Vietnam national university
College of Foreign Languages
Department of postgraduate studies

NGUYỄN THU HƯƠNG

Evaluation of the 3
rd
Semester Reading Syllabus for
English Major Students at Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI)
Đánh giá đề cương môn đọc hiểu học kỳ 3 cho sinh viên chuyên ngữ
trường Đại học Công Nghiệp Hà Nội M.A MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Supervisor: Dr. To Thi Thu Huong
2.3.5. The role of reading syllabus in language curriculum 17
Chapter 3. The study 20
3.1. Research objectives and methodology 20
a. Subjects 20
b. Instruments 21 v
i. Document analysis 21
ii. Questionnaires for teachers and students 21
iii. Interview with teachers and officials 22
c. Data presentation 22
i. Document and context analysis 22
1. The curriculum (Appendix 1) 22
2. The syllabus (Appendix 2) 23
ii. Questionnaire results 25
iii. Interview results 31
Chapter 4. Findings and recommendations 34
4.1 Finding of the study 34
4.1.1 Students‟ needs 34
4.1.2 Objectives in relation to students‟ needs 34
4.1.3 Effectiveness of the course book in use 35
4.1.4 Time allocation 35
4.1.5 Other findings 35
4.2 Recommendation for improving the current syllabus 35
Goal and Objectives 36
Goal of the course 36
Objectives 36
Time allocation modification 37
Course book consideration 37

as well as the participants‟ attitudes within the context of particular institutions involved
(Rea- Dinkins and Germaine, 1992, p.3), evaluation plays three interrelated and
overlapping roles in course design. They are evaluating needs, student‟ learning and the
course itself (Grave, 2000, p.207). Evaluation could be done at the end of a course and
provides information about the students‟ overall achievement as well as the overall
effectiveness of the course (Hedge, 2000, p. 375) for further improvement. When you
evaluate the course, you assess what your course design has achieved with respect to you
intention in designing it (Grave, 2000, p.207). However, evaluation is not an easy job as it
needs to take into consideration many different factors such as course objectives, time
allocation, material and assessment; once completed, the evaluation of a course can help 2
further improve the course. With the aim to make a better change in the implementation of
the 3
rd
semester English reading syllabus for English major students at Hanoi University of
Industry (HaUI) this study focuses on evaluating the syllabus developed by teachers at the
English Department at HaUI regarding factors such as course objectives, time allocation,
material and assessment.
1.2. Background of the study
Hanoi University of Industry (HaUI), which previously known as a college of
vocational training, was founded in 2005. Previously, English was taught as a compulsory
subject following the requirement of Ministry of Education and Training. After finishing
the college, students only need to master basic level of General English (GE). Although at
that time English was a compulsory subject, students and teachers did not consider English
as important as other subjects, thus teachers thought that it was not necessary to evaluate
any GE syllabuses.
Recently, recognizing the needs of society for good English for Specific Purposes
(ESP) teachers, translators and interpreters, HaUI establishes its English Department at the

learners in terms of course objectives, time allocation, materials and assessment?
2. What are the suggestions to further improve the syllabus?
Such findings will provide insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the current
syllabus and help propose some recommendations for an even better syllabus.
The thesis is organized into five chapters. Chapter 1 is the Introduction, Chapter 5 is
the Conclusion. Chapter 2, Literature Review, consists of an overview of evaluation,
reading process and of syllabus. Chapter 3, the Study deals with the methodology of the
study detailing the data collections and analysis. Chapter 4, Findings and
Recommendations, provides an insight into the current syllabus with its own strengths and
weakness in real situation via feedbacks from students and teachers. It also gives
recommendations for an even better syllabus. 4
Chapter 2. Literature review

2.1. An overview of evaluation
There are many definitions of evaluation. Basically, evaluation is asking questions
and acting on the responses. According to Brown (1989, p.223), evaluation is the
systematic collection and analysis of all relevant information necessary to promote the
improvement of a curriculum and assess its effectiveness and efficiency, as well as the
participants‟ attitudes within the context of the particular institutions involved.
Rea- Dickins and Germaine (1992) claim that evaluation is an intrinsic part of
teaching and learning. It can provide a wealth of information to use for the future of
classroom practice, for planning of courses, and for the management of learning tasks and
students. They assert that “making evaluative judgments is therefore a feature of social life,
but evaluation is not always something that we do in a principle and systematic way”.
Evaluation plays three interrelated and overlapping roles in course design. The first
is evaluating needs, the second is evaluating students‟ learning and the third is evaluating
the course itself (Graves, 2000, p.207). While evaluation entails the collection of

semester reading syllabus for
English major students, which were designed by teachers of the English Department. This
shows that teachers expect students to achieve the reading skills through working on
selected English books. Thus, teachers‟ needs are not dealt with in the survey for this
study.
2.1.1.1. Needs
In fact, there are different discussions about the meanings of needs. Researchers
like R. Berwick, H.G Widdowson and P.C. Robinson and T. Hutchinson & A. Walter
expressed their opinion about needs as follows:
- Needs can refer to learners‟ study or job requirement that is what they have to
be able to do at the end of their language course. This is called to be a goal-
oriented definition of needs (Widdowson, 1981, p.2)
- Needs can be considered what the learners need to do to actually acquire the
language. This is a process- oriented definition of needs and the means of
learning
(Widdowson, 1981, p.2). 6
- Needs are considered to be what students themselves would like to gain from
the language course. In this sense “needs are perhaps more appropriately
described as objectives” (Berwick, 1989, p. 57).
- Needs may be interpreted as lacks, that is what students do not know or cannot
do in English (Robinson, 1991, p. 8)
In this study, learners‟ needs will be taken into account under Hutchinson and
Walters‟ point of view in terms of target needs and learning needs. Target needs are what
the learner needs to do in the target situation and can be categorized as necessities, lacks
and wants.
“Necessities are the type of needs which are determined by the demands of the
target situation, that is what learner has to know in order to function effectively in the

2.1.1.2. The roles of needs analysis
Needs analysis is of great importance in defining and meeting the various needs of
particular learners. The course designer has to analyze the learners‟ needs so as to design
appropriate course and help the learners to acquire English more effectively and
successfully. Discussing the important role of needs analysis, Hutchinson & Walters
(1987) assert that:
If learners, sponsors and teachers know why learners need English, that
awareness will have an influence on what will be acceptable as reasonable
content in the language course, and on the positive side, what potential can
be exploited. (p.53)

It is clear that needs analysis very much influence the input of a language
programme. A major reason for conducting a needs analysis is to provide a specifications
of input which is relevant to the needs of a given learner or group of learners (target
needs). If it were possible or desirable to teach the entire system of the target language,
then need analysis would not be necessary (Nunan, 1985, p.7). Need analysis can be
divided into two stages. The first stage is the objective analysis which is carried out before
the beginning of a course and involves consideration of both input and methodology. The 8
next is the subjective analysis which is conducted during the course of program delivery
(Nunan, 1985, p 51).
Needs analysis can be used for a number of different purposes. Richards (2001, p.
53) lists such purpose of a needs analysis as follows:
- To find out what language skills a learner needs in order to perform a particular role
such as a sale manager, tourist guide, or university student.
- To determine if an existing course adequately addresses the needs of potential
students
- To identify a change of direction that people in a reference group feel important.

And there will be other reasons for administrators such as resource allocation,
promotion, recruitment, addition/removal of a course…
2.2. Overview of reading process
2.2.1. Reading and reading comprehension
According to Goodman ( 1975, p.12), “ reading is a receptive language process
which starts with a linguistic surface representative encoded by a writer and ends with
meaning which the reader constructs”. On the other hand, Hammer (1991, p.190) viewed
reading with more physical and mental precision as an “exercise dominated by the eyes
and the brain. The eyes receive messages and the brain then has to work out the
significance of these messages. Other authors define reading as the act of simultaneously
reading the lines, reading between the lines, and reading beyond the lines (Manzo &
Manzo, 1993). The first part of their definition, reading the lines refers to the act of
decoding the words in order to construct the author‟s basic massage. The next part,
reading between the line, refers to the act of making inferences and understanding the
author‟s implied message and finally, reading beyond the lines involves the judging of
the significance of the author‟s message and applying it to other areas of background and
knowledge. It is important to note that neither of these definitions focuses on the sounding
out of the words. Sounding out of the words is an important skill but it is secondary to the 10
act of comprehending and thinking. Comprehension and thinking is what reading is really
all about.
Reading is an active process (not a product) in which readers shift between sources
of information (what they know and what the text says) elaborate meaning and strategies,
check their interpretation (revising when appropriate) and use the social context to focus
their response (Walker, 1996 ).
Vacca and Vacca ( 1996) offer the following chart of levels of comprehension: Reading the lines
Reading between the lines
Reading beyond the lines

Level of comprehension
Literal
Interpretive
Applied 11
2.2.2. Reading strategies
2.2.2.1. Reading strategies to approach reading materials effectively
There have been many discussions about reading strategies, its nature and the skills
required for effective reading to be achieved. Robinson (1980); Nuttal (1982) and Grabe
(1988) hold that reading is not a passive process, but an active process of communication
whereby the reader approaches the text for specific purposes. The reader‟s involvement in
the text is of crucial significance as they should not accept what is written, but they should
develop, modify and even reflect on all or some of the ideas displayed in the text.

(Carrell, 1983) and cultural background. Brumfit (1984, p. 3) defines reading is a complex
activity covering “a combination of perceptual, linguistic and cognitive abilities”. It is a
constructive thinking process which “involve application, analysis, evaluation and
imagination”.
In this thesis, the “interactive” reading model with interactive reading strategies is
considered applicable to teaching and learning English reading skills. Thus, it should be
taken into account when designing reading syllabus.
2.2.2.2. Reading strategies for effective processing of reading materials
It is meaningless to do anything without a clear purpose and this is especially true
for reading practice. We can not read any material effectively if we do not know exactly
what we want or need from it. Different reading purposes result in a wide range of reading
strategies also termed techniques applicable to EFL reading comprehension, the final target
of any EFL reading practice. According to Munby (1978), the most important of these
strategies are:
 Recognizing the script of a language
 Deducting the meaning and use of unfamiliar lexical items
 Understanding explicitly stated information
 Understanding information when not explicitly stated
 Understanding conceptual meaning
 Understanding the communicative value of sentence and utterance
 Understanding relations between parts of a text through lexical cohesion devices 13
 Understanding relations between parts of a text through grammatical cohesion
devices
 Interpreting text by going outside it
 Recognizing indicators in discourse
 Identifying the main point or important information in a piece of discourse
 Distinguishing the main idea from supporting details

Reading for content information: Learners‟ purpose for reading in
their native language is often to obtain information about a subject they are
studying and this purpose can be useful in the language classroom as well.
Reading for content information in the language classroom gives learners
both authentic reading material and an authentic purpose for reading.
Reading for cultural knowledge and awareness: Reading everyday
materials that are designed for native can give learners insight into the
lifestyles and worldviews of the people whose language they are studying.
When learners have access to newspapers, magazines and internet, they are
exposes to culture in all its variety, and monolithic cultural stereotypes
begin to break down.
2.3. Overview of syllabus
This overview starts by looking at some definitions of syllabus defined by famous
authors. Attention then turns to the role of syllabus in a language curriculum, and the place
of macro- skills, especially reading, in what is referred to as a task- based approach to
syllabus and the criteria of syllabus evaluation.
2.3.1. Syllabus vs. Curriculum
In defining the term “syllabus”, there are several conflicting views on just what it is
distinguishes syllabus from curriculum development. Dublin and Olshin (1986) distinguish
syllabus from curriculum development as follows:
A curriculum contain a broad description of general goals by indicating an overall
educational –cultural philosophy which applies across subjects together with a
theoretical orientation to language and language teaching with respect to the subject
matter at hand. A curriculum is often reflective of national and trends as well 15
A syllabus is more detailed and operational statement of teaching and learning
elements which translate the philosophy of the curriculum into series of planned
steps leading towards more narrowly defined objectives at each level (p.35).

a threat to pedagogy when it is regarded as absolute rules for determining what is to be
learned rather than points of reference from which learing can be taken.
It is clear from the literature that the authors‟ opinions do not contradict one
another, although they study the subject from different points of view and express their
ideas in different terms and words. Finally, it can be concluded that a syllabus is the
description of the contents of a course of instruction and the order in which they are to be
taught. Moreover, the syllabus functions as a major communication device that provides
details on how student learning will be assessed and about the roles of both students and
instructors in learning and assessment process.
2.3.3. Types of syllabus
Different types of syllabus are best summarized by Robinson (1991) in the
following diagram
BASE FOR LANGUAGE SYLLABUSES

CONTENT

METHOD


LANGUAGE
Receptive/
Productive
LEARNING
Skill
acquisition
focus

PROCESS
Learning
focus
Learner-
led
PROCEDURAL
Cognitive focus
Task-based.
textbooks. Second, a syllabus also gives moral support to the teacher and learner, in that it
makes the language learning task appear manageable. Third, a syllabus can be seen as a
statement of the projected routes, so that teachers and learners do not only have an idea of
where they are going, but how might they get there. Fourth, a syllabus is an implicit
statement of view on the nature of language and learning. A syllabus will normally be
expressed in terms of what is taken to be the most important aspect of language learning.
Fifth, a syllabus provides a set of criteria for materials selection and/or writing. It defines
the kind of texts to look for or produce the items to focus on in exercises and so on. Sixth,
a syllabus is one way in which standardization is achieved. Lastly, a syllabus provides a
visible basis for testing.
Therefore, it is said that a syllabus is an important document in the teaching and
learning process. A language teaching syllabus involves the integration of subject matter
(what to talk about) and linguistic matter (how to talk about it); that is the actual matter
that makes up teaching.
In short, it is clear from the list that a syllabus is a document of great importance in
teaching and learning process. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the significant
roles of syllabus in designing syllabus.

2.3.5. The role of reading syllabus in language curriculum
In order to evaluate a reading syllabus, we should consider the place of reading in a
language curriculum. According to Nunan (1988), a syllabus is located in the curriculum
documents, it can also be found in the classroom itself where it is manifested in the
content, resources, and processes of learning. There are a great variety of syllabuses in 18
existence at any time. However they can be classified into: grammatical syllabus, lexical
syllabus, functional syllabus, situational syllabus, topical or content- based syllabus, skill
syllabus, task- based syllabus, text- based syllabus and integrated- syllabus (Richards,
2001). Moreover, what type of syllabus is used depending on the real situation, student

constitute the syllabus content of the language course (Long, 1985, cited by Rost, p. 224).
So far in this chapter, there was discussion on the relationship between skill
development (specifically reading) and the different types of syllabus. The next chapter
focuses on my study with the aim of finding the merits and demerits of the 3
rd
semester
reading syllabus for English major student at HaUI for further improvement. 20
Chapter 3. The study
3.1. Research objectives and methodology
The study‟s aim is to evaluate the current reading syllabus of the 3
rd
semester for
English major students at Hanoi University of Industry. I just focus on the following
questions:
1. To what extent does the syllabus meet the expectations of both teachers and
learners in terms of course objectives, time allocation, materials and assessment?
2. What are the suggestions to further improve the syllabus?
In the light of the literature review and based on my real situation, I decide to use
mixed methods to find answers to these 2 questions. I use questionnaires, interviews and
document review to collect data for my research.
Using these tools is more relevant in my study because the aim of this minor thesis
is just a preliminary evaluation of one of the language syllabuses for English major
students. Specifically, I use questionnaires to collect information from students and
teachers, and then I interview teachers and analyse relevant documents from the univesity
such as teaching-learning guidelines, course instructions As mentioned in the literature
review, when conducting a course evaluation these tools are frequently used to find out
factors such as course objectives, materials, assessment and time allocation.

other macro language skills. The 3
rd
semester reading syllabus, as mentioned in the
Introduction, was designed by teaching staff of the English Department based on the
curriculum mentioned above. It is meant to be flexible and can be amended so that it can
meet the expectations of both teachers and learners and suitable with the need of learners.
ii. Questionnaires for teachers and students
The questionnaires (Appendix 3) consist of seven questions which mainly focused
on student‟s attitudes toward the syllabus. Through students‟ syllabus evaluation, it helps
to reflect on their needs and wants. All questions were designed for both second and third
year students. Second year students were chosen to answer the questionnaire because they
had finished the 3
rd
semester. Data were collected at the end of the academic years. With
students answering the questionnaires as soon as they had just finished the reading
component which belongs to the 3
rd
semester reading syllabus, the information can be
reliable and make contribution to the next course. The fourth year students were not chosen
because they finished the reading component more than a year before, so they may not
remember the syllabus which they had implemented and answers to the questionnaires may
not be accurate. 22
To help the informants to understand the questions thoroughly and answer them in
a most accurate and complete way, one teacher administered the questionnaire filling
session. She was willing to explain any difficult or unfamiliar expression. The informants
were also allowed to write the answers in Vietnamese if they found it not easy to express
what they mean in English. The answers were then translated into English for analysis and