Tài liệu An empirical evaluation of the esp course book used at hanoi university of pharmacy .

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Lê Tố Hương AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF THE ESP COURSE BOOK USED AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF PHARMACY MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE HANOI, 2019 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Lê Tố Hương AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF THE ESP COURSE BOOK USED AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF PHARMACY Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hồ Ngọc Trung HANOI, 2019 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I certify that the work contained in this thesis is the result of my own research, and this thesis has not been submitted for any degrees at any other universities or institutions. Author’s Signature Lê Tố Hương Approved by SUPERVISOR Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hồ Ngọc Trung Date: ........................ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis is completed after many working hours, as well as the contribution from numerous people with their effort, enthusiasm and assistance; and this dissertation is whole heartedly dedicated to them. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hồ Ngọc Trung for his useful comments and continuous support of my study, for his patience, encouragement, enthusiasm and immense knowledge. His guidance helped me tremendously in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. Next, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation and thanks to Mr. Đặng Nguyên Giang and the staff of the Department of Foreign Languages, Graduate Academy of Social Sciences for granting me the honor of writing this thesis as well as their assistance and most valuable comments. Additionally, I would be most grateful for all of the help from teachers at Hanoi University of Pharmacy for their support and sharing the workload so that I could wholeheartedly focus on the study and get it completed. Furthermore, I would like to send my special thanks to all of the students at Hanoi University of Pharmacy for their enthusiasm; their answers and responses helped me a lot with the analysis of the thesis. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my beloved family, who always support me during the progress of conducting and finishing this thesis. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION BY AUTHOR ......................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...................................................................................................ii LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS ................................................................................... vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS .................................................vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................... 1 1.1. Rationale ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Aim(s) of the study ....................................................................................................... 1 1.3. Research questions ....................................................................................................... 1 1.4. Scope of the Study ........................................................................................................ 2 1.5. Significance of the study ............................................................................................... 2 1.6. Research methods ........................................................................................................ 2 1.7. Structure of the study ................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 4 2.1. Text book, coursebook and material ............................................................................ 4 2.1.1. Definitions ...................................................................................................................... 4 2.1.2. Roles of materials in ELT classrooms ......................................................................... 5 2.2. Coursebook evaluation ................................................................................................. 7 2.2.1. Definitions of coursebook evaluation ........................................................................... 7 2.2.2. Models of coursebook evaluation ................................................................................. 7 2.2.3. Criteria for coursebook evaluation ............................................................................ 13 2.3. Needs analysis ............................................................................................................ 16 2.4. Previous studies on coursebook evaluation ................................................................. 18 2.5. English for Specific Purposes ..................................................................................... 20 2.6. Summary.................................................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 22 3.1. The setting.................................................................................................................. 22 3.1.1. Overview of ESP teaching and learning at Hanoi University of Pharmacy ........... 22 3.1.2. Course material ........................................................................................................... 22 3.1.3. Course objectives ......................................................................................................... 23 3.1.4. Course assessment ....................................................................................................... 23 3.2. Research methodology ............................................................................................... 24 3.2.1. Participants .................................................................................................................. 24 3.2.2. Research instruments .................................................................................................. 26 3.2.3. Data collection procedure ........................................................................................... 28 3.2.4. Data analysis methods ................................................................................................. 29 3.3. Summary.................................................................................................................... 29 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................. 30 4.1. About the learners ...................................................................................................... 30 4.2. The suitability of the coursebook to the objectives of the course ................................. 33 4.2.1. Data collected from the questionnaire ....................................................................... 33 4.2.2. Data collected from semi-structured interviews ....................................................... 39 4.2.3. Discussion and conclusion........................................................................................... 39 4.3. The suitability of the coursebook to students’ needs ................................................... 40 iii 4.3.1. Data collected from questionnaires ............................................................................ 40 4.3.2. Data collected from semi-structured interviews ....................................................... 42 4.3.3. Discussion and conclusion........................................................................................... 43 4.4. The suitability of the coursebook to the current teaching and learning methods ........ 43 4.4.1. Data collected from questionnaires ............................................................................ 43 4.4.2. Data collected from semi-structured interviews ....................................................... 50 4.4.3. Discussion and conclusion........................................................................................... 51 4.5. General evaluation and suggestion for further use of the coursebook......................... 51 4.5.1. General evaluation ...................................................................................................... 51 4.5.2. Suggestions for further use ......................................................................................... 52 4.5.3. Summary ...................................................................................................................... 53 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 54 5.1. Recapitulation ............................................................................................................ 54 5.2. Concluding Remarks .................................................................................................. 55 5.2.1. The suitability to the objectives of the course ........................................................... 55 5.2.2. The suitability to students’ needs ............................................................................... 55 5.2.3. The suitability to current teaching and learning methods ....................................... 55 5.3. Implications ............................................................................................................... 56 5.4. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies........................................................ 56 REFERENCES................................................................................................................... 58 APPENDIX 1: PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT Ý KIẾN SINH VIÊN .............................................. I APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS ............................................. VIII APPENDIX 3: TRANSCRIPT OF TEACHER INTERVIEW ................................... XV iv ABSTRACT The present study evaluates the coursebook “A text-based ESP course for Pharmacy students” for non-English major students at Hanoi University of Pharmacy in terms its suitability to the objectives of the course, students’ needs and current teaching and learning method. Eighty-six non-English major students and four teachers who were using this coursebook were invited to answer the questionnaires, and four teachers to take part in the interviews. Data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Overall, the results of the research have shown that teachers’ evaluations of the textbooks are very positive. Findings revealed the coursebook fundamentally met the course’s objectives and students’ needs, and fit in with the current teaching and learning method, though there were still minor unsuitable parts that need adaptation. The result of this study would benefit both teachers and learners who work with this material for better use in the future. Key words: coursebook, textbook, material, coursebook evaluation, empirical evaluation, A text-based ESP course for Pharmacy students, nonEnglish major. v LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Chart 4.1: Students’ age 30 Chart 4.2: Students’ period of learning English 31 Chart 4.3: Students’ background of learning English 32 Table 4.1: Teachers’ evaluation of the objectives of the coursebook 33 Table 4.2: Students’ evaluation of the objectives of the coursebook 35 Table 4.3: Teachers’ evaluation of the suitability of the coursebook 40 to the students’ needs Table 4.4: Students’ evaluation of the suitability of the coursebook 41 to their needs Table 4.5: Teachers’ views on the effectiveness of the teaching and 44 learning interactions used with the coursebook Table 4.6: Students’ views on the effectiveness of the teaching and 44 learning interactions used with the coursebook Table 4.7: Teachers’ views on the frequency of the teaching aids 46 used with the coursebook Table 4.8: Students’ views on the frequency of the teaching aids 46 used with the coursebook Table 4.9: Teachers’ evaluation on the methodology of 48 the coursebook. Table 4.10: Students’ evaluation on the methodology of 49 the coursebook Table 4.11: Students’ and teachers’ overall rating of the 52 coursebook unit Table 4.12: Students’ and teachers’ judgment on the time allocation for each unit vi 52 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language ESP: English for Special Purpose ETL: English Teaching and Learning FLF: Foreign Language Faculty HUP: Hanoi University of Pharmacy vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Rationale English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been taught to undergraduates of Hanoi University of Pharmacy (HUP) for many years. The aim of ESP course is to enable the learners to use English for their professional purposes, especially to digest professional documents of their field for further study. There are several factors affecting the ESP teaching and learning process such as: materials, teaching and learning method, students’ awareness of learning and so on. One of the factors which is of utmost importance in learning ESP is to see whether the coursebook is useful for the purpose of the course or not. At the HUP, the book of “A text-based ESP course for Pharmacy students”, which was collected and edited from various sources, and put into use in 2016, is designated to those in the fourth year, who hold certain knowledge of pharmacy. To some extent, its objectives meet teaching and learning’s goals such as the vocabulary, grammar points as well as help the learners how to gain effective reading techniques and ability of choosing the relevant documents for their job. However, with a view to having a more objective look at the course material, a textbook evaluation from teachers and students of HUP is done. 1.2. Aim(s) of the study The main purpose of the thesis is to evaluate the current ESP coursebook used at HUP to find out whether the coursebook meets the aims of the course and the students’ needs and methodology. 1.3. Research questions In order to fulfill the above aims, the study is expected to answer the following research questions: 1 1. To what extent does the course book “A Text-based ESP Course for Pharmacy Students” satisfy the aims of the course? 2. To what extent does the book meet students’ needs? 3. Is the book suitable to the current teaching and learning methods? 1.4. Scope of the Study In material evaluation, there has been a great number of criteria that should be taken into consideration such as: the audience, the content, the methodology, the cultural bias, the layout, the authenticity, and so on. In this study, the criteria for evaluation were based on Hutchinson and Water’s (1995) with focus on the three following criteria: objectives of the material, contents of the material, and methodology. 1.5. Significance of the study This study is to provide information on HUP teachers and students’ evaluation of the current ESP coursebook. This information is intended to be used as additional evidence for improving the current ESP coursebook at the HUP, making it more relevant to the learners’ needs. Also, the finding of this study will help ESP teachers at the university to meet the learners’ expectations better by narrowing the gap between teaching and learning. 1.6. Research methods The study adopted both quantitative and qualitative designs to evaluate the ESP coursebook designed for the students of HUP. In addition to a questionnaire is used to elicit the students’ perceptions regarding their ESP coursebook, there is an interview being run with the aim of achieving more reliable and valid findings. 1.7. Structure of the study The study consists of 5 chapters: 2 Chapter 1 - Introduction - presents a general overview of the study with specific references to the rationale, the aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, overview of the thesis. Chapter 2 - Literature review - provides theoretical basis for the study with the detailed discussion about some relevant theories related to textbook, course book, material, material evaluation and need analysis. Chapter 3 - Research Methodology - includes an overview of the approach used in conducting the study. It also provides a thorough description of the data collection procedure as well as the analytical procedure. Chapter 4 - Findings and Discussions - includes a detailed description of the findings as well as full explanation and interpretation of these findings. Chapter 5 - Conclusion - makes conclusion of the study; recommends the improvements to the material; expresses the limitations and suggestions for further research. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter provides theoretical basis for the study with the detailed discussion about some relevant theories related to textbook, course book, material, material evaluation and need analysis. 2.1. Text book, coursebook and material 2.1.1. Definitions Teaching materials are an indispensable component of any language teaching curricula. There are a number of ways researchers defined this concept but they share the same viewpoint that materials can be anything used to facilitate language teaching and learning (Littlejohn 1998, Tomlinson 1998, McGrath 2002). Littlejohn (1998) and Tomlinson (2011) viewed materials in various forms which can be students’ books, workbooks, teacher’s guides, videos, CDs, DVDs, lesson plans, website activities and more. Similarly, McGrath (2002) provided a broad sense of materials in which he explained that they could be “realia” (real objects) or presentations (drawings or photographs). He also added textbooks, worksheets, computer software and recordings as sources of materials. Among these forms, textbook is considered the official material and “the visible heart of any ELT programs” (Sheldom, 1988). It plays an important role of teaching a particular subject in schools and colleges and serves a basis of study for students and a primary teaching instrument for teachers (Oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com, 2008). As a type of teaching materials, a course book is defined as “a textbook that students and teachers use as the basis of a course” (Collinsdictionary.com, 2018). In other words, it is used to refer to a book “used by students when they do a particular course of study” (Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2018). In accordance with the dictionary definition, Ur (1996) and Tomlinson (2011) 4 explains that course books function as the core materials for a languagelearning course that a teacher and each student has a copy. It aims to provide as much as possible in one book and serves as the only book which the learners basically use during a course. A coursebook usually includes exercises on not only language elements like grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation but also functions and skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. From the above view of “textbook”, “course book” and “materials”, it can be pointed out that text book and course book are types of materials and these three terms can be used interchangeably in ELT teaching and learning context. 2.1.2. Roles of materials in ELT classrooms According to Richards and Rogers (2001) as cited in Ulaş Kayapinar (2009), course books play an indispensable part in the curriculum because they specify content and define coverage for syllabus items. They play multi essential roles in ELT such as a source of learning and teaching activities with systematic and standard knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc., a resource of learners’ self-study, a syllabus in accordance with determined learning objectives, and a support for inexperienced teachers (Cunningsworth, 1995). Course books also help standardize instruction, frame the language contents, and provide language models and practice activities for teachers and students to follow in class (Ur, 1996). Ur adds more advantages of course books. For example, they provide available and appropriate texts and exercises for most learners and classes. They are also the most economic and convenient ways of providing teaching and learning materials for both teachers and learners. Thus, the use of course books is more and more popular among universities, private schools and some state schools. It is the ready-made syllabi in the ready-made course books that are preferred by both school 5 administrations and teachers of English. Besides, course books provide opportunities for learners to practice the target language in the classroom before they use it in real life situations. However, course books as preplanned instruction materials have some possible disadvantages. According to Richards and Renandya (2002), as cited in Ulaş Kayapinar (2009), course books fail to present real-life language models and contextualize language activities. They fails to address linguistic competence as well as to teach idioms in everyday language. Lack of equity in gender representation and the inadequate cultural understanding encouragement are also among the disadvantages of course books. Ur (1996) adds the following drawbacks of course books. Firstly, course books are inadequate in that every class and learner has their own learning needs and a course book cannot supply these satisfactorily. Secondly, course books are irrelevant because the topics dealt within the books may not necessarily be interesting for the class. Course books may lead to boredom and lack of motivation on the part of the learners. Also, they do not cater for variety of levels of ability and knowledge that exist in most classes. Moreover, although coursebooks are considered as the magical instruction tool for language teachers, highly structured coursebooks may even lead to the de-skilling of teachers (Hutchinson & Torres 1994 as cited in Osman Dülger 2016). In conclusion, on one hand, coursebooks prove to be very advantageous for both school administrations, language teachers and students with available syllabi and already designed texts and tasks which are suitable for a large portion of language learners. On the other hand, coursebooks reveal some limitations such as inadequacy, irrelevance, inauthenticity. That is the reason why any coursebooks should be evaluated to see whether or not they match the school curriculum and learners’ needs and interests. 6 2.2. Coursebook evaluation 2.2.1. Definitions of coursebook evaluation Coursebook evaluation is of great significance as it seeks to identify the strengths and weeknesses of the books and helps to make decisions about adapting the materials or adopting new ones. In order to conduct the evaluation of a coursebook, it is necessary to understand what the process of evaluation involves. There are a number of definitions of evaluation provided by researchers. According to Tomlinson (2011), coursebook evaluation is an attempt to measure the potential value of the coursebooks. It involves making judgements about the effects of coursebooks on such agents as learners, instructors, administrators who use them through such features of the books as credibility, validity, flexibility, etc. Coursebook evaluation is also defined by Rea-Dickins and Germanie (1994) as “the means by which we can gain a better understanding of what is effective, what is less effective and what appears to be no use at all”. Effective evaluation relies on asking appropriate questions and interpreting the answers to them (Cunningsworth, 1995). In summary, coursebook evaluation is the process of collecting data, giving judgement on the effectiveness of books based on the collected data to make precise decisions of effectively using the materials or replacing them. 2.2.2. Models of coursebook evaluation Material evaluation is “a dynamic process which is fundamentally a subjective, rule-of-thumb activity" where "no neat formula, grid, or system will ever provide a definitive yardstick" (Sheldon, 1988). There are a variety of models and criteria of coursebook evaluation which vary according to the ELT contexts. Administrators and instructors should choose the most suitable 7 criteria to evaluate coursebooks, considering the specific teaching and learning contexts. The following sets out a range of models to coursebook evaluation which all tend to evaluate coursebooks on four main aspects, including the internal content, the aims and approaches, the supporting sources and the physical appearance of the coursebook. Ellis’s approach (1997) According to Ellis (1997), there are two main types of coursebook evaluation: predictive evaluation and retrospective evaluation. A predictive evaluation is designed to help teachers decide what coursebooks to use whereas a retrospective evaluation may be conducted once the book is used to find out if the material matches the learners’ need and current teaching methodology. Predictive evaluation, according to Ellis, can be carried out in two principal ways. One involves teachers relying on evaluations carried out by experts specializing in coursebook evaluation. Alternatively, teachers can carry out their own predictive evaluations by making use of various checklists and guidelines available in the literature. Another kind of evaluation – retrospective evaluation – is carried out while a coursebook is in use (whilst-use evaluation) or after it has been used (post-use evaluation). There are two ways of retrospective evaluations: impressionistic and empirical one. While the impressionistic evaluation is based on observation of learners’ engagement and enthusiasm in activities and contents of the book, empirical one relates to “collecting data in a more systematic manner” (Ellis, 1997). To conduct empirical evaluation, teachers use “end-of-course questionnaires to judge the effectiveness of their teaching, including the material used”; therefore, it is often more objective and reliable than other kinds of evaluation as it is based on users’ feedback. Such an evaluation provides information that can be used 8 to determine whether the material is worth using again. In addition, Ellis (1997) states that retrospective evaluation is a good way of testing the validity of a predictive evaluation. Tomlinson’s approach (2003) Another approach of evaluating coursebooks is proposed by Tomlinson (2003) with a three-stage process of evaluation: pre-use evaluation, whilst-use evaluation and post-use evaluation. The first stage, pre-use evaluation is, according to Tomlinson (2003), “impressionistic and consists of a teacher flicking through a book to gain a quick impression of its potential value’. It involves assessing the potential value of materials for their users, including a quick scan of a book’s physical appearance and content pages to get an impression of its potential value. The second stage, whilst-use evaluation, involves evaluating materials in use. This can be more reliable than pre-use evaluation, as it involves deeper evaluation of the content of materials and makes use of classroom observation and feedback from the users although, according to Tomlinson (2003), this stage includes controversial issues about what exactly can be measured. The criteria seem to be general and some (e.g. credibility of tasks, achievement of performance objectives, motivating power of the materials, etc.) are not easy to measure. However, he also suggests that these criteria “can be estimated during an open-ended, impressionistic observation of materials in use but greater reliability can be achieved by focusing on one criterion at a time”. They can be measured by different methods. For example, to measure the motivating power of the materials he suggests ‘noting such features as student eye focus, proximity to the materials, time on task and facial animation’ (Tomlinson, 2003). In the last stage of evaluation in this approach, post-use evaluation, most evaluators tend to seek answers to such questions as: What is the impact of the coursebook on learners? 9 What is its impact on teachers? And what is its impact on administrators? According to Tomlinson (2003), this stage is probably the most valuable stage in the evaluation process as it involves measuring the effects of the materials on users after the coursebook has been used. Also, as Cunningsworth (1995) points out, post-use evaluation is useful in helping to decide whether to continue using a coursebook or not in the future. Littlejohn’s approach (1998 & 2011) The third major approach for coursebook evaluation is suggested by Littlejohn (1998 & 2011). He suggested a three-level evaluation checklist including: (1) What is there? (2) What is required of users? and (3) What is implied? At the first level, there are questions about the physical properties of the coursebook. These cover publication date, intended audience, physical aspects (number of pages, paper quality, artwork, etc.), and are similar to the ones in Tomlinson (2003). Level 2 focuses on the language learning activities and tasks in the coursebook to see what teachers and learners using the coursebooks need to do. It moves slightly deeper into an analysis of what is assumed to be the most important aspect of coursebooks. At the third level, there are questions on the approach, philosophy and aims of the coursebook. Littlejohn points out that his levels of evaluation move from more objective criteria to less objective ones. The first level is the most objective while the third level is the least. McGrath’s approach (2002) The fourth approach to coursebook evaluation is suggested by McGrath (2002). He points out the aspects which need evaluating in a two-stage process of systematic materials evaluation. They are ‘first-glance’ evaluation and ‘indepth’ evaluation. Each stage consists of a series of criteria by which to evaluate the coursebook. The ‘first glance’ evaluation has four steps. In step 1 10 – practical considerations, features evaluated in this step include: availability, cost, and the levels of the book which are available. If these are judged satisfactory, the evaluation proceeds to step 2 – support for teaching and learning. Features assessed at this step include the teacher’s book and how well it relates to the student book, supporting resources (e.g. cassette recordings, photocopiable worksheets, etc.). If all these are satisfied, the evaluator proceeds to step 3 - context relevance. At this stage the evaluator assesses the suitability of the coursebook in terms of aims, syllabus, length and its suitability for learners’ proficiency level, age and background. If all of these meet the requirements, the evaluator goes further to step 4 - learner appeal. This step involves considering the appeal of the book to learners. This is mainly related to the appearance of the book. The evaluation starts from the first sub-step. If a coursebook meets all of the key criteria for each step, the process continues with the next one. If it does not meet the key criteria in any sub-step, the process stops and the coursebook is rejected. If all of the above-mentioned key criteria are met, the in-depth evaluation step is carried out to assess the coursebook in detail. According to McGrath (2002), the in-depth evaluation tends to address the following points: - The aims and content of the book - What they require learners to do - What they require the teacher to do - Their function as a classroom resource - Learner needs and interests - Learner approaches to language learning - The teaching-learning approach in the teacher’s own classroom 11