An evaluation of the textbook “english id 1” used at tri duc high school

HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE HCMC, April 6 th 2018 MASTER’S THESIS TASK REPORT Student name: PHAM VAN MANH Sex : Male Date of birth: 18/05/1990 Place of birth

AN EVALUATION OF THE TEXTBOOK

“ENGLISH ID 1” USED AT TRI DUC HIGH SCHOOL

Submitted to the Faculty of English Language

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Language

AN EVALUATION OF THE TEXTBOOK

“ENGLISH ID 1” USED AT TRI DUC HIGH SCHOOL

Submitted to the Faculty of English Language

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Language

Chair

CERTIFICATION OF THESIS DEFENSE

THE THESIS WAS WRITTEN AT HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Academic supervisor name : Dr LE VAN TUYEN

The thesis defense session was conducted at Hochiminh City University

of Technology (HUTECH) on April, 6th 2018

The Board of Examiners for the Master’s Thesis Defense

TT

On behalf of the Board of Examiners

HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE

HCMC, April 6 th 2018

MASTER’S THESIS TASK REPORT

Student name: PHAM VAN MANH Sex : Male

Date of birth: 18/05/1990 Place of birth : NINH BINH Major: English Language Student code: 1641900017

I- Thesis title: AN EVALUATION OF THE TEXTBOOK “ENGLISH ID 1”

USED AT TRI DUC HIGH SCHOOL

II- Task description and contents:

- Students' and teachers’ attitudes and perceptions towards the textbook English ID 1

- The extent the teachers use and exploit the textbook in the classroom

Through the investigation, strengths and weaknesses of the textbook itself as well as of the way it is exploited are elucidated and recommendations are made for both designers and teachers

III- Starting date: 01/08/2017

IV- Completing date : 17/03/2018

V- Academic supervisor: Dr LE VAN TUYEN

SUPERVISOR FACULTY DEAN

LE VAN TUYEN

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the Master’s thesis submitted today entitled:

AN EVALUATION OF THE TEXTBOOK

“ENGLISH ID 1” USED AT TRI DUC HIGH SCHOOL

In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Ho Chi Minh City, March/ 2018

PHAM VAN MANH

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, PHAM VAN MANH, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses

Ho Chi Minh City, March 2018

Signature ………

PHAM VAN MANH

Next, I am also really grateful to all lecturers for their helpful instruction during the Master of Art course as well as the staff of Graduate Studies at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology for their kind assistance

My honest thanks go to Ms Nguyen Thi Phung, Vice-principal of Tri Duc High School for her support and all the colleagues who are the English teachers at Tri Duc High School, as well as students at Tri Duc High School, for their contribution, enthusiastic engagement in the survey for questionnaires and interviews

I would like to thank my classmates who provided me a number of sincere advices and shared with me a lot of knowledge and learning experience during the course Without their help, I think I could have never been completed the courses Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family for their spiritual as well as material supports, especially, my wife who has always supported and encouraged me to overcome all the difficulties in completing this study

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

ABSTRACT iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Problem statement 5

1.3 Thesis statement 6

1.4 Purpose of the study 6

1.5 Scope of the study 7

1.6 Significance of the study 7

1.7 Organization of the thesis 7

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 9

2.1 Introduction 9

2.2 Theoretical Foundation 9

2.2.1 Materials and Textbooks 9

2.2.1.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of the textbook and its roles in the classroom 14

2.2.2 Textbooks Evaluation 19

2.3 Some review of previous studies 30

2.3.1 Studies on textbook evaluation in Vietnam 31

2.3.2 Studies on textbook evaluation at overseas 33

2.4 Summary 39

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 40

3.1 Introduction 40

3.2 Research site 40

3.3 Participants of the study 41

3.3.1 Students 41

3.3.2 Teachers 43

3.4 Description of the textbook 44

3.5 Research Method 47

3.6 Research instruments 49

3.6.1 Questionnaire 49

3.6.2 Interviews 53

3.6.3 Classroom Observation 54

3.7 Data Collection 55

3.7.1 Procedure of conducting questionaires 56

3.7.2 Procedure of conducting interviews 57

3.7.3 Procedure of conducting classroom observation 58

3.8 Data analyses 58

3.9 Summary 60

4.1 Introduction 61

4.2 The Results of the study 61

4.2.1 Research Question 1: Students and Teachers’ perceptions towards the textbook “English ID 1” 61

4.2.2 Research question 2: The extent teachers use and exploit the textbook in the classroom 76

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 87

5.1 Summary of the results 87

5.1.1 Students and teachers’ perceptions towards the textbook English ID 1 87

5.1.2 The extent the teachers used the textbook in the classroom 89

5.2 Implications of the research 89

5.3 Limitation 90

5.4 Recommendations 90

5.4.1 For the curriculum managers 90

5.4.3 For EFL Teachers 91

5.4.1For the students 92

5.4.4 Recommendations for further research 92

REFERENCES 93 APPENDIXES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Demographic Profile of Students 41

Table 3.2: Demographic Profile of Teachers 43

Table 3.3: Language Map of Unit 1 46

Table 3.4: Reliability analysis of scales 52

Table 3.5: Coding for Classroom Observations 55

Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics for the Overall Assessments 62

Table 4.2 Descriptive Statistics for the Practical Consideration 64

Table 4.3 Descriptive Statistics for the Language Skills 66

Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics for Subject and Content 71

Table 4.5 Descriptive Statistics for the Organization 73

Table 4.6: Descriptive Statistics for the Culture 74

Table 4.7: Number of Units and Time distribution for each semester 77

Table 4.8: Content Division and Time Allocation 79

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ELT: English Language Teaching

MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

ESL: English as a Second Language

TDHS: Tri Duc High School

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

There is no doubt that English has been the international language all over the world and it is playing an important role in international relationships For some countries, English language education has become a major attention of their policy makers However, educational policy of these governments has influenced their communities in different ways that are often controversial (Khajavi & Abbasian, 2011) Chang (2006) asserts that English has been the popular foreign language in the curriculum of educational institutions and in foreign language learning and teaching contexts There is no doubt that many countries are attempting to support English education in order to engage actively in international activities Therefore, the finding the ways which help in teaching English and culture in a balanced manner seems unavoidable

The textbook is an important element as well as the main source of input of EFL curriculum in non-English speaking contexts It also provides the content of the curriculum regarding language knowledge, skills, and culture It not only supports teachers in their instruction and teaching but also helps both teachers and students accomplish their own teaching and learning objectives Besides, the textbooks also influence teachers seriously, because they provide patterns and guidelines to teachers so that they could teach in a better way and help the students for better learning Although recent technological innovations have helped much for education to teach in new ways and to reach new goals, the published textbooks are still the most commonly used source material for most instructional situations Hence, many new commercial textbooks are regularly published to serve for the changing focuses of instruction and the changing language learners’ needs in language learning and teaching process That is the reason why it is important to

decide on which language textbooks are most useful for both students and teachers

in the particular situation

Nowadays, a number of English teaching materials on the market have been growing increasingly, making the choice of a good textbook seem to be a challenging task Tomlinson (2003) states that the research about materials development did not have enough attention until the 1990s when textbooks on this subject started to be published and materials or textbooks evaluation has become a new trend in the process of language learning and teaching Textbook evaluation is the significant importance because it leads to a much better understanding of the nature of particular learning and teaching contexts Furthermore, the analysis and evaluation of what is happening in the learning and teaching situation are going to provide the teachers with more accurate information about the nature of the exploited textbooks The textbook evaluation of some teachers is more important than designing courses because their schools usually force them to teach from a textbook which was designed for their own teaching purposes When a textbook has been selected and purchased, then there is the responsibility to exploit it even if it is not highly suitable for a particular purpose or situation Thus, it is worth spending much time considering the quality of the textbook in a systematic way Textbooks are an essential element in learning and teaching process because they partly describe what is taught, what is ordered as well as what learners study Therefore, producing a well-designed and marketable textbook and selecting an appropriate textbook and using it effectively are of vital importance and difficult challenges Vietnamese people have learned English for a long time and teaching EFL has been becoming more and more popular All of the public or private schools in Vietnam offer compulsory English courses French, Chinese, Japanese and so on are also taught at most schools, but English has obtained a privileged status in the education system in the past decades In Vietnamese high schools, textbooks are a compulsory part of English teaching and learning For public and private high schools, they both have used the standard textbooks published by Ministry of

Education and Training (MOET) However, in addition to the use of those textbooks, they usually select more suitable textbooks for their own students to help them more and more developing in English language learning With the numerous numbers of textbooks today, the decision to choose a textbook cannot be taken lightly and it is whether acceptable or not is a difficult question In Vietnamese education, English language is now a compulsory subject in the curriculum for general education from grades 6 to 12 and optional one for primary school education from grades 3 to 5 It means that the presence of a textbook is necessary

to support the learning and teaching process In fact, there have been many textbooks published to fulfill the need of English textbook but there are not any completely perfect textbooks or set of materials Therefore, it is the important task

of the English teachers and researchers to choose a textbook that is appropriate for learners Cunningsworth (1995) said there were not any coursebook designed for a general market meet the learners’ needs ideally Thus, when the selection of a new textbook is important in conducting an evaluation to ensure that it is suitable and certain criteria must be considered in the evaluation process Hence, every school has different objectives and students have different backgrounds, abilities and needs

so the criteria of textbooks will vary Tomlinson (1996) also suggests that material evaluation process can be seen as the way to develop our language understanding which will contribute to both acquisition theory and pedagogic practices

The selection of the textbook will base on the curriculum’s overall orientation of every school but it is important to focus on approaches and syllabuses, which are understood as ways of defining what the students really need

to learn and syllabuses cover all instructional objectives, techniques, and exercises, language items as well as the four skills (Brown, 1995) Moreover, Cunningsworth (1995) mentions that all of the textbooks reflect the purposes, methods and values

of the curriculum, so it is very important that the textbook must be selected carefully Its aim should be found out in order to meet the needs and interests of the students to the highest level Additionally, when selecting a textbook, policy-

makers, managers or teachers should look over some elements such as context, beliefs about how people learn languages, students’ needs and interests, and student diversity (Graves, 2000; Butcher et al., 2006) Furthermore, the textbooks should be consistent with the studying level, have the expectations on students clearly, help students engage their learning to their own knowledge or experience, provide opportunity for students to review in their learning and allow students to attend in meaningful interaction with one another for communicative purposes (Wajnryb, 1995; Cunningsworth, 1995)

Habtoor (2012) states that some textbooks are published annually in the world and a number of them are designed mainly for ESL and EFL situations This result

is very different from among teachers, especially the teachers having little or no teaching experience in language teaching; even experienced teachers also might find it a challenging task to select a textbook for their own groups Therefore, selection and textbook evaluation are important and considered to be an essential problem for teachers and curriculum developers in language teaching contexts This

is the major reason why they have to tend to evaluate textbooks carefully In fact, there are many reasons for evaluating textbooks Sheldon (1988) believes that textbooks should be evaluated for two main reasons First, it will help the teacher or curriculum managers in making decisions on selecting the appropriate textbook Second, it would consider the pros and cons of a textbook which familiarizes the teacher with its probable strengths and weaknesses Moreover, another reason as Cunningsworth (1995) highlighted is to identify particular strengths and weaknesses

in textbooks already in use As a result, weak points will be improved through the using and adapting the supplementary materials from other textbooks Besides, he also emphasizes that textbook evaluation can also be a valuable constituent of teacher training programs with the purpose of making teachers have awareness of important features in looking for in textbooks when they familiarize with plenty of published language instruction textbooks Ellis (1997) also says that textbook evaluation would help teachers much in their skills development as well as

professional growth Moreover, he maintains that textbook evaluation helps teachers move beyond impressionistic assessments and it helps them to acquire useful, accurate, systematic, and contextual insights into the overall nature of the textbook and material Therefore, Litz (2005) concludes that textbook evaluation can seem as

a particularly meaningful mean of conducting action research as well as a form of professional empowerment and improvement

1.2 Problem statement

Nowadays, English education starts in kindergarten and continues to university in Vietnam From kindergarten to secondary school the students learn reading, writing, listening and the basic grammatical rules of speaking They learn more advanced English at the high school, including more sophisticated grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary and other skills Therefore, all high schools usually choose to learn with more other materials to help their students get the knowledge better and better This leads to the appearance of the more published textbooks which have not been evaluated about content and quality carefully yet to meet these needs

In English language teaching context in Vietnam, the field of textbook evaluation so far has some limitations while the publishing of ELT materials is growing dramatically Firstly, At TDHS, the policy-makers have been using English

ID series for the courses “English for Communication” and they hope to help students improve their English skills However, till now, there are not any evaluation conducted to examine the strong and weak points of English ID series or

to acquire teachers and learners’ perspectives and attitudes toward the textbooks since they are published and applied into some Vietnamese high schools and some foreign language centers Secondly, as an English teacher at TDHS for 2 years, the researcher recognized that there are many existing problems in using the English ID series from teachers’ and students’ perceptions Some students also stated that although they could reach the positive results of the course, they still could not apply linguistic knowledge and skills studied in real life, as well as communicating

on the daily activities Thus, it is necessary to get teachers and students to raise their voice about these issues In order to fill the gap in this field, the researcher conducted this study to explore teachers’ and students’ attitudes and perceptions towards the English ID textbook as well as examining how the appropriateness of the textbook meet the needs of students The researcher expected that through this study will provide valuable insights for English language curriculum designers, teachers and students in the context and will make a small contribution to enhancing the teaching and learning of English in Ho Chi Minh as well as in Vietnam

1.3 Thesis statement

This study evaluates the textbook “English ID 1”, an English textbook from a

series of four textbooks of Paul Seligson (Series Author); Tom Abraham; Cris Gontow; Carol Lethaby published by Richmond publisher in 2013 This textbook is used for all students from grades 6 to 12 (ages 12 to 18) at the pre-intermediate level at TDHS of Vietnam since 2015 The textbook was included students’ book, workbook, and teachers’ manual Students have learned this textbook with Englishcentral.com website is at the core of the teaching and learning process in the classroom This study attempts to find answers to the following research questions:

1 What are students and teachers’ perspectives towards the elements of textbook “ English ID 1” in term of Overall Assessments, Practical Considerations, Language Skills, Subject and Content, Organization and Culture?

2 How do teachers use and exploit the textbook in the classrooms?

1.4 Purpose of the study

The overall purpose of the study is to evaluate the whole textbook regarding Overall Assessments, Practical Considerations, Language Skills, Subject and Content, Organization and Culture, which will elucidate the strengths and weaknesses of the textbook used in the teaching and learning context at TDHS More specifically, first, the study aims to investigate students and teachers’ attitudes towards the textbook English ID 1 designed for high school young learners Second,

the researcher wants to discover the extent the teachers use and exploit the textbook

in the classroom which will help English teaching and learning at TDHS and some language centers become more interesting and effective in the future

1.5 Scope of the study

This study focuses on the textbook English ID 1 used in English teaching and learning at the TDHS in Tan Phu District of Ho Chi Minh city Thus, these results cannot apply to all districts in the Ho Chi Minh City as well as all other high schools in Vietnam In fact, there are four textbooks in this English ID series but the researcher chooses only English ID 1 to evaluate Moreover, this study bases on the criteria of good textbooks and focuses on the appropriateness of the analyzed textbooks Furthermore, the textbook is intended for high school students who are considered young learners of the level of pre-intermediate As a result, some suggestions made and implications drawn in the study cannot easily be generalized

to textbooks for other English learners at different schools

1.6 Significance of the study

The results of the study may help the administrators, teachers, students have

an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the textbooks in order to adapt the textbooks more effectively in their educational setting and to meet the objectives of the course Consequently, the results might be beneficial for all users including teachers and students and useful for the curriculum developers, policymakers or publishers in selecting or developing a textbook Moreover, the results would be the useful recommendations for teaching and learning English at TDHS to become more successfully and effectively It is fully hoped that the recommendations emanated from this study will be one of the ideas to be considered when the MOET

of Vietnam embrace changes in the EFL curriculum

1.7 Organization of the thesis

The researcher is going to organize this study in order to get the reader easier

to understand The following part shows the content of five chapters covered in this

study The first chapter introduces the context and background of the study, the purposes, research questions, and the scope as well as the significance of the study Chapter two contains the literature review, with a discussion of textbooks, the textbook design, and the role of the textbook in the ELT classroom, the use of textbook and textbook evaluation used in this research This chapter also has reviewed some previous studies on textbook evaluation in the recent years Chapter three is the research design and methodology chapter It restates the research questions and discusses some issues about mixed methods in textbook evaluation Moreover, data collection instruments and data analysis are presented in this chapter Chapter four is the research results and discussions one which proposes the result of the study In this chapter, the researcher is presenting the discussion and findings, which consist of the data analysis In chapter five, the researcher summarizes the results based on the results of the previous chapter, along with the implication and some recommendation for further research

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This study may have additional implications related to the possible stages occurring in the design of language curriculum programs in high schools in Vietnam Post-evaluation of English teachers and students regarding the ELT textbook used at TDHS can be considered as another implication of the study This chapter reviews four major parts relevant literature review First are materials and textbooks in language learning and teaching with the definition of them, textbook design, the advantages and disadvantages of textbooks, the roles, use and exploitation of textbook in English language classroom The second part discusses textbook evaluation which contains the definition of textbook evaluation, the reason for evaluating the textbook, the methods of textbook evaluation and criteria for textbook evaluation to help the reader more comprehension about the textbook evaluation process In third one, the researcher is going to give the theoretical framework for textbook evaluation in the classroom The fourth one will describe some previous textbook evaluation studies consist of both studies in Vietnam and at overseas

and effectively for language learning and teaching process The term textbooks and coursebooks often interchangeably used in English language teaching process Therefore, in this master thesis the terms ‘textbook,’ ‘coursebook,’ and ‘material’ are usually used interchangeably

Hutchinson and Gault (2008) believe that EFL textbooks are to provide learners with necessary knowledge, language skills and information about English speaking countries and preparing for communication with people from foreign countries and different cultural backgrounds Textbooks usually combine contemporary and traditional approaches to language teaching in order to develop skills to learners, to instruct and help them understand about whole the courses, which provides a grammar framework and a thorough practice of vocabulary, grammatical structures and functions Lappalainen (2011) states that a textbook includes all books published for educational purpose or even any books used as a tool in the classroom He also asserts that an EFL textbook is also defined as a guide forming the image of the English language and culture and the practice studying English Hutchinson and Torres (1994) claim that learning and teaching situation is not going to complete without using the relevant textbook McGrath (2002) believes that the EFL textbook is useful since it establishes the direction, content, and cultural to a certain degree how the lesson is to be taught He also declares that teachers’ images reflect their attitudes and beliefs toward textbooks which will influence the textbook used by them

2.2.1.2 Textbooks

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, a textbook is defined as

“a book that teaches a particular subject and that is used especially in schools and colleges” (OALD, 2000, p.1238) In the other word, a textbook is a material that contains data about a subject which learners study especially at school or college (Longman Dictionary, 2003) Furthermore, Awasthi (2006) gives the definition that

a textbook is a teaching and learning material for both the teachers and the students

to help them in the process of learning and teaching and Tomlinson (2011) also defines the textbook as one of the materials used to help teachers and learners Hutchinson and Torres (1994) say that a textbook is as an instruction for teachers in teaching approach, and as a tool for learners to revise knowledge Besides, it is also believed a record for measuring what has been taught by the teachers Tomlinson and Masuhara (2010) mention that a number of issues which need to be considered carefully before starting to write a textbook such as needs analysis, language learning principles, the target of students and teachers These are the important matters which are looked over in this study to find out suitable textbooks for different situations Besides, they also have much benefit for both teachers and students in learning and teaching process Additionally, textbooks are as a principle which serves as a guide to be used in a systematic way in the classroom as a basis of language course (Ur, 1996) Furthermore, they are also specifically designed for the

specific target to learners in particular context Additionally, the traditional textbook

often has a number of chapters with differences long texts that deal with various topics (Cecilia, 2006) Moreover, there is a different theme for each chapter and sometimes there are some pre-reading activities or post-reading exercises and they can often be listened to on CD or tape In many cases, the textbook and the workbook are sometime joined together in the same book, but sometimes they are represented by two separate books In fact, a textbook is always accompanied by other materials such as CDs, cassettes, tests and a teacher’s guide

2.2.1.3 Textbook Design

Prowse (1998, 2011) reports that inspiration comes writers’ hands cannot follow the speed of their thoughts However, when they do not have ideas, it is frustrating (Tomlinson, 2003) “Many of the materials developers describe materials writing processes which are ad hoc and spontaneous and which rely on an intuitive feel for activities which are likely to work”(Tomlinson, 2003, p.107) In spite of admitting that writing is free and spontaneous, Tomlinson and Masuhara (2010) mention a number of issues which need to be considered carefully before preparing

to write any textbooks such as needs analysis, language learning principles, purposes of students and teachers Materials researchers have provided checklists to instruct how to write language textbooks These can be divided into two main categories Firstly, they indicate the steps that people should do when they are ready

to write materials and textbooks Secondly, they focus on the specific principles for writing the content of textbooks

The material writing stage that suggested by Jolly and Bolitho (2011, cited in Nguyen, 2015) includes seven steps as follows

 Identification of need for materials

 Exploration of need

 Contextual realisation of materials

 Pedagogical realisation of materials

 Production of materials

 Student use of materials

 Evaluation of materials against agreed objectives

It is important for the textbook to be used exactly in the particular context and situations The instructions, exercises and activities are vague, which are going

to reduce the comprehension, participation and confidence of the learners in classroom activities Moreover, according to Dat (2008) states textbooks should include common topics, such as social issues, economic achievements; environment, sports etc and they should not consist of controversial issues related to religion, superstition, etc Although people sometimes want to learn about other cultures, it is difficult for them to apply this to their daily communication or the description of their surroundings It is more difficult for children who do not have enough background knowledge to understand the issues and apply them The appearance of the textbooks is also one of the elements that textbook writers have to consider before publishing a textbook, because it makes an important first impression for users before they consider other ones

Jolly and Bolitho (2011, cited in Nguyen, 2015), described a very general model, consisting of some steps which need to be considered before writing a textbook They, however, consider the features and contents of material in more depth They emphasize the principles behind creating textbooks and analyze the elements of each one They offer the following principles:

 Flexibility: means that teachers should be able to use the materials flexibly They can cut out or supplement activities to suit the context and students’ needs

 From text to language: the language for each activity in a textbook should be introduced in authentic texts, not constructed texts

 Engaging content: concerns texts Texts in a textbook should stimulate learners to make cultural and personal comparisons They should both engage learners personally and be used as ‘the basis for speaking and writing’ According

to them, texts on topics such as the environment, vegetarianism, and race relations would not appeal However, texts on money, relationships, clothes and food would

be of interest to learners

 Natural language: refers to the language used in textbooks Language in a textbook should ‘avoid actors over-projecting in the recording studio’ It means the language should be real and unscripted to help learners ‘get out of the learning plateau’

 Analytic approaches: a good textbook should introduce a variety of approaches to grammar and help learners relate, compare and collate grammar rules and usages

 Emphasis on review: means learners should be given time to practice what they have learnt for fluent and accurate use of language rather than presenting new language material at all time

 Personalised practice: practice activities should be personalised so that learners can make use of their own experience in practising the language

 Integrated skills: the activities should integrate a variety of skills

 Balance of approaches: means a textbook should introduce a balance in approaches to grammar (inductive, deductive and effective) It also means a balance

in approaches to speaking and writing (both from fluency to accuracy work and from accuracy to fluency work) and a balance in controlled practice and creative/free practice

 Learning to learn: the material should be designed in such a way that it encourages learners to develop their learning skills and strategies

 Professional respect: means teachers should feel satisfied when using the textbook

2.2.1.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of the textbook and its roles in the classroom

Textbooks play one of the most important elements of the instructional materials Graves (2000, p.175) said that the textbook as a piano, which infers that a piano is just an instrument for music “but it can’t produce music on its own, the music is produced only when you play it” and a lot depends on skills “The more skilled you are the more beautiful the music is” Therefore, the textbooks are also just an instrument or a tool to teach or to learn the language Thus, they raise learners’ awareness about the language and culture But this instrument should be chosen and evaluated very carefully, as it will partly affect the needs and interests of many teachers, students, institutional curriculum and some schools (Allwright, 1981) Using textbooks has both advantages and disadvantages for language teaching instruction In general, most of the teachers claim that textbooks support systematic teaching and it is very difficult to teach without them (Grant, 1987) Additionally, textbooks also help especially for inexperienced teachers (Ur, 1996) O’Neill (1982) emphasizes that most of the textbooks are suitable for learners’ needs because they provide materials and knowledge which are well presented, and they allow teachers to adapt and improvise while they are teaching in the classroom Some teachers claim that in order to know what is prepared to teach or what was taught, teachers need have at most two textbooks for their groups Although

textbooks are important in teaching and learning, Richards (2001) stated that textbooks also have advantages and disadvantages depending on how they were used them

2.2.1.4.1 Advantages of Textbooks

The main advantages of textbooks provide a framework and a syllabus for

a class or a course A course cannot have a clear direction in what to teach and learn without using textbooks which explain the syllabus that has been systematically planned and developed Harmer (2001, p.304) states “many good textbooks are attractively presented and they are prepared with a good structure that offer a coherent syllabus, satisfactory language control and motivating texts and tapes” Besides, textbooks also help standardize instruction that teachers can

be sure that students in the class receive the same content and get the same type of evaluation and test in the same way Additionally, textbooks also give a variety of learning resources because they are accompanied by workbooks, cassette tapes, or CD-ROMs, and a teacher’s guide which provides rich and useful materials for teachers and students Textbooks can also help students and teachers attend more different activities such as role-play, games, pair work, group work, and so on Thus, teachers do not waste time finding and producing any more materials Furthermore, textbooks can provide effective language models and input and help teachers who are not native English speakers generate accurate on the target language For inexperienced or limited experienced teachers, textbooks and teacher’s guide are going to help them get through the teaching tasks and serve as

a tool for supporting teachers According to Ur (1996), a textbook has some advantages as followings: first, it provides a clear framework and progress for teachers and students Second, it is used as a syllabus with the systematically planned section of language Third, it presents ready-made texts and tasks fit the level of learners Fourth, it also provides useful guidance for less experienced teachers Fifth, with a textbook, learners can acquire new knowledge, review and manage their learning progress autonomously

2.2.1.4.2 Disadvantages of Textbooks

On the other hand, Richards (2010) states that there are also some disadvantages in using textbooks For example, they may not reflect exactly students' needs Each textbook is often published to sell in global markets with different purposes, so authors create the content without reflecting learners’ interest and needs which need to be adapted to suit their environment Due to the making of textbooks which must be accepted all over the world, some issues might be misrepresented to provide the ideal concept of the world and the real issues Many textbooks sometimes do not contain authentic language, because it can give the antiquated or false language such as vocabularies, grammar or text which is specially written to suit the teaching method, but they are not related to the real use

of language in daily life Similarly, Ur (1996) also comments some negative effects

of a textbook Firstly, no single textbook can perfectly satisfy different learners’ needs Secondly, the topics of the textbook may outdated rapidly or they may not be interesting for learners anymore Thirdly, the cultural contents may be not appropriate for learners, which can get them to become painful and uninterested in the lesson Finally, a textbook may cause negative effects on teaching approach when teachers try to follow it uncritically; therefore, they will limit their creativity and flexibility in the teaching process However, teachers still prefer to use textbooks as a guide and to teach students, and students are also satisfied to have textbooks as a tool for learning Moreover, the content of some textbooks can be irrelevant and inappropriate to the learners, or they focus on too much to one or more aspects of language and not enough focus on others For example, after some units, many students feel learning process boring and uninteresting because questions and answers of textbooks are quite short and cannot provide appropriate language models and there are sameness and repetitiveness of the activities

2.2.1.4.3 The role of the textbook in the language classroom

The role of the textbook in the language classroom is a difficult one to be defined perfectly and exactly Using the textbooks from this cover to next cover

which does not have any supplemental materials is no expectation of students’ needs However, both teachers and students need a framework to rely on and textbooks definitely provide this English language instruction has many important components but the essential constituents to English for second language (ESL) and EFL classrooms and programs are the textbooks that are often used by language instructors Cunningsworth (1995) highlights the main roles of textbook in English language teaching as a resource for presentation materials, a reference source for learners on program, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and so on, a source of stimulation and ideas for classroom activities, a source of activities for learners practice and communicative interaction a syllabus, a support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain in confidence Besides, one of the major roles of textbooks is to make the presence knowledge available and obvious to learners logically and easily (Tok, 2010) Moreover, Riasati and Zare (2010) agree that textbooks are the second important element in the ESL and EFL classroom compared with the teachers and they also are an important tool for supporting the teachers In general, textbooks have a big worth in each language classroom, and they have several significant roles in ELT curriculum and help the process of language teaching and learning Moreover, textbooks are among the most important resources utilized to achieve the aims of a course which are based on the learners' needs

2.2.1.5 The use and exploitation of textbook in the classroom

Harmer (1998) states that some textbooks are not sometimes appropriate for teachers and students, they should be approached with a degree of healthy disbelief which allows them to carefully evaluate their content and to use them “judiciously for their own ends”, rather than have textbooks control the process of learning and teaching (p.117) He also mentions that it is not anything in the textbook being suitable to give teachers the opportunity to use their own creativity Thus, when teachers use their own ideas and other sources, rather than rely only on the textbook, there is an effective engagement of teachers on the process of teaching,

which might provoke, on its turn, student’s involvement in the lesson Harmer (2007) also mentions about using a textbook that teachers have two options whether using it or not First, If teachers choose to use a textbook, teachers should decide whether they will be changed or not If teachers select the way to change the content

on a textbook, they must know how to change them There are some options to change materials or to adapt materials includes adding materials, rewriting materials, replacing activities, re-ordering, and reducing materials on textbooks and

so on According to Richards (2001), the ability to adapt textbooks is an essential skill for teachers to develop their language ability Moreover, the teachers do not select to use the textbook; they can choose whether to omit the textbook or to replace it to suitable for their teaching environment Be and Crabbe (2000) conclude that there are two dimensions of using textbooks and materials in classrooms based

on a study conducted in Vietnamese secondary school classrooms They focus on an analysis of the use of textbooks in the actual classroom and state that textbook can

be used as either scripts or as resources Textbooks can be used as a script mean that when teachers use a textbook, they tend to cover all the problems set by it and to follow the content strictly in the way the book says it should be done Thus, it means that using textbooks as scripts has a limitation because these activities may not match the process of learning and concerning particular students groups who have different interests and needs On the other hand, Be and Crabbe (2000) maintain that textbooks can also be used as resources This means that when teachers use textbooks as resources, they are going to follow a different objective and work towards the aims of a syllabus, or finding out difficulties of learners and whatever parts of the textbook have problems in order to help and improve the learning ability the language of learners Therefore, teachers make use of their own creativity to give the teaching for the benefit of the students Besides, teachers also should spend the necessary time to compile and use it in a different way to provide the essential elements to learners

In general, two types of textbook use can be highlighted and be depending on how teachers use textbooks as scripts or resources They are likely to evaluate the same textbooks in a different way, what influences on their belief whether any modifications are required or not Richards (2001) has stated that using the textbooks has two important steps Firstly, understanding the textbooks is necessary before starting the classes desperately and identifying their advantages and disadvantages of textbooks As the teacher, evaluating the textbook about its content

is very important, its structure, and the reasons for its use whether the textbook gives strengths or not Secondly, it is necessary to evaluate the items of instructional tasks in textbooks, instructional materials and adapting the textbooks by understanding the current format that can be used to teach or practice different teaching items Furthermore, O'Neill (1982) gives four reasons for the using of textbooks First of all, they are served for the needs of students Second, the students need those materials for their own learning to review of previous textbooks Third, they must be valuable and reasonable materials Finally, the teachers can have opportunities to adjust and modify the textbooks according to students' needs Otherwise, the content of any English language textbooks will influence to both the teacher and the students in learning and teaching process

Due to the benefits and possible limitations of the textbooks, they need to be evaluated by teachers and students themselves Thanks to evaluation, they can find out ways to make the textbooks appropriate with a particular language program such as adapting the textbook itself or supplementing other related materials or suggesting suitable instruction on how to exploit them effectively

2.2.2 Textbooks Evaluation

2.2.2.1 Definition of Textbook Evaluation

“Textbook evaluation is an applied linguistic activity through which teachers, supervisors, administrators and materials developers can make judgments about the effect of the materials on the people using them" (Tomlinson, et al., 2001, cited in Azizifara et al., 2010) Richards et al (1985, cited in Sarem et al, 2013) define that

evaluation is “the systematic gathering of information for purposed of making decisions through different instruments and from different sources” Based on the results of study, this information is explained more clearly to make important decisions through which teachers and curriculum developers can make an enhancement and satisfactory results of a course

Textbook evaluation demands not only teachers but also the curriculum leaders and developers to have responsibility for selecting a textbook and adopting

it as well as finding out the strengths and weaknesses of the textbook in order to get

it to fit the needs of learners of a particular class Cunningsworth (1995) also notices that textbook evaluation will involve factors of comparison which is unavoidable, especially when there are many textbooks are considered for an adoption or when newly published textbooks are challenging the existing textbook For a comparative evaluation, a usual and formal procedure and a common set of criteria would be very helpful to make the process more objective and the results more reliable Furthermore, Hutchinson (1987) states that textbook evaluation plays an important role in language learning and teaching that have big influences to the way teachers conduct considerably Textbook evaluation process can be done with two ways which allows teachers not only to select a textbook, but also to develop their awareness of their own learning and teaching situation In general, textbook evaluation refers to the process of making judgments of its appropriateness based on certain criteria

2.2.2.2 The methods of Textbook Evaluation

Nowadays, there are a number of textbooks on the market, teachers, students and researchers have responsibilities for evaluating and selecting them and need to have the ability to make informed decisions in this process (Richard, 2001) In order

to choose the most appropriate textbook for specific learning and teaching situations, the processes of textbook evaluation have been put forward Grant (1987) suggests that textbook evaluation would have three stages The first stage is “Initial Evaluation”, which helps teachers quickly find out unsuitable textbooks He also

proposes that in order to avoid giving too hurried decisions, the CATALYST test should be applied The eight letters stand for the following eight criteria such as C-Communicative, A-Aims, T-Teach ability, A-Available Add-ons, L-Level, Y-Your impression, S-Student interest and T- Tried and tested The second stage is

“Detailed Evaluation” aimed to pilot the chosen textbook after the use of the CATALYST test In this stage, a questionnaire can be of great assistance for teachers in deciding whether the selected textbook is suitable for their classrooms The last stage is “In-use Evaluation” which is a continuous process of re-evaluating the adopted textbook This will provide the premises upon which teachers can base their conclusions about whether to continue using or to replace the textbook Besides, Cunningsworth (1995) provides two types of textbook evaluation The first

is “Impressionistic Overview” which teachers can quickly look at the cover of textbooks is whether attractive or not, what other materials accompany the textbook, and how the textbook is structured and sequenced and unsuitable textbooks can be filtered out during this process (McGrath, 2002) The second is called “In-depth Evaluation”, which is carried out to closely examine specific areas such as language skills, activities, organization, exercises and so on Furthermore, the process of evaluating textbooks can be conducted by examining the content of textbook in two ways namely external and internal evaluation (McDonough, Shaw, and Masuhara, 2013) External evaluation focuses on the physical appearance such as cover, introduction, table of content, and so on On the other hand, internal evaluation deals with the materials including tasks and exercises The combination of internal and external approach to textbook evaluation is very important to be conducted because it provided essential and appropriate information of textbooks to the teachers from both physical appearances and their contents

Cunningsworth (1995) and Tomlinson (2013) evaluation can be divided into three types: "pre-use", "in-use" and "post-use" evaluation in which pre-use evaluation is the most difficult because it is conducted before the textbook is used Therefore, in this case, the evaluators have to predict the presentation of the book in

a course due to lacking of the experience of using the textbook In-use evaluation is

a type of evaluation to examine the textbook which is currently being used This type of evaluation can bring the teacher and program designer the strengths and weaknesses of the textbooks for a better adaption Post-use evaluation refers to an assessment of a textbook’s performance over a period of continual use This kind of evaluation is helpful for teachers and curriculum developers in deciding whether to use the same textbook in the future or not Similarly, Ellis (1997) proposed two types of evaluation: a predictive (or pre-use) evaluation designed to make a decision regarding what material is going to be used for a course, and a retrospective (or post-use) evaluation designed to examine materials after they have actually been used The aims of this study, the researcher mainly used the post-use (retrospective) evaluation from both teachers and students who are currently using the textbooks in order to investigate their attitudes and perceptions towards the textbook, to examine the appropriateness of the book with the learning objectives of the courses Besides, thanks to this type of evaluation, the researcher can find out recommendations or suggestions for the administrators to decide whether they should continually use the textbook or to utilize a new series for improving students’ competence

2.2.2.3 Criteria for Textbook Evaluation

Tomlinson (1998) asserts that textbook evaluation must be based on specific criteria A good textbook which must have a variety of topics, texts, tasks and activities, skills, culture such as information or opinion gap activities, discussions, solving the problem which requires the students to use the target language to achieve the goals of the curriculum and they should reflect the goals and objectives

of the curriculum Moreover, it also must have attractive performance and suitable content Besides, it must provide different types of texts and activities that supply for all learning styles and attitudes so that students will feel easy to develop their ability confidently Through the activities, the teachers can evaluate the learning process of students Moreover, supplementary materials must be provided such as the workbook or CDs to the students Furthermore, the textbook should also reflect

or be related to the students’ culture, with a variety of activities, and illustrations so that it will help them to learn more (Tomlinson, 1998) Besides, Tomlinson (2003) said that “good textbooks should help learners feel at ease and attract learners’ curiosity, interest and attention The layout of a textbooks presentation, tasks, activities, text and illustrations should be learner-friendly so that they feel comfortable when learning and seeing textbooks” (p 21- 22) He states that not only

is the physical appearance important, but also the content should expose learners to authentic language use Thus, textbooks are more interesting, motivating and challenging if they are written in the authentic language or in native speakers The contexts of textbooks should be relevant and useful for learners’ needs and bring to learners’ confidence by providing activities and exercises which they can cope with and provide them with a chance to use the target language Therefore, learners can interact with other learners when learning by using the target language to achieve communicative purposes

While the literature and conceptual framework in the field of textbook evaluation is not substantial, various researchers and theorists have suggested evaluation checklists and criteria that can reflect the effectiveness and appropriateness of textbooks towards disparate context, to investigate whether they can satisfy the majority of users, and if they can fulfill the needs and objectives of a particular learning and teaching context Byrd in Celce-Murcia (2001) proposes four main aspects which consist of content/explanations, examples, tasks/exercises, and presentation/format need to be considered in evaluating textbooks Those reflect the aspects made up a good textbook It also has a detailed explanation of each aspect being evaluated However, Byrd does not give any measurable checklist to be used

in the evaluation of textbooks Besides, he does not also show the framework of judgment technique particularly Similarly, Cunningsworth (1995) also mentions four criteria of textbook evaluation that serve as a guideline for developing the checklist for textbook evaluation They include corresponding to the learners’ needs, reflecting the present and future of language, facilitating learning in various

ways, and having a clear role as a support for learning Cunningsworth’s framework for textbook evaluation as presented earlier has a comprehensive explanation on the internal approach to textbook evaluation It also offers a criterion for judging the effectiveness of textbooks seen from the perspective of the reality that learners face

in the future by presenting language beyond the classroom Nevertheless, this framework does not contain any criterion on the external factor to textbook evaluation That is, some criteria comprise presentation, layout, visual appearance, and so on

Regarding the subject of textbook evaluation, William (1982), Sheldon (1988), Richards (2011) and Ur (2012) all agree that the evaluation checklist should include some common criteria related to Layout and Physical make-up, Topics, Linguistic Contents, Language Skills, Exercises and Activities, Practical Concerns, and Aims/ Approaches Furthermore, Daoud and Celce-Murcia (1979) recommend a textbook evaluation checklist which involves Subject Matters, Vocabulary and Structure, Exercise, Illustrations, and Physical make-up Ansary and Babai (2002) suggest criteria for textbook evaluation including Approach, Content Presentation, Physical Make-up, and Administrative Concerns while Litz (2005) proposes a textbook evaluation form for both teachers and students which contains seven groups such as Practical Consideration, Layout and Design, Activities, Skills, Language Type, Subject and Content, and Overall Consensus

In fact, there are many criteria that can be used in evaluating textbooks Cunningsworth (1995) also stated that “different criteria will be applied in different circumstances and the set of checklists should be made by using several checklists based on one’s concerns and priorities” (p.2) As suggested by Balachandran (2014), the teachers who intend to do a post use evaluation of the textbooks should include local criteria in their checklist Hence, concerning the purpose of the proposed study, the researcher evaluated the textbook in terms of six main categories: Overall Assessment, Practical Consideration, Language Skills, Subject and Content, Organization and culture

2.2.2.4 Theoretical Framework for Textbook Evaluation

The theoretical framework was constructed primarily based on the general guidelines and criteria identified by Cunningsworth (1995), and the principles of language acquisition, language teaching and learning as well as material development provided by Tomlinson (2011, 2012, 2013a, and 2013b) In addition,

a useful framework proposed by Sheldon (1988) and theories for language teaching

in the coursebook “A Course in Language Teaching” developed by Ur (2012) were employed for the construction Moreover, the theoretical and empirical bases on

language teaching in Nunan (2004)’s coursebook, Task-based Language Teaching

Last but not least, the theories and principles in related studies such as Litz (2005)

on a South Korean case study of textbook evaluation and ELT management contributed to the building of the theoretical framework for coursebook evaluation and Al-sowat (2012) on an evaluation of English language textbook "Say It in

English" in Saudi Arabia and OverallAssessments

Cunningworth (1995) emphasizes that the content of the material should correspond to what students need to learn in terms of language items, skills and communicative strategies Thus, it is necessary to survey the elements of textbook which can support the aims and objective of the learning course in textbook evaluation As Tomlinson (2013, p.95) states that the major principle of language teaching is that “the content and teaching methodology should be consistent with the objectives of the course and should meet the needs and wants of the learners” Similarly, Cunningworth (1995, p.15) suggest a set of guidelines for evaluation

“aims and objectives can reflect learners' needs in terms of both language content and communicative abilities Coursebooks should be selected which will help to achieve these objectives The aims and objectives of learning and teaching program should determine which course materials are used, and not vice-versa, reflecting the principle that coursebooks are better servants than masters” Moreover, Litz (2005) documents teaching materials need to clearly present their objectives as learners can actively engage in the lesson and tasks, when they are well-aware of why and what

they are learning, with great interest and motivation

2.2.2.4.1 Overall Assessments

It is obviously seen that most packages of courses usually contain at least a student’ book, a workbook and a teacher’s book with a CD for listening activities in which the student’s book consider the most important and forceful for the interaction between teachers and students Cunningsworth (1995) argues that teachers' books are also very important because it provides teachers with the useful information and advice, as well as direction and method so that teachers can make the best use of the course Workbooks are also usually included in course packages

to provide students with extra practice in accordance with the language knowledge acquired from the student’s book CD (Cassettes) is used for listening and pronunciation work, thus checking the quality of the recorded material is also a requisite for the success of the course Besides, the course package also should consist of the vocabulary lists, expression glossaries, grammar references, and communicative expansion These additional aides can either be included inside the textbook or produced in a separate book, some kind of pocket books to be portable These supplements are all very helpful for learners and make many opportunities for their learning and self-revision

2.2.2.4.2 Practical Considerations

According to Cunningsworth (1995) mentions that it is essential to look over a number of practical considerations for textbook evaluation such as the endurance and attractiveness of the physical appearance of the textbook and the easiness in obtaining the textbook package in a short time period It is also necessary to be considered the required equipment of the package such as foreign language

laboratories and video players with a focus on their availability and reliability

2.2.2.4.3 Language Skills

Recently, their diversity of methodologies in language teaching in applying different approaches such as content-based, task-based, or skill-based which is

important to create textbooks with a focus on the improvement of the language skills They tended to communicative principles which are very different from the ones that had been followed such as grammar translation or audio-lingual method in the previous years Therefore, it would be useful to examine the researchers’ suggestions for evaluating the language skills in textbooks

Textbooks should help learners develop all of the four communicative skills such as Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking In the textbook English ID, there

is a difference and uneven between all skills Listening and reading skills are more than speaking and writing skills Therefore, regarding the language skills, the researchers would assess the criteria of all four skills to find out attitudes of both teachers and students to this textbook Moreover, the integration of the four skills is also examined to have an overall view of skills focus in the textbook For example, when taking part in a conversation, people cannot communicate others by speaking out what they think without listening to them Similarly, after reading an email, a letter, or a message, the recipients will frequently write a responding one to the sender It is inevitable that in real-life communication, the four basic skills are closely connected to one other Therefore, in teaching skills of a target language, it makes no sense to teach a specific skill in separation (Harmer, 2007) Cunningsworth (1995) suggests that it is necessary to investigate if the textbook adequately deals with all four skills, considering learners level and overall aims; however, the balanced treatment of the four skills is not necessary for all teaching situations Particularly, a course for adult professional learners, who just demand to improve their listening and speaking skill for their career, does not need to include a variety of long reading texts instead of short conversations that close to real-world situations In addition to the three major elements such as vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation should be considered when evaluating any textbook in particular teaching contexts Moreover, in order to prepare learners for real-life contexts, they need to meet the useful expressions of the language function in various situations to fir them in their memory, gain fluency in using them; thus checking whether new