04051001796 tomtat an evaluation of the course book “family and friends starter Đánh giá giáo trình “family and friends starter” Được sử dụng cho học sinh tiểu học tại một trung tâm tiếng anh

04051001796 tomtat an evaluation of the course book “family and friends starter Đánh giá giáo trình “family and friends starter” Được sử dụng cho học sinh tiểu học tại một trung tâm tiếng anh

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

-

NGUYỄN MỸ LINH

AN EVALUATION OF THE COURSE BOOK “FAMILY AND FRIENDS STARTER” USED FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL LEARNERS AT AN ENGLISH

CENTER IN VINH PHUC

(Đánh giá giáo trình “Family and Friends Starter” được sử dụng cho học sinh

tiểu học tại một trung tâm tiếng anh ở Vĩnh Phúc)

M.A MINOR PROGRAME THESIS (Type I)

Field : English Teaching Methodology

Code : 8140231.01 Supervisor: Dr Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga

H N I – 2022

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1.Rationale for the study

The role of English Language Teaching (ELT) textbook is considered as one of the key vital components in the process of language teaching and learning Hutchinson (1987) defined evaluation as “a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose” (p.41) For teacher, textbook is an effective guide and for learners, it serves as a foundation for them to practice in the classroom Furthermore, textbooks became a universal element of ELT teaching (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994, Tomlinson, 1998) It is necessary to evaluate a book to show that the book is suitable for the purpose of the course Sheldon (1988) shows that there are two main reasons why teachers need to evaluate books First, evaluating books help teachers to choose suitable books for their students Second, the evaluation will help teachers to find out strengths and weaknesses of the book This will encourage the teacher to modify and adapt their materials to students

The English program for primary students in Vietnam

Since the 1990s in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, English for primary pupils have been taught in a pilot program at language centers and some primary schools After that, English was introduced as an elective subject starting from the second semester of grade 3 At present, English serves as a major subject in primary education curricula in Vietnam Teaching English as a main subject in primary schools serves the following purposes:

• Forming basic English communicative skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing for students to be able to communicate in English at schools, at home, and in familiar social environments

• Providing students with a fundamental knowledge of English to gain a primary understanding of the country, people, and culture of some English-speaking countries

• Building positive attitudes to English, and better understanding and love for Vietnamese through learning English Furthermore, students‟ intelligence, personality, and learning method will have also been gradually formed

To achieve the mentioned purposes, there are many different textbooks exist such as “Let‟s learn”, “Let‟s go”, “Tieng Anh”, “Explore our world”, or “Family and Friends” However, among these books, the “Family and Friends” book series are favored over others in many schools and English institutions

The English textbook Family and Friends Starter

There are six books in the book series Family and Friends which is from Family and Friends Starter to Family and Friends 6 The Family and Friends Starter Class book is supposed to

be used for teachers and students in teaching and learning in class Family and Friends Starter Workbook is for students to do homework at home Besides, there are also teacher books and testing and evaluation books that are used for teachers in preparing for the lessons and testing as well as evaluating their students‟ ability

There are nine units in the Family and Friends Starter Class book One unit consists of six lessons: Lesson 1: Words, lesson 2: Grammar and Song, lesson 3: Sounds and Letters, lesson 4: Numbers, lesson 5: Sounds and Letter, lesson 6: Story After every three units, there is one lesson which is Review

Unlike at primary schools that only official textbooks are used to teach students, at English centers in Vietnam, several coursebooks can be used to teach students, for example, Our world, Kids Box, let's go, etc The Family and Friends series book is written and published in Britain where English standard is believed to be one of the reasons that this

series book is highly recommended in many English centers Until now, there have been several studies about to what extent the Family and Friends series book is suitable for teaching and learning in the Vietnam context, but there have not had any studies that study

to what extent is the book Family and Friends starter satisfied teachers or not in their teaching way following requirements like at school in terms of design, organization, content and methodology and other factors Conducting research and finding out the advantages and disadvantages of this book motivate and inspire me to adapt it more appropriately when teaching students

2 Aims of the study

The study aims at evaluating Family and Friends Starter in terms of design, organization, content and methodology based on the English textbook evaluation criteria for the school system in Viet Nam under Circular no 31/2015/TT-BGDDT (see appendix 2) The author would like to see whether the book Family and Friends Starter is suitable for students studying at an English center that also follow the request of the Ministry of Education and Training in terms of textbook evaluation in Vietnam From the results of the findings, recommendations and solutions would be mentioned to suggest the appropriate modification of the book to fit the requirements of the course and the request from MOET

To achieve above-mentioned aims, the research was conducted to seek the answer to the following question:

“To what extent is the book suitable for meeting requirements of the course in terms

of aims, design and organization, content and methodology for students and teachers at starting level at Big bang center in Vinh Phuc province?”

3 Scope of the study

The book Family and Friends starter is the first starting book that is used for

students from kindergarten to primary first grade There are plenty of frameworks and criteria for evaluating a book such as ones of Ellis (1997), Mc Donald and Shaw (1993), or Cunningsworth (1984) However, to evaluate the book Family and Friends Starter, the author decided to follow the textbook evaluation checklist under Circular no 31/2015/TT-BGDDT to evaluate this material in terms of aims, design, and organization, content and methodology Due to the small scale of the study, the English Center in Vinh Phuc was chosen as the research setting As a result, the samples of the study were restricted to 40 teachers, who are enjoying learning and teaching the book Family and Friends Starter Nevertheless, this number of participants is believed to be sufficient to provide valid and reliable information, which is vital to the success of the research

4 Significance of the study

It is worth using the book Family and Friends in general and the book Family and Friends Starter in particular for teaching and learning at the primary level

Therefore, the research serves as a valuable resource for the teacher to gain a deeper insight into the teaching and learning status of the book as well as pedagogically-oriented recommendations with ways to enhance learners‟ ability

On a larger scale, the study can also be beneficial to English teachers and students in Vietnam, who may use the book Family and Friends in their classes

Finally, it is believed that these findings will contribute a small part to suggest some recommendations to create a better version of the book

Concerning the survey questionnaire, a total number of 40 teachers from the English center were involved in the study Document analysis is used as a qualitative research method The author followed statistical procedures, from coding questionnaire data to classify, summarize and report data

6 Overview of the study

Chapter 1 states the research problem and rationale of the study Subsequently, the aims, scope, significance, and methods of the study are presented

Chapter 2 provides a background of the study, including a review of key concepts relating to the research topic and a review of previous studies

Chapter 3 presents the research methods adopted in the study Justification for the research instruments as well as their procedure of implementation is also mentioned

Chapter 4 presents the findings results of the research combined with critical analysis, from which major findings are revealed and discussed

Chapter 5 reviews the major findings of the study and then indicates some contributions as well as limitations of the study Suggestions for further research are also mentioned in the chapter

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1.1 Definition and types of materials in language teaching and learning

Tomlinson (2001) claims that material is anything which is used to help language learners to learn Materials can be in the form, for example, of a textbook, a workbook, a cassette, a CD-ROM, a video, a photocopied handout, a newspaper, a paragraph written on a whiteboard: anything which presents or informs about language being learned.” It is easy to find any kind of materials in modern life today Teachers can use published materials or can create their own kinds of books for students For examples of materials: posters, movies, CDs, websites, software, apps, … Material is any systematic description of the techniques and exercises to be used in classroom teaching (Brown, 1995, p.139)

Language teaching has five important components: students, teachers, materials, teaching methods and evaluation According to Nunan (1992), materials is the most substantial and observable component of pedagogy It is the central position in the process

of language teaching and learning Materials are used by teachers or learners to facilitate learning of language Depending on curriculum aims and learner needs, materials can be prepared, edited or selected It can be verbal, oral or written, non-verbal, teacher-centered, learner centered, self- learning oriented or skill related However, materials need to be flexible to cater to individual and contextual differences

2.1.2 Role of materials

Materials play a vital role in most language teaching curriculums Many of authors had the same opinion regarding this matter “No teaching- learning situation, it seems, is complete until it has its relevant textbook.” (Hutchingson,1994)

In learning language, one of the main ways in which the learners can attain the ability to speak effectively is the use of materials As stated before, materials include textbooks, pictures, videos and audio tapes, computer softwares, television programs, visual aids, etc Their influence plays a great role in understanding the content and applying the procedures of teaching and learning This should provide learners with a degree of communicative capacity so that they have something interesting to say and an opinion to share with the partner

Tomlinson (2003) stated that: “They can be instructional, experiential, elicitative or exploratory, in that they can inform learners about language, they can provide experience of the language in use, they can stimulate language use or they can help learner to make

discoveries about language themselves.” Nunan (1991) added that great materials contribute great help to experienced teachers as well as unexperienced ones

In many cases, materials provide big support to the teachers They broaden the basis for teacher training by introducing new techniques They may organize teaching and learning process They can also be the most economical way of organizing the syllabus For learners, it may allow them to progress at their own rates of learning

2.2 Materials evaluation

2.2.1 Definition of materials evaluation

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) stated that evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness

of something for a particular purpose Evaluation concerns on the relative merit There is no absolute good or bad, only degrees of fitness for the required purpose It means that, when the teacher does material evaluation, the evaluation is based on the required purpose or goal that would be reached by the students

Rossi and Freeman (1993, p.48) define evaluation as "the systematic application of social research procedures for assessing the conceptualization, design, implementation, and utility of programs." There are many other similar definitions and explanations of "what evaluation is" in the literature Our view is that, although there are many definitions of evaluation by many authors, and in fact, each evaluation is slightly different, there are several different steps that are usually followed in any evaluation

Materials evaluation is a procedure that involves measuring the value (or potential value) of a set of learning materials It is “the systematic appraisal of the value of materials

in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the learners using them Evaluation can be pre-used and therefore focused on predictions of potential value It can be whilst-use and therefore focused on awareness and description of what the learners are actually doing whilst the materials are being used And it can also be post-use and therefore focused on evaluation of what happened as a result of using the materials.” (Tomlinson, 2013, p 94)

It involves making judgments about the effect of the materials on the people using them and it tries to measure some or all of the following: 1 The appeal of the materials to the learners 2 The credibility of materials to learners, teachers, and administrators 3 The validity of the materials 4 The reliability of the materials 5 The ability of the materials to interest the learners and the teachers 6 The ability of the materials to motivate the learners

7 The value of the materials in terms of short-term learning (important, for example, for performance on tests and examinations 8 The value of the materials in terms of long-term learning (of both language and communication skills) 9 The learners‟ perceptions of the value of the materials 10 The teachers‟ perceptions of the value of the materials 11 The assistance given to the teachers in terms of preparation, delivery, and assessment 12 The flexibility of the materials 13 The contribution made by the materials to teacher development 14 The match with administrative requirements

2.2.2 Reasons for evaluating materials

Evaluating language teaching and learning materials is really important in successful language teaching because it encourages us to be a reflective practitioner (Schon 1983) and actively reflects on what we need/want from materials, how they are used in practice and to what effect Therefore, there are some typical reasons for this material evaluation

Firstly, material analysis examines exactly what is in the coursebook and its purpose

is “descriptive analytical” (McGrath 2013, p 53), investigating exactly “what they contain, what they ask learners to do and what they say they are trying to achieve” (Tomlinson 2012, p.148) When choosing a coursebook, it is necessary to consider learners‟ needs and wants Among various resource available, it is difficult to decide " which out of number of

possibilities can represent the best solution? There is no absolute good or bad - only degreed

of fitness for the required purpose " (Hutchinson and Waters, 1993) Therefore, evaluating textbooks helps us make good decision in selecting text book

Secondly, teachers can be aware of what they are teaching for each case and apply their teaching experience in their lessons According to a study by Johnson et al (1995) “the more teaching experience an evaluator has (…) the more able he or she is to view a textbook with detachment, and take account of other users‟ needs as well as his or her own” (p.161)

Finally, it forms professional judgments about the book Textbook evaluation would provide judgments on something that needs considering when choosing a textbook, even financial and political investment From that, the most suitable book would be selected for a particular purpose in a particular situation

2.2.3 Types of material evaluation

According to Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004), there are different types of evaluations They differ in purpose, in personnel, in formality and in timing It can be divided into pre-use evaluation, whilst-use evaluation and post-use evaluation In pre-use evaluation, it involves making prediction about potential value of materials for their users It can be context-free, as in review of materials in journals The book is context-influenced if

in a review of draft material for publisher with target users in mind Context-dependent: when a teacher selects coursebook for use with her particular class Making use of checklist criteria has become popular in material evaluations and certain checklists from the literature have been frequently made use of in evaluations Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004) has proposed the following questions for evaluating criteria: Is each question an evaluation question? Does each question only ask one question? Is each question answerable? Is each question free of dogma? Is each question reliable in the sense that other evaluators would interpret it in the same way?

Whilst-use evaluation is objective and reliable than pre-use evaluation, though it has its own limitations It is purely based on observation and so it measures solely what is observable It is limited to measure what is observable and cannot claim to measure what is happened in learner‟s brains It can observe short term memory

Post-evaluation measures the actual effects of the materials on the users It provides data with which reliable decisions regarding the use, adaptation or replacement of the materials can be made So it is believed that post-use evaluation should be administered by the teachers to find out whether the textbooks they use meet the learner and learning needs, and to propose suggestions for additions and deletions to enhance the relevance and utility

of the textbooks for the targeted group of learners; that is, post-use evaluation will help the teachers to use the English textbooks selectively and will suggest to them the kind of supplementary materials that should be used in an English class

The main limitation of post-use evaluation is, it is time consuming and requires expertise to measure post-use effects reliably Still, it should be executed as this painstaking effort on the part of the teachers will be prove to be helpful to the users of the textbooks The main limitation of post-use evaluation is time consuming and requires expertise to measure post-use effects reliably Still, it should be executed as this painstaking effort on the part of the teachers will be proved to be helpful to the users of the textbooks

The different ways of measuring post-use effects of materials mentioned in Tomlinson (2009) are: Tests of what has been „taught‟ by the materials, tests of what the students can do, examinations, interviews, questionnaires, criterion-referenced evaluation by the users, post-course diaries, post-course „shadowing‟ of the learner Post-course reports on the learners by employers, subject tutors, etc

Evaluation model proposed by Ellis (1998)

According to Ellis, evaluations can be divided into macro or micro in scale and can

be carried out for either accountability or developmental purposes or both of these In macro evaluation, he takes various administrative and curricular aspects such as material evaluation, teacher evaluation, learner evaluation as examined aspects, while micro evaluation focuses on the specific aspect of the curriculum or the administration of the program such as evaluation of learning tasks, questioning practices, learners‟ participation etc (Ellis, 1998) The evaluation in language teaching has been primarily concerned with the macro evaluation of programs and projects (Ellis, 1998), and most evaluation studies have been conducted in order to measure the extent to which the objectives of a program have been met, and to identify those aspects that can be improved As the author observes, this kind of analysis is obviously of interest to teachers as they learn whether or not the goals have been accomplished and whether any changes should be made to the program However, most teachers are less likely to be concerned with the evaluation of the program

as a whole, and more concerned with the extent to which a particular textbook, or a teaching activity is effective in their teaching context

Evaluation model proposed by McDonough and Shaw (1993)

McDonough and Shaw (1993) provide an evaluation of course books with two stages:

A brief external evaluation includes criteria that give an overview of the organizational foundation of the coursebook, „as stated explicitly by the author/publisher‟ through the cover, introduction and table of contents Following this is an in-depth internal investigation of the coursebook, „to see how far the materials in question match up to what the author claims as well as to the 6 aims and objectives of a given teaching program.” (McDonough & Shaw 1993: 64) Unique in their coverage of criteria, their 22-point framework is designed both for teachers looking to select a course book, a predictive evaluation, as well as for those teachers looking to identify strengths and weaknesses in course books already used in their working context, a retrospective evaluation

Evaluation model proposed by Hutchinson and Waters (1987)

Hutchinson and Waters (1987) highlighted the four main steps in process of evaluation The first step is defining criteria that answer the question on what bases would the researcher judge materials and which criteria will be more important The second step is subjective analysis that answers the question of what realizations of the criteria did the researcher want in her course The third step is objective analysis that answers the question

of how was the material being evaluated And the final step answers the question of how far did the material match your needs

2.2.4 Criteria for material evaluation

Criteria are what evaluators use to “reach a decision regarding what needs to be evaluated” (Tomlinson,1998:220) Various scholars have chosen ways of helping teachers

in evaluating material by using a checklist which, according to them, have many advantages

as using a checklist is cost-effective, convenient and, explicit Among them, Crunningsworth (1984) has provided a detailed checklist of evaluation which includes items related to grading, recycling, developing language skills, communicative abilities, supporting materials, motivation and the learner, and overall evaluation In addition, according to Ur (1996), some criteria are basic in all book evaluation but some others are particular in specific case For instance, “suitable layout and font size” or “clear print and color” are general criteria, and “colorful illustrations” for young learners and “reading level

is relevant to the topic” is for students of upper level On the other hand, in evaluation

process by Hutchinson and Waters (1987), there is a checklist for book evaluation that includes five criteria: audience, aims, content, methodology and others such as the price range or quantities that the materials are available, etc In the audience part, information such as age, sex, status will be mentioned In the aims part, the aims of the course and the aims of the materials will be compared

3.1 An overview of current English teaching and learning at the English Center

3.1.1 Overview

In the context of renovation and of open door policy, English has becoming a very important second language to be taught in Vietnam It will be a huge advantage for students who have the ability to communicate in English and use it as a license for finding a better job in many hospitality industries and enterprises

Even though English has been introduced nationally as a compulsory subject at all level, parents like to send their children out at some private English centers so that they hope their kids can be better English learners At English centers, all of the classrooms are equipped with modern facilities to support teachers and learners: boards, smart TVs, computers, projectors The class size is adequately small enough for a kid English class which is usually smaller than ten students in one class

It is better for kids to start learning English with a native speaker Therefore, teachers at English center mainly come from English speaking countries such as England, America, Canada and Australia They are responsible for assessing and managing their teaching ability and helping students gain confidence when they practice speaking Beside native speaking teachers, BBEC also hired Vietnamese English teachers They are all graduated from University of Language and International Studies (ULIS) which is a number one school of teaching and learning English and language teaching methodology in Vietnam Most of them have received C1 which is equivalent

to the Common European Framework decided by MOET

Because the center is a private center, it follows the rule of Ministry of Education to choose the materials in advance instead of using textbook as the ones used at school

Friends and Family book has been chosen because its content is appropriate for kids who

have just started learning English However, the differences in learning style and level of learning have resulted in difficulties for students to learn at same speed as well as for teacher to conduct their lessons and increase interest among students

3.1.2 Program of the course

Based on Decision No 3321/QĐ-BGDĐT of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), the pilot program for primary school students is clear that kids at starting level have the ability to understand simply four skills of a language MOET also encourages schools to follow the standard from the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) They get to know the new language about the alphabet, numbers, new words related to familiar subjects such as family, friends, plans, and animals As it is the beginning of learning a new language, the language and structure should be familiar, easy to understand, and attractive to elementary students

To achieve a standard level such as one from the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR), it is necessary for students at the beginning level to follow

a high-quality program Therefore, the objectives for the program at the center is in coincidence with the language and objectives for students required by MOET

From the combination of both the MOET program and special program prepared by the center, the purpose of the course is to provide students with a basic understanding of English, get to know the alphabet, numbers, familiar topics, and train them how to

pronounce correctly It is also aimed at providing students with speaking and literacy skills from an early age The details for purpose of the course at Bing Bang English center is presented as below:

Table 1: Learning Outcome for starter level at Big Bang English Center

No Category Details

1 Aims

The course is made with the target that:

- Build speaking and literacy skills at starting level -Acquire basic pronunciation skills of letters and numbers -Learn fundamental vocabulary and grammar

-Be able to construct basic dialogue and conversation -Widen general vocabulary of common topic through “vocabulary extension”

2 Design

The target of the course in terms of design:

- The coursebook size, weight, and size of visual and text font must be suitable for young learners

- The title, sub-title, logo, page numbers must be suitable and error-free

- The layout must be clear and organized

3 Organization

The target of the course in terms of organization:

- The coursebook must be organized logically and effectively

- Unit and lessons must be presented systematically

4 Content

a New words topic: me and family, my house, color, shapes and sizes, classroom objects, number, feeling, daily activities, days of the week, clothes, season and weather, food, transportation

b Language points: Recognize sounds and letters (a.b,c, and number 14), and then short words, short sentences

1-c Grammar and structures:

-Verb tenses: mainly present simples

- New words learned: mentioned above with different topics

- Structure of each lesson: mainly question and answer type or narrative sentence

d Reading:

- Word recognition

- Matching words to pictures,

- Reading simple sentence patterns

- Reading simple sentences, simple dialogues

e Writing:

- - Learn the left-to-right progression

- Drawing diagonals, curves, and sequences, large, small loops, complex loops, and pathways, wave patterns

- Word tracing (left to right_)

- Completing simple sentence patterns with individual words,

- Word writing, completing gap sentence

- Writing simple full sentences

5 Methodology

Requirements of the course:

- Integrating various tasks and exercises in term of speaking, listening, reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation

- Applying various teaching methods into difference types of learners

- Optimizing teaching- learning activities such as individual work, pair work, group work, and whole class work

The table above is the program for English learners at starting level at the English center in Vinh Phuc The course aims at students who learn English at the beginning and help them to study familiar topics: alphabet, numbers, colors, family members, animals, occupation, adjective related to human feeling After the course, students can:

Listen to some basic conversation

- Recognize and read primitive words related to particular topics

- Write down the alphabet, essential words like numbers, colors, animals, and simple sentences

In sum, besides the mentioned requirements, the purpose of the course is also along with the English textbook evaluation criteria for the school system in Vietnam under circular no 31/2015-BGDDT

3.2 Research question

The study aims at answering the following questions:

“To what extent is the book suitable for meeting requirements of the course in terms

of aims, design and organization, content and methodology for students and teachers at starting level at Big bang center in Vinh Phuc province?”

3.3 Instruments

In order to carry out the research, it is necessary to collect information and data To

do this, document analysis and survey questionnaires were used Document analysis is an important tool for gaining an overview of the book‟s appropriateness if the book is suitable for the course purpose or not Survey questionnaires were used to collect data from teachers‟ point of view After that, all the data would be collected and used as a source to draw conclusions for answering research question which has already been mentioned

in the English textbook evaluation criteria for the school system in Vietnam under circular

no 31/2015-BGDDT

3.3.2 Questionnaires for teachers

Beside document analysis, the research used one more instrument: survey questionnaire for teachers They are divided into groups: prerequisite criteria, design and organization, aims, teaching methodology, and textbook user support For each group of content, teachers will have to give their opinions on each item that had been prepared in advance by researcher

and 25% have more than 5 years of teaching experience Only 10% of them have under one year of teaching experience

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Document analysis

4.1.1 Materials description

Family and Friends Starter was written by Naomi Simmons, published by Oxford University Press This book is the first book of the series Family and Friends book for the student at the primary level The knowledge and skills in this book are at the basic level that

is for learners who have not learned English before Nine topics are divided into nine units

in the book These topics are clear, diversified, and close with students There are six lessons in each unit: words, grammar and song, sounds and letters, numbers, sound and letters, story After every three topics, there is one revision lesson which is called values time! Its aim is to help students to revise what learners have studied in the last three topics

In lesson one: Words, learners have a chance to get to know new words New vocabulary is

introduced to students via three tasks which are listening, point and repeat, listen and

chant and point and say, stick the stickers Students can easily practice with a native

speaker‟s voice on the CDs In the second lesson, Gramma and song, students will listen to

a song and via the songs, they learn grammar By doing so, students can practice structures containing target grammar points via listening to a song There are usually three tasks which are listen, trace and point in lesson three sounds and letters In this lesson, students are closely approached to literacy skills which is tracing single letters In addition, they will have a chance to recognize letters, learn left-to-right progression In lesson four, numbers, students will be introduced with two numbers for each lesson The lesson includes diverse activities including listening, trace and repeat, point and sing, count and trace the correct number Lesson five Sounds and letters are also appealing and motivating for young learners The lesson is introduced with letters in the alphabet and phonics program which makes up one-third of each unit and helps learners improve their reading and speaking more effectively The straightforward and fun approach is supported by phonics cards and posters, giving fun opportunities for introducing, practicing and reinforcing sounds, helping children to speak with confidence The final lesson of a unit is lesson six which is story In this lesson, students listen to a story and they are asked to repeat and play roles to read the dialogues At the same time, they can practice structures containing target grammar points

In Family and Friends starter, the students start studying short easy vowels and consonants Interesting chants and songs are many provided to help students practice and remember the sound easily As mentioned above, the values time lesson after three topics is well integrated In the values lessons, language is extended to everyday English, learners have the opportunity to study other expressions outside of the scope of the topics All four skills reading, speaking, reading, and writing are well integrated and taught to students to help them get to know and study English in a quite pleasant way

4.1.2 Cultural and social factors

In general, the book Family and Friends is along with culture, history, geography, morality, custom and tradition of Vietnam Content given in the book is neutral which suitable for people all around the earth to learn which either mention a particular nations culture or Vietnam It is also obvious that none of gender discrimination, ethnic origins, skin color, age group prejudices are seen in the book For example:

Figure 2: My Family (Naomi Simmons, 2014, p.30)

The above picture is a photo describing a picnic or a gathering of a family including grandparents, parents and their children It shows that there are no age or gender discrimination with a diversity of age, gender

Figure 3: He’s happy (Naomi Simmons, 2014, p.37)

This photo includes a group of people with different color of skin As the textbook is used for students at young ages and is written for using not only in Vietnam, its content focuses

on common knowledge It also does not mention much about the patriotism, nationalism and national sovereignty

4.1.3 Design and Organization

The design of the cover of the textbook can be attractive to learners since its titles, sub title, logo, text fonts, color, page numbers are logic The book is designed systematically where the order of each topic is consistency and convention Scope and sequence of the book are clearly provided at the first page