Lectures' and students' evaluations on the coursebook international express pre-Intermediate - Second edition

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

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NGUYỄN NGỌC BẢO CHÂU

LECTURERS’ AND STUDENTS’ EVALUATIONS

ON THE COURSEBOOK INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS

PRE-INTERMEDIATE – SECOND EDITION

Major: TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES

Major code: 60140111

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. PHAM VU PHI HO

HO CHI MINH City, 2016

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “Lecturers’ and Students’ Evaluation on the

coursebook International Express – Pre-intermediate - Second Edition” is my own

work.

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain

material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which

I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main

text of the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any

other tertiary institution.

Ho Chi Minh City, 2016

Nguyen Ngoc Bao Chau

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RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby stated that, I, Nguyen Ngoc Bao Chau, being the candidate for the degree

of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the

retention and use of Master’ Thesis deposited in the Library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the

Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance

with the normal conditions established bu the Library for care, loan, or reproduction

of thesis.

Ho Chi Minh City, 2016

Nguyen Ngoc Bao Chau

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to my first thesis

supervisor Dr. Nguyen Thi Boi Hoang for her guidance, sincere advice and

encouragement from the beginning of thesis progression. However, because of

some objective reasons, she left Vietnam since the middle of 2015 and could not

continuously support me to the end.

In addition, my deepest gratitude goes to my present thesis supervisor, Dr.

Pham Vu Phi Ho, who provided me invaluable thoughtful comments, and helpful

instruction on how to conduct an effective thesis writing. Without his support and

wholehearted guidance, I could not have finished my thesis.

Next, I am also grateful to all lecturers for their helpful instruction during the

Master course as well as the staff of Graduate School, at Ho Chi Minh City Open

University, for their kindly assistance.

My honest thanks go to Ms. Ngo Thi Thanh Van, The Director of TOEIC

Center, Ton Duc Thang University for her support and all the colleagues who are

the lecturers of English language at TOEIC Center, as well as students at Ton Duc

Thang University, for their contribution, enthusiastic engagement in the survey and

interviews.

I would like to thank my classmates of TESOL 7 who provide me a number

of sincere advice and share with me a lot of knowledge and learning experience

during the course. Without their helps, I think I could have never been completed

the courses.

Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my family for their

spiritual as well as material supports, especially, my husband who has supported me

a great deal in conducting a thesis study.

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ABSTRACT

Textbooks play a vital role in language teaching program. A textbook may

serve as a main tool for teacher to convey language knowledge to EFL learners.

Nevertheless, it is obvious that no textbook can perfectly suit a language teaching

context as well as fit learners’ needs and interests. Therefore, many theorists have

developed checklists and principles for textbook evaluation.

The present study aims at evaluating coursebook International Express –

Pre-intermediate - Second Edition, used at TOEIC Center, Ton Duc Thang

University. The purpose of this study is to investigate lecturers’ and students’s

perception toward this coursebook. 304 students and 50 lecturers comprising males

and females participated in this study. The instrument employed in the study was a

textbook evaluation questionnaire adapted and modified from a variety checklist

and a semi-structured interviews with ten lecturers and ten students. The 45

questionnaire items using 5-point Likert scale rating from “1=not al all” to “5=very

much” was employed to elicit participants’ evaluation on four main categories of

the coursebook including Content, Tasks and activities, Layout and design as well

as Overall assessment.

Descriptive statistics was carried out to interpret the quantitative data by

utilizing mean and standard deviation. The quantitative data from the interview

were transcribed and grouped into themes for interpretation. The findings showed

that most lecturers and students have similar opinions with regard to the strengths

and weaknesses of the coursebook. Regarding the positive features, the finding

indicated that the layout and design of the coursebook are effective organized for a

convenience of use. Furthermore, the grammar is contextualized in meaningful

context for learners to work out rules. Last but not least, the reading and listening

texts are almost taken form authentic source to help students relate the language in

real world context.

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Despite the strong points, the coursebook also have some weaknesses. First

and foremost, the topics in coursebook are not diverse, up-to-date and interesting to

appeal students’ interest. Next, listening and reading texts are too lengthy and often

accompanied with challenging tasks. Moreover, tasks are not effective in terms of

provide students with opportunities to produce meaningful practice or relate the

language they acquire to their real life. In addition, the supplementary materials

inadequately support lecturers and students in teaching and learning process.

Finally, the coursebook does not really correspond to the goal and objectives of

learning courses.

Based on the finding, it is suggested that lecturers should make a great deal

of modification to make the lessons more interesting and appropriate to learner

needs and levels. Overall, the coursebook did not serve both learners’ needs and the

course goal; therefore, the educators or curriculum developers should consider

changing another coursebook more suitable to satisfy learners’ needs.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ............................................................................ i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS.............................................................. ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... iii

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................. iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................... vi

LIST OF FIGURES.....................................................................................................x

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................................. xii

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION..............................................................................1

1.1 Background of the study .......................................................................................1

1.2 Statement of the problem ......................................................................................4

1.3 Aims of the study and Research Questions...........................................................8

1.4 Significance of the study.......................................................................................9

1.5 Overview of thesis chapter....................................................................................9

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................10

2.1 Textbooks, coursebooks and instructional materials ..........................................10

2.1.1 Definitions of terms......................................................................................10

2.1.2. The roles of coursebook in English language classroom ............................12

2.1.3. The pros and cons of coursebook ................................................................13

2.2 Coursebook evaluation........................................................................................15

2.2.1. Definition of coursebook evaluation ...........................................................15

2.2.2 The rationale for coursebook evaluation ......................................................16

2.2.3 Types of coursebook evaluation ...................................................................18

2.3. Theoretical framework for coursebook evaluation ............................................19

2.3.1 Language Content.........................................................................................21

2.3.1.1 Topic.......................................................................................................21

2.3.1.2 Linguistic aspects...................................................................................22

2.3.1.3 Language skills.......................................................................................24

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2.3.1.4 Language functions ................................................................................26

2.3.2 Tasks and Activities......................................................................................27

2.3.3 Layout and Design........................................................................................31

2.3.4 Overall Assessments.....................................................................................32

2.4 Review of previous studies .................................................................................34

2.4.1 Relevant studies on coursebook evaluation..................................................34

2.4.2 Implication of the current study....................................................................47

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................48

3.1 Pedagogical setting and Participants...................................................................48

3.1.1 Pedagogical setting .......................................................................................48

3.1.2 Participants....................................................................................................49

3.1.2.1 Lecturers.................................................................................................49

3.1.2.2 Students ..................................................................................................50

3.2 Research method .................................................................................................52

3.3 The coursebook International Express – pre-intermediate, second edition and

learning outcomes of the course Communicative English 1 and 2...........................53

3.3.1 The coursebook International Express – pre-intermediate, second edition..53

3.3.2 Learning outcomes of the course Communicative English 1 and 2 .............55

3.4 Instruments..........................................................................................................55

3.4.1 Questionnaires ..............................................................................................56

3.4.2 Interviews......................................................................................................64

3.5 Procedures of data collection ..............................................................................65

3.5.1 Procedure of administrating the questionnaires............................................65

3.5.1.1 Administration of the questionnaires to lecturers: .................................66

3.5.1.2 Administration of the questionnaires to students:..................................66

3.5.2 Procedure of conducting interviews .............................................................67

3.5.2.1 Lecturers’ interview ...............................................................................68

3.5.2.2 Students’ interview.................................................................................68

3.6 Data analyses.......................................................................................................69

3.6.1 Analyses of data from the questionnaire ......................................................69

3.6.2 Analyses of data from the interviews ...........................................................70

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3.7 Summary of the chapter ......................................................................................71

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ......................................................72

4.1 Demographic profile of participants ...................................................................72

4.2 Lecturers’ and students’ perceptions towards the coursebook International

Express......................................................................................................................75

4.2.1 Research question 1:.....................................................................................75

4.2.1.1 Evaluation on the content provided in the coursebook ..........................77

4.2.1.2 Evaluation on Tasks and activities provided in the coursebook ............91

4.2.1.3 Evaluation on Layout and design of the coursebook .............................95

4.2.1.4 Overall assessments of the coursebook..................................................98

4.2.2 Research question 2:...................................................................................115

4.2.2.1 Lecturers’ responses on aspects of the coursebook that need improving

..........................................................................................................................116

4.2.2.2 Students’ responses on aspects of the coursebook that need improving

..........................................................................................................................121

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................123

5.1 Summary of the findings...................................................................................123

5.1.1 Research question 1 ....................................................................................123

5.1.2 Research question 2 ....................................................................................125

5.2 Implication of the current study ........................................................................126

5.3 Limitations of the study ....................................................................................126

5.4 Recommendations for further research .............................................................127

REFERENCES........................................................................................................128

APPENDICES.........................................................................................................133

APPENDIX 1 - INFORMATION SHEET AND CONSENT FORM FOR

LECTURERS..........................................................................................................134

APPENDIX 2 - INFORMATION SHEET AND CONSENT FORM FOR

STUDENTS ............................................................................................................137

APPENDIX 3 - SURVEY QUESTIONAIRRE FOR COURSEBOOK

EVALUATION.......................................................................................................140

APPENDIX 4 - SURVEY QUESTIONAIRRE FOR LECTURERS.....................146

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APPENDIX 5 - SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS .......................151

APPENDIX 6 - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS...........................157

APPENDIX 7 - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR LECTURERS ........................157

APPENDIX 8 - SUMMARY OF INTERVIEWS WITH LECTURERS...............158

APPENDIX 9 - SUMMARY OF INTERVIEW WITH STUDENTS....................173

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. Theoretical framework for an evaluation of the coursebook International

Express......................................................................................................................34

Figure 3.1: Layout of a one-page questionnaire showing the placement of

demographic information, closes-ended items and open-ended items (Griffee,

2012p. 137) ...............................................................................................................59

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Reliability analysis of scales....................................................................63

Table 4.1. Demographic Profile of the Lecturers......................................................72

Table 4.2. Demographic Profile of Students.............................................................74

Table 4.3. Evaluation on the topics...........................................................................78

Table 4.4. Evaluation on grammar............................................................................82

Table 4.5. Evaluation on vocabulary ........................................................................84

Table 4.6. Evaluation on pronunciation ....................................................................85

Table 4.7. Evaluation on language skills ..................................................................88

Table 4.8. Evaluation on language functions............................................................90

Table 4.9. Evaluation on tasks and activities............................................................92

Table 4.10. Evaluation on layout and design ............................................................96

Table 4.11. Overall assessments on the coursebook.................................................98

Table 4.12. Comparison of lecturers’ and students’ evaluation on the content of the

coursebook ..............................................................................................................101

Table 4.13. Comparison of lecturers’ and students’ evaluation on tasks/ activities

and supplementary materials...................................................................................106

Table 4.14. Lecturers’ and students’ responses to the coverage of linguistic aspects

.................................................................................................................................109

Table 4.15. Lecturers’ and students’ responses to the coverage of language skills111

Table 4.16. Evaluation on the design of teaching- skills methods..........................113

Table 4.17. Lecturers’ and students’ preference of teaching-skills methods..........113

Table 4.18. Evaluation on the inclusion of the vocabulary list or glossary ...........114

Table 4.19. Assessment of aspects in the coursebook that need improving ...........116

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CE: Communicative English

EFT: English as a Foreign Language

ELT: English Language Teaching

ESP: English for Specific Purposes

IE: International Express

TTC: TOEIC Center

TDTU: Ton Duc Thang University

1

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The demand of learning English in Vietnam has become more popular and

important, especially, when the country join the World Trade Organization. At the

time, Vietnamese people learn English for a variety of purposes. They acquire a

language other than their mother tongue for their interests, the need of

communication, and for self-promotion, especially, to university students, they learn

in order to pass the high-school graduation exam and entrance university exam as;

they also learn English because of their job requirements, and so on.

With such a great need, the selection of an appropriate English coursebook

for teaching and learning is not any easier for educators, syllabus designers or

curriculum developers. Tok (2010) cites that textbooks play a prominent role in the

teaching /learning process and they are the primary agents of conveying the

knowledge to the learners. Besides, one of the basic functions of textbooks is to

make the existence knowledge available and apparent to the learner in a selected,

easy and organized way.

Today there are a wide range of different off-the-shelf English language

teaching coursebooks published, thus teachers should find the one the best suitable

the learners’ needs and goals (Frendo, 2005). In addition, Bao Dat (2008) reveals

that teachers of English in Vietnam taking part in his interviews could list 37 titles

from Oxford and Cambridge publisher alone. In fact, walking along some

bookstores, people can easily find a great deal of English coursebooks for variety of

English learners at every level from beginner to advance. Therefore, the question of

how to choose a good coursebook for each language learning course asks educators

and syllabus designers to take a thorough and consideration assessment. As

proposed by Harmer (2007), a good coursebook is prepared to provide a coherent

syllabus, appropriate language control, motivating texts, audio cassetts/ CDs, video/

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DVD material, CD-ROMs and other supplementary materials. Besides, they reduce

teachers’ time and pressure for preparing the lesson. Moreover, the teacher’s guides

not only provide the procedures for each lesson but also design extra activities,

tasks and offer other resources.

There are generally two ways to select a coursebook. First, it is chosen by

collecting ideas of a group of teachers and students after they have highlighted all

the strengths and weaknesses of some possible books as well as the needs of

learners to ensure the coursebook could match their needs. The second one,

however, is a more common way in which teachers or the school/ institute do the

selection for their learners themselves (Frendo, 2005). Consequently, when the

needs and interests of learners are not highlighted in textbook selection progress,

learners may feel demotivated and uninteresting in language learning program. In

this regards, Tomlinson (2013b) stresses that in materials selection process, the

most important thing need executing is analyzing learner needs and interests as well

as considering the way these factors are addressed. Similarly, Dang Tieu Yen

(2005) also argues that choosing a material from a wide range of sources should be

based on its curricular framework and students’ interests. In addition, Garinger

(2012) presents that “prior to selecting a textbook, educators should thoroughly

examine the program curriculum. If the goals and curriculum of the program are

clear and well defined, the parallels with certain textbooks may become obvious”.

Despites the fact that textbook plays a prominent role in ELT context, it is

believed that no textbook is perfect (William, 1983; Sheldon, 1988). Likewise,

Richards (2006, p. 257) also claims that “no commercial textbook will ever be

perfect for a language program”. Because no textbook can fully satisfy all teaching￾learning contexts, it is advisable for educators or syllabus designers to do an

evaluation, in order to assess their suitability and relevance for a particular group of

learners. To do so, teachers should engage their learners’ as well as colleagues’ in

the process of selection and evaluation to obtain their attitudes and perceptions