efl teachers’ perceptions of advantages and challenges in applying new english grade 10 at an phuoc high school

Six EFL teachers at An Phuoc high school reflected their perceptions on the advantages and challenges of the New English Grade 10 via the semi-structured interview with total 40 questio

-

EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ADVANTAGES AND

CHALLENGES IN APPLYING NEW ENGLISH GRADE 10 AT

AN PHUOC HIGH SCHOOL

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by NGUYEN DINH AI KHANH Supervisor: LE THI THANH THU, PhD

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN DINH AI KHANH

EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ADVANTAGES AND

CHALLENGES IN APPLYING NEW ENGLISH GRADE 10 AT

AN PHUOC HIGH SCHOOL

Major: TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES

Major code: 60140111

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: LE THI THANH THU, PhD

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “EFL Teachers’ Perceptions of Advantages and

Challenges in Applying New English Grade 10 at An Phuoc High School” is my

own work

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which

I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

NGUYEN DINH AI KHANH

I am also sincerely grateful to all lecturers of the Open University in Ho Chi Minh City for providing me with invaluable sources of intellectual knowledge during my study there This knowledge was very useful when I conducted this research

I owe a great debt of gratitude to the anonymous participants who contributed data

to this thesis Without them the data collection for this study could not properly been carried out

Last but not least, I would like to express my particular gratitude to my beloved family for their understanding, encouragement, and spiritual support over time and distance

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to identify the advantages and challenges in applying the

New English Grade 10 after two years of pilot implementation at An Phuoc high

school in Ninh Thuan province Six EFL teachers at An Phuoc high school reflected

their perceptions on the advantages and challenges of the New English Grade 10 via

the semi-structured interview with total 40 questions covering different criteria such

as aims, attractiveness, language and topics, language skills and language areas, and methodology To the advantages, the book had clear objectives which were relevant

to the pre-determined goals of the national ELT curriculum and to the students’ needs It consisted of clear, helpful layout and beautiful visual illustrations Besides, varied, realistic, relevant, interesting and updated topics and texts were also viewed

as one good point of the book Furthermore, there was a balanced coverage of language skills and language areas Therewith, the book was learner-centered, providing clear instructions and different strategies and techniques to facilitate students’ learning process To the challenges, the language of the current textbook was insufficiently natural and real and communicative Alongside, pronunciation section lacked phonemic alphabet In addition, the grammar section had low-level contextualization of grammar items, lacked interesting examples, and scarced form and use balance Regarding to speaking section, many speaking tasks failed to reflect students’ interests due to their linguistic accuracy focus; moreover, the model dialogues lacked naturalness Regarding to reading section, some reading texts were not interesting and updated, and free writing opportunities were not encouraged

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP……… i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……… ii

ABTRACT ……… iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……… iv

LIST OF FIGURES ……… vii

LIST OF TABLES ……… viii

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ……… 1

1.1 Rationale for the study……… 1

1.2 Objective of the study ……… 2

1.3 Research questions ……… 3

1.4 Significance of the study ……… 4

1.5 Thesis organization ……… 5

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ……… 6

2.1 The concept of textbook ……… 6

2.1.1 Definitions ……… 6

2.1.2 Functions of textbooks in ELT program……… 7

2.1.3 Possible challenges from textbook……… 8

2.2 Textbook evaluation……… 9

2.2.1 Definition of textbook evaluation……… 9

2.2.2 Purposes of textbook evaluation……… 10

2.2.3 Types of textbook evaluation……… … 11

2.2.4 Models of textbook evaluation……… 12

2.2.4.1 McDonough and Shaw’s model ……… 12

2.2.4.2 Ellis’ model ……… 13

2.2.5 Criteria for textbook evaluation……… 13

2.2.5.1 Criteria suggested by Cunningsworth ……… 13

2.2.5.2 Criteria suggested by Hutchinson and Waters……… 14

2.2.5.3 Criteria suggested by Nahrkhalaji ……… 14

2.2.5.4 Criteria used in the current study ……… 15

2.2.6 Adaption after textbook evaluation……… 17

2.3 Previous studies ……… 18

2.3.1 Out of the Vietnamese context ……… 18

2.3.2 In the Vietnamese context ……… 21

2.3.3 Research gaps ……… 23

2.4 Conceptual framework……… 24

2.5 Overview of the national curriculum and syllabus for ELT ……… 25

2.6 Chapter summary ……… 27

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ……… 28

3.1 Research setting ……… 28

3.2 Research participants ……… 28

3.3 Research design ……… 29

3.4 Research instrument: Interview ……… 31

3.4.1 Description ……… 31

3.4.2 Data collection procedures……… 34

3.4.3 Data analytical framework ……… 35

3.5 Chapter summary ……….… 35

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS ……… 36

4.1 Research question 1 ……… …… 36

4.1.1 Aims ……… …… 37

4.1.2 Attractiveness ……….……… 39

4.1.3 Content ……… ……… 42

4.1.4 Methodology……… … 54

4.2 Research question 2……… …… 59

4.3 Chapter summary……… 68

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ………… 69

5.1 Summary of the results ……… 69

5.2 Recommendations for teachers……… 71

5.3 Limitations of the study……… 73

5.4 Recommendations for further study ……… 73

REFERENCES ……… 75

APPENDIX 3.1: TEACHER INTERVIEW (ENGLISH VERSION) …… 81

APPENDIX 3.2: TEACHER INTERVIEW (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 84 APPENDIX 3.3: TRANSCRIPTS (ENGLISH VERSION)……… 87

APPENDIX 3.4: THE TEXTBOOK SAMPLE ……… 106

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 2.1: Criteria synthesized from some authors ……… 15

Table 3.1: Profiles of the participants ……… … 29

Table 3.2: Description of the interview content (See Appendices 4.1 and 4.2) 32 Table 3.3: The sequence of the interview sessions ……… 34

Table 4.1: Advantages related to aims of the book ……… … 37

Table 4.2: Advantages related to attractiveness of the book ……… 39

Table 4.3: Advantages related to topics and cultures of the textbook ………… 42

Table 4.4: Advantages related to language areas of the book ……… 44

Table 4.5: Advantages related to language skills of the book ……… 48

Table 4.6: Advantages related to methodology of the book ……… 55

Table 4.7: Challenges related to the language type of the book ……… 60

Table 4.8: Challenges related to language areas of the book ……… 61

Table 4.9: Challenges related to language skills of the book ……… 64

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study

Textbooks make a significant role in the teaching and learning process, and they are the key components of imparting the knowledge to the learners Pertaining

to the role of textbooks in English language teaching, Cunningsworth (1995) identifies a textbook as an inevitable resource in presenting the material, an input for learners to practice as well as implement the language activities Inevitably, the selection of language teaching materials like textbooks can greatly influence the quality of language learning and teaching procedure (Mukundan, Nimehchisalem, & Hajimohammadi, 2011), playing an important role in the learners’ success or failure

of language learning In short, textbooks are viewed as an essential component of any English language teaching and learning process, which “will always survive on the grounds that they meet certain needs” (AbdelWahab, 2013, p 55)

Researchers have suggested several advantages of using textbooks For example, textbooks help to standardize instruction and assessment That is, by giving students in different classes the same textbook, teachers can teach and test them in the same way (Richards, 2005) Textbooks also provide syllabus for a program, thus supporting novice teachers, training them in methodology and saving their time and effort for more worthwhile pursuits than material production (Cunningsworth, 1995) What is more, since textbooks are always carefully tested before being brought into the market, students tend to give them more credibility than teacher-generated or ‘inhouse’ materials Students also often expect to use a textbook in their learning program (Sheldon, 1988) Without textbooks, they may think their learning is not taken seriously; thus, textbooks are psychologically essential for students Finally, textbooks may constitute an effective resource for

learning in the classroom and self-directed learning (Cunningsworth, 1995) A learner without a textbook might be out of focus and teacher-dependent

However, the fact has shown that “the perfect textbook does not exist” (Grant, 1987, p 8) For example, the textbooks may be too advanced or too simple

or too inflexible and biased for the learners In the same fashion, particular strengths and weaknesses in textbooks already in use concurrently present (Cunningsworth, 1995) One of the most cited concerns is that textbooks are often implicitly prescriptive and thus might control the methods, processes, and procedures of classroom practice and ‘deskill’ teachers (Allwright, 1982) Another concern is that since textbooks are often written for global markets, they might not suit all classrooms and might require adaptation to better meet students’ true needs (Richards, 2005) More importantly, recent criticisms have been targeted at the quality of textbooks It has been repeatedly shown that many English textbooks represent biased views of gender and stereotyping (Clarke & Clarke, 1990; Carrell

& Korwitz, 1994; Renner, 1997) Besides, recent appraisals of commercially produced textbooks have also suggested that many textbooks tend to offer classroom learners little opportunity for learning how to properly communicate intentions such

as requesting, inviting, disagreeing, complaining, and so on in the second language (L2) (Bardovi-Harlig 2001; Vellenga 2004) It is owing to these potential problems that textbooks should be carefully evaluated and selected before being used for a language program (Fatima, Shah, & Sultan, 2015) Textbook evaluation helps the managerial and teaching staff select the most appropriate materials available for a particular course (i.e predictive evaluation) It also helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a particular textbook that is already in use (i.e in-use and retrospective evaluation) This is to inform teachers in the process of textbook adaptation and decision-making for the next course (Ellis, 1997) According to Rea-Dickens and Germaine (1994), evaluation is a dynamic process to investigate the suitability and appropriateness of the currently used textbook They contend that this

action is rightly useful for both language teachers and material developers in the erection of innovations and modifications of the teaching materials embedded within the particular teaching and learning context

However, despite its pivotal role in improving different aspects of used textbooks, evaluation is not still a well-articulated section in the realm of language education (Hargreaves, 1989), even in the Vietnamese context It goes without saying that English teachers use textbooks in their language teaching, and therefore, they should be involved in the process of textbook evaluation It is worthy to note that their views on the usefulness and effectiveness of the currently used textbooks are useful to identify the strong points and challenges in connection to their own teaching situation In a nutshell, textbook evaluation is a so-called crucial task, which is “widely acknowledged as a powerful means of improving the quality of education” (AbdelWahab, 2013, p 55)

The New English Grade 10, which was developed by the Ministry of

Education and Training of Vietnam (MOET) in collaboration with Pearson Education Limited, has been currently piloted in teaching the English subject at An Phuoc high school in Ninh Thuan province for two years Due to its new advent, the

New English Grade 10 should be carefully evaluated before being officially and

widely deployed for an English Language Teaching program at high schools, and

An Phuoc high school as a case study

1.2 Objective of the study

This study directly aims to identify the advantages and challenges in applying

the New English Grade 10 after two years of pilot implementation at An Phuoc high

school in Ninh Thuan province In specific, based on the An Phuoc high school teachers’ self-evaluation on the current textbook in terms of aims, language, content,

tasks, layout, the researcher can elicit the merits and pitfalls that the current textbook might bring to English teaching at An Phuoc high school

1.3 Research questions

The two research questions were devised to fulfill the research purposes mentioned earlier, which are presented as follows:

Research question 1: How do the English teachers at An Phuoc high school

perceive the advantages of the New English Grade 10?

Research question 2: What are the challenges in applying the New English

Grade 10 at An Phuoc high school?

1.4 Significance of the study

Firstly, textbook evaluation helps to address the strong points and challenges

in applying New English 10 that is already in use for Grade 10 students at An Phuoc high school, Ninh Thuan province This is to inform teachers in the process of textbook adaptation and decision-making or teaching enhancement for the next academic year

Secondly, the overall evaluation of this textbook can be instrumental for the teachers and the administrators to make some adjustments or amendments for the current textbook, and then improve the teaching and learning quality of English skills

Finally, the project focuses on a teaching context that is largely unheard of and under-represented in the world’s TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) scholarship Therefore, for the scholars outside Vietnam, the project report would be a rich source of information for their use and reference

1.5 Thesis organization

This study explores the strong points and challenges of strong points and

challenges of the New English Grade 10 at An Phuoc high school It consists of five

chapters: [1] Introduction, [2] Literature Review, [3] Research Methodology, [4] Results and Discussion, and [5] Conclusion, Limitations, and Recommendations.Chapter 1 presents the rationale for the study on the textbook evaluation It also comprises the research aims and research questions for this study as well as the contributed significance of the study.In Chapter 2, literature relevant to the thesis topic is critically reviewed to set out the theoretical framework of the current survey First, definitions and functions of textbooks are reviewed, followed by the overviewed concept of textbook evaluation in terms of purposes, models and criteria Finally, some previous studies relevant to the area of textbook evaluation are scrutinized Chapter 3 gives out necessary methodological package of the study, inclusive of research setting and participants, research design, research instruments Besides, as an important constituent, this chapter clarifies the collection procedures and data analysis framework Chapter 4, following that, reports the qualitative data

of the interviews and then discusses these findings based on the two research questions Finally, Chapter 5 summates key findings of the study, presents the implications for using the target textbook to increase high school students’ learning outcomes The study limitations and the recommendations for further study are included

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

The theoretical background is structurally presented in this chapter, which is believed to help the study come to an end The chapter starts with a review of the literature on definitions of textbook and its functions or roles as well as its possible challenges in teaching and learning in an EFL context The issues of textbook evaluation are then summarized, making up of the necessity, types and criteria and models of textbook evaluation Some previous studies relevant to the research theme are critically and synthetically review These reviewed studies support the researcher disclose the research gaps and build up the conceptual framework

2.1 The concept of textbook

In this section, definitions and functions of textbooks will be presented as following

2.1.1 Definitions

In definition, a textbook is referred to as a published material specially compiled to assist language learners to improve their linguistic and communicative capacities (Sheldon, 1988), which provide the necessary input into classroom lessons through different activities, tasks and explanations as well (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994) Similarly, Cunningsworth (1995) defines a textbook as a valuable resource in giving language activities for learners to practice, and providing the learners with lessons on language aspects such as vocabulary and grammar, pronunciation Later, Cunningsworth (2002) identifies textbooks as a resource in achieving aims and objectives that have already been established in terms of learners’ needs By Tok’s (2010) definition, the textbook is “an important source of input and a great opportunity for EFL learners to communicate in the target language” (p 508) Similarly, Ahour and Ahmadi (2012) state “textbooks are the

main sources that convey the knowledge and information to the learners in an easy and organized way” (p 176) From definitions of textbooks by previous theorists, it

is inferred that a textbook is a core material which is officially utilized in a language program, aiding the learners to develop their linguistic and communicative competence, as well as assisting the teachers to achieve the objectives of the language course In other words, textbook is one of the main elements of any language curriculum

2.1.2 Functions of textbooks in ELT program

In addition to the definitions of textbook, its multiple roles or functions are also identified here Hutchinson and Torres (1994) contend that the textbook plays

an indispensable ingredient of any language teaching and learning because the fact

that “[…] No teaching learning situation, it seems, is complete until it has its

relevant textbook” (p 315)

To explain why textbooks are important to language program, Tok (2010) points out that one of the most basic functions of textbooks is “to make the existence knowledge available and apparent to the learner in a selected, easy and organized way” (p 509) In addition, Richards (2001) strongly confirms that a language program without textbooks may not assure feasibility, since the fact that they prominently provide the structure and syllabus for this program Especially, to support ideas of Richards, according Tok (2010), a textbook which is used in a language program can make sure that learners in different classes can take an identical content and consequently, can be evaluated in the same way Hycroft (1998) concedes that one of the most useful functions of using textbooks to language learners is that textbooks are psychologically beneficial for learners since their learning progress and language performance can be measured concretely

Not only do the textbooks benefit language learners, but the language teachers also possess some useful functions that textbooks bring For example, Cunningsworth (1995) reveals that textbooks also serve as a security for the novice teachers who have yet to gain in confidence Furthermore, based on AbdelWahab (2013), textbooks do not only provide a skeleton for language teachers in obtaining the aims and objectives of the language course, but also serve as a guide to the teachers when implementing lessons Also, according to McGrath (2002), textbooks can function as a map reflecting the teaching progress as well as facilitating curriculum change

2.1.3 Possible challenges from textbook

While many aforementioned practitioners and theorists applaud the vast benefits of using language textbooks, some other researchers usually pose the question whether the use of textbooks in EFL teaching can assist or hinder the language teaching and learning process First, Allwright (1982) exemplifies that textbooks are too inflexible and normally drive the pedagogic, psychological, and linguistic preferences and biases of their authors It is implied that many language models and dialogues in the textbooks are unnatural and inappropriate for communicative practice since they do not sufficiently provide students for the different types of pronunciation, language structures, vocabulary and conversational rules Second, based on Tomlinson (2008), some teachers may rely heavily on the textbook and therefore uncreative in teaching To elaborate, this author demonstrates

a situation that in a strong exam-oriented culture, textbooks are often regarded as exam-driven practice rather than an instrument for accelerating successful language acquisition As a result, they hinder creativity and imagination during the language learning and teaching process (Ur, 1996) Overall, Richards and Renandya (2002) summarize some possible negative aspects of textbooks such as [1] they may

contain inauthentic language; [2] they may distort content; [3] they may not meet students’ needs; [4] they can be expensive

Notwithstanding the certain disadvantages of textbooks, there is no doubt that textbooks should not be absent from the language educational curriculum Since the textbooks play a prominent role in a language program, and they always consist of both strong points and weaknesses, it is recommended that teaching material writers and practitioners should evaluate aspects of textbooks to check whether there are any strengths and challenges In other words, evaluation of textbook is considered to function as a kind of educational judgment And therefore, background of textbook evaluation will be precisely described in the following chapter

2.2 Textbook evaluation

In this section, some issues of textbook evaluation are reviewed in terms of definition, purposes, and types Besides, necessary actions after evaluating textbooks and evaluation criteria will be also depicted

2.2.1 Definition of textbook evaluation

In the realm of education, the term “evaluation” is widely used in reference to

a powerful means of enhancing the quality of education (AbdelWahab, 2013) associated with curriculum, teaching materials, methods of teaching and organizational factors (Fatima, Shah, & Sultan, 2015) According to these researchers, educational planners and practitioners have significantly paid attention

to the possibility of exerting changes in evaluation practices to reform the teaching materials like textbooks This process includes the phases of selecting the information, analyzing, transferring, using and making a decision on the quality of education (Fatima et al., 2015) as “it can provide valuable information for the future going of classroom practice” (Tok, 2010, p 509)

Specific to the term of textbook evaluation, it is extensively defined as “a dynamic process which investigates the suitability and appropriateness of textbooks” (Rea-Dickens & Germaine, 1994, p 27), which is seen as a useful device for both teachers who are manipulating them and material writers who produced them In a similar vein, Hutchinson and Waters (1989) assume that textbook evaluation is a judgment of the fitness of the instructional materials to particular purposes of teaching and learning In a broader view, this study coins Tomlinson (2001, as cited

in Rahimpour & Hashemi, 2011)’s definition that textbook evaluation is “an applied linguistic activity through which teachers, supervisors, administrators and materials developers can make sound judgments” (p 63)

Overall, Rea-Dickens and Germaine (1994) concede that the textbooks are embedded to the language program, which is a necessary and fundamental part of any national education system In fact, the evaluation of textbooks derives from different purposes, which will be discussed later

2.2.2 Purposes of textbook evaluation

There have been many well-known theorists (e.g Cunningsworth, 1995; Ellis, 1997; Tomlinson, 2001; Richards, 2007) that clarify the necessity of textbook evaluation by suggesting some inevitable purposes of this practice Based on Cunningsworth (1995), textbook evaluation can be very useful in language teachers’ career development and professional growth, while Ellis (1997) considers that textbook evaluation helps the language teachers to gain effective, scientific, systematic and contextual insights into the overarching nature of textbooks It seems true that Tomlinson (2001) identifies two purposes of textbook evaluation with regard to both teachers and learners The first purpose is that this educational practice assists teachers to understand and apply the theories of language learning more easily The later reason is that teachers need to evaluate and revise teaching materials to refine form for their specific learners Taking context into consideration,

Richards (2007) stresses that textbooks need to be evaluated because they may be suitable and effective in a particular situation and with some specific students but they can turn out to not be useful in different situation In other words, the value of textbook evalution can be applauded when this process help the practitioners to examine its usefulness, and appropriateness for the context and for the students’ characteristics (Tok, 2010)

2.2.3 Types of textbook evaluation

In the existing literature body of textbook evaluation, different authors have categorized types of this practice in varying ways For example, Ellis (1997) distinguishes two types of textbook evaluation, namely, [1] predictive evaluation and [2] retrospective evaluation Meanwhile, Robinson (1991) proposes three types such as [1] preliminary evaluation, [2] summative evaluation and [3] formative evaluation Mentioning three types of textbook evaluation, but McGrath (2002) uses different terms, including [1] pre-use, [2] in-use and [3] post-use evaluation Although different terms are used to indicate such three types of textbook evaluation, these terms are likely to be exchangeable Below is a brief description of these textbook evaluation types

 Predictive, preliminary or pre-use evaluation: It usually takes place at the

beginning of the language course to see the extent of its suitability to teaching aims and students’ interest;

 Formative or in-use evaluation: It occurs during the language learning

process, through which the practitioners can make some adjustments and modifications ;

 Retrospective, summative or post-use evaluation: It is taken after the

materials have been used, further evaluation may be conducted to find out whether the materials have worked out for them The findings of this type of evaluation can

be lead to the decision whether to repeat these textbooks or replace by other materials

In short, as can be indicated from the definitions mentioned above, three types of textbook evaluation are purported to make the teaching and learning process more effective Among these types, the evaluators have to determine what type of textbook evaluation should be implemented suitably to their work and purposes In

the current study, since the New English Grade 10 was used in two-year pilot phase,

the researcher decide to employ summative or post-use type of textbook evaluation

to understand further the advantages and challenges in the particular schooling context, that is, An Phuoc high school, and then offer some recommendations for the further improvements of this textbook In case that the evaluated textbook is not or little effective to both the learners and teachers, some actions should be taken to make adaption of the textbook, which will be presented as following section

2.2.4 Models of textbook evaluation

There are many different models for the process of textbook evaluation However, the most commonly adopted models are suggested by Ellis (1997), McDonough and Shaw (1993)

2.2.4.1 Ellis’ model

In this micro-level evaluation at task level, Ellis suggests the practice of an empirical evaluation and focuses on task-level evaluation with regard to its actual teaching and learning context In this model, some steps of evaluation are presented

as follows The first step is that the evaluator will choose the task and then describe the task in terms of input, procedure, language activities and outcomes This description is related to before, while and after how the task was used Finally, the evaluator will analyze the collected information and write report Overall, this model

is aimed to identify whether tasks planned and tasks in use match or not

2.2.4.2 McDonough and Shaw’s model

In this model, they propose a three-stage evaluation model consisting of

external evaluation, internal evaluation and overall evaluation stages The external

stage is used to assess whether the textbook is potentially suitable to the language

curriculum The internal stage requires an in-depth investigation into the textbook;

therefore we need to examine at least two or three units of the textbook to check whether this book matches to teaching purposes and learners’ needs The final stage

is called overall evaluation It is used to check the suitability, usability, adaptability

and flexibility of the textbook

In short, the model suggested by McDonough and Shaw (1993) presents clear and logic procedures for textbook evaluation, and their model was roughly accepted

as the framework for the study However, the researcher only relied on the overall evaluation in which the teachers participated in the in-depth interviews to give their overall evaluation on the current textbook To present the overall evaluation, the interviewees need to comply with certain criteria; thus, the next section will be used

to clarify them

2.2.5 Criteria for textbook evaluation

According to Giap (2008), “criteria for textbook evaluation depend on what is being evaluated and why they need to be evaluated” (p 14) There are many different criteria for the process of textbook evaluation However, the most commonly adopted models are those suggested by Cunningsworth (1995, 2002), Hutchinson and Waters (1987) and Nahrkhalaji (2012)

2.2.5.1 Criteria suggested by Cunningsworth

Cunningsworth (1995) suggests several criteria for textbook evaluation including physical attributes of textbooks including aims, layout, methodology, and

language areas (e.g vocabulary or grammar or pronunication) as well as cultural aspects are indispensable parts of textbook evaluation

socio-Cunningsworth (2002) summarizes by three most commonly used criteria for

evaluating textbooks The first criterion is aims of the textbooks: They should

correspond to learner’s needs and match the aims and objectives of language

curriculum The second one is content of the textbooks: They should reflect the uses

which learners will make of the language through four skills And, the third criterion

is methodology of the textbooks: They should facilitate their learning processes

2.2.5.2 Criteria suggested by Hutchinson and Waters

Similar to Cunningsworth (2002), Hutchinson and Waters (1987) mention four main criteria for textbook evaluation including the audience, the aims, the

content and the methodology of the textbooks The first criterion is the audience of

the textbooks: The textbooks should be suitable to the students’ ages, needs,

interests and their language and background knowledge The second one is the aims

of the textbooks: The textbooks need to match the aims and objectives of the

language curriculum The third criterion is the content of the textbooks: The

textbooks should cover language points, language skills and sub-skills and topical

knowledge that are suitable to the students’ needs Finally, the fourth criterion is the

methodology of the textbooks: The textbooks should equip techniques, guidance to

facilitate language learning and teaching

2.2.5.3 Criteria suggested by Nahrkhalaji

From those previously presented, this author suggests different criteria for textbook evaluation including The first criterion is the attractiveness and the availability of the materials, in which the appealing illustrations and colorful pictures of the textbook create a motivational atmosphere for practice. The second one is related to the suitability of the exercises and tasks The third criterion is

labeled to the practicality of the textbook, in which regarding the language content presented in the textbook and discussed through lessons, the students do not encounter topics or concepts that are highly culture-bound, biased or unacceptable for a group of learners The fourth criterion was the effectiveness in facilitating short-term learning The fifth criterion is pertinent to the clarity of instructions (e.g the instructions to the exercises and activities are perfectly clear and appropriate), and the comprehensibility of the text, and the last one is the teachability of the textbook

2.2.5.4 Criteria used in the current study

Based on the presentation of textbook evaluation criteria proposed by the authors above, the researcher synthesizes these criteria which will be depicted in Table 2.1 as follows:

Table 2.1: Criteria synthesized from some authors

Authors

Criteria

Aims (Audiences)

Attractiveness (Layout)

Content (Skills, Areas, Topics)

Methodology (Techniques, Instructions)

According to the summary of the criteria presented in Table 2.1, the researcher focused on four main criteria for an overall textbook evaluation by the participants They are namely aims, attractiveness, content, and methodology These criteria would be involved in the interview of this study

The first criterion is Aims This benchmark is exploited by Cunningsworth

(1995; 2002), and Hutchinson and Waters (1987) For this criterion, the textbook will be checked if it corresponds to learner’s needs (audiences) and match the aims and objectives of language curriculum

The second criterion is related to Attractiveness, which is advocated by

Nahrkhalaji (2012) and Cunningsworth (1995) It refers to the attractiveness of the evaluated textbook by its layout and visuals

The third criterion is peculiar to Content, which is suggested by

Cunningsworth (1995; 2002), and Hutchinson and Waters (1987) These authors specify this standard in terms of language areas (i.e vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation), language skills (i.e listening, speaking, reading and writing), as well

as socio-cultural aspects (i.e language, topics)

The fourth criterion is subject to Methodology, which is initiated by

Cunningsworth (1995; 2002), Hutchinson and Waters (1987), and Nahrkhalaji (2012) With this norm, the textbook is checked if it equips techniques, guidance to facilitate language learning and teaching (Cunningsworth, 1995; Cunningsworth,

2002, Hutchinson & Waters, 1987) In sum, Nahrkhalaji (2012) proposes the

criterion of Methodology as the effectiveness in facilitating short-term learning, and

the clarity of instructions and the comprehensibility of the text

2.2.6 Adaption after textbook evaluation

Textbook adaption or modification after the process of evaluation is a task of matching the content with the learners’ needs and interests as well as the teachers’ own capabilities According to Giap Thi Yen (2008), “its purpose is to maximize the appropriateness of [textbook] in context , by changing some internal characteristics

of a [textbook] to better suit the particular circumstances” (p 14) Different authors have proposed several ways of adapting the existing teaching materials such as McDonough and Shaw (1993), Richards (2001)

First of all, McDonough and Shaw (1993) enumerate five ways of textbook adaption provided that there is a balance between the lesson and the time allocation, including:

 Omitting: This action is taken when the practitioner wants to delete some

activities or tasks irrelevant to the teaching purposes and to the students’ existing level

 Modifying: This action can be taken in two ways The first way is that the

practitioner can re-structure some content and elements of the materials; meanwhile, the second way is that the practitioner can re-structure interactional patterns

 Simplifying: Simplification is a type of modification namely re-writing way

In this technique, the teachers can simplify the texts with sentence structures, the grammar patterns, and lexical content

 Re-ordering: When teachers find out that the units of the textbook, the

sections of a unit, or the activities of a section are not ordered suitably to learners They employ the techniques of re-ordering to arrange the sequencing of parts in a unit in different ways

 Re-placing: After being evaluated, if texts or exercises which are considered

to be ineffective and inappropriate may be replaced by a more suitable one

Likewise, Richards (2001) suggests six ways of adapting in relation to content and tasks as follows:

 Modifying content: Content should be changed when it is not the same line

with learners’ age, gender, social class, religion or cultural background;

 Adding or deleting content: Irrelevant and unnecessary sections of units

throughout the textbook should be omitted;

 Re-organizing content: Within a unit the teacher may decide not to follow the

sequence of activities in the unit but to reorder them for a particular reason;

 Addressing omissions: Teachers can add more vocabulary or grammar

activities to a unit for their students to deeply practice;

 Modifying tasks: Exercises and activities may need to be changed to give

them an additional practice For instance, we can let students listen a second time for summarizing main ideas or for finding the specific ideas instead of only for matching, etc

 Extending tasks: Additional practice tasks may need to be added whenever

one section of unit does not contain sufficiently

2.3 Previous studies

In this section, some previous studies have shown differences in how to evaluate textbooks, the reasons for their evaluation, the subjects to be targeted, in Vietnam and out of the Vietnamese context

2.3.1 Out of the Vietnamese context

Atkins (2001) conducted an evaluation of “Passport”, exerting McDonough

and Shaw’s (1993) model as the criteria for his study His checklist consisted of two

stages, including external characteristics and internal analysis The first stage was

to look at the external characteristics of the material which includes [1] the book’s introduction, [2] table of contents, [3] the publisher’s catalog and the internet

homepage The second stage is the internal analysis which included [1] the presentation of the skills in the material, [2] appropriateness of discourse, [3] authenticity of listening topics, [4] the appropriateness of speaking materials and [5] the effectiveness of the teachers’ guide The findings of this study unraveled that the book was still based on Presentation-Practice-Production and there was no attempt

by the authors to incorporate consciousness-raising activities

Tok (2010) carried out his study to examine the advantages and

disadvantages of English language textbook called “Spot On” which was used in

state primary schools in Turkey The study recruited a sample of 46 English teachers chosen randomly from state primary schools A five-Likert type scale was used for evaluation in terms of layout and design, activities and tasks, language type, subject,

content and skills The research revealed that “Spot On” textbook had some positive

and negative characteristics As for the positive points, the activities of the textbook incorporate individual pair and group work It also reflects a multi-skills and realistic-content syllabus Especially, the materials were not culturally biased and they did not portray any negative stereotypes Beside its strengths points, the activities in textbook encourage insufficient communicative and meaningful practices Also, many grammar points and vocabulary items were not introduced in motivating and realistic context Many of the activities were repetitive and failed to neither encourage truly meaningful practice

With the purpose to evaluate the three English language textbooks currently used at high schools in Iran from the high school English teachers’ perspectives, Rahimpour and Hashemi (2011) conducted a study on the sample of 50 more-5-year experienced teachers The study used a 46-item questionnaire which consisted of the five sections of the textbooks (e.g vocabulary, reading, grammar, language functions, and pronunciation practice), their physical make-up, and practical

concerns The results of the study indicated that the English language textbooks that were currently taught at high schools in Iran did not meet the teachers’ expectations

Fatima, Shah, and Sultan (2015) conducted an evaluation of English

textbooks namely “Step Ahead 2” and “Step Ahead 3” for students of Grade 7 and

Grade 8, respectively This was a pre-use textbook evaluation type, employed to identify how well a textbook matched the needs of a learning program and how much appropriate the activities were The data was collected through interviews and in-depth study proposed by McGrath (2002) The results of this study revealed that units were organized according to the simple to complex order, and activities were creative and interesting for students because of visual elements for each lesson and topic Yet, in analysis of the four skills in both levels of Grade 7 and Grade 8, writing tasks were more in quantity and beyond the level of the students Beside, texts were rich of high level vocabulary items and little focus was given to practice for memorization Furthermore, foreign cultural input was challenging and irrelevant

to students’ interest Finally, the study suggested that more varieties of activities to improve the speaking skill among students should be added

By the aim of determining the pedagogical value and suitability of the book towards learners’ needs, Mohammadi and Abdi (2014) investigated one of the textbooks which were used in some of the Iranian English language institutions,

namely “Top Notch” The sample of this study was 105 students and 32 teachers

Regarding instruments, the teacher questionnaire consisted of 40 items and the student version was made up of 25 items The findings of the current study showed that although the book lacked vocabulary glossary and the way of presenting grammar was followed by a traditional P-P-P approach, the teachers felt that the textbook was suitable for the language learning aims and heightened students’ interest in further English language study

Interestingly, the evaluated book in the study of Mohammadi and Abdi (2014), “Top-Notch”, was also once evaluated by Soozandehfar and Sahragard in

2011 Yet, Soozandehfar and Sahragard (2011) primarily concerned the pragmatic dimension of language functions and speech acts of this teaching material These researchers used the randomly selected 14 samples of conversations of different topical contexts In specific, each conversation consisted of 4-15 sentences, and each sentence was made up of 7 words on the average The findings of the study revealed

that “Top Notch” lacked realistic contexts in conversation sections; besides, it was

not pragmatically competent to the learners

Most recently, the study of Mulyani and Sartika (2017) aimed at investigating how well the content of the textbook was appropriate for fulfilling students’ contexts, needs and interests in the language learning The textbook was named after

“Look Ahead an English Course Book for Senior High School Students Year X”

Data were collected through three phases including [1] the quantitative content analysis with checklist technique, [2] the qualitative content analysis checklist and [3] the documentary study for supporting the data of content analysis The checklist was comprised of the focus of the textbook and its language learning components, its structure, and its practicality The results revealed that the textbook emphasized four language skills unequally, presented small portions of the target culture representation Nonetheless, the overall organization and content of the textbook were quite satisfied

2.3.2 In the Vietnamese context

In the Vietnamese context, some studies on the evaluation of textbooks have been done so far such as Nguyen (2007), Giap (2008), and Nguyen (2015)

Nguyen (2007) implemented a study to evaluate a new series of English

textbooks currently developed for use at the upper secondary school level, namely

Tieng Anh 10, Tieng Anh 11, Tieng Anh 12, in terms of the communicative nature of

the textbooks and the ease of their use To gather data, the researcher used an depth evaluation and teacher’s manuals within the checklists provided by Cunningsworth (1995) with some modifications The results of findings showed both good points and limitations As for good points, these were more communicative when focusing on all four language skills development, and covering a wide range of communicative functions and notions Besides, the books looked more attractive with beautiful visual illustrations and were organized in a clear and helpful manner for both teachers and learners As for limitations, the texts were unrealistic and unnatural discourse Besides, the teaching of language contents does not correspond with current theories of second language acquisition To close the study, she advised that the problematic aspects of the books should be modified, adapted, or replaced to fit for the aims of the teaching and learning curriculum and the real needs of different classrooms

in-Focusing on secondary school context, Nguyen (2015) carried out his study

to evaluate Tieng Anh 6, an official textbook used for grade 6 pupils in all secondary

schools all over Vietnam and in Mekong Delta region in particular The research was conducted in two stages, namely [1] a theoretical evaluation and [2] an empirical evaluation The evaluation sought to find out the users’ views on the textbook, its impact on users and the users’ recommendations for improvement The results of the evaluation indicated that that this textbook [1] suits the teaching and learning context and culture, [2] offered much help to both teachers and students, and [3] got positive responses from teachers and students However, it was suggested that [1] more varied types of activities should be added to the textbook content, [2] Free practice activities should be added after the controlled ones to help pupils practice speaking and writing creatively, and [3] the textbook should be

supplemented with language material from different resources such as picture stories, comic strips, etc overall, the findings also indicated that textbook writers should do “learner need analysis” before writing new textbooks

In a tertiary context, Giap (2008) carried out an evaluation on “Basic English 3” for non-English major students at Bac Giang Teachers’ Training College Sixteen English teachers at this school were the participants of this study The textbook was evaluated in terms of three criteria such as content, aims and methodology by a questionnaire The findings of this study showed that the course objectives and the textbook aims seemed to match perfectly, and the organization of content was well appropriate However, the methodology was problematic when the material lacked

of practice activities of writing and speaking skills Especially, there were no supporting materials such as workbook or teachers’ book And, the themes were relevant to the students’ knowledge level but some of them were not interesting or up-dated

2.3.3 Research gaps

Generally, the above previous studies have emphasized the importance of book evaluation as an integral part of the teaching process as well as revealed different models and criteria for textbook evaluations However, some inadequacies were finally found as follows:

With regard to criteria for evaluating the textbooks, each empirical study has only focused on one or a few aspects of the target textbook and followed a distinguished model Therefore, in this present study, the researcher is going to take

a combination of criteria into consideration so that the textbook would be reviewed

to help teachers adapt suitable materials with level of students

In terms of model for evaluating the textbooks, very few studies have presented clear methodology of evaluation In most cases, either checklist or questionnaires have been employed to collect information Therefore, in this present research paper, the researcher is going to use teacher interviews in order to get deeper information on the combined criteria from Cunningsworth, Hutchinson and Waters, and Nahrkhalaji

2.4 Conceptual framework

From what has been discussed in the previous sections, the conceptual

framework was constructed In specific, the post-use evaluation of the New English

Grade 10 concentrates on the advantages and challenges of the textbook revealed

via the following aspects as the four criteria such as Aims, Attractiveness, Content and Methodology, which are formulated by Cunningsworth (1995; 2002),

Hutchinson and Waters (1987), and Nahrkhalaji (2012) The first criterion is Aims

(i.e corresponding learner’s needs (audiences), the aims and objectives of language

curriculum.) The second criterion is Attractiveness (i.e appealing layout and visuals) The third criterion is peculiar to Content (i.e language areas, language skills, socio-cultural aspects) The fourth criterion is Methodology (i.e the

effectiveness in facilitating short-term learning, and the clarity of instructions)

Inferring from the overall evaluation on the New English Grade 10, advantages and

challenges of its application are elicited The conceptual framework is summarized

by Figure 2.1

 Purpose: Investigating advantages and challenges of applying of New English Grade 10

 Model: Post-use overall evaluation

 Criteria: Cunningsworth (1995; 2002); Hutchinson & Waters (1987); Nahrkhalaji (2012)

 Aims

 Learner needs (Audiences)

 Objectives of language curriculum

 Attractiveness (Layout; Visuals)

 Content

 Language areas (Pronunciation; Grammar; Vocabulary)

 Language skills (Listening; Speaking; Reading; Writing)

 Socio-cultural aspects (Language; Topics)

 Methodology (Effectiveness; Clarity)

Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework 2.5 Overview of the national curriculum and syllabus for ELT

In 2006, MOET issued a new curriculum which defines English as a compulsory subject, which is “instrumental to the access of world science and technology as well as world cultures” (MOET, 2006, p 5) It describes the aims for ELT at secondary school level as enabling students to:

1 “Use English as a means for basic communication both in spoken and written channels

2 Master basic and relatively systematic knowledge of English suited to their levels of proficiency and ages

3 Acquire some general understanding of the people and cultures of some English-speaking countries and develop a positive attitude towards the

people, cultures and language of these countries; cultivate the pride in, love for and respect to the Vietnamese culture and language” (MOET, 2006, p 5)

In other words, ELT should train students in communicative competence so that they can perform basic language functions receptively and productively, using correct language forms and structures Besides, it should also “educate students into both good national and international citizens who are knowledgeable about the target culture as well as their own national culture” (Le, 2007, p 4)

The curriculum also specifies the teaching contents and class time allocation for each grade As mentioned earlier, the teaching contents are organized according

to themes in order to provide contexts for language skills, language elements and socio-cultural knowledge to be taught and developed in an integrated manner These themes are all drawn from the contexts of students’ daily life such as home and school, health, recreation, community and the world The themes are recycled from grade to grade in a cumulative and spiral manner, which means they are repeated at each higher grade with increasing levels of difficulty to suit students’ intellectual and cognitive maturity levels

Methodologically, the new curriculum is claimed to adopt the communicative approach to language teaching as its guiding principles and specifies that

 Communication skills be the goal of the teaching and learning process;

linguistic knowledge be the means by which communication skills are formed and developed

 Students play an active role in the teaching and learning process and

teachers be only organizers and guides

 Teaching contents be selected and organized according to themes to

guarantee a high level of communicativeness while catering to the accuracy

of the modern language system

 Textbook writing, management of teaching and learning, testing, assessment

and evaluation follow the curriculum guidelines (MOET, 2006, p 6)

The curriculum guidelines specifies the following principles for the selection and sequencing of topics, skills, language elements, instructional units, exercises and tasks in ELT syllabuses:

 Contextualizing language via realistic communicative situations

 Using materials that are authentic and applicable in real world

communication

 Ensuring an integration between the four language skills and integration

between language skills and language elements

 Recycling language sufficiently and in a spiral manner

 Tailoring teaching contents to suit learners’ ages, levels of general

knowledge, needs and preferences

 Using materials and tasks that are stimulating and at students’ levels of

proficiency while still challenging enough (MOET, 2006, p 17)

2.6 Chapter summary

This chapter has just furnished theoretical background for the study in terms

of textbook evaluation In specific, a general picture of definitions and key roles of textbook in ELT curriculum was clearly depicted Following that, some core issues

of textbook evaluation were clarified such as the necessity of textbook evaluation, criteria and models for this process In addition, this chapter provideed the researcher with some previous related studies, eliciting the research gaps The next chapter is pertinent to the methodological basis

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

In this chapter the methodology used in the research is discussed This chapter was comprised of research setting and participants, research instrument, data collection procedures and data analytical configuration This chapter helps the

researcher know the way to answer the two research questions:

1 How do the English teachers at An Phuoc high school perceive the

advantages of the New English Grade 10?

2 What are the challenges in applying the New English Grade 10 at An Phuoc

Table 3.1: Demographic profile of the participants

F33 Female 33 7 Bachelor of Arts in TESOL

F37 Female 37 11 Bachelor of Arts in English

Language

F40 Female 40 16 Master of Arts in TESOL

M33 Male 33 9 Bachelor of Arts in English

Pedagogy

As can be seen from Table 3.1, the sample of this study consisted of six English teachers, including five females (e.g F26, F31, F33, F37, F40), and only one male (e.g M33) Their age range was from 26 to 40 years old Regarding to the teaching experience, the most experienced teacher had 16 years of teaching, and the least experienced one had 4 years In common, the teaching experience was mostly below 10 years In respect of qualifications, of the six participants, there were five Bachelor’s degree holders and only one Master’s degree holder In general, these teachers had quite suitable professional training

3.3 Research design

Prior to any research, researchers need to decide the taken methodological approach based on the given research purposes (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004) In connection with this study, the researcher made an endeavor to explore EFL

teachers’ evaluation on the piloted textbook entitled New English Grade 10, and

accordingly, it is assumed that qualitative research design is the most feasible way to address this main objective of the current study Qualitative research design, with its

descriptive and exploratory functions, typically produces a wealth of detailed data about a much smaller number of people and cases (Creswell, 2012) In specific, the essential purpose of qualitative research in this study was to explore and describe the high school teachers as participants’ understanding and judgments on the piloted textbook after two years in use The research procedures were conducted as in Figure 3.1:

Figure 3.1: Research procedure

The specific steps of the research procedure are illustrated in Figure 3.1 above.After the review of related literature, previous studies, as well as the analysis and synthesis of textbook evaluation models and criteria, the researcher constructed interview questions addressing the characteristics and quality of the target textbook (Step 1) To guarantee the validity and practicality of the data collection tools of the interview, the researcher had her supervisor and two TESOL classmates to propose their comments and revisions (Step 2) prior to producing the finalized version of the interview (Step 3) The interviews were conducted on the sample of six English

Constructing the content of the interview

Collecting constructive feedback on the first draft of the interview

Producing the official draft of the interview

Conducting the interview on the participants

Thematically analyzing qualitative data obtained from the interview