluation is regarded as an extremely important professional activity for all English foreign
language teachers. Ideally, the teaching materials, after having been selected or designed,
need to be carefully evaluated to check whether the material accomplishes its job of enabling
teaching and learning.
In fact, this is the third year that the course book “New English file - Elementary” has
been used at the University of Finance and Business Administration. The material is
approved and accepted as an official course book for teaching all first year students at the
University of Finance and Business Administration. Up to now, there have been different
opinions from the teachers and the students about this material. However, there has not had
any attempt to evaluate the book to see whether it meets the requirements of the course in
terms of audience, content, aims and methodology. These are the reasons why the author of
the study made a decision to conduct this evaluation research.
As a result, this study is conducted with the hope that the thesis will find out the merits
and demerits of the textbook in order to improve or modify the material for future use and
therefore make contribution to the teaching and learning foreign language at the intended
university.

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2. AIMS OF THE STUDY
The research aims at evaluating the material of current use at UFBA to determine
whether it matches the course‟s requirements in terms of the audience, content, aims and
methodology. Hopefully, the findings of the thesis will partly help the English teaching staff
to decide whether the material will be used in the coming year or what changes can be made
to improve the effectiveness of the material.

3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The paper will be carried out with the hope that the findings of the study will help
teachers improve their language teaching method of exploiting the course book to fulfill
satisfactorily students‟ need and interests.

4. RESEARCH QUESTION
The study aims at answering the following question:
To what extent does “New English file - Elementary” satisfy the course requirements in
terms of the audience, content, aims and methodology for the first year students at the
University of Finance and Business Administration?

5. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Within the scope of an M.A thesis, this research paper focuses on evaluating the course
book “New English file - Elementary” used in the basis communication course for the first
year students at the University of Finance and Business Administration. This book is used in
their first term at UFBA. In the scope of this study the suitability of this course to the course
requirements and participants‟ attitudes toward it will be worked out.

6. OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
The study consists of three parts and three chapters:
Chapter 1: Introduction provide a general overview of the study with specific

references to the rationale, the aim and objectives of the study, research questions, scope of
study, significance of study, overview of the thesis.
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Chapter 2: Literature review. This chapter provides the relevant theories related to
Textbook, Course book, Material and Material evaluation.
Chapter 3: Research methodology, includes the methodology employed in the study,
research procedure, the participants, the survey instruments and data analysis.
Chapter 4: Findings and discussion. It is devoted to a detailed description of findings
and the discussion. In this chapter, explanation and interpretation of the findings are
explored.
Chapter 5: Recommendations and Conclusion gives conclusion, recommendations,
and limitations of the study and then gives suggestions for further study.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. TEXTBOOK, COUSE BOOK, AND MATERIALS
2.1.1. Definitions
The terms “Textbook”, “Course Book” and “Materials” which are commonly found in
learning and teaching foreign languages are used interchangeably. However, it is pointed
that these terminologies are not the same.
According to Microsoft Encarta (2005), “Textbook” is defined as a book which treats a
subject comprehensively and used by students as a basis for study. English teachers have
considered textbooks as the instruments supporting to explain and express their teaching
ideas.
The term “Course Book” is used to refer a textbook on which a course is based
(McGrath, 2002:7). Furthermore, Tomlinson shares a similar point with McGrath when he

considers a course book as “a textbook which provides the core materials for a course”. A
course book is used to provide as much as possible in one book and is able to serve as the
only book which the learners necessarily use during a course. A course book includes work
on not only grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions but also the skills of reading,
writing, listening and speaking (Tomlinson, 1998).
In Materials Development in Language Teaching, Littlejohn (1998) defines that
“Materials” are considered as anything which is used to help teach language learners. In the
words of Tomlinson (1998), 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”. Thus, it can be pointed out that course book is a type of materials.
2.1.2. Role of materials in English Language Teaching
It is undeniable that the relationship between materials and other components in
language teaching such as students, teachers, teaching method and evaluation have been
controversial for many years. It was not until 1970s there was a movement to make learners
rather than teachers the center of language learning. Consequently, learners are gradually
regarded as the targets of teaching and learning process. Besides, the important of teaching
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and learning materials cannot be denied that materials play a prominent role in the
teaching/learning process and they are the primary agents of conveying the knowledge to the
learners. Regarding the multiple roles of materials in ELT, Cunningsworth (1995:7)
identifies teaching materials as source of ideas and stimulation for classroom activities
which provides the learners with practice important communicative interaction. Richard
(2001) claims that material is considered as the key component of language programe. They
provide the learners with the necessary input, the language practice as well. Regarding the
advantages of materials, Nunan (1991) states that good teaching material are of great help to
both inexperienced and experienced teachers, especially the inexperienced or poorly trained
teachers for they are provided with models to follow in developing their own materials.
Therefore, the first thing needs to be done when preparing for a course in a particular

situation is to select the appropriate materials.

2.2. MATERIAL EVALUATION
2.2.1. Definition of Materials Evaluation
There are a large number of definitions of evaluation; fundamentally evaluation is
asking questions and acting on the responses. Evaluation is a whole process in which what
information to gather takes place at the beginning and at the end, changing in current
activities or influencing ones is found out. According to Tomlinson (1998:3), Materials
Evaluation is defined as „a systematic appraisal of the value of materials in relation to their
objectives and to the objectives of learners using them.” Hutchinson and Water (1993:96)
also stress that “Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular
purposes”. According to Donough & Shaw (2012), “Materials Evaluation is one part of a
complex process and the materials once selected can only be judged successfully after
classroom implementation and feedback”. In addition, Brown (1995) defines that
„Evaluation is the systematic collection and analysis of all relevant information necessary to
promote the improvement of curriculum and to assess its effectiveness within the context of
the particular institutions involved”.
Evaluation of textbook is seen to function as a sort of educational judgment, it means
referring to subjective judgment-making. A description of a textbook is compared with the
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description of the context in order to establish in a preliminary way whether that textbook
might be suitable for that context we are evaluating.
2.2.2. Reasons of Materials Evaluation
Reasons for Materials Evaluation activities are also many and varied. One of the major
reasons for it is the need to adopt new course books. Another reason as Cunningsworth
(1995) states is to identify particular strengths and weaknesses in course books already in
use.
In Hutchinson‟s view (1987), Materials Evaluation not only serves the immediate

practical aim of selecting teaching materials but also plays a critical role in developing
teachers‟ awareness in a number of ways which are providing teachers to analyze their own
presuppositions about the nature of language and learning, forcing teaches to set their
prerequisites and supporting them to consider materials as an essential part of the whole
teaching/learning situation. Besides, Hutchinson and Water (1993) emphasize that
“Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose”. After
being used in the particular setting, the material must be evaluated so as to find out its merits
and demerits in order to see if it works well for intended situation and students.
In addition, Ellis (1997) stresses that there are two main reasons to evaluate the
materials. Firstly, there is worth choosing among the resources available the most suitable
materials to use for the particular group of students in a particular context. Secondly,
evaluation is carried out to determine whether the selected or designed material works well
to fulfill the intended purpose after it is 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
Cunningsworth‟s view (1995), through evaluation, we could assess whether the course book
is the most appropriate for the target learners at various levels and in various teaching
settings.
In summary, Materials Evaluation in general and course book evaluation in specific is
very necessary and vital. It should be taken for two reasons: first, it confirms the course
book and second, it adjusts the course book. In the end, it will increase the strengths and
minimize the drawback of the course book.
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2.2.3. Types of Materials Evaluation
There are several different ways of dividing Materials Evaluation according to different
researchers.
In term of when to evaluate materials, Cunningsworth (1995) and Ellis (1997) suggest
that there are three types of Evaluation: pre-use evaluation, in-use evaluation and post-use
evaluation. Pre-use evaluation is admitted to be the most difficult kind of evaluation because

there is no actual experience of using the book for us to draw on. In this case, we are
examining the future or potential performance of a course book. The second type is in-use
evaluation that is designed to examine material that is currently being used. This type refers
to a kind of evaluation for suitability, involving “matching the course book against a special
requirement including the learners‟ objectives, the learners‟ background, the resource
available, etc” (Cunningsworth, 1995:14). It is concerned with not only the evaluation of the
original material but also its adaptability to different settings. Post-use evaluation refers to a
retrospective assessment of a textbook‟s fitness over a period of continual use.
In addition, Tomlinson (1998) and McGrath (2001) share the same point with
Cunningsworth when introducing three concepts: Pre-use, In-use/Whilst-use and Post-use.
 Pre-use evaluation focuses on the predictions of potential value.
 In-use/Whilst-use evaluation is designed to gather data on planning decisions,
implementation and response; find out awareness and description of what the learners are
actually doing whilst the materials are being used.
 Post-use evaluation is designed to collect data on in-course use and data on effects to
access suitability of selection and selection procedures.
In addition, there is another way of dividing Materials Evaluation depending on the
reasons for evaluation suggested by some scholars. These authors emphasize that there are
three types of evaluation namely Preliminary evaluation, Formative evaluation and
Summative evaluation. The first type of evaluation is Preliminary one. According to Ellis
(cited in Tomlinson, 1998), this type is carried out before the beginning of the course in
order to select “the most appropriate materials for a particular group of learners” and
identify “specific aspects of the published materials” needed adapting to suit the purposes of
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the evaluators. The second type is Formative evaluation that is carried out during the course
considered as “a part of the process of program development in order to find out what is
working well, and what is not and what problems need to be addressed” (Richard,
2001:288). Therefore, Formative evaluation is aimed at shaping the material during lifetime

and suggesting the improvement of the material in the future. The final one is Summative
evaluation which is carried out at the end of or after the course. In the words of Richard
(2001), this type is designed to determine the effectiveness of the material. Findings will
help to decide whether to use the material again or not; which tasks and activities need
changing or how to modify them to make the material more effective and efficient for future
use (Ellis, cited in Tomlinson, 1998).
This study will report on a survey that was conducted at University of Finance and
Business Administration for the purposes of evaluating a course book “New English FileElementary” being used at this university. Therefore, this study can be classified as the Inuse type of evaluation or Formative evaluation. The main purpose of evaluation is to validate
the merits of the course book based on its users‟ opinions.
2.2.4. Types of Evaluators
In Richard‟s view (2001), it is common to assume that Evaluators are divided into
insiders and outsiders.
Insiders consist of teachers, students, course and materials designers or anyone else
closely involved in the development and implementation of the program. No one can
understand the learning and teaching situation better than them for they are a crucial part of
the program. In the words of Richard (2001), insiders are able to contribute a greater degree
of commitment to acting on its results. Moreover, insiders, especially teachers, can monitor
and control the material being used. They, therefore, are capable of determining to what
extent the material works for their purposes. Consequently, they could make modifications
to improve the effectiveness of the material. However, According to Dudley –Evans and
John (1998), insiders may suffer from several disadvantages when they can be “too closed
and involved or lack of expertise”. This, in turn, can cause subjectivity in their judgments.

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On the other hand, outsider is the other type of evaluators who do not involve in the
program since they do not directly control the teaching program, they will have own view on
teaching methods. In Robinson‟s view (1992), outsiders may not fully understand the
teaching and learning situations in which the evaluation is being carried out. As a result, they

may be unsympathetic and they may need more time to get know about the local situation
such as learners‟ needs, facilities as well as constrains. However, Anderson and Scott (1992)
argue that the reason for involving outsiders alone in an evaluation process is that outsiders
can guarantee objectivity; they may have greater credibility or offer a fresh perspective.
They also reveal that this is possible as “outsiders can have great professional or public
credibility and may see the issues in a different light (not necessary clearer) than those in the
inside”. As a result of these, they will bring objective experience into the evaluation from
their personal observation. In this thesis, the course book New English File- Elementary
which is being taught the non-English major students at UFBA is evaluated by both insiders
and outsiders. Among the evaluators, five teachers and 140 students who have the invitations
to take part in the study are considered as insider-evaluators and the researcher who is
currently doing this thesis is an outsider-evaluator.
2.2.5. Models of Materials Evaluation
In the literature of these, several kinds of models for evaluation of the language teaching
materials will be discussed. The models can be classified as macro and micro evaluation
models according to the approaches to the materials evaluation.
2.2.5.1. Model by Hutchinson and Water (1987)
In the view of Hutchinson and Water (1987), they concern Materials Evaluation as a
process of matching needs to available solutions. The model introduced by these authors is a
macro evaluation that aims at assessing the workability of an entire set of materials. The first
step is to define criteria which the evaluation is based on. The next step is to identify the
subjective analysis. The third step is designed to determine objective analysis. The final step
is conducted to compare the findings with the materials requirements to evaluate the match
between the materials and the requirement. Therefore, Hutchinson and Water (1993) suggest
the model for evaluation that presents a logical procedure. This model also has a description
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of the stages and criteria, which are presented systematically. Moreover, it can help the
researcher know exactly what must be done to analyze the material in comparison with the

course requirements.

Defining criteria
On what bases will you judge material?
Which criteria will be more important?

Subjective analysis

Objective analysis

What realizations of the criteria

How does the material being

do you want in your course?

evaluated realize the criteria?
Matching

How far does the material match
your need?
Figure 2.1: The materials evaluations model by Hutchinson and Water (1987:98)
2.2.5.2. Model by Ellis (1997)
In Ellis‟s view (1997:236), the concern of Evaluation in ELT has primarily been with
macro-evaluation which is “the evaluation of complete programs or projects through the
evaluation of materials, teachers and learners”. Moreover, he claims that attention also must
be given to micro-evaluation. He points out that by focusing on the particular tasks, microevaluation could give the supporting to a systematic evaluation of materials after using. The
model introduced by Ellis (1997), therefore, considers Materials Evaluation at the task level
within its actual teaching and learning context. Can be seen through this model, the aim of
this is looking for whether the task has worked in term of its objectives and to be able to

realize how the task can be improved for future use as well. Besides, he also suggests such
steps to evaluate a task:
 Choosing a task to evaluate.
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 Describing a task
 Planning the evaluation.
 Collecting the information for the evaluation.
 Analyzing the information.
 Reaching conclusions and making recommendations
 Writing the report
2.2.5.3. Model by Cunningsworth (1995)
Cunningsworth (1995) reveals a checklist for Course Book Evaluation and selection
organized under the following perspectives: language content, selection and grading of
language items; presentation and practice of new language items; developing language skills
and communication abilities; supporting materials; and motivation and the learners.
He suggests four guidelines in his model.
Guideline 1: course books should be suitable for the learners‟ need, aim and objective
of the language program.
Guideline 2: course books should support the users to make of the language; they must
be chosen help learners effectively for their own purpose.
Guideline 3: course books should take account of the students‟ need and facilitate their
learning process without dogmatically imposing a rigid method
Guideline 4: materials should get a clear role as the supporting of learning like teachers;
they mediate between the target language and the learners
In conclusion, among above discussed models, the model suggested by Hutchinson and
Water (1987) is regarded as the most logical and clearest procedure for Materials
Evaluation. Furthermore, this one could help the evaluator to decide what must be done to
analyze the material in comparison with the course‟s requirements. Based on the purpose of

the evaluation, time available, facilities as well as the constraints of the context where occurs
to decide which model to follow, the model is intentionally used by the author of the thesis
to evaluate the materials currently used at UFBA.
2.2.6. Criteria for Materials Evaluation

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It is undeniable that Materials Evaluation is a complex matter as there are many
variables that may affect the success or failure of the course books when they are in use.
Thus, developing criteria to assess materials is one of the major steps to be taken in all the
proposed models for Materials Evaluation. There are various criteria proposed by several
different authors for the majority of ELT situations.
2.2.6.1. Criteria proposed by Hutchinson and Water (1987)
Hutchinson and Water (1987) reveal that the checklist of Materials Evaluation includes
items related to subjective and objective analysis as follows:
Audience: The first part of checklist consists of some questions related to information
about the learners such as their age, sex, nationalities, study or work specialism, language
background and interests.
Aim: Both the aim of the material and that of the course are revealed in this part and this
will help students develop certain language skills and function or to improve the language as
a whole. Thus, the satisfaction of the aim and the objectives of the course need examining in
the language course.
Content: The third part in the checklist involves the questions in order to measure the
material‟s content to be covered the following items: language description, language point,
macro-skill and their proportion, micro-skill, types, subject matter areas, topics, organization
through the course, organization within the course unit, content sequence, content sequence
within the course unit to see whether these items in the materials satisfy through
requirements which were set up from the analysis of the learners‟ need and the course‟s
objective.

Methodology: In this part, the checklist investigates methodology including questions
about the theory of learning, the attitudes or the expectation of the learners about learning
English, learning exercises and tasks, teaching and learning techniques used, teaching aids,
teaching guidance needed and the flexibility of the material to be suitable in different
teaching situations.
Other criteria: In the words of Hutchinson and Water, it is necessary for the evaluator to
consider other criteria such as the price and availability of the materials.
2.2.6.2. Criteria suggested by Cunningsworth (1995)
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The criteria proposed by Cunningsworth (1995:15-17) investigate organization,
language, content, skills, topic, methodology, teacher‟s books and practical considerations.
Organization: the amount of continuity within the materials and routes through the
materials is considered carefully. Moreover, language content including language form and
language use which are being taught will be concerned in this section.
Skills: the questions which are related to whether the course books deal adequately with
all of four skills, taking the level and overall aims into account and whether there is a
suitable balance language in real situation, if the course books provide materials for
appropriate integrated skills and what students‟ need will be depended on will be
investigated.
Methodology: methodology which is presented in one course book through approaches
explores how the text views the need and the roles of learners and how they can help the
learners to learner.
Topic: evaluator need to take into account what topic the course book includes, the
subject matter they select and how they treat it, the image of life presented by text books, the
attitude they convey and the social and culture values that the textbook communicates.
In summary, the criteria suggested by Hutchinson and Water (1987) has been selected
since they appear to be suitable and applicable in Materials Evaluation in the context of
UFBA. The model is a macro evaluation of assessing the workability of an entire set of

materials. The first step is to define criteria which the evaluation is based on. The next step
is to identify the subjective analysis. The third step is designed to determine objective
analysis. The final step is conducted to compare the findings with the materials requirements
to evaluate the match between the materials and the requirements. It is admitted that the
model presents a logical proceduce so the criteria are clearly presented and it is easy to
follow.
With the checklist of Hutchinson and Water, the qualitative method which consists of
questionnaire and interview are chosen for the thesis. It is hoped that from the results of
questionnaire and interview, some findings will be revealed.

2.3. PREVIOUS STUDIES
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Up to now, there have been a number of studies on Materials Evaluation. In 1997,
Ayman carried out a macro-materials evaluation study at Bilkent University School of
Language with Upper Intermediate level students. The aims of the study was to seek for how
the students and instructors evaluate a textbook based on English for Academic Purpose by
the using of instruments: questionnaires delivered to both students and instructors. The
results of the study indicated that not only students but also instructors were generally
positive about the textbook. However, there were lack of activities and tasks,
inappropriateness of content and topics, ineffectiveness of the teacher‟s book. Furthermore,
the writer make some recommendations for training instructors in how to use the textbook
effectively in their classes, how to look for the ways to raise students‟ awareness in using the
material.
In Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Ha Quyen (2010) conducted a study to evaluate the textbook
“Market Leader” for the first year students at Hai Phong University with the attempt to see
the teachers and students‟ perception of merits and demerits of the textbook “Market
Leader” in term of its audience, objectives, content and methodology with the combination
of document analysis, survey questionnaires and informal. After finding out some

dissatisfactions of the material, some suggestions for future use was carefully made.
In 2014, Nguyen Thi Tho carried out an evaluation of the textbook “Communication
book 1” at Aten English Center. The aim of the study is to determine if the material matches
the course‟s requirements in terms of the audience, content, aim and the methodology in
order to offer some suggestions to make the textbook better. The criteria suggested by
Hutchinson and Warter (1987), together with two data collection instruments: document
analysis and questionnaires for teachers and students were selected. The finding of the study
showed that the material did not meet the course requirements in some aspects, especially
students‟ goal to use English in Communication.
In this thesis, the researcher also carries out an evaluation of the course book “New
English File- Elementary” being used at UFBA to seek for whether the material matches the
course requirements in terms of the audience, content, aim and the methodology. However,
there are some differences in several aspects. Firstly, accompanied with two data collection
instruments: document analysis and questionnaires for both teachers and students, follow-up
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interviews for both teachers and students are also employed in order to look for the reliable
respondents. Furthermore, the course book is evaluated by both insiders and outsidersevaluators. Consequently, it is hoped that this study will reveal the reliable and valuable
findings.

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Chapter three, Methodology, presents a description of the research method employed in
this study. It includes four sections: the setting, participants, data collection instruments, and
data collection procedure.

3.1. THE SETTING

Founded in 1965, University of Finance and Business Administration (UFBA) has been
training the total number of nearly 8000 students who study 8 fields of education and has got
constant-annual enrollment of 800 to 1200 students. The students share different
backgrounds when entering the university. Moreover, almost students, coming from rural
areas in the North of Vietnam, lack of skills such as searching information on the internet or
looking for books in the libraries for their own studies. Consequently, most of them, known
as the first year students, rely on what teachers provide in class.
In the 2013-2014 academic year, the “New English File-Elementary” was officially used
to teach the first year students of all departments at the university. The first academic year
falls into two semesters, each lasting 12 weeks and finishing with end of term examinations.
The teaching and learning New English File-Elementary series follow the learners-center
approach, aiming at developing learners‟ English communicative competence.
 Course material
Considered as the focus of the study, New English File-Elementary designed by Clive
Oxenden, Christina Latham- Keoning and Paul Seligson in 2004 is taken into account
carefully. The material consists of a Student‟s Book, Teacher‟ Book, Work Book, class
audio CDs and a reference book Grammar in Use (Raymond Murphy, 2004).
The Student‟s Book includes nine units, all except the last divided into four teaching
sections, grammar and vocabulary banks and extra communication exercises. The Work
Book offers the students the chance to practice in all grammar structures and vocabulary
from the main text. In addition, the Teacher‟s Book provides the answer and a suggested
lesson plan for each section. Furthermore, there are also extra exercises from reference book
Grammar in Use used for reinforcing language points.
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

Course objectives
The course objectives which the students are supposed to achieve by the end of the

semester are also prescribed by the Faculty of English. In general, firstly, the learners can
develop their basis English grammar points in a range of everyday social contexts. Besides,
the learners have ability to communicate in certain daily topics through direct information
exchanges, make conversations for the suggested topics and describe their personality, daily
activities or express their opinions in simple situations associated with their life. The
students are also able to develop speaking, listening, reading and writing skills and they are
also introduced to learning strategies. Furthermore, the students can broaden their mind
about communicative culture and soft skills of communicating with foreigners, team/group
work skills as well.


Course Assessment
According to the Course Syllabus, there are three kinds of assessment in the course

including attendance accounting for 10 %, mini-tests accounting for 20 % and the final
assessment occupying 70% (presented in Appendix 1).

3. 2. PARTICIPANTS
Due to the limit of this study, the evaluation is carried out on the first year students in
Business Administration Department. The five Vietnamese teachers of English in charge of
five intended classes will receive the invitations to take part in the research regardless of
their gender and teaching experience. The English teacher respondents in Business
Administration Department include five female ranged in ages from 24 to 31. Of the five
teachers taking part in the study, three had already taken MA degree, one is taking the MA
degree and one has BA in English. All of them have much experience in teaching English
and they have been using the intended course book in their teaching process. Among them,
one has been teaching English for nine years, two of them for five years and one for four
years and the other for two years. Futhermore, four out of five teachers have been teaching
the course book for three years and one for two years. It is emphasized that all of the

teachers are willing and enthusiastic toward their teaching, always pay attention to the
improvement of the course; therefore, they show a lot of interest in this study.
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