Evaluation of “american hotline intermediate” and suggestions on how to use it effectively as a coursebook for intensive english curriculum at junior high schools in ho chi minh city m a thesis 6

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: EVALUATION OF “AMERICAN HOTLINE – Intermediate AND SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO USE IT EFFECTIVELY AS

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HCM CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES

NGUYEN THI MINH LY

EVALUATION OF “AMERICAN HOTLINE-Intermediate”

AND SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO USE IT EFFECTIVELY

AS A COURSEBOOK FOR INTENSIVE ENGLISH CURRICULUM

AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN HO CHI MINH CITY

A thesis in TESOL Code number: 04016

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

OF MASTER OF TESOL

SUPERVISOR: DO HUY THINH, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY – 2009

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

EVALUATION OF “AMERICAN HOTLINE – Intermediate AND

SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO USE IT EFFECTIVELY AS A COURSEBOOK FOR INTENSIVE ENGLISH CURRICULUM AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS

IN HO CHI MINH CITY

in terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee

Ho Chi Minh City September, 2009

NGUYEN THI MINH LY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr Do Huy Thinh, Ph.D who has devoted a lot of time to helping me finish my thesis He has read over and over, commented sincerely, and contributed valuable suggestions to my thesis at every stage of its development in order to make sure that it makes sense

I am also grateful to the English-language teachers at Hai Ba Trung, Le Quy Don, Kien Thiet, Le Loi, Doan Thi Diem junior high schools in the third district and Tran Dai Nghia grammar school.in the first district of Ho Chi Minh City for their comments and suggestions on the coursebook American Hotline – Intermediate

Finally, I would like to thank my family members for their support during the time I was doing this thesis

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 PET Preliminary English Test

2 FCE First Certificate of English

ABSTRACT

Learning English has become a real need to the Vietnamese people including children, adolescents and adults Children learn English for fun, adolescents for their higher studies abroad and adults for their jobs Although their goals to study are different, all

of them have a great interest in English, especially considering it an international language However, due to the difference in age, psychology, interests, learning styles and especially motivation, each group of learners should study an appropriate coursebook American Hotline series has been chosen as a coursebook for students of the Intensive English Program for ten years thanks to its exceptional features Nevertheless, there also have been complaints from teachers and students using the books as well as the students’ parents about inappropriate aspects in the series, especially at the intermediate level So far, these issues have not been officially discussed to find out the best solutions for teaching and learning the books most effectively Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to evaluate American Hotline – intermediate to see whether it can be adopted in Vietnamese learning and teaching situation, to explore the potential obstacles students and teachers encounter when using the book and finally to present some suggestions on how to put it in the most effective use

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ……… I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… II LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……… III ABSTRACT……… IV TABLE OF CONTENTS……… V

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION……… 1

1.1 BACKGROUND ……….……… 1

1.2 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE………2

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS………3

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY……….……… 3

1.5 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS……….……… 4

1.6 LIMITATIONS……… 5

1.7 DELIMITATIONS……….5

1.8 METHODOLOGY……….6

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY……….6

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW……… 8

2.1 EVALUATION OF A COURSEBOOK……… 8

2.1.1 What are language-teaching materials?……….8

2.1.2 The role of materials in language teaching………9

2.1.3 Why do we evaluate coursebooks?……… 10

2.1.4 How do we evaluate a course book?………11

2.2 FACTORS AFFECTING ENGLISH LEARNING AND TEACHING………13

2.2.1 Learner factors……….13

2.2.2 Teacher factors……….…………15

2.2.3 Physical conditions of English teaching and learning……….20

2.2.4 Testing……… 21

2.3 POTENTIAL OBSTACLES IN ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING……… 23

2.3.1 The non-motivation of the students……….23

2.3.2 The learning situation……… 23

2.3.3 The cultural differences between L1 and L2……… 24

2.4 SUMMARY……… 25

CHAPTER 3 OVERVIEW OF THE INTENSIVE ENGLISH PROGRAM……….…………26

3.1 PURPOSES………26

3.2 REQUIREMENTS……….…………27

3.3 TARGETS……… 28

3.4 THE CURRICULUM……….……… 30

3.5 TESTING……… 31

3.6 THE AMERICAN HOTLINE SERIES……….…………32

3.7 SUMMARY……… 32

CHAPTER 4 DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY……….…………34

4.1 RESEARCH SETTING……….…………34

4.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS……….………… 35

4.3 RESEARCH DESIGN……….………….35

4.3.1 The interviews……….36

4.3.2 The questionnaires……… 36

4.3.3 Class observations………38

4.4 ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF AMERICAN HOTLINE-INTERMEDIATE……….38

4.5 SUMMARY……… 39

CHAPTER 5 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS……… 40

5.1 THE ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF AMERICAN HOTLINE INTERMEDIATE….41 5.2 COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TEXTBOOK TIENG ANH 9 AND AMERICAN HOTLINE-INTERMEDIATE……… 48

5.3 ADVANTAGES AND POTENTIAL OBSTACLES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING AMERICAN HOTLINE-INTERMEDIATE……….50

5.3.1 Advantages of American Hotline – Intermediate 5.3.2 Potential obstacles in teaching and learning the book CHAPTER 6 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS……… 60

6.1 SUMMARY……… 60

6.1.1 Strong points……….……… 60

6.1.2 Weak points……… 60

6.2 CONCLUSIONS………61

6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS……… 61

6.3.1 Recommendations to the editor………61

6.3.2 Implications for teaching……….65

6.3.3 Suggestions to the school authority, students and students’ parents………70

APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR VIETNAMESE TEACHERS IN CHARGE OF TEACHING AMERICAN HOTLINE – INTERMEDIATE AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS……….71

APPENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NINTH GRADERS STUDYINGAMERICAN HOTLINE – INTERMEDIATE AT JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS……….75

APPENDIX C CONTENT OF TIENG ANH 9 AND AMERICAN HOTLINE – INTERMEDIATE ………77

APPENDIX D THE IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING EVERY UNIT IN AMERICAN HOTLINE – INTERMEDIATE……….83

APPENDIX E LESSON PLANNING SHEET FOR AMERICAN HOTLINE – INTERMEDIATE ……… 122

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Nowadays, due to the fast socio-economic development, the requirement to improve the relationship with other countries is inevitable, especially for developing countries like Vietnam It helps widen knowledge and benefit from other countries’ advanced techniques in order to apply to our country’s unique context in the most effective way Seeing such advantages, the Vietnamese government has applied the open policy encouraging the cooperation with foreign countries in every field such

as economy, culture and education Especially in education, more and more students study abroad at a very young age A few years ago, students who had good financial support usually continued their study at a university in a foreign country after their high school These days, they tend to study abroad right after graduating from junior school At such a young age, in addition to the experience of leading an independent life, they also need a means of communication so as to adapt to the new environment soon Hence, since they are at the elementary school, their parents want them to start learning foreign languages, especially English which is considered an international language In order to satisfy that requirement, the Department of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh put into use a program called Intensive English Curriculum at the three stages in accordance with three levels of education: the elementary school, the junior high school and the high school For each level, the objectives and teaching materials are different Elementary school students study the coursebook named Let’s Go by Steve Wilkinson, Karen Frazier, Ritsuko Nakata and Barbara Hoskins, published by Oxford University Press After finishing this six-level series, they are expected to be able to get Movers certificate of Cambridge University Junior high school students study the coursebook named American Hotline by Tom Hutchinson published by Oxford University Press After finishing

this four-level series, they are expected to be able to get Cambridge Preliminary English Test (PET) certificates Senior high school students study the First Certificate Examination (FCE) series named Countdown to First Certificate by Michael Duckworth, Kathy and Jenny Quintana (for grade 10); First Certificate Knockout by Peter May (for grade 11); and First Certificate Masterclass by Simon Haines and Barbara Stewart ( for grade 12), which are all published by Oxford University Press After finishing this series, students are expected to be able to get FCE certificates

After over ten years of being used, Let’s Go series has been considered to be suitable to the age of the students as well as the requirements of the Department of Education and Training Meanwhile, American Hotline series, especially at the Intermediate level, has been said to contain some items which are unsuitable to the age of the students as well as Vietnamese conception of education Therefore, the evaluation of this series of books in general and the Intermediate level in specific is necessary By this way the teacher will be able to see the unsuitable points which need to be adapted or substituted so as to make use of the book most effectively

The objectives of this study are to investigate:

1 The evaluation of AMERICAN HOTLINE - Intermediate (the whole package)

2 The potential obstacles that students as well as teachers encounter when using the coursebook

3 The implications for teaching and learning the coursebook effectively

1.3 Research Questions

One main question guides this study:

Is AMERICAN HOTLINE - Intermediate suitable for ninth graders at Vietnamese junior high schools as the coursebook of the Intensive English Curriculum?

Two sub-questions are also addressed:

1 What are the potential obstacles in teaching and learning AMERICAN HOTLINE - Intermediate?

2 How can teachers and students use AMERICAN HOTLINE - Intermediate effectively?

1.4 Significance of the Study

Due to the developments of the society together with the open policy of Vietnam, the need of improving English language competence is increasing Therefore, most Vietnamese parents wish to have their students focus on studying English from the early age with the hope that their children will be able to get international certificates soon so as to continue their studies abroad And the application of the Intensive English Program at elementary schools, junior high schools and senior high schools of the Department of Education and Training has fulfilled such an aspiration because after finishing the program, the students will be able to get FCE certificates At the beginning, not including Tran Dai Nghia high school, only a few schools in Ho Chi Minh City are allowed to open one or two intensive English classes However, as the need of improving English has increased more and more,

up to now about 154 schools (including 99 elementary schools, 47 junior high

schools and 8 high schools) have intensive English classes Due to such popularity

of the program, the study on the coursebook to examine its content in order to find out some suggestions on how to put it in effective use is really necessary

1.5 Definitions of Terms

Department of Education and Training: the government body in charge of

education and training of all levels and forms in the city, including foreign language education curriculum and implementation

The Intensive English Program: an English Program piloted by the Department of

Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City with the hope to train students gifted

in English as experts in English so as to fulfill the requirements of the society in recent times The opening of intensive English classes also aims to limit the inefficient English classes for students, which are widely opened in the city The program was reviewed and approved by the City People’s Committee in 1998 and has been carried out over ten years since then

The junior high school: a school between elementary school (from grade 1 to 5 or 6)

and high school (from grade 9 to 12), usually having two or three grades, variously

including grades 6 through 8 (according to American Ways, 2005, p.p.191-192) In

this study, the term “junior high school” signifies Vietnamese junior high schools, including four grades (from grade 6 to 9) after elementary schools (from grade 1 to 5)

Textbooks: “Tieng Anh 6, 7, 8, 9” – written by a group of Vietnamese teachers:

Nguyen Van Loi, Nguyen Hanh Dung, Than Trong Lien Nhan, Nguyen Quoc Tuan, Dang Van Hung, Dao Ngoc Lo, and Tran Huy Phuong and published by Nha Xuat Ban Giao Duc The books were first piloted in all junior high schools in the Third District of Ho Chi Minh City in 2000, then revised by the Ministry of Education and

Training and the authors, and finally have been applied in the whole country since

2002

Coursebooks: American Hotline series – Starters, Progress, Early-intermediate, and

Intermediate – written by Tom Hutchinson, the Associate Director of the Institute for English Language Education at Lancaster University, England The series was published by Oxford University Press in 1997 and first used officially in Vietnam as the coursebooks of the Intensive English Program during the school year 1998 –

1999 At first, the series was used at some schools in the First District such as Tran Dai Nghia Grammar School and Minh Duc School and then it has been applied in

47 junior high schools in the whole city up to now

1.6 Limitations

The investigation covered a period of seven years, from the school year 2001-2002

to the school year 2007-2008 The study particularly emphasized the way to make use of the coursebook AMERICAN HOTLINE-Intermediate effectively

The study confines itself to using the coursebook by the researcher herself, and to interviewing and observing the teachers, the students and the students’ parents mainly in HAI BA TRUNG School, in certain junior high schools in the Third District and in TRAN DAI NGHIA Grammar School

1.7 Delimitations

Due to the purpose of this study, generalizations and recommendations would be limited to the teaching and learning the coursebook AMERICAN HOTLINE at the Intermediate level in Vietnamese junior high schools in Ho Chi Minh City However, the recommendations might be beneficial to other levels of the AMERICAN HOTLINE series such as Starter, Progress and Early-Intermediate

1.8 Methodology

This is a descriptive and exploratory study consisting basically of qualitative methods such as interviews and observations In addition, questionnaires will be employed to obtain extra information and clarify the related data

Data of the intensive curriculum at junior high schools was compiled through the documents issued by the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City

Five junior high schools in the Third District (Le Quy Don, Hai Ba Trung, Le Loi, Kien Thiet, Doan Thi Diem) and Tran Dai Nghia Grammar School, which have classes taking the intensive program, were selected for observation and data collection

The questionnaires were conducted with 10 teachers at the six schools who have been teaching AMERICAN HOTLINE – intermediate and 114 ninth graders ( 54 at Hai Ba Trung School and 60 at Le Quy Don School) who have been studying the coursebook In addition, five students’ parents from Hai Ba Trung School were selected for the interviews

During the study, the researcher worked as an English-language teacher at Hai Ba Trung School The researcher’s observation position helped to collect experience and data for the study Moreover, the collaboration of English-language teachers in Tran Dai Nghia Grammar School, whose all classes are under the intensive program, was a great help for the researcher to explore the issues

1.9 Organization of the remainder of the study

Chapter II presents a review of the literature and research relevant to this study – evaluation of a coursebook, factors affecting English learning and teaching and potential obstacles in teaching and learning English Chapter III provides an overview of the Intensive English Program in terms of the purposes, the requirements, the targets, the curriculum, testing and the cousebook Chapter IV

describes the research design and methodology Chapter V analyzes and discusses the research findings: the analysis and the evaluation of American Hotline – Intermediate, the similarities and differences between the coursebook American Hotline – Intermediate and the textbook TIENG ANH 9, and the advantages as well

as the obstacles in teaching and learning the coursebook Chapter VI offers a summary and conclusions of the study with suggestions on how to put the book in effective use

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Evaluation of a coursebook

2.1.1 What are language-teaching materials?

Most people associate the term “language-teaching materials” with coursebooks because that has been their main experience of using materials However, according

to Tomlinson (1998, 2), “the term ‘materials’ is used to refer to anything which is used by teachers or learners to facilitate the learning of a language They could obviously be the cassettes, videos, CD-ROMs, dictionaries, grammar books, readers, workbooks or photocopied exercises They could also be newspapers, food packages, photographs, live talks by invited native speakers, instructions given by a teacher, tasks written on cards or discussions between learners In other words, they can be anything which is deliberately used to increase the learners’ knowledge and experience of the language.” In this sense, materials are divided into two kinds: authentic and created Authentic materials refer to texts, photographs, videos selections and other teaching resources that were not specially prepared for pedagogical purposes Created materials refer to coursebooks and other specially developed instructional resources Each kind of materials has its own advantages and disadvantages However, coursebooks have some typical characteristics that make it more preferable than other kind of language teaching materials Firstly, they provide a structure and a systematically planned and developed syllabus which help guide learners to the central core of a program Secondly, they help standardize instruction, i.e the students in different classes receive similar content and therefore they can be tested in the same way Last but not least, they are efficient because they provide learners with high-quality materials which are based on sound learning principles, paced appropriately and especially have been tried and tested Consequently, they enable teachers to devote time to teaching rather than materials

developing Due to their convenience, coursebooks are the commonest form of materials in language teaching

2.1.2 The role of materials in language teaching

Although kinds of teaching materials differ in some ways and have their own benefits together with drawbacks, they have common roles in language teaching According to Cunningsworth (1995, 7), language teaching materials (particularly coursebooks) function as:

- a resource for presentation materials (spoken and written;

- a source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction;

- a reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.;

- a source of stimulation and ideas for classroom activities;

- a syllabus (where they reflect learning objectives that have already been determined); [and,]

- a support for less experienced teachers who have yet

to gain in confidence

From Cunningworths’ opinion, we can see clearly that coursebooks have impact on the language program, on the teacher and even on the learners In many places, the coursebook serves as a syllabus with a clear framework which helps both teachers and learners know where they are going and what is coming next so that they can keep trace of their progress For teachers, they provide the carefully planned selection of language content, the balance of skills taught, and kinds of appropriate learning tasks for students to practice the language Some teachers can use them as their primary teaching resource, but others can use them as supplementary materials For learners, materials may provide the major source of contact they have with the

language apart from the teacher With a coursebook, students can learn new material, review and monitor their progress with some degree of autonomy In one word, coursebooks play an important role in the teaching process and greatly influence on the learning results

2.1.3 Why do we evaluate coursebooks?

It cannot be denied that the role and uses of materials in a language program are a significant aspect of language curriculum development However, it is clear that no coursebook will ever be a perfect fit for a language program A book may be ideal in one situation, but it may turn out to be quite unsuitable in a different situation So, it

is understandable when Cunningsworth (1995, 14) notes some reasons to evaluate a material such as “to adopt a new textbook, to identify particular strengths and weaknesses in a textbook already in use, so that optimum use can be made of their strong points, whilst their weaker areas can be strengthened through adaptation or

by substituting material from other books.” Littlejohn (1998) also cites some responses after analyzing and evaluating materials: adopt, reject, adapt, and supplement the materials

According to Cunningsworth (1995), evaluation can take place before a coursebook

is used (pre-use evaluation), during its use (in-use evaluation) and after its use use evaluation) Each type of evaluation with its own advantages is applied for a particular purpose and on a certain circumstance in which the course book would be used Pre-used evaluation helps decide whether the coursebook should be chosen for

(post-a l(post-angu(post-age progr(post-am In-use ev(post-alu(post-ation is c(post-arried out to see whether the coursebook should be considered for replacement Post-use evaluation is useful in helping to decide whether to use the same coursebook on future occasions Whatever type of evaluation is chosen, it is essential to have a look at the context in which the book would be used First of all, we need to keep in mind not only the overall aims of the whole program to be mastered but also the specific objectives in terms of language

items, functions and skills to be covered and even how the achievement is measured Second, we should look into the learning and teaching situation in terms of the status and role of English, the intention of the program, the class size and also other resources available for language learning Last but not least, information about the learners (ages, levels, expectations, motivation, interests, previous language-learning experience, and learning style) as well as the specific aspects of the teachers (role in educational systems, teaching methodology, personality) should be taken into consideration The clear overview of the context in which the coursebook

is used provides us with useful background information contributing to the accuracy and objectivity of our evaluation

2.1.4 How do we evaluate a coursebook?

As stated above, material evaluation is really necessary in language teaching since a good coursebook partly determines the learning results Therefore, it is essential to follow certain well-founded criteria before assessing a language-learning coursebook so as to have an adequate and accurate evaluation Cunningsworth (1995), Rowntree (1997) and Tomlinson (1998) state some suggestions of good materials which can be summarized into four main criteria First, it should not only correspond the students’ needs but also match the aims and objectives of the language learning program Second, it should provide authentic language that students can make use of to achieve communicative purposes Third, it should facilitate students’ learning processes by making them feel at ease, developing their confidence and encouraging them to practice Finally, it should function as a teacher who provides students with clear presentation, opportunities to practice and enables them to check their progress These criteria can be considered a compass to a total evaluation

To make it clearer, Cunningsworth (1995) presents a checklist for coursebook evaluation and selection in terms of aims and approaches, design and organization,

language content, skills, topic, methodology, teachers’ books and practical considerations which can be categorized into two aspects of materials: publication and design Littlejohn (1995, 193) defines publication as “the ‘tangible’ or physical aspects of the materials and how they appear as a complete set or book”; and design

as “the thinking underlying the materials” Through the design, we can see the aims

of the materials, the selection and sequence of tasks, language and content in the materials, the nature of the teaching and learning activities Therefore, Cunningsworth holds the view that evaluating a coursebook involves an impressionistic overview of the whole material and an in-depth examination of some units in the material The impressionistic overview enables us to have a general look

at the material, e.g how attractive it is, how many pictures there are, what topics are introduced, how grammar points are sequenced, etc However, this impressionistic overview cannot help us evaluate the material adequately and accurately so that we can conclude whether it is appropriate to the current teaching and learning situation Thus, we need an in-depth examination to see how specific items are dealt with, especially those which relate to students’ learning needs, syllabus requirements, how different aspects of language (grammar, vocabulary, phonology, discourse, …) are dealt with, etc At this point, both Cunningsworth and Littlejohn suggest analyzing about 10% to 15% of the material and choosing units around the middle

of the curriculum This detailed analysis, in Cunningsworth’s opinion (1995, 1), should aim to look at “the balance of activities and skills contained in a unit, the potential for learner’s participation, the amount of recycling, etc.” In one word, an impressionistic overview of the whole package of the material and an in-depth examination of some units in the material are necessary for us to have good and useful insights into the nature of the material in order to take close control over their design and use

2.2 Factors affecting English learning and teaching

2.2.1 Learner factors

2.1.1.1 The motivation of students

According to Harmer (1992, 3) “motivation is some kind of internal drive that

encourages somebody to pursue a course of action If we perceive a goal, and if that goal is sufficiently attractive, we will be strongly motivated to do whatever necessary to reach that goal.” Motivated language learners perceive goals of various kinds which can be categorized into long-term and short-term Long-term goals relates to an ambition to get a better job, a need to survive in the target language community (TLC) or a desire to know as much as possible about the culture of the TLC On the other hand, short-term goals include such things as wanting to pass an exam, to beat the opponents in a competition or wanting to be a tourist in the country where that language is spoken Whatever goals they have, strongly motivated students are easier to teach than those with no such goals The important thing is that the reason why they are learning the language will determine the teacher’s choice of coursebooks, teaching method and even the learning style of their own

2.1.1.2 The learning style of students

Our students are likely to differ quite widely in the way they learn Neville Grant (1991) made some differences between two kinds of learners who have opposite personality traits Firstly, in the way to receive the input, some learners like to have

a written text in front of them even when the aims of the lesson or activity are oral whereas others like to listen to, and speak the language undistracted by the written words Secondly, in the way to acquire the knowledge, some learners feel they learn best when they are taught grammatical rules in L1 before applying them in exercises On the contrary, others like to use their common sense to work out the

rules for themselves by listening to the language, reading it and trying to use it Finally, in terms of participation, some learners are happiest when the teacher is completely in charge of the lesson, i.e they like nothing better than the activity

“teacher talks – students listen” In contrast, others like to get busy in pairs or groups, i.e the teacher, at these times, acts as a kind of referee or manager

It can’t be denied that the way a course book is designed and the way a teacher teaches affect the students’ learning style However, it is the students’ psychology that distinguishes the learning style of their own from others’

2.1.1.3 The psychology of students

The psychology of students varies at different age levels, which explains for the reason why adults and children learn languages differently Harmer (2007) categorizes learners into three groups of age: children (from about 2 to 14), adolescents (from 12 to 17) and adults (over 17) Children are described as the most motivated learners because they are very curious They do not just focus on what is being taught but also learn all sorts of other things at the same time, taking information from whatever is going on around them They are so interested in discovering new things that they rarely sit and listen to the teacher during the class According to children, seeing, hearing and touching are just as important for understanding as the teacher’s explanation Especially, the younger the students are, the less effective the abstraction of grammar rules is to them Children are also assumed to have the ability to become competent speakers of a new language with remarkable facility, provided they get enough exposure to it However, at the same time, their span of attention or concentration is less than that of an adult They are easily distracted after a certain period of time, about forty five minutes That’s why Harmer points out that “children need frequent changes of activity: they need activities which are exciting and stimulate their curiosity: they need to be involved

in something active” In addition, talking about memory which is really crucial to language learning, Danny D Steinberg (1993, 207) states that “the rote memory

ability of very young children seems to be excellent in that they easily absorb a phenomenal amount of data ” and “that memory ability begins to decline when they get older.” Last but not least, in Harmer’s opinion, children will often seek teacher’s approval and the fact that the teacher notices them and shows appreciation for what they are doing is of vital importance It helps encourage them to study more enthusiastically

Unlike children, adolescents are described to have developed a greater capacity for abstract thought as they have grown up In other words, their intellects are kicking

in and they talk about more abstract ideas Moreover, adolescent students have a great capacity for learning, enormous potential for creative thought and a passionate commitment to things which interest them That’s why Harmer emphasizes that the teacher should choose topics which will reflect their emerging interests And the most important point, which teachers of adolescents should take into consideration,

is that adolescence is bound up with a search for identity and a need for self-esteem They tend to behave in a way they like and say straightforwardly what they think This is often the result the students’ position within their peer group rather than being the consequence of teacher approval Therefore, Harmer suggests that teachers should keep in mind the importance of a student’s place within his or her peer group and take special care when correcting and assigning roles within an activity

2.2.2 Teacher factors

2.2.2.1 The teacher’s personality

Teachers, like everyone else, have a variety of abilities and skills along with their own qualities The important thing is that what qualities are necessary to be good teachers and how they make the best possible use of whatever they have in order to motivate the students

In 1970, Denis Girard, with the purpose of trying to find the answer to this issue, carried out a study in which one thousand children aged from twelve to seventeen were asked to arrange a list of qualities that they expect from a teacher The result is

as follows: (1 = most important, 9 = least important)

1 He makes his course interesting

2 He teaches good pronunciation

3 He explains clearly

4 He speaks good English

5 He shows the same interest in all his students

6 He makes all the students participate

7 He shows great patience

8 He insists on the spoken language

9 He makes his pupils work

From the study of Denis Girard and his own study on the same subject in 1990, Harmer (1992, 4) came to some generalizations that “In the first place, the teacher’s personality matters a lot (and yet this is the most difficult area to quantify or to train for) But beyond that, it is clear that teachers need to do everything possible to create a good rapport with their students Lastly teachers clearly need to be able to show that they know their subject, they should be able to give clear instructions and examples and as far as possible have answers to the students’ questions” Furthermore, Harmer (2007) adds one more quality of a good teacher is the ability

to adopt a number of different roles in the class, depending on what the students are

doing At different times, teachers may play the role of a controller explaining grammar or presenting other information; a prompter encouraging students to

achieve more or feeding in a bit of language or information to help them proceed ;or

an assessor telling students how well they have done or giving them grades To sum

up, in addition to their own natural personality, teachers should train themselves so

as to acquire qualities that are necessary to be a good teacher

2.2.2.2 The teaching method

Another factor affecting the learning and teaching English is the teaching method which depends mostly on the teacher So far, there have been different teaching methods suggested by lots of experienced educationists such as the grammar translation approach, the direct method, the audio-lingual approach, the eclectic approach and the communicative approach No research has clearly showed the success of one method over another because each has both advantages and disadvantages The matter, as Harmer (1992) points out, is that if students find the teaching method boring, they will probably become de-motivated whereas if they have confidence in the method, they will find it motivating Therefore, what the teacher should do is to choose the teaching style which they find most suitable for their students in all ways, especially in terms of their needs Nowadays, the common goal of most language learners is to acquire communicative competence which is defined in “Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics” on page 65 as follows:

The ability not only to apply the grammatical rules

of a language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also know when and where to use these sentences and to whom Communicative competence includes:

a Knowledge of grammar and vocabulary of the language;

knowing how to begin and end a conversation, knowing what topics may be talked about in different types of speech events, knowing which address forms should be used with different

persons one speaks to and in different situations;

requests, apologies, thanks, and invitations; [and,]

d Knowing how to use language appropriately

In order to help students acquire communicative competence, most teachers choose communicative approach for its distinctive features raised by Richards and Rodgers (1986, 71) as follows:

1 Language is a system of the expression of meaning

2 The primary function of language is for interaction and communication

functional and communicative uses

4 The primary units of language are merely its

categories of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse

Finocchiaro and Brumfit (1983) also define communicative language teaching as a method with a lot of positive characteristics which can be summarized into seven main features according to different aspects of language as follows:

1 Communicative competence is the desired goal, i.e language learning is learning to communicate Therefore, attempts to communicate are encouraged at the very beginning although making mistakes may occur

2 The needs of the learners are analyzed to find out what kinds of language use are most necessary for them In other words, meaning is paramount, so fluency with acceptable language is the primary goal and accuracy is judged

in the context

3 The syllabus is specified not only in terms of the language items learners are likely to need, but also in terms of the kinds of meanings they may want to express (notions) and the things they want to do with the language (functions)

4 Materials are developed which take into account the different ways in which people use language – they may be organized around topics or functions of language – and they will be so organized that students are forced to try to express themselves through language, often without much help from the teacher

5 Teachers are trained to become instructors who help students in any way that motivates them to work with the language They can use group work and simultaneous pair work in class so that students have as many opportunities

as possible to work intensively on their own

6 Teaching aids and techniques are devised to promote the learning process Consequently, judicious use of native language and translation is accepted where students need or benefit from it Pair work and group work should be used to individualize work, so that students in a class do not have to work in the same way, at the same pace and at the same time

7 Language teaching is seen as an effort to involve “the whole person,” i.e it cannot be treated as a purely technical exercise but should relate to students’ genuine feelings, interests and needs Thus, dialogs, if used, center around communicative functions (thanking, apologizing, making requests, …) rather

than normally memorized Intrinsic motivation will spring from the interest

in what is being communicated by the language

With the above distinctive features, the communicative approach seems to be suitable for most language learners who aim to acquire communicative language ability – the ability to express one’s self and to understand others

2.2.3 Physical conditions of English teaching and learning

Besides the subjective factors related to teachers and students, the physical conditions are considered the objective ones which also have strong influence on teaching and learning English These factors, listed by Neville Grant (1991), include the classroom conditions such as the brightness, the temperature and fresh air, the acoustics, the lines of vision and the layout of the desks In fact, if the classroom is not bright and cool enough and the board is invisible, students will be easily discouraged from learning Moreover, if the teacher and students have to work in a room in which it is difficult to hear and be heard, they will be so tired that only a limited number of things can be done in class One more important thing which affect mostly on the teacher is the layout of the classroom If the teacher is free to change the desks to form pairs / groups or to set the scene for role plays, it will be easier for them to motivate the students and get them to communicate with each other In addition to the teaching environment, the availability of teaching aids also contributes to the success of a language class In other words, if the instructional aids such as textbooks, flashcards, charts, cassette recorders, tapes, head projectors, language labs and computers are available for teachers to use whenever necessary, they will have good conditions to improve their teaching skills so as to make the lesson more interesting and get the students more involved and motivated

2.2.4 Testing

According to Ur (2005,9), tests may be used as a means to:

1 give the teacher information about where the students are at the moment, to help decide what to teach next;

2 give the students information about what they know,

so that they also have an awareness of what they need to learn or review;

3 assess for some purpose external to current teaching (a final grade for the course, selection);

4 motivate students to learn or review specific material;

5 provide a clear indication that the class has reached a ‘station’ in learning, such as the end of

a unit, thus contributing to a sense of structure

in the course as a whole;

6 get students to make an effort (in doing the test itself), which is likely to lead to better results and a feeling of satisfaction;

7 give students tasks which themselves may actually provide useful review or practice, as well as testing;[and,]

8 provide students with a sense of achievement and progress in their learning

For the above reasons, it is clear that tests and exams function as a motivation that not only encourages students to learn more seriously but also influences the teacher’s method although they are basically used as a device to measure students’ progress In other words, testing has a profound effect on what goes on in the classroom Teachers are motivated to teach and students are motivated to study such

material which will be covered in tests Therefore, if the content in the test does nothing with what is learnt and taught, both students and teachers will be de-motivated In order to create the validity of a test, Caroll (1980) claims four criteria

in foreign language testing: economy, relevance, acceptability and comparability

Economy refers to the selection from the items covered in the material to infer

something about the student’s knowledge or ability; in order to make a test economical, Lee and VanPatten (1995, 134) suggest that “it merely samples the

material covered” Relevance refers to the concord between the curriculum goals

and the tests For this criterion, Lee and VanPatten (1995, 134) suggest that “it reflect not simply what is taught but, more importantly, how it is taught.”

Acceptability refers to the student’s point of view: a test is acceptable when it

evaluates their progress; for some students, acceptability means familiarity: students are familiar with the testing format through activities practiced in class

Comparability refers to the institution’s point of view, in the words of Lee and

VanPatten (1995, 135), “test scores for learners who are taught the same material by the same method should be similar; the same test should yield similar results if it is offered a year later; two different tests examining the same content should yield similar results”

We have looked over the factors related to the learner, the teacher, physical conditions and testing that greatly influence English teaching and learning These factors can promote the teaching and learning, but they also may obstruct the process if they are not taken into consideration as well as expected

2.3 Potential obstacles in English teaching and learning

2.3.1 The non-motivation of students

As mentioned above, motivation is the biggest single factor affecting students’ success in language learning Unfortunately, nowadays, most students at high schools learn English simply because it is on the school curriculum; actually, it is a

compulsory subject that students must learn whether they like it or not This situation has caused a lot of challenges to the teacher-in-charge First, it is difficult

to get de-motivated students involved in the lesson because they do not see any relevance in studying the language Second, it is hard to make the students change their view about the subject so that they will find it interesting and useful Finally, it

is challenging to help such students make progress in learning the language

2.3.2 The learning situation

Basically, there are two types of learning situations: learning in a natural setting and learning in the classroom According to Danny D Steinberg (1993, 210), “a natural situation for second-language learning is one where the second language is experienced in a situation that is similar to that in which the native language is learned That is, language is experienced in conjunction with the objects, situations and events of everyday life; it is not taught in a classroom Differently, the classroom for second language learning is a planned or an artificially constructed situation The language that is to be experienced by the students is planned and the teacher is the planner.” Steinberg also states some characteristics of the planned classroom situation which distinguish it from the natural situation such as social adjustment to group processes, the need to attend class in order to learn, the need for long periods of concentration and, when required, having to do home study Based

on those factors, Steinberg has drawn a conclusion that adults will do better than young children in the classroom situation because they are mature enough to meet such requirements On the contrary, psychologically, children will do the best in the natural situation because they learn the language inductively and possess good memory together with motor skills However, in reality, most children have to study

in the classroom where the language is artificially constructed and therefore it is hardly to be naturally experienced This situation requires the teacher’s attempt to stimulate natural settings so that students will have opportunities to expose to good native language It is a really difficult job to the teacher

2.3.3 The cultural differences between L1 and L2

It is now broadly accepted in most parts of the world that learning a foreign language is not simply mastering an object of academic study but is more appropriately focused on learning a means of communication Communication in real situations is never out of context; communication is rarely culture-free Thus, language learning and learning about target cultures cannot realistically be separated Martin Cortazzi and Lixian Jin (1999, 197) considered culture a framework of assumptions, ideas, and beliefs, which are used to interpret other people’s actions, words, and patterns of thinking This framework is necessarily subjective and is commonly taken for granted However, it is crucial that foreign language learners should become aware of differing cultural frameworks, both their own and those of others; otherwise they will use their own cultural system to interpret target-language messages whose intended meaning may well be predicated

on quite different cultural assumptions By this way, they may experience cultural shocks or even feel discouraged about the language Therefore, it is necessary for the teacher to include the target-language cultures in the lesson as well as develop students’ skill in intercultural communication This is really a difficult task to the teacher because it requires a wide range of knowledge about the culture of the English speaking countries

The above factors are the commonest among a lot of obstacles in English teaching and learning It is the teacher that is supposed to solve such problems so as to increase the effectiveness in teaching and learning the language

2.4 Summary

This chapter has discussed theoretical and empirical literature crucial to the understanding of the evaluation of an English coursebook, factors affecting on English teaching and learning and the potential obstacles in teaching and learning

English The first issue was to discuss the methods of evaluating a coursebook and

its purposes Second, the factors affecting on English teaching and learning have

been analyzed: learner factors such as their motivation, learning style and their

psychology; teacher factors such as their personality, and teaching method; physical

conditions such as the brightness, the temperature and the layout of the desks; and

testing Finally, the chapter discusses the obstacles in teaching and learning English

such as the non-motivation of the students, the learning situation and the cultural

differences between L1 and L2 These are common problems in high schools that

English-language teachers should pay attention to in order to succeed in teaching

to study abroad They are required to attach TOEFL or IELTS certificates to their application forms; otherwise they will have to take an intensive English course before being accepted into any schools Perceiving such a realistic importance of English, a majority of parents want to orient their children to specialize in English at

a very early age so that they will have more opportunities to get good jobs in the future as well as to continue their higher studies overseas

In order to fulfill the practical requirements of the society as well as to make good conditions for students to bring into play their aptitude for English, the Department

of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City submitted the report numbered 1217 / GD-DT-TrH dated August 8th 1998 to the City People’s Committee in order to ask for the approval of the project of Intensive English classes The target of this project

is to train students to improve their English competence, especially their listening and speaking skills so that they will be able to use English as a second language after graduating from the high school Based on that training aim, the Department of

Education and Training has designed the Intensive English Program in two models for different kinds of students:

 Model A (12 years): Students who follow this model start studying English at the age of six - grade one and continue up to grade 12

 Model B (7 years): Students who follow this model start studying English at the age of eleven - grade 6 and continue up to grade 12

Although the time extent for each model is different, the target for both of them is the same, i.e students attending these two models are expected to communicate in English fluently at the end of the program

3.2 Requirements

With the desire to organize an ESL (English as a Second Language) program with the international standards, the Department of Education and Training states specific requirements for Intensive English Classes as follows:

- Students in Intensive English Classes are supposed to have aptitude for language, which is investigated through an exam

- The number of students in each class cannot exceed 35 so that the teacher would have balance care on every student

- Students in Intensive English Classes have to cover the textbooks compiled

by the Ministry of Education together with the supplementary materials As a result, Intensive English Classes must be two-session-a-day ones

- The classrooms should be well-equipped with teaching aids which are necessary for a language class such as pictures, posters, wall-charts, cassette recorders, televisions, video players, …

- The layout of the classroom should be flexible to make it easy for the teachers to apply the communicative approach, e.g discussion in pairs, in groups, role plays and especially games

Besides the above compulsory requirements above, schools which hold Intensive English Classes are encouraged to invite native speakers to have a talk with students

so that they have more opportunities to communicate face to face with foreigners in order to improve their listening and speaking skills as well as their knowledge about the cultures of English-speaking countries Moreover, English Speaking Clubs and outdoor activities are also supported because they are necessary and suitable for teenage students who are very dynamic, assertive and interested in discovering new things Joining these extra activities, students will have chances to express themselves in English and improve their communicative skills in society such as how to start a conversation appropriately, how to be a good listener, how to interrupt politely and even how to have an impressive speech before public These skills are really necessary for those who want to communicate successfully

3.3 Targets

In order to make sure that all classes of the Intensive English Program reach the same standards, the Department of Education and Training has stated some specific targets for the intensive classes at junior high schools They do not only focus on the linguistic knowledge but also take the four skills into account

In terms of knowledge, the students are supposed to acquire:

- basic conceptions about the English-speaking countries in the field of geography, history, people’s lifestyles as well as the differences in customs compared with Vietnam;

- basic linguistic material of English (grammar and structures) as the background for higher level at high schools ; and

- a storage of over 2000 vocabulary items related to daily life in family and in society

In addition, the four skills are expected to be improved adequately and in a balance way However, the Intensive English Program at junior high schools attaches special importance to listening and speaking skills so that the students can communicate in English fluently after finishing this program It does not mean reading and writing skills are not taken into consideration The students are required to achieve the targets set for each skill as follows:

a) Listening:

Students are supposed to be able to comprehend daily life conversations, small talks,

as well as stories in the length of 150 to 200 words

b) Speaking

Students should be able to exchange information about themselves, their relatives, friends, acquaintances and so on At the higher level, they are supposed to express their feelings and present their opinions in English about a specific topic in the length of 100 words

c) Reading

Students are supposed to comprehend certain kinds of documents in English such as informal letters, articles in newspapers or magazines, scientific reports, and short stories in the length of 200 words

3.4 The curriculum

In order to achieve the targets stated, it is essential to develop a suitable and practical curriculum Therefore, the Department of Education and Training had well-qualified English teachers in the city design the curriculum for Intensive English Classes This project was carried out in the form of a scientific research which was checked and taken over in September, 2003 The curriculum was designed based on the following rules:

- The textbook compiled by the Ministry of Education and the supplementary coursebook should be seriously covered simultaneously Therefore, the coursebook is expected to include the language items in the textbook, but it

should be more intensive

- The supplementary coursebook should be communicative, i.e listening and speaking skills should be intensively practiced so that students can use English as a second language to communicate after graduating from high school

- The content of the coursebook should be appropriate for the learning ability

as well as the psychology of teenage students In more details, the input should not be too challenging so that the students do not feel discouraged or de-motivated Besides, the topics should be familiar with teenagers so as to arouse the students’ interests Last but not least, the activities should be interesting enough to involve all of the students

- The methodology should be suitable for the teaching and learning situation in Vietnam In other words, they should not be against the Vietnamese ideology about education

Based on the above rules, the materials chosen for the Intensive English Program are a combination of Vietnamese textbooks – TIENG ANH 6, 7, 8, 9 – published by Nha Xuat Ban Giao Duc and American coursebooks – American Hotline series (Starter, Progress, Early-intermediate, Intermediate) – published by Oxford University Press These two series must be used simultaneously and interactively for each level as follow:

Grade 6: TIENG ANH 6 + AMERICAN HOTLINE (Starter)

Grade 7: TIENG ANH 7 + AMERICAN HOTLINE (Progress)

Grade 8: TIENG ANH 8 + AMERICAN HOTLINE (Early Intermediate)

Grade 9: TIENG ANH 9 + AMERICAN HOTLINE (Intermediate)

3.5 Testing

In order to help students reinforce their knowledge, in addition to the frequent tests (15 minutes) and periodical tests (45 minutes) as defined in the syllabus designed for the mainstream program by the Ministry of Education in 2000, students are required to do a one-period test after each review lesson in American Hotline This test aims to help students see how well they have learned the work of the units Therefore, the content of the test is limited within the language items, which have been covered It must not be too challenging so that the teacher can evaluate the students’ learning ability more exactly At the end of each semester, the students of the intensive program have to take an extra English exam apart from the common one like other junior high school students This extra exam aims to test the students’ language skills especially listening and speaking The result is recorded in the students’ report cards At the end of the school year, those whose average score is below 6.0 are not allowed to continue attending Intensive English Classes This rule

is considered one of the factors that motivate the students to work harder and more seriously to reach the standard

3.6 The American Hotline series

American Hotline is a four-year course for teenagers that take learners from beginners’ to intermediate In terms of language syllabus, American Hotline is described as a grammar-based series In other words, the language syllabus is structurally graded and developed on a loop back principle, i.e constant review is built into the syllabus progression In terms of skills, American Hotline is described

as an integrated-skill coursebook Although each unit contains separate section for each skill: listening, speaking, reading and writing, the emphasis throughout is on the integration of the skills With such special features, American Hotline is considered an example of combination of modern and traditional language teaching, which seems to be suitable for Vietnamese learning and teaching styles Moreover, the language items covered in this four- level series relatively coincide with the ones

in the Vietnamese textbooks (TIENG ANH 6, 7, 8, 9) This seems to be easier for students to study two books simultaneously because they will have more chances to practice the language over and over Therefore, American Hotline series together with the Vietnamese textbooks was chosen to be used as the materials of the Intensive English Program at junior high schools in Ho Chi Minh City Although the series was checked and has been put in use for over ten years (since the school year 1998-1999), its effectiveness is still in question in other aspects of language learning and teaching such as students’ motivation, the study environment, the relevance of the coursebook, etc Consequently, it is necessary to look into the book to figure out what need to be improved so as to increase its effectiveness

3.7 Summary

This chapter has described the Intensive English Program in terms of the purposes, the requirements, the targets, the curriculum, testing as well as the coursebook series applied for this program Such information contributes greatly to the researcher’s evaluation of the coursebook which is supposed to satisfy those factors This helps

decide whether or not the coursebook is suitable for the learning and teaching situation