VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES BÙI THỊ THU TRANG EVALUATION OF AN ESP TEXTBOOK FOR THE STUDENTS MAJORING IN COOKING AT A TRAINING COLLEGE IN HAIDUONG (Đánh giá giáo trình tiếng Anh chuyên ngành dành cho sinh viên chuyên ngành nấu ăn ở một trường Cao đẳng dạy nghề tại Hải Dương) MA. MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Ha noi 2022 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES BÙI THỊ THU TRANG EVALUATION OF AN ESP TEXTBOOK FOR THE STUDENTS MAJORING IN COOKING AT A TRAINING COLLEGE IN HAIDUONG (Đánh giá giáo trình tiếng Anh chuyên ngành dành cho sinh viên chuyên ngành nấu ăn ở một trường Cao đẳng dạy nghề tại Hải Dương) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231. Mai Thị Loan Ha noi 2022 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby, certify that the minor thesis entitled “Evaluation of an ESP textbook for the students majoring in cooking at a Training College in HaiDuong.” is the result of my own work in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty at Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University of Hanoi.
The material in this thesis has not been submitted for assessment in any other formal course. I am fully aware that should this declaration be found to be dishonest, disciplinary action and penalties in accordance with University policies and rules can be imposed. Hanoi, 2022 Student’s signature Bùi Thị Thu Trang Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Dr. Mai Thị Loan Date:.
i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of my MA thesis is an arduous but rewarding process in which I am fortunate to receive invaluable supports and encouragements from the family, supervisor, lecturers, friends, colleagues, students. I would like to take this opportunity to express my immense gratitude to their time and assistance. In particular, I am profoundly indebted to my thesis advisor, Dr. Mai Thi Loan, who offered me the right orientation, constant advice to develop the thesis, the elaborate edition of my thesis, and ultimately a good role model of an effective instructor.
Secondly, I am grateful to all lecturers and the staff of Faculty of Post- Graduate Studies department, VNU for supporting me with a lot of knowledge and giving me the best environment to fulfill my thesis. Besides, I want to express gratefulness to the colleagues and students in my college for their cooperation and their enthusiasm towards my research. Last but not least, immense gratitude goes to my whole family and friends for their care, understanding and spiritual encouragement. Hanoi, 2022 ii ABSTRACT The present study on English for Specific Purposes (ESP) textbook evaluation was an attempt to find out the extent to which ESP textbook taught at the college of Tourism, Industry and Trade for cooking students meets students’ needs and evaluate how this ESP textbook conforms to the criteria of an EFL textbook.
For this purpose, a questionnaire for students consisting of 30 items and examining eight factors (practical concerns, course objective, subject matter, linguistic issues, skills and strategies, activities, the layout and the content of materials) and an interview for the teachers were used. Participants included 3 ESP teachers and 173 students taking an ESP course at the college. The results showed that the ESP textbook met the students’ needs in some aspects such as the sequencing of content on the basis of complexity and the suitability of topics. Contrary to these strengths, both the teachers and the students asserted that the current textbook is not very effective in terms of adequate recycling and revision.
Also, all four language skills are not covered adequately. The textbook fails to provide students with appropriate illustrations as well. In conclusion, it seems that the current textbook does not meet the cooking students’ and teachers’ expectations to high extent. iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Chart 4.1: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about practical concern Table 4.1: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about practical concern Chart 4.2: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about course objectives Table 4.2: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about course objectives Chart 4.3: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about linguistic issues Table 4.3: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about linguistic issues Chart 4.4: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about subject matter Table 4.5: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about skills and strategies Chart 4.6: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about activities Chart 4.7: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about layout Table 4.7: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about layout Chart 4.8: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about content Table 4.8: Frequencies of Students' Responses to items about content iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP.
iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. Rationale of the study. Aim and objectives of the study.
The scope of the study. Methodology of the study. Significance of the research. The organization of the study.
4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Definitions of materials evaluation. Roles of materials evaluation in language teaching and learning. Purposes of materials evaluation.
Types of materials evaluation. Criteria of materials evaluation. 18 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Context of the study.
Setting of the study. Data collection instruments. Data collection procedure. Data analysis methods.
25 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further study. I APPENDIX 2: TEACHER INTERVIEW.
VII APPENDIX 3: STUDENTS’ RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE. VIII vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been widely explored and studied by many countries in the field of English language teaching. It has emerged and become an important trend in English Language Teaching (ELT) since 1960s.
English for specific purposes is now considered as “a very active, even ‘feisty’ movement” that has developed its own materials and teaching approaches and “has had considerable influence over the more general activities of TESOL and applied linguistics” (Dudley-Evans, 2001, p. 131) Hence, ESP has become increasingly popular in Vietnam. The products of specific purpose course and materials development may be available in the form of course outlines, curriculum documents and instructional materials and they are diversified. Therefore, it is a challenge for teachers to select a material which can adapt the students’ need.
One of the important factors in language teaching, especially in ESP, is to determine whether the textbooks and materials are useful and suitable for the purpose of the course or not. Textbooks are among the most important resources utilized to achieve the aims of a course which are based on the learners' needs. However, they should not become the aim of the course themselves and set those aims (Brown, 1995). Regarding the importance of the textbooks, one should make sure that those books meet appropriate criteria.
In Cunnings worth’s (1995) words, we should ascertain that "careful selection is made, and that the materials selected closely reflect the aims, methods, and values of the teaching program" (p. 1 Presently, I have worked as an English teacher at the college of Tourism, Industry and Trade in Hai Duong(CTIT). At my college we use “English for chefs” as the main materials for teaching ESP for students majoring in cooking for many years. However, we have not had any researches to analyse whether the textbook used, has met the students’ needs or not.
For this reason, I decide that I would implement a research to evaluate the ESP textbook for students majoring in cooking. Research objectives The purpose of this study is to find out whether the ESP textbook used for the students majoring in cooking at the college of Tourism, Industry and Trade is suitable with the current situation. The overall aim is specified into the following objectives: - To find out the extent to which ESP textbook taught at the college of Tourism, Industry and Trade for cooking students meets students’ needs. - To evaluate how the textbook used for the students majoring in cooking at the college of Tourism, Industry and Trade conforms to the criteria of a textbook.
Research questions The study was carried out to answer the following questions: - How does the ESP textbook taught at the college of Tourism, Industry and Trade for cooking students meet students’ needs in terms of the available criteria? - To what extent does the textbook about cooking conform to the criteria of a textbook? 1. The scope of the study This study was conducted with the participation of both teachers and students majoring in cooking who have been using the ESP textbook “English for chef” for teaching and studying at a training college in Hai Duong. There are many criteria to be taken to evaluate a textbook but this study is carried out to find the 2 appropriateness of the textbook to practical concerns, course objective, linguistic issues, subject matter, skills and strategies, variety of tasks and activities, the layout of materials, and the content of the book. Methodology of the study The study applied quantitative and qualitative approach in order to achieve the objectives.
The research instruments were questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire was carried out to get information about the participants’ opinion whether the textbook meets students’ needs or not. The questionnaire included thirty questions based on based on Sheldon’ (1988) model of evaluation, modified by Karimi (2006). The interview was the instrument that helped obtain teachers’ comments about the currently – used textbook.
Both questionnaire and interview were based on the same theoretical framework and focused on practical concerns, materials in relation to practical concerns, materials in relation to course objective, linguistic issues, subject matter, skills and strategies, variety of tasks and activities, the layout of materials, and the content of the book. The researcher collected data for study in the following sequence. Firstly, the questionnaire was carried out to get information about the students’ evaluation about the ESP textbook when they had experienced the book after finishing the course. In this study, the questionnaire was used to explore the students’ opinion whether the ESP text meets their needs or not.
Secondly, the interview was used to collect the teachers’ comments about currently – used ESP textbook. Finally, the data from the questionnaires and interviews was sorted and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Significance of the research The finding of this thesis will provide valuable facts about the students and teachers’ needs and opinions over in-use ESP material. It is a systematic evaluation of the book which gives teachers at CTIT a comprehensive at their 3 textbook.
Moreover, this study will serve as the basis for the action of college administrators in the future with regards to the necessary actions in investing for ESP teaching materials. The organization of the study This study is divided into five chapters as follows: Chapter 1: Introduction presents the rationale, aim and objectives, research questions, scope, method, significance as well as the design of the study. Chapter 2: Literature review provides a critical review of the previous studies relating to the research problem under investigation and presents a statement of unsolved problems and the theoretical background used as tools for conducting the whole research. Chapter 3: Research methodology, in which the information of the method to collect data and the way to analyze the data will be mentioned.
Chapter 4: Analysis and findings describes what can be learned during the research and interpreted the results of the research. Chapter 5: Conclusion summarizes the main points in the study, the limitation and suggest for further study.
