Evaluation of Ready-Made ESP Materials Based on Iranian Instructors’ Perceptions: The Case of SAMT Publications

English for specific purposes (ESP) textbooks are probably the most significant resources for teaching English in academia in Iran. The evaluation of these resources can reveal their strengths and weaknesses and ultimately improve their quality. This study aimed to evaluate ready-made ESP textbooks published by the Organization for Researching and Composing University Textbooks in the Humanities (SAMT) based on the perceptions of Iranian ESP instructors. To this end, ۴۲ ESP instructors from five Iranian universities participated in the study through purposive sampling. For data collection, we distributed a ۲۰-item questionnaire on ESP textbook evaluation, developed by Vahdatnia and Salehi (۲۰۲۰). According to the results, while the participants evaluated ESP textbooks published by SAMT positively in terms of practical concerns, compatibility with course objectives, skills and strategies, and content, they evaluated them negatively in such aspects as linguistic issues, subject matter, and layout. Meanwhile, the textbooks were evaluated neutrally in terms of activities. Considering the negatively evaluated main areas, we also presented some practical implications to revise or develop ESP materials.

Keywords:

Iran , textbook evaluation , instructors