Luận văn thạc sĩ VNU ULIS an analysis of cultural factors in the textbook english 12 from the perspective of english as an international language

INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the study

Unlike any other language which normally rests itself in its homeland, English has stepped beyond the boundary of its first settlements, initially the United Kingdom, later the United States of America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, travelling to every corner of the world, being used by people of all kinds of nationalities and ethnic backgrounds as a common language for most of their international encounters (Crystal, 1997; Graddol, 1997; McKay, 2002) and has actually grown into "a world property" (Talebinezhad, 2001), used "by the world" and "for the world" (Ngo, 2012) One of its lengthened names: English as an International Language (henceforth EIL) indicates an attempt to reflect such global scale usage of the language

English has become a global language with so many implications for the teaching and learning of the language McKay (2002: 1) points out that "the teaching and learning of an international language must be based on an entirely different set of assumptions than the teaching and learning of any other second or foreign language" These assumptions give rise to changes in teaching methods, learners' goals, materials, assessment and the view on the cultural content in the teaching and learning materials

One of the questions arising from the context of EIL teaching is: Is totally (or extremely) native English-speaking cultures oriented approach to teaching and learning materials still reasonable with the advent of EIL? This question implies changes in approach to cultural content of materials for EIL teaching As a high school teacher of English, I have noticed that the new set of textbooks introduced nationwide in 2006 by MOET shows a great deal of improvement as compared with the old grammar-based one However, I wonder whether it keeps pace with changes in terms of cultural content required by the advent of EIL Whose cultures are presented in the textbooks? How are they distributed? Do they provide learners any opportunities to compare and contrast cultures? Therefore, there has arisen a strong need to tackle a study to find answers to those questions, figuring out to what extent the textbooks can equip learners with adequate cultural instruction in the context of EIL This is my motivation in conducting this research.

Research aims, objectives and research questions

This study aims at analyzing the cultural content in the textbook English 12 to figure out whether or not it provides students with adequate cultural instruction in EIL context The objectives of the study are to define whose cultures are more presented in the textbook so that decisions on modification or supplementation of the cultural content can be made In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims and objectives, the study was designed to find answers to the following overarching research question:

- To what extent does the textbook English 12 meet the criteria for the cultural content from the perspective of English as an International Language?

The above question encompasses three sub-questions that this study aims to answer:

1 What cultures are embedded in the textbook English 12?

2 Which culture predominates in the textbook English 12?

3 To what extent does the textbook English 12 provide opportunities for students to compare and contrast the target culture, the home culture and the international culture?

Scope of the study

Given the aforementioned aims and objectives, this study is limited to the analysis of the cultural content embedded in the textbook English 12 for Vietnamese high school students.

Significance of the study

Findings of this study will help to raise cultural awareness among textbook writers, classroom teachers and students They also suggest pedagogical solutions to the challenge of addressing the issue of culture in the context of teaching English as an international language Those suggestions will help to develop better Vietnamese high school students’ intercultural awareness so that they can use English for international communication more effectively in their personal and career life.

The structure of the thesis

This thesis is divided as follows:

PART I is Introduction This part presents general details that serve as the rationale of the study It also introduces the scope of the study, research objectives and research questions, its significance, and outlines the thesis.

DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 2 - Methodology presents the method used to analyze the cultural factors of the textbook It also describes setting and sample of the research, data collection instrument, and data collection procedure and data analysis

Chapter 3 - Findings Analysis and Discussion presents the results from the data collected and a discussion of the findings

PART III is Conclusion and Recommendations It presents the recommendations drawn from the findings of the study and concludes the thesis

This part has introduced general details which serve as research background leading to the formation of research needs The impetus for the study has arisen from the fact that today English has gained the status of an international language, entailing changes in approach to basis of cultural content in EFL teaching materials

Therefore, a study to examine cultural content of current EFL textbooks should be conducted The research aims, objectives and research questions, the scope and significance of the study as well as the structure of the thesis have also been clarified in this part.

THEORY AND LITERATURE REVIEW

The concept of culture

There are numerous ways to define the concept culture On a general level, culture has been referred to as "the ways of a people" (Lado, 1957, cited in Thanasoulas, 2001) Chastain (1988, p 302, cited in Saluveer, 2004) defines culture as "the way people live", Brown (2000, p.176, cited in Saluveer, 2004) sees culture as "a way of life" and includes" the ideas, customs, skills, arts and tools that characterise a given group of people in a given period of time"

Moran (2001, p.3, cited in El Shawa, 2011) provokes five dimensions of culture: products (food, clothes, tools), practices (verbal and non-verbal language, actions and interactions), perspectives (values, beliefs), communities ( race, gender, religions ) and persons (individuals) and adopts the following definition (p.34, cited in El Shawa, 2011): Culture is the evolving way of life of a group of persons, consisting of a shared set of practices associated with a shared set of products, based upon a shared set of perspectives on the world, and set within specific social contexts

Also, according to Oguro (2008, cited in El Shawa, 2011), the latest categorization of culture in foreign language pedagogy is devised by ACTFL

(American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language) Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st century (National Standards for Language Education Project, 2005) In these standards, any culture is divided into "Three Ps":

Perspectives, Products, and Practices Perspectives are "traditional ideas and attitudes, beliefs and values", Practices are "the knowledge of what to do when and where", and Products are "the manifestations that reflect the perspectives of the culture."

The current study adopts this definition as it is related to foreign language education

1.1.2 Relationship between language and culture

Language is a part of culture and it also reflects culture Brown (2000, p

177, cited in Saluveer, 2004, p.11) contends that "a language is a part of culture and a culture is a part of a language; the two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of their language or culture"

Byram (1989, p 94, cited in Saluveer, 2004, p.11) adds that "the language holds the culture through the denotations and connotation of its semantics", which is why it is important to teach culture through its language Kramsch (1998, p.3, cited in Saluveer, 2004, p.11) identifies three ways how language and culture are bound together First, language expresses cultural reality (with words people express facts and ideas but also reflect their attitudes) Second, language embodies cultural reality (people give meanings to their experience through the means of communication)

Third, language symbolizes cultural reality (people view their language as a symbol of their social identity) (Saluveer, 2004, p.11)

Language reflects culture, or it is a vehicle to carry culture, as it is often said

In fact, the forms and uses of a given language reflect the cultural values, cultural conventions and pragmatic strategies of a society "Lexical and grammatical categories of a language have been assumed to determine how its speakers conceptualize the world around them" (Thanasoulas, 2001, p.8) For instance, under the influence of a hierarchy culture, addressing forms/personal pronouns in Vietnamese are not fixed but dependent on a particular context, while those of English are unchanged regardless of situational contexts Moreover, Thanasoulas

(2001) discovers that culture has grammar of its own He clarifies the idea by giving an example: When an American sees a bus coming, he almost always uses the present progressive (" the bus is coming"), but a Japanese uses the present perfect ("the bus has come") He concludes that "the difference between the two cultures lies in the conceptual organization of experience which they choose, or rather are conditioned, to adhere to"(Thanasoulas, 2001, p.9)

Due to the relationship between language and culture, teaching a language involves or even means teaching its culture.

Culture in second/ foreign language teaching

"It has been emphasized that without the study of culture, teaching L2 is inaccurate and incomplete" and "for L2 students, language study seems senseless if they know nothing about the people who speak the target language or the country in which the target language is spoken" ( Genc & Bada, 2005, p.73) Therefore, the L2 culture is presented in many L2 curricula designs and materials (Sysoyev&

Donelson, 2002, cited in Genc & Bada, 2005, p.73) Some consider knowledge of target culture the fifth skill alongside with reading, speaking, listening and writing skills in the process of foreign language acquisition (Tomalin, 2008, cited in Ngo,

2012) In this principle, learners are encouraged to use the target language in conformity to norms and cultural conventions of the target community "Cultural adjustment" and "acculturation" are considered essential factors in determining how successful an L2 learner is in his or her process of language acquisition

On a practical note, culture teaching should allow learners to increase their knowledge of the target culture in terms of people's way of life, values, attitudes, and beliefs, and how these manifest themselves or are couched in linguistic categories and forms More specifically, the teaching of culture should make learner aware of speech acts, connotations, etiquette, that is appropriate or inappropriate behaviour, as well as provide them with the opportunity to act out being a member of the target culture (p.17).

Thus, a learner of Chinese learns about Chinese culture, a learner of English learns about Anglo-Saxon culture and tries to imitate it This practice remained unchanged in ELT until English has spread worldwide, developing into different varieties and gained a status of an international language.

English as an International Languge

1.3.1 Kachru's Three Circles Model and English varieties

The beginning point of EIL forum seems to have emerged in 1985 when Kachru proposed his famous three concentric circles model:

(a) The Inner Circle: where English is the primary language of the country and where the ownership of English was claimed and norms originated;

(b) The Outer Circle: where English serves as a second language in a multilingual countries as a means of intranational or local communication;

(c) The Expanding Circle: where English is widely studied as a foreign language

In accordance with Kachru's three concentric circles model, Kirkpatrick

(2007) categorises English varieties into three groups: (1) Native varieties refer to English in Kachru's Inner Circle; (2) Nativised varieties are English in the Outer Circle; and (3) Lingua Franca varieties are English functioning as a foreign language used by all remaining countries in the Expanding Circle

One noticeable contribution of Kachru's model, as Graddol (1997) remarks, is that it highlights the unique development of English in these three contexts In the Inner Circle, the spread of English was a result of a migration of English speakers with each settlement establishing its own national variety In the Outer Circle, however, English has spread largely due to colonization by English-speaking nations The spread of English in the Expanding Circle is largely as a result of foreign language learning within the country

Another contribution of Kachru's model is that it instantly shows the number of English users worldwide, which is no fewer than three billion However, more importantly, it exposures the imbalance in the number of native and non-native speakers of English at present and in foreseeable future Today, the number of non- native English speakers exceeds that of native speakers and in the next 50 years, as Graddol (1999) concludes, the imbalance will be far greater: based solely on expected population changes, the number of people using English as their second language will grow from 235 million to around 462 million during the next 50 years This indicates that the balance between L1 and L2 speakers will critically change, with L2 speakers eventually overtaking L1 speakers

The model, however, bears a drawback in that it advocates "the connotation of linguistic superiority in the model's core" (Do, 2012) Regarding the Inner Circle communities as norm-providing, the Outer Circle communities as norm-developing and the Expanding Circle communities as norm-dependent, Kachru accidentally denied "the right to their own variety-development" of the Expanding Circle communities and treated Inner Circle English as the "model of correctness" ( Do,

2012) In fact, "English has developed into local varieties by adopting and adapting to local languages and cultures in its process of inevitable localization and internalization" (Yano, 2006, ), or speaking more briefly "is being shaped, in its international uses, at least as much by its non-native speakers as its native speakers"

(Seidlhofer, 2004, p.211) The "norm-provider" status of Inner Circle speakers is no longer ensured but should be seen as "used-to-be"; and rather, "if they wish to participate in international communication in the 21st century, they will too have to learn EIL"(Jenkins, 2000, cited in Seidlhofer, p.228) Logically, if the world once witnessed the emergence of "New Englishes" in Outer Circle countries, then, in the not too distant future it is sure to welcome the appearance of more and more "New Englishes" in the Expanding Circle countries (Still More Englishes, Gorlach, 2002, cited in Seidlhofer, 2004) The word "new" and the suffix "es" here are nothing more than an evidence that English today is no longer a "monolithic" entity but as

"a heterogeneous language with multiple norms and diverse grammars"

(Canagarajah and Said, 2009, cited in Do, 2012) Hence, the co-existence of a number of world varieties of English ( British, American, Indian, East African, European, South-East Asian, to name just a few) with all of their distinctive features both linguistically and socio-culturally, and especially with their own equal rights should be seen as an inevitable outcome of the worldwide spread of English in the era of globalization It is this outcome that has both created a demand for and helped to clarify the notion of English as an International Language

1.3.2 What is English as an International Language (EIL)?

Naturally, when the above question is heard, one would expect an answer that describes EIL as a single standard international English which may have the higher prestige and function than the existing British and American standard Englishes Such a single EIL, however, "is not possible to establish nor necessary to do so" (Yano, 2006) EIL can be seen as the core of world varieties of English, sharing basic grammar and vocabulary, pragmatic strategies, and intelligibility, "a loose league of regional standards Englishes with mutual intelligibility which are spoken and understood by the educated speakers of any of varieties" ( Yano, 2006) Precisely speaking, by EIL, most people emphasize the use of English on global scale In other words, EIL is, actually, nothing more than any variety of English when used for international communication The following definitions of EIL may support the aforesaid argument:

 EIL refers to the use of English by people of different nations in order to communicate with one another ( Talebinezhad Mohammad Reza & Aliakbari, 2001 )

 The role of English as a language of international communication, for example, when a Brazilian and a Japanese businessman use English to negotiate a business contract The type of English used on such occasions need not necessarily be based on native speaker varieties of English (e.g American English or British English) but will vary according to the mother tongue of the people speaking it and the purposes for which it is being used

(Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1992, p.124)

However, it does not mean that English has no necessary features for it to be called an international language In her book "Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches" (2002), Sandra Lee McKay contends that English meets all features of an international language: (1), English is used by people of different nations to communicate with one another (Smith, 1976); (2), English owns a special status recognized in every country (Crystal,1997); and (3), English spreads largely by many individuals acquiring it, but not through speaker migration ( Brutt-Griffler, 2002).

The growing number of bilingual users of English, however, does not characterize it as an international language Other equally significant features need to be taken into account as well These features, as Smith elaborated in 1976, are that:

(a) its learners do not need to internalize the cultural norms of native speakers of that language

(b) the ownership of an international language becomes de-nationalized, and (c) the educational goal of learning it is to enable learners to communicate their ideas and culture to others.(cited in McKay, 2002, p.12)

Hence, EIL is cross-border; its primary function is to enable speakers to share ideas and cultural views, and is no longer connected to the culture of the Inner Circle countries (H.H, Cindy Lee) It can be any variety of English used "by the world" and "for the world” (Ngo, 2012)

One point with regard to terms should be mentioned is that whenever English is referred to as the preferred option for communication among people from different first language backgrounds, the denomination English tends to get modified by the addition "as a(n) x" Besides "English as an international language"

(Jenkins, 2000; McKay, 2002) there are also "English as a lingua franca" (ELF) (Gnutzmann, 2000; Seidlhofer, 2001) or "English as a global language" (Crystal, 1997; Gnutzmann, 1999a) and so forth (Seidlhofer, 2004) These terms, however, all refer to English used for intercultural communication by people of different ethnic backgrounds and cultures.

The issue of culture in the context of teaching English as an International

An international language by definition is not linked to any particular culture as Smith (1976) contends: (a) its learners do not need to internalize the cultural norms of native speakers; (b) the ownership of an international language becomes de-nationalized; and (c) the educational goal of learning it is to enable learners to share their ideas and culture to others Thus, in the case of EIL, the typical relationship that exists between language and culture needs to be re-examined (McKay, 2002) No one can deny British or American culture of EIL, however this culture is not the only one that EIL carries and reflects All languages, let alone an international language like English, always take on new cultural meanings, or

"languaculture" (Risager, 2006: 110) while functioning in intercultural communication The relationship between language and culture is not fixed but depends on the users and the contexts Therefore, Risager (2006) concludes that a language such as English will have as many "languacultures" as there are speakers of the language, and in this sense, the English language is unnecessarily closely associated with English-speaking cultures (Do, 2012) And as Yano (2007, p 32) contends, the new owners of English use it in their way "to express themselves, their society, and their culture":

In Southeast Asia, telephone operators say "Come again" instead of "Would you repeat it again?” In Malaysian English, sex difference is added to the word

"cousin" and hence, "cousin brother" and "cousin sister" are commonly used When people in the Philippines are nervous, they say "I have a mouse in the chest" When asked why they do not use the idioms used by native speakers, they say 'If Americans can say "I have butterflies in my stomach" why can't we say "I have a mouse in the chest?" (Yano, 2007) In Africa, redundant pronouns are inserted to echo the subject as in "Robert he is currently working for the government" (Kachru and Nelson, 2006, cited in Yano, 2007) In Vietnam, "Good morning teacher" is used by most students to greet their teachers (1)

These aforesaid examples help to consolidate a fact that when used globally English does not bear in it merely the culture of its native speakers (Anglo-Saxon culture) but also the culture of non- native speakers (non- Anglo- Saxon culture)

(1) Brian Stott, a British Council agent working in Vietnam in the early 2000s, was surprised by this greeting and proposed that Vietnamese students should not say "teacher" However, his proposal has not been accepted because in Vietnam it is considered rude not to mention a teacher's career in greeting or any other communicative setting

- Source : Magazine "English Now", British Council

This has also proved that, to date, gaining global status, English is no longer completely controlled by norms of its originators albeit those originators established the linguistic rules Rather, today English native speakers merely play a participant role in the global communication in an English medium

Given the relationship between an international language and culture made by Smith (1976), Mc Kay (2002) contends that the users of English whether in a global or local sense do not need to internalize the cultural norms of Inner Circle countries in order to use the language effectively as a medium of wider communication Furthermore, when EIL is used by speakers from Outer and Expanding Circle countries to communicate across borders, one of its main uses is to allow speakers to tell others about their ideas and culture She concludes:

1 As an international language, English is used in a global sense for international communication between countries and in a local sense as a language of wider communication within multilingual societies

2 As it is an international language, the use of English is no longer connected to the culture of Inner Circle countries

3 As an international language in a local sense, English becomes embedded in the culture of the country in which it is used

4 As English is an international language in a global sense, one of its primary functions is to enable speakers to share with others their ideas and culture (p 12)

Hence, EIL is not linked to any one country or culture; rather it must belong to those who use it EIL does not reflect culture of its originators alone, but reflects culture of anyone who uses it EIL functions as a vehicle to carry such a wide range of cultures that some call it a "free-culture" language (Alptekin, 2005, cited in Penny Ur, 2009).

Cultural content in materials for EIL teaching

Cortazzi and Jin (1999) distinguish three types of information that can be used in language textbooks and materials: source culture (the learner's own culture)

Target culture (culture of a country where English is spoken as a first language) and International target culture ( a great variety of cultures in English and non-English speaking countries) Which type is appropriate for EIL teaching materials?

Determining the cultural basic of EIL is one of the most complex problems (McKay, 2004) For some, it is impossible to teach a foreign language without its culture base (Steward, 1982; Valdes, 1986; Byram, 1998, cited in McKay, 2004)

For others, however, EIL is not linked to any particular culture ( Smith, 1976) but belongs to numerous cultures and identities, becoming "the major language of a developing mass culture" ( McKay, 2002, p 15), so it is not simple to decide on what culture(s) to be included in EIL materials as in any other foreign language materials Kirkpatrick (2007) remarks:

"As many learners of English worldwide are learning English to communicate with fellow non-native speakers, the appropriateness of native-speaker models and the cultures associated with them needs to be questioned" (p 3)

Obviously, in the context where far more interactions are between non-native speakers (1), a conformity to discourse conventions or rhetorical styles of native speakers does seem of "little value and of extreme inappropriateness to the local context" (Pennycook, 1988, p.20, cited in Pham, 2001, p.7)

The researcher argues that, by and large, the basis of cultural content in EIL materials is greatly influenced by two factors: (1) characteristics of EIL, namely, the special relationship between EIL and culture and (2) learners' need to establish a sphere of interculturality in the context of globalization and intercultural communication

(1) Beneke (1999) Gnutzmann (2000) estimate that about 80 percent of verbal exchanges in which English is used as a second or foreign language do not involve any native speakers of English

These factors demand that "the cultural content of EIL materials should not be limited to native English-speaking cultures" (McKay, 2003, p.140) Namely:

 Regarding the relationship between EIL with culture, the use of cultural content in EIL teaching should warrant the following characteristics of an international language:

1 As it is an international language, the use of English is no longer connected to the culture of Inner Circle countries

2 One of the primary functions of English, as in the case with any international language, is to enable speakers to share their ideas and cultures (McKay, 2002, p.81)

 Regarding the cultural "pluralism" nature of English today, "it cannot be assumed that the culture of any one particular country, especially an Inner Circle country should provide the basis for cultural content when teaching EIL" (McKay, ibid., p.82) and "English needs to be used as a vehicle to raise awareness of three types of cultures: the "home" culture, international culture(s), and the culture of ( native) English - speaking peoples", therefore, cultural content in materials should be a combination of "source and international, not just that of the English-speaking peoples." (Penny Ur, 2009, pp 5-6)

 "If one of the goals of using culture in EIL teaching is to help individuals interact in cross- cultural encounters, then merely knowing about a culture will not be sufficient to gain insight into how to interact in these encounters." (McKay, ibid., p.82)

 "In certain contexts, it may be that the local or lingua franca model should be used as a classroom model and regional cultures - at least the cultures of the learners - should constitute the curriculum In short, the curriculum should comprise the cultures of the people using the language for cross-cultural communication rather than Anglo-American cultures."(Kirkpatrick, ibid., p.3)

All things considered, it can be concluded that the basis of cultural content in materials for EIL teaching in all circles should be a combination of both Anglo- Saxon culture and non-Anglo-Saxon culture The model will give students chance to establish a sphere of interculturality, get familiarized with a diversity of cultures, reflect on their own culture, compare and contrast cultures, thus developing their critical cultural awareness (Aguilar, 2007) and intercultural competence: the sensitivity to other cultural norms and the ability to adapt and function appropriately when interacting with people from other cultures (Alptekin, 2005).

Previous studies

The advent of EIL has created a new wave in the ocean of English pedagogy

If in the early half of the 20th century, such phrases as World Englishes (WEs) and EIL or ELF (English as a lingua franca) almost never sounded in linguistic forums and conferences, nowadays, they echo almost everywhere Actually, the unprecedented worldwide spread of English in the last five decades has created heated issues attracting a broad spectrum of TESOL professionals not only of non- Anglo-Saxon origin (Kachru, David Nunan, Canagarajah ) but also Anglo-Saxon origin (McKay, David Crystal, Kirkpatrick, Mc Arthur ) The vibrant area of study on WEs, EIL, and ELF has resulted from an objective demand and natural trend of globalization and intercultural communication, by no means from subjective willingness or desire of some group of non-Anglo- Saxons seeking for their equal linguistic status to Anglo-Saxons Accompanying with the boiling forum of EIL is a growing body of publications and research concerning the full global dimension of English today

World Englishes, English Today, and Asian Englishes are some of linguistic journals which have been published to exclusively focus on WEs There are other excellent introductory texts to WEs such as The Other Tongue ( Kachru, 1992), Oxford Guide to World Englishes (McArthur, 2002) which Kirkpatrick (2007) commented as "extremely valuable background and reference materials" Other scholars, Brutt-Griffler (2002), Melchers and Shaw (2003), Jenkins (2000, 2005), Kirkpatrick (2002, 2007) also edited series and books on WEs which provide a summary of current development and key debates A wide range of other publications are thickening the corpora that accept EIL/ ELF and advocate EIL perspective Among them are Seidlhofer's corpus projects (2001) Vienna Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE) that captures the use of ELF by speakers from a variety of first language backgrounds and The Macquarie Dictionary (1997) incorporating words from a range of Southeast Asian Englishes (cited in Do, 2012)

Later in recent years, texts focus more on Asian Englishes Hong Kong University is currently publishing a series on Englishes in Asia (Adamson, 2004; Stanlaw, 2004; Kachru, 2005) Other works can be listed as: Bolton (2002) and Groves

(2009) on Hong Kong English; Bolton (2003) and Adamson (2004) on China's English; Stanlaw (2004) on Japanese English, and so forth (cited in Kirkpatrick,

2007 and Do, 2012) Along with invaluable discussions on development and distinctive features of varieties of WEs, almost all the publications provide implications for their teaching and learning Those implications concern all domains of English pedagogy including the possibility of using a lingua franca model and skills required by English language teachers (Kirkpatrick, 2007), features of EIL and cultural content in EIL materials (McKay, 2002), discussion on learners' goals and general approaches to ELF education (Penny Ur, 2009)

Cultural content of EIL materials has been elaborated by noted scholars of Anglo-Saxon and non Anglo-Saxon origins: Smith (1976), Widdowson (1994), McKay (2002, 2003, 2004), Kirkpatrick (2007), Penny Ur (2009), Jenkins (2005), Talebinezhad Mohammad Reza & Aliakbari (2001), Prodromou (1988, 1992) In their books and articles, these authors restrict or even deny the hegemony of Anglo-Saxon culture in EFL textbooks and highlight the importance of inclusion of non-Anglo-Saxon culture, especially learner's culture in the curriculum

Locally speaking, the first sewers of WEs and EIL/ELF in the Vietnamese English teaching context are Do, H T (1999); Pham, H.H (2001); Tran, L.(2000);

Ton, N.N.H & Pham, H.H (2010); Vo, T.T.L (2009); Luong, T.H.T (2011); Ngo, H.H (2012); Do, T.M.N (2012) Their studies, albeit few in number, have made significant contribution to the issue, paving the way for WEs approach and EIL/ELF perspective in ELT of the context Ton & Pham (2010) conducted survey studies to discover the preferred varieties of English from the Vietnamese teachers' and learners' point of view Pham (2001) and Ngo (2012) step further from these findings by asserting that English used as a global language needs to be diversified and to become "a truly international language which people around the globe can use equally to serve their varying purposes" (Pham, 2001, p.9) Ngo (2012) conducts research on global English suggesting a culture and English variation diverse approach to English education Vo (2009) analyzes to what extent world Englishes perspective norms are adapted in the Vietnamese situation of English teaching by examining cultural information compiled in textbooks for lower secondary schools Later in 2011, Luong evaluated intercultural competence development of textbook English 11 from EIL perspective Do (2012) conducts a survey to examine how teachers and students at the faculty of English language teacher education perceive native and non-native approaches to English teaching

Overall, up to present, no single study focuses mainly on cultural content of the textbook English 12 for high school students from EIL/ELF perspective, thus leaving a research gap for this investigation

Summary: This chapter has dealt with theoretical background of the study It discussed the concept of culture and the relationship between language and culture which leads to the inclusion of culture in second language education It presented Kachru's three concentric circles model which serves as a background to the notion of EIL It has been made clear that EIL carries in its culture of anyone who uses it, not culture of native speakers alone Next, the chapter discussed the issue of culture in EIL teaching and cultural content in materials for EIL teaching which suggests criteria and guidelines for analysis It has been contended that basis of cultural content in EIL materials should not be restricted to English-speaking communities

The final part reviewed some previous studies on the issue of EIL claiming a research gap for the current study The practical aspect of the thesis is dealt with in the next chapter: Methodology

METHODOLOGY

The Vietnamese English teaching context

Since Vietnam's opening policy in the 1990s and its participation into the WTO; under the pressure of globalization and the demand of intercultural communication, the number of English learners in Vietnam is on vast increase

English is taught at most lower and high secondary schools, both state and private, from grade 6 to grade 12 Like any other country in the Expanding Circle, Vietnam needs English as a linguistic medium to participate in a "global village", especially for "lingua franca communication" in the region In a sole economy domain this fact is obvious Foreign investment into Vietnam is mostly from countries in the region or Asia According to the Radio Free Asia (RFA-28/2/2005) investment from Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, Japan into Vietnam accounted for 75% (Vo, 2009) In

2013, Japan and Taiwan are the two biggest overseas investors into Vietnam

However, the status of a lingua franca of English in Vietnam (Kirkpatrick,

2007; Luong, 2011; Ngo, 2012) is fully recognized by the Vietnamese themselves or not is still in doubt Although more and more Vietnamese are learning English as a global linguistic means, only a few realize its lingua franca status This paradox is greatly due to the fact that in Vietnam the teaching and learning of English has been influenced by Inner Circle countries The influence is vastly expressed in training programs making English nearly impossible to be "a neutral medium unlinked with

Western cultural and ideological values" (Pham, 2001, p.8) Some feel that in the Vietnamese context native speakers norms are still mythically "worshipped" (Do,

2012) and considered "standard" (Vo, 2009); almost all pedagogical activities are quite native speaker-oriented (e.g learning materials are stubbornly Anglo-centric designed; other varieties of English are marginally reflected in EFL curricular and teaching materials; assessment tend to focus on how closely learners conform to the native norms, mostly American and British) (Do, 2012) (See entrance examinations in English by MOET since 2002) as if most Vietnamese learn English to immigrate to an Inner Circle country If so, is there a mismatch between curriculum and natural demand from reality? How is EIL perspective reflected in teaching materials? Is cultural content in teaching materials Anglo-Saxon- centric? These questions also contribute to the reason why the study on the cultural content of the textbook English 12 is being conducted.

Overview of the National Curriculum and Syllabus for ELT

Before an analysis of the cultural factors of textbook English 12 takes place, an overview of the national curriculum for ELT in secondary school education and the syllabus for ELT in Vietnam is provided

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” (Hoang, 2011) The aims for ELT at secondary school level for the basic programme are described as enabling students to:

1 “Use English as a means for basic communication relatively proficiently both in spoken and written channels to meet the specific demand related to socio- science and humane

2 Master basic and relatively systematic knowledge of English suited to their levels of proficiency and ages and the specific demand related to socio- science and humane

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” (Hoang, 2011).

Research methodology

To conduct this study the researcher uses the descriptive analytical method of research which is defined by Brown and Rodgers (2002:118) as "any research that describes a setting or events in numerical terms" (cited in El Shawa, 2011) Being descriptive in nature, the study aims to identity and then quantifies the cultural content of the textbook English 12 Data were collected through a content analysis process.

Content analysis

In research, content analysis refers to "a method used for analyzing and tabulating the frequency of occurrence of topics, ideas, opinions and other aspects of the content of written or spoken communication" (Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 1992, p 80)

Neuman (1997: 272-273, cited in El Shawa, 2011) defines content analysis as "a technique for gathering and analyzing the content of the text" (content refers to any messages that can be communicated such as words, meanings, symbols, or themes; text is anything written, visual or spoken that serves as a medium for communication such as books, articles, photographs, and so on and text includes books, newspapers, speeches, or films, and so on ) and in such a kind of analysis, the researcher uses systematic and objective counting to produce a quantitative description on the text content analyzed ( El Shawa, 2011) On the other hand, there is also a qualitative approach of content analysis conducted for exploratory purposes Yen (2000:66, cited in El Shawa, 2011) concludes that content analysis is

"a systematic and objective technique, which can be used to identify specific characteristics of message and to make inferences" In this sense, content analyses can be qualitative in nature Therefore, the best content analyses should adopt both qualitative and quantitative approaches (El Shawa, 2011) However, due to the subjective and in- depth discussion of the researcher in the process of analysis and evaluation of the cultural content of the textbook, and as the study does not claim that what it discovered in the process is universal; rather, it only develops a theory, not testing it (John.D, 2006), this study is a type of qualitative research, meanwhile, quantitative content analysis is applied as an instrument.

The conceptual framework of the study and criteria for analysis

A specific and operational definition of culture need to be adopted to decide on cultural dimensions included in the textbook

I adopted definition of culture by Moran (2001:3, cited in El Shawa, 2011) which identifies five dimensions of culture as products (food, clothes, tools), practices (verbal and non-verbal language, actions and interactions), perspectives (values, beliefs), communities (race, gender, religions) and persons (individuals) to conduct this study

I set my own criteria for analysis The first two criteria are based on the discussion made by Smith (1976) on the relationship between culture and an international language; arguments made by McKay (2002), Penny Ur (2009) on basis of cultural content of materials for EIL teaching, and on the reality of the

Vietnamese context All these discussions, arguments, and the reality of the context are presented in Chapters 1, 2 of the thesis The third category is implied from McKay's discussion on the process of establishing a sphere of interculturality The process comprises two essential steps First, learners need to acquire knowledge about another culture Second, they need to reflect on how their own culture contrasts with it (McKay, 2002) Specific criteria for analysis of the study are as follows:

1 Does the textbook include both Anglo-Saxon culture and non-Anglo-Saxon culture?

2 Which culture predominates, Anglo-Saxon culture or non-Anglo-Saxon culture?

In other words, how are they distributed?

3 Does the textbook provide students with any opportunities to compare and contrast cultures?

The research questions and specific criteria in analysis card of the study are based on these criteria.

Content analysis procedure

The analysis aims to identify to what extent the cultural content of the textbook English 12 matches the suggested criteria on cultural content of teaching materials in EIL context

The book is claimed to adopt a theme-based syllabus The methodologies presented in the book are the “learner-centered approach and the communicative approach with task-based teaching being the central teaching method” (Hoang,

2011) The teaching contents for each unit are summarized in a book map which is provided on the first page of each book There are 16 teaching units and six review units in each book Each teaching unit covers a topic and is structured into five sections: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language Focus Each unit is supposed to be taught in 5 periods with 45 minutes per one The 16 topics in the book are organized as follows:

Figure 2 The organization of 16 topics in the textbook English 12

Unit 1 Home Life Unit 2 Cultural Diversity Unit 3 Ways of Socializing Unit 4 School Education System Unit 5 Higher Education

Unit 6 Future Jobs Unit 7 Economic Reforms Unit 8 Life in the Future

Unit 9 Deserts Unit 10 Endangered Species Unit 11 Books

Unit 12 Water Sports Unit 13 The 22 nd SEA Games Unit 14 International Organizations Unit 15 Women in Society

Unit 16 The Association of South-east Asian Nations

Sixteen units in the textbook English 12 constitute the sample of the analysis

However, six Test Yourself units are not analyzed Each unit in the textbook consists of five lessons: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language Focus However, all Language Focus lessons in the textbook are not analyzed The structure of each unit is illustrated in the table below:

Table 2.1 The structure of each unit in the textbook English 12

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5

I established four elements for analysis They are:

1 Activities that provide opportunities for students to learn about Vietnamese culture

2 Activities that provide opportunities for students to learn about International culture

3 Activities that provide opportunities for students to learn about Target culture

4 Activities that provide opportunities for students to compare and contrast cultures

Each task in the four lessons excluding Language Focus lesson in the textbook is considered a unit for analysis In reading and listening lessons there are three stages: before you read/listen; while you read/listen; and after you read/listen

Learning activities in pre- and post- stage of reading and listening lessons are also considered units for analysis Each unit is equated to an activity In total, the textbook contains 239 activities

2.6.5 Instrument of the analysis 2.6.5.1 Constructing the content analysis card

To conduct a quantitative content analysis for the textbook I used one tool to collect, describe and analyze data: an analysis card The criteria to fit into four domains of the analysis card were designed in the light of the criteria for analysis

The criteria for analysis were made in the light of the discussion and arguments concerning relationship between EIL and culture and cultural content in materials for EIL teaching by Smith (1976) and McKay (2002)

2.6.5.2 Description of the content analysis card Coding scheme

Throughout this study, four main coding schemes were used to label the main domains of the content analysis card The process of creating the coding scheme was as follows:

- The first domain was designed to locate activities that provide opportunities for students to learn about Vietnamese culture This domain was labelled as VC

- The second domain was designed to locate activities that provide opportunities for students to learn about international culture including cultures of countries in the region and around the world This domain was labelled as IC

- The third domain was designed to locate activities that provide opportunities for students to learn about target culture (i.e culture of Inner Circle countries: USA, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand) This domain was labelled as TC

- The fourth domain was designed to locate activities that provide opportunities for students to compare and contrast cultures This domain was labelled as CC

Establishing such coding schemes makes it easier to classify the data and discuss the result For more details see (Appendix 1)

2.6.5.3 Applying the content analysis card

After developing the content analysis card, I asked another colleague researcher at my school to conduct the analysis with me The colleague is a B.A holder who has been teaching English for 25 years In the first meeting, I provided her with detailed background about the study, the criteria for evaluating the cultural content of the textbook and the criteria used She agreed on the criteria of the analysis card We worked together on unit three to check if any criterion needed modifying However, we both decided that the analysis card could be used for further analysis We also decided to conduct analysis individually and check the results after five days

In the second meeting, we checked the results and discovered a strong correlation between the two This correlation helped to consolidate the reliability of the analysis card

We used a tick (√) to indicate the presence of the criterion in the activity analyzed

- Constructing the criteria for analysis through reviewing related literature

- Applying the analysis card with the help of a colleague

- Analyzing the collected data in the form of frequencies and percentages

- Giving interpretations and subjective and in-depth discussion

Summary: This chapter has provided a brief overview of the Vietnamese English teaching context and the National Curriculum and Syllabus for ELT and described the method used to conduct the study It seems that native speaker norms are still worshipped in the context In terms of research design, the study was claimed to be a qualitative research meanwhile quantitative content analysis was used as an instrument The criteria for analysis were set basing on arguments on cultural content in EIL materials made by McKay (2002) and Smith (1976) The criteria require that EIL materials should include home culture, target culture and international culture and a reasonable distribution between them The purpose, elements and units of analysis were elaborated Central to the chapter was the description of the tool to collect data: a content analysis card that includes its construction, its coding schemes and form, and its application The procedures that were used to conduct the study were presented last The essential part of the thesis: findings analysis and discussion will be presented in the next chapter.

FINDINGS ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Culturally oriented activities in the textbook

The task in every lesson (excluding Language Focus lesson) of the units included in the book was considered as the unit for analysis Thus, part of examining the main research question is to reflect on the score of the entire cultural activities of the textbook in comparison to the whole activities included in the textbook

A detailed examination of all the activities in the textbook reveals a noticeable score of 75 percent for the activities that contain cultural reference out of all the activities included in the book This suggests that three fourths of the activities in the textbook re culturally oriented See table (3.1) (Note: All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.)

Table (3.1) Frequency and percentage of the cultural activities related to the whole activities of the textbook English 12

Total activities Cultural activities Percent

Cultural representation in the textbook

The first objective of the study is to find out whether the textbook includes a diversity of cultures by which I mean the Anglo-Saxon cultures (British and American), the Vietnamese culture and international cultures A scrutiny of the content of the textbook reveals that both Anglo-Saxon cultures and non-Anglo- Saxon cultures are presented in the textbook Culture of Inner Circle countries:

United Kingdom, America, Australia are dealt with most in units 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12

Vietnamese culture and cultures of other members of the ASEAN are mirrored in units 2, 3, 4, 5, 13, 16 A little information about India, China and Africa is found in units 3, 9, 10, 15 Especially, culture of ASEAN member countries is lucky to find its expression in unit 13 (The 22nd SEA Games) and unit 16 (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) The prestige to culture of countries in the region is highly appreciated by the researcher because these countries are the most likely counterparts of Vietnam in international communication This also creates a diversity of cultures as well as a predominance of non-Anglo-Saxon culture over Anglo-Saxon culture in the textbook as presented in table (3.2) In a context where native speaker model is traditionally worshipped like Vietnam and where it is often naively inferred that learning English restricts to learning Anglo-Saxon culture, the inclusion of non-Anglo-Saxon culture in the textbook English 12 is seen as considerable progress This is also regarded as obvious evidence that the status of an international language of English starts to be perceived in the context

Table (3.2) Frequency and percentage of Anglo-Saxon culture and non-Anglo-Saxon culture in the textbook English 12

Cultural distribution in the textbook

One of the objectives of this study is to find out how the cultures are distributed in the textbook, namely what density of each type of culture in the textbook is It is obviously from the table (3.2) that international culture accounts for 49 percent making the biggest proportion Vietnamese culture ranks second (26 percent), while the target culture makes up of a rather modest proportion, only 22 percent

Table (3.3) Frequency and percentage of three types of cultures in the textbook English 12

3.3.1 Vietnamese culture in the textbook

As Smith argued over 30 years ago, the purpose of teaching an international language is to facilitate the communication of learners' ideas and culture in an English medium, materials for EIL teaching, therefore, should include home culture of learners One of the objectives of this study is to find out whether or not the textbook English 12 contains any element of Vietnamese culture The analysis of cultural activities in the textbook shows that 46 out of all the activities are about Vietnamese culture which makes up of about 26 percent, see table (3.4) This proves that the textbook does create a considerable total of chances for students to talk and learn more about their home culture in an English medium This prestigious treatment to home culture of learners furthers a wide step for English to become

"embedded in the culture of the country in which it is used" as McKay (2002, p 12) argues

Students have most chances to learn and talk about their home culture in units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13 and 16 In unit 1 they discuss about their family life in speaking and writing lessons after reading about a Vietnamese family The most encouraging point is in unit 2 they talk about typical features of Vietnamese culture, listen to a passage about a Vietnamese wedding and write about the conical leaf hat of Vietnam The meanings of whistling and hand-clapping in Vietnamese culture are discussed in reading lesson of unit 3 Formal school education system and the application process to tertiary study in Vietnam are presented in units 4 and 5 The reading lesson in unit 7 is devoted to "Doi Moi" (Renovation) initiated in Vietnam in the late 1980s In units 13 and 16, information about Vietnam as a host country of the 22nd SEA Games and a member country of ASEAN is mirrored Throughout other remained units of the textbook, students also have chances to talk about their home culture, such as in units 11, 14, 15 when they are asked to talk about a typical day of a woman in their family (unit 15) or Red Cross Society in Vietnam (unit14)

Table (3.4) Frequency and percentage of Vietnamese culture in the textbook English 12

3.3.2 International culture in the textbook

EIL is learned for different purposes, but mostly for intercultural communication in the era of globalization, so it is of great benefit to have international culture presented in EIL materials The second domain of the analysis card was carefully examined and the result is shown in the table (3.5) below

Table (3.5) Frequency and percentage of International culture in the textbook English 12

Out of 180 cultural activities in the textbook, international culture occurs in

89 activities which is equated to 49 percent, the biggest proportion of all the three types of cultures compiled in the textbook These figures indicate that EIL is perceived by the authors of the textbook An encouraging point is that two units (13,

16) are specially for mirroring cultures of ASEAN members, which are the most potential interlocutors of Vietnamese learners in their cross-border interactions A considerable number of reading and listening texts in units 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15 are about such global issues as economic reform, deserts, endangered species, life in future, and women in society, international organizations and water sports, thus labelled as international culture Namely, the whole unit 8 is for discussions on life of mankind in future Unit 9 tells students about deserts Unit 10 discusses reasons for species extinction as well as measures for protecting endangered animals It also deals with information about some endangered animals Unit 12 is devoted to water sports such as water polo, swimming, and scuba diving International organizations such as UN, WWF, WHO, UNICEF and Red Cross are mentioned in unit 14 Unit

15 mainly concerns with women's rights and inequality that women in most societies still have to suffer The overwhelming prestige in the density of international culture in the textbook can be seen as an evidence of the global use of English as McKay (2002) remarks: "it [English] is central to a growing global economy, and it is the major language of a developing mass culture" (p.15)

3.3.3 Target culture in the textbook

Cultural products, practices and perspectives of the target culture are presented in units 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 In unit 2, American way of life is compared and contrasted to Vietnamese way of life Non-verbal communication in English as well as the practice of giving and responding to compliments is discussed in unit 3

Unit 4 is about school education system in England Changes in the American workforce are mirrored in unit 6 In the reading lesson of unit 9 students learn about deserts in Australia and in unit 11, listening lesson, they listen to a report on novel

"The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford, a Canadian writer Unit 12 tells students about how synchronized swimming was invented and developed by Americans

Meanwhile home culture and international culture are presented with privilege throughout the textbook; target culture is not in the focus but accounts for only 22 percent which makes a pretty modest proportion of the total of cultural activities in the textbook The modest proportion of target culture is another advantage of the textbook as in EIL context, culture of Inner Circle countries no longer predominates However, it is not completely abandoned while playing a participant role This indicates that unlike some other countries in the Expanding Circle which reject any inclusion of target culture elements in EIL materials ( Chile,

Japan, Turkey - McKay, 2004; Cortazzi and Jin, 1999), textbook English 12 is cautious not to "one-hundred-percent" turn back to culture of Inner Circle communities and there are good reasons for this cautiousness First, students in Vietnam, like in many other expanding circle countries still need native norms to pursue academic purposes Second, native communities still take up a portion in global communication Therefore, it is by no means a waste for Vietnamese learners to learn about culture of Inner Circle communities provided that such culture is not the only one they learn about

Frequency and percentage of the Target culture in the textbook English 12

Opportunities for students to compare and contrast cultures

Frequency and percentage of activities that provide opportunities for students to compare and contrast cultures in the textbook English 12

It is a great pity that opportunities for students to compare and contrast cultures in the textbook are limited Throughout the 16 units students are given chance to talk about the similarities and differences between their home culture with that of America twice in speaking lesson of unit 2 and in listening lesson of unit 6 In unit 2, they are exposure to cultural perspectives of Americans and Asians on love and marriage, thus gaining some comparison and contrast of these cultures

Then, the only chance for them to compare and contrast the school system in Vietnam and in England is found in unit 4 In listening lesson of unit 15 they compare a typical day of an African village woman with that of a woman in their family

Encouragingly, they have some chances to talk about diversity within their home culture in units 1, 2 when they compare the family in the reading text with their own and talk about differences between a traditional Vietnamese family and a modern Vietnamese family Nonetheless, the chances are few in the textbook

Unfortunately, this modest comparison and contrast of cultures clearly restricts students' reflection on their own culture, their awareness of the relativity of cultural values, and their intercultural competence development

Summary : The chapter has displayed the study results by answering the research questions Data collected were presented in form of frequency and percentage and displayed in tables The textbook English 12 does include both Anglo-Saxon and non-Anglo-Saxon cultures with the latter predominating, which is highly appreciated by the researcher Namely, home culture accounts for 46 percent, target culture 39 percent and international culture 89 percent However, opportunities to compare and contrast cultures in the textbook are limited, only 3 percent The researcher's subjective and in-depth discussion was also presented in the chapter

Conclusion drawn from the study and recommendations will be found in the final part of the thesis.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusion

The study aims at figuring out the extent to which the cultural content of the textbook English 12 meets the suggested criteria from perspective of EIL and some modest conclusions as following can be reached

First, Anglo-Saxon culture is not the sole culture that students learn about in the textbook; rather, it also includes non-Anglo-Saxon culture (including home culture of learners and cultures of other countries in the region and around the world), making a considerable cultural coverage of the textbook content This diversity of cultures in the textbook helps to reflect a fact that multiculturalism characteristic of EIL has been taken into consideration by the compilers

Second , with prestigious treatment to non-Anglo-Saxon culture, the textbook ensures a reasonable distribution between three types of culture: the students’ home culture (i.e Vietnamese culture), the target cultures (i.e cultures of Inner Circle countries) and the international culture In other words, the textbook English 12 is not native speaker culturally biased In this sense, it meets the requirements of the teaching of EIL with regards to the cultural content

Third , however, the activities in the textbook more emphasize the linguistic accuracy or the development of language skills rather than the development of students’ intercultural communication competence This is evidenced in the limited activities that require students to compare and contrast cultural differences and examine the cultural content critically

Overall , from the perspective of EIL teaching as presented in Chapter 1, with the inclusion of home culture, international culture, and target culture and the predominance of non-Anglo-Saxon culture, the textbook under this investigation meets the criteria for cultural content However, the limited activities for students to examine cultural differences critically, to some extent, reduce its effectiveness in developing intercultural competence in students.

Recommendations

The advent of ELF entails a multitude of changes in English education both theoretical and practical These changes are summarized by Penny Ur (2009) as follows:

 A change in the concept of what 'English' is: an internationally comprehensible variety of the language rather than a single 'native' model

 A change in the goal of English teaching: to produce fully competence English knowing bilinguals rather than imitation native speakers

 A change in the image of the English teacher: 'native-speaker-ness' less important than linguistic competence, teaching competence, intercultural competence

 A change in the cultural background to English courses: 'home' and 'international' cultures predominate

 A change in the materials and test design, relating to both content and language

As far as materials matter concerns, Penny Ur (2009) also elaborates the following important points:

- Content: culture, situations, texts, characters

- Culture: 'source' and 'international', not just that of English-speaking peoples

- Situations: more international in character

- Characters: more likely to be 'international' and ' home'

- Texts: more adaptations of international or local sources, fewer 'inner-circle' 'authentic' texts or literature

- Language: based on international usages rather than any particular native dialect; more acknowledgement and use of the learners' L1

I agree with McKay (2003, p.145) that EIL can no longer be linked exclusively to native English-speaking cultures and there is no need, in the teaching of EIL, to base the content of teaching materials, the choice of teaching methodology, or the ideal teacher on native-speaker models Instead, each country in which EIL is taught must take ownership of the language, selecting teaching content and methods that are appropriate to the local context In the light of findings analysis and the aforesaid arguments, several recommendations as the following can be made:

First, textbook compilers should take into account the suggestions on materials made by Penny Ur stated earlier so as to produce more appropriate materials to EIL context They should also understand the special relationship between EIL and culture, goal and principle of teaching culture in EIL teaching, reality of the context in which their textbooks will be used so as to decide on appropriate basis of cultural content for such materials Also, they should include more activities that leave opportunities for students to compare and contrast cultures

Second, it is recommended that teachers should be encouraged to focus more on the teaching of culture They should be guided in designing culture-oriented activities which allow students to compare, contrast and examine cultural content critically Another point, they should be sensitive to their students' culture of learning and "employ methods that are culturally sensitive and productive" (McKay,

2002, p.129) in their students' learning of English rather than stick to a particular method, say CLT method

Third, students have no obligation to accept Anglo-Saxon culture nor are they obliged to behave in accordance with its conventions (McKay, 2002) They should be aware that all cultures, especially their own culture and identity have fully equal rights to be expressed in an English medium Knowledge of a wide range of cultures is not the goal in itself; rather, it serves as a basis for them to become intercultural capable and develops cultural awareness if their motivation is to participate in a growing global community

Finally, as exams and tests have backwash on teaching and learning activities, test designers should be sensitive to the pluricentricity of EIL instruction

It is time for them to consider this question: Would it be reasonable to design merely Anglo-Saxon-oriented tests, ignoring other English varieties and cultures reflected by those varieties?

Limitations of the study

The study bears some limitations Namely:

- The analysis included most of the activities in the textbook English 12 basic excluding Language Focus and Test Yourself

- The analysis did not deal with illustrations and other visuals in the textbook

- The analysis did not consider authenticity of written texts in the textbook

- The analysis did not consider activities in the Work Book and the Teacher's Guides.

Suggestions for further research

In EIL context, determining cultural basis for teaching materials is important

However, I agree with McKay (2002) that it is only a part of the issue Equally important is how to deal with this content in a particular context Because EIL today is taught in such a wide variety of contexts, involving teachers and students from various cultural backgrounds and textbooks that include information on different cultures, it is necessary to consider how these various dynamics can be used to establish a sphere of interculturality and contribute to students' use of EIL in cross- cultural encounters (McKay, 2002, p.88) Therefore, a careful examination of a particular context in which the textbook is used and/or a survey to figure out how teachers and students perceive and deal with the cultural content of the textbook all deserve to tackle

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Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

Reading Speaking Listening Writing Notes

APPENDIX 2 ADAPTATION 1 (Suggested adaptation to reading text, unit 3, textbook English 12)

'In most social situations where some informality is allowed, a brief raise of the hand and a small wave is fine For instance, if you are walking across the schoolyard and see your teacher approaching you, a small friendly wave to attract his or her attention is appropriate."

(Extracted from reading text, unit 3, textbook English 12)

The reading text introduces some ways of attracting attention by using non-verbal communication in English; the extract is a suggestion for students to use this form to attract teacher's attention However, Vietnamese culture does not allow students to use "a small friendly wave" to attract their teacher In most Vietnamese contexts, students have to approach the teacher they want to attract, wait until the teacher sees them, then, and use verbal communication to greet the teacher before doing anything If the teacher in charge with the reading text does not clarify the differences between Anglo-Saxon cultural convention and Vietnamese cultural convention in using non-verbal communication to attract somebody's attention, students may be left with impression that the English students are rude to their teachers They may also think that their Vietnamese culture is too strict, not so

"democratic" as English culture and get some feeling of dissatisfaction with their own culture Neither of the extremes are the outcome that we expect

(Suggestions for dealing with implicit cultural information in the textbook)

A consideration amount of cultural information in the textbook is not presented explicitly Characters in reading texts and listening texts are not nationality labelled or even anonymous For example, the main character in the reading text in unit 1 is anonymous both in name and in nationality, so students do not know who they are reading about, whose way of life they are getting to know The characters in reading text in unit 5 and in listening texts in units 1, 3, 4, 5, albeit name-labelled, anonymous in nationality This limitation would lead to impression that students are learning about "not only imaginary but vacuous, empty of life" ( Prodromou,

1 Unit1 - Reading text Problems: The main characters are anonymous, no name, no nationality Cues: Working hours (8a.m-5p.m); eel soup; some cultural values: the mother is caring, the family is close-knit; the girl's attempt to gain a place at university, most men does not like cooking

Suggestion: Way of life, cultural values and some facts indicate that the text is about a Vietnamese family

2 Unit 1- Listening text Problems: The characters have no nationality Cues: The characters' names: Paul and Andrea; cultural values: Paul's family is not a close-knit, having six children is surprising

Suggestion: The characters are American

3 Unit 3 - Listening text Problems: Character has no nationality Cues: Name: Linda Cupple; job: social worker; values: a social worker advise young people on how to use the telephone in their family,

Suggestion: American way of life

4 Unit 4 - Listening text Problems: Characters do not have nationality Cues: English names: Gavin, Jenny; school activities: boarding school, students write essays, students are disruptive, tearaway; cultural values: school days were not the best days for most students

Suggestion: The characters belong to one of the Inner Circle countries

5 Unit 5 - Reading text Problems: The characters have no nationality Cues: English names: Sarah, Ellen, Brenden; facts: 10 degrees Celcious, St John's College

Suggestion: American or British or Australian culture

6 Unit 5 - Listening text Problems: The characters have no nationality Cues: English names: John and David; college activities: tutors, overseas students, tutorials appointments, long reading lists, a large proportion of international students do MSc course in AERD - department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development