Luận văn an investigation into intercultural components in three piloted english textbooks for vietnamese high schools under national foreign language 2020 project

UNIVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST — GRADUATE STUDIES ASE OE ORR IO IO IORI OE: KIỂU THỊ HÀ AN INVESTIGATION INTO INTERCULTURAL COMPO

AN INVESTIGATION INTO INTERCULTURAL COMPONENTS IN

‘TUREE PLLOTED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR VIETNAMESE LHGIL

SCHOOLS UNDER NATIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE 220 PROJECT

{Tìm hiểu các yêu tổ liên văn hóa trong sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh thứ điểm

ở cấp trung học phổ thông)

MLA MINOR THESIS (Type D

Field: English Teaching Methodology Cade: $140231.01

Hanoi - 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAT UNIVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST — GRADUATE STUDIES

ASE OE ORR IO IO IORI OE:

KIỂU THỊ HÀ

AN INVESTIGATION INTO INTERCULTURAL COMPONENTS LV

‘TUREE PLLOTED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR VIETNAMESE LHGIL

SCHOOLS UNDER NATIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE 2020 PROJECT

{Tìm hiếu các yêu tổ hên văn hóa trong sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh thí điểm

ở cấp trung học phố thông)

M.A MINOR THESIS (Type D

Field : English Teaching Methadology Code : 8140231.01

Supervisor : Professor Nguyễn Hòa

Hanoi - 2019

standard referencing, practices.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thave taken efforts in this sludy However, it would not have been possible without the tremendous support and help of individuals I would like to extend our

sincere hanks to all of them

I am highly indebted to my honor supervisor, Professor Neuyén Ha, for his guide, advice and suggestions as well as correction during the course of my writing Secondly, T would like to express my gratitude to my close friend for helping me get access to necessary information regarding the topic and their suppott in completing,

the study Thirdly, my thanks go to Ms Nguyén Iluyén Ly for her comment and

comrective feedback on my work Last but not least, T also would like to (hank my family for their indispensable support and encouragement Therefore, it is possible

to state that without the help from the aforementioned people, this paper would

never have been finished

ABSTRACT

As the rise in demand for intercultural communication, using language appropriately in social and cultural contexts is becoming a concen of the teaching and Ihe learning process Textbooks, as the main source of teaching material, provide learners with not only language input and practice but also intercultural imowledge and skills to build up learners’ intercultural communication competence

For those reasons, I conducted this study to find out whether textbooks under the NI'LP 2020 implemented in high schools include intercultural elements and help students in improving, students’ intercultural communication competence through learning tasks To achieve the aims of Ihe study, T ployed bath quatilalive method

to analyze the content of the textbooks and quantitative method to report the results

of the textbook analysis procedure and ta discuss further the findings of the

yesearch,

The results of the study indicate that textbook compilers integrated cultural information from vanous sources including ttercultural interachions in the textbook series Ôn cxanuming leaming tasks presented in three textbooks, I found that textbook writers included tasks to develop students’ intercultural competence in

different dimensions according lo Byram’s model of TC The textbook series was

developed in a rather efficient way to help students improve their international

communication skills through diverse activities

iii

uc Universality across Culture

CEFR —— ; Common European Framework of Reference for Languages NFLP —: National Forcign Language 2020 Project

Table 4.1.¢: Frequency of Source Culture, Targel Culture, International Culuure,

Intercultural interactiơn and LIniversality aeross culture " AB Table 4.2.1: Dimensions of IC addressed in the learning tasks of three textbooks 18

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.2.2.: Factors in infercullural communication (Byram, 1997, p 34) 12 igure 2.2.2.4; Byram’s Model of intercultural communication competence (1997) 14 Figure 3.2.1.a Tieng Anh 10 representing source culture (Unit 3, p 32) 23 Figure 3.2.1.b: Tiong Atih 11 representing Largel culture (Unit 7, p.22) 24 Figure 3.2.1.¢: ‘fieng Anh 11 representing international culture (Unit 5, p 62) neue 25 Figure 3.2.1.4: Tieng Anh 10 representing, intercultural interaction (Unit 4, p 42) .26 Figure 3.2.1 Tieng Anh 12 representing universality across culture (Unit 7, p22) 27 Figure 3.3.3.2: An example of the learning task developing Inowledge (Tieng Anh 11,

Figure 3.3.3.¢: An cxample of the lcaming task developmg skills of interpreting and

Figure 3.3.3.6 An cxample of the Ieaming task developing skills of discovery (Tieng

Anh 11, p41) see sevsuvturstusturttustietueeiee - seo 30

Figure 3.3.3.g; An example of the leaming task developing skills of discovery (Tieng

Figure 4.2.1: Ratio of leaming tasks aiming at increasing leamets’ ÌC 47

vi

APPENDICES Appendix 1: Coding soherne- Sources of cultural information «eo E Appendix 2: Coding schomc- Tcarning task analysis - - 1 Appendix 3: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students’ attitude

Appendix 4: An example of a learning task aiming al developing sludents* altitudes

ma Tiếng Anh 10 (P.48) co tin nhe ierrree sasnsse TW

Appendix 5: An example of a learning task aiming at developing, students’ skills of

Appendix 6: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students’ skills of

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1 Rationale for the stud

1.2 Aims of the study and research questions

1.3 Methods of the study

1.4 Significance of the study

1.5 Scope of the study

1.6 Structure of the thesis

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Role of texthooks as a source of cultural inputs

2.2 Intercultural communication compelenct

2.2.1 Intercultural communication competence in English language teaching 10

2.3.2 Model gƒ tntercultural communica(ion compeleee cuss V2

4.2.2.3 Skills of interpreting and relating 51

CHAPTER §; CONCLUSIO:

5.1 Recap and conclusion of the study

5.2 Lmplications and recommendation

5.3 Limitations

5.4 Suggestions for further studies

REFERENCES

APPENDICES,

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1, Rationale for the study

In today’s world, globalization has brought nations, cultures, and people

closer English becomes the language for international trade, commerce, and

communigation and ils leaching and learning become growing needs (Farzanch,

Konhandami, & Nejadannsari, 2014) Language does not exist in a vacuum but it is

a part of society and culture Therefore, teaching and learning a language also

1uoan learing aboul the cullure of thal language The relationship between language and culture in Hnglish language classrooms has been the focus of many

studies (Krarnsch,1993: Byram,]989)

Communication among people from different cultural backgrounds may cause misunderstanding in intercultural situations as people may base on their cultures for interpretations (Kramsch, 1993) Therefore, there is a hidden risk of false impression and conflict if one uses a language without the understanding of culture background (Woflson, 1989) To avoid misinterpretation in intemational situations,

leamers of foreign languages should draw attention to cultural differences when

communicating Apart from that, they should be equipped with knowledge and

skills to deal with conveying their messages in an intercultural environment while

learning foreign languages

Teaching materials have a poworful influence on the process of teaching and learning a language According to Tamlinson (1998), materials can be instructional, experiential, chettilalive and exploralory for learners to discover the language Textbooks are one of the main sources of inputs for learners and the language practice that takes place in classrooms Since the contents of textbooks have a significant association with the learning of the students, iL is supposed that textbooks should include intercultural knowledge which can help leamers communicative successfully in intercultural contexts In other words, apart from

language skills, Lexthooks also provide intercultural knowledge and provide chunices

for lcamers to improve intercultural communication skills so that they can build up their intercultural communication competence

Recently, there is att mercasing Irend of high school students applying for

other high schools, colleges or universities in English speaking countries after finishing at least a semester, Therefore, teaching and leaming English are given

significant ailention to help students wilh sufficient skills to be independent and

confident especially when studying abroad It is necessary to raise awareness and equip students with knowledge of cultural differences, skills to communicate with

people from different cultures to avoid misunderstanding Thal, would help them

survive in international environments

There are numerous studies on intercultural communication in many aspects

Walinski (2012) focused on the way lo enhance TCC m an online asscasment

environment using the CLMcult project Reid (2015), on the other hand, exploited

techniques that develop ICC in English lessons It is a brief guidance to teachers on

how to integrale TCC in English language lessons Moeller and Nugent (2014) were

also interested in developing ICC in classrooms ‘They reviewed and sununarized

models of intercultural competence and examples of tasks that prowole TCC and can

‘be practiced in classrooms

In Vietnam, a new lnglish textbook series has been implemented in some

Victnamese high schools under the National Foreign Language 2026 Project for 5 years The new English textbook series shows their improvements in many aspects

as compared with the previous ones such as book structure, unit structure,

component heading, and time allocaled Since the English lextbook series was

piloted in high schools, there exists a question about whether the textbooks can

server the chjcctives of teaching and leaming English al the school context There are some studies to investigate some aspects when implementing the series in some

schools Hoang (2017) looked into teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward the

piloled textbook in a high school in Nam Dink Tr 2018, Nguyen dug into how

source culture, target culture, and intemational culture were represented in the

textbook sories for high schools in visual forms, texts or listening, and speaking tasks There has also been much research related to analyzing cultural and intercultural elements and components in textbooks For example, Farzaneh et.al

(2014) sought soctal-culiural contexts in Top Notch series However, there has nol

‘been any study on intercultural components and learnmg tasks in the piloted English textbooks under the 2020 project The above-mentioned reasons motivated me to investigate intercultural components presented in the new pilot textbooks unplemented at high schools to find out whether those textbooks could foster

tatercultural communication in sladents through learmng tasks and the dimension of

IC that can be found in learning tasks

1.2 Aims of the study and research questinns

In order to seek the answer to whether Linglish textbooks under the national project 2020 launched by the Ministry of Kducation and ‘raining, foster ICC, the study sets out to investigate intercultural components and the learning tasks presented in the textbooks With a view to enhancing students’ ICC, it is important thal textbooks should provide inputs as well as practice for studeris to develop all

dimensions of ICC knowledge, attitudes and skills ‘Therefore, the research also

aims at investigating intercultural elements and the dimensions of intercultural

communication competence that the learning tasks in the textbooks address The results of the study can be a reference for teachers for appropriate adaptation and adjustment of the material to suit their teaching contexts as well as to meet their

> What dimensions of intercultural communication do the learning tasks in

those textbooks address?

1.3 Methods of the study

This study is conducted mainly as a qualitative method that is descriptive in design, accompanied by quantitative analysis of the inlercultural elements and the learning tasks in the textbooks The data were coded in explicit categories and then

described using statistics Tm content analysis, T used existing theories and prior

xescarch to aid in the identification of the variables in order to develop the coding, scheme or the initial coding categories for data analysis

Aller buildin a coding scheme, T idenlified culture-related content im Tieng

“Anh 10, Vieng Anh 11, and Tieng Anh 12 Cultural-related content can be in visual

forms such as pictures, maps, charts, photographs, and illustration, in written form

like name of characters, places, themes of wrilien text or in a hist of cultural

xeferences Apart from that, learning tasks in textbooks such as follow-up exercises, questions following listening recordings or reading texts were also analyzed

Fxercises or Teaming tasks which provide students wilh knowledge about

vocabulary or pronunciation were not counted to analyze because those tasks aim at improving their language skills only

1.4, Significance of the study

The result of the study would be expected to draw English teachers in high

schocls to the issue It is a reference for them to consult when adopting the texibooks 1o mvolve cultural knowledge as well as intercultural communivation skills and imegrate them into teaching language skills It is anticipated that this would ultimately improve the teaching and learning environment so that it can meet the students’ nods These answors to the research questions also are expected to be

a theoretical background for any changes or plans implemented at school in Linglish aubjent

1.5 Scope of the study

In point of fact, the Ten-year Lnglish Textbook Series for Vietnamese Secondary Schools under the National Foreign Language 2620 Project consists of

primary lexibooks, lower secondary textbooks, upper secondary ones As a series,

there is complete integration and articulation among the textbooks for three levels

‘Therefore, it is far better to investigate the entire textbook series from grade 3 to

grade 12 so thal 2 general overview ol intercultural content and learning tasks can

be evaluated, Nevertheless, this research study only Student’s books for high school level for reasons of space and time

Particularly, the study only focused on cxploiling intercultural elements in correlation with other sources of cultural information presented in students’ books

for grades 10, 11, 12 in all forms of information such as reading texts, listening

yecordings, corversalions, leaming (asks, pictures After imvestigaling Lhe

imowledge of cultures, the learning tasks presented in three books are also analyzed

to find out whether they address the dimensions of intercultural competence such as

altitudes or slalls

1.6, Structure of the thesis

Chapter 1 Introduction: presents the rationale, aims, methodology, significance and scope of the study

Chapter 2: Literature review covers the overview of the literature which includes

yelevant lheoretical background, and framework for the sludy

Chapter 3: Methodology - i this chapter, the troduction of the research method

including, data collection instruments, data collection procedure, and data analysis

procedure are presented

Chapter 4; Findings and discussion demonstrates the findings accompanied by data analysis and discussion

Chapter 5: Conclusion: which is the last chapter, followed by references is the

summary of the whole study ‘The limitation of the study and suggestions for further study are also recommended

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

Tn this chapter, a review of the Wierature ou theory and models of analyzing tasks is provided First, the role of the textbooks as a source of cultural inputs was

invoduced Second, intercultural commumicalion courpelence in language teaching,

anodels to understand ICC, as well as intercultural dimensions, was presented

Following this, the study reviewed sources of cultural information

2.1 Role of textbooks as a source of cultural inputs

‘Textbooks are among the essential components in language classrooms They serve as basic input of the language leamers receive and the language practice that

occurs in classrooms They may provide the basis for the content of the lessons and

for students, textbooks are major sources of contact that they have with the target language apart from teachers For language teachers, textbooks serve as a guide which supplics systematic and comprehensive cultural perspectives With the shift

in Linguistic theories, people have tended to focus on teaching language in contexts Social contexts, everyday life and the natural environment of the target culture have

becn gradually paid allertion to im Ihe textbooks as lingnistic inputs Therefore, foreign language classes should include cultural components incorporated within

classroom materials or real-life experiences

Texthooks are important inputs lo create cultural contact for learners, in consideration of the impact of authentic malerial (Thm, 1996) Nowarlays, the spread

of English has resulted in ils becoming a lingua [rmea (Canagarajah, 2005) and, as

an international language, is said to have more non-native speakers than native speakers (Maley, 2009) This has made the relationship between language and culture more complex, changeable and emergent (Baker, 2008), with interactions by people from different cultures Ta communicate successfully with people from

different countries and cultures, students’ linguistic competence is not enough As language does not exist in isolation but is part of a society and culture, it is vital for language learners to be aware of cultural differences to avoid misunderstanding in

an intercultural setting, since interpretations are based on assumptions and

perceptions from their own culture (Kramsch, 1993) For many students who take English as a forcign language, classrooms may be the main place for them to experience some comection with the culture and practice using the larget language

im comexts provided in textbooks However, because olher goals of foreign

language teaching such as four language skills - listening, reading, speaking,

writing, grammar, vocabulary takes so much time Ilence, it is possible that there is not enough time for intercultural teaching Although Kaikkonen (1994) indicated that the aims of teaching, foreign languages seem to be intemationality and a better understanding of target culture, Byram & Morgan (1994) stated that the full potential of language and culture is not fulfilled Kaikkonen (1994) continued that people might feel suspicious and afraid of foreign cultures One aim of intercultural teaching is to practice the understanding of diversity: while learning foreign languages One also has to change one’s view of the world and develop a new level

of consciousness, as he 1s expose Lo authentic contexts as well as information aboul the world described in the textbooks This new way of thinking cuables language leamers to understand other cullures beller, survive im the international

environment, and develop their sense of justice further

To be effective in promoting intercultural communication competence, it is suggested that texthooks be designed accordingly and that both lingnistic and

cultural objectives should overlap Students should he equipped with the knowledge

of not only their own culture but also the target culture as well as other countries’ cultures Apart from that, the intercultural approach in foreign langage teaching promotes linguistic competence as well as intercultural communicative competence, and aims at developing the awareness of the cultural differences, which may interfere with communication and understanding between the learners’ own culture and the target culture (Byram, 1997) Nowadays, it is assumed that the knowledge

of one’s own and foreign cultures broadens one’s worldview and in general and

enriches one’s life by providing access to new cultures

Language expresses the thoughts, belicf, and assumptions of a community hence language reflects the way of looking at the world and understanding reality

Byram (1989) believed thal language is a tool lo express the speaker's knowledge

and perception of the real world, thus 11 reflects their cullural concepts and values

He continued that one carmot feam a language and neglect ils culture because speaking a language means expressing its culture, exchanging a language embodies

a particular way of thinking and living Moreover, according to Byram (1989) cultural awareness is very important in language teaching because it contributes to language proficiency Ile insisted that any language curriculum should include either implicitly or explicitly elements of its culture because language reflects the speaker's values and perception of the world ‘Therefore, textbooks, as considered a curriculum guideline, are effective instruments for educational practice, language resources and sets of cultural values

According lo Kramsch (1993), tie problem in the previous approaches 1o culture has been the promotion of facts over meanings instead of enabling the

learners lo undersiaud foreign allitudes and values Corbett, (2003) stated thal the

aim of the intercultural approach is to gain intercultural communicative competence which means the ability to understand the language and behavior of the target culture and the ability (a act as a diplomat between one’s own culture and the target culture In this approach, it is more important for learners to achieve ICC rather than native-like speaker proficiency Corbett also pointed out that intercultural understanding should be considered an equally iemporiart aspect of language leaming

In 1997, Byram pointed out three dimensions of intercultural competence- knowledge, skills, and attitudes Having an ifercultural attitudes means bemg curious and open towards foreign cultures and being able to understand that one’s

own attitudes are not the only possible way to perceive the world and reality Scoondly, having intercultural knowledge includes tol only knowing about how

social groups and identities of foreign culture function and one’s own culture function but also understanding the norms and values in every culture ‘Thudly, there

are intercultural skills that should be taught to earners Gal are comparing, interpreting

and relating their own culture as well as the foreign cultures Therefore, it is necessary

to include these aspects in textbooks to provide students with models and inputs to

practice the language in social contexts Apart {rom thal, textbooks are also a guideline

to teach language learners to search for information on their own since teachers cannot anticipate all the knowledge that they might need in the future

Tn language classrooms under the inlercultural perspeclive, students are

encouraged to lear languages for cultural understanding to be able to cognitively analyze foreign cultures, people and the cultural artifacts Integrating linguistic and

cultural learning enables the crilical assessment of the mainstream culture mio

which the pupils are socialized According to Hlomaa (2009), textbooks have a

critical role in promoting the principles of intercultural learning and teaching as

they have a significant influence on pupils’ altitudes towards foreign cultures

Ideally, the textbooks would get students interested in the target culture by

presenting the culture, language, and mentalily of the target countries im an interesting and motivating way Additionally, the textbook contents should also be

meaningful in order to support the intercultural approach For example, learners

should be able to use the leamed mfonnation in real life The aim of the

intercultural approach is that students would realize that there are no better or worse cultures but just culture-specific features, which direct the use of language and

‘behaviors Therefore, the teaching of one’s own culture and comparing it with other

foreign cultures are also a very important aspect of intercultural learning

Textbooks, in order to be effective, have to include activities such as role-plays,

project work, discussion and so on which should result in understanding, dis

sing, and writing in the target language rather than memorizing information Moreover, textbook activities should support critical thinking via comparing and contrasting,

which leads students to analyze the information meludimg local and intermalioual

characteristics, and their relevance to language leamers’ experiences

2.2 Intercultural communication competence

2.2.1 Intercultural communication competence in English language teaching

Language teachmg and learning about target culture are so deeply embedded that one cannot be fully accomplished without considering the other When teaching

a foreign Jangnage such as English, leachers must Lake different aspects into account including the role of culture in language and the role language plays in the cultural expressions we make (ne of the major goals of teaching English as an intemational language is to make il easier for learners to conmmunicale their ideas and cullural understandings in the medium of Linglish Intercultural competence, the ultimate aim of acquiring language, cannot be attained if the textbooks focus solely on the

learners’ native culture or the largel cullure,

According to Fantini (2009), intercultural competence is defined as the complex abilities that are required to perform effectively and appropriately when

inleracting with olfers who are linguistically and culturally different from

themselves He emphasized the ability to use language to convey interlocutor’s messages and make them understood by people speaking different languages However, the choice of language forms should be appropriate in certain social contexts In Fantini’s definition, be claimed on the effectiveness and appropriateness of conversation when communicating with people from different cultures According to Luang, Rayner and Zhuang (2003), a person who has intercultural competence can develop relationships with people from different cullures, manage lo solve complicated conllicts by rossing the barriers Wal arise as

a resul of cultural differences and improve the ability to do business with counterparts from different cultures Hence, learning to deal with different cultures effectively requires cultural awareness, communicative competence, personal altitudes like empathy and Mexibility, self - awareness and understanding others’ values, norms and bshefs

One of the major goals of teaching English as an international language is to

Tnako 1L casier [or lenrners lo cơnrmurncale thei ideas and cultural understandings im

10

the medium of English Therefore, communicative competence is highlighted under the communicative language teaching theory ‘lo develop students” communicative competence, learners have lo improve their foreign language in four dimensions Firstly, linguistic competence refers to the ability to produce and interpret meaningful utterances with the mules of the languages Secondly, with soviolinguislic competence, students should also be taught 9 be aware of the ways in which the choice of language form is determined by the condition of setting, religions, gender, social status, and the relationship between

communi;

ion partuers or communicative intention The third compelence

refers to the ability to use appropriate strategies in the construction and interpretation of spoken or written texts - discourse competence Students with

stralegio o may lind suilable

Iralegies fo overcome difficullies when

communicating due to a lack of linguistic ability

Intercultural communication competence has been endorsed by many educalional organizations around [be world and il is essential thal TCC be mtegraled

into language teaching as well as English language teaching Intercultural

communicative competence refers lo an individual’s ability to navigale within a given secicty appropriately in a forcign language In other words, mdividuals are

able to use appropriate language, understand the unspoken meaning in words,

approviate the cullural underpinnings it any communication, and make appropriaic

cultural references to aid in understanding the messages hidden in conversation

To improve ICC, students are expected to acquire competences in knowledge,

attitudes, and skills related to IC while using a foreign language (Byram, 1997), He

also stated that teachers may lead students through activities in classrooms to use target language that structure new discoveries about others from different cultures

and about themselves ralher than fostering ther to use foreign language like redive

speakers ‘Therefore, textbooks would be a significant resource for both teachers and

language leamers The learning tasks presented in those textbooks should exemplify

the bes practice in ICC and cover roulticuliural imformation to meel the growing

need for the development of ICC

2.2.2 Model of intercultural communication competence

There are several models of TCC has been conceptualized Lo suit: diverse

contexts in a foreign language teaching context, some models of ICC can be taken into consideration

The besl-known model of ICC im foreign language teaching is Ihe one developed by Byram (1997) It is considered the most comprehensive framework to develop and assess leamers’ ICC in various contexts Byram’s model is based on Hymes and van Fk’s model of communication competence Similar to the two

models above, his model also started off with the analysis of core factors which are imowledge, skills, and attitude In his model, he also highlights the 1C is related to other competences like linguistic compelonce, sociolinguistic competence, and discourse competence

(savoir s’engager)

Attitude

Relalivizing self-valuing other

(savoir étre)

Skills Discover and/or interact

(savoir apprendre/faire)

Figure 2.2.2: Factors in intercultural communication (Byram, 1997, p 34)

Based on this model, he built up a specific educational objective designed for language arc cullwe learning and they are also guiding criteria to develop and assess learners’ IC in language classes According to Byram, curious and open

attitude arc essential and pre-condition for successful IC as if there is no desire to

communicate with people from different languages and cultural backgrounds, there will never be amy development in skills and knowledge He also stated that attitude does not necessarily have to be positive Another precondition individuals bring into

IC is their knowledge Byram divided knowledge into two categories The first knowledge about social groups in one’s own country and their cullure and the second one is the knowledge of concepts and processes in interaction This

knowledge takes into account the linguistic and cultural behaviors of the

participanis, Finally, he mentioned Iwo skills which were dependent on the

participants’ knowledge and attitudes Skills of interpreting and relating refer to the ability to interpret a document or an event from other countries to explain and relate its to documents and events ort one’s own cullure Those skills require cxisting imowledge to understand and relate specific examples in the target language The

second set of skills, discovering and relating are described as the ability to we

existing knowledge to detcot and respond to new knowledge of cultural practices as well as to manage these different interpretations and discoveries in a real-time

conversation influenced by tine and perception (Byram, 1997), Both skills require the active engagement of participants in wntercultural commumecation

In Byram’s model, there is a combination of intercultural competence and communicative compotence, thus it is considered the most comprehensive model of intercultural communicative competence in language teaching

Figure 2.2.2.4: Byram’s Model of intercultural communication competence (1997)

Tn this sludy, Byram’s model is used as a framework Lo analyve intercultural clements and Icarning tasks in the textbook

223 Intercultural dimensions

As mentioned in the previous part, leamers have ta acquire necessary competences in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and awareness to develop ICC (Byram, 1997) ‘The foundation of IC is the attitude of intercultural speakers and mediators It refers to the ability to see other cultures and one’s own culture from different prisms with curiosity, openness, readiness to suspend disbelief about other cultures and belief about own culture It also involves cultural awareness, the

understanding and the acceptance of other cultures It is also necessary for one to be capable of sccing their own culture rom an oulsider’s perspective who has different sets of beliefs, values and behaviors:

Another significant, factor is knowledge Alhough if is uot, possible to acquire

or to anticipate alll the knowledge one might need in interacting with people of other

cultures, it is essential to gain knowledge about a specific culture as well as Knowledge ol’ how social groups and idculitios function end what involves in

intercultural interaction Learners need to understand the processes of socicty and individual interaction in the target language and their own culture That would

enable them {o reeognive the diversity in the ways of living and the social-culiure

contexts in the target language

Intercultural skills are also as important as attitude and language During

intercultural vommunication, misunderstauding can arise Therefore, il is casential

to use various language strategies to adjust to different contexts and resolve

problems When putting ideas, events, and documents from different cultures

together and seeing how they might look [rom a different perspective, learners can

see how people might misunderstand what is said or written by other people from different social identities The skills of interpreting and relating are important to

reduce or avoid conthet situations Tn addition lo that, neither learners tor teachers

can anticipate all their knowledge needs Therefore acquiring the skills of discovery

and interaction is vital to find new knowledge and integrate it with what they already have so that they can operate their knowledge, altitudes, and skills under

real-time constraints in conversation and interaction

Tn the present study, the leaming tasks in investigated textbooks were divided into intercultural dimensions that they address Learning tasks that present

exploration m target culture and leamner’s own culture towards the development of

intercultural knowledge, skills, alliludes and awareness (hrough activities and tasks,

such as discussion on comparison of the similarities and differences between target

culture and learners’ own culture, intercultural problem-solving tasks, etc The

intercultural elements investigated from the textbooks were based on the theory of

Byram (1997)

2.3 Sources of cultural information

‘The basis for classtfying cultural information presented in a textbook is based

on Cortazzi & Jin’s work They distinguish cultural information used in foreign

language textbooks into three types

Source culture materials refer to the learner’s own culture as content In the

case of Victnam, this involves using materials based on Victuamese socicty and Vietnamese culture, thus it gets learners familiar with the content in textbooks ‘he iain purpose of this category of textbooks is Lo enable earners lo talk about their own country to people from different countries

Target culture materials include the culture of a country where English is spoken as ihe first language such as countries in (he inner circles of Kachru’s circles

of English ‘These textbooks of this category provide leamers with cultural information about English speaking countries The integration of target cultural information into Lexthooks to help to enhance learners’ motivation and develop their

attitude toward language learning (McKay 2002)

Intemational cultural information relates to cultures that do not belong to

souree cullise nor largel culture 1 refers to Uh

ulture of countrics where English

is used as a foreign or international language In other words, it refers to the cultures

of the countries in the outer circle in Karehu's model English is frequently used in

international silualions

Apart from the three categories of cultural information proposed by Cortazzi

and Jin, some other lypes can be found in foreign language texthouks fn 2004, McKay reveals some benetits of using content from mterational target culture in

the teaching of linglish as an international language According to her research,

learning oullural information from mlemnational cultures allows learners to expose

toa variety of cultures and develop cross-cultural sociolinguistic competence They have more chances to acquire their own notions about the ways to communicate

appropriately with native and non-native speakers of English in international

settings, Additionally, more exposure to international culture materials will support leamers in intemalizing the cultural norms of non-native speaker's cultures rather

than native English speakers when commumicaling and exchanging information

‘This will lead to the development of ICC Therefore, English textbooks in a foreign language context should provide leamers with various opportunities to effectively develop thew TCC through the contents and learning tasks

Based on categories of culture by Cortazai and Jin (1999) and McKay (2004), Chao (2011) adds two more categories, intercultural interaction and universality

cross-culture which reales to cudliure-nculrat contents as the [ollowing table The

content designed to help umversity English learners compare or reflect on the differences or similarities between their local and target/intemational cultures was

coded under Intercultural Interaction (ICD) Tn genoral, the content, which is mainly

related to linguistic knowledge and practice without focusing on any particular culture or country, was coded under Universality across Culture (LIC)

Tu the context of this research, T adapted Chao’s (201T) to classify cultural contents in textbooks Llowever, when applying to Linglish textbooks in Vietnam, some changes should be taken into consideration to suit the context of the research

SC refers to Vietnamese culture To sce the correlation between mtercultural

components and other sources of culture, culture-neutral contents would not be

counted, thus there are only four types of cultures as followed

Table 2.3: The calegories and the criteria to classify culiure (adapted Chao (201 1))

Tamgel Cullure (TC) | Tiincludes Rnghish-sponking countries i the mmer amcle (Australia,

Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the USA)

It includes cultures of all countries in the world (Buropean

countries, countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia) except

(Inc) lor Vietnamese and English-speaking cullures Trtereuttural TL ineladesthe - comparison, rellection, infercullural

Interaction (ICT) | communication or awareness of the differences and similarities

between the local/source and the larget ‘international culture through activities such a3 case studies, problem- solving, and role play to help students develop positive

altitude, knowledge, skills and awareness in international communication

Universality across

Culture (UC) It includes general knowledge/content that is not specific to any

particular culture or country

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the introduction of the research method including participants,

data collection instruments and procedures are presented

books are the

results of the collaboration of Vietnam Hducation Publishing House and Pearson Education It is expected that after finishing high school, students will achieve

18

CEER level B1 Compared to the previous textbook series, English textbooks under the NULP are developed from mult-component approach, taking topics as starting

point, the development of four macro-skills, linguistic elements (pronunciation,

vocabulary, and grammar) and intercultural aspects as the means to be taught so that together these components will contribute to the development of the school

student’s comprehensive commusticalive competenve (Hoang, 2016)

3.1.1 Textbook structure

In the textbook series under the National Foreign Language 2020 Project, high

schoal textbooks differ from lower secondary and primary textbooks in texthook

structure, the number of units, the unit structure, the number of components of each mít, and how a unit begins and ends

The textbook series [or high school students consisis of sLudent?s books and

workbooks and CDs In terms of textbook structure, each textbook for high school

students is organized around 10 units and 4 reviews which are separated into two

volumes for cach semester of a school year

Hach book provides a book map which presents the topics of each wit,

language functions and notions, phonological and lexical items related 10 the topic, and grammatical structures realizing the functions and notions, and cross-cultural

contents for the textbook of each grade ‘t'here is a consistent structure for each unit and cach review Bach unil is presented in 10 pages Topic, language focus, reading,

speaking, listening, writing, communication & culture and project are meorporated across eight lesson titles Tach of the titles consists of varying exercises and

communicative tasks or activities which require individual work, pair work group work,

class discussion, and different patterns of interaction among teacher and students

In each textbook volume, there are two reviews: one after the third unit, and

the olher afler the fifth unit Tn dis section, students have a chance to revisil

as in Table 3.1.1, Thore arc a number of activities to support students to explore the topics in forms of exercises, individual works, group or pair works, discussions,

Family life ‘The generation gap Life stories

‘Your body and you | Relationship Urbanization

3 Music Becoming independent | The green movement

4 For a better Caring for those inneed | The mass media

community

5 Tnventions Beng pan oFASBAN _ | Cultural identity

6 Gender equality | Global warming Endangered species

7 Culture diversity | Further education Artificial intelligence

8 | New ways to learn | Our world heritage The world of work

9 Preserving the —_| Cities of the future Choosing a career

3.1.2 Structure of ONE unit

‘As mentioned above, there are two textbook volumes for each grade including {0 units and four reviews A consistent structure is applied for all units

in the English textbooks for three grades Hach unit includes eight sections which are equivalent to cight periods/ lessons In terms of components, cach unit in textbooks for high school sludents consists of cight headings: Golting Started, Language, Reading, Speaking, Writing Communication & Culture, and Looking back & Project

Each heading contributes to develop students” communicative language arcas

as well as improve the level of proficiency Gelding started aims al introduving the

20

topic of the unit, cliciting student’s existing knowledge of the topic In Language period, studenls are provided with grammar poinls, lexical items related to the topic

Apart from supplying the knowledge four skill-based lessons create a leaming

environment for students to develop communicative language use In Communication & Culture, students lear to usc English in social-cultural contexts

and read aboul an aspect of a specific culture Tn the last lesson of cach unit,

students revise language patterns and produce real work about the topic they have

learnt

A unit of grade 10 through to grade 12 begins with a dialogue about the topic

of which incorporates phonological and lexical items related to the main topic, grammer points, and specific function and notions Thesc language clements and language fictions are enhanced, practiced, expanded and integrated into four following lessons which aim at developing four macro skills: reading, speaking, listening, writing and some cultural contents related to the topic The unit ends with

a project which provides sludenis with opportunities to use the language learned throughout seven lessons to perform commumicative tasks in real contexts

3.2, Addressing research question 1

phonomena, and informs practice Therefore, a content analysis of textbooks fer

high schocl students was conducted to determine intercultural elements in

fexthooks The culture+elated contents in these textbooks, exercises and the Icaming tasks are used as the bascline data for content analysis

When it comes to the proportion of intercultural contents in the textbook

series The textbook culture- related comtenls were coded according lo the

adaptation of Chao’s (2011) categories of sources of cultures, Under this scheme, cultural information was divided into four groups: source culture, target culture,

international culture and intercultural interaction, universality across culture as

21

presented in Table 2.3 SC refers to Victuamese culture TC includes English- speaking cultures such as Lngland, America, Australia, New Zealand, ect InC

represents the cullures of all countries other than SC and TC On the oller band, ICT

includes content that reflects the similarities and differences in cultures among the C', “TC”, and ‘IC Culture- neutral or culture-free contents were counted as Universality across cullure

A coding scheme was developed to analyze data and categorize data according,

to the existing framework based on Chao’s (2011) categories of culture

The source culture: native cultural representations of learners Tn this situation,

the source culture is Vietnamese cultural representations, which can be found in three texthook series

22

)Ortant? {7

FACT FILE Luu Huu Phuoc (1921 - 1989)

+ Early years: bornon September 12, 1921 in Hau

Giang (Can Tho), a noted figure in culture,

composer of many lively patriotic wartime songs,

children’s songs, and the occasional opera

Minh City

8 + Typical works: Bach Dang Giang; Tieng Goi Thanh

g Nien; Giai Phong Mien Nam

1849) ® «Important achievements: member of the

8 National Assembly, Chairman of the Committee

sa 3 of Culture and Education of the National

aa iste § Assembly of the Socialist Republic

of Vietnam:

dmany 8 received the Ho Chi Minh Prize after his death

land in > | Conclusion: one of the most

: oe 3.2.1.a Tieng Anh 10 representing source culture (Unit 3, p 32)

is example describes a Vietnamese musician’s biography His social life a

Th target culture: culture representations of the cultures where English is th A le

first language, for examy iple, the United States, the UK, i b Canada, Australi

Zealand An example is shown in figure 3.2.1.b ¬

2

T Look at the table of the British state-run

education system Can you make a similar

table for the education system of Viet Nam?

Foundation Foundation 3-4 Common

school/ education 4g [Intemational

college Years 17-18 prema

Vocational

Figure 3.1.1.b: Tieng Anh 11 representing target culture (Unit 7, p.22)

This figure shows the British education system from nursery school to higher

education

The international source: cultural representations of non-Vietnamese culture

and non-English speaking countries in Africa, Asia, or Europe An example of this

kind of cultural representation is illustrated in figure 3.2.1.c

2 The following text has five paragraphs

Read it first, and then match the headings

(1-5) with the paragraphs (A-E)

1 Cultural and sportsactivities Paragraph A

4 Area, population and

5 History and membership ParagraphE

‘A ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which was formed on August 8" 1967,

in Bangkok, Thailand by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand Brunei

Darussalam became the sixth member in 1984, right

after its independence In 1995, Viet Nam became the seventh member Laos and Myanmar joined the blocin 1997, and Cambodia joined two years later

B, The bloc has a land area of 4.46 million km? and a

population of about 600 million people Its sea area

is about three times larger than its land area ASEAN would rank as the eighth largest economy in the

world if it were a single country Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Viet Nam are called the six majors These countries are the six largest economies in the region

Figure 3.2.1.c: Tieng Anh I representing international culture (Unit 5, p 62)

In this example, the origin of ASEAN as an association among Southeast Asia countries which is not from source culture or target culture

The intercultural interaction: there is a comparison, reflection, intercultural communication or awareness of the differences and similarities between the local/source and the target/international culture An example of cultural

representations of this kind 1s shown in figure 3.2.1.d.

2 Read the text about Tilly Smith and put the

verbs in brackets in the past simple or the

past continuous

FROM A GEOGRAPHY LESSON

TO AREAL LIFE EXPERIENCE

Tilly Smith was born in 1994 She came from

Surrey, England At school, she was very

interested in her Geography classes On 26”

December, 2004 Tilly

(1 have) a holiday with her family in Thailand

Geography was not only an interesting school subject but also helped to save

people's lives

While Tilly (3 sit) on Maikhao Beach in Phuket, Thailand, the sea water

suddenly receded from the shoreline Tilly

(4 recognise) the symptoms of a

tsunami because two weeks before her holiday

she learnt about tsunamis in a Geography

lesson from her teacher at school Tilly

(5 want) to leave the

beach quickly because she knew what

_ (6 happen), but the people

on the beach didn't seem to care She was

very worried and (7 tell) her

parents about it immediately

When Tilly's father warned others on the

beach and the staff at the hotel where they

were staying about the possible

safe place with her mother and sister The

tsunami (9 be) a terrible

diaster for thousands of people, but it

(10 not kill) anybody on

Maikhao Beach thanks to Tilly

Figure 3.2.1.d: Tieng Anh 10 representing intercultural interaction (Unit 4, p 42)

In this passage, an English person travels to Thailand and experiences a

tsunami in Maikhao Beach This example shows the interaction between people

from a different country and the environment of another country

26

Universality across culture: it includes general knowledge or general contents, which do not belong to any specific culture The example of this kind is shown in figure

2 Read the following text about some A.| applications and circle the correct answers There may be more

than one correct answer to some questions

le

A.Lor artifical intelligence isthe intelligence 11 Whattypes of A.| technology can be seen in today’s

displayed by machines or software eee

Many industries today use highly automated vehicles kane Be robes

that can drive with almost no human intervention 8 Automated cers, 8

‘Smart robots have: humans in stressful and C Machines controlled by humanoids

dangerous jobs, and in assembly lines doing tasks Packing and lifting machines,

‘such as packing and lifting heavy things 2 "hi of 0eeA.Lapg|kewđonsn madicinels

Inscienoe and medicine, Al techniques help medical | mentioned in the

doctors ta discover sublle interactions between A Operating on patients at highest risk of

‘medications that put patients at risk because of ‘complications

their serious side effects Patients at highest risk Helping to treat unhealthy organs

‘of complications are also detected based on these Finding out about the serious side effects of some

avionics mi dn essed iS la ©, Dacovering how medkatonsinteactwkhinthe

‘obstacles, trafic jams, and accidents, ‘A Recommend your destination,

nmiltary, A robots ae used to explore dangerous 8 Show you the fastest way to your destination,

environments containing explosives orcontaminated | C Show you how ta get out of traffic jams

bynuclear weepons, 0 Drive Oe car maternal,

In communication, the voice oe rill b HỆ ion systerns in 0 ng EU ples amie

‘our speech, and are getting better at

faces and cher festursin photog sent tose Tianbdifioseserslsobsdlioll oipxìbi C Recording human voices D, Translating human commands,

Tremtecheeencamcreeniig, | R.Hasmskieridlsaxenlemrilfidxbngisee

‘provide hundreds of milions of people with search texts?

results related to weather, trai predictions, book A They can leam the language on the Internet

‘tecommendations, educational institutions music, B, They can guess the meaning using search engines

files, and games A.L applications on the Internet can Theycan get information about them en the Intemet

ee Leslie me sean 0 They can usea translating application

tae 6 What wil A robots in the near future be capable of Mary AJ experts believe that A techn will

Bar >LyctiseeeitcicArgcer leo having according to many A.l experts?

areas Modern robots will be more intelligent ‘A Hurnan-tive emotions

and replace humans in many dangerous jobs and 8 Healthy itestyles

eervitonments This willcertainly ieyprove out ives C Dangerous behaviour

inthe nearfuture, Higherlevels of intelligence

Figure 3.2.1 Tieng Anh 12 representing universality across culture (Unit 7, p.22) This passage describes ideas about artificial intelligence with no specific

cultural references Therefore, this reading perfectly exemplifies UC

When all texts, listening transcripts and visual were investigated and classified

into each category, a quantitative tool was conducted to calculate the proportion of

Intercultural elements in three textbooks and its correlation with other sources of

cultural information

27

3.2.2 Data collecting procedure

Hist of all, each unit in each book has eight Four reviews were counted as four

headings Therefore, cach fexthook was divided inlo 84 smaller headings In Lotal, there

are 252 headings which were coded In each textbook, 84 sections were analyzed to collect relevant data

Tnevery heading, visual elements and writlon (orms were analyzed separalcly Pictures, maps, charts, graphs, signs, photographs and illustrations were classified into visual elements Written form such as names of characters, places, themes of

wnilen fexls or any cullure references were pul inlo one group General conlenis such as culture-free statements or scientific facts which did not belong to any specific cultures and could not determine their specific source of culture were grouped as Universality across eullure

In order to classify cultural elements into different categories, names of

countries appearing in each analysis unit were highlighted and coded into different

categories such as Targel culture, Source culure, Tutermational cullure, or

Antereultural interaction For those which could not determine any cultural

is unils of the

references would be pul into Umversalily across culture The anal

study included reading pazsages, notes, text, listening transcript and pictures, and alk

other activities in the student's books

The frequency of cach cultural clements im cach section of cach unil was

counted and recorded in a coding table

3.23 Data analysis

To answer the first research question, after making the data units selected and

excluded in phase one, | eatried out the second phase to examine the main ideas of

the texts, recording, activities, exercises and visual elements Then I coded them

wilh categories and types of cullure using framework as presented i the previous

section Ihe collected data were recorded in the first content analysis table ‘his

analysis could enable me to count the frequency of cultural sources In order to

determine the cullural categories, he name of countnes mentioned im cach lexl and

238

visual was noted and put into different sources of cultural information Then the main ideas of each reading, pictures, and other visuals were determined and coded according 1o guidlines to identify intercultural components

In terms of written forms, it was not difficult to realize that almost all sources

of culture, source culture, target culture, intemational culture, intercultural interactions, and university across culture were [focused through the topics prosonted

in the textbooks

The first domain of the textbook analysis was source culture Most examples

of Vietnamese culture were contextualized in Vielmam in modes of social addressing system All over the textbook series, the use of first names instead of surnames was found In almost all situations of all units characters use first names

different features as Geography, Architecture, Economics, Historical features

instance, a bricf biography of Van Cao, a reading text about Ha Long Bay, or a listening recording about Phong Nha Ke Bang Apart from that, Vietnamese

“values” cultural elements, through the introduction of heaHh behefs such as

2%

Additionally, a few Vietnamese festivals were describes in the textbooks such as

“Ailments are caused by an imbalanee of yin and yang” (Tieng Anh 10,

“Flophant racing festival”, “Forest worshipping festival” in Tieng Ank 12 A umber of introductions of musical works or art forms also Ulustrated source culture such as “Tien quan ca”, “Noi vong tay Jon”, and Quan IIo singing

Regarding target culture, there were a lot of written texts which describe

features of culture im countries in the Inner Circle In some cases, the target culture was desoribed separately In particular, most instances of target culture were comexiualized in England, Britam, The USA, the UK, and Austraha An introduction of the British educational system, curriculum, subject descriptions, and discussing the education structure, institutions and organizations in Tieng Anh

J Iwan an cxample, Besides, some customs and superstitions in targel onlture were

29