VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACUTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYN TH HNG - 1981

ESP MATERIALS EVALUATION REPORT

End-of-Course Assignment Course: English for Specific Purposes Instructor: B Qu, MEd. Cohort: PG 12

HANOI, 7/2011

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor MEd. Do Ba Quy for his valuable advice and thoughtful comments throughout the essay. I am indebted to my friends and colleagues for their suggestions and enthusiasm in helping me collect information. I also would like to express my thankfulness to my students at Tuyen Quang Economical and Technical High School for their valuable opinions, without which this essay would never be complete. Finally, my heartfelt thanks are due to my family who gave me much understanding and encouragement throughout the essay.

TABLE OF CONTENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................... 2 TABLE OF CONTENT............................................................................................................ 3 PART I: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 4 PART II: SITUATIONAL FACTERS.......................................................................................... 5 1.The target situation................................................................................................... 5 2.The teachers.............................................................................................................. 5 3.The learners.............................................................................................................. 6 PART III: LOGISTICAL FACTORS...........................................................................................6 PART IV: PEDAGOGICAL FACTORS.......................................................................................7 1.The 2.The 3.The 4.The rationale of the book..........................................................................................7 components of the book.....................................................................................9 testing approach in the book............................................................................10 missing from the book......................................................................................10

PART V: HUMAN FACTORS................................................................................................ 10 PART VI: CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 13 REFERENCES..................................................................................................................... 14

Name of course book: Enterprise One - English for the commercial world Authors: C J Moore & Judy West Publisher: Heinemann International Publishers (Oxford) Ltd
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Year of publication: 1985 PART I: INTRODUCTION Course books have played an important role in most language programs. However, research has suggested that despite their important role, course books are not always professionally designed and do not always fit the curriculum and closely correspond with the objectives of the course and the needs of the students. Thus, course books should be carefully evaluated and selected before being used for a language program. On the other hand, course book evaluation does help the managerial and teaching staff select the most appropriate materials available for a particular course. It also helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a particular course book that is already in use. This is to inform teachers in the process of course book adaptation and decision-making for the next courses. At Tuyen Quang Economical-Technical High School, English has been a compulsory subject. However, there has not been an official course book which is approved by the Ministry of Education. Teachers there themselves choose the course book that they believe appropriate to their students without a research. Enterprise One - English for the commercial world (C J Moore & Judy West, 1985) was chosen to be the course book for students of economics. Though, it has never been evaluated. The author of this essay is one of the teachers who have been working with this course book for several years. She wishes to know to what extent the course book suits her students. So she decided to conduct an official research to evaluate it. This essay seeks to evaluate the course book Enterprise One - English for the commercial world (C J Moore & Judy West, 1985) which is in use for the students of economics in Tuyen Quang Economical and Technical High School. Specifically, it seeks to examine the suitability of the course book to those students. That is, it seeks to answer the question To what extent does Enterprise One - English for the commercial world course book suit the students of economics in Tuyen Quang Economical - Technical High School?

PART II: SITUATIONAL FACTERS 1. The target situation Tuyen Quang Economical-Technical High School is a school in the mountainous area in the North of Vietnam. English there is a non-major subject. The students are at different levels of English proficiency, which range from beginner to intermediate. Most of them come from mountainous areas. Many of them are of ethnic minorities. They hardly have high motivation to learn English because they know that after graduating from school, they will work in the mountainous areas again where no English is used. The status and role of English in the students living environment are not highly considered. It is not surprising that most of the students learn English just because English is a compulsory subject. They often have three or five English lessons a week. The only material they have is the course book. There is hardly any other English material in the school library. The students sometimes get photocopied materials from their teachers. Besides, English classes are always very large ones, from forty- five to fifty- five students in each. They are not homogeneous in level, ability and age. That poses difficulty for teaching and learning English there. 2. The teachers In Tuyen Quang Economical-Technical High School, there are four teachers of English. All of them have university degrees major in English, two of who are ongoing studying post graduations in The University of Languages and International Studies. These teachers are evaluated good school-level-teachers. They actively apply Informatics Technology into their lessons. They are all skillful in designing lessons using Microsoft Office Power Point software. They all have at least 7 years working as teachers of English at the school; they understand the reality and grasp students general needs and knowledge bachground. Especially, they have worked with Enterprise One since they started working in the school, so they have a lot of practical experience. In 2004-2005, they performed a scientific research at the school level about seeking appropriate and improved methods in teaching English for economical students with Enterprise One. The results of the research were assessed good and have been applied up to now.

3. The learners The strength of the material is that there is a match between the subjective and the objective audience. Students taking the course of economics in Tuyen Quang Economical-Technical High School have experienced at least three years of learning English. They all have certain background knowledge of general English. According to the author of the material, this course is most appropriate for beginners who need to practice and consolidate basic structures and vocabulary from the beginning. After the course, students will be accountants working in the business companies which can be domestic or intercultural working environment where they may deal with foreigner partners, write invitation letters, quotations, commercial letters, invoices in English. Therefore, it can be concluded that the course book is quite appropriate to the students level. PART III: LOGISTICAL FACTORS Tuyen Quang Economical-Technical High School is a small Vocational High School in Tuyen Quang province. The school buildings are constructed for the 4th quarter. However, the learning and teaching facilities are quite good and sufficient. All classrooms are equipped with computers, projectors, light systems and there is a Lab. Each teacher of English is distributed a modern cassette player. The school facilitates the best conditions for all subjects in general and English in specific. The school has bought more than 100 Enterprise One course books equipped for the school library to serve students. In fact, there are more than 300 students each course, so the library does not have enough books for students to borrow. They have to photocopy, borrow their friends or buy the books themselves. However, bookshops in Tuyen Quang province do not serve Enterprise One; students have to book bookshops in Hanoi, which is not so convenient for them. Fortunately, Enterprise One is cheap enough for students to afford each one; it costs only VND 20.000/ book. It is certainly that the book is black and white. Enterprise One includes ten Units, of which there are six lessons and an interaction or language focus section. At the school, the English course of training two-year-accountants is regulated 120 periods and divided into 8 credits. Therefore, the structure of the course book fits the school schedule requirements. In addition, teachers can integrate their own designed tests, tasks, dialogues for students to do
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and practise during the course, which does not influence the syllabus plan. 120 periods with 8 credits for English for commercial purposes is not long enough for a two-yeartraining course, but it is the certain time to build basic language skills and certain knowledge of English for commerce to students. Enterprise One is the basement for students to study more when they start their realistic work. PART IV: PEDAGOGICAL FACTORS 1. The rationale of the book Enterprise is a course designed for people learning English in a working environment. While providing a sound basis in general English, topics and situations are related to day-to-day business activities. Enterprise One is for beginners or near beginners. It provides balanced instruction in all four language skills, teaching students to deal with situations common in the business, perform skills related to office-practice Those are the stated rationale of the authors and publishers. I think that the book reflects the rationale. It is because that for beginners the book introduces the verb to be, the Alphabet, numbers from one to ten in Unit 1; or how to say the time, numbers, days in a week, months in a year in Unit 2; or the present simple in Unit 3 ect. All of those are very simple and easily for beginners of English to understand or to access. In addition, the English for commercial purposes is transparently presented in the book since unit 1 to 10. Words related to commerce, economy and office-practice such as sales, account, and staff; job positions of people working in a business firm and office memos are shown immediately in Unit 1. The whole book talks about many business activities in a travel services limited company with the same people and many different operations such as office rules, application form (Unit 2), filling in a form (Unit 5), getting a loan (Unit 6), choosing clothing for travel (Unit 7), writing business letters (Unit 9)... Moreover, the structure of each unit is very clear and ensures to provide balanced instruction in all four language skills. Unit 8 is a good illustration of this; please take the structure of this unit: Lesson 1: A. Listen (Arriving in a new country) B. Study (Understanding instructions) C. Role play
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Lesson 2: Grammar summary A. Study B. Tell each other

Lesson 3: A. Copy and complete (registration form) B. Complete (dialogues) Lesson 6: A. Read B. Write

The four language skills are provides in all lessons of each unit ensuring the communicative approach but the commercial and economical contents are still integrated in learning and teaching activities. It can be said that the knowledge of commerce and economy, the knowledge of basic rules of English grammar, the balanced improvement of four language skills are ensured in the book, which reflects clearly the stated rationale of the authors and publishers. The objectives of the course are to provide the students with basic English grammar and vocabulary relating to economy to enable them communicate and write commercial letters in English. After finishing this course, students are able to: - acquire basic rules of English grammar; - have a number of vocabulary relating economy; - deal with situations common in the business world, e.g. meeting people, speaking on the telephone, writing commercial letters in English; - perform skills related to office-practice, e.g. form-filling, organizing information on paper; - acquire some general understanding of the people and cultures of some Englishspeaking countries and develop a positive attitude towards the people, cultures and language of these countries; cultivate the pride in, love for and respect to the Vietnamese culture and language. As being concluded above, the objectives of the course book and those of the course are quite completely matched. They aim to provide the students with basic English grammar and vocabulary relating to situations common in the business world; to enable them communicate and deal with common business situations in English. However, there are still some specific objectives of the course that the course book does not meet. Firstly, among the five objectives of the course, the last one seems not
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to be mentioned in the course book. There are hardly texts about the culture and language of some English-speaking countries. Also, there are nothing relevant to Vietnamese culture and language in the material. Secondly, the book was written and published in 1985 and up to now there is no more any other new versions, so information in the book are not upgraded. In conclusion, these findings imply that the course book partially meet the requirements in terms of tasks and language points. But in terms of content, it stills need certain modification in order to make a better course book for the future courses. 2. The components of the book The Students Book consists of 10 units with 6 lessons and an interaction or language focus section, a Summary of Grammar and new language section, a Wordlist. The book presents the basic structures of English and develops them through a variety of different contexts related to commerce. Emphasis is also placed on enlarging the students knowledge of commercial and economical vocabulary, and on developing their ability to communicate effectively. There is thorough treatment of reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. The course is most appropriate for students who have limited precious experience of learning English for commercial purposes, and who need to practice and consolidate basic structures and vocabulary from the beginning. Besides, the Workbook is printed right after the Students Book. It provides practical excises connected with theoretical knowledge which can be used by the teacher and the students to practise and evaluate their progress. The language covered in the book is appropriate with students at the beginning level. The whole book talks about the same company in a country in Europe, all activities were taken from real situations by using authentic language, these consist of newspapers, magazines, user manuals, leaflets and brochures, foreign mission information, letters, faxes., so the language is nature and realistic, it is recycled frequently enough for students to remember and practise using them. In general, the book provides quite balanced instruction of four language skills. However, if we have more time than 120 regulated periods, we will spend more time practising listening, speaking and writing. In fact, tasks designed in the book are quite suitable to students knowledge and enough for them to master English grammatical rules. The course book nearly meets the requirement in terms of tasks. However, there
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are some difficult tasks that students cannot do (e.g. writing commercial letters, working with percentages and pie-charts Unit 10 ). Moreover, at home students can do exercises in the Workbook or photocopied further exercises from teachers. On the other hand, topics in the book are quite poor, but the content introduced in those units is surrounded commercial topics which are familiar to the students. Plenty topics should be added to make more various contexts and attract students. 3. The testing approach in the book There is no testing section in the book, so teachers have to design tests themselves basing on target languages, and words used in the book. 4. The missing from the book From the analysis, it can be concluded that the course book has both of advantages and disadvantages. Here we would like to discuss the books shortcomings: out-of-upgraded information poor knowledge of culture poor topics non-testing section

However, the advantages can outweigh the disadvantages. Shortcomings can be overcome by teachers. We need some adjustment, for example, the content and the language introduced in the course book. We all agree that the content and language introduced in the course book are relevant to students future jobs, but topics and some information should be updated and adjusted to be more relevant to their future jobs. There should be more listening and speaking tasks. What is more, we wish to have more reading and writing tasks for students to practise. PART V: HUMAN FACTORS Enterprise One is a course book of English for commercial purposes. It is used to teach students major in economics and to be accountants in the future. Therefore, the teachers who are allowed to teach in this course have to have a four-year-degree major in English. These teachers must have certain knowledge in commerce and economy; knowledge and basically understanding of operation and organization of business firms
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The course book does not require teachers to adapt unfamiliar roles. Teachers apply the communicative approach in teaching; teachers are guiders and students are centers of all lessons. However, teaching English for specific purposes is always more complex than teaching general English, because it requires teachers more time for lesson preparation before class; it is not merely English in daily life; sometimes teacher can face with theory, or special words that they do not understand The role of teachers in teaching Enterprise One is not different from other course books as Headway or Lifelines but it takes them much time to prepare before lessons. However, teachers can be shared their difficulties with the help of Teachers Book which suggests procedures for teaching a typical unit, gives model answers and a summary of language presented. Despite a number of shortcomings, the course book can still make effective instructional materials for the economical students at Tuyen Quang EconomicalTechnical High School. The problematic aspects of the books, however, can be modified, adapted, replaced or/ and supplemented so that the books correspond more closely with the aims of the teaching and learning program and the true needs of the students. As Cunningsworth (1984: 89) has pointed out: no course book will be totally suited to a particular teaching situation. The teacher will have to find his own way of using it and adapting it if necessary. So we should not be looking for the perfect course book which meets all our requirement, but rather for the best possible fit between what the course book offers and what we as teachers and students need . Adding: Firstly, in order to match the objectives of the course and the students' needs, the following should be added: Topics: - Vietnamese economy Banking Accounting Auditing Working in intercultural environment Communicating at business places (at the office, at the bank, etc.),
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Situations:

Communicating with partners/clients/chiefs/bosses... - The simple future tense - The past continuous tense

Language points:

Secondly, in order to maximize the chances of learning, it is necessary to design a clear, systematic, but flexible material with different types of texts, different types of illustrations, and different numbers and types of exercises. Therefore, exercises/ activities of various types should be added. In this course book, exercises designed to develop reading skill and improve grammar are abundant. Deleting: The technique of deletion is also used to make the course book more suitable to the course requirements and the students. Here, it is useful to delete the grammatical structures There is/ There are, the verb To be, the Alphabet Modifying: Some modifications should be made as follow: - Replace the grammatical structure There is/ There are with The simple future tense Replace vocabulary on Number and Time with vocabulary on banking Allocate more time for the three skills: Reading, Speaking, and Writing. and accounting, auditing In fact, the course is divided into 8 credits. Almost after each unit, teachers design a test to take marks for final assessment results. This is good for checking students and teachers performance process and evaluating the learning and teaching qualities. However, the format and the printing of the course book are a problem. They are not stimulating at all. As being said above, the course books are photocopied or bought from bookshops in Hanoi but they are black and white. Therefore, the printing is sometimes not clear enough to see. We wish that the college should afford color books for the library, so that students could enjoy the color version which is believed to motivate them. Teachers have paid much attention to communicating activities and focused on training the four language skills for their students. Moreover, most of the teachers prepared other photocopied materials; many of them adapted or supplemented the course book to suit their students. In addition, a large number of students show their preference to the teachers use of mainly English. However, it is regrettable if teachers
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do not use available modern teaching aids like videos, projectors, and so on in the classroom. To use the book in the way envisaged teachers should invest much time on preparing and designing suitable lesson plans for their lessons. PART VI: CONCLUSION As mentioned above, evaluation in general and materials evaluation in particular is obviously a very important process in language teaching. Results from materials evaluation help to determine whether the set of materials is suitable to a particular situation. The most often materials evaluation is carried out to find out the strengths and the weaknesses of the materials so that modifications need being made to improve the suitability and enhance the effectiveness of the material. These are also reasons for conducting this evaluation research. This essay is carried out to evaluate the course book Enterprise One - English for the commercial world (C J Moore & Judy West, 1985) which is in use for the students of economics in Tuyen Quang Economical and Technical High School. It explored the answer to the question To what extent does Enterprise One - English for the commercial world course book suit the students of economics in Tuyen Quang Economical - Technical High School? The results of the essay reveal that the course book could be suitable to the students level, partly meet the requirements of the course, the students needs, and suit to the particular teaching context in the following aspects: The results imply that the course book partially meet the objectives of the course in terms of tasks, contents and language points; but the content needs some certain modifications and upgrading in order to make a more appropriate course book for future courses. In general, the course book is quite appropriate to the students level. With the current teaching and learning methods, teaching and learning conditions, this course book seems to be quite appropriate. In order to make the course book more appropriate, some suggestions are recommended such as: adding some more topics and grammatical structures, modifying some parts, etc. These suggestions are expected to make a contribution to the improvement of the course book for more effective use in future courses at the school.
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REFERENCES 1. Brown, J.D (1995), The Element of Language Curriculum, Newbury House Teacher Development 2. Candlin, C.N. & Breen, M. (1987), ELT Textbooks and Materials: Problems in Evaluation and Development. ELT document. London, Modern English Publications. 3. Cunningsworth, A. (1995). Choosing your course book. Oxford: Heinemann. 4. Dudlley-Evans, T. & Students.John, M.J. (1998), Development in English for Specific Purposes: A Multidisciplinary approach, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 5. Ellis, R. (1997), The Empirical Evaluation of Language Teaching Materials, ELT Journal 6. Gabrielatos, C. (2001), Materials Evaluation and Adaptation: A case Study of Grammar Teaching. Retrieved in August 15, 2006 7. Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1987), English for specific purposes, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 8. Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. (1993), English for specific purposes, Cambridge University Press 9. McGrath, I. (2002), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. 10. Tran Thanh Nhan (2006), An Evaluation of the Textbook "oxford English for Electronics" and Suggestions for New Material Design, MA Thesis, CFL-VNU 11. Richards, J. (2005), The Role of Textbooks in a Language Program, Retrieved from the www in Nov 2007 at http://www.professorjackrichards.com/work.htm. 12. Sheldon, L.E. (1988). Evaluating ELT Textbooks and Materials. ELT Journal 42/4, Oxford University Press 13. Tomlinson, B (1998), Materials Development in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press 14. Williams, D. (1983), Developing Criteria for textbook Evaluation , ELT Journal 37/3

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