Evaluation of EAP Textbooks: A Comparison between SAMT English for Medical Students and Oxford English for Career

Abstract

English language teaching textbooks in general and English for Specific purposes (ESP) ones in particular are among the most central elements in any educational system. The present paper is an attempt to evaluate a newly developed ESP textbook Oxford English for Careers: medicine and to discover whether or not it can be used instead of English for medical students published by SAMT based on students ‘viewpoints. Using availability sampling, sixty- six students of medicine, who were taking English for Academic purposes (EAP) course at Alborz University of Medical Sciences, were recruited as participants. The researcher used a questionnaire which contained 55 specific items measuring six constructs of theoretical consideration, the organizational features and practical considerations, the content, the language skill, the vocabulary, the grammatical structure.  Results indicated that Oxford English for Careers: medicine appeals to majority of the participants.  Findings also indicated that, regarding theoretical considerations, the participants who had covered SAMT textbook were significantly less satisfied with their textbook than the participants who had covered Oxford English for Careers: medicine. The findings have implications for ESP material developers and course designers.