An evaluation of the materials used for the teaching of English in MARA Institut of Technology, Sarawak

Resource materials for students are the single most important reference source in the life of a student and the most important resource material (in ITM) is the recommended text. Therefore, this article aims to evaluate materials currently used in Institut Teknologi MARA for Foundation English One, Foundation English Two, Intermediate English and the ESPs. There is no intention to make a critical evaluation as this article merely discusses points of views which are both positive and negative. This article also gives the views of just ITM Sarawak lecturers on materials currently used. The writers embarked on this survey as a matter of interest in order to find out lecturers’ opinions regarding the topic. From the response of the questionnaire, we have been able to gather some interesting findings. The questionnaire, circulated among 16 English lecturers has its limitations as it is general in nature and does not make a thorough survey of each code under consideration. The scope of questions does not cover all relevant aspects thoroughly and therefore we have not been able to make a detailed assessment of the materials used. The findings are therefore fairly general in nature. The lecturers who responded to the questionnaire have taught at least two of the codes discussed in this article. Their years of experience in ITM vary from those who are very experienced (12 years) to comparatively new and very new lecturers (1 year). The average length of service of the 16 lecturers is 5.6 years or 11 semesters. This article will also attempt to deal with the opinions on the materials used under three broad categories. First, the objectives of the syllabus will be discussed in general and then they will be related to the materials used to assess the suitability of the materials currently used in fulfilling these objectives.