i
I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:
“An evaluation of the material English in Medicine for the third-year students at
Hai Phong Medical University”
in terms of Statement for thesis and Field Study Reports in Masters’ Programs Issued
by the Higher Degree Committee.
Vu Thi Hanh
June, 2009 ii
First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude to Ms. Pham Minh
Tam - my supervisor, who during the preparation of this thesis has been most willing and
ready to give me valuable advice, inspiration and supervision.
I also acknowledge my sincere thanks to Mr. Le Van Canh for his interesting lessons
and suggestions.
My appreciation and gratitude are also extended to my students at Hai Phong Medical
University for their enthusiastic help in the data collection procedures; my colleagues for
their encouragement and support.
I am grateful to the authors of the reference materials whose ideas have inspired me
throughout the writing process.
Finally, I would like to convey my thanks to my family and my friends without whom
the completion of this thesis had been impossible.

adapting the activities…These improvements are expected to make consideration
contributions to the future use of the material as well as the ESP course at Hai Phong
Medical University. iv
Certificate of originality of the thesis ……………………………………………………….i
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………ii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….iii
Table of contents………………………………………………………………………… iv
Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………… vii
List of figures…………………………………………………………………………… viii
 !"  2
1.1 Rationale for the study 2
1.2 Aims of the study 2
1.3 Significance of the study 3
1.4 Scope of the study 3
1.5 Methodology 3
1.6 Organization of the study 4
#$"%& 5
2.1 Introduction 5
2.1 An overview of English for Specific Purposes 5
2.1.1 Definitions of ESP 5
2.1.2 Characteristics of ESP courses 6

3.6.1 Questionnaires 22
3.6.2 Informal interviews 22
3.7 Data collection procedure 23
3.8 Data analysis procedure 23
3.9 Conclusive remark 23 vi+,"$,!!,",,  24
4.1 Objectives 24
4.2 Layout 24
4.3 Content 25
4.4 Methodology 26
- $",  29
5.1 Summary of major findings 29
5.2 Recommendations 29
5.2.1 Objectives adjustments 29
5.2.2 Layout improvements 30
5.2.3 Content improvements 30
5.3.4 Methodology improvements 31
5.3 Limitations of the study 33
., 34
!, I
!/,"!,0,"%*1",  I
!/#1", . , IV
!/',"!!,$*,,,"$, VIII
!/+,"!,0/2 3%$" $*,, IX
!/-,0/2 3%$" $*,, X

used in non-major in English universities are collected and edited, which needs assessment
and evaluation” (p.10). This is the case for Hai Phong Medical University (HPMU). The
material English in Medicine for the third-year students at HPMU is also an edited
collection from various sources. It has been used at HPMU for 13 years but no evaluation
or consultation has been conducted by the university either prior to the introduction of the
material or ongoing to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to see how well it suited
the desired and attainable goals of the course. Evaluating it helps the teachers to gain good
and useful insights into the nature of the material. The teachers can also respond to the
students’ needs and maximize their learning opportunities. This is the first reason for me to
carry out an evaluation of the material English in Medicine.
Furthermore, Cunningsworth (1995) and Ellis (1997) suggest that textbook evaluation
helps teachers move beyond impressionistic assessments and it helps them to acquire
useful, accurate, systematic, and contextual insights into the overall nature of textbook
material. Textbook evaluation, therefore, can potentially be a particularly worthwhile
means of conducting research as well as a form of professional empowerment and
improvement. This is another reason for me to execute the research.
Conducting this study is a great opportunity for me to discover the teachers and
students’ perceptions about the material and gain some experience in evaluating materials.
1.2 Aims of the study
This study aims to evaluate the material English in Medicine in terms of its
Objectives, Layout, Content and Methodology from both the teachers’ and the students’
perspectives. The findings will help the teachers to adjust the exploitation of the material
as well as their teaching method so that they can make optimum use of strong points and
adapt or substitute weaker points from other medical materials. 31.3 Significance of the study

The study consists of five chapters.
Chapter 1 – Introduction – presents the rationale, aims, significance, scope and
methodology of the study.
Chapter 2 – Literature review – provides a theoretical basis for the study. First, it
surveys the literature on the theories of the basic concepts such as English for Specific
Purposes and English for Medical purposes, regarding the definition, characteristics and
development. Second, it reviews material evaluation in terms of definition, types, purposes,
models, criteria and method. The last part of the chapter presents the issues involving
material adaptation which serve as a base for the improvements recommended at the end of
the study
Chapter 3 – Methodology – includes an overview of the approach used in conducting
the study. It also provides a thorough description of the data collection procedure as well as
the analytical procedure.
Chapter 4 – Results and Discussion – reports the findings of the survey and discusses
the prominent aspects.
Chapter 5 – Conclusion – summarizes the study, recommends the improvements to
the material and acknowledges the limitations of the study.

5

6#$"%&
2.1 Introduction
According to Swales (1985, as cited in Low, 1987, p.21), there are very few published
works about the effectiveness of coursebooks in use. Teachers, material designers and
education researchers tend to be less reflective about what is happening when one textbook
is used. In Vietnam, evaluation of textbooks used in primary and secondary schools seems
to attract more attention than the evaluation of coursebooks for university students. In

Variable Characteristics
• ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines
• ESP may use, in specific teaching situations, a different methodology from that of
General English
• ESP is likely to be designed for adult learners, either at a tertiary level institution or
in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at secondary
school level.
• ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students.
• Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language systems
The division of ESP into absolute and variable characteristics is very helpful in
defining what is and is not ESP. From the definition, we can see that ESP can but is not
necessarily concerned with a specific discipline, nor does it have to be aimed at a certain
age group or ability range. ESP should be seen simple as an 'approach' to teaching, or what
Dudley-Evans describes as an 'attitude of mind'.
2.1.2 Characteristics of ESP courses
According to Carter (1983), there are three features of ESP courses: a) authentic
material, b) purpose-related orientation, and c) self-direction. The use of authentic content
materials, modified or unmodified in form, is indeed a feature of ESP. Purpose-related
orientation refers to the simulation of communicative tasks required of the target setting.
Finally, self-direction is the characteristic of ESP courses in that the " point of including
self-direction is that ESP is concerned with turning learners into users" (Carter, 1983, p.
134). 7

Hutchinson and Waters (2007) also point out that traditional ESP course design has
two major drawbacks: firstly, the development in the learner of a capacity to communicate
is neglected, and secondly, there is a failure to analyze and take into account the realities of
the ESP learning situation.

whiteboard: anything which presents or informs about the language being learned”.
In this thesis, the “material” are not any materials for learning and teaching language.
It refers to a set of medical texts and lessons collected from various sources used as the
coursebook for the third year students at HPMU.
2.2.2 Definitions of material evaluation
A number of researchers express their point of view regarding the definition of
material evaluation.
According to Dudley (1998), “evaluation is a whole process which begins with
determining what information to gather and ends with bringing about the change in current
activities or influencing future ones” (p.128).
Material evaluation is “a process not a final product” (Nunan, 1998) with “attempts to
measure the value of materials” (Tomlinson, 1998, p.3).
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) define: “Evaluation is basically a matching process:
matching needs to available solutions” (p.97). They also note that evaluation is really a
matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose. “Given a certain need,
and in the light of the resources available, which out of number of possibilities can
represent the best solution. There is no absolute good or bad – only degrees of fitness for
the required purpose”.
Although each researcher has his/her own way of giving opinions on evaluation they
still come to the agreement that evaluation is a process of collecting data giving judgments
based on the collected data, and the most importantly, evaluation must include action.
2.2.3 Types of material evaluation
Regarding types of material evaluation, Tomlinson (1988) indicates that for each
dimension of evaluation, there are certain types of evaluation. These dimensions include:
approach, purpose, focus, scope, the evaluators, the timing and types of information.
Cunningsworth (1995) points out that there are three types of material evaluation, i.e.
pre-use evaluation, in-use evaluation and post-use evaluation. This classification is similar
to Ellis (1997) with different names, i.e. Preliminary, Formative and Summative
- to identify what effect materials have had 10

- to vindicate a decision
- to justify future courses of action
- to compare approaches/methodologies
- to identify areas for improvement in future use
- to show the positive achievements of teachers and students
- to motivate teachers
- to allay suspicions among parents or sponsors
2.2.5 Models for material evaluation
With regard to the material evaluation process, Hutchinson and Waters (1987)
recommend a four – step macro-evaluation presented in the following model. These authors advise to present the criteria for objective and subjective analyses in a
check list, and the evaluators should supplement other criteria they think important to them
in the process of evaluating. Then, follow the three steps: 1) identify the evaluator’s
requirements; 2) analyze the material; 3) comparing findings those two aspects by

5. Analysis of the information collected;
6. Findings of the evaluation and making recommendations for future teaching; and
7. Writing the report.
He points out the advantage of this model is that it can be more manageable than a
macro evaluation. Nevertheless, this type of evaluation can only be conducted when the
materials are being used in the classroom.
Littljohn (1998) suggests a preliminary framework for material analysis and
evaluation as follows: 12


Adopt the materials
Reject the materials
Adapt the materials
Supplement the materials
Make the materials a critical object 13

method involves glancing at the publisher’s description on the back cover, the content
page, book layout and visuals.
The checklist method is the use of a list of items which is referred to for comparison,
identification or verification. It is considered systematic, cost effective, convenient and
explicit.
The in-depth method looks at the kind of language description, underlying
assumptions about learning or values on which the materials are based (McGrath,2002). It
focuses on specific feature (Cunningworth, 1995), close analysis of one or more extracts
(Hutchinson, 1987).
Each of these methods has strengths as well as limitations. Therefore, it is a good idea
to take an integrated approach in evaluating materials.
2.2.7 Criteria for material evaluation
As mentioned at the beginning of Chapter Two, criteria for material evaluation are not
constant, the elements making up each criterion do not always coincide. Various writers
have presented their evaluation checklists. As illustrated by Cunningsworth (1995, pp. 7-
15), coursebooks should correspond to learners’ needs; help to equip learners to use
language effectively for their own purposes; facilitate students’ learning process; have a
clear role in mediating the target language and the learner.
Sheldon (1998) presents a set of criteria including: rationale, availability, user
definition, layout, accessibility, linkage, selection, physical characteristics,
appropriateness, authenticity, sufficiency, cultural bias, educational validity, stimulus,

ESP, it is crucial to evaluate whether the subject-matter of the material is of students’
interest and up to their expectation as it plays an important part in motivating students to
learn.
Finally, it is absolutely essential to determine whether or not the methodology of a
book will reinforce the institutional aims as well as conform to the classroom context when
evaluating any textbook (Brown, 1995; Cunningsworth, 1995). According to
Cunningsworth (1995), the methodology of a coursebook should be considered in the
following specific criteria: appropriate approach to the learning situation; learner
involvement matching students’ learning styles and expectation; suitable techniques used
for presenting/practising new language items; ways of teaching different skills and
developing communicative abilities. Besides, the material should include advice to 15

students on study skills and learning strategies and give them responsibility for their own
learning.
These criteria may be inadequate, but in my context, they are the most important ones.
2.3 Material adaptation
2.3.1 Purposes of adaptation
No textbook is perfect. Any textbook should be used judiciously, since it cannot cater
equally to the requirements of every classroom setting (Williams, 1983, p.251). That is
why a textbook should be adapted. Teachers, with direct personal knowledge of their
classroom teaching, should see textbooks as their servants instead of masters; as a resource
or an “ideas bank” which can stimulate teachers' own creative potential (Cunnningsworth,
1984, p.65). Adapting materials helps teachers to maximize the value of the book for the
benefit of their learners. Hence they can improve it so that it is suitable for the particular
situation. (Apple and Jungck, 1990; Shannon, 1987).
2.3.2 Areas for adaptation
McDonough and Shaw (1993) identify the possible areas to adapt as follows:

reason may be replaced by more suitable material.
• Re-ordering: Teachers may decide that the order in which the materials are presented
is not suitable for their students. They can then decide to plot different course through
the materials from the one writer has laid down.
The overview of adaptation is illustrated in the following framework proposed by

McDonough and Shaw (1993).
17

MATCH OR CONGRUENCE External Criteria Internal Criteria

need to
Localize Personalize Individualize etc by means of TECHNIQUES
research. and their advantages.
3.2 The current ESP teaching and learning situation at HPMU
3.2.1 The context
The students at HPMU learn English for two years and a half (20 credits in total).
After two years of studying general English (with the coursebooks: Headway Elementary
and Pre-intermediate (published by Oxford University Press in 1993), they learn Medical
English (05 credits) in the last semester. By the time, they have just finished some basic
subjects such as maths, biology, epidemiology… so they have not got much background
knowledge of the field. They are therefore at a disadvantage of struggling to learn both the
language and the content at the time.
During this course of medical English, the students have only one class per week (3
periods) in large classes (about 50 students a class). The material is English in Medicine
which will be described in the following section. At the end of the course, they have a 90-
minute written test. However, their test results are quite low (about 30 percent of the
students fail and the majority of the rest get mark 5-6 ) although all the test questions are
taken from the course book.
3.2.2 The course objectives
The main objectives of the course is set out by the English Department of HPMU as
follows:
At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
• name the organs in human body