VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************
TRẦN THỊ HẰNG

AN EVALUATION OF THE WRITING COMPONENT IN THE
« ENGLISH 12 » TEXTBOOK IN TERMS OF CONTENT AND
METHODOLOGY : A CASE AT UONG BI HIGH SCHOOL, QUANG
NINH PROVINCE

ĐÁNH GIÁ PHẦN VIẾT TRONG CHƯƠNG TRÌNH SÁCH GIÁO
KHOA LỚP 12 VỀ MẶT NỘI DUNG VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP : NGHIÊN
CỨU TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT UÔNG BÍ, TỈNH QUẢNG NINH

M.A. Minor Thesis

Field: English Methodology
Code: 60 14 10


Supervisor: Hoàng Xuân Hoa, Ph.D
Hanoi - 2010

iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS T: Teachers
S: Students
MOET: Ministry of Education and Training
( Q9) 31
Table 3.7: The teachers and student’s suggestions of tasks in the writing component
(Q8) 33
Table 3.8: Teachers’ opinion about the writing approaches used in the textbook
( Q11,12) 33
Table 3.9: Students’ opinions of the teaching methods used by the teachers during the
writing lessons.( Q13) 34
Table 3.10: Students’ expectations about the ways the English teachers’ teaching writing
Q14) 34
Table 3.11: Teachers and Students’opinions about kinds of tasks, exercises and guidance
in the writing component (Q 15,16)……………………………………………………….35
Table 3.12. Teachers and Students’s opinions of the interaction patterns in the class
( Q17)………………………………………………………………………………….… 35

vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF THE THESIS…………………… ……… i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………… … ii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………… iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………………….iv
LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………… v
TABLES OF CONTENT…………………………………………………………………vi
PART I: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………1
1. Rationale of the study……………………………………………………………….1
2. Aims of the study………………………………………………………………… 2
3. Research questions………………………………………………………………… 2

1.3.2.4 Simplifying 14
1.3.2.5 Re-ordering 14
1.4. Theoretical backgrounds to writing and teaching writing 14
1.4.1 Reasons for teaching writing 14
1.4.2 Main approaches to teaching writing 15
1.4.2.1 The product approach 15
1.4.2.2 The process approach 16
Chapter 2: The study…………………………………………………………………….18
2.1. Overview of the current situation of teaching and learning English writing
component at Uong Bi High School. ………………………………………………… 18
2.1.1. The school context ………………………………………………………….18
2.1.1.1. The teachers at Uong Bi high shool………………………………18
2.1.1.2. The learners at Uong Bi high school…………………………… 18
2.1.2. The new English textbook for grade 12 (Standard Textbook)…………… 18
2.1.3. The current teaching and learning of English 12 writing component at Uong
Bi High school 19
2.1.3.1.The opportunities of the context………………………………… 19
2.1.3.2. The constraints of the context 20
2.2. The study………………………………………………………………………… 21
2.2.1. Research questions………………………………………………………….21
2.2.2. Participants of the study ……………………………………………………21
2.2.2.1. The teachers………………………………………………………22
2.2.2.2. The students……………………………………………………….22
2.2.3. Data collection instrument………………………………………………… 22

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2.2.3.1. Document analysis……………………………………………… 22
2.2.3.2. Survey questionnaire……………………….…………………… 22
2.2.4. Data collection procedure………………………………………………… 23
Chapter 3: Results and discussions 25

Nowadays English has become increasingly important as a means of global
communication and a bridge to mankind‟s knowledge. In the process of global integration,
the teaching and learning English has become a great concern in Vietnam. Therefore, the
government has changed the curriculum in order to train the citizens who can use English
for communicative purposes. By doing this, in 2002 the Ministry of Education and
Training (MOET) announced a new textbook project for upper secondary school level. The
new textbooks comprised two sets. Set 1, unofficially called “sách chuẩn” (i.e “standard
textbooks”, was intended for students pursuing Ban cơ bản (i.e. The non-specialization
program) and Ban tự nhiên (i.e. specialization in sciences). Set 2, unofficially called “Sách
nâng cao”(i.e. advanced textbooks), was intended for Ban xã hội (i.e. specialization in
social sciences and humanities). Each set comprised of three books, from English 10 to
English 12.
The new English textbooks for high school students are claimed to adopt the latest teaching
and learning approaches: communicative approach and learner-centered approach and aim
at developing both language skills and language knowledge for students. Each unit in the
new English textbooks consists of five parts: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and
Language Focus.
English 10 and English 11 were approved and officially introduced into schools by MOET
in the academic years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 respectively. However, English 12
textbook has only been used nationwide since the academic year 2008-2009. Therefore,
English 12 textbook is rather new to the students and teachers and little research has been
carried out to evaluate this textbook.
Uong Bi High school, one of the high schools in the country, adopted “standard textbooks”.
As a teacher of English, the researcher has worked quite closely with the new textbooks. It
is noticed that although the textbooks have shown a great deal of improvement compared
to the old series of grammar-based textbooks, the implementation of this textbook causes a
large number of difficulties, especially the writing component.
Evaluation of teaching materials is obviously a very important process in language
teaching and learning. The results from materials evaluation help to determine whether the


5. Significance of the study
The findings of the thesis will serve as a back- up for the improvements of the writing
component in the “English 12” textbook, teachers‟ method adjustment and materials
adaptation as well. Practically, the findings are beneficial for both teachers and learners at 3
Uong Bi High school from the experience of reflection. Secondly, the findings of the study
will contribute information to textbook writers and educators to determine curricula and
program direction. It is also hoped that the thesis will be of contributions towards the
development of the writing component in general and the writing component in “English
12” textbook in particular.
6. Method of the study
In order to evaluate the writing component of the „English 12‟ textbook, document analysis
and survey questionnaires were employed to address the two questions being investigated.
Document analysis was one of the main instruments with a thorough objective analysis of
the textbook under evaluation. Survey questionnaire was used to collect the data that
related to the teachers‟ and students‟ perspectives and attitudes towards the textbook they
have just finished. The findings are expected to provide convincing evidence for the
contribution to the improvement of the textbook for the future use.
7. Design of the study
The study consists of three parts: the introduction, the main content and the conclusion.
The introduction provides the basic information such as the rationale of the study, the aims,
the research questions, the scope, the significance of the study and the methods of the
study.
The main content is divided into 3 chapters. Chapter one reviews the literature on materials
evaluation. It first presents the roles and types of materials in language teaching. Then it
presents major issues in materials evaluation, including reasons for materials evaluation,
types of materials evaluation, who carries out and who provides data for materials
evaluations, models for materials evaluation and criteria for materials evaluation. Next it

lesson, the balance of skills taught, and the kind of language practice students take part in.
In addition, good teaching materials are of great help to inexperienced teachers and poorly
trained teachers (Nunan, 1991; Richards, 2001). They can serve as “ a form of teacher
training” (Richard, 2001: 251) and teachers can get ideas on how to plan and teach the
lesson from the materials.
Obviously, teaching materials are a key and crucial component in any language teaching
contexts, the teacher needs to take account of the roles as well as the requirements of
teaching materials when designing or selecting materials for his/ her own teaching situation
to facilitate the most learning from the students.
1.1.2. Types of materials
Materials in use can vary from a textbook, institutionally prepared materials or the
teacher‟s own materials (Richards, 2001). The former is referred to as published textbooks
and the latter in-house materials by Robinson (1991). Which one to choose, published
textbooks or in-house materials is what specialists in the field of English language teaching 5
(ELT) weigh up arguments. O‟Neill (cited in Robinson, 1991:58) suggests that no other
medium is as easy to use as a textbook. More important “ a textbook is complete not just in
the physical sense but in the sense that the whole term‟s or year‟s course is available to the
students at once”. However, Ewer and Boys (cited in Robinson, 1991) reject it in terms of
the validity of the linguistic contents, the accuracy of the explanations and examples given,
and the number and coverage of the exercises because the writers just focus on approach
and methodology. Moreover, as Swales (cited in Robinson, 1991:57) indicate published
textbooks are “less self- sufficient in practice materials and in coverage of skill areas” so
these textbooks need to be supplemented by some other materials.
There are also arguments for and against the use of in-house materials. On the one hand,
as Robinson (1991) suggests, there are three advantages of in-house materials. Firstly, in-
house materials are likely to be more specific and appropriate than published material and
to have greater face validity in terms of the language dealt with and the contexts it is

determination of what needs to be evaluated, the objectives and requirements for the
materials, and the judgments of the value of the materials being evaluated in relation to the
objectives and requirements determined.
1.2.2. The reasons for materials evaluation
There are two main reasons for carrying out materials evaluation. Firstly, there may be a
need to choose among the materials available the most suitable ones to use for a particular
situation. Secondly, there can be a need for materials evaluation to determine whether the
material which has been chosen works for that situation after it has been used for a period
of time ( Ellis, 1997).
Robinson (1991) adds, evaluation can be used as part of quality control. Through
evaluation, we can know about the advantages and disadvantages as well as the
effectiveness of the being used materials. Then we can decide whether the materials can be
reused or whether it needs to be adapted to meet the need of the particular teaching
situation or we need to change it absolutely.
In short, the findings of materials evaluation will provide input for responsible people to
evaluate the effectiveness of the materials.
1.2.3. Types of materials evaluation
There are three types of evaluation according to the reasons for materials evaluation:
Preliminary evaluation, formative evaluation and summative evaluation.
Preliminary Evaluation
This types of evaluation is carried out before a course begins in order to select the most
suitable and relevant materials for a particular group of learners.
This also has the purpose of identifying which aspects of the published materials need to
be adapted to suit the purposes of the evaluators (Robinson, 1991; Ellis, cited in Tomlinson, 7
1993). This can be done by “determining a set of criteria which are used to reach a decision
regarding which book to adopt and how it needs to be adapted” ( Ellis, cited in Tomlinson,
1993: 220).


8
learning situation in which the evaluation is being carried out. So, as Robinson (1991)
suggests, they may be unsympathetic and it may take more time for them to get to know
the local situation such as learners‟ needs, facilities as well as constrainst. As a result, it
may be hard for them to make exact judgements and realistic recommendations; or may be
what they find has already been found ( Dudley- Evans & St. John, 1998).
1.2.4.2 Materials evaluation by insiders
Materials evaluation by insiders has some advantages especially if the overall purpose of
evaluation is for “ development” and thus for better use in the future. As they have already
involved in the program, they will understand the teaching and learning situation well
(Tomlinson, 1998). Tomlinson‟s view is strongly supported by Holliday (cited in Dudley –
Evans & St. John, 1998) and Richards (2001). According to Holliday (1998: 296), the
evaluator‟s understanding of “ cultural and political factors” of the institution in which the
evaluation takes place would be very important for the evaluator to make exact judgements
and realistic recommendations. Richards (2001) holds the view that the involvement of the
insider plays a very important role in the success of evaluation because “ as a consequence,
they will have a greater degree of commitment to acting on its results”. Richards also
points out insiders, especially teachers, can „ monitor‟ when the materials are being used,
they therefore can determine if and to what extent the materials „ work‟ for their purposes
and thus they can make modifications to improve the effectiveness of the materials.
However, the insiders “ may be too close and involved” (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998:
131) so the evaluation may be influenced by their teaching experience and their subjective
views.
In short, who will carry out the evaluation outsiders or insiders should be determined
according to the purposes of the evaluation and to the facilities as well as the constraints of
the situation in which the evaluation takes place.
1.2.5 Models for materials evaluation
There are different models for materials evaluation suggested by different authors in the
literature. The popular models are the ones suggested by Hutchinson and Waters (1993),

To examine whether the materials are suitable for a certain group of learners or not, there
must be certain criteria against which our judgments or evaluation are based. It is also a
must to determine the objectives or the requirements for the materials because we can not
measure the success of a particular activity or a whole set of materials if there is no clear
objective for it.
1.2.5.2 Evaluation model by Ellis
A Micro – evaluation is the evaluation of one particular teaching task which the evaluator
has a special interest in (Ellis, 1997). In this model Ellis suggests the practice of a detailed
empirical evaluation and focuses on evaluation at the task level with reference to its actual
DEFINE CRITERIA
On what bases will you judge
materials? Which criteria will be more
important?

SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
What realizations of the criteria
do you want in your course?
OJECTIVE ANALYSIS
How does the material being
evaluated realize the criteria?
MATCHING
How far does the material match your
needs?
10
teaching-learning context. The aim in this model is to identify the match between task
planned and task in use. He also suggests that dimensions focused on macro- evaluation
(e.g. approach, purpose, focus, scope, evaluators, timing, and types of information) can


11
In summary, although these three models vary in the processes and the nature of the
purposes, they all serve to evaluate whether the set of the materials is appropriate to a
certain situation or group of learners. An evaluator must be based on the purposes of the
evaluation, time available, facilities as well as constraints of the context in which the
evaluation takes place to decide which model to follow.
As presented above, this work aimed at investigating the suitability of the writing sections
in the new textbook English 12 to the particular teaching and learning situation, i.e. the
teachers, the students and the teaching and learning conditions at UB high school.
Moreover, this research is not to check the potential appropriateness of a writing material
for future use or the fitness of a specific writing task but to evaluate the whole writing
sections which are being used by the teachers and students at UB high school. With these
purposes in mind and after a careful consideration of the purposes of the above evaluation
models, the researcher decided to use the evaluation model by Hutchinson and Waters (1993).
1.2.6 Criteria for materials evaluation
Criteria are what evaluators use to “reach a decision regarding what needs to be
evaluated” (Tomlinson, 1998: 220) which are the bases upon which evaluators depend on
when making judgments. Defining criteria for evaluation is one of the crucial issues
evaluators must take into account before any evaluation can take place. Criteria for
materials evaluation depend what is being evaluated and why they need to be evaluated
(Dudley – Evans and St. John, 1998). But because the researcher chose the evaluation
model by Hutchinson and Waters, it is much more reasonable to have deeper
understanding about its criteria.
Criteria defined by Hutchinson and Waters
Hutchinson and Waters (1993) in their checklist for materials evaluation suggested 5
criteria for evaluation as follows:
Audience:
The first criteria in materials evaluation is the audience of the materials with regards to
different information such as sex, ages, study or professional fields, status with respect to

Furthermore, the evaluation also needs to discover if teaching aids available for use are
those required by the materials. In addition, the evaluation needs to find out whether the
materials supply the teachers with necessary guidance and support for teaching the course.
Finally, it is necessary to determine if the materials are flexible so that they can be used in
different orders to suit the teaching contexts.
Other criteria
In addition to the criteria mentioned above, some other criteria are also suggested such as
price and availability of the materials. 13
To sum up, in this thesis the researcher used the evaluation model by Hutchinson and
Waters because the criteria defined by Hutchinson and Waters appeared to be more
manageable and suitable to the objectives of the current study. However, due to the scope
and purposes of the research, she was to use the two criteria: content and methodology.
They are the most important criteria when making materials evaluation.
1.3 Materials adaptation
1.3.1 Reasons for adapting
Once the materials have been evaluated, potential problem areas can be identified: What
the materials offer can not be exactly what our learners‟ need; The materials methodology
may not match our own, Our general aims may not match the aims of the materials; the
aims of a particular lesson/ unit in the materials may not match our lesson- by – lesson
aims. We will have to prioritize and select. We may need to supplement the materials.
There are five ways of modifying materials
1.3.2 Adapting techniques
1.3.2.1 Adding
The notion of addition is that materials are supplemented by putting more into them, while
taking into account the practical effect on time allocation. First, we can certainly add in
this quantitative way by the technique of extending “This means that the techniques are
being applied within the methodological framework of the original materials: in other

sentences- bound elements to match the text more closely to the proficiency level of a
particular group of learners.
1.3.2.5 Re-ordering
This procedure refers to the possibility of putting the parts of a course book in a different
order. This may mean adjusting the sequence of presentation within a unit, or taking units
in a different sequence from that originally intended.
1.4. Theoretical backgrounds to writing and teaching writing
1.4.1 Reasons for teaching writing
“ Writing is a language skill which is difficult to acquire” (Tribble, 1996:3)
This statement is always right under any circumstances. First and foremost, written
language is quite different from spoken language. Tribble assures that in speaking the
primary emphasis is on the building of relationships; in writing emphasis is on recording
things, on completing tasks, or on developing ideas and arguments.
When we learn a second or a foreign language, we learn to communicate with other
people: to understand them, talk to them. An integral part of participating fully an a new
culture setting is learning how to communicate when the other person is not right there in
front of us, listening to our words and looking at our gestures and facial expressions. 15
Visitors to another country will often have to leave a note for the mailman, fill out a
customs declaration form, give written instructions, or write a thank-you letter.
But the fact that people frequently have to communicate with each other in writing is not
the only reason to include writing as part of ours syllabus. Raims (1983: 3) thinks there is
“…an additional and very important reason: writing helps our students learn.” She shows
three ways in which students can learn through writing:
First, writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms and vocabulary that we have
been teaching our students. Second, when our students write, they also have a chance to be
adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learned to say, to take
ricks. Thirdly, when they write, they necessarily become very involved with the new

what they can write.
1.4.2.2 The process approach
Recently, teaching of writing has begun to move away from a concentration on the written
product to an emphasis on the process of writing. The process approach has emphasized
the idea of writing as problem-solving with a focus on thinking and process. The process
approach developed by the way of a reaction to the confines presented by the product
approach. Consequently, students changing classes from product to process- from an
approach devoted to correct form and accuracy- would find themselves liberated with an
approach concerned with individual levels of fluency and expression. The process
approach empowers its students, thereby enabling them to make clearer decisions about
direction of their writing by means of discussion, task drafting, feedback and informed
choice. This process encourages students to be responsible for making improvement
themselves as opposed to the mimicking of pre-determined models. As the process
approach focuses on the writing process and the writers‟ gradual improvement, it involves
several stages. Robinson (1991, cited in Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A., 1997: 117) presents
the writing stages as followed:
Writing Task → Draft 1→ Feedback → Revision → Input →Draft2→Feedback
→Revision → Draft 3.
Tribble (1996), having similar point to that of Robinson, proposes a simple four- stage
process: prewriting, composing, revising and editing, which is outlined in the figure below:
17
PRE – WRITING
(specifying the task/planning and outlining/collecting data/making notes) COMPOSING


2.1. Overview of the current situation of teaching and learning English writing
component at Uong Bi High School.
2.1.1. The school context
2.1.1.1 The teachers at Uong Bi High school
There are 9 teachers of English (eight females and one male), aged from 30 to 54, currently
working in Uong Bi High school. Among them, one-third studied at Hanoi Foreign
Language Teacher Training College. Another one-third was former teachers of Russian
who graduated from the same college. The rests who were trained from in-service training
courses have experienced teaching for many years. However, their communication and
ability as well as new teaching methods should be improved.
Obviously, the age of the English teaching staff reveals the fact that all of them were
trained in the traditional method- the Grammar Translation Method. Few of them have
taken retraining courses to improve their English and their teaching methods. This
constrains them from teaching speaking effectively. Nevertheless, most of them are
enthusiastic in working. At the present time, each teacher has to teach fifteen periods
divided into 5 classes per week excluding the burden of marking examination papers and
time for a lot of different school work. More than this, the teachers often have to cope with
about 40 students in each class. Apparently, the teachers in Uong Bi high school have to
deal with a heavy workload in order to fulfill their task.
2.1.1.2. The learners at Uong Bi High school
The majority of students in the study at Uong Bi high school are aged from 15 to 18. Most
of them come from urban areas and they have learnt English since they were at primary
schools. Therefore, their English proficiency is somehow better than students from rural
parts due to the availability of opportunities to attend part-time English courses and
chances to contact with English speaking people. Among them, there are a large number of
students who are really interested in learning English and want to develop their ability in
using English. By contrast, the other part of students is lowly motivated. They tend to
regard English as less important than other subjects and they study English in order to pass
the exams.
2.1.2. The new English textbook for grade 12 (Standard Textbook)