Le Thi Thuy Hong Pg12

Le Thi Thuy Hong PG 12
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FALCUTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ------ ------
Name: LE THI THUY HONG
ESP MATERIALS EVALUATION REPORT

End of Course Assignment Course : English for Specific Purposes Instructor : Do Ba Quy, MEd Cohort : PG 12. Date of birth : June 24th, 1987 Tel : 0973531563 E-mail : thuyhong2406@gmail.com
Hanoi 2011
English for Information Technology 2
Table of Content
I. II. III. IV. V.
INTRODUCTION SITUATIONAL FACTORS LOGISTICAL FACTORS PEDAGOGICAL FACTORS AND HUMAN FACTORS CONCLUSION
(p1) (p2) (p4) (p5) (p15)
English for Information Technology
ESP MATERIALS EVALUATION REPORT

Name of Book: English for Information Technology Author(s): M.A. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong (Chief author) and M.A. Pham Thi Thu Thuy (author). Publisher: University of Transport and Communications. Year of Publication: 2003 I. INTRODUCTION: The teaching of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been a lively stimulating part of English Language Teaching (ELT) since the 1960s. It has been generally acknowledged that, while remaining a part of ELT, ESP has developed its own procedures, such as needs analysis, its own materials and its own teaching methodology. In Vietnam in recent years, ESP has become really popular and important. The number of people who wish to know ESP has significantly increased. It has become a compulsory course in many colleges and universities. However, choosing a good ESP book or designing an useful ESP book is not an easy task. In this essay, I would like to convey the evaluation and recommendation about the book used for Information Technology students in my university. II. SITUATIONAL FACTORS: 1. The target situation As we know, an ESP course is to enable the students to function adequately in a target situation, that is, the situation in which the learners will use the language they are learning. The course in general and the book in particular must be based on the learners need and targets need. In this situation, the book English for Information Technology is designed to help the students use English by providing
vocabulary related to information technology, studying and practicing skills: reading comprehension, translating. Therefore, the target situation here is for study. The language is expressed in physical setting: classroom. The course will last one semester, which requires 50 periods of teaching. 2. The teacher At the University of Transport and Communications, there are 22 teachers of English aged from 23 to 54. All of them were trained in English department in different universities. Most of them have the MA degree in English. The most experienced teacher has been teaching English for over 20 years, while the least experienced teacher has been teaching for more than 2 year. The method they use is mostly grammar translation. In fact, an ESP teacher is different from a General English teacher. They will have to deal with needs analysis, syllabus design, materials writing or adaptation and evaluation. However, English teachers at this university have not been trained as such. They need; therefore, to orientate themselves to a new environment for which they have generally been ill-prepared. 3. The learner The learners here are second- year students at the Information Technology department, University of Transport and Communications. They are all Vietnamese. Their age ranks from 19 to 20. Most of the students have been learning English for seven years. However, their English level is also limited. Most of them are at preintermediate, only some are at intermediate level. Moreover, during these years, the objective of the education programme is the good result on general English. Thus, these students have no idea about ESP. When attending university, the students have to study English for Information Technology as their compulsory course. At this time, they meet a lot of obstacles when dealing with this course. In order to understand clearly about what is going on, students must build up the background knowledge about this area.
III. LOGISTICAL FACTORS: 1. Is the cost of the book within the institutors/learner's budget? In fact, the cost of the book is a bit higher than the students budget. The book contains only 77 pages but it costs up to 30 000 VND, which is not reasonable. Therefore, many students hesitate to buy the book. They often buy only one book, after that, they make a copy of it. 2. What additional investment is required? The additional investments depend on each lecturer. Teachers may use visual aids when teaching vocabulary and grammar. However, the book itself dose not require any additional investment which means students do not have to spend an amount of money on buying it cassettes, tapes, internet connection records, or any other devices. 3. How easily can the book be bought both now and later? The book is only used for students in Information Technology field; therefore, it is not easy for normal students to buy it in the common bookshop. Even the students from this department sometimes have difficulty in buying the course book as the books are sold only at the beginning of the course. Thus, if students lost their books, they will get the course book late, maybe one to two weeks after their order. Actually, the delay of receiving the book sometimes is unacceptable. There are a lot of new words, exercises and grammar items in the book. So if students lost one or two lessons, they can not catch up with other students. That is the reason why some photocopy stores near the university make the copy of the book without copyright. 4. Does the book fit local schedule requirements? In the past, teachers have 75 periods to teach the book and the book was quite suitable with the local schedule requirements. However, since last year, the course has been reduced to 50 periods, not 75 periods as before. However, the book does
not change anything. As a result, teachers meet a lot of difficulties when teaching this course as the lack of time. Many parts of the book have to be assigned to students to do at home. IV. PEDAGOGICAL FACTORS 1. How is the rationale of the book realized? It is very easy to realize the rationale of the book, because it is written in Vietnamese. Teachers and learners can read it at the first page of the book. According to the rationale, they say that English for Information Technology is published in order to provide students with the knowledge and vocabulary related to information technology. Moreover, this book also helps the students consolidate reading skills, translating skill and grammar items. This book can be also used for reference and research in this field. Certainly, the material reflects the stated rationale of the authors and publishers for several reasons: firstly, it is the content of the texts. The book provides the basic knowledge of Information Technology which is very useful for the students of this major. Secondly, it is the design of the book. The design of the book focuses on the reading tasks and grammar exercises, which are also the focus in the rationale. Finally, it is the English skills they mention: reading, translating and word-study. 2. Does the rationale of the book fit that of the local curriculum? In fact, the book is designed for students at the Information Technology department. Thus, its rationale; as we know fits the local curriculum. It is considered a course book for these students. 3. How do the different components tie together? To some extent, there is a considerable coherence among units and exercises. About units, the book consists of 10 units with 10 topics. Each topic is about one area, but they are all related to Information Technology. The exercises link together very
closely. They are arranged in a certain order: from the easy exercises to difficult ones. For example, in unit 1, page 9, exercise 1 is a rather easy one which ask students to fill in the gaps with the right form of the verbs. Exercise 2 is much more difficult. In this exercise, students have to use the vocabulary and passive voice which they have just studied to translate the sentences into English. Most of my students can do exercise 1 correctly. However, when dealing with the second one, only some can translate the sentences successfully. 4. What language is covered? The language used in the book is official language. In the book, there is a lot of terminology related to information technology field. However, there is a lack of language practice in the book. For example, the focus here is the translation from Vietnamese into English and practice of grammar items. The students only have chance to practice reading skill but speaking and listening skills. All in all, the book supplies the students enough general knowledge about the major but it does not give the students adequate practice in the language they are required to master. 5. Does the book recycle language frequently enough? The focus of the book is to help students be familiar with the English terminology in Information technology. Thus, in this book, language recycling is a very important part. After the reading text, there are some tasks which require learners to revise what they have learnt. For example, in order to understand the reading text, the students need to have certain vocabulary. Therefore, before the reading text, there is a task which requires students to match new words with their meaning. In addition, in the translation task, the words in the text are also related to the reading text and the topic. In Language focus, the grammar exercises were also designed with the words and the structures in the text so the students can revise what they have learnt. In this case, the book recycles language frequently enough.
6. What skills are covered? This book gives students a chance to practice several skills: they are reading comprehension and translating. Speaking, listening and writing are not paid enough attention to. Consequently, when designing the lesson, teachers should add some video clips about this field, or ask students to discuss in pairs or in groups about one topic, adding some games, etc so as to attract the students and provide them with opportunities to practice other three skills. 7. What tasks are covered? There are some kinds of task covered in the book: Matching Gap-filling True/ False Comprehension questions Multiple choice Translation into Vietnamese Translation into English Actually, the book was designed for intermediate students, and its focus is about reading skill, translating skill, grammar, and vocabulary. Therefore, the tasks here are suitable and familiar to students. In my opinion, to some extent, the book supplies the students with adequate practice in the task demanded by the curriculum. 8. What topics are covered? This book contains 10 topics arranged in 10 units in total: Unit 1: Personal Computing Unit 2: Operating system
Unit 3: Online services Unit 4: Programs and programming languages Unit 5: Computer software Unit 6: Computer networks Unit 7: Computer viruses Unit 8: Management information systems Unit 9: Multimedia Unit 10: Computer- to- video conversion All the topics here are related to students major and they have learnt them in other subjects in Vietnamese before. In term of cultural issues, all of them are acceptable. Overall, the book covers topics included in the curriculum and avoids topics which are culturally unacceptable. 9. How authentic is the material? Most of the reading texts in the book are taken from some newspapers and books which are written by native speakers. Some are adapted from articles on the internet. Thus, the material is rather authentic. Furthermore, the book provides students realistic exposure to the language, here is written in official English. With these, the students get the basic knowledge, word-study and skill of translating. 10. What is the book's approach to testing? The book does not include any tests for trial and the rationale of the book does not mention about what teachers should focus when they test their students. However, to some extent, the book meets local testing requirements. The final tests often check
learners vocabulary about information technology; test their ability of dealing with reading skills and some grammar items. The content of the book was designed to meet these requirements. Thus, it is suitable to the local testing requirements. 11. What is missing from the book? Every book has its own disadvantages. This book is not the exception. Here are some shortcomings of the book. In the first place, there is no teachers book. Teachers are provided with only the answer key to the exercises in the book. There is no guidance for what they have to do in the lesson, what they have to prepare for the lesson and what is the focus of the lesson. The second disadvantage of this book is the lack of listening and speaking practice. If teachers do not create some extra activities, the students will not have opportunity to communicate in English. Thirdly, the book does not contain important notes, charts and pictures. Therefore, students will find it boring when first look at the design of the book. There are also no useful hints and clues to help students deal with their task. Furthermore, some reading texts are higher than students level. There are a lot of new words and my students often find difficulty in understanding the text. The last drawback of the book is the lack of testing system and stop and check units. If these items are included in the book, students will know what they should focus on and have chance to consolidate and check what they have learnt. Despite some disadvantages, the book has a lot of advantages which overweigh the disadvantages. Firstly, the book provides the basic knowledge of their major in English and some English skills of which they can make use to communicate in their life. Secondly, the level of most of the exercises is suitable to intermediate students. The design and the guidance are easy to understand and follow. Lastly, the topics in the book are various and useful. List of books shortcomings: Teachers book. Useful hint and clue
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Tasks designed for 3 skills: listening, speaking and writing Testing system Consolidation units (Stop and check) Important notes, charts and pictures
V. HUMAN FACTORS: 1. What teachers are expected to use the book? ESP teachers are much different from General English teachers. For teaching ESP, teachers have to understand terminology and the basic knowledge of this field. They are expected to use the authentic texts and contexts. They will also have to deal with needs analysis, syllabus design, materials writing or adaptation and evaluation Thus, the book is aimed at teachers not similar to those employed. 2. What is the teachers' role? In this case, the role of teachers is not different from their role in the past. That is, teachers act as a traditional teacher (teacher centered), manager, organizer, adviser, designer, selector and writer, and evaluator. Certainly, for the ESPs course book, especially the book English for Information technology, teachers do not usually have to adopt unfamiliar roles such as an accountant, an auditor, a scientist, etc. They remain their role as a person who provides and convey knowledge. 3. What guidance does the book give to teachers? Truthfully, there is no teachers book for this course book and the book does not give any guidance for teachers. Therefore, teachers will have to spend a lot of time on designing lesson plan. What they have to do is to find the aids from other sources.
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4. How easily can the book be adapted? Adapting this book is not a difficult task. As I mentioned before, the book has some certain shortcomings. When adapting the book, teachers should take these shortcomings into consideration. For instance, we can add some useful hint and clues, some tasks for listening, speaking and writing practice, add stop and check unit after each 3 units, add some tests at the end of the book and include pictures, charts in each reading text. Take unit 6 as example: Computer networks - Firstly, I would like to adapt Task 1 to: Work in groups and discuss the following questions: 1. What is a LAN? 2. What is a WAN? 3. What are benefits and drawbacks of computer networks? - Furthermore, I would like to supply two more exercises Exercise 1: Match the words with its meaning. (this exercise will be put before the reading text) Exercise 3: True/ False or multiple choice. - Lastly, I would prefer to include some pictures and charts related to computer networks. Overall, there are 2 tasks adding and 1 adapted task. 5. How frequently do teachers need to prepare tests? In my opinion, after each three units, there should be a stop and check unit to help students consolidate the knowledge and grammar items. It means after unit 3, unit 7 and unit 10, students should have some time to revise what they have learnt. After unit 3 and unit 7, teachers can prepare a mini test to check the learners understanding. In fact, teachers only need 2 small tests to check students comprehension; they do not need to add more as the students also have mid- term test after unit 5 and final test after unit 10.
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6. Will the book appeal to and motivate our students? In fact, the book does not appeal and motivate our students much. There are not any pictures, images, and interesting activities. The book is full of text and tasks but no chart and summary. Besides, the design of the book is not appealing, too. The only thing that the book appeal to and motivate the students is the vocabulary and basic terminology related to information technology which is helpful to students major. 7. How easily can students find their way around the book? The book is full of terminology about information technology. Thus, if students do not have a general knowledge about these topics, they will meet a lot of difficulties in understanding the text. As a result, teachers should guide students clearly, and give them some strategies to understand the text without looking up all the new words in dictionary, some tips to find the meaning of the words through the reading text. With this help, students will learn the book more effectively. 8. Will our teachers use the book in the way envisaged? As I mentioned above, the book has some drawbacks. Thus, when using it, teachers should adapt or omit some tasks so that it will be suitable to students level and it will be appealing to students. Furthermore, teacher can use their own experience and knowledge to help students understand the lesson thoroughly. Also, some strategies in reading skill should be added while teaching this book. V. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the book has its own advantages and disadvantages. In terms of knowledge, the book satisfies readers with the basic knowledge about the major: Information Technology. On the other hand, in terms of methodology, the book remains
some shortcomings. However, in my opinion, its benefits outweigh its drawbacks. As the target of the book is to provide students with specific words used in their major, help students consolidate their grammar and reading skills. Thus, the book still fits the curriculum and reflects the rationale of the authors. Overall, if teachers adapt it appropriately and creatively, students will have effective and interesting lessons.
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Le Thi Thuy Hong Pg12

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Le Thi Thuy Hong Pg12

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Le Thi Thuy Hong PG 12

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

Name: LE THI THUY HONG

ESP MATERIALS EVALUATION REPORT