Tài liệu An evaluation of top notch 2 pre intermediate for first year students at fpt university submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of master of arts in tesol

! 000043975 M IN IS T R Y O F E D U C A T IO N A N D T R A IN IN G HANOI UNIVERSITY vu VAN CHINH AN EVALUATION OF “TOP NOTCH 2 PRE-INTERMEDIATE” FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT FPT UNIVERSITY SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL. SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI QUYNH HOA, M.A Hanoi F e b ru a ry , 2 0 1 0 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the major thesis entitled “An Evaluation o f Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate for First Year Students at FPT University” and submitted in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the degree of Master o f Arts in TESOL is the result o f my work, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this major thesis or any part o f the same has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution. The research reported in this thesis was approved by Hanoi University. Signed: Dated: 1 ACKNOW LEDGEMENTS First and foremost, on the completion o f this thesis, I wish to express my deepest gratitude and indebtedness to my departed supervisor, Le Huy Truong, M.A and present supervisor, Nguyen Thi Quynh Hoa, M.A for their patient guidance, helpful suggestions and constructive supervision in writing o f this report. Without their help, this thesis would have been made impossible. I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to Ms. Nguyen Thai Ha, M,Aed, senior lecturer and all the M.A TESOL lecturers at Hanoi University who have provided me invaluable source o f knowledge for my completion o f this thesis. My sincere thanks also go to my colleagues for their useful and sincere suggestions, which have helped me with the clarification o f my points and my hardworking students in class SE0407 at FPT University in completing the questionnaires. Last but not least, I would like to extend my thanks to my parents and my younger sister who have always been a source o f encouragement, supports throughout the preparation and developm ent o f this thesis. ABSTRACT Materials evaluation is considered to be one o f the most necessary aspects o f language teaching and learning because it is known that no textbook is perfect. This study focuses on the evaluation o f Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate which has been currently in use for the first year students at FPT University. The following research questions must be answered: 1. Does the textbook Topnotch 2 Pre-intermediate meet the requirements o f the course and the students’ knowledge level? 2. W hat should be done to contribute to the improvement o f the material? In order to achieve the professional goal above, the writer had to review the literature in relevance to materials evaluation, employ document analysis, survey questionnaires and follow-up interviews to identify the answers to the research questions. The subjects o f the study were 7 English teachers and 140 first year students at FPT University who had completed the course o f Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate. The findings o f the research stated that the material under evaluation was suitable for the students at FPT University and could partly meet the requirements o f the course. However, its content and methodology did not completely accommodate the students’ knowledge level in terms o f language points, micro-skills, topics and task types. It is concluded that it is impossible to choose Western materials without taking adaptation into careful consideration. Some content adaptation and teaching improvement are suggested so as to make the textbook Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate more and more appropriate at FPT University. TABLE OF CONTENTS ST A T E M E N T O F A U T H O R S H IP .......................................................................................................................... I A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S ......................................................................................................................................II A B S T R A C T .................................................................................................................................................................Ill T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S .........................................................................................................................................IV LIST O F A B B R E V IA T IO N S .................................................................................................................................VI LIST O F FIG U R E S AND T A B L E S ....................................................................................................................VII C H A P T E R 1: IN T R O D U C T IO N ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background to the s t u d y .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1. Theoretical consideration ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1.2. Practical consideration ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2. A ims of the s t u d y ......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Scope and lim itations of the s t u d y ....................................................................................................... 3 1.4. S ignificance of the s t u d y .......................................................................................................................... 4 1.5. O utline of the t h e s is ................................................................................................................................... 4 C H A P T E R 2: L IT E R A T U R E R E V IE W ............................................................................................................... 5 2.1. KNOWLEDGE LEVEL......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1.1. Learning styles ........................................................................................................................... 5 2.1.2. Language proficiency ................................................................................................................ 6 2.1.3. Attitudes and motivation ............................................................................................................ 6 2.1.4. Students ’ general knowledge about the world ......................................................................... 7 2.2. T eaching m aterials in language teaching and lea r n in g ............................................................. 7 2.2.1. Definitions o f teaching materials ............................................................................................. 7 2.2.2. The roles o f materials in language teaching and learning. ...................................................... 8 2.3. M atfrjai s f v a ijia t io n .......... .................................................................................................................. 10 2.3.1. Definition o f materials evaluation ......................................................................................... 10 2.3.2. The roles o f evaluation ........................................................................................................... 12 2.4. K inds of e v a l u a t io n ................................................................................................................................... 12 2.4.1. Preliminary evaluation ........................................................................................................... 13 2.4.2. Formative evaluation ............................................................................................................. 13 2.4.3. Summative evaluation ............................................................................................................ 13 2.5. M odels for materials ev aluation ........................................................................................................ 14 2.5.1. Evaluation by Hutchinson and Waters (1993) - A Macro-Evaluation ................................ 14 2.5.2. Evaluation by Ellis (1997) - A Micro-Evaluation ................................................................ 15 2.5.3. Evaluation by McDonough and Shaw (1993) - A Combination o f Macro- and MicroEvaluation .......................................................................................................................................... 16 2.5.4. Evaluation by Cunningsworth (1995).................................................................................... 17 2.6. C riteria for materials e v a l u a t io n ......................................................................................................19 2.6.1. Criteria defined by Brown (1995)......................................................................................... 19 2.6.2. Criteria defined by Cunningsworth (1995)........................................................................... 19 2.6.3. Criteria defined by Hutchinson and Waters (1987).............................................................. 20 2.7. P revious s t u d ie s ...........................................................................................................................................22 2.8 S u m m a r y ...........................................................................................................................................................24 C H A PT E R 3: M E T H O D O L O G Y .......................................................................................................................... 25 3.1. R esearch q u e s t io n s .................................................................................................................................... 25 3.2. D ata collection in strum ents ................................................................................................................. 25 3.2.1. Document analysis .................................................................................................................... 25 iv 3.2.2. Questionnaires ......................................................................................................................... 26 3.2.3. Follow up interview .................................................................................................................27 3 .3 . S u b j e c t s ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.1. Teachers................................................................................................................................. 28 3.3.2. Students .................................................................................................................................. 28 3 .4 . PROCEDURES.................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 8 C H A P T E R 4: R E SU L T S AND D IS C U S S IO N ................................................................................................. 30 4.1. T he satisfactoriness of the material to the co urse ’s objectives ...........................................30 4 .1.1. The aims o f the material ....................................................................................................... 30 4.1.2. The aims o f the course ...........................................................................................................31 4.1.3. Data from follow-up interview .............................................................................................. 32 4.1.4. Discussion .............................................................................................................................. 32 4.2. S a tisfactoriness of the material to the a u d ie n c e ....................................................................... 33 4.2.1. Data from document analysis ............................................................................................... 33 4.2.2. Data from analysis o f the course’s audience and students ’ questionnaire .......................... 34 4.2.3. Discussion .............................................................................................................................. 34 4.3. T he satisfactoriness of the m aterial ’s content to the students ’knowledge level . .. 34 4.3.1. Language points ....................................................................................................................... 35 4.3.2. Macro-skills and micro-skills ..................................................................................................38 4.3.3. Subject m atters ........................................................................................................................ 41 4.3.4. Types o f exercises and tasks..................................................................................................... 43 4.4. T he satisfactoriness of the m aterial ’s m ethodology to the students ’requirem ents . 46 4.4.1. Data from document analysis ............................................................................................... 46 4.4.2. Data from the teachers and students ’ questionnaires ........................................................... 47 4.4.3. Data from follow-up interview .............................................................................................. 49 4.4.4. Discussion .............................................................................................................................. 50 4.5. S U M M A K Y ........................................................................................................................................................... 30 C H A P T E R 5: R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S AND C O N C L U S IO N ................................................................... 52 5.1. R ec o m m en d a tio n s .......................................................................................................................................52 5.1.1. Content adaptation .................................................................................................................. 52 5.1.2. Teaching improvement............................................................................................................. 53 5 .2 . C o n c lu s io n .....................................................................................................................................................54 R E F E R E N C E S ........................................................................................................................................................... 56 A PPE N D IX 1: T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S ...........................................................................................................59 A PP E N D IX 2: T H E E N G L ISH SYLLA BUS FO R T H E FIR ST Y EAR STU D EN TS AT FPT U N IV E R S IT Y ..............................................................................................................................................................63 A PP E N D IX 3: Q U E S T IO N N A IR E T O T E A C H E R S O F EN G LISH AT FPT U N IV ER SITY ...........66 A PPE N D IX 4: Q U E S T IO N N A IR E T O STU D EN TS O F EN G LISH AT FPT U N IV E R S IT Y .......... 70 A PPE N D IX 5: F O L L O W UP IN T E R V IE W ...................................................................................................... 73 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS % Percentage CLT Communicative Language Teaching EFL English as a Foreign Language ESP English for Special Purposes FU FPT University GE General English IT Information Technology VI LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: The Materials Evaluation Model o f Hutchinson and Waters (1993) Figure 2: Materials Evaluation Model of McDonough and Shaw (1993) Figure 3: Checklist o f criteria for materials evaluation by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) Table la: Teachers’ opinions on the language points covered in the textbook Table lb: Students’ opinions on the language points covered in the textbook Table 2a: Teachers and students’ opinions on preferred micro-skills o f listening Table 2b: Teachers and students’ opinions on preferred micro-skills o f reading Table 2c: Teachers and students’ opinions on preferred micro-skills o f writing Table 3: Teachers and students’ opinions on the interesting and familiar level o f the topics Table 4a: Teachers and students’ preferred types o f tasks in the listening section Table 4b: Teachers and students’ preferred types o f tasks in the speaking section Table 4c: Teachers and students’ preferred types o f tasks in the reading section Table 4d: Teachers and students’ preferred types o f tasks in the writing section Table 5: Teachers and students’ opinions on the guidance for doing the types o f tasks Table 6: Teachers and students’ opinions on the learning techniques Table 7: Teachers and students’ opinions on the teaching aids Table 8: Teachers and students’ opinions on the guidance the materials need to provide CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This introductory chapter provides the background to the study. Then, it states the aims o f the study, scope and limitation of the study, significance o f the study and presents an overview o f the thesis. 1.1. Background to the study 1.1.1. Theoretical consideration It has been proved by McDonough and Shaw (1993) that no set o f materials is likely to be perfect, it cannot serve equally for the requirements o f every classroom setting. Teachers must know not only how to use it but also how useful it can be. They must evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. It is also suggested by William (1983) that English language teachers need to know the principles o f materials evaluation. The ability o f materials evaluation is considered to be a very important professional activity for all EFL teachers. Although materials are good, they will never be perfect for every teaching and learning situation. They will always need adapting, modifying or supplementing in order to improve the teaching and learning situation. The theoretical basis for materials evaluation and adaptation has been mentioned in a number o f works such as Cunningsworth (1995), Hutchinson and Waters (1987), McDonough and Shaw (1993) and Littlejohn (1998). Therefore, any teacher can carry out a study on materials evaluation. 1.1.2. Practical consideration 1.1.2.1. The English teaching at FU FU was established on September 8lh 2006 with the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s Approval. The mission it pursues is to build an example o f an innovative University which has international standards and modem philosophy. There is a balance between training and practical life and national labor demand, contributing to boost Vietnam Information Technology to catch up with developed countries in the world. The distinction o f The FU is to focus on training industrial engineers. It means that training is embedded with IT enterprises, practices, researches, implementations and innovative technologies. In accordance with modem methodology, the teaching programs have always been updated and upheld technological and international standards, especially with emphasis on foreign languages, manufacturing process and group dynamics and other personal skills (FPT Website). Needless to say, English plays an important role among varied subjects at FU. When students first enter FU, they attend a course o f Top Notch 1 Elementary. After finishing this English course, students who have passed the final exams o f the four language skills can attend the course o f Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate. This course includes 70 slots o f English (equivalent to 140 class hours) with the textbook Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate and lasts in 8 weeks. 1.1.2.2. The current English teaching materials in use at FU Being aw are o f the importance o f English learning for their students, the university and the Faculty o f English are always searching for the most suitable materials to use as core materials. And since 2006, the textbooks Top Notch by Saslow and Ascher (2006) published by Longman Publisher has been adopted. The book was first published in 2006 and is said to be the most authentic and updated material that the Faculty o f English thinks it may meet the demand o f teaching and learning English at FU to some extent. This is a six-level material. Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate for intermediate students. The intended learners are adults and young adults who want to interact successfully and confidently with both native and non-native speakers o f English. Although the material has been in use at FU for two years, it has never been formally evaluated. Moreover, after two years o f being used, the material has revealed some unsatisfactory aspects. Some teachers o f English have complained that the material consists o f many cultural and useless factors that they had difficulty in teaching and thus several units in the material do not seem to attract the students’ interest or be ignored by both teachers and students. Some others state that the listening tasks in the 2 material are difficult because they are so long with different accents and their speed is fast. For the students, most of them have complained that what they learned did not match with the requirements of the course exams. Some of them got bored with some speaking topics in the material and they usually did not succeed in reading and listening sections. As a result, an overall evaluation of the material is really needed to find out it can be improved with adaptation. 1.2. Aims of the study The study aims at evaluating the textbook Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate by Saslow and Ascher (2006) for the first year students at FU in order to determine whether the material meets the student’s knowledge level and the objectives o f the course. Hopefully, the findings o f the study will provide the English teaching staff at FU with data about what changes to be made to improve the effectiveness o f the material for future use. 1.3. Scope and limitations of the study In the material evaluation, evaluators have to base on a great number o f criteria such as audience, aims, content, methodology, physical appearance, cultural bias, authenticity and so on. And for each set o f criteria, various aspects o f the material need to be taken into account. In this study, the researcher focuses on the four following criteria: audience (in terms o f knowledge level), aims o f the material, content o f the material and methodology. This study limits itself to the survey o f 7 English teachers and 140 students attending the course o f Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate at FU. There are some factors that may have affected the outcomes o f the research. First, though the material has been in use at FU for two years, which means that at least two generations o f students have studied it. But for some reasons, in this thesis the researcher carries the study limiting only on the students involving in the course o f 2008-2009 and teachers who have involved in teaching the material so far. So, their opinions about the material might not be profound enough. Second, the research focuses only on the audience (in terms o f knowledge 3 level), aims o f the material, content and methodology o f the material so it may not be complete and comprehensive enough. 1.4. Significance of the study As discussed above, materials need to be evaluated to be perfect for specific teaching and learning situations. The researcher hopes that the majors findings o f the study will not only make some contribution to the field of material evaluation but also be very useful to the teachers and students at FU. These findings will provide the English teaching staff at FU with data about what changes to be made to improve the effectiveness o f the material for future use. 1.5. Outline of the thesis The thesis is structured in five chapters as follows. Chapter 1 provides the background to the study practically and theoretically. Besides, it gives the aims, the scope and limitations, the significance and the outline o f the thesis. Chapter 2 reviews the relevant literature, concentrating on the issues related to materials evaluation. It first reviews the literature relating to students’ knowledge level. Then, it presents major issues in material evaluation, including definition o f teaching materials and materials evaluation, their roles in language teaching and learning, kinds o f evaluation, models for materials evaluation and criteria for materials evaluation. The chapter also presents some previous materials evaluation studies. Chapter 3 begins with the research questions. It presents the methodology employed in the study such as document analysis, questionnaires and follow up interview. The subjects o f the study are also described here. Besides, it provides procedures o f the study. Chapter 4 presents the results of the study, their analysis and discussion. Major findings are discussed to find out the strengths and weaknesses o f the material. Finally, Chapter 5 looks at the suggestions for the future implementation of the textbook Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate at FU and makes an end to the study. 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter attempts to provide the literature within which the research is carried out. It consists of eight parts. Part 2.1 reviews the literature relating to students’ knowledge level. Part 2.2 gives a definition o f teaching materials and their roles in language teaching and learning. Part 2.3 provides literature with materials evaluation. Kinds o f evaluation are mentioned in part 2.4. Part 2.5 discusses the models for materials evaluation and part 2.6 presents criteria for materials evaluation. Previous materials evaluation studies are presented in part 2.7. The literature discussed is summarized in the last part, 2.8. 2.1. Knowledge level In order to evaluate to what extent the textbook Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate accommodates the students’ knowledge level, the first important thing to be understood is that what is meant by knowledge level. The fact is that it is difficult to define clearly what knowledge level is. In this thesis, four main aspects namely Learning styles, Proficiency, Attitudes and Motivation, and General knowledge about the world will be examined to understand about the students’ knowledge level. 2.1.1. Learning styles There has been a wide range of definitions o f Learning styles. Oxfords et al (1992) defines Learning styles as the general approaches students use to learn a new subject or tackle a new problem. It is also stated by Felder (1995) that Learning styles include the ways in which an individual characteristically acquires, retains and retrieves information. Reid (1995) seems to sum up well the above definitions when he defines that a Learning style refers to an individual’s natural, habitual, and preferred way o f absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills which persist regardless o f teaching and methods or content area. Kinsella (1995) shares the same ideas and emphasizes everyone has a learning style, but each person’s is as unique as a signature. Each signature appears to be influenced by both nature and nurture; it is a biological and developmental set of characteristics. 5 In short. Learning styles are the preferred or habitual patterns o f mental functioning when dealing with new information and a Learning style consists o f perception, cognition, conceptualization, affectation and behavior. 2.1.2. Language proficiency A ccording to Ellis (1985), Proficiency comprises the learners’ knowledge o f the target language, which is understood as the language that the learner is attempting to learn. He indicates that Proficiency includes the native speakers’ grammar. Proficiency can be regarded synonymous with ‘com petence’ and it can be known as linguistic competence or communicative. The second language proficiency is usually measured in relation to native speaker proficiency. Defining the learners’ language proficiency will certainly help the researcher find out whether the textbook meets the demands o f the learners’ language proficiency or not. 2.1.3. A ttitudes and motivation There is no general agreement about what precisely Attitudes or Motivation consists of, nor o f the relationship between the two. Attitudes or Motivation are here understood that learners possess sets o f beliefs about such factors as the target language culture, their ow n culture and, in the case o f classroom learners, o f their teachers and o f the learning tasks they are given. These beliefs are referred to as Attitudes or Motivation (Brown, 1981). Gardner (1972) also suggests that Attitudes be related to Motivation by serving as supports o f the learners’ overall orientation. Attitudes and motivation influence language learning in a number o f ways. For instance, taking learners’ attitudes to course materials into account, it is a popular belief that learners also vary in their attitudes to teaching materials. In general, adult learners dislike having a course book imposed upon them in a rigid way. They prefer a variety of materials and the opportunities to use them in the ways they choose for themselves. Another example about learners’ attitudes is that students will inevitably have different views about the kind o f teacher that they think are ‘best’ for them. Some prefer a teacher who creates ‘space’ for them to pursue their own learning paths. Others prefer a teacher who structures the learning tasks much more tightly. 6 To sum up, it can be said that Attitudes and Motivation are important factors because they help determine the level o f proficiency achieved by different learners based on which 'he evaluation o f the textbook will find out whether the textbook is suitable for the students’ level o f proficiency or not. 2.1.4. Students’ general knowledge about the world Studen:s’ general knowledge about the world is regarded as their understanding about the world in term s o f cultures, politics, arts, society, science, economy and so (Le Hai Yen, 2003). Knowing about the students’ general knowledge about the world will help the researcher give good judgm ent about the textbook Top Notch 2 Pre-intermediate used for the first year students at FU, and find out whether the knowledge about the factors provided in the textbook is appropriate to the students’ background knowledge. 2.2. Teaching materials in language teaching and learning 2.2.1. Definitions o f teaching materials The subject o f this study is the textbook Top Notch 2 by Saslow and Ascher (2006), therefore, it w ould be sensible to commence the literature with the clarification o f three related term inologies: ‘textbook', ‘course book ’ and ‘m aterials’. ‘Textbook’ is generally defined by Etoh (2005) as a book that treats a subject comprehensively and is used by students as a basis for study. This term, also called ‘text’, is the most prevalent term to refer to a book exploited in teaching and learning situations. In m any circumstances, it is expected that teaching will be based on a single textbook, although other materials may be used at the teacher’s direction. The term ‘course book’ is used to refer to a textbook on which a course is based on. In ELT, it is defined more specifically by Tomlinson (1998) as: A textbook which provides the core materials for a course. It aims to provide as much as possible in one book and is designed so that it could serve as the only book which the learners necessarily use during a course. Such a book usually includes work on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions and the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. (P- 9) 7 Sometimes, the term ‘course book’ is associated with text materials as it has been specifically selected and exploited for teaching purposes by the classroom teacher particularly in the local setting. Frequently, a course book is considered core materials of a certain course. It may be accompanied with a variety o f supplementary materials. According to Tomlinson (1998), ‘materials’ is defined in the broad sense o f the concept as ‘anything which is used to help to teach language learners’. It can take the form of printed m aterials such as textbooks, workbooks and so on or non-printed materials such as cassettes, videotapes or computer-based materials: anything that presents or informs about the language being learned. However, in the local setting, textbooks seem to be the most widely used materials in language teaching. Throughout the thesis, the terms ‘textbook’, ‘text’, ‘course book’ and ‘materials’ will be used interchangeably. 2.2.2. The roles o f materials in language teaching and learning. Teaching m aterials are a key component in most language courses whether they are GE or ESP ones. W hether the teacher uses a textbook, institutionally prepared materials or his/her ow n materials, instructional materials generally can serve as the basis for much of the language input that the learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the language classroom (Richards, 2001). The crucial roles that teaching materials play in language teaching and learning are discussed by different authors in the literature. Richard and Rogers (1986) view instructional materials as detailed specifications of content, and guidance to teachers on both the intensity o f coverage and the amount of attention dem anded by particular content and pedagogical tasks. Richards (2001) further explains that materials provide a basis for the content o f the lesson, the balance o f the skills taught, and the kind o f language practice thestudents participate in. In addition, good teaching materials are o f great help to inexperienced or poorly trained teachers. They can serve as ‘a form o f teacher training’ (ibid, p.251) and teacher can get ideas on how to plan and teach the lesson from the materials. Cunningsworth (1995, p. 7) summarizes six functions o f teaching materials (particularly course books) in language teaching and learning as: i) A source for presentation materials (both spoken and written) 8 ii) A source o f activities for learner practice and communicative interaction iii) A reference source for learners, for example, on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and so on iv) A source o f stimulation and ideas for classroom activities v) A syllabus where they reflect learning objectives that have already been determined vi) A support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain in confidence Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) identify four functions o f materials in language teaching and learning. A ccording to these authors, materials are used 1) as a source o f language; 2) as a learning support; 3) for motivation and 4) for reference. Each o f these functions will be discussed in detail in the following sections. 2.2.2.1. A source of language Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) point out that in some situations where English is a foreign language, the English language classroom may almost be the only source o f English. M aterials play a crucial role in exposing learners to the language, which implies that the materials need to present a real language, as it is used in real situations, and the full range that learners require. For example, in some cases learners have to extract inform ation from an English-medium subject matter textbook. However, if every text com es from magazines, content and style will be journalistic. Therefore, in order to maximize learners’ exposure to the language, for example, additional materials should be provided. 2.2.2.2. A learning support For the m aterials to be qualified as a learning support, Tomlinson (1998) suggests that learners should be given opportunities to use the language for communication rather than ju st to practice in situations controlled by the teachers and the materials. To support this idea, Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) indicate that materials need to be reliable, that is to say, the materials need ‘to work, to be consistent and to have some recognizable pattern’ (p. 171). This needs not mean a rigid unit structure or a fixed format. There have been published materials where each text is followed by ten comprehension questions or more. Such a constraint is an imposition that takes no account o f the real content o f the materials. In order to enhance learning, according to 9 these authors, the materials need to involve learners in thinking about and using the language. 2.2.2.3. A source for stimulation and motivation Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998, p. 172) point out that in order to be a source for stimulation and motivation, materials need to be ‘challenging yet achievable; to offer new ideas and information whilst being grounded in the learners’ experience and knowledge. The input must contain concepts and/or knowledge that are familiar but it must also offer something new, a reason to communicate, to get involved. Exploitation needs to match how input would be used outside the learning situation and take account o f language learning needs. The purpose and the connection to the learners’ reality need to be clear. 2.2.2.4. A source for reference According to Tomlinson (1998, p. 11), as a source for reference, materials help learners to make ‘efficient use o f the resources in order to facilitate self-discovery’. DudleyEvans and St. John (1998, p. 172) also suggests this function materials need to be ‘com plete, well laid out and self-explanatory’. In other words, the materials need to provide explanations, examples and practice activities that have answers and discussion keys so that students can use them for self-study. What needs to be mentioned here is the difference in learning styles among the learners. This means that activities should be ‘variable and should cater for all learning styles’ (Tomlinson, 1998, p. 17). The review o f the roles o f materials in language teaching and learning would partly help the researcher o f this study to develop criteria for the evaluation o f the textbook Top Notch 2 in the context FU. 2.3. M aterials evaluation 2.3.1. Definition o f materials evaluation There have been many definitions o f materials evaluation. Fundamentally, evaluation is a com plete process “ ‘which begins with determining what information to gather and ends w ith bringing about changes in current activities or influencing future one.” (Dudley-Evans and St. John. 1998, p. 128). 10 According to Tom linson (1998, p. 11), materials evaluation is the process with “attempts to measure the value o f materials” or “the systematic appraisal o f the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the learners using them”. Via this definition, Tomlinson implicitly points out that the value o f a material should be determined by considering whether the learning points are potentially useful to the learners, whether the learning procedures can maximize the likelihood of the learners actually learning what they want and need to learn. Therefore, besides studying the objectives stated by the author(s) o f the book, the evaluator is advised to consider the learners’ opinions. Obviously, his definition is well aligned with the learner-centered approach. Tomlinson’s opinion (1998) seems to be the same as Nunan’s (1988) when he adds that evaluation should be carried out: • Pre-use, therefore focused on predictions o f potential. • W hilst-use, therefore focused on awareness and description o f what the learners are actually doing whilst the materials are being used. • Post-use, therefore focused on analyses o f what happened as a result o f using the materials. In general, any language teaching course has certain evaluation requirements. For example, course evaluation, means to assess whether the course objectives are being met. Syllabus evaluation is to evaluate whether that syllabus meets students’ needs and the course’s objectives or not. Program evaluation is a process o f obtaining a variety of information relating to different curriculum elements and processes for decision-making purposes and so on. In short, material evaluation is understood as the consideration o f such factors as course’s objectives, materials and students’ needs in a concrete context to see whether they match with each other or not. In other words, materials evaluation is to find out the strengths and the weaknesses of the materials when matching them with the course’s objectives and the students’ needs. In the context o f FU, the whilst-use and post-use evaluation have been chosen to evaluate the currently used textbook Top Notch 2 Pre­ intermediate for the first year students. The main purpose o f this evaluation is to validate the merit o f Top Notch 2 based on its users’ opinions. 11