The role of culturally relevant teaching materials in English learning.

? Tóm tắt: Mối quan hệ giữa ngôn ngữ và văn hóa đóng vai trò quan trọng trong giao tiếp hiệu quả, vì ngôn ngữ phản ánh các giá trị, niềm tin và phong tục của từng nền văn hóa. Nghiên cứu này khám phá Lý thuyết Năng lực Giao tiếp Liên Văn hóa (ICC) của Byram, nhấn mạnh tầm quan trọng của việc kết hợp kỹ năng ngôn ngữ và nhận thức văn hóa trong quá trình học tập ngoại ngữ. ? Trọng tâm nghiên cứu: ✅ Vai trò của tài liệu giảng dạy phù hợp với văn hóa trong việc học tiếng Anh. ✅ Tác động của phương pháp giảng dạy phản ánh yếu tố văn hóa đối với động lực học tập và khả năng tiếp thu ngôn ngữ của sinh viên. ✅ Những thách thức và chiến lược mà giáo viên tiếng Anh tại các trường đại học Việt Nam gặp phải khi thiết kế tài liệu giảng dạy. ? Cấu trúc nghiên cứu: 1️⃣ Phương pháp nghiên cứu & Cơ sở lý thuyết (Giải thích phương pháp định tính được áp dụng). 2️⃣ Kết quả & Thảo luận (Phân tích trải nghiệm và thách thức của giáo viên). 3️⃣ Kết luận & Ứng dụng thực tiễn (Đề xuất giải pháp cải thiện tài liệu giảng dạy tiếng Anh).

The interaction between language and culture is fundamental to effective communication,

as language serves as a vehicle for expressing cultural values, beliefs, customs, and practices This connection is clearly explained in Byram’s Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) theory, which emphasizes effective and appropriate communication across cultural boundaries by developing language proficiency along with cultural awareness According to Byram (2020), successful intercultural communication requires not only linguistic skills but also considerable cultural awareness to interpret and respond appropriately in diverse cultural contexts This theory emphasizes the importance of cultural competence in language learning

Culturally relevant teaching materials play a significant role in developing proficiency and raising cultural awareness These materials not only enhance students’ language proficiency but also promote students’ cultural understanding (Byrd, 2016) For English majors, who are expected to be proficient in both language and cultural nuances, the use of teaching resources that connect global perspectives with local realities is particularly important (Yi et al., 2017) A qualitative research study about language proficiency by Yuliantari and Huda (2023) found that incorporating culturally responsive teaching in English learning enhances student motivation, promotes a deeper understanding of language concepts, and then fosters a sense of belonging among students from diverse cultural backgrounds The results were collected through classroom observation and interviews with teachers However, due to the characteristics of the qualitative method, it should be aware that the result may be not representative of the larger population A literature review by Yang, Z (2024) also confirmed this The study showed that most students benefited from learning through such teaching materials However, it is important

to note that the literature review relied on other primary studies but was not consistent in terms of research context Through the literature review, there was a lack of studies in the context of Vietnam and this helped me formulate my research question:

“What are the experiences of English teachers at Vietnamese universities in designing

deeply relevant teaching materials for undergraduate English majors?”

The aim of this essay is to explore the experiences that English teachers at Vietnamese universities face when they create culturally relevant teaching materials for undergraduate English students After the introduction, part 1 will introduce the methodology that will be implemented and the qualitative method applied and the theoretical basis explained in part

1 Next, the results and discussion will be discussed in part 2 Finally, conclusions and implications will be given based on the key findings discovered in part 2

PART 1: METHODOLOGY

This study adopted a qualitative approach because the purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of English teachers at Vietnamese universities in designing cultural teaching materials for undergraduate English majors According to Őhman (2005), the qualitative method can gain an in-depth understanding of individuals' experiences, perceptions, and behaviors Furthermore, the qualitative method allows the researcher to focus on a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon based on the participants' experiences (Berryman, 2019b) However, it is important to note that the findings of the qualitative method may be influenced by the researcher's bias and the results may not generalize to the larger population (Mays et al., 1995) Despite the above weaknesses, because this study focuses on exploring teachers' insights in designing culturally relevant lessons, the qualitative approach will be adopted in this study

In qualitative research, there are many research techniques available However, in this study, the technique used is the interview method Firstly, this method allows researchers to approach research participants at a distance through online platforms Secondly, the strength of the interview technique is that it allows researchers to explore internal thoughts, feelings, and perceptions On the other hand, researchers should note that interviews are time-consuming, susceptible to interviewer bias, potentially inconvenient for respondents, and unlikely to be conducted anonymously (Cohen et al., 2017, p 583) A semi-structured interview was chosen because it follows an interview protocol with pre-set questions (Peters & Halcomb, 2015) but allows for additional questions based on participant responses and reactions (Wilson, 2014)

For qualitative research, the researcher must carefully select participants because it has a significant impact on the findings Purposive sampling is the most appropriate method for selecting participants and the criteria must be carefully defined (Cohen, et al., 2017) To ensure relevance to the research questions and objectives, participants must meet the following criteria (Mays & Pope, 1995) First, the selected participant must have at least five years of teaching experience in higher education Teachers with at least five years of experience provide the most accurate insights Second, the person must be familiar with the design of widely relevant teaching materials and actively involved in teaching college English majors Finally, the participants must be able to reflect and provide complete and thorough descriptions of their teaching experiences (Creswell 2007; Polkinghorne 1989) The sample size is another factor that must be considered when selecting participants Since qualitative research involves in-depth analysis (Basit, 2003), a large sample size is not necessary Therefore, to generate insights, this study chose to interview only one participant

The choice of manual or electronic methods for coding qualitative data depends on the scale of the project, the resources and time available, and the research expertise (Basit, 2003) Since there was only one interviewee, manual analysis of qualitative data was appropriate Data collected from semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis, a method suitable for identifying and interpreting patterns and themes in qualitative data Thematic analysis was chosen because it provides a flexible yet systematic approach to analyzing rich and complex data sets, allowing the researcher to capture both explicit and implicit meanings in the participants’ responses First, familiarization with the data was achieved through reading and re-reading interview transcripts and listening to audio recordings This step allowed the researcher to gain a deep understanding of the content and context of the participants’ responses Second, initial codes were generated by systematically highlighting key phrases, ideas, or concepts in the data These codes captured key aspects of participants’ experiences and perspectives Third, the codes were reviewed and grouped into broader categories to identify potential themes This step involved looking for connections, overlaps, and contrasts between codes Fourth, the identified themes were reviewed and refined to ensure they accurately represented the data and addressed the research question During this stage, any duplicate or overlapping themes were merged and unclear themes were re-identified Finally, the themes were identified and named, providing a concise and clear description of their scope and focus These themes form the basis for the findings and discussion section, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of educators’ experiences related to designing culturally relevant teaching materials in Vietnamese universities

Well, I think that I like the engagement of my students in

activity (1) Some of them were very

You know, like they were really happy to see that Oh, the

pictures are not very, you know, they are really lost their life

They are realized scenarios (2) So I think that they found no

difficulties

Building the standards in spite of the fact that they may have

some grammatical errors, but I think it was at least not a

problem Yeah, the most important thing that they can produce a

sentence (3)

Using vocabulary related to life and you know, like how being

1 talk about student engagement in speaking activities

2 real-life relevance

3 develop language skills

Well,…introducing in you know looking for more

Interesting culture related topics (1) For example, instead of

saying about the

Like

Challenges in Selecting Cultural Topics

1 difficult to find and adapting interesting and relevant cultural topics for different student groups.

Cater to different needs of different groups (2), so sometimes it

really takes time for me to come up with many cultural topics

as many as possible (3)

For example, for teenagers, they may they may be interested in

fashion

And maybe music, but for elder learners, I mean, it's for senior

learners I think something more serious would be more

appealing to them (2) So I think the problem is time for to

decide which topic is suitable for which for each level, yes

2 The challenge is catering to diverse interests and age groups,

3 take time and effort to identify and adapt suitable content for different levels and interests.

Table 1: Manual coding example

Figure 1: initial thematic map showing

three main themes Figure 2: Final thematic map showing twomain themes

PART 2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

After coding the data, this section presents the key findings This section is divided into two main themes The first theme is the importance of designing culturally relevant teaching materials The second theme is the challenges teachers face when designing culturally relevant teaching materials

Importance of culturally relevant teaching materials

Benefits for students

The importance of culturally relevant lesson design lies in the many benefits it provides to students First, the inclusion of such materials helps students feel more motivated and engaged in the lesson In interviews, teachers also commented that culturally relevant materials “promote their engagement and confidence.” or “Students are more enthusiastic and motivated when lessons incorporate culturally familiar content.” Additionally, when all students feel engaged in the lesson, the classroom environment becomes more dynamic Teachers noted, “And I really enjoy the lively atmosphere in the classroom when I can really get them to speak their minds.” This highlights how culturally relevant discussions can transform the classroom into a vibrant space for both enjoyment and learning

Second, applying culturally relevant teaching materials helps develop children's language skills In interviews, teachers interviewed also reported that classes that used published teaching materials often had "more lively discussions and better speaking performance." In fact, these materials include lesson topics that are relevant to students' lives, which allows them to apply vocabulary more easily The teacher also reported that during practice, students made some minor grammar mistakes but he believed that being able to produce sentences was more important for students' language development Another example mentioned is writing assignments based on cultural topics which enable students to express their opinions in the target language He feels that writing assignments related to cultural topics encourage students to focus on vocabulary and sentence structure, thereby improving their ability to write detailed and grammatically accurate compositions

experiences of

teachers

importance

benefit for students

boost students' engagement and motivation

develop language skills

cultural competence

develop cognitive skills and logical thinking

benefit for teachers

boarden cultural knowledge

improve teacher-student relationships

challenge

time constraint

customize student's needs

Third, teachers believe that using such teaching materials will boost students’ understanding of the culture of the language being studied He then explained: “I think the materials can help them broaden their perspectives so that they can be more open to different ideas and thinking, which is an important factor in modern society.” Indeed, introducing students to traditions, beliefs, and religions will help them gain cultural awareness Therefore, students will be less likely to rely on stereotypes when interacting with people from other cultures

Finally, culturally relevant teaching materials also promote the development of logical thinking and cognitive skills In the interviews, teachers emphasized that “Logical thinking

is also developed because they can create a very, you know, coherent writing process.” This

is true because through writing exercises that teachers give comparing Vietnamese festivals with festivals around the world, students can identify similarities and differences, analyze their meanings, and clearly express their observations The process of analyzing and comparing cultures will help students engage in higher-order cognitive processes, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation These skills go beyond basic language practice, requiring students to dig deeper into the content and draw meaningful conclusions A teacher interviewed commented that, “The students are not only practicing producing sentences but also showing their mindset and cognitive skills.”

Benefits for teachers

Designing and teaching relevant materials is not only beneficial for students, but also an important learning experience for teachers First, regularly preparing teaching materials related to cultures from different parts of the world will help teachers expand their cultural knowledge Indeed, teachers interviewed also affirmed that "It also broadens my own cultural perspective" In addition, being exposed to different cultures in the same classroom

or with students with different cultural perspectives also helps teachers improve their communication skills This is because the process of integrating cultural content requires teachers to navigate sensitive topics to adapt to the subject content

Second, listening to students’ opinions on various cultural issues will also help teachers improve teacher-student relationships In fact, listening to students’ cultural stories allows teachers to better understand their values, beliefs, and interactions with their worldviews

As the interviewee noted, “This allows me to not only teach them but also listen to their needs.” Actively listening to students during cultural discussions shows that teachers care about their students as individuals As a result, teacher-student relationships are improved, creating a supportive learning environment

2.3 Challenging Experiences in Designing Culturally Relevant Materials

Time Constraints

Despite the benefits for both teachers and students, there are many challenges mentioned when designing culturally relevant teaching materials First of all, designing these lessons requires a lot of time Teachers in the interview shared that "for more advanced classes I need more time to design A teaching materials for more advanced classes I need more time

to design A teaching materials." or “I have to plan, search for resources, and adapt them myself, which takes a lot of time.” It can be understood that this design will depend on each teacher without a certain administrative department to help teachers in preparing lessons This is extremely disadvantageous for teachers, because each teacher does not only teach one class, one level-English class but teaches many different classes Preparing each learning material suitable for each English level of the class is impossible

Customization for Student Needs

In order to create an interesting class, students are engaged in the class, it is very important

to prepare appropriate materials for each group of learners When interviewed, teachers also said, “I need to base on my students’ level and interests to find suitable topics, and when I find the materials, I have to adapt a little bit by adding more, like visual aids,” In addition to the level of interest, each different age group will have different English communication needs He gave an example that “Teenagers may be interested in fashion and music, but for elder learners, something more serious would be more appealing to them,” This requires teachers to strike a balance between cultural relevance and age-appropriateness, ensuring the topics are meaningful and engaging for each group

CONCLUSION

In short, designing culturally relevant lessons is considered important in SLA because it benefits both students and learners For students, being taught English through culturally relevant materials will help them become more excited about learning English, creating a dynamic learning environment The second benefit of applying these materials to teaching

is to help them increase their language development ability Through exercises familiar to daily life, they become excited to practice learning English, thereby increasing their language ability The next benefit is understanding more about culture Understanding culture helps them have a multi-dimensional view and helps them feel confident when communicating with native speakers Finally, it is developing logical and cognitive skills Indeed, through the learning process, comparing and analyzing will help them develop their thinking The findings align with the literature review in the introduction section which states that culturally relevant teaching materials not only enhance students’ language proficiency but also promote students’ cultural understanding (Byrd, 2016; McConachy, 2018; Yi et al., 2017; Yuliantari & Huda, 2023) However, it also gives new insights that designing culturally relevant teaching materials also benefits educators which can help them broaden their knowledge, and improve interaction between students and teachers

Along with the benefits of designing culturally relevant materials, there are also some challenges that need to be addressed in order to apply these materials more effectively First

is the time-constraint issue that can cause teachers to give up on designing such materials Writing and preparing lessons takes too much effort and time, which is ineffective for teachers with high work intensity, and can easily lead to them giving up The second issue mentioned here is tailoring materials to suit the needs of students First, for each different level of learning such as basic, advanced, teachers need to have a separate set of materials Second, for each different age group, the priority of learning topics is also different

IMPLICATION

Based on the findings, several implications emerge for improving the design of culturally relevant teaching materials in Vietnamese universities First, to address teachers’ time constraints Schools should prioritize providing clear guidelines and frameworks that emphasize cultural inclusion in language teaching Having such materials readily available would save teachers time when designing lessons Second, to address the issue of Customization for Student Needs, involving students in the process of creating materials can be beneficial as students can find out for themselves what topics they want and what activities they find interesting Empowering students to take ownership would help students become more responsible for their own learning For example, students could contribute by preparing presentations or sharing local cultural knowledge, promoting awareness This participatory approach not only deepens cultural understanding but also enhances the relevance and appeal of the materials

Through the interesting findings on designing culturally relevant lessons, it also shows that there are some needs for further research Firstly, there should be specific studies on the needs of each age group of students, to further identify their desires and likes when learning English This will help teachers prepare lessons more clearly without being vague Next, there should be some other studies on how to create culturally relevant lessons in the Vietnamese educational context, to learn more about some topics that interest Vietnamese students Finally, applying it to teaching will be quite difficult for new teachers, there should be some training programs to help teachers become more familiar with teaching

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