In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

MATERIALS EVALUATION in ESP

Presented to
Prof. Dr. MusaratYasmin Alvi
by
Sibtain Aslam
Roll No. 18816102-001
 OUTLINE OF THE PRESENTATION

1. Defining Evaluation
2. Evaluation of ESP-Background
3. Material Evaluation
4. Levels of Evaluation
5. Importance of ESP
6. Why material evaluation
7. Defining Material Evaluation.
8. Some models of material evaluations.
9. Steps to evaluate.

Sibtain Aslam
 EVALUATION
 Def:
Lynch (1996, p. 2): “Evaluation is defined here as the
systematic attempt to gather information in order to make
judgments or decisions.As such, evaluative information
can be both qualitative and quantitative in form, and can
be gathered through different methods such as
observation.”
Robinson (2003, p. 199): “the collection, analysis, and
interpretation of information … for forming judgments
about the value of a particular program.” e.g. hotel management,
tourism, technical students, engineering/medical
students, law terminologies etc.

Sibtain Aslam
Evaluation of ESP- Background
. Evaluation of ESP – Background
 As ESP had developed in response to certain pressures (The world of
commerce and technology were producing a host of people with specific
language learning needs). These same pressures have generated an
equally strong need for a more open and coherent approach to
evaluation.
Any language teaching course has certain evaluation requirements.
ESP courses have specified objectives, which are to be
assessed.
ESP is accountable teaching. ESP learners and sponsors are
investors in the ESP course and they want to see a return on
their investment of time and/or money. The managers of the ESP
course are accountable to these investors. This accountability has produced
a demand for more and better evaluation procedures.

Sibtain Aslam
Materials Evaluation
 Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of
something for a particular purpose (Hutchinson and
Waters, 1987).
 There is no absolute good or bad material.
 Material Evaluation tells about the fitness of material for
specific needs.
 Which kind of material best fulfills the needs of the learners.
 This final decision is made after a systematic check of
materials evaluation.

Sibtain Aslam
Material Evaluation in ESP
 Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness/suitability of

something for a particular purpose.

 There is no one approach to materials evaluation which

serves all purposes, and that the whole topic can, and
should, be studied from more than one perspective (Iȿik,
2018).

Sibtain Aslam
 MATERIALS
 Materials – in the context of our current discussion
 Materials that are either specifically designed for language learning
and teaching, for example: Textbooks, worksheets, manuals, etc and
also authentic materials e.g. newspaper articles that have been
selected and exploited for teaching purposes by the classroom
teacher; teacher written materials, and learner-generated materials…
 “Realia” Any ordinary object used in classroom for teaching purposes.
e.g. pencil, a chair or a bag, tools, equipment in technical
college and representations, such as drawing, photograph – etc

Sibtain Aslam
Two Way Process
 Materials Evaluation is a two way process which not only
enables the teachers to select a textbook but also to
develop their awareness of their own teaching/learning
situation.

Sibtain Aslam
Levels of Evaluation
 There are two prominent levels of ESP evaluation:

 A. Learners Assessment B. Material/ Course Evaluation

Sibtain Aslam
Demand of ESP
 Teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has always been
an issue of concern in the field of English as a Foreign
Language (EFL).
 Due to the increasing demands of ESP Classes, especially in
higher education, teachers of English for general purposes
(EGP) have taken more an interest in teaching ESP these
days.

Sibtain Aslam
WHY MATERIAL EVALUATION?
 It had always been difficult for ESP teachers and practitioners
to choose materials for their course that best fit the needs of
their students.
 Some teachers lack the knowledge to choose a course book
that meets not only their needs but also the students’ needs.
 Some other teachers choose a book because of its popularity
or because someone recommended it to them.
 However, this choosing should not be done at random and for
it to become effective, it is recommendable to carry out a
careful analysis of the material.

Sibtain Aslam
Material Evaluation Proposed by
Hutchinson and Waters
 They designed an evaluation process for the evaluation of the
materials to be used throughout the ESP course. It consists of
four steps:
 “defining criteria (i.e. on what basis the material will be
judged),
 subjective analysis (i.e. analysis of the course, in terms of
materials requirements),
 objective analysis (i.e. analysis of materials being evaluated),
and
 matching (i.e. how far does the material match the teacher’s
need)” (Hutchinson &Waters, 1987: 98).

Sibtain Aslam
 Completing
Needs Analysis

Of turning your
course into actual Course Design
teaching material

Implementation
3 Possible ways
of the course

Sibtain Aslam
 turning your course into actual
teaching material
Select from existing materials
Material Evaluation

Write your own material

Material Development

Modify existing materials

Material Adaptation
Material Evaluation + Material Development

Sibtain Aslam
INVESTMENT
 A careful evaluation results in the investment of:

Money Time

Sibtain Aslam
Costs of bad evaluation
 Large investment of money in the form of a published course.
 For Instance, to teach an ESP course, no specific book
fulfills the demands/ needs of the learners as per
criteria of needs analysis.
 So, Course instructor has to select/ adapt material from more
than two or three books.
 Large investment of time in the form of home-made adapted
materials.
 If the material is not carefully evaluated, it can cause great
trouble to course instructor in post evaluation stage of the
course.

Sibtain Aslam
Material Evaluation
 Evaluation is basically a matching process.
 Matching the needs with available solutions.
 This matching process should be done objectively, and for better
results needs and solutions should be observed separately.
 It is due to the factor that subjective factors are allowed to
influence the judgment too soon.
 Suppose if an ESP textbook meets the needs of students,
sponsors and teachers, and the course evaluator just rejects
the book (during pre-evaluation or at first glance evaluation stage)
because the title of the book is not appealing.

Sibtain Aslam
Steps of Evaluation Process
 Evaluation Process is divided into four major steps:

• Defining criteria
• Subjective analysis
• Objective analysis
Objective
analysis
• Matching

Sibtain Aslam
 Define Criteria
 The material evaluation process is done to provide solutions
to the students’ needs.
 You should use the materials evaluation process as a means of
questioning and developing your own ideas as to what is
required (Hutchinson, 1987).
 What if one book meets the:
 Criteria in terms of language areas
 And the other, criteria in terms of teaching methodologies.
 How will you make a choice?

Sibtain Aslam
The material evaluation process
 Here instructor will decide what best meets the needs of:
 The students, sponsors and teachers (which book
provides the best solutions or if not which book is closer
to it, that can be best taught by little adaptation according to
the needs of the students and sponsors, keeping in view the
industrial/medical/mechanical needs of the
country).
 It is difficult and much more time consuming for ESP
teacher to design alternate texts or materials.
 Whereas its easier for teacher to adapt the material
according to level and needs of the students.

Sibtain Aslam
Four steps of material evaluation
process

(Hutchinson, 1987, p. 98)

 Checklist of criteria for subjective and
objective analysis
SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS
(course material requirements) (analysis of the materials being evaluated)
AUDIENCE

1A Who are your learners? 1B Who is the material intended for?

 Age: 18-26 years
 Sex: Male and female
 Nationality: Pakistani
 Area of studies: technology students
 Knowledge of English: Pre-Intermediate
 Educational backgrounds: secondary and higher
secondary
 Interests: auto electrician, automotive, AutoCAD etc.
The material is generally intended for the students of English
Language and Personality Grooming classes held in Government
Technology Colleges of Punjab and specifically for Government
Swedish Pakistani College of Technology Gujrat. All the ESP
courses are intended for adult learners. There is no maximum
range for admissions except for the minimum beginner level of
English to start the course.

AIMS

2A What are aims of your course?
The aims of the course are to enable the students to
 Interact effectively with employers, clients and at the
work place.
 communicate at local and global level.
 build self-confidence professional ethics, and team work.
 Sibtainfluency
attain Aslamand proficiency in listening, speaking and
writing of English.
2B What are the aims of the materials?
 To present grammar and vocabulary in useful and clear
way, that can easily be connected with real life experiences
having fun and motivation.
 To get students to go through confidence development
measures.
 Checklist of criteria for subjective and
objective analysis
CONTENT
3A What kind of language description do you
require?
It should be combination of structural, notional,
and functional.
4A What language points should be covered?
The focus of language points should be situational
in which learners will use the language and
structures as per their need.
Sibtain Aslam
3B What type(s) of linguistic description is/are used
in the materials?
The linguistic descriptions which are used in the
materials are phonology, syntax and lexicology.
4B What language points do the materials cover?
It covers the basic use of present, past and future
tenses, use of modals, the use of prepositions,
conjunctions, connectors, and appropriate use of
different verb forms, e.g. infinitives, ing etc.
 CONTENT
5A What proportion of work on each macro-skill (e.g. 5B What is the proportion of work on each skill? Is there
reading) is desired? skills integrated work?
The course should have more emphasis on listening and From reception to production, from listening and reading to
speaking. speaking, the skill that is given more importance is
It should also integrate reading and writing. speaking.
6A What micro-skills do you need? 6B What micro-skills are covered in the material?
The needed micro-skills are problem-solving techniques, Picture description, talking about technical and mechanical
deducing the meanings of unfamiliar words and answering tools, talking about specific jargons, talking about dates and
the questions using realia. times, talking about workplace hazards, talking about
precautionary measures, talking about plans and arrangements,
talking about an educational trip, solving a situation in which
you are lost somewhere, attending a conference in a hotel and
public speaking etc.
7A What text types should be included? 7B What kinds of texts are there in the materials?
 Manuals  Narrative pieces
 Letters  Biographies
 Dialogues  Quizzes
 Experiment reports  Dialogues
 Visual texts (pictures, diagrams, charts graphs,  Success stories
cartoons etc.)  PowerPoint presentations
 Listening texts  Visual texts (Pictures and cartoons)
 Leaflets
 Newspaper articles
 Leaflets
 PowerPoint presentations
Sibtain Aslam
 CONTENT

8AWhat subject-matter area(s) is/are required? 8B What is/are subject matter area(s), assumed
level of knowledge, and types of topics in the
materials?

9A How should the content be organized 9B How is the content organized throughout the
throughout the course? materials?

10A How should the content be organized within 10B How is the content organized within the units?
the course units?

11A How should the content be sequenced 11B How is the content sequenced throughout the
throughout the course? books?

12A How should the content be sequenced within a 12B How is the content sequenced within a unit?
unit?

Sibtain Aslam
 METHODOLOGY

13A What theory/ies of learning should the course be 13B What theory/ies of learning are the materials based on?
based on?

14A What aspects of the learners’ attitudes to/ 14B What attitudes to/ expectations about learning English
expectations about learning English should the course are the materials based on?
take into account?

15A What kinds of exercises/ tasks are needed? 15B What kinds of exercises/ tasks are included in the
materials?

16A What teaching-learning techniques are to be used? 16B What teaching-learning techniques can be used with the
materials?

17A What aids are available for use? 17B What aids does the material require?

18A What guidance support for teaching the course will 18B What guidance does the material provide?
be needed?

19A How flexible do the materials need to be? 19B In what ways are the materials flexible?

Sibtain Aslam
 OTHER CRITERIA

20A What price range is necessary? 20B What is the price?

21A When and in what quantities should the materials 21B When and how readily can the materials be
be available? obtained?

Sibtain Aslam
Cyclic Process
 There are two dimension to a systematic approach to materials
evaluation.
 Macro & Micro
 Macro – consists of a series of stages (the approach in a broader
sense)
 Micro – the micro dimension which occurs within each stage
(the steps or set of techniques employed)
Formal Evaluation very often stops at the point of selection.
So a cyclic approach to Materials evaluation is suggested which
includes Pre-Use, In-Use and Post-Use Evaluation.
Cyclic Process
Pre- and In- Use Evaluations
 Pre-Use Evaluation
 Course Book Selection – Professional/Expert – Can
merely indicate potential suitability.
To establish whether materials are really useful two further
steps are involved
 In-Use Evaluation
 The continuous evaluation – conducted throughout the
period of the materials being used, To revisit the decision
taken at the selection stage. By planning lessons based on
the materials, by teaching them and by observing the
effects, the teacher is in a position to make almost a
moment-by-moment assessment of whether the materials
are standing up to the test of use.
Post – Use Evaluation
 It is seldom done, practised.

 At the end of the course after the assessment (testing- assessing

the ability of the students to use language precisely to perform

the relevant tasks in authentic context), this type of evaluation
helps to justify/reject or recommend alternations in the
materials selection process.

 It either rejects or validate the selection process.

Grant’s (1987) Close Evaluation
 The Perfect textbook does not exist, but the best book for you and
your students certainly does, such a book should satisfy three
conditions
 It should suit the needs, interests and abilities of your students
 It should suit you (the best book in the world won’t work in your
classroom if you have good reasons for disliking it)
 The textbook must meet the needs of official public teaching
syllabus or examinations
Three Conditions
 Suitability for students
 Suitability for teacher
 Suitability for situation
Group Evaluation
 Materials evaluation be assessed by three experienced
teachers
 Group evaluation has obvious advantages
 The vested interests of all the concerned make it likely that
any decision will be assessed on consensus, and the discussion
of the pros and cons that precede the decision ensure that the
materials will be thoroughly examined from a variety of
perspectives.
 The responsibility of such decisions also shared
Conclusion
 Materials evaluation should not only serve the immediate practical aim
of selecting teaching materials. It can also play a useful role in
developing teachers’ awareness of the assumptions as to the nature of
language learning on which they operate.
 Materials evaluation should go beyond the crude categorizations of
language level and syllabus content
 Materials evaluations helps to put the choice of materials on sounder
basis
Sibtain Aslam