Program Evaluation on General English Course: A Case Study at Tabriz University

Abstract

In the present study aims at evaluating general English program at Tabriz University, Iran. To this end, three questionnaires were designed in Likert scales which included needs analysis, materials evaluation from students' point of view and teacher analysis in which students provide their ideas about the agreement between their perceived needs, provided materials, and the methodology practiced in their classes. The data gathered for the purpose of data analysis. The data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively in order to answer the research questions. Since the needs analysis was a complex task with various possibilities of the needs and contexts, questions tap different constructs. So In quantitative analysis, the descriptive statistics were used to calculate the frequency with which different choices of the questions in the questionnaires occur. To make more comprehensive picture, the data were analyzed qualitatively too. In qualitative analysis, students' answers to the questionnaires, their performance in the class and what the teachers observed in the class and students' personal and informal talks with the teachers and stakeholders were compared to find patterns of convergence and divergence in the data.