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

NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC CHÂU

AN EVALUATION OF THE MATERIAL
“ENGLISH FOR CHEFS”

FOR THE FIRST YEAR STUDENTS IN THE COOKING CLASS
AT HAI PHONG TECHNOLOGICAL AND VOCATIONAL
TRAINING SCHOOL
( Đánh giá giáo trình “ Tiếng Anh chuyên ngành chế biến món ăn” cho học sinh năm thứ
nhất ngành Chế biến món ăn tại trường Trung cấp Nghiệp vụ và Công nghệ Hải Phòng)

M.A. MINOR THESIS

FIELD

: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

CODE

: 60 14 10

SUPERVISOR : PHẠM THỊ HẠNH, M.A.
SUPERVISOR : PHAM THI HANH, M.A.

HA NOI-2010



2.2. Research methods ................................................................................................................. 16
2.2.1. Research questions ............................................................................................................. 16
2.2.2. Participants......................................................................................................................... 16
2.2.3. Data collection procedure .................................................................................................. 16
2.3. Summary ............................................................................................................................... 17
Chapter 3: Data analysis
3.1. Material versus Course: Aims............................................................................................... 18
3.1.1. Analysis: course versus the material .................................................................................. 18
3.1.2. Survey: Teachers and students’ opinions about the appropriateness of the material in
term of the aims ........................................................................................................................... 19
3.2 The Material versus the Course: Content Requirement ........................................................ 20
3.2.1 Analysis: Course versus the material. ................................................................................. 21
3.2.2. Survey: Teachers and students’ opinions about the appropriateness of the material in
term of the content ....................................................................................................................... 25
3.3. The Material versus the Course: Methodology Requirement .............................................. 32
3.3.1. Analysis: the course versus the material ........................................................................... 32
3.3.2. Survey: Teachers and students’ opinions about the methodology of the material. ........... 36


vii

Chapter 4: Discussion and adaptation
4.1. Discussion on the aim and content requirements of the course in comparison with the
material and the opinions from teachers and students………………………………………...38
4.2. Discussion on the methodology requirements of the course in comparison with the
material and the opinions from teachers and students. ................................................................ 40
4.3. Teacher’s suggestions for the material improvement ........................................................... 40
4.4. Recommendations for material improvements ..................................................................... 41
PART 3: CONCLUSION
1. Summary of previous parts ...................................................................................................... 44

and develop our own ideas as to what is required. Another benefit is through identifying
strengths and weaknesses in coursebooks, optimum use can be made of strong points, and
weaker points can be adapted or substituted from other books (Cunningsworth, 1995, p. 14).
At present, there are not many coursebooks on cooking for students of cooking classes at
vocational schools in Vietnam in general and at my school in particular. At HPTVTS, the
books used to some extent are not really effective for their studies. Moreover, these books can
lack practical information with too much theory and some contents are not suitable with the
objective of the course as well as the demand of students. The material “English for Chefs”
which was issued by Hanoi Publisher has been used as an official coursebook for students of
cooking classes at HPTVTS for 2 years but there hasn’t any evaluation of the effectiveness of
the book in completing the content requirement of the course as well as the aims given.
2. Aims of the thesis
The study is conducted in order to identify:
(1) How appropriate the material is in terms of content, objectives and methodology.
(2) What remedies for changing or adapting should be used to make the material more suitable
with requirement of the course and students’ need.
3. Significance of the thesis
English for Chefs is a compulsory subject of students of cooking classes at HPTVTS as it may
be necessary for their future jobs. At present, “English for Chefs” is being used as the official
coursebook for this subject. However, there has not been any valuation of this book there so
that the author decides to find out how good it is of the current English material used for


2

students of cooking class with the hope of having a good English material for students of
cooking class which helps provide students with certain knowledge of English specializing in
cooking and boost students’ belief in the training quality of school.
4. Scope of the thesis
There are many criteria to evaluate a material such as the audience, the content, the

inflexible to be used directly as instructional material. O'Neill (1982), in contrast, argues that
materials may be suitable for students' needs, even if they are not designed specifically for
them, that textbooks make it possible for students to review and prepare their lessons that
textbooks are efficient in terms of time and money, and that textbooks can and should allow
for adaptation and improvisation
Materials include textbooks, video and audio tapes, computer software, and visual aids. They
influence the content and the procedures of learning. The choice of deductive vs. inductive
learning, the role of memorization, the use of creativity and problem solving, production vs.
reception, and the order in which materials are presented are all influenced by the materials.
In fact, much of the language teaching that occur today throughout the world could not take
place without the extensive use of commercial textbooks. Hence, how to use and adapt
textbooks is an important part of teacher’s professional knowledge.
1.1.2. Advantages and Disadvantages of published coursebooks
According to Penny Ur (1996), published coursebooks have their own advantages and
disadvantages (The term ‘coursebook’ here means the textbook of which the teacher and
usually each student has a copy, and which is in principle to be followed systematically as the
basis for a language course)


4

Advantages
- Framework: A coursebook provides a clear framework that teacher and learner know where
they are going and what is coming next, so that there is a sense of structure and progress.
- Syllabus: In many places the coursebook serves as syllabus; if it is followed systematically, a
carefully planned and balanced selection of language content will be covered.
- Ready –made texts and tasks: The coursebook provides tasks which are likely to be an
appropriate level for most of the class. This, of course, saves time for the teacher who would
otherwise have to prepare his or her own.
- Economy: A book is the cheapest way of providing learning material for each learner;

1.1.3. The characteristic of English for Specific Purpose (ESP).
The most important difference between English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English as
a Second Language (ESL) (also known as general English) lies in the learners and their
purposes for learning English. ESP students are usually adults who already have some
acquaintance with English and are learning the language in order to communicate a set of
professional skills and to perform particular job-related functions. An ESP program is,
therefore, built on an assessment of purposes and needs and the functions for which English is
required.
ESP concentrates more on language in context than on teaching grammar and language
structures. It covers subjects varying from accounting or computer science to tourism and
business management, and the like. The ESP focal point is that English is not taught as a
subject separated from the students' real world (or wishes); instead, it is integrated into a
subject matter area important to the learners.
However, ESL and ESP diverge not only in the nature of the learner, but also in the aim of
instruction. In fact, as a general rule, while in ESL all four language skills, namely listening,
reading, speaking, and writing, are stressed equally, in ESP it is a needs analysis that
determines which language skills are most needed by the students, and the syllabus is designed
accordingly. An ESP program might, for example, emphasize the development of reading
skills in students who are preparing for graduate work in business administration; or it might


6

promote the development of spoken skills in students who are studying English in order to
become tourist guides.
As a matter of fact, ESP combines subject matter and English language teaching. Such a
combination is highly motivating because students are able to apply what they learn in their
English classes to their main field of study, whether it be accounting, business management,
economics, computer science or tourism. Being able to use the vocabulary and structures that
they learn in a meaningful context reinforces what is taught and increases their motivation.

objectives that have already been set in terms of learner needs”. Through evaluation, we can
assess whether the coursebook is the most appropriate for the target learners at various levels
and in various teaching settings. What is more, the evaluation process will involve elements of
comparison, especially where existing materials are being challenged by newly produced
materials.
At HPTVTS, the material “English for Chefs” has been used for two years and it has shown
certain advantages and disadvantages, so the author carries out this research with the same
purpose as Cunningsworth’s. This means the study is conducted in order to find out if the
material reaches the aim, objective and method requirements of the course as well students’
needs or not.
1.2.2. Types of Materials Evaluation
Different linguists have their own ways of categorizing the material evaluation. In terms of
when to evaluate a coursebook, Cunningsworth (1995, p. 14) points out that pre-use
evaluation, in-use evaluation and post-use evaluation are engendered, while Robinson
(1991:59) classified materials evaluation into three types: preliminary, formative, and
summative.
- Pre-use evaluation or preliminary tends to be the most difficult kind since there is no actual
experience of using the coursebook.
- In-use evaluation or formative, from another perspective, is a kind of evaluation for
suitability, involving “matching the coursebook against a specific requirement including the
learners’ objectives, the learners’ background, the resources available, etc” (Cunningsworth,


8

1995, p. 14). It allows immediate feedback to be given to both students and teachers, and
revisions and improvements to be made.
- Post-use evaluation or summative refers to an assessment of a textbook’s fitness over a
period of continual use. The outcomes of the course are assessed against the aims and
objectives to show how well the instructional material has been learned. Summative


External evaluation includes criteria which gives an overview of the organizational
foundation of the course book, ‘as stated explicitly by the author/publisher’ through the
cover, introduction and table of contents statements.

-

In-depth internal investigates the course book, ‘to see how far the materials in question
match up to what the author claims as well as to the aims and objectives of a given
teaching program.”

(McDonough and Shaw 1993: 64).
The final step is overall evaluation. This helps to identify strengths and weaknesses in course
books already used in classes in terms of usability, the generalizability, the adaptability, and
the flexibility.
Apparently, this model is a combination of macro and micro – evaluation method.
1.2.3.3. Hutchinson and Waters’ model ( 1987)
Evaluation by Hutchinson and Waters (1987) is a macro-evaluation. According to them, the
materials evaluation can be divided into four major steps
(1) Defining criteria — On what bases will you judge materials?
(2) Subjective analysis — What realizations of the criteria do you want in your course (e.g.
who are your learners; what language points should be covered)?
(3) Objective analysis—How does the material being evaluated realize the criteria (e.g. who is
the material intended for; how is the content organized within the units)?
(4) Matching—How far does the material match your needs ? (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987, p.
97)
For the purposes of this evaluation, I will follow the model provided by Hutchinson and
Waters (1987), applying pertinent criteria to the coursebook used in my working context. The
model’s procedural format and flexibility will allow me to fully assess the strengths and
weaknesses of my materials. Basing on the research results, good aspect as well as

Varied topics and tasks, so as to provide for different learner levels, learning styles,
interest, so on.

-

Clear instructions

-

Systematic coverage of syllabus

-

Content clearly organized and graded ( sequenced by difficulty)

-

Periodic review and test sections

-

Plenty of authentic language

-

Good pronunciation explanation and practice

-

Good vocabulary explanation and practice


11

defined by Hutchinson and Waters seem to be more helpful tools to language material
evaluators.
According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), there are four main criteria for materials
evaluation, they are: the audience, the aims, the content, and the methodology.

-

The audience of the materials: the evaluator should obtain information about and from
learners to find out whether the materials are suitable to the students’ 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 evaluator has to check if the materials language points,
maro-skills/micro-skills, and topics suit the learners’ need.

-

Methodology of the materials: the evaluator has to find out if techniques, guidance,
aids provide in the materials satisfy the learners and the teachers of the course.

Comparing the two sets of criteria provided by Ur (1996) and Hutchinson and Waters (1987),


Cannot be finished in the time available

-

Require facilities or equipment or other supporting materials that are not available

-

Not engaging the learners’ personality

-

Detrimental to the learners’ culture

- Not cater for the learners’ interests
McDonough and Shaw (1993:86) have listed more reasons for materials adaptation. The most
important reason is that there is mismatch between what is needed and what is provided by
materials
1.3.2. Levels of material adaptation
Macro adaptation
This is ideally done before the language programme begins. After comparing what is covered
in a textbook and what is required by the syllabus or examination, the teacher may find that
certain areas or even whole units of the book can be omitted, and certain contents need to be
supplemented. Macro adaptation is very important because it helps to avoid waste of time and
energy of the teacher and the students as well. It also helps the teacher to see in advance what
he or she needs to supplement so that he or she can keep an eye on materials that could be
used.
Adapting a unit
This could be reordering the activities, combining activities, omitting activities, rewriting or

The adaptation technique of McDonough Shaw appears to be detailed. As a result, in this
thesis, the writer will use Shaw’s adaptation technique as guide for adapting any unsuitable
issues in the material “English for Chefs”.


14

1.4. Summary
To sum up, material evaluation can provide teachers a good source of techniques, tell us what
to do as well as what to avoid and consequently help us make optimum use of the existing
materials. For this reason, language teachers should judge the fitness of the coursebook timely.
Based on the evaluation results, we can either replace the coursebook in use to adopt the most
suitable one or to adapt the existing materials. By further adapting coursebooks in use, we can
save a lot of expense and efforts. It is also worth noting that the evaluation process is
particularly helpful for teachers to gain good and useful insights into the nature of the material.
Only in this way, can we respond to learners’ needs at the utmost and maximize the
learning/teaching objectives. Therefore, this chapter can be seen as the theoretical foundation
for the application of the study in chapter three and the improvements in chapter four that
should be made to the coursebook “English for Chefs” for students of the cooking class at
Haiphong Technological and Vocational Training School.


15

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1. An overview of current English Teaching and Learning at HPTVTS
Hai Phong Technological and Vocational Training School is responsible for training various
vocations such as cooking, accounting, biological technology, and so on. It is a newly built
school so the teaching condition and the teaching equipments are pretty good. The school has

2.2.2. Participants
As HPTVTS has two cookery classes with twenty students each at elementary level so that all
of them and four English teachers who have been teaching the material “English for Chefs”
for two years are selected as the respondents of the survey research.
2.2.3. Data collection procedure
2.2.3.1. Document analysis.
* The document analysis is divided into two stages in each criterion as follow:
* The analysis of the aim requirements of the course and material
* The analysis of the content requirement of the course and the material in such criteria as:
-

Language points: Vocabulary and Grammar structures and Pronunciation

-

Macro - Skills

-

Micro - skills

-

Text - type

-

Subject matter

-

Methodological guidance.

The results of the analysis in terms of aims, content and methodology requirements of the
course (subjective analysis) and those from the “English for Chefs” analysis (objective
analysis) will show how well they are matched with each other, from which, suitable
adaptation is suggested for the material.
2.2.3.2. Questionnaires
The questionnaires were designed based on criteria of Hutchinson and Water’s model (1987)
in order to gather ideas from teachers and students about the material. They were distributed to
teachers and students at the end of the course “English for Chefs” in the second term of the
school year 2009 – 2010.
First of all, sample questionnaires were distributed to a teacher and 5 students to pilot if there
were any misunderstanding questions or not. Then some editions were made to make sure that
no confusing question was used. Lastly, questionnaires were sent to all participants of the
research.
The questionnaires were divided into four parts:
Part I: Focuses on the opinions of teachers and students about the aim of the material in
relation to the aim of the course. (Questions 1- 7)
Part II: Investigates their opinions about the content of the material (Question 8 – 15)
Part III: Finds out their opinions about the methodology (Question 16 – 22)
Part IV: Seeks for teachers and students’ suggestions for the improvement of the material
(Questions 23 – 30)
2.3. Summary
This chapter has provided an overview of the current English teaching and learning context at
HPTVTS. The participants who joined the research are English teachers and forty students of
two cooking classes who are teaching and learning the material “English for Chefs”.
Questionnaires and material analysis in terms of aim, content and methodology are
instruments to carry out the research to find out the answers of the two given research
questions.


comparatives and superlatives; the - In the presentation stage: dialogues and questions
passive voice; model verbs; some with the topic relating to cooking, food or restaurant
structures:

infinitive

clause

and in which the new grammar structures are given.

phrases of purpose, imperative forms,

- The second stage: rules and usages of the given

making suggestions, adverbs, and grammatical items.
expression of like and dislike

- The third stage: exercises for practicing

2. Special vocabulary in cooking, - Wide ranges of special terms in cooking as well as
restaurant

the vocabulary of food.
- Different activities such as matching, crossword
games, filling… to drill the new words.

3.

The


tasks in various situations in cooking, instructions how to cook, introducing food and
restaurant

cooking recipes, conversation in the kitchen and at
the restaurant.

5. The opportunity to improve reading - Reading passages about cooking, food, traditional
skill through the reading passages dishes in Europe, Asia and Vietnam with tasks for
about cooking, food, and restaurant

practicing.
- Some passages do not have tasks for practicing.

6.

The

listening

opportunity
skill

to

through

practice - Various kinds of exercises relating to the topic of
different cooking or restaurant.

listening tasks about cooking, food, - Not enough exercises for practicing.


100%

0%

0%

100%

0%

0%

2. widen vocabulary of cooking, kinds of food,

100%

0%

0%

95%

5%

0%

opportunity to …?

kitchens and restaurants, ect…?

0%

5. improve reading skill ?

50%

50%

0%

67,5%

24,5%

8%

6. improve listening skill?

50%

50%

0%

62%

20%

18%


material was partly suitable for improving this skill. Besides, reading skill seemed not really to
fulfill the aim of the course as half of teachers and about one third of students agreed with this
idea.
3.2 The Material versus the Course: Content Requirement
The comparison between the content requirements and the content of the material is
conducted, next, teachers and students’ ideas about that are presented. These ways will help
find out how appropriate the material is with the course content requirements.