An Analytical Evaluation of an ESP Textbook for Engineering Students in Sudanese Universities

Abstract

The current study is conducted to evaluate the English language textbookused for university students who specialized in engineering; it is an “SIUEnglishLanguage Course ‘C’”whichisconsideredtobetaughtforengineering students, (the first two semesters) at Sudan InternationalUniversity (SIU). The main objective of this evaluation is to analyze thetextbook to see whether it suits the engineering students. The adoptedmethodforthisstudywasdescriptiveanalyticalmethod. Theresearcherusedthe questionnaire of English with a translation to Arabic version for a sampleof (90) engineering college students and the same questionnaire in English,for a sample of (9) instructors who teach the same textbook. Generally, thedata generated from the questionnaires have revealed a high level ofsatisfaction with almost all aspects of the textbook. The findings of the studyhave shown that an overwhelming majority of the students and instructorsagreed with the hypothesis in the six domains of the study. They agreed thatthe design and layout of the textbook is perfect and suitable. Besides, they acknowledged that textbook is quitesatisfactory in terms of its activities. One more important finding in thisstudy revealed their agreement that this textbook is appropriate in terms ofskills. Regarding the language type, the responses administrated that theyacknowledge that this textbook is appropriate. Also, the findings revealedthat they are satisfied about the effectiveness of the subject and content of thetextbook.Finally,thelastfindinghasshownthatbothstudents andinstructors agreed that this textbook is effective with respect to assessmentpractice.Basedontheabovefindings,theresearchercomestotheconclusion that the textbook “SIU English Language Course ‘C’” with allthese positive views is definitely a favorable and useful textbook for both thestudentsandinstructorsatSIU