Đề tài Đánh giá giáo trình Tiếng Anh Cơ Bản III dành cho sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ hai Trường Cao Đẳng Sư Phạm Bắc Giang

ence are shown in table 3.11a, 3.11b, and 3.11c. Does the material encourage students to develop appropriate learning strategies and to become independent in their learning? Yes No Not sure 62.5% 37.5% 0% Table 3.11 a: Teacher’s opinions about students’ learning strategies and preference (Q16) Due to the limited scope of a minor thesis, the researcher only focused on teachers’ opinions. From the experience of working with this material, 62.5% teachers in table 3.11a believed that the material encouraged students to develop appropriate learning strategies and helped students become independent in their learning. From your experience of working with students on the given material, which learning items do you find that students are satisfied with? Grammar structures 100% Exercise/ tasks 75% Vocabulary 50% Reading 100% Pronunciation 0% Writing 37.5% Topics 75% Speaking 25% Table 3.11 b: Teachers’ opinions about students’ learning strategies and preference (Q17) Learning items Most interesting Interesting Least interesting Grammar structures 100% 0% 0% Vocabulary 0% 50% 50% Pronunciation 0% 0% 100% Topics 0% 75% 25% Reading 100% 0% 0% Writing 0% 37.5% 62.5% Speaking 0% 25% 75% Exercise/ tasks 0% 75% 25% Table 3.11 c: Teachers’ opinions about students’ learning strategies and preference (Q18) Table 3.11b, and 3.11c presented figures regarding teachers’ opinions about students’ learning strategies and preference. As can be seen from table 3.11b and table 3.11c, 100% teachers realized that students were satisfied with grammar structures, and reading section and found them the most interesting learning items. The reasons for that are: a) these sections had specific instructions, and b) they provided students with various tasks types of grammar and reading. However, only few tasks types for vocabulary, writing, and speaking were realized. Thus, students were partly happy with the topics, and tasks/ exercises with 75% teachers’ approval. Meanwhile, 50% of them discovered that students were interested in vocabulary. That means students needed more opportunity for vocabulary practice, but there were few exercises for them to practice in this material. However, teachers recognized that students were less interested in writing and speaking activities with 37.5% and 25% respectively. Especially, all the teachers confirmed that students were not at all satisfied with pronunciation and it was the least interesting learning item. The reasons are because this material did not have separate section for pronunciation and there were not any exercises for students to practice. In sum, from their own experience of working with students on this material, most teachers being asked claimed that students were quite pleased with grammar and reading sections; partly pleased with the topics, tasks/ exercises, and vocabulary; dissatisfied with writing, speaking, and pronunciation. 3.2.3. The Suitability of the Material to Methodology Requirements of the Course * Tasks/ exercises The assessment of teachers about the variety of tasks/ exercises designed in the material is presented in the following table. Does the material contains a variety of tasks and activities of Yes No Not sure the language points 68.8% 31.2% 0% the reading skill 100% 0% 0% the writing skill 43.7% 56.3% 0% the speaking skill 18.8% 81.2% 0% Table 3.12: Teachers’ opinions about tasks and activities of language points and language skills (Q19- 22) The result from table 3.12 showed that different kinds of tasks and activities used in the classroom were about reading skills (100%). In contrast with language points, 68.8% teachers found that the material consisted of a variety of tasks and activities of language points. As can be seen from the material result, most of tasks/ exercises here were for grammar, and vocabulary. However, tasks/ exercises for pronunciation practice could not be found in the material. Through analyzing the material, the researcher found that most of tasks/ exercises for writing were writing complex sentences, so 43.7% of the teachers agreed that this material gave students opportunities to practice writing skill. Particularly, only 18.8% teacher agreed that students had opportunity to practice tasks/ exercises of speaking skill. The reason for this is that there was only ‘asking for information’ task found in this material. The data analysis from the material and questionnaires indicated that the material could meet methodological requirements of the course in terms of tasks/ exercises for reading skill; partly dealt with tasks/ exercises of language points. However, the findings also indicate that the material did not successfully fulfill the requirement for task types of writing and speaking skills. * Teaching / learning techniques In terms of learning- teaching techniques, teachers gave their opinions as follows: Teaching/ learning techniques Yes No Not sure Does the material provide opportunity for individual work, lockstep, pair work, and group work? 93.8% 6.2% 0% Table 3.13: Teachers’ opinions about teaching/ learning techniques in the material (Q23) Opinions of the teachers’ about teaching/ learning techniques were different from the material analysis result. As can be seen in the material analysis result, just the technique of working in pairs could be found in all pre- reading tasks, but, in fact, most of the teachers accounting for 93.8% agreed that teaching/ learning techniques including individual work, lockstep, pair work, and group work were used in this material, because most of them had used these techniques in teaching this material. Only some of them (6.2%) disagreed with this opinion. This might be because they did not see any instructions for use of these techniques in the material. Therefore, teaching/ learning techniques were partly satisfied with methodology requirements of the course. * Methodology guidance Besides, when being asked about what guidance the material provided teachers, 100% teachers said that the material “Basic English III” only gave teachers the guidance on lists of vocabulary and language- skills points, but it did not provide them any guidance about technical information, teaching aids, suggestions for further work, and methodological hints as it is shown in table 3.14 below. Hence, the guidance for teachers should be put in the teacher’s book to help teachers not only save time in preparing for the lessons, but also assist them in improving the quality of teaching. What guidance does the material provide teachers? Lists of vocabulary and language- skills points 100% Teaching aids 0% Technical information 0% Methodological hints 0% Suggestions for further work 0% Others............. 0% Table 3.14: Teachers’ opinions about the methodology guidance in the material (Q24) 3.2.4 Teachers’ suggestions for the materials improvement Questions 25-32 asked teachers to offer suggestions for further improvement of the material. Below is the summary of their suggestions: * Content Teachers' suggestions for the material improvement actually confirmed the findings about some problems stated in the previous sections. According to them, the following changes should be made: First, the material should have separate sections for vocabulary, pronunciation, writing, and speaking skills. Second, more exercises for these skills should be added into the material so that students would have chances to practice and improve these skills. Especially, these sections should be consistent with the course requirements. Finally, teachers suggested that topics could be various but should contain updated information . * Methodology According to the teachers , the methodology in term of types of tasks/ exercises and guidance for teaching needs to be adapted and supplemented. Specifically, more speaking tasks in the material should be designed in relation to the reading texts so that they can improve students’ discussion skills . Moreover, there should be more guidance for the writing skill so that students can improve the required skill and sub-skills. They also commented that a workbook and a teacher’s manual book with teaching hints as well as progress tests designed periodically for the students should be available. * Others Teachers expected that more visual materials to illustrate the lessons should be supplemented whenever possible in order to make the material more appealing. Most of the teachers affirmed that time allocation for individual units was adequate, but some of them thought that the material should give more time for students to finish all the exercises in the book. Especially, all the teachers complained that the class size was too large, and students’ levels were varied. Therefore, it was very difficult for teachers to use the learner- centered approach in teaching. So an official examination should be held to measure students’ English proficiency at the beginning stage. This would help teachers know more about their students’ level of English which surely lead to more appropriate and effective employment of teaching strategies in their actual teaching practices. 3.3. Summary of major findings Chapter three has analyzed and discussed the data gathered from the document analysis and teachers’ questionnaires. The evaluation result reveals certain strengths and weaknesses of “Basic English III”. As stated in the aim section, the course aims and the material aims seem to match perfectly. However, data collected from teachers’ questionnaires show that there are still a lot of rooms for improvement. The point of concern here is not in the grammar or reading section but the development of vocabulary; pronunciation; writing and speaking sections in their supporting roles to reading. As far as the content is concerned, the strengths, which are easily recognized lay in the grammar structures, reading section, a variety of text-types, and the content organization/sequence throughout the course and within each unit. They progress in such a way that students could learn English with relative ease. However, the aims of vocabulary improvement, especially pronunciation were not well achieved in this material. As can be seen in the document analysis and questionnaire, there were no separate sections for these parts, and there were no exercises for practice, either. Therefore, exercises should be designed to bring students opportunity practice at home and in the classroom. Moreover, students’ writing and speaking skills are difficult to be developed because there were only few task types of these skills found in this material and there were no separate parts for these skills. The failure of the methodological implication through tasks/ exercises mainly fell into the treatment of vocabulary, pronunciation, writing and speaking practice exercises. Students did not have opportunity to personalize what they had learnt since the material lacks the treatment of vocabulary, pronunciation, writing and speaking. The weaknesses of the material could also be found in teaching/ learning techniques when the material did not require teachers to use individual work, group work, or role-play in their teaching. However, individual teachers still used them in their teaching. In addition, there were no supporting materials such as workbook or teacher’s book, especially a set of supplementary reading material including newspapers, articles, stories or poems. In each class, both teachers and students who are willing to share their input readings could create this supplementary reading material. This material would encourage students enjoy their readings that would improve their background knowledge and their vocabulary. From that it could better suit the needs of mixed level students. Moreover, there were no tests included in the material. Tests would help teachers and students assess their own teaching/ learning. Teachers’ opinions prove that there is always a high demand for workbook, teacher’s book, a set of supplementary reading material, and tests. Therefore, they should be supplemented with the core material. The topics were relevant to the students’ knowledge level, but some of them were not interesting and up to date. Time allocation for individual units seemed to meet the course requirements. But some teachers required more time for each unit. However, time for each unit cannot exceed three periods so individual teachers should be more selective about the teaching contents and activities for each period and some tasks/ exercises could be used as homework. From the strengths and weaknesses of the material presented above, the researcher of the thesis can come to the conclusion that the current material can fully respond to the course requirements and better suit the needs of non-English major students of BGTTC if some suggested changes are implemented. Recommendations on what changes should be made and how it is done will be presented in details in the next part. 3.4. Recommendations for material improvements As was analyzed above, the major strengths of “Basic English III” for non-English major students at BGTTC appears to be a good book under present circumstances. However, obvious existing weaknesses also urge for immediate improvements, Therefore, the writer would suggest some recommendations for further improvements of the material by using the techniques of addition, deletion, and replacement as follows. * Addition The technique for addition as was discussed in chapter two refers to the process of supplementing the material by putting more into them quantitatively and qualitatively. In the quantitative way, we may add the techniques of extending more of the same components in the material without changing the methodology or the methodological framework of the material. The qualitative way refers to the development of the material in new directions by putting in different language skills or a new component. In the particular context at BGTTC, the qualitative way could be applied because it serves some certain purposes. First, the material should add the vocabulary practice exercises, such as: change the word form; gap-fill; match words with definitions and so on so that students will have opportunities to use the vocabulary they acquired in fluency work, which stimulate real language use. Second, it is necessary to add writing, speaking, and pronunciation sections. More exercises for these sections such as transforming sentences, writing description, paragraphs and essays, so on should be designed for writing. The same should be done for speaking such as role- playing the dialogue and describing pictures. Especially, adding the guidance or instruction for teachers to these skills is critical. Third, it is better to set appropriate time for each of these sections, so the time for reading section and grammar should be reduced. Fourth, adding a teacher’s manual. Simply, the designers can reproduce the student’s book with a few additional notes for the teacher, indicating objectives of each unit and suggesting ideas for one or two supplementary exercises. Others give detailed instructions to teachers and take them step-to-step through every stage of every unit. Finally, the progress tests and the achievement tests need to be included in the teacher’s book. The progress tests should be given for the mid- term, and the achievement tests will certainly come at the end of each term. These tests will help teachers to assess students’ progress during the whole term. * Deletion Deletion means cutting one or more stages within an activity or omitting a whole activity or even a whole lesson and compensating a more suitable one to meet the objectives of the whole unit. In this material, designers should delete some tasks/ exercises in exercise section and put them into the workbook for students to practice at home, then design some tasks/ exercises to vocabulary, pronunciation, writing, and speaking sections as mentioned above. For example: In unit 1, the students have to learn how to use modal verbs (can, could, be able to) and its theme is “sleep”. Designers could delete some exercises about modal verbs at exercise section in unit 1. Before reading the text about “sleep”, students will be provided with new words about sleep by matching words and definitions about sleep. Then after reading the text, students will be asked to use the modal verbs and words related to sleep to make sentences. Finally, they will ask and answer about “sleep” in pairs. * Replacement After being evaluated, the material may have some parts or exercises, which are ineffective or inappropriate to the objectives of the courses. In this study, this technique is applied to replace some inappropriate topics by the more interesting and updated ones, which should help students become more motivated in learning English. For example: topics “sleep”, “work”, and “food” are available in the material “Basic English I”. The researcher found that students were not interested in these topics as much as in the past, so they should be replaced by the other topics such as: “Singles find a new place to meet: at a supermarket” which will provide students the knowledge about dealing with relationships in social life such as friendship and love, or topic about future trends “Intelligent clothing”, and so on. To sum up, materials, though considered as an indispensable component in language teaching and learning, do not mean that teachers and learners have to depend totally on them. The material is simply a tool. Teachers and learners as the laborers have to learn how to use the tool effectively. In evaluating the materials, teachers need to work out the way to enhance its strengths and overcome its weaknesses so that the materials could be used more effectively in the process of teaching and learning. 3.5. Summary This chapter has presented the results of two kinds of research instruments: document analysis and the questionnaires given to teachers. The reports from the data collection methods were combined for analysis and further discussion regarding the given matters. Also, a summary of major findings and suggestions for the material improvements were given.. PART 3: CONCLUSION 1. Summary of previous parts Part 1 provides a brief introduction to the research including the rationale, the aims, the significance, the scope, and design of the thesis. Part 2 is the development with 3 chapters presenting a review of literature concentrating on the issues related to materials evaluation (chapter 1); the methodology employed in this thesis including an overview of current English teaching and learning at BGTTC, research methods, and the data collection procedures (chapter 2). Also, in this part, presentation of data results and discussion of the findings of the study and further recommendations are given (chapter 3). Part 3 gives the conclusions and suggests directions for further research. 2. Conclusions Materials evaluation is obviously a very important process in language teaching and learning. The results from materials evaluation help to determine whether the set of materials is suitable for a particular situation. Most of the materials evaluation is carried out to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the materials and give suggestions for improving the materials as well. The textbook “Basic English III”, which is currently used for students at BGTTC, has been evaluated basing on the model and criteria for evaluation suggested by Hutchinson and Waters (1993). Results from document analysis and questionnaire which have been analyzed in the previous chapter has allowed the writer to arrive at the following conclusions: 1. The material “Basic English III” has met some of the course requirements as it provides students with basic grammar areas and the reading skills. However, the material has not fully responded to the course requirements in terms of writing, speaking skills, vocabulary and failed to meet the aim for pronunciation improvement. 2. Basing on the findings, the researcher suggested three possible methods of material adaptation by using techniques of addition, deletion and replacement for further improvement of the material. . 3. Limitation and suggestions for further research Due to the limited scope of a minor thesis, questionnaire has been used as a principal instrument to collect data. Also, the research subjects are confined to English teachers who have been involved with teaching the material rather than to students who have learnt this material. Therefore, evaluation on the part of students is not thoroughly discussed. In short, the findings and discussion would have been more comprehensive and insightful if the study had used more instruments for data collection and if the study had involved students in the evaluation process. This, without doubt, would have added more weight to the findings and recommendations for further improvements of the material in particular and the teaching/ learning of English at BGTTC in general. REFERENCES 1. Allwright, R.L. (1981), “What do We Want Teaching Material for?”, ELT Journal, 36 (1). 2. Brown, J.D. (1989), Language Program Evaluation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 3. Brown, J.D. (1995), The Elements of Language Curriculum, Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. 4. Clarke, D. F. (1989), “Material Adaptation: Why Leave It all to the Teacher?”, ELT Journal, 43 (2), pp. 133- 41. 5. Cronbach, L.j. (1963), “Course Improvement through Evaluation”. Teachers College Record 64, pp. 672-83. 6. Cunnings Worth, A. (1984), Evaluating and Selecting EFL Teaching Materials, London: Heinemann Educational Books. 7. Dublin, F., & Olshtain, E. (1986), Course Design: Developing Programs and Materials for Language Learning, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 8. Dudley- Evans, T., & St John, M.J. (1998), Development in English for Specific Purposes, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 9. Ellis, R. (1997), “The Empirical Language Materials”, ELT Journal, 51(1), pp. 36-42. 10. Freeman, L.D. (1986), Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 11. Gillham, B. (2000), Developing a Questionnaire, Continuum. 12. Graves, K. (2000), Designing Language Courses, Newbury House Teacher Development. 13. Hutchinson, T., & Water, A. (1993), English for Specific Purposes, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 14. McDonough, J., & Shaw, C. (1993), Materials and Methods in ELT, Blackwell. 15. McGrath, I. (2002), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language teaching, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 16. Murphy, D.F. (1985), Evaluation in Language Teaching: Assessment, Accountability and Awareness, Alderson, pp. 1-17. 17. Nunan, D. (1988), Syllabus design, Adelaide: Oxford University Press. 18. O’Neill, R. (1982), “Why use textbooks?”, ELT Journal, 36 (2), pp. 104- 111. 19. Richards, J.C. (2001), Curriculum Development in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 20. Rea-Dickins, P., & Germain, K. (1998), Evaluation, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 21. Robinson, P.C. (1991), ESP Today: A Practitioner’s Guide, London: Prentice Hall. 22. Sheldon, L.E. (1988), “Evaluating ELT Textbooks and Materials”, ELT Journal, 42 (4), pp. 237-246. 23. Tomlinson, B. (1998), Materials Development in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 24. Trotrim, B. (?), A Definition of Evaluation, Retrieved May 23th, 2008, from 25. Ur, P. (1996), A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 26. Williams, D. (1983), “Developing Criteria for Textbook Evaluation”, ELT Journal, 37 (3), pp. 251- 55. 27. Yalden, J. (1987), Principles of Course Design for Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  APPENDIXES Appendix 1 HUTCHINSON AND WATERS’S CRITERIA CHECKLIST FOR MATERIALS EVALUATION SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS (i.e. analysis of your course, in terms of materials requirements) OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS (i.e. analysis of materials being evaluated) AUDIENCE 1A. Who are your learners? e.g. Ages. Sex. Nationality/ies. Study or work specialism (mechanics, banking …). Status/ role with respect to specialism (e.g. trainee cashier, qualified anesthetist …). Knowledge of English/ specialism/ other (e.g. knowledge of “the world”). Educational backgrounds. Interests. 1B. Who is the material intended for? AIMS 2A. What are the aims of your course? 2B. What are the aims of the materials? (Note: Check that the aims are actually what they are said to be, by looking at the material itself). CONTENT 3A. What kind of language description do you require? Should it be structural, notional, functional, and discourse-based, some other kind, a combination of one or more of these? 4A. What language points should be covered? (i.e. What particular structures, functions, vocabulary areas etc?) 5A. What proportion of work on each macro-skill (e.g. reading) is desired? Should there be skills-integrated work? 6A. What micro-skills do you need? (e.g. deducing the meanings of unfamiliar words) 7A. What text-types should be included? e.g. manuals? letters? dialogues? experimental reports? visual texts (pictures, diagrams, charts, graphs, cartoons etc.)? listening texts? any other kind? 8A. What subject-matter area(s) is/ are required (e.g. medicine, biology etc.)? What level of knowledge should be assumed (e.g. secondary school, first year college/ university, post-graduate etc.)? What types of topics are needed (e.g. in medicine: hospital organisation, medical technology etc.)? What treatment should the topics be given (e.g. 'straightforward', factual; 'human interest' angle; humorous; unusual perspective; taking into account issues, controversy, etc.)? 9A. How should the content be organised throughout the course? around language points? by subject matter? by some other means (e.g. study skills)? by a combination of means? 10A. How should the content be organised within the course units? by a set pattern of components? by a variety of patterns? by some other means? to allow a clear focus on (e.g. certain skill areas, a communication task etc.)? 11A. How should the content be sequenced throughout the course? e.g. from easier to more difficult? to create variety? to provide recycling ? by other criteria? Should there be no obvious sequence? 12A. How should the content be sequenced within a unit? e.g from guided to free? from comprehension to production? accuracy to fluency? by some other means? Should there be no obvious sequence? 3B. What type(s) of linguistic description is/ are used in the materials? 4B. What language points do the materials cover? 5B. What is the proportion of work on each skill? Is there skills-integrated work? 6B. What micro-skills are covered in the materials? 7B. What kinds of texts are there in the materials? 8B. What is/are the subject-matter area (s) assumed level of knowledge, and types of topics in the materials? What treatment are the topics given? 9B. How is the content organised throughout the materials? 10B. How is the content organised within the units? 11B. How is the content sequenced throughout the book? 12B. How is the content sequenced within a unit? METHODOLOGY 13A. What theory/ies of learning should the course be based on? Should it be behaviorist, cognitive, affective, some other kind, and a combination of one or more of these? 14A. What aspects of the learners' attitudes to/ expectations about learning English should the course take into account? 15A. What kinds of exercises/ tasks are needed? e.g. guided n free? comprehension n production? language/ skills practice n language/ skills use? one right answer n many possible right answers? whole class n group n individual? language/ skills-based n content- based? 'mechanical' n problem solving? role-play, simulation, drama, games? ones involving visuals? self-study? some other kinds? 16A. What teaching-learning techniques are to be used? e.g. lockstep? pair work? small-group work? student presentations? work involving technical subject matter? other kinds? 17A. What aids are available for use? e.g. cassette recorders? overhead projectors? realia? wallcharts? video? other? 18A. What guidance/support for teaching the course will be needed? e.g. statements of aims? lists of vocabulary and language-skills points? language guidance? technical information? methodological directive or hints? suggestions for further work? tests? other kinds? 19A. How flexible do the materials need to be? 13B. What theory/ies of learning are the materials based on? 14B. What attitudes to/ expectations about learning English are the materials based on? 15B. What kinds of exercises/ tasks are included in the materials? 16B. What teaching-learning techniques can be used with the materials? 17B. What aids do the materials require? 18B. What guidance do the materials provide? 19B. In what ways are the materials flexible? e.g. - can they be begun at different points? - can the units be used in different orders? - can they be linked to other materials? - can they be used without some of their components (e.g. cassettes)? OTHER CRITERIA 20A. What price range is necessary? 21A. When and in what quantities should the materials be available? etc. 20B. What is the price? 21B. When and how readily can the materials be obtained? Appendix 2 THE SYLLABUS OF THE ENGLISH COURSE FOR SECOND- YEAR NON- ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT BGTTC I. Goals and Objectives 1. Goals - Provide students with Basic English grammatical structures and develop basic grammatical points such as: modal verb, modals + perfect infinitive, expression of quantity, subject- verb agreement with coordinators, linking verbs, used to, too + adj/ adv + to infinitive, adj/ adv + enough + to infinitive, enough + noun + to infinitive, gerund, infinitive, adj + prep, nouns formation - Use English for social communication. - Develop three language skills of which reading and writing are given priority compared to the others. 2. Objectives By the end of the 45- period English course, the second- year non-English major students will be able to: - Use English for daily communication, and expand it in exams and in later development. - Read and understand the language in new context. - Write complex sentences, paragraphs, and essays. - Improve the fluency and pronunciation. II. Audience: - Second- year non- English major students at BGTTC, term III - The students’ English level is low- intermediate III. Time allocation Total time budget: 45 periods/ 15 weeks/ 1 term. (3 periods/ 1 day/ 1 week) III. Instructional material - The material “Basic English III” (used for Second- year non- English major students at BGTTC). Teachers and students are supposed to use some other English materials of similar level for reference. Appendix 3 MAP OF CONTENTS (The material Basic English III) Unit Topic Grammar Vocabulary Skills work 1 Sleep Modal verb 1 (can, could, be able to) Words related to sleep Reading: reading a text about “sleep” Writing: using modal verbs 1 and vocabulary related sleep to make true sentence Speaking: ask and answer about sleep 2 Needles Invention Modal verb 2 (must and have to) Metal Reading: read the text about “Needles Invention” Writing: sentence building Speaking: talk about modern invention 3 Twitter Modals + Perfect Infinitive Student’s life Reading: read the text about “Twitter” Writing: write a paragraph about the student’s life Speaking: ask and answer about the student’s life 4 Work and Retirement Expression of quantity 1 (most, most of, a number of, a great deal of) Work Reading: read the text about “Work and Retirement” Writing: write a paragraph about favorite jobs Speaking: ask and answer about work and retirement 5 Food Expression of quantity 2 (a little, little, a few, few) Food and Drink Reading: read the text about “Food” Writing: write sentences about what Vietnamese people usually have for breakfast/ lunch/ dinner Speaking: ask and answer about food and drink 6 Who uses English Subject- verb agreement with coordinators English- speaking countries Reading: read the text about “Who uses English” Writing: make sentences using subject- verb agreement with coordinators Speaking: discuss why English is popular all over the world 7 A Healthy Diet for Everyone Linking verbs Healthy food Reading: read the text about “A Healthy Diet for Everyone” Writing: sentence building Speaking: talk about healthy diet 8 Expressing changes Used to Daily activities Reading: read the text about “Childhood Memories” Writing: write a paragraph describing the childhood Speaking: ask and answer about what used to do in the past 9 Could the Problem with Teenage Drivers be Their Parents too + adj/ adv + to infinitive Words related to problem with teenage drivers Reading: read about the text “The extinction of dinosaurs” Writing: sentence transformation Speaking: discuss about a pet in the family 10 The all- American Diner - adj/ adv + enough + to infinitive - enough + noun + to infinitive Words related to American Diner Reading: read the text “The all- American Diner” Writing: sentence completion Speaking: discuss the information from the reading text 11 Greenhouse Effect Gerund Environment pollution Reading: read the text about “Greenhouse Effect” Writing: Write an essay about environment in the living place Speaking: Ask and answer about what like and dislike doing in the free time 12 It Happened to Me Infinitive Traffic Reading: read the text about “Traffic Lights” Writing: sentence transformation Speaking: discuss about traffic jams 13 Expressing Feeling adj + prep People’s feeling Reading: read the text about “Flying” Writing: sentence building Speaking: discuss the information from the reading text 14 The First American Dictionary of the English Language Nouns formation Illness Reading: read the text about “Headaches” Writing: sentence completion Speaking: make the interview about people’s health. Appendix 4 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE MATERIAL DESIGNERS AND TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AT BGTTC This questionnaire is designed to collect ideas of teachers of English teaching at BGTTC on the current English teaching material in use “Basic English III” for non- major English students at BGTTC. Please answer the following questions carefully based on your own experience in teaching the material. Your responses would be very valuable to the evaluation research and the improvement of the material for future use. Your cooperation, therefore, is highly appreciated. I/The aims: Does the material provide students with opportunity to.............? Yes No Not sure 1. develop basic grammatical points? 2. widen general vocabulary of most common topics? 3. improve their pronunciation, stress, intonation, linking word, and reduced vowels? 4. acquire and improve reading skills to complete the reading task- types? 5. acquire and improve writing skills to write complex sentences, paragraphs, and essays? 6. practice everyday spoken English in common situations? II/ The content: 7. What do you think about the amount of the language points available in this material? (Tick your answer) Language points Too much Adequate Not much Not at all Structures of grammar Vocabulary Pronunciation 8. What do you think about the amount of skills covered in this material? (Tick your answer) Language skills Too much Adequate Not much Not at all Reading Writing Speaking 9. What sub- skills does the material help students develop? (Tick your answer) Reading Yes No Not sure Guessing Scanning Skimming Writing Brainstorming ideas Completing the sentences Building the sentences Transforming the sentences Using appropriate structures to express ideas when writing Using appropriate vocabulary to express ideas when writing Using good connecting words to link sentences in writing Organizing ideas into a paragraph, and a complete essay Speaking Asking for information Making an interview Making a description Asking for clarification 10. What do you think of the topics in the material? (Tick your answer) ‘ very interesting ‘ interesting ‘ ok ‘ boring ‘ very boring 11. Do topics in the material provide with update information? (Tick your answer) ‘ Yes ‘ No ‘ Not sure 12. How is the content organised throughout the material? (Tick your answer) ‘ around the language points ‘ by topics ‘ by skills ‘ others, please specify ......…… 13. How is the content sequenced throughout the material? (Tick your answer) ‘ from easier to more difficult ‘ recycling available ‘ various ‘ others........... 14. What do you think about the text- types in the material? (Tick your answer) - Variety: ‘ varied ‘ normal ‘ monotonous - Level of difficulty: ‘ easy ‘ normal ‘ difficult 15. Does the material encourage students to develop appropriate learning strategies and to become independent in their learning? (Tick your answer) ‘ Yes ‘ No ‘ Not sure 16. Do you think 3 periods for each unit are................................................................. ‘ too many ‘ many ‘ enough ‘ too little 17. From your experience of working with students on the given material, which learning items do you find that students are satisfied with? (Tick your answers) ‘ Grammar structures ‘ Exercise/ tasks ‘ Vocabulary ‘ Reading ‘ Pronunciation ‘ Writing ‘ Topics ‘ Speaking 18. Please rank the learning items in question 11 in order of interest in accordance with students’ preference Learning items Most interesting Interesting Least interesting Grammar structures Vocabulary Pronunciation Topics Reading Writing Speaking Exercise/ tasks III. The Methodology 19. Does the material contain a variety of tasks and activities of the language points? (Tick your answer) ‘ Yes ‘ No ‘ Not sure 20. Does the material contain a variety of tasks and activities of reading skills? (Tick your answer) ‘ Yes ‘ No ‘ Not sure 21. Does the material contain a variety of tasks and activities of writing skills? (Tick your answer) ‘ Yes ‘ No ‘ Not sure 22. Does the material contain a variety of tasks and activities of speaking skills? (Tick your answer) ‘ Yes ‘ No ‘ Not sure 23. Does the material provide opportunity for individual work, lockstep, pair work, and group work? (Tick your answer) ‘ Yes ‘ No ‘ Not sure 24. What guidance does the material provide teachers? (Tick your answer) ‘ lists of vocabulary and language- skills points ‘ teaching aids ‘ technical information ‘ methodological hints ‘ suggestions for further work ‘ others............. IV. Suggestions for further improvement of the material What changes do you think should be made to improve the effectiveness of the material for future use? Please give your suggestions regarding the following aspects: 25. Language points? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………….. 26. Writing tasks in each unit? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………… 27. Speaking tasks in each unit? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………… 28. Reading tasks in each unit? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………… 29. Sequencing the topics? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………… 30. Guidance on methodology? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………… 31. Time allocation for individual units? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………. 32. Learner- training? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………… Thank you very much for your cooperation! Appendix 5 A SAMPLE OF AN ORIGINAL UNIT UNIT 4: WORK Presentation Read the passage * Work is a very important part of life in the United States. Work is not only important for economic benefits, the salary, but also for social and psychological needs, the feelings of doing something for the good of society. Americans spend most of their lives working, being productive. For most Americans, their works defines them. They are what they do. What happens, then, when a person can no longer work? Language focus: most, most of, a number of, a great deal of Complete the sentences: - Americans spend................their lives working. - For...............Americans, their works defines them. Complete the rule: Most can be used either as determiner in a ............................, or as .......................... followed by .............................. + .................................... Ex: Most of people are afraid of snakes. Most of my holidays are at home. * Even children who are supposedly keen on a particular occupation often know little about it, and take no steps to find out. In the Sheffield study, although a number of boys and girls have given a great deal of thought to their future work, only just over one- third had a reasonable sound knowledge, defined generously of the tasks which would be involved in the jobs of their choice. Complete the sentences: Although............. boys and girls have given ................thought to their future work. Complete the rule: ................. + Singular noun and ................. + Plural noun are often used in affirmative sentences instead of much and many in a more formal style. Practice Complete the following sentences with the words provided: most, most of, a great deal (of), a large number (of) 1. I’ve been to the theatre .................... of times. 2. ................... the plays I’ve seen are modern. 3. They spent ........................ of time studying Victorian literature. 4. .........................popular expressions in our language have interesting backgrounds. 5. I have ...............of exercises.....................of them are easy. Reading comprehension Pre- reading task Discuss these questions with your partner. 1. At what age do people retire in Vietnam? 2. How do retirees feel after stopping working? 3. What do they usually do when they retire? Reading WORK AND RETIREMENT Most Americans stop working at age sixty- five or seventy and retire. Because work is such an important part of life in this culture, retirement can be very difficult. Retirees often feel that they are useless and unproductive. Of course, some people are happy to retire; but leaving one’s job, whatever it is, is a difficult change, even for those who look forward to retiring. Many retirees do not know how to use their time or they feel lost without their jobs. Retirement can also bring financial problems. Many people rely on Social Security checks every month. During their working years, employees contribute a certain percentage to the government. Each employer also gives a certain percentage to the government. When people retire, they receive this money as income. These checks do not provide enough money to live on, however, because prices are increasing very rapidly. Senior citizens, those over sixty- five, have to have savings in the bank or other retirement plans to make ends meet. The rate of inflation is forcing prices higher each year; Social Security check alone cannot cover these going expenses. The government offers some assistance, medicare and welfare, but many senior citizens have to change their lifestyles after retirement. They have to spend carefully to be sure that they can afford to buy food, fuel, and other necessities. Of course, many senior citizens are very happy with retirement. They have time to spend with their families or to enjoy their hobbies. Some continue to work part time. Other does volunteer work. Some, like those in the retire Business Executives Association; even help young people to get started in new business. Many retired citizens also belong to “Golden Age” group. These organizations plan strips and social events. These are many opportunities for retirees. American society is only beginning to be concerned about the special physical and emotional needs of its senior citizens. The government is taking steps to ease the problem of limited income. They are building new housing, offering discounts in stores and museums and on buses, and providing other services, such as free courses, food services, and help with housework. Retired citizens are a rapidly growing percentage of the population. This part of the population is very important and we must respond to their needs. After all, every citizen will be a senior citizen some day. A. Look at these topics. There is one topic for each paragraph. Look quickly at the reading to find these topics. Do not read every word at this point. Write the number of the paragraph next to the topic of that paragraph. 1. ........the financial problems of retirement. 2. ........the value of work in America. 3. ........ answers to some problems. 4. ........the positive side of retirement. 5. ........explanation of retirement. B. Find a word in the reading, which has a meaning similar to the following. 1. pay .................................... 6. useful .................................... 2. unimportant .................................... 7. depend on .................................... 3. part .................................... 8. answer .................................... 4. needed thing .................................... 9. older .................................... 5. worried .................................... 10. reduced price .................................... C. Circle the letter of the choice that best completes each sentence. 1. The author believes that work first became important to Americans because of ................... pressure. a. economic b. religious c. family 2. Senior citizens have to have other savings because Social Security checks........................ a. come monthly b. are not enough c. cover going expenses 3. Many people who retire feel unproductive because their work........................................... a. defined their lives b. was unimportant c. was difficult 4. The last sentence of the reading means that each person..................................................... a. is important b. is a citizen c. will grow old 5. According to the author, ....................Americans stop working at age sixty- five or seventy. a. some b. few c. most 6. the author mentions .............................examples of discounts. a. two b. three c. four 7. When Americans stop work, it is difficult for them to........................................................ a. feel productive b. feel happy c. get Social Security checks 8. A salary is a ............................... benefit. a. social b. financial c. psychological 9. Many retirees feel useless because they.................................................................................. a. do volunteer work b. have limited incomes c. aren’t working 10. Clothing is an example of a (n).......................................................................................... a. assistance b. necessary c. concern Exercises Exercise 1: Complete the sentences using the words in brackets. Sometimes no other words are necessary, sometimes you need “the” or “of the”. 1. I was not well yesterday, I spent ..........................in bed. (most/ day) 2. ..........................can go faster than others. (some/ cars) 3. We’ve eaten........................we bought. There’s very little left. (most/ food) 4. We had a lazy holiday. We spent..........................on the beach. (most/ time) 5. George is easy to get on with..............................like him. (most/ people) 6. ..........................don’t visit this part of the town. (most/ tourists) Exercise 2: Complete the sentences with “most” or “most of”. 1. There are 50 students in my class....................................them are girls. 2. I spent.................................my spare time gardening last year. 3. ....................................days I get up early. 4. She gave..........................her energy to science. 5. The weather was bad when we were on holiday. It rained...............................the time. 6. I expect...........................you are very tired after your long journey. 7. My uncle devotes..............................his life to writing. 8. ..............................the time he spent on learning was fairly reasonable. Exercise 3: Write complete sentences using the words given 1. Most/ people/ can/ foreign language/ perfectly. .................................................................................................................................................. 2. My students/ make/ most/ time/ master English. .................................................................................................................................................. 3. After/ work/ hard/ English/ months/ his English/ better/ now. .................................................................................................................................................. 4. Disabled/ always/ have/ trouble/ life. .................................................................................................................................................. 5. Americans/ stops/ work/ age/ 65. ..................................................................................................................................................