Importance of Program Evaluation in English Language Education

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of program evaluation in English language education. Evaluation is a part of our life and we often evaluate every aspect of our life. We make value judgment like ‘The film is super’, ‘He is a nice person’ or ‘She is very kind’ etc. In fact, we are good at negatively evaluating others very often. These judgments are based on our feeling towards them and our preferences. Such type of everyday casual judgment can become a piece of research if there is a question, data analysis and interpretation of the data. The paper explains the meaning and types of evaluation and it argues that program evaluation is very important in English language education since it provides evidence for improvement, consolidation, refinement and modification of the program. This paper also discusses the possible evaluators of the program, types of information needed for the evaluation and the methods to be used in evaluating an English language educational program. Furthermore, the paper explores some practical steps for designing a program evaluation.