VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
*********************

PHẠM NGỌC DUY AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSE BOOK “NEW CUTTING EDGE
PRE -INTERMEDIATE” FOR FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS OF
ENGLISH, THÁI NGUYÊN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY- SOME
SUGGESTIONS FOR ADAPTING” Đánh giá giáo trình “New Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate” dành cho sinh viên
không chuyên ngữ năm thứ nhất trƣờng Đại học Kỹ thuật Công nghiệp
Thái Nguyên và đề xuất thiết chỉnh giáo trình M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60140111

Hanoi, 2014
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

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DECLARATIONS
I, Phạm Ngọc Duy, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “An evaluation of the
course book “New Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate for first year non-major
students of English, Thái Nguyên University of Technology- some suggestions for
adapting” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at
University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University.
This thesis contains no material written by other person or published previously,
except where due reference is made. The thesis also contains no material which has
been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution.

Hanoi, 2014
Student’s signature
Phạm Ngọc Duy
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thank to my advisor, Dr.
Ngô Hữu Hoàng for the continuous support of my M.A study and research, for his

Intermediate written by Peter Moor and Sarah Cunningham with Jane Comyns Carr
in 2005. The course book is in use for first year non-major students of English at
Thainguyen University of Technology. The researcher strived to seek the answer to
the questions “To what extent does NCEP satisfy students’ needs and interests?”
and “What improvements should be made to the material to meet the students’
needs and interests?”
In order to obtain the goal above, the researcher reviewed the literature
related to materials evaluation, employ document analysis, survey questionnaire and
identify the answers to the research questions.
The subjects of the study were 15 teachers of English and 200 first year non-
major students of English at Thái Nguyên University of Technology, who had
already experienced the course book New Cutting Edge Elementary. The findings of
the study reveal that the course book could be suitable to the students’ level, partly
meet the requirements of the course, the students’ needs, and suit to the particular
teaching context. The results also showed that some changes must be made in order
to fit the course book to the local English learning and teaching context. Based on
the findings, some recommendations on supplementing, expanding, editing,
personalizing and localizing a number of items in the course book were made.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
TNUT
Thái Nguyên University of Technology
ULIS

Figure 3.1.4: Teachers’ and students’ decision to continue using NEC series
Figure 3.1.5: NCEP’s provision of necessary items.
Figure 3.1.6: Teachers and students’ opinions of the language point available in
NCEP
Figure 3.1.7: Teachers and students’ opinions of the language skills in NCEP
Figure 3.1.8: Teachers’ and students’ opinions about the topics in NCEP
Figure 3.1.9: Participants’ opinions about the update of the topics in NCEP
Figure 3.1.10: Participants’ opinions about class time
Table 1: Teachers and students’ thought of class time each week
Table 2: Teachers and students’ preferences for the topics in NCEP vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
List of abbreviations .iv
List of charts and tables v
Table of contents vi
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale of the study 1
2. Aims of the study 2
3. Research questions 2

3.1. Data analysis 21
3.1.1. Overall evaluation of the course book 21
3.1.2. Teachers’ and students’ preference of the course book NCEP 21
3.1.3. Teachers and student’s dissatisfaction with the course book 22
3.1.4. The decision to choose the book for future use 22
3.1.5. Communicative competence development 24
3.1.6. The language point availability .25
3.1.7. Language skills distribution 27
3.1.8. Topics 28
3.1.9. The updated information 29
3.1.10. Class time 29
3.1.11. Teachers and students’ preferences for the topics 30
3.1.12. Teachers’ suggestions for the materials improvement 31
3.2 Recommendation for the course book’s adaptation 33
PART C: CONCLUSION 36
1. Conclusion 36
2. Limitation and suggestions for future research 37
REFERENCES 39
APPENDICES I
APPENDIX 1 .I viii
APPENDIX 2 .V
APPENDIX 3 X
APPENDIX 4 XI
APPENDIX 5 XV
APPENDIX 6 XVI
as the course book for the general English courses at Thái Nguyên University of
Technology (TNUT) since 2010. It received both positive and negative reaction
from teachers and students. Nonetheless, up to now, no research on the course book
evaluation has been done on its quality and shortcoming and also on how suitably
the course book matched the objective of the course. The researcher has been 2
teaching general English at TNUT using this coursebook. He has observed the
appropriateness of the course book. In light of the issue, it is reasonable to complete
an assessment of the course book to focus its fitness for the students at TNUT then
propose adjustment for better utilization. This is the rationale behind the thesis:
“An evaluation of the course book “New Cutting Edge Pre-Intermediate
(NCEP) for first year non-major students of English, Thái Nguyên University of
Technology- some suggestions for adapting”
2. Aims of the study
The study is carried out to improve the effectiveness of teaching the course book
NCEP for the first-year students at TNUT. Specific purposes of the study are as
follow:
- To investigate the English teaching and learning context at TNUT.
- To evaluate the currently adopted course book NCEP from the viewpoints of
both teachers at Department of Foreign Languages and the first year students of
TNUT.
- To propose suggestions for the course book’s adaptations.
3. Research questions
This study aims to answer the question “To what extent does the course book
NCEP suit the non-English major students at TNUT”
In order to answer the research question, the following specific research
questions were raised:
(a) To what extent does NCEP satisfy students’ needs and interests?
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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter aims to provide a theoretical background for the study. This chapter
consists of four parts. The first part in this chapter concerns with materials in
language teaching and learning. The second part, which presents an overview of
materials evaluation, is followed by the third issue related to material adaptation.
Finally, the chapter will end up with previous studies which the author finds related
to his research. The researcher bases on the review result to design appropriate
questionnaires and interviews for more through evaluation of the course book.
1.1. Materials in language teaching and learning
1.1.1. Definitions
Defining characteristics and giving a good definition about textbook, course
book and material are necessary.
Tomlinson (1998)’s point of view is that a textbook provides the core materials
for a course. It is designed so that it could be used as the core 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.

language learners. Materials can be in the form of a textbook, a workbook, a
cassette, a CD –Rom, a video, a photocopied handout, a newspaper, a paragraph
written on a white board: anything which presents or informs about the language.
He also supposed “the term is used to refer to anything which is used by teachers or
learners to facilitate the learning of a language”. In other word, they can be anything
which is deliberately used to increase the learners’ knowledge and/or experience of
the language.
Therefore, it is agreed that materials include anything which can be used to
facilitate the learning of a language. They can be instructional, experiential,
exploratory, in that they can inform learners about the language, they can provide
experience of the language use, they can stimulate language use or they can help
learners to make discoveries about the language for themselves.
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1.1.2. Role of materials in General English Course
Since English is a foreign not a second language in Vietnam, classroom serves
as the main source of exposure to English for students. Therefore, materials,
especially course books play a vital role in exposing the students to the English
language (Dudley-Evans & St John, 2000, p. 171). This implies that it is the course
book which determines the classroom activities, influences teachers’ teaching
methods, and the students’ roles. It should be mentioned that the main material
which is used in undergraduate courses in Vietnamese universities is the course
book. As Richards (2007, p.251) maintains, materials provide the main input for the
students and the type of the “language practice that occurs in the classroom.” Nunan
(1999, p. 98) believes that course book is the main element of any curriculum and
“it is difficult to imagine a class without books …” It is the course book which
enhances the learning process by mediating between the teachers and students and
“offers a coherent syllabus, satisfactory language control …” (Harmer, 2002, p.

and consists of attempts to predict whether or not the material will work, in the
sense that the learners will be able to use them without too much difficulty and will
enjoy the experience of doing so.
The major material commonly used in ELT classrooms is the course book.
Therefore, material evaluation should be the top priority of any curriculum.
Hutchinson and Waters (1989, p. 96) argue that material evaluation should be
carried out in order to judge the fitness of our materials to our “particular purpose.”
They insist that all the variables need to be evaluated systematically in order to
“save a lot of expense and frustration” (ibid, p. 96). Meanwhile, Alderson and
Beretta (1996, p. 248-9) caution against a “deterministic” approach to evaluation
and suggest taking a flexible procedure. The reason that course books need to be
evaluated is that they might be suitable and ideal in a particular situation and with
some particular students but they might turn out to be not useful in a different
situation (Richards, 2007, p. 256).
1.2.2. Why materials evaluation?
From the point of Ellis (1997), textbook evaluation happens with various
reasons. However, to sum up, textbook is evaluated for the following purposes: 8
selecting textbook or materials suitable with the goals of teaching and learning;
identifying the particular strengths and weaknesses of textbooks already in use;
choosing among the available resources the most appropriate materials used for a
particular group of learners in a particular context; and determining if the chosen
materials work well in fulfilling the intended purposes after it has been used for a
period of time. .
1.2.3. Types of material evaluation
Hutchinson and Waters (1987, p. 97-8) state that evaluation is a process of
“matching needs to available solutions” and divide it into four steps: “defining
criteria, subjective analysis, objective analysis, and matching.” However, Robinson

4. Collecting information before, while and after the task was used, and what
how the task performed;
5. Analyzing the information collected;
6. Reaching conclusions relating to what has been discovered, and making
recommendations for the future teaching
7. Writing the report.
This model aims to identify the match between task planned and task in use. It
can be conducted when the materials are being used in the classroom.
1.2.5.2. Evaluation by McDonough and Shaw (1993)
The authors suggest a three stage evaluation model called: external evaluation,
internal evaluation, and overall evaluation as presented in the following figure.
Macro- evaluation → inappropriate/potential →
↓
(External) EXIT
Micro – evaluation → inappropriate/ appropriate → adopt
( internal) ↓
EXIT

Figure 1: Materials Evaluation Model of McDonough and Shaw ( 1993, p.75)
It is clear that the model proposed by Mc Donough and Shaw (1993) illustrates a
logical procedure for materials evaluation. However, the figure does not discuss the 10
objectives and criteria of the materials which are important to ensure the learners’
learning success as well as teachers’ effective teaching.
1.2.5.3. Evaluation by Hutchinson and Water (1987)
Hutchinson and Water (1987) proposed a perfect evaluation model. According
to them, the materials evaluation process can be classified into four main following
phases.

Matching
How far does the
material match your
needs?

Objective Analysis
How far does the
material being
evaluated realize the
criteria? Subjective Analysis
What realization of
the criteria do you
want in your course?
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will consider which the best method to teach) and subjective needs with teaching
contents (for instance, learners define what they want to learn).
The final step is the matching process, which investigates how the materials
meet the course requirements.
In summary, analyzing learners’ needs is useful in teaching foreign languages.
And the author thinks that Hutchinson and Water (1987) recommend an effective
model. It clearly shows the evaluator the whole picture to analyze the materials in
accordance with the first year non- English majored students.
In this research, the author would like to apply this model to find out if the
currently –used material is appropriate for TNUT first year students.

content and expression in composition exercises.
- Technical criteria: contain appropriate pictures, diagrams, tables.
The criteria suggested by Williams (1993) seem to be very useful and
appropriate for evaluating a course book. However, such frameworks are more
suitable for the selection of course books available in the market rather than for the
examination of an – in house material to see whether they meet the intended
objectives. With its more comprehensive content, the evaluating criteria defined by
Hutchinson and Waters, therefore, seem to be a more helpful tool to language
materials evaluators.
The audience of the materials: the evaluator should obtain information about and
from learners to find out whether the materials are suitable to the student’s age
knowledge of English, interest and so on.
Aims of the materials: the evaluator has to check if the materials match the aims
and objectives of the course.
Content of the materials: the materials: the evaluator has to check whether the
materials language points, macro – skills or micro - skills, and topics suit the
learners’ needs.
Methodology of the materials: the evaluator has to find out if techniques, aids,
guidance provided in the materials satisfy the learners and the teachers of the
course. 13
As in the researcher’s context, the criteria set out by Cunningsworth (1984: 5-6)
is the most suitable one. Here are his four criteria which are applied by many
teachers and students in a great variety of teaching and learning contexts.
 Relate the teaching materials to your aims and objectives
 Be aware of what language is for and select teaching materials, which help
equip your students to use language effectively for their own purposes
 Keep your students’ learning needs in mind

variety of tasks and activities, and materials in relation to the course objectives. The
methods employed in this study included questionnaires, interviews and
observation.
Litz(2005) carried out a study on textbook evaluation and ELT management as a
South Korean case study. The study discussed a sophisticated evaluation process for
a textbook used in that particular learning environment.
In Vietnam, Nguyễn Thị Bích Liên(2004) carried a study to evaluate the fitness
between the course book named Lifeline Pre-Intermediate and the learning program
and the students’ needs concerning aims, content and methodology. 100 third year
students and 7 teachers in Hanoi Junior Teachers’ Training College involved in the
study. The author could determine the appropriate models in her study’s context- a
combination of Hutchinson and Waters’ and Little John’s for a complete evaluation
process.
Đậu Thị Bích Loan (2008) utilized the evaluation model of Hutchinson and
Waters in her study which aimed to find out if the material English for Garment
satisfied the requirements of the ESP course provided at Hanoi University of
Industry in terms of aims, audience, content and methodology. For data collection,
she employed 3 instruments including questionnaire, interview and document
analysis. The researcher drew a conclusion according to which the material was
acceptable and there would have a possibility to overcome the existing weakness.
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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS
Since the research was done at Thái Nguyên University of Technology, it is
essential for the author firstly to describe briefly the teaching and learning setting