Nguyen Thi Minh Giang 1986_pg12.Course Book Evaluation Report

7/29/2019 Nguyen Thi Minh Giang 1986_pg12.Course Book Evaluation Report

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Training program:MA in English Linguistics

Course title:ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES

COURSE BOOK EVALUATION REPORT

By:Nguyn Th Minh GiangDate of birth: October 9th, 1986

Place of birth: Ha Noi, Viet Nam

Group: PG 12

Tel: 0904.771.110

E-mail: [email protected]

For: Do Ba Qui, M.A

Date Due: July 28th, 2011

HANOI - 2011

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES VNU

POST-GRADUATE FACULTY
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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ACKNOWLEGEMENT

I would like to express my deep gratitude to M.A Pham Ba Qui,

my enthusiastic lecturer of English for Specific Purposes, who

has enthusiastically helped me with the time studying the subject.

Also, I would also like to send my sincere thanks to my

supportive friends in group PG12, University of Languages and

International Studies, Post Graduate Department for many

stimulating discussions on my piece of work and their useful

feedback to make my assignment fully worked-out.

Nguyen Thi Minh Giang PG 12 ESP2


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COURSE BOOK EVALUATION REPORT

Name of Book: Global Commerce Book 1

Authors: Mohan Dahll, assisted by Phil Brewer and Bill McKeith

Publisher: Schools Active Worldwide, Australia

Year of Publication: 2010



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TABLE OF CONTENT

PART I: INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, language learning has now become profoundly essential since together

with high technology, global language contributes to make the world a small village in

which people of different cultures and races can connect with each other. And one of most

widely spoken native language, as well as, the most spoken official language in the world

is English. It is used as an official or semi-official language in over 60 countries, also there

are 300 million mother tongue speakers of English in addition to 300 million people who

use English as a second language, adding up 100 million people who speak English

fluently as a foreign language. English has become essential in every aspect of life, in

global communication, commerce, aviation, foreign affairs, etc.

Nguyen Thi Minh Giang PG 12 ESP

I. Introduction page 5

II. Situational Factors 6

1. The target situation 62. The teacher 6

3. The learner 7

III. Logistical Factors 8

1. The cost of the book 8

2. Additional investment 8

3. The popularity of the book 8

4. The fitness of the book in local schedule requirements 9

IV. Pedagogical Factors 10

1. The syllabus 10

2. Pedagogical Factors 11

3. Some shortcomings of the textbook 14

V. Human Factors 16

1. Students Role 16

2. Teachers Role 17

3. An example Unit 19

VI. Conclusion 20

VII References 21

Appendix 22

4


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One of the very important aspect in which English plays a crucial role is Commerce.

That is the reason why, students at Vietnam Australia School, Hanoi, where I am teaching

now, are introduced to the subject Global Commerce in English, lectured by teachers from

the Global Staff Department. The Aim of this Commerce course in the Australian

International Schools Certificate (AISC) is to assist young people who do not have

English as their first language, to develop knowledge, understanding and skills associated

with the global world of Commerce and with each individuals personal interaction with

the global world of Commerce.

The Global commerce Course is presented through a series of four books, in which

Book 1 summarizes the content and exercises that accompany the topics Consumer Choice

and Promoting and Selling in Marketplace. The book is written for non-English speakers of

Grade 7 in Vietnam.

In my paper, I would like to have a look at the textbook from the points of view of

both learners and teachers, following the general given guidelines.



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PART II: SITUATIONAL FACTORS

1. The target situation

Global Commerce Book 1 is designed for sixth and seventh grade students who start

to study about the Global Commerce. In the first textbook, topics concerning Consumer

Choice and Promoting and Selling in Marketplace will be covered. The educational goal of

this course book is to provide the young learners with:

- summary of the main terms in the topics Consumer Choice and Promoting and

Selling in the Marketplace, defined and translated from the Global Commerce

course

- the relationship between needs and wants

- the marketplace the location and the process whereby exchange of goods and

services occurs; consumer protection, forms of payment

- the personal, local, national and global Commercial communities common

features and differences, rights and responsibilities as global citizens and as users of

goods and services.

2. The teacher

Global teachers taking charge of global subjects (Global Commerce, Global

English) at Vietnam-Australia School, Hanoi are well-qualified teachers who have a lot of

teaching experience in Australia, USA, UK, South Korea and Vietnam. Thus, they really

understand the learning situation in Vietnam in comparison with teaching students in other

countries, so that they can adapt and have the best teaching style that suit Vietnamese

students.

3. The learner

Students at the initial stage of secondary school at Vietnam Australia School,

Hanoi are introduced to the subjects Commerce in both Vietnamese and English. In

Vietnamese lessons, they are provided with necessary terms and knowledge that they will

encounter in Global Commerce with foreign teachers. So, all terms and knowledge are



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quite new to these young learners. However, almost all of them are really interested in the

subject because they say that it will be really helpful in their future, for many of the

students at Vietnam Australia School, Hanoi are successful businesspeople children,

who want to work in Business and Commerce when they grow up.

Class size is quite small, from eighteen to twenty students, so whenever they meetup with something hard to understand, the students can raise up their voice and ask their

teachers right away.



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PART III: LOGISTICAL FACTORS

The textbook Global Commerce Book 1 is designed for Young Learners of Global

Commerce, and there are two topics which are covered in the book: Consumer Choice;

Promoting and Selling in the Marketplace.

1. The cost of the book

The books were written by an Australian expert and scholar Mohan Dahll with the

assistance of Phil Brewer and Bill McKeith. The textbooks are printed in Vietnam and

given to teachers as well as students at a very affordable price215.000 VND.

2. Additional investmentThe book is supplemented by a variety of additional resources and support material

provided by the teacher.

Besides, the students are given real experience on some field trips when they are

dealing with some interesting issues in the book like visiting Supermarkets, which offers

customers a variety of goods; Companies, which manufactures some specific products.

Moreover, teachers at Vietnam Australia School, Hanoi usually use PowerPointPresentation as teaching aid to make it easier for the students to acquire knowledge.

Additionally, every week or two, students are given the opportunity to work in the

computer lab. They are given task and assisted to finish their work using the Internet and

Exploiting Information.

3. The popularity of the book

The book is internal distribution only, so only students and teachers studying andworking at Vietnam Australia School, Hanoi can find it easily to purchase it. Each

student is required to have a copy of the book and can register to get one without difficulty.

In case of losing their textbook, they can get a new one at the school office or make a copy

from their friends.



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4. The fitness of the book in local schedule requirements

Before writing the series of Global Commerce books, the author spent quite a time

in Vietnam, studied the real situation in Vietnams Trade and Marketplace, as well as

Vietnamese students ability in language and commerce acquisition. Therefore, the many

issues mentioned in the book are really authentic and practical.

Students at Vietnam Australia School, Hanoi study two global subjects which are

Global Commerce and Global English. These two subjects, especially, Global Commerce

is quite new and interesting so the students get really excited while learning this new field.

Global Commerce Book 1 is designed to be achieved within 80 hours. At school, the

young learners have 2.5 hours studying with global teachers every week, during which they

can really get to know about the basic concepts of GlobalCommerce.



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PART IV: PEDAGOGICAL FACTORS

1. The syllabus

Dave Willis (1990:1) states simply that a syllabus specifies what is to be

learned. Sincalir and Renouf in Carter and McCarthy (1988) describe an EFL Syllabus

more elaborately:

a set of headings indicating items which have been selected, by a language planner or

materials writerThe syllabus may be a simple list or it may have a more complex

structure. The list may be prioritized according to some notion of importance or

usefulness; or it may be graded according to some notion of difficulty; or

hierarchically ordered.

Global Commerce Book 1 Syllabus is simple enough for the learners to see it clearly

the overview of what they are going to learn in the course.

The Course book content

This is the first book of the series of four books. Global Commerce Book 1 consists

of four Chapters.

Chapter 1 Glossary and introduction to Consumer Choice

Chapter 2 Consumer Choice

- Needs and Wants

- Consumer decision

- The Marketplace

- Product Quality

- Other factors affecting choice

- Choosing where to buy comparison shopping- Protecting the buyer (consumer)

- Paying for products

- Chapter summary

Chapter 3 Glossary and introduction to Promoting and Selling

Chapter 4 Promoting and Selling in the Marketplace



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- The business idea and markets

- Targeting consumers and segmenting markets

- The selling process

- Factors which differentiate products

- Strategies to promote products

- Marketing Strategies

- Price

- Promotion and Selling techniques

- Place and distribution

- Issues involved in promoting and selling

- Chapter summary

Supplementary Glossary for Book OneAssessment and Grading

2. Pedagogical Factors

a. The rationale of the book

In the first pages of the Global Commerce Book 1, a general introduction and course

book content are given to let the students have an overview of the program. The book

content is organized into Chapters of study and strictly follows the given content on thevery beginning pages.

In each chapter, commercial terms and practical examples are carefully stated so

that the students can easily understand what they are dealing with.

b. The fitness of the book in the local curriculum

As I mentioned earlier, the Global Commerce textbooks are designed based on the

real Commercial situation in Vietnam and the current state of the worlds trade. So the

content of the book is quite up to date and become a very hot topic which attracts the

students in every single Chapter.

Together with Global English, Global Commerce is one of the two subjects that

Vietnam - Australia School Students have to take in order to meet requirements for the



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Commerce component of the award for an Australian International Schools Certificate

(AISC), which has been approved to delivery to Vietnam by Australian Government.

c. The link among different components of the textbook

The book is divided into four chapters, Supplementary Glossary for Book One and

Assessment and Grading Part. In each chapter, some commercial terms and knowledge are

presented clearly with good illustration of pictures and photographs. Each chapter consists

of different sessions, after which Review Questions are given so that the students can look

back and review what they have learnt and what they need to achieve. There are also

Review Activities for the students to take part in and discuss with their friends in pairs or

groups so they can thoroughly understand the new concepts of Commerce.

After each Chapter, there is a Chapter Summary in which students can have a brieflook at the most important things that they have been learning through a period of time, the

most essentials issues that they have to bear in mind so that they can succeed in the

following Part of the book.

Together with the textbook, the students are given plenty of worksheets and

handouts during each lesson, which are all prepared carefully by the teachers with the

purpose of helping the students easily understand the new target language, new concept

and embed important knowledge.

In general, there is a close connection among different parts of the book, which

grades up from easy matters, general concepts to more difficult and complicated issues.

d. The language used in the book

The language and terms used in the book are quite comprehensible to quite good

students. With the support of teachers and attention to the lesson, the students can

understand the mentioned issues without difficulty.

Since the commerce terms are totally new to the students, then the language are

reviewed quite often, in the new lesson theory, in review question, review activities and

chapter summary.



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e. Skills mastered from the book

The activities and theory given in the book are really practical and interesting. As a

result, students will get really interested in the lesson. At the same time, they can not only

develop their knowledge in Commerce field but also practice their language skills

(speaking, listening, reading and writing) through different activities.

f. The authentication of the textbook

The given issues and concepts are all about the Global World, which is a really

interesting field for students to study about. The book provides the students with lot of

Commercial terms and concepts that they use every day but have never thought of it as a

matter of Commercial fact.

Take a typical example at one issue that is supposed to be achieved within one hour

lesson: Product Quality. The students are going to look at Quality and Price, Warranty and

Sales Returns, Branding, Brands and reliability, Products Feature. Whereas, the products

mentioned in the textbook are quite familiar with the students, so that they can easily

acquire the knowledge and really understand what they are learning about.

Branding

This is the name that a product carries. Names are very important. A good name or goodreputation will add value to a product. A poor name or reputation for low quality will makethe price of a product low. Choice will be affected by the name or brand that a productcarries.

Some important brands which are well recognised include:

KFC

Sony

Toyota

Nokia

La Vie

(Global Commerce Book 1 Page 33)

g. Testing



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Global Commerce is one of the two subjects that the Vietnam Australia School,

Ha Noi students have to take in order to sit for the AISC (Australian International Schools

Certificate) examination. It is taught concurrently with the National Curriculum to all

students. The Curriculum, each year from Year 6 Year 12, includes approximately 230

hours of face to face small class teaching in the AISC course, in which Global Commerce

Book 1, is the second step after Introduction to Global Commerce (A short Course that

introduces Words and Concepts) to students has already been carried out.

At the end of the course book, Assessment and Grades Criteria are given clearly.

Instructions and how they are assessed are also given in a very clear way.

3. Some shortcomings of the textbook

This textbook is specifically designed for young learners who do not have English

as their first language in the field of Global Commerce, and in the writers opinion, it is a

really good textbook that helps the young people start to learn about the World of

Commerce.

However, there are still some shortcomings that can we can consider and make it

even better


Assessment

Students are assessed by a combination of:

Note Book neatness, accuracy, answers to questions 20%Short individual research exercise 10%Listening and speaking in class 20%Examination at completion of Book One 50%Grades (AISC)

Grades in Global Commerce are awarded on the completion of Book One.High Distinction 85%+Distinction 75 84%

Credit 60 74%Pass 50 59%Unsatisfactory Below 50%



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- There are a lot of review activities for the students to consolidate what they have

learnt, however, these are mostly individual work, not pair work and group work.

- Even though the students have already got to know with some terms and concepts in

the Introductory Course which they take before officially study with Global

Commerce Book 1, there are still quite a big number of new words and conceptsthat they have to achieve within each lesson. It is not a problem for the good classes,

however, for some weaker ones; the students will struggle with remembering all the

words, especially in such a field that is absolutely new to them.

- The book is divided into different chapters, each of which has numerous of concepts

and commercial terms are given under the form of Unit (start with the new target

term, content and ends with the review activities). However, they are not clearly

classified into different Units, so it is quite hard for the students at first when they

are not yet familiar with studying with their teacher and by themselves.

- Some of the commercial terms in the book are quite difficult for the young learners

when their background knowledge is not profound. So, at the same time, they have

to study the Vietnamese terms and English terms so that they can thoroughly

understand the concepts in foreign language.

- At the end of this textbook, reference part is missing, we can add some finance

organizations, and some websites or some economy newspapers to encourage

students read and research more topics.

However, the shortcomings of the book are just a few in comparison with what the book

can really bring to the students. It cannot be denied that the book is actually good material

for the young learners of Global Commerce.



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PART V: HUMAN FACTORS

1. Students Role

a. Students Use of the Book

The book provides thorough knowledge to the World of Commerce. Then if thestudents study hard in class and spend more time working with the Textbook, they can find

it really interesting will full of real photographs and illustration, real data and factual

figures.

Students are supposed to bring the Textbook to every single lesson and are

encouraged to spend more time re-studying the issues again at home. When dealing with

any difficult problems, they can take notes and ask their teacher later on.

b. Students Role

The knowledge as well as different interesting activities can motivate the students to

be enthusiastic about the topics given. Students can find the book as kind of user-

friendly. If they are really into the subject, they can do more research on the given topics.

As a part of assessment, each student studying Global Commerce Book 1 has to carry a

short individual research exercise, which accounts for 10% of his final Grade.

An example of a research exercise that might be set at this level on the topics of

Book One is the following:


Advertising and Promotion

Students are required to visit a shopping centre or large department store and make notes and

take photos. Students must develop a multimedia presentation about the shopping centre or

department store. The presentation must include:

The name and location (include a map) of the shopping centre or department store and transport

connectionsHow has technology assisted the retailer to promote and sell products?

What visual techniques has the retailer used to promote this retail outlet?

Is the layout of the shopping centre or department store and the display of the products

important in selling and promoting the products?

How effective are the sales assistants and the management team in promoting this retail outlet?


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b. Evaluation of Students Book in term of The Students Role

Grant (1987) mentions that course books try to solve the problem by creating

opportunities for learners to use the target language in the classroom, as a sort of halfway

house before using it in real life. This textbook provides such activities that students

produce active input during the course.

2. Teachers Role

a. Teachers use of the Book

Teachers using Global Commerce Book 1 can have a good reference using this

textbook. The book provides a wide range of information resource on Global Commerce.

Therefore, all Vietnam Australia School Global experts teaching this subject are well-

qualified teachers who graduated from Economics, Business, and Commerce Department

of many universities in English speaking countries (Australia, UK, and USA), so they are

those who are very experienced in exploiting the textbook and use it with its best

effectiveness.

b. Teachers Role

The knowledge to be delivered to the students is presented in a really clear way,

then, it is quite easy for the teachers to base on and have suitable activities and design

lesson plan for class work.

The course book has different activities and teachers can find it easily to make

changes where it is necessary and in the students interest. So, the teacher does not have to

adopt any unfamiliar roles.


Is the location of this retail outlet the best available for promoting the business? Can you suggest

better locations?

How important is the pricing of the product for the sale of goods and services?

Summarize how successful you think this shopping centre or department store is in promoting

itself and its products to the consumers.



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The teachers role is to act as a presenter of material, manager of learning resources

and activities, and informant for the students. The teacher will:

Provide warm-up introductory activities to lead into the lesson

Present the new material

Provide explanations where needed

Direct students to move from one exercise or activity to another

Monitor students performance

Correct or explain where necessary

Encourage personalized application of the language

Suggest further practice material from the revision sections and the workbook

(Cunningsworth , 1995 : 110)

Designing Tests

Following an international curriculum, teacher assesses the students basing on a

combination of:

Attendance and Behavior (Including Notebook working)

Short individual research exercise

Listening and speaking in class

Examination at completion of Book One

So, the teacher does not have to usually prepare tests for assessing the students.

There are two examinations for this course: mid-term and end-of-term tests, the

teachers based on their students abilities and topics in textbook to design suitable tests.

Moreover, they need have revision plan to give students one week before end-of-term test.

c. Evaluation of Teachers book

Teachers using Global Commerce Book 1 Teachers Book can find adequate

guidance and supporting material. We can easily find at the first pages of the Teachers

book brief information about the syllabus and content.

In each chapter, the objective of the chapter is also given in teachers book.

Different kinds of activities are also given with clear instructions for carrying out. Group



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work worksheets and handouts are also enclosed in the Teachers book as a reference for

teachers to use as class work activities.

3. An example Unit

Chapter 2 Review UnitThis chapter review Activities are carried out within 2 periods of class work, then I

would like to have a look through the shortcomings:

The numbers of items that the students have to review after the Chapter is too many.

Chapter 2:

- Needs and Wants

- Consumer decision

- The Marketplace- Product Quality

- Other factors affecting choice

- Choosing where to buy comparison shopping

- Protecting the buyer (consumer)

- Paying for products

Some of the terms and concepts students have learnt for quite a long time before, so

they can find it hard to remember all of the learnt issues.

Solutions:

Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students, give them two weeks before the

Chapter Review Lesson, to choose 2 out of the topics that theyve learnt to make a short

overview on a PowerPoint Presentation within 5-7 minutes.

On the due day, each group will go to make a presentation on what they have

prepared beforehand. Other groups will take note, give comments and review the issues

that they have already studied.



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PART VI: CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the book is quite attractive with its pictures and layout design. The

textbooks take into consideration the needs of the young learners in Vietnam. Moreover,

the textbook provide learners with knowledge about the Global Commerce as they canapply this knowledge in real life.

To sum up, this textbook is good materials for secondary students in non-speaking

country like Vietnam who have not much experience in Global Commerce field. The

textbook can inspire them to get really interested in this field. They can use other materials

such as Internet as well as newspaper to understand these fields more clearly and

effectively.



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PART VII: REFERENCES

I. Bibliography

1. Cunningsworth, A 1995. Choosing Your Coursebook. Heinemann

2. Willis, D. (2000). Syllabus and Materials. Birmingham, The Center for

English Language Studies.

3. Willis. D. (1990). The Lexical Syllabus: a new approach to language

teaching. London: HarperCollins.

II, Internet Referencehttp://www.ingilish.com/welcome-plus.htm

http://www.philseflsupport.com/coursebook_evaluation.htm

http://www.tarleton.edu/departments/library/library_module/unit8/8books_lm.htm

http://www.cyberessays.com/lists/coursebook-evaluation/page0.html

http://www.philseflsupport.com/coursebook_evaluation.htmhttp://www.philseflsupport.com/coursebook_evaluation.htm


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APPENDIX:

GLOBAL COMMERCE Book 1

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Nguyen Thi Minh Giang 1986_pg12.Course Book Evaluation Report