Evaluation of Textbook “The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English” from the Perspectives of Thai EFL Students: Implications of Systemic Functional Linguistics and Appraisal Theory

Abstract

The purposes of this case study were to explore Thai EFL students’ levels of satisfactions regarding the implication of the book “The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English”, and to explore their comments and recommendations on the use of the course book in the Subject of Selected Topics in English based on appraisal theory developed by Martin and White (2005). The study employed the appraisal theory to teach three undergraduate students who enrolled in the Course of Selected Topics in English Curriculum at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science, Kasetsart University, Thailand, in the 2019 academic year. A questionnaire was used to collect data of students’ level of satisfaction towards the course. Analysis of the study shows that for all sections of evaluation: the book, the lecturer and student’s learning and evaluation, the students evaluated the lecturer at the “good” level (mean=4.27) followed by the book (mean=3.394) and student’s learning and reflection (mean=3.53). In this regard, they evaluated the book from an overall perspective at the “good” level (mean=3.94). In more detail, the chapter they rated as the first rank is Chapter 1 Introduction which has the highest mean of 4.13 followed by Chapter 2 Attitude: Ways of feeling (mean=4.07), Chapter 3 Engagement and graduation: Alignment, solidarity and the construed reader (mean=3.93), Chapter 4 Evaluative key: Taking a stance (mean=3.93) and Chapter 5 Enacting Appraisal: Text Analysis (mean=3.60) respectively. For the section of student’s learning and reflection, they evaluated their learning at the “good” level (mean=3.53) which is the least mean of all sections. The students advised that some chapters of the book were difficult for them to understand since they were not familiar with terms used. The analysis also shows that the students mainly suggest that the book should be integrated into the course continuously every semester which would be beneficial for students in understanding how to evaluate language use in different contexts. However, more easy examples should be included in the book.