Evaluation of the ESP Book ‘English for the Students of Sociology’

Critical evaluation of language learning books is a vital step in a successful curriculum. The need is especially conspicuous for newly-published materials. Consequently, the present paper tried to explore and evaluate the ESP book entitled English for the Students of Sociology recently written by Mohammad Hossein Kesharvarz and Musa Nushi Kochaksaraie and published by SAMT in 2016. The paper critically examined the overall pedagogical value and suitability of the book. To achieve this goal, the book was evaluated based on Mahmoodi and Ahmadi Safa’s (2015) model. Semi-structured interviews based on the model were also conducted to delve into content teachers’ perspectives who were specialists in sociology. Seven experts in the field of sociology from Bu-Ali Sina, Ilam and Guilan universities were interviewed by the researchers. The results showed that the new book has improved quite dramatically compared to the previous book published by SAMT. Moreover, the findings revealed that in spite of some deficiencies in the selection of the activities, exercises, and texts, the book is suitable and can be used as an ESP source. The researchers provide some useful suggestions for improving the shortcomings of the book.