An investigation into the difficulties that teachers and students face in using new English textbook 8 at lower secondary schools in Nghe An= Những khó khăn mà

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIESFACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---BÙI THỊ THU HÀ AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DIFFICULTIES THAT TEACH

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK 8

AT LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NGHE AN

Những khó khăn mà giáo viên và học sinh gặp phải trong việc sử dụng sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 8

ở trung học cơ sở Nghệ An

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 601410

HANOI - 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

-BÙI THỊ THU HÀ

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DIFFICULTIES THAT TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FACE IN USING

NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK 8

AT LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NGHE AN

Những khó khăn mà giáo viên và học sinh gặp phải trong việc sử dụng sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 8

ở trung học cơ sở Nghệ An

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 601410

Supervisor: Assoc Prof., Dr.Ngô Đình Phương

HANOI – 2010

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

FIGURES

Figure 1: The students‟ self-evaluation on their English level

Figure 2: Students‟ self-reported frequency of preparing their new lesson

Figure 3: Students‟ perception of the difficult level of the new English textbook 8 Figure 4: The most difficult language skill

TABLES

Table 1: Difficulties in listening skill

Table 2: Difficulties in speaking skill

Table 3: Difficult in reading skill

Table 4: Difficulties in writing skill

Table 5: Difficult level of language focus part

Table 6: Students‟ opinion about working in pairs or groups

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

DECLARATION ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATION……… iv

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale 1

2 Aims and significance of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Research questions 2

5 Method of the study 2

6 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Textbook and the role of the textbook in the classroom 4

1.1.1 What is a textbook? 4

1.1.2 The role of the textbook in a language program 4

1.2 CLT and its implementation in the classroom in Vietnam 5

1.2.1 What is CLT? 5

1.2.2 Implementation of CLT in the Vietnamese classroom 6

1.3 Summary 9

CHAPTER TWO: AN OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN VIETNAM AND INTRODUCTION OF THE NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK 8 2.1 An overview of English language teaching in Vietnam 10

2.2 Description of the new English textbook 8 12

2.2.1 Aims of the new English textbook 8 12

2.2.2 Specific objectives of the new English textbook 8 12

2.2.3 Approach to textbook development 13

2.2.4 Underlying teaching approach of the new English textbook 8 14

2.2.5 Overall layout of the new English textbook 8 15

2.2.6 Overall layout of each unit 16

2.3 Summary 17

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions 18

3.2 Subjects of the study 18

3.3 Data collection instruments 18

3.3.1 Questionnaire 18

3.3.2 Interview 19

3.3.3 Classroom observation 19

3.4 Summary 20

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Data analysis 21

4.1.1 Reports of the result collected by means of questionnaire 21

4.1.1.1 The students‟ self-evaluation on their English level 21

4.1.1 2 The students‟ self-reported frequency of preparing their new lesson 22

4.1.1.3 The Students‟ perception of the difficult level of the new English textbook 8……… 23

4.1.1.4 The students‟ difficulties in learning the language skills and language knowledge in the new textbook English 8 23

4.1.1.4.1 The most difficult language skill .24

4.1.1.4.2 The difficulties in listening skill 24

4.1.1.4.3 The difficulties in speaking skill………25

4.1.1.4.4 The difficulties in reading skill……… 26

4.1.1.4.5 The difficulties in writing skill………27

4.1.1.4.6 The difficulties in language focus………27

4.1.1.4.7: Students‟ opinion about working in pairs/groups to learn in class… 28

4.1.2 Reports of the result collected by means of the interview and classroom observation……… 29

4.1.2.1 The interview: The teachers‟ difficulties in using the new English textbook 8………….29

4.1.2.2 The classroom observation: How the textbook is actually taught and learnt in class……….33

4.2 Discussion and some implications to improve the problems that teachers and students face in using the new English textbook 8 .34

4.2.1 Discussion 34

4.2.2 Some implications to improve the problems that teachers and students face in using the new English textbook 8 35

4.2.2.1 Implications for teachers……… 35

4.2.2.2 Implications for students……… 36

4.2.2.3 Implications for policy makers or designers………36

4.3 Summary……… 37

PART III: CONCLUSION 1 Conclusions …38

2 Limitations of the study and Suggestions for further study …39

REFERENCES 40 APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students

Appendix 2: Questions for teachers

Appendix 3: Reading in Unit 6

Appendix 4: Writing in Unit 6, Speaking and Listening in Unit 13

Appendix 5: Language focus in Unit 13

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

English is a basic compulsory subject in the curriculum of secondary education It is expected to help students access knowledge, advanced technology, and a variety of world cultures Moreover, English at secondary school plays an important part in students‟ intellectual development, especially language mentality Therefore, along with other subjects, English helps to contribute to students‟ personal foundation and development

In Vietnam, a new series of textbooks for lower secondary schools ( English 6,7,8,9) was introduced in 2002 by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) with aim to teach students communicative skills in English The four skills ( Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) are promoted in the new textbook ( new method) While teachers and students in Vietnam are still familiar with old method ( only reading and writing) and students come to class with an expectation that teachers say and students listen and write The new textbook presents many difficulties that need to be overcome by teachers and students In reality, Vietnamese teachers show great interest in new methodologies but they still continue teaching

in their own way and using traditional method in their classes because they fell constrained to implement communicative teaching in their classrooms for many reasons ( Le, 2007) Teachers‟ English proficiency is low, classes are large, the furnishing and other facilities are basic and only low levels of support can be provided in terms of materials, libraries and advisory services They often require teachers to spend more time doing additional preparatory work (Le, 2007) Beside that, the majority of students learn English just to pass the examinations and currently the two most important English examinations in Vietnam are the school final examination and the university entrance examination and neither of them has a listening and speaking component Hence, students do not have obvious communicative need All they only need a sufficient and good knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the target language to pass exams

On the other hand, in this series of textbook, the content of each unit is too long so both teachers and students have not enough time to finish them ( An investigation of policy makers

in Ministry of Training and Education, 2006) And some topics such as Festivals, Wonders of

the world are not familiar to students, some listening texts are too long and difficult From that both teachers and students also have some difficulties in using this new textbook

As a teacher of English at lower secondary school, I would like to find out some difficulties that both teachers and students have faced with when using the new textbook English 8 Once the difficulties are found out, solutions to overcome will be suggested

2 Aims and significance of the study

The major aims of the study are:

- to investigate the difficulties that teachers and students are facing with in using the new English textbook 8

- to offer some solutions to overcome the difficulties

The study carried out with the hope to be of some help to improve the effectiveness of English teaching and learning at lower secondary school

3 Scope of the study

This study focused on the difficulties that students and teachers have in using English textbook 8 at three lower secondary schools in Nghe An: Hung Chinh, Le Mao and Hung Binh Thus, it is necessarily limited in scope and its results should not be generalized to other parts of Vietnam

4 Research questions

In order to achieve the aims of the study, my research questions are:

(1) What kinds of difficulties do students have when they learn the new English textbook 8?

(2) What kinds of difficulties do lower secondary school teachers have when they use the new English textbook 8 to teach their students?

(3) What are the solutions to overcome those difficulties?

5 Method of the study

In order to collect sufficient and relevant data for the study, three research techniques were employed:

- Conducting a survey questionnaire to investigate students‟ ideas about their difficulties they have in English learning as well as their attitudes towards the new English textbook 8

- Interviewing teachers to clarify issues raised in their teaching with the new English textbook 8 to their students

- Observing classes to find out how the new English textbook 8 is employed, and to get information of both teacher‟s methods of teaching and students‟ ways of learning in classroom

6 Design of the study

The study consists of three parts: introduction, development and conclusion

Part one provides the overview of the study including the rationale, objectives of the study, scope of the study, research questions, methodology and the structure of the study

Part two is the major part of the thesis It is divided into four chapters Chapter one reviews theoretical background, some concepts on the textbook and its roles in the classroom, CLT and its implementation in the classroom in Vietnam Chapter two introduces the overview of English language teaching in Vietnam and the new English textbook 8 Chapter three presents the methodology of the study Chapter four discuses the findings of the study and some implications are also offered in this chapter

Part three is the conclusion It presents the conclusion and limitations of the study and suggestions for further study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter aims to provide a theoretical base to develop an operational framework for the study It first explains the notion of the textbook and the role of the textbook in the classroom It then moves on to discuss the Communicative language teaching (CLT) which is

a teaching approach intended in the textbook in the school classroom in Vietnam

1.1 Textbook and the role of the textbook in the classroom

1.1.1 What is a textbook?

Textbook is the material that both teachers and students need to use in their teaching and learning, it is a backbone for classroom activity and serves the needs of a large group of teachers According to Penny Ur (1996), a textbook is a book which each teacher and each student has a copy, and which is followed systematically as the basic for a language course

Furthermore, some people define that textbook is “ a book used in schools or colleges for the formal study of a subject” ( www.msdnaa.net/cumculum/glossary.aspx)

While others define “ it is a manual of instruction or standard book in any branch of study They are produced according to the demand of the educational institutions”

( en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/textbook)

1.1.2 The role of the textbook in a language program

Until now, the role of the textbook in language teaching program has been studied by many educators and researchers and each of them has developed their own concepts and ideas

as following:

According to Prabhu (1987), textbooks are fully specified materials available as textbook packages which typically consist of a student‟s book, a teacher‟s book, a workbook and some or all of the following components: a test booklet, audio tapes or compact discs for listening comprehension and pronunciation work, video tapes and guides, grammar book

Textbook materials play a very important part in language teaching and learning

It is true that in many cases teachers and students rely heavily on textbooks, and textbook determine the components and methods of learning, that is, they control the content, methods and procedures of learning Students learn what is presented in the textbook, and the

way the textbook presents materials is the way students learn it For language students, and specially those who have limited or no contact with native speakers, the textbook is one of the main learning and reference tools due to its pervasive use inside and outside the classroom as a guide to proper language use Most of the language that students will acquire during their schooling in English will be from either their teacher or their textbook Theoretically, the textbook will influence the class and the learning process Therefore, in many cases, materials are the center of instruction and one of the most important influences on what goes on in the classroom.( Kitao, 1997)

Ur (1996) said that textbook provides framework to help teachers and learners know where they are going and what is coming next, so that there is a sense of structure and progress

Richards ( 2001, p12) defines: “ Textbook is an important material is most language programs In some situations, textbook may serve primarily to supplement the teachers instruction or provide the major source of contact they have with the language for learners apart from input provided by the teacher In other situations , textbook may also serve as a form of teacher training I provided ideas on how to plan and teach lessons as well as formats that teachers can use”

In short, we cannot deny the important roles of textbook in teaching and learning English because it provides framework and ideas so as to both teachers and students know how to plan and teach as well as learn

1.2 CLT and its implementation in the classroom in Vietnam

According to Richards and Rodgers (2001) CLT means little more than an integration

of grammatical and functional teaching Sharing the same view with them, Littlewood (1981:1) affirms that CLT “pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects

As for Bock (2000 ) CLT is tailored to get at meaning and learners negotiate meaning

in class Meaning is considered as what is communicated The negotiation of meaning can be implicated through pair work, group work in problem- solving tasks

To sum up, CLT has been seen as a new method in English speaking learning and people can communicate in real contexts or situations when they use this new method in class

1.2.2 Implementation of CLT in the Vietnamese classroom

In Vietnam, although CLT has been encouraged in schools, the use CLT is seen as problematic Bock,G (2000) affirms, CLT is not commonly practiced in Vietnam because there are difficulties of implementing communicative language teaching in EFL environments And no one can deny the special role the communicative approach plays in language teaching and learning However, to appreciate its value and to make it work effectively in a certain context are not the same

In reality, there are a lot of constraints in using the CLT in the school classrooms in Vietnam regarding to context, culture, history, teaching and learning style, learners‟ needs and classroom issues

- Culture and history:

Changing textbook must depend on a lot of things such as users, contexts and especially culture CLT originates from the context of Western culture where individualism and competition are typical, there must be a clash in this new context and he said “ Everyone

talk at the same time” But Western culture is quite different from Vietnamese culture where collectivism dominates the learning and teaching environment, students often find it is shameful to say something wrong and they even cannot interrupt their teachers while they are speaking Furthermore, the educational system in Vietnam is characterized as a closed system and knowledge-centered The textbook, the syllabus and the teacher determine the knowledge

to be required So Le (2007) indicated that central to pedagogical practices in Vietnam is the traditional view of the teacher-student relationship, and the teacher is only a provider of knowledge and trainer of behavior Vietnamese learners often come to class with an expectation that teachers will explain the vocabulary and pieces of grammar rules and style point Clearly, it is difficult to apply the CLT in schools in Vietnam successfully because we know that a language always exists in close relation to its socio-cultural context

- Learning and teaching style:

To Vietnamese students , the speaking and listening time is difficult time, they do not like to express their ideas and only want to listen to their teacher and repeat what they listen Hence, teachers must spend a lot of time preparing a lesson and making their students able to speak and listen easier The students had to memorize those sayings to recite them when they were asked to, and he also said that the major method of learning in Vietnam is still memorizing and the transfer of knowledge is in one direction from the teacher to student Chung (2000, p.203) assumes: “ Many Vietnamese spent hours in English classes writing words, memorizing the spelling of these words, and studying English grammar Shifting from

a grammar-based approach to a more communicative approach, they experience difficulties in keeping up” Talking about Vietnamese learning style, much of students‟ learning is done in this passive, receptive mode The teacher‟s role is mainly offering further explanations to reinforce and test what they have learnt On the other hand, teachers and students are not confident about their English speaking ability because they only learn grammar points and rules when they learn a language and they always try “to push the message to match the structure” (Ellis, 1994 p 37 ) when they speak in English Therefore, they cannot speak English fluently and comfortably Actually, affected by traditional teaching and learning habit, Vietnamese teachers as well as students tend to pay more attention to English grammar

Chung ( 2000, p 41 ) reported that: “ Many teachers of English admit that, in spite of making some recent improvements in methodology, they do not strictly apply new methods to their teaching because their teaching goal is to help their students pass the final examinations according to the norms that they are set to achieve, not to help the students practice the language skills according to the general curriculum goal”

so students often respond collectively Hence, Being so familiar with the about teaching methodology and concept of education, when a Vietnamese students encounters a new teaching method and a new learning environment, he hells embarrassed, confused and certainly faces many difficulties

- Learners‟ needs:

In Vietnam learners‟ needs is quite different They do not like to communicate but they only notice to grammar or how to do exercises to pass the national examinations According to Canale and Swain (1980, p.27) argue that “a communication must be based on and respond to the learner‟s communicative needs” and they also said the requirement to provide learners with “the opportunity to take part in meaningful communication interaction with highly competent speakers of the language situations” is unrealistic and impracticable in Vietnamese settings Meanwhile most of the students learn English to pass the national examinations; they

do not have the competence needs in communicating and only put weight to English grammar

On the other hand, teachers‟ coming to class must teach attitude or personalities to students The Vietnamese teachers‟ two major responsibilities are to help to develop students‟ personalities and to provide them knowledge This means teachers are center, while CLT is a

centered learner method In fact, CLT plays an important role in teaching English but it is no universal method In fact, using the implementation of CLT in Vietnam as a case study and of course, both students and teachers have many constraints in using this method

- Classroom issues:

Practically, now Vietnamese teachers of English are facing various difficulties in teaching English to large classes because of the variety of learners‟ levels Moreover, the variety of learners in the classroom requires plenty of efforts from the teachers With regard to teaching efficiency in classes with mixed abilities, a teacher of English is required not only widened knowledge of English but also the ability of organizing, managing the classroom to help students learn better For example: checking their understanding, designing appropriate texts and more importantly organizing different in some features such as learning styles, motivation to study English, attitudes towards English, learning strategies and especially learning ability Therefore, these multilevel classes usually cause enormous challenges for effective learning and teaching English Besides, teachers do not know how to correct mistakes of all learners If they correct learners‟ mistakes individually, they have not enough time Especially when learners work in pairs or groups, teachers cannot go around all of groups at the same time to detect learners „mistakes In brief, large classes with mixed abilities cause problems not only for teachers but also for learners and their learning process

In conclusion, CLT is a new method in learning and teaching English, but it is not suitable for using in Vietnam because there are difficulties concerning to culture, learning and teaching styles, learners‟ needs in using this method

1.3 Summary

In short, the quality of learning and teaching English at school in Vietnam today needs

to be enhanced, and textbook plays an important part in the learning and teaching process However, as I mentioned above, there are a lot of constraints in using the current textbook Therefore, an investigation into the difficulties that teachers and students face is imperative as

it can help them achieve better outcomes in their teaching and learning English

2.1 An overview of English language teaching in Vietnam

With the context of economic renovation in Vietnam in the past two decades, English has become the first foreign language In recent years, Vietnam has seen an explosion in the demand for English with the move to a market economy by the Vietnamese government and growth of international business as well as an increasing number of foreign tourists, knowledge of English has become a passport to have better paid job not only for the tourism and hospitality industries but also in many other companies In fact, English has been considered an essential tool which helps Vietnam open to the countries in the region and to the world and encourage a mutual understanding between the different countries

Nowadays, in Vietnam, learning English also becomes popular English is taught in secondary schools, universities and evening classes cross the country There are now more teachers and learners of English in Vietnam than of any other subjects Although schools offer either English and French, many students opt for English due to employment, and also due to the fact that English is “in fashion” among young people Indeed, awareness of the need to increase the quality of English language education has been widespread in Vietnam Therefore, English is taught in lower secondary schools English textbook 8 has been used to teach the students who have learnt English for at least 2 years (grade 6,7) because some students have learnt English for more than two years at primary schools Students learn English for three forty-five minute periods a week, except in grade 9 when they learn for 2 periods a week In addition, most of the students are often not a good at English, or they spend only a little time learning it For them, English is simply an obligatory subject They learn it mainly for marks, just to pass the tests Therefore, they seem to be likely passive in learning They depend much on the textbook and teachers‟ method of delivery

The large number of students in English class, often more than 40 students in each one, poorly equipped only with blackboard and desks for 4 or 5 students sharing one are really challenging for both teachers and students

For long time, the process of teaching and learning a foreign language at lower secondary school has been mainly dominated by the grammar-translation approach, the habit

of teaching and learning English mainly for doing the tests, not for communication, that is because all the tests are written one Teachers typically provide learners with a large amount

of academic language knowledge, make light of language practice based on given linguistic data, whereas learners take notes or acquire language passively As a result, most students could do the tests quite well, but they hardly say a sentence in English It is the fact that both teachers and students seem to be very lazy to speak English in class In many cases, in class English, teachers and students both talk in Vietnamese

A recent survey of the Ministry of Education and Training, most of foreign language teachers spend most of time on presenting, explaining grammar rules Learners take notes, memorize, acquire knowledge passively and have little chance for developing language skills During lesson, teachers only teach language data in the textbook, do not exploit or teach without reference to other teaching material resources Learners listen to their teacher and repeat passively and give a mechanical response

According to the recent research of foreign organization, the professional skills of English teachers are limited A lot of teachers face difficulties in pronunciation and expressing themselves in the target language Most of teachers do not have a thorough grasp of the content of the curriculum and the new textbook; it results in confusion in teaching methods Teachers are poorly equipped with audiovisual teaching aids (tapes, videos…) In fact, it‟s difficult to break teachers‟ habit of not using audiovisual aids, thus they can not bring into play the teaching facilities even their school equips language teachers with cassettes and language laboratory Moreover, most of Nghe An English teachers graduated from Junior Teacher‟s Training College, a three- year college where they were trained mainly in English

A majority of them are young and novice teachers Some teachers were trained to be Russian

teachers, because of general change of our country, they attend some in-service training courses in some Universities

In order to meet the need of learning English in lower secondary schools, the new English textbook 8 is claimed to have a great improvement in term of methodology, content and presentation It is expected that the new textbook will contribute to better quality of learning and teaching English at Vietnamese lower secondary school

2.2 Description of the new English textbook 8

The new English textbook 8 is considered as a renovation in teaching and learning English in lower secondary school It is designed to meet the demand of learners as well as of the society

2.2.1 Aims of the new English textbook 8

The aims of English textbook at lower secondary school is:

- To help students formulate and develop a fundamental and systematic knowledge of English, then they can use English as a means of communication at the basic level

- To develop students‟ communicative skills in the target language including listening, speaking, reading and writing skills

- To equip students with a scholastic knowledge of linguistic and of the target culture and literature

- To create a communicative environment or setting for learners to acquire English by using it thorough activities in class

- To provide teachers with sufficient activities to develop their communicative competence

- To enrich students‟ general understanding of and positive attitudes towards language, people and cultures of some English speaking countries, thus enrich the students‟ knowledge and their pride of their own culture and language

2.2.2 Specific objectives of the new English textbook 8

Having learnt the English 8 students will be able to use their English language

knowledge within the book to:

- Listen and understand the main idea of short dialogue in the classroom, short

readings in the textbook topics

- Speak the English expression content simple daily communication concerning the content themes and language learning

- Read the content of texts, short paragraphs (about 120-150 words)

- Write simple sentences and short paragraphs under the themes in school textbooks under the guidance and model suggestion

In general, the objectives of the textbook meet the needs of teachers and students They are realistic, relevant and appropriate to the context of teaching and learning in lower

secondary school in Vietnam; aligned with the world trends of English language teaching nowadays Learners are provides with opportunities to communicate in the target language in and outside classroom

2.2.3 Approach to textbook development

A theme-based approach is used in the new English textbook for grade 8 This is so different from a structural approach to the development of the old textbook where structures were selected, graded and presented To do these well, students have to practice and to remember by doing a lot of meaningless exercises, learning by heart, and translating the text The themes provide a context in which language is used and the students can be able to use appropriate language structures in different situations or different contexts of communication

The new textbook is designed to foster a more communicative approach and centered learning, and emphasis on oral skills, and language for real-life communication This intention is explicitly presented in the objectives, which have been mentioned above

learner-The theme and vocabulary are recycled in guided group discussions before students listen to a lecture or tape A writing task taking the form of narrative, letter or reports concludes the theme-based activities Therefore, all four major language skills-listening, speaking, reading and writing, together with note-taking analytical and interpretive skills, ect can be practiced Moreover, the different proficiency levels is mitigated by emphasizing group work as the operating strategy for theme-based work By dividing students deliberately into mixed ability groups, their varying language skills are pooled while their academic and linguistic abilities are shared in performing the various tasks

The modern method of teaching in the new textbook innovate teachers‟ teaching method as well as formulate and develop learners‟ learning methods It also provides a good source of motivation for the students to learn the target language Instead of being the dominating authority in the classroom, the teacher facilitates the communicative process among all the learners and between the students and the various tasks, giving guidance and advice when necessary Furthermore, teacher acts as an independent participant within the learning-teaching group, an organizer of resources and a resource; a guide and manager of activities, a researcher and learner, with much to contribute in terms of appropriate knowledge, abilities, and actual and observed experience in the nature of learning

2.2.4 Underlying teaching approach of the new English textbook 8

Learner-centered approach and communicative approach are two popular approaches

in pedagogic and in language teaching methodology, in which task-based teaching is the main method of teaching in the whole textbook According to Michael, task-based teaching offers the opportunity for “natural” learning inside the classroom emphasizes meaning over form but can also cater for learning form It is compatible with a learner-centered educational philosophy and it can be used alongside a more traditional approach In Jane Willis‟ flexible model for task-based approach, learners begin by carrying out a communicative task, without specific focus on form After they have done the task, they report and discuss how they accomplished this Only at the end there is a specific focus on features of language form Some of proponents of task-based approach to language teaching and learning present it as a logical development of communicative language teaching since it draws on several principles that formed part of the communicative language teaching movement

The learner-centered approach considered learners as the center of the learning process, learning is a process of interaction between students with textbooks, students with teachers and their partners This promotes students‟ ability, positiveness, activeness and creativity It is directed to communicative competence through skills Communicative competence is the means of achieving communicative goal The role of the teacher here is not transmit knowledge only but also to instruct, organize, or help students to interact with each

teaching-other while they are learning the language knowledge, practicing communicative skills in the target language

In the communicative approach , formulating and developing students‟ communicative skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are considered as a ultimate goal of language teaching and learning process Other language items such as vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar rules are given to students as the means, the conditions to promote the development communicative skills

Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication In other words, the goal of communicative language approaches is to create a realistic context for language acquisition in the classroom The teachers prepare a situation that learners are likely to encounter in real life The focus of this method is on functional language usage and the ability to learners to express their own ideas, feelings, attitudes, desires and needs Students usually work in small groups on communication activities, during which they receive practice in negotiating meaning

Pair and group work create enough confidence for even weak students to join in class discussions Working in groups to achieve their goals gives Vietnamese learners a supportive relationship while striving for the target language competence

In case of English teachers in Vietnam, selecting and applying an appropriate teaching method is not an easy task Awareness of new concepts in the field of language teaching and learning increases the pressure of enhancing their teaching skills while shouldering their enormous workload

2.2.5 Overall layout of the new English textbook 8

English 8 is continuously designed based on English 6 and English 7 It continues improving the English level of students by combining practice and skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) with higher level and large through units

The new English textbook –English 8 is theme-based designed with 16 units, equivalent to 16 topics divided into 6 themes: You and me, Education, Community, Health, Recreation, The World around us Within the framework of each unit, the language input is respectively introduced with 7 sections respectively: Getting started, Listen and read, Speak,

Listen, Read, Write and Language focus 7 sections are designed to be taught in 5 or 6 periods These sections are themes-based closely related to each other as follow to ensure a smooth transition from one to another

2.2.6 Overall layout of each unit

In the new English textbook 8, each unit includes the following parts:

- Getting started: develop vocabulary, grammar points

- Listen and read: includes dialogues to introduce grammar points, vocabulary or

communicative functions in daily life and theme of each unit In this part, there are some questions or exercises aiming to check students‟ comprehension reading level and help students more notice to the content of dialogues

- Speak: helps students practice their speaking skill and have chance to use new structure,

vocabulary and communicate in English

- Listen: helps students practice their listening skill and then get information to serve other

purposes in their lives

- Read: includes some texts with aiming to expand content of theme as well as structure,

vocabulary and to develop their reading skill

- Write: includes some writing tasks to help students review what they have learnt and know

more some forms about the way to write a letter, an invitation…

- Language focus: includes some grammar exercises helping students review some structure

points of each unit

Going with this textbook, there are two cassette tapes Besides that, there are Teachers‟ book and Exercises‟ book

However, with this structure, there are some problems in teaching and learning process First, teachers and students must have a lot of time to finish all parts: Getting started, Listen and read, Speak, Listen, Read, Write and Language focus, while, according to program that is allocated by the Minister of Education and Training, 2007, there are 5 periods to teach

or learn in a unit in school This is a problem for teachers and learners Second, There are always Speaking part and Listening part in a period, but teachers and learners seem not concerned these two parts because in all examinations, speaking and listening skills are not

tested Third, there are too many new words in the reading part so students can not understand the text or the dialogue well Last, correcting exercises in the workbook in classroom is very necessary because teachers can check students‟ understanding of what they have learnt Meanwhile, in reality, teachers and students have not enough time to do this

2.3 Summary

In this chapter, I have already given general description of the new English textbook 8 and the school context where the textbook is implemented The new textbook is an innovation

in teaching English at the lower secondary school given its great emphasis on the development

of students ability to use English for communicative purpose However, it is argued that in the same teaching conditions and the habits of teaching and learning English at the lower secondary school, both teachers and students would have to face some difficulties in using it

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents a description of the methodology employed in the study

3.1 Research questions

In order to achieve the aims of the study, my research questions are:

(1) What kinds of difficulties do students have when they learn the new English textbook 8?

(2) What kinds of difficulties do lower secondary school teachers have when they use the new English textbook 8 to teach their students?

(3) What are the solutions to overcome those difficulties?

3.2 Subjects of the study

Three lower secondary schools in Nghe An: Hung Chinh, Le Mao and Hung Binh were chosen for this study In order to achieve the aims of the thesis and answer the above research questions the subjects of the study include: a group of 6 teachers of English teaching the new English textbook 8 at the lower secondary schools in Nghe An They are 4 females and 2 males, ranging from 28 to 50 years old Their English teaching experience at lower secondary schools ranged from 6 to 25 years They attended a training workshop introducing the new textbook by the English language specialists of the Nghe An Office of Education and Training

120 students at these three schools are also the subjects of the study All of them have already learnt English 6 and English 7 They are in suburban and urban areas

3.3 Data collection instruments

Questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations are data collection instruments

Of these techniques, a survey questionnaire was used to collect data that related to students‟ difficulties and attitudes towards the new textbook Interviews were employed to get information from the teachers Classroom observation assists the researcher to understand accurately the current teaching situations and to provide more useful information for the study

3.3.1 Survey Questionnaire

One of the instruments which is often used to collect data in social sciences is the survey questionnaire Many significant advantages of using questionnaires are indicated by

many researchers, such as less pressure on informants, not under pressure of interview bias and analysis of answers is straightforward

The questionnaire was designed in order to find out the prominent difficulties students face with as well as some obstacles that affect the effectiveness of the learning and teaching process It consists of 10 questions and was delivered to 120 students ( Appendix 1) All the questions were in Vietnamese They focused on the students‟ perceptions of their proficiency, the level of difficulty of the new textbook, their time for self study and difficulties in learning

The 6 lower secondary school English teachers were interviewed in this study They were asked to give opinions on the new textbook English 8, the difficulties facing them and their suggested solutions to their problems ( Appendix 2) Each interview lasted between 10 to

15 minutes All interview data were analyzed interpretatively

3.3.3 Classroom observation

Observations are most effective when approached as collaboration meant to benefit all involved For the one being observed, an observation can provide useful feedback that might not be revealed by other assessment methods In addition, the one observing can learn from seeing a fellow teacher in action

Together with the survey questionnaire and interview, classroom observation is also employed in order to clarify and test the validity of information in teaching and learning the new English textbook in terms and challenges that the teachers and students are coping with Classroom observation is importantly given to the purpose of this study, it help researcher have a look of how English classes were really going on by using the textbook The

observation was carried out in 4 English classes of 3 teachers at lower secondary schools in Nghe An

3.4 Summary

In this chapter, I presented the design for the study, the research questions, subjects of

the study and the rationale of using the instruments for data collection The next chapter analyses various types of data collected and explanations are made with an attempt to answer the research questions

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the findings and the discussion of the research The finding includes the data from questionnaires for students, interviews for teacher and class observations

4.1 Data analysis

4.1.1 Reports of the result collected by mean of questionnaire

4.1.1.1 The students’ self evaluation on their English level

The new English textbook 8 is the continuation of the new series textbooks for students from grade 6 to 7 All students have already learnt English at least two years before learning English 8

Figure 1: Students’ self evaluation of their English proficiency

When being asked to grade how good you were at English, only 10% of the students think they are good or excellent, 40% of them are medium Half of them graded themselves below medium: 32% of them are bad and 18% are very bad in English It can be explained that students do not have to take the graduation examination at lower secondary school Moreover, for a long time, English is not needed for high school entrance exams Therefore, English might not be focused, even be ignored by both teachers and students This is one of the big problems for the English teachers It matches with the teachers‟ ideas Most of the teachers

interviewed complain that their students are very bad at English, and they have to reteach what their students have already learnt to help them understand the current lessons, so they always lack of time in running the lesson

4.1.1.2 Students’ self-reported frequency of preparing their new lesson

Figure 2: Students’ self-reported frequency of preparing their new lesson

As can be seen from the chart, only 10% of the students always prepare lesson before class 15% of them usually do, 35% of them sometimes The students rarely or never prepare lesson occupy the highest percentage, 40% It seems to be very hard for students to get rid of the bad habit, not preparing lesson at home This is also a challenge for both students and teachers to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning English at lower secondary school Learning a language needs continually practicing, therefore, students only learn English at school is not enough to have a good achievement The students‟ self study always plays a very important part in effectiveness of their learning process