10Th grade students’ perceptions of the teaching of cultural contents in their english textbook an exploratory study at a high school in hanoi cảm nhận của học sinh lớp 10 về việc giảng dạy nội dung văn hóa

10TH-grade students’ perceptions of the teaching of cultural contents in their English textbook an exploratory study at a high school in Hanoi Cảm nhận của học sinh lớp 10 về việc giảng dạy nội dung văn hóa

INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the study

Researchers in language education have considerably acknowledged and emphasized the close connection between culture and language The justification is that since a language is intrinsically linked to a specific culture, language learners unavoidably also get knowledge of that culture Since humans discover, share, and contribute to culture through language, language also serves as the “carrier” of culture (Duranti, 1997)

In the Vietnamese context, according to the 2018 General Education English Language Curriculum of the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), students can learn about the countries, people, and cultures of different English-speaking countries and other countries worldwide, thereby becoming global citizens when studying English It also aims to help students develop positive attitudes and feelings toward those nations, their people, and cultures, which in turn helps students love and respect their native tongue and culture The development of students' cross-cultural understanding, focusing on different sources of cultures, is now expressly emphasized in the English curriculum for the first time As an English learner and teacher, I have noticed that many students, while having a good grasp of English grammar, struggle to understand English native speakers due to their limited knowledge of British or English-speaking cultures They also found it hard to talk about their own culture in detail It is clear that teaching grammar and language usage alone is insufficient for students to fully comprehend English in various contexts, resulting in frequent misunderstandings in conversation

In this backdrop, textbook materials appear to have a considerable impact on the students Educational materials like textbooks have the potential to partially or overtly transfer cultural norms This is known as the “hidden curriculum” (Cunningsworth, 1995) Concerning the locally developed English textbook for Vietnamese grade 10, this textbook has ten units focusing on ten topics Each unit contains materials to build the four macro-skills of reading, listening, speaking, and

2 writing, plus a language-focus section on grammar and pronunciation There are also three sections in this textbook, namely Getting Started, Communication, and Culture, as well as Projects Throughout the English 10 Textbook, it is noticeable that cultural contents are woven into all units and different parts of these units, which aims to provide students with knowledge about different cultures in the world Generally, a balanced representation of all cultural materials is warranted since a variety of other cultural representations of English helps learners to compare their own cultural/life experiences with different cultural groups and also to become aware of their behaviours, expectations, perspectives, and values to develop intercultural awareness (Cortazzi & Jin, 1999) However, whether the amount of cultural content related to different cultural sources in English Textbook 10, locally used in Vietnam, is fairly distributed is an issue that needs further study

According to previous literature, it is crucial to examine students’ perceptions as these perceptions greatly influence students’ new language acquisition and how hard they work (Paige et al., 1999) Additionally, studying the perceptions of students assists teachers in adjusting and improving their teaching practices In international contexts, there are many studies by several scholars, including Prodromou (1992), Canagarjah (1993), Paige et al (1999), Zhang and Ma (2004), Kahraman (2016), and Xiao (2010), conducted to investigate students’ perceptions regarding different culture-related issues like the importance of learning cultural contents, which types of cultural contents and how these contents should be taught However, given the importance of cultural teaching and learning in Vietnam, there were few attempts to examine students' perceptions of these topics To bridge the gap, it is necessary to investigate the students’ perceptions of the cultural contents in the in-use textbook and the techniques to teach these contents.

Aim, objectives, and research questions

The overarching aim of this study is to explore how different cultural categories and types are depicted in the English 10 - Global Success textbook and to understand students' perceptions of how the cultural content in this textbook is presented, taught, and learned Specifically, the objectives of the study are

- to identify the distribution of cultural categories and types in the in-use English

10 Textbook - Global Success in Viet Nam,

- to uncover the 10th-grade students’ perceptions of the cultural content in this textbook, and

- to examine the suitable techniques for cultural education

In summary, this study addresses the following research questions:

1 To what extent are categories and types of culture integrated into English 10

2 What are the 10th-grade students’ perceptions of cultural content in the textbook?

3 What are the 10th-grade students’ perceptions of suitable techniques for culture instruction in the textbook?

Scope of the study

The study focuses on identifying the representation of different cultural sources in the English 10 Textbook of the series Global Success, published by Vietnam Education Publishing House Limited Company The analysis revolves around the cultural sources and dimensions present in this textbook, so other aspects of culture were not examined Additionally, the study aims at identifying students' perceptions concerning cultural contents in their in-use textbook and suitable methods for cultural instruction To be more specific, it investigated the students’ perceptions towards the importance of teaching cultural contents in English classrooms and the appropriateness of cultural contents in6 their English textbook Other aspects, including students’ perceptions regarding the instructions of other language components, such as grammar, will not be involved The literature for this study has been collected from different sources concerning culture-related issues like culture conceptualisations, culture teaching contents, and strategies Data were collected from 10th graders at School A, where the researcher currently works The results may not be generalised to a larger population like 10th-grade students in Hanoi or Vietnam A research design called explanatory sequential mixed methods was

4 utilised, involving the collection of quantitative data initially, followed by a more profound analysis using qualitative data to provide further insights into the quantitative findings In the study's first phase, quantitative data were gathered through a questionnaire administered to 10th-grade students at the research site to examine their perceptions of culture-related content and instruction The second phase, conducted as a follow-up to the quantitative phase, involved a qualitative research tool to explore the reasons behind the students' perceptions.

Design of the study

The research employed a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies to address the research questions This approach, as advocated by various scholars (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003; Creswell, 2005), was chosen to embrace the complexity of the issue under study The study followed a sequential explanatory mixed methods design, involving two distinct phases (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998) Initially, data was collected and analyzed to identify cultural content in the English 10 Textbook, followed by the analysis of quantitative data regarding students’ perceptions of teaching and learning cultural content This serves as a basis for participant selection for the subsequent qualitative phase In the second phase, qualitative data was gathered to provide detailed explanations and explore participants' perceptions The integration of quantitative and qualitative phases, including selecting participants for qualitative case studies based on quantitative results, facilitated a thorough understanding of the research problem (Greene, Caracelli, & Graham, 1989; Johnson & Turner, 2003; Tashakkori & Teddlie,

1998) This integration was evident in the discussion of study outcomes, enhancing the depth of understanding.

Significance of the study

The teaching of English as an international language (EIL) is included in the General School Education English Curriculum, according to MoET (2018) One of the critical goals of this curriculum is to assist students in understanding the countries, people, and cultures of different English-speaking countries and other countries

5 worldwide Another objective is to make way for students to become global citizens Since teachers are the ones who implement these objectives, it is of significance to explore the students’ perceptions towards cultural instruction so teachers can, based on the results, adjust teaching methods and activities to ensure teaching and learning effectiveness

In addition, this study proposed a systematic and succinct review of literature related to cultural teaching and learning, which acts as a valuable reference for teachers and educators interested in this field This research also hopes to add to the current knowledge about students' perceptions of cultural teaching and learning

This study also offers insight into the cultural contents of an English textbook in use and cultural learning at a high school level in Vietnam to help develop students' cultural awareness and improve their cultural learning It is expected to offer some advice and suggestions for cultural teaching and learning in Vietnamese classrooms The study also aims to lay the groundwork for further investigation into promoting intercultural competence in language education, particularly in English teaching, in Vietnam The results of this study could assist textbook authors in prioritising the inclusion of cultural elements in their materials.

Outline of the study

This study is divided into the following chapters:

In Chapter 1, the introduction of the study, containing the background information, namely the research problem, its aims, research questions, and the scope of the study, is presented

Chapter 2 focuses on the review of the literature Ideas from different bodies of literature are synthesised to establish a framework that guides the research

After reviewing the literature, the research methodology used for this study is discussed in Chapter 3

In Chapter 4, the collected data is analysed and interpreted to reach an answer to the research question, which is followed by a discussion of the study’s findings

The last chapter, Chapter 5, summarises the findings, implications, and limitations of this study

LITERATURE REVIEW

Perception

There are many attempts to define perception According to Wiener (1972), perception is considered a cognitive process in which someone observes their environment and understands its stimuli Meanwhile, Nelson and Quick (1997) proposed a more detailed definition for perception, explaining that depending on the overall amount of information received and how the information is appropriately interpreted to generate a conclusion, the concept of perception could be understood as an opinion expressed about particular situations, people, groups, activities, or phenomena Focusing on sensory devices, Walgito (2004) claimed that perception is a process that is preceded by a process of sensing or the act of receiving a stimulus through one's sensory organs In the same line as Walgito, Qiong (2017) defined perception as a process of assuming to recognise an object and then give it significance through the senses

In this study, the definition by Nelson and Quick (1972) was chosen as the definition of perception for this study since it is the most holistic and relevant to the research topic

It is mentioned earlier that perception is a process in which people try to gather meaningful information based on their senses to formulate a conclusion by seeking to understand their environment It means that students have their interpretation of something that they got from the teaching and learning process Furthermore, Sidhu

(2003) stated that students’ perceptions can be considered as their perspectives on something that happens in the classroom learning process They are produced with suggestions or arguments for teachers or classmates to improve their language

7 processes Understanding students’ perceptions has many implications for the educational process It has been found that students' perceptions have a significant impact on how successfully they learn new languages and how hard they work (Paige et al., 1999:55) In addition, Chen and Hooswer (2010) confirmed that teachers must consider their students' perceptions to assess their teaching and learning efficacy Indeed, once teachers listen to and learn from students, they can begin to understand them, allowing teachers to evaluate their teaching practices and make their teaching more accessible (Davies, 1982)

In short, this study used the definition of Sidhu (2003) as the working definition of students’ perception, in which students' perception is how they process information about an object relevant to the educational environment through observation with their senses so they can interpret and give meaning to the object they have observed Examining students’ perceptions is critical as it helps teachers understand their students so they can assess and adjust their teaching practices accordingly

According to MacLin and Solso (2007), there are two forms of perception, including positive perception and negative perception Positive perception is when a person assesses something or learns something with a positive viewpoint or by what is expected of the object perceived or from the existing rules Positive perception is caused by individual satisfaction with the object that is the source of their perception, the existence of individual knowledge, and the individual experience of the object being perceived On the other hand, negative perception is the assessment of a person concerning an object or information with a negative standpoint, contrary to what is expected from the perceived object or the existing rules Individual dissatisfaction with the object is what leads to negative perception

To conclude, this section has synthesised different conceptualisations of perception and provided its categorisation, which aids in understanding this concept

Textbooks

A textbook is a book that systematically describes a particular subject matter and has been chosen based on a set of goals, a learning orientation, and the integration of students' growth, according to Muslich (2010) It is a book about practical explanations of specific subjects prepared by academic specialists in line with their areas of specialisation According to Tomlinson (2012), the purpose of a textbook is to provide a collection of materials that will be compiled into one book and is intended to be the only one that teachers and students primarily use to teach and learn Therefore, it can be understood that an English textbook is a crucial source of English materials that can be used by teachers and students, which offers guidance on what to teach and how to teach it to develop language proficiency

A textbook is a kind of instructional media used as the primary means of delivering curriculum materials in classrooms (Rusyana, 1984) The media should be composed of structured information from a particular lesson that may be employed in the classroom Following the definition by Rusyana (1984), many scholars think that textbook is crucial for both teachers and students, and it can serve as a standard guideline for students and teachers in supporting the teaching and learning process in the classroom The materials should be contextualised to the curriculum used in the classroom and the students' experiences, circumstances, and mother tongue (Nunan,

1988) The textbook aids a teacher by offering a learning program that is appropriately sequenced and structured to include progressive revision (Halliwell,

1992) Textbooks allow students to study the materials, review, and prepare for class (Kanafi (2009) Textbooks should contain materials that allow and provoke diverging opinions and discussions on cultural stereotyping Textbooks should also communicate cultural values directly or indirectly (Wandel, 2003) Moreover, a textbook is called “hidden curriculum”, so what makes an excellent foreign language textbook cannot exclude cultural content (Cunningsworth, 1995)

Because of its relevance to the study, the definition of textbook by Rusyana

(1984) was adopted as the working definition for this study

In this study, “textbook evaluation” can be understood as a fundamental and systematic process of matching needs to available solutions (Hutchinson and Waters,

1987) On evaluating a textbook, there appears to be a “coursebook credibility gap” (Greenall, 1984) due to fundamental conflicts of interest and emphatic contradictions in their creation, commercial exploitation, public assessment, selection, and ultimate classroom use Often, publishers overlook cultural appropriation, fail to acknowledge teaching restrictions, and disregard the pedagogical implications of current language learning research and linguistics theory For instance, many language textbooks incorporate artificial, whole-sentence dialogues despite the existing knowledge about the truncated nature of genuine oral interaction (Cunningsworth, 1987)

Several scholars, including Byrd (2001), Cunningsworth (1995), Daoud & Celce-Murcia (1979), Ellis (1997), McDonough and Shaw (2003), Sheldon (1988), Skierso (1991), Ur (1996), and Williams (1983), have employed the checklist approach to help teachers evaluate textbooks for English language teaching (ELT), as pointed out in Miekley's (2005) article Although the coverage of the literature is not extensive, utilising the checklist approach offers a cost-effective and systematic approach to evaluation, as it enables all applicable items to be considered (Cunningsworth, 1995; McGrath, 2002) An efficient evaluation checklist should comprise succinct and transparent criteria Several researchers, including Sheldon

(1988), Harmer (1991), Skierso (1991), and Cunningsworth (1995), have endorsed employing checklists of materials to align with learners' requirements, as Wang

Language and Culture

Language has existed ever since humans began to communicate with each other for their daily purposes; however, defining what language is is a daunting task Many linguists have tried to define language in various ways Language is “a system

10 of signs that is seen as having itself a cultural value” (Kramsch, 1998) According to Sapir (2002), language is a non-intrinsic method for humans to communicate ideas, emotions, and desires via a system of symbols that are generated voluntarily In general, language can be considered as a system of verbal and nonverbal signs for conveying meanings Language is also “the institution whereby humans communicate and interact with each other using habitually used oral-auditory arbitrary symbols” (Hall, 1968)

In this research, the definition of language by Sapir (2002) was selected as the working definition, given its direct pertinence to the study's focus on cultural information

Culture is a significantly complex phenomenon Because of its complexity, scholars have continuously tried to define culture Culture has often been referred to as “the methods of people that are frequently valued and accepted by members of the same group or society” (Lado, 1957) According to Goodenough (1957), a society’s culture includes whatever it is one must know or believe to function in a manner acceptable to its members and to do so in any role that they accept for any one of themselves Brown (2007) also suggested that culture is a way of life, as the context within which people exist, think, feel, and relate to others, as the “glue” (p 188) that binds groups of people together The definitions above have provided a general sense of culture Culture is defined more specifically as “a set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviours shared by a group of people, but different for each individual, communicated from one generation to the next” (Sternberg, 2013) Sowden (2007) indicated that “culture tended to mean that body of social, artistic, and intellectual traditions associated historically with a particular social, ethnic or national group.” According to Samovar, Porter, and Stefani (1998), culture is defined below

We define culture as the deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, actions, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and artefacts acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving

The definition above emphasises people's knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes, connecting with the material productions through which a group of people represents itself In addition, it indicates that culture is considered to be something that is acquired or learned and passed down from one generation to another It is also understood that culture is shared by the members of a particular community and that one community is somehow different from another in terms of culture (Lund, 2007) Therefore, this study uses the definition of culture by Samovar, Porter, and Stefani

(1998) as the working definition since it is comprehensive and related to the research topic

2.3.3 The relationship between Language and Culture

Language and culture have a close relationship because, according to many scholars, both are vital parts of human communication The relationship between language and culture is specified by Wardhaugh (2002) with four main manifestations: (1) Language shapes thought and culture; (2) Language affects mind and culture; (3) Culture shapes people's language; and (4) Language and culture interact with one another Furthermore, language also has three purposes related to culture: (1) Language is the fundamental means of communication Personality and culture are shaped as a result; (2) Language reflects both the personality of the individual and the culture of his history; (3) Language enables the development and transfer of culture, the continuity of societies, and the efficient operation and management of social groups (Krech, 1962) As a result, language and culture are closely intertwined, and cultures must be considered when language is studied, as well as languages and the cultures in which they are spoken, which should be examined together (Witherspoon, 1980)

All of the provided evidence suggests that language and culture are closely related, and language is the foundation of culture and is affected and shaped by culture This gives rise to the emerging connection between studying language and culture simultaneously in language classes According to Byram (1988), language and culture cannot be taught independently To be specific, a foreign language may

12 rarely be learned without considering the cultural background and context in which it is used Language also represents cultural reality since people see their native tongue as representing their cultural heritage Additionally, according to Kramsch

(1993), culture is constantly present in the background of the classroom when language learners are trying to build strong communicative competence and face difficulties in their ability to make sense of the world Therefore, while discussing English teaching and learning, this link between culture and language is constantly taken into consideration

2.3.4 Cultural and intercultural components in textbooks

As language and culture are deemed inseparable, teachers often incorporate the teaching of culture as part of their content into language classes Since the 1980s, target culture learning has been taught as a critical element in the language classroom Stewart (1972), for example, stated that the target language culture should be an indispensable stage of foreign language learning However, English has gradually gained a global status since the second half of the twentieth century (Yano, 2009), which prompted many prolific scholars in the field, namely McKay (2002), Alsagoff et al (2012); Matsuda (2012); and Sharifian (2009) to relentlessly promote the importance of teaching English as “a heterogeneous language with multiple grammars, vocabulary, accents, and pragmatic discourse conventions” This led to the emergence of EIL, a language used by people of different nations who do not share a common native language to communicate (Smith, 1976) One pedagogical sense of EIL is that English learning should focus on improving learners' ability to understand cultures, including their own, and use this understanding to successfully communicate with people from other cultures (McKay, 2002) Indeed, since learners are preparing themselves for the use of English in international contexts, the cultural content that should be taught is much broader than only target culture This implies that teaching a variety of cultures to the learners is essential

Since learners in EFL classrooms are preparing themselves to use English in international contexts, the teaching and learning contents should embrace cultural

13 broadness For teaching materials to capture such broadness, their cultural content must be drawn from multiple sources Regarding the teaching of culture, Cortazzi and Jin (1999) outlined three important categories of cultural information for EIL teaching materials, namely “source culture materials,” “target culture materials,” and

Source cultural materials are materials that depict the culture of language learners These are typically the textbooks that a nation's educational system produces Instead of preparing students to interact with people from various cultures, this group of textbooks aims to let students talk about their own culture to foreign visitors to their nation

Target culture materials typically concentrate on one or two target cultures, such as the United Kingdom or the United States Textbooks are the most often used educational resource in English as a foreign language While widely utilised worldwide, they are criticised for being overly commercial and viewed as publishers' promotional materials

International target culture materials refer to materials that depict a wide range of cultures in nations where English is spoken as a first or second language or in nations where English is not spoken as a first or second language but is utilised as an international language According to Cortazzi and Jin (1999), the justification for this group is that speakers who do not use English as their native language utilise it in international contexts quite frequently

Chao (2011) expanded on the cultural sources identified by Cortazzi and Jin

(1999) by adding two more sources, namely “intercultural interaction” and

“universality across culture.” Content that aids students in comparing and reflecting on the differences or similarities between their local and target/international cultures is placed under Intercultural Interaction Universality across Culture pertains to content primarily related to linguistic knowledge and practice that does not pay attention to any specific culture or country In this study, Chao's (2011) classifications were employed as a checklist for textbook analysis

The categories and the criteria to classify culture (adapted from Chao (2011)

Source Culture It refers to the culture of the learners

Target Culture It includes English-speaking countries in the inner circle

(Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA)

It includes cultures of all countries in the world (European International Culture countries, countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia) except for Vietnamese and English- speaking cultures

Justifications for the teaching of cultural contents

Learning different cultures provides students with different benefits One benefit is supporting language learning For instance, Chen and Lin (2017) argued that teaching students cultural content from different sources can boost their language

19 learning, including building vocabulary and improving listening comprehension It has also been found that implementing multiculturalism into language teaching can advance learners’ speaking and writing skills (Yang & Zhang, 2020) Also, learning cultural contents would help learners relate the abstract sounds and language forms to real people and places (Chastain, 1971)

Students can expand their knowledge thanks to culture instruction To be specific, studying culture plays a useful role in helping students learn about the geography, history and other aspects of the target culture (Cooke, 1970) In addition, according to Byram and Wagner (2018), multicultural foreign language teaching can promote learners' critical thinking skills and nurture the development of empathy and appreciation for diverse cultures

Besides learning assistance, students can also develop their learning motivation thanks to culture-integrated lessons (Alrashidi, 2021) According to Stainer (1971), learning cultural contents is a reason for students to study the target language Additionally, students like the cultural-based activities such as singing, dancing, role playing, and researching about other cultures and people The study of culture also boosts students’ curiosity, hence developing their motivation (Genc and Bada, 2005)

Practicality is another advantage of learning cultural content, as Kramsch

(2018) stated that with access to different perspectives and viewpoints worldwide in language classes, students can have more meaningful language learning experiences

Moreover, by exposing learners to different cultures and motivating them to reflect on their own cultures, incorporating cultural instruction in language teaching can help cultivate students' ability to communicate effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds (Byram, 2018b; Cortazzi & Jin, 2015) This will facilitate intercultural competence for students To illustrate, Chen and Lin's study showed that students with different culture-related information within their foreign language classes demonstrated higher levels of intercultural communication competence than those who did not receive such education

Teaching culture can also raise students’ awareness of cultural diversity

According to Jenkins (2005), culture can be taught as the fifth skill, besides speaking, writing, reading and listening, due to the global status of English language and globalization Specifically, teachers can teach students the suitable mindset and technique to adapt their English usage to learn, understand and value different aspects of other cultures This helps students use language to accept differences, to be flexible and tolerant of different cultural elements from other cultures Additionally, Xiao

(2010) and Vu (2016) considered students’ awareness of culture as an explanation for their interest in learning culture Another reason is that teaching culture gives learners a liking for the native speakers of the target language (Cooke, 1970)

While there are benefits to integrating cultural content into language instruction, there are also obstacles to overcome to accomplish this effectively First, teachers may have insufficient training and resources to integrate multiculturalism into the curriculum (Byram, 2018a) Furthermore, teachers should consider learners' differences, such as age, language proficiency level, and cultural background, when developing culturally inclusive learning activities (Chávez, 2014)

To conclude, teaching cultures is a great way to support language learning, help students expand their knowledge, improve skills, boost motivation, use language in practical contexts, and raise awareness of culture However, teachers’ flexibility should be taken into consideration for effective cultural instruction This study uses the aforementioned benefits and drawbacks of teaching and learning culture as themes for qualitative data analysis since they are thoroughly discussed and related to the research topic.

Related studies and research gaps

2.5.1 Studies about the representation of cultural content in English textbooks

Since English has reached global status, a noticeable increase in publications and research examining World English and cultural contents in English teaching materials has been witnessed among scholars worldwide This shift has resulted in a revolutionized change in English pedagogy, leading to various studies that provide more insights into the global dimension of the English language today Hence, the

21 designing materials should enhance cross-cultural competence among learners Several studies have thus been carried out to analyse different types of cultural content in textbooks and compare how cultural contents are represented in locally- designed textbooks versus imported ones

In the global setting, Paige et al (1999) conducted a study and found that the cultural information provided in most studies relating to the cultural contents in English as a foreign language/English as a second language (EFL/ESL) textbooks is rather superficial and simple concerning their treatment of culture, making it insufficient to teach cultural specifics in the deeper sense with aspects including values, norms, or beliefs Additionally, some researchers point out that target culture is dominant in the analysed textbook For instance, Ashrafi and Ajideh (2018) looked into three advanced textbooks used by the Iran Language Institute and discovered that the dominant cultural category was the target culture, with little attention given to the source culture Similarly, Lee and Li (2020) investigated the depth of cultural representation in textbooks from Hong Kong and mainland China, respectively, and found that both textbooks primarily focused on inner circle cultures while neglecting foreign cultural aspects

On the other hand, a large number of studies recently indicate that the main focus of cultural contents in textbooks is source culture To be specific, Indriani

(2017) analyses the cultural contents in two textbooks in Indonesia, “English in Focus” and “Think Globally, Acts Locally,” and concludes that source culture is more dominant in these English textbooks compared to other types of culture It is also suggested in Diana's (2021) study of the English textbook for senior high school published by the Ministry of Education in Indonesia that the representation of source culture is the most significant in the target textbook, which is presented in the form of historical facts and names chosen for characters, public figures and locations in the textbook

There are also different findings related to the distribution of cultural categories in English textbooks The research conducted by Kim and Paek (2015)

22 examines how culture-related content is presented in five English textbooks used by second-year middle school students in Korea from a multicultural standpoint It reveals that, when it comes to the analysis of cultural categories, none of the five textbooks offer substantial intercultural interaction elements On the other hand, Fauza's (2018) research used two English textbooks titled “Bahasa Inggris 2017 Revised Edition,” specifically designed for senior high school students in grades 10 and 11 The results show that in the textbook for grade 10, there is a dominant presentation of the source culture, while in the textbook for grade 11, the content predominantly focuses on the target culture In addition, Zhang and Chang (2022) examined three national English textbook sets currently used in China and found that American and British cultures are the most prevalent cultures from the inner circle countries, with the least representation of international culture in all three textbooks They also report that Chinese culture is represented more than the cultures of inner circle countries in two sets of textbooks

In Vietnam, a few efforts have been made to identify the representations of cultural contents in English textbooks Nguyen (2022) examined the English 9 Textbook in the 10-year Curriculum and found that Vietnamese culture and Universality across cultures are the textbook's most frequently referenced cultural elements In contrast, target culture and intercultural interactions receive limited attention Concerning English textbooks for high school students, a study by Vu

(2016) examining the current English 12 textbook reveals that the target culture contents were significantly more frequent than those related to the source and international cultures The analysis also shows that the cultural information presented regarding English-speaking countries is concentrated mostly on the United Kingdom and the United States of America In contrast, the study's main findings by Nguyen

(2018) revealed that Vietnamese and international target cultures gained the highest proportion of cultural references in the books, while target culture was also densely referenced Another study by Kiều (2019), “An investigation into intercultural components in three piloted English textbooks for Vietnamese high schools under

National Foreign Language 2020 project,” shows that the three piloted English textbooks for Grades 10, 11, and 12 integrate cultural information from various sources, but the dominant contents are culture-neutral Concerning the same textbook series in question, Linh (2021) arrived at different conclusions indicating that target culture makes up the ƒFest portion across all grades, whereas international culture achieved the highest percentage, except in grade 12 Additionally, source culture received average attention across grades 10 and 11

Regarding the themes presented in English textbooks, several authors have attempted to study this aspect in English textbooks For instance, an examination of the cultural themes in Korea illustrates that there is a visible imbalance in the portrayal of big “C” and little “c” in the textbooks, suggesting a preference for culture as little “c” when it comes to presenting Korean cultures (Kim & Paek, 2015) Similarly, the findings in Matic's (2015) study showed there are more occurrences of little “c” cultural topics than big “C” topics in course books used by English majoring university students in Serbia In contrast, according to Ashrafi and Ajideh (2018), while the frequency of little “c” cultural themes in advanced textbooks 2 and 3 In Iran was somewhat higher than that of big “C” cultural themes, there was a significant disparity between the two dimensions in advanced textbook 1, which leaned heavily towards big “C” culture Common little “c” themes such as living conditions, social convention, and body language were absent

In the Vietnamese context, Vu (2016), in her analysis of Grade 12 English Textbook, pointed out that particular cultural elements, including education, sports, and lifestyles, receive more attention compared to other themes, while information regarding politics, literature/art, architecture, music, food, and holidays were not touched upon The study of Nguyen (2018) on the three English textbooks of Grades

10, 11, and 12 revealed slightly different results, as only education and social norms received the highest frequency of references among the big “C” themes, while lifestyle, literature/art, and values were the most frequently referenced among the little “c” themes Additionally, the textbooks had only minimal references to

24 economy and politics Regarding the English 9 Textbook in the 10-year Curriculum, the findings in Nguyen's (2022) study show a balanced distribution of both big “C” and little “c” cultural themes across the two volumes of the textbook with geography, architecture, and social norms as the most commonly mentioned themes in big “C” culture, and value, food, and customs the most prevalent themes under the little “c” culture

2.5.2 Studies about students’ perceptions of cultural instruction

There exist many studies concerning cultural learning and teaching, some of which indicated negative effects on the learners of learning the target culture presented in English textbooks In the study of Prodromou (1992), the focus was on which cultures should be included in language learning Three hundred students studying English as a foreign language in Greece were the study's subjects, and the results showed that more than 50% of the respondents believed native-speaker teachers should know Greek culture to better understand local students

Canagarjah (1993) discovered that the students in ESL classes in Sri Lanka had unfavourable opinions regarding the target language and culture They found that the materials' inclination toward the West was to blame The worry of being

METHODOLOGY

Research context

Foreign language, especially English, has long been considered one of the core subjects in Vietnamese schools, from elementary to university levels Teachers and students can yield more positive results thanks to the constant intention and renovation in English language learning and teaching, particularly the adjustment of textbooks and teaching methods From the 1970s, when English was taught for 3-7 years, to the development of an explicit curriculum and two categories of English textbooks (standard and advanced), to the introduction of theme-based and task-based approaches in Tieng Anh 10-12 in 2006, both teachers and students have been drawn to these new methods (Hoang, 2015) After that, the introduction of the Tieng Anh

10, Tieng Anh 11, and Tieng Anh 12 textbook series in 2006, which incorporated theme-based and task-based approaches, has garnered the attention of teachers and students From 2012 onwards, English textbooks in Vietnam were renovated thanks to the Ten-Year English Textbook Series, part of the National Foreign Language 2020 Project Since then, some schools have used an experimental series that follows a theme and task-based approach The series has been updated with new vocabulary, grammar, and sources to improve students' intercultural communication skills Collaboration between Vietnamese and English textbook writers from prominent publishers has led to various cultural sources being included in English textbooks for Vietnamese schools for the first time Subsequently, following the release of Circular 32/2018/TT-BGDĐT by the Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam, a roadmap was unveiled to introduce the new general education program, which necessitated a textbook shift Specifically, for grade 10 in the 2022-2023 academic year, Decision 442/QD-BGDĐT was recently issued, encompassing nine new textbooks for teaching and learning English One of them is the Global Success textbook, which is the focus of this study

Setting

This study attempts to determine the representation of different cultural resources in the in-used English textbook for grade 10 and the students' perceptions concerning teaching and learning these cultural contents Given the limited time and resources, the school where the researcher was currently working was chosen as the setting for the study to be carried out At this school, the textbook used for the 10th- grade students, Global Success textbook, incorporates many cultural elements from several sources, making this institution a suitable research site for this study Furthermore, the researcher instructed several 10th-grade classes at this school during the 2022-2023 school year This setting provides both convenience and feasibility as it offers an ample sample size for the study.

Subjects of the study

English 10 - Global Success was composed by Professor Hoang Van Van, the chief editor On January 28, 2022, English 10 - Global Success was officially approved by the Minister of Education and Training in the list of textbooks for grade

10 used in high schools from the 2022-2023 academic year, according to decision number 442/QĐ-BGDĐT According to the book's preface, this book was developed in alignment with the new national curriculum and is claimed to adhere to a theme- based syllabus and communicative approach After completing the English 10 program, students can reach Level 3 according to the Vietnam Six levels of the National Foreign Language Proficiency Framework

The group of authors also stated that English 10 - Global Success - Student's book is compiled in the direction of integrating skills, whereby reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills complement each other and are developed around four themes relevant to students, including Our Lives, Our Society, Our Environment, and Our Future These four themes are specified into ten units corresponding to one theme After each topic is a Review, focusing on developing language knowledge and skills that students have learned In addition, the content of this book focuses on the

31 psychological characteristics of students' ages and cultural characteristics of Vietnam, English-speaking countries, and countries around the world It is also compiled to supplement and enrich students' knowledge about some science and social life fields

Topics included in English 10 - Global Success textbook

This book starts with a book map providing information about the topic of each unit, language components, specific skills, and cross-cultural contents students are going to learn in that unit (Hoang, 2016) The structure of each unit is significantly consistent, organised into eight lessons, including Getting Started, Language, Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing, Communication and Culture, and Looking Back with Project Each part entails diverse assignments and communicative tasks or activities, accompanied by a large amount of individual work, pair work, group work, class discussion, and different patterns of interaction among teachers and students Furthermore, each lesson will help students develop their communicative language areas and improve their proficiency Specifically, Getting Started aims to introduce the unit's topic and elicit the students' prior understanding Students are given grammatical points and vocabulary related to the topic in Language In addition to

32 delivering knowledge, four skill-based lessons foster students' use of communicative language Students study various aspects of cultures while learning to use English in social and cultural contexts in Communication and Culture sections Additionally, students can review language in Looking Back sections A unit ends with a Project which requires students to use the language learned throughout that unit to perform communicative tasks in authentic contexts

The structure of one unit in English 10 - Global Success textbook

Parts of one unit Sections

Communication and culture Everyday English

Culture/CLIL Looking back + Project Pronunciation

This book was chosen for analysis for three main reasons It is firstly in one of a popular series of textbooks adhering to the national curriculum requirements and is widely used in many high schools throughout Vietnam Secondly, Global Success English 10 is currently used at the researcher's workplace as the official textbook for

33 the 10th graders, making it convenient for the researcher who has teaching experience with this textbook and a certain understanding of its content As for the students at this school, since they finished this book after an academic year, they could completely express their perceptions of its cultural content and give more reliable feedback

The population of this study is the 10th-grade students at a school in Hanoi, which was the researcher’s workplace All participants are of the same age (16 years old) and share similar pre-high school educational backgrounds They started learning English from their first year at primary school until the last year of their secondary school, with their proficiency reaching Level 2 according to the Vietnam Six-levels of Foreign Language Proficiency Framework Moreover, in May of 2023, all students finished the English 10 Textbook

"Convenience sampling" was used to select participants from this school According to Cohen et al (2000), this sampling technique entails selecting the individuals closest to the researcher and repeating the process until the desirable sample size is obtained Convenience sampling is affordable and accessible, and the subjects are readily available, which may offset the time constraints (Etikan et al, 2016)

After collecting the quantitative data, purposeful sampling was employed to select students for the interview Purposeful sampling (also referred to as purposive sampling) means that researchers intentionally select (or recruit) participants who have experienced the central phenomenon or key concept being explored in the study (Creswell, 2012) To achieve this goal, some criteria for choosing interviewees were established The first criterion for choosing interview participants is that the interviewed students are the ones who agree to participate in the interview in the consent form Additionally, participants who can partake in the interview must have answers that resemble the prevalent agreeing or disagreeing patterns concerning the survey results This potentially helps the study yield some important implications concerning integrating cultural contents in the English 10 Textbook and the

34 appropriate techniques to introduce these contents.

Research design

This study aims at addressing three different research questions:

1 To what extent are categories and types of culture integrated into English 10

2 What are the 10th-grade students’ perceptions of cultural content in the textbook?

3 What are the 10th-grade students’ perceptions of suitable techniques for culture instruction in the textbook?

A mixed-method approach was adopted to address the research questions (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003), combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques (Creswell, 2005) This approach was chosen because using each method alone can not capture the full complexity of the issue being studied

By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, a more comprehensive understanding of the research problem can be obtained (Greene, Caracelli, & Graham, 1989; Johnson & Turner, 2003; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998)

The study followed a sequential explanatory mixed methods design consisting of two distinct phases (Creswell, Plano Clark, Guttman, & Hanson, 2003; Tashakkori

& Teddlie, 1998) In the first phase, data was collected and analysed to identify the cultural content of the English 10 Textbook Then, quantitative data concerning students’ perceptions of the teaching and learning cultural content was also gathered and analysed This quantitative analysis also helped in selecting participants for the second phase In the second phase, qualitative data was collected and analysed to provide in-depth explanations and explore participants' perceptions The quantitative and qualitative phases were connected when participants were selected for qualitative case studies, and interview protocols were developed based on the results from the statistical tests in the first phase The results of the quantitative and qualitative phases were integrated during the discussion of the overall study outcomes Integrating findings from both phases helped provide a more comprehensive understanding of the research problem A diagram of the mixed methods sequential explanatory design

35 procedures in the study can be seen in Figure 1

Mixed methods sequential explanatory design procedures

- Purposefully selecting participants (N = 5) based on typical responses

- Individual in-depth interviews with 5 participants

- Interpretation and explanation of the quantitative and qualitative results

- Text data (interview transcripts, documents, recordings)

- Similar and different themes and categories

Research instruments

For the textbook, content analysis was carried out to identify the types and groups of cultural content included Additionally, quantitative and qualitative

36 methods were used to investigate the students’ perceptions as knowledge and information in breadth and depth were developed by gathering and interacting with data, both statistically and qualitatively, offsetting the shortcomings of each approach when carried out separately Quantitative data was collected with the help of a questionnaire to examine students’ perceptions concerning cultural contents in the English 10 Textbook and the appropriate techniques for teaching these cultural contents Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews was used to clarify the students' perceptions

A content analysis was conducted to explore the nature of categories and types of culture in the in-use English textbook for 10th graders This is a flexible method of analysing the data of the study, and it is defined as a “research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from texts to the contexts of their use” (Krippendorff,

2013, p.24) To construct such inferences systematically, the identification and application of units of analysis are imperative These units serve as singular, independent (Krippendorff, 2018, p 102), and countable components within a given text, facilitating the classification of content into distinct themes

For the textbook analytical framework, the design and effectiveness of the existing cultural content analysis were investigated in the first stage Furthermore, the coding procedure for the sources and themes of culture was also studied

Concerning the analysis of cultural sources, the textbook contents were coded according to the checklist proposed by Chao (2011) The sources of culture, which included target culture, source culture, international target culture, intercultural interaction, and universality across cultures, were coded based on this checklist to provide a comprehensive analysis of the target textbook The five primary sources of culture can be described as follows

● Target culture includes English-speaking cultures (England, America, Australia, New Zealand)

● Source culture refers to the learners’ native culture, which is Vietnamese

● International target culture represents cultures of all countries other than the source and target cultures

● Intercultural Interaction emphasises cross-cultural perspectives in that it includes contents that reflect the similarities and differences in cultures among the source culture, target culture, and interactional culture

● Universality across Culture includes general knowledge/content that is not specific to any particular culture or country

Regarding the analysis of cultural themes, Xiao’s (2010) checklist was employed with suitable adaptations to encode and count the number of items belonging to different themes of culture under big “C” and little “c” groups This checklist was chosen since the analyzed book is a theme-based textbook, which was convenient for the researcher during the analysis process Under the checklist are nine themes of big “C” culture and seven themes of little “c” culture To be precise, when any of the themes are mentioned in a task, that task may be regarded as alluding to a specific group and source of culture However, after the first pilot analysis, the researcher added another category, Science, to the checklist so the analysis covered all themes of culture appearing in the target textbook The themes are listed as follows:

1 Big “C” cultures are (10 themes) politics, history, economy, geography, literature/art, social norms, education, architecture, music/sports, and science

2 Little “c” cultures are (7 themes) food, holiday, lifestyle, customs, values, hobbies, and gestures/ body language

For each section of one unit, an analysis was conducted task-by-task to ensure no meaningful data was missed In this study, three analysis units: Pictures, Texts, and Activities were used (Dehbozorgi et al., 2014) Pictures (P) include all the photographs and images in each unit, while Texts (T) are conversations, dialogues, and paragraphs included in each unit as real-life situation communication The last unit, Activities (A), incorporates speaking, discussion,

38 listening, or writing tasks to enhance learners' communication abilities These units of analysis were chosen because they can effectively convey cultural context and provide a comprehensive and accurate introduction to factual information The total number of analysed units is summarised in the table below:

Number of pictures, texts, and activities in English 10 Textbook Global Success

Based on the units of analysis and sources of culture, a coding table for the cultural elements in the target textbook was then developed The coding table includes four cultural sources: Vietnamese culture, target culture, international target culture, and intercultural interaction Universality across Culture was also involved in this table, so the cultural and culture-free content ratio can be calculated

Coding table for cultural content

Afterwards, a different table was created to categorize the cultural content into big “C” and little “c” culture This table still covers three units of analysis under the forms of 10 big “C” cultural themes and 7 little “c” cultural themes

Coding table for Big “C” and little “c”

Regarding quantitative data, the study employed a questionnaire since it was a quick and efficient way to collect more data for larger populations considering the respondents' opinions (Hinchey, 2006) Moreover, the questionnaire facilitates a rapport between the researcher and participants before the more interactive interviewing process (Wagenaar, 2005) Lastly, questionnaires can aid the employment of other data-collecting instruments (Griffee, 2012), in this case, semi- structured interviews Besides, the study used Likert-scale items to obtain specific

40 opinions of the participants, whether they agreed or disagreed with the given items Using the Likert scale provided the researcher with quantifiable data that can be managed using quantitative measuring tools (Barcelos, 2003) In this study, 4-point Likert items were used Instead of choosing the moderated value, the participants can decide whether they agree or disagree with the given items Although this scale has long been controversial among scholars due to its forced nature, it was employed for this study as this method allows the participants to think thoroughly before responding Hence, the participants can reflect on their past experiences to come up with their final answer (Chomeya, 2010)

The questionnaire aimed to establish a list of statements concerning perceptions of teaching and learning cultural content To construct a questionnaire with validity and reliability, the literature was reviewed carefully, which helped determine the key content based on which the questions were designed Then, the researcher decided to adapt the questionnaire of Xiao (2010) since it highly matched the key content planned earlier After that, the items in this questionnaire were checked carefully against the literature to ensure no meaningful items were missing and suitable adjustments were made After the questionnaire had been finalised and approved by the supervisor of the researcher, it was translated into Vietnamese to reduce the language hindrance for the participants A translation expert then proofread the translation to ensure the meaning of each item was unchanged

The questionnaire aimed to establish a list of statements concerning students’ perceptions regarding cultural content in the English 10 Textbook The questionnaire consists of three main parts Part 1, adapted from the study of Xiao (2010) with one adjustment, involves 7 Likert-based items that help examine students’ perceptions concerning the importance of teaching and learning cultural content

List of questionnaire items regarding students’ perceptions about the importance of teaching and learning cultural content

My perceptions about the importance of teaching and learning cultural content is:

1 I want to learn cultural content as well as linguistic knowledge

2 It is very important for me to know the culture of English-speaking countries, such as

3 It is very important for me to know Vietnamese culture

4 It is very important for me to know the culture of non-English-speaking countries, such as China, Japan, and Spain

5 It is very important for me to know the products and contributions to society (e.g., politics, economy, history, literature, sciences, and geography)

6 It is very important for me to know the daily living and culture patterns (e.g., food, holidays, lifestyles, and customs)

7 It is very important for me to know the similarities and differences between different cultures

Part 2 includes 8 Likert-based items investigating students' perceptions of the cultural contents of their in-use textbook This part of the questionnaire was adapted from the study of Xiao (2010), Chao (2011), and Moran (2001) with suitable adaptations

List of questionnaire items regarding students’ perceptions about cultural content in English 10 Textbook

My perceptions about the English 10 Textbook is:

1 Compared with cultural learning, the tasks were designed with a focus on linguistic learning

2 Cultural knowledge contents were included in most tasks

3 The culture of English-speaking countries was highly focused upon

4 Vietnamese culture was highly focused upon

5 The culture of non-English-speaking countries was highly focused upon

6 Intercultural interaction was highly focused upon Chao (2011)

7 A variety of different cultures were presented Xiao (2010)

Part 3 contains ten items concerning students’ perceptions of suitable cultural instruction techniques These items aligned with the previous literature review on how teachers teach cultural content

List of questionnaire items regarding students’ perceptions of suitable teaching techniques for cultural instruction

Which technique is suitable for cultural instruction?

1 Teachers use literary texts to provide students with cultural content Blatchford (1986), (Valdes, 1986),

2 Teachers use visual materials (films, news broadcasts, television shows, websites, photographs, magazines, newspapers, restaurant menus, travel brochures, and other printed materials) to provide students with cultural content

(Scollon, 1999), Krasner (1999), Peterson and Coltrane (2003)

3 Teachers present objects such as figurines, tools, jewellery, or images to introduce cultural content Peterson and Coltrane (2003)

4 Teachers invite expert sources (exchange students, immigrant students, or students who speak the target language at home) to provide students with cultural content

5 Teachers provide cultural background related to the topic Xiao (2010)

6 Teachers provide opportunities for discussions on cultural similarities and differences in class

7 Students research cultural information before class Peterson and Coltrane (2003)

8 Teachers introduce cultural knowledge by talking about current events related to culture

9 Teachers organise role-play activities Peterson and Coltrane (2003)

10 Teachers use different teaching techniques to teach cultural content Peterson and Coltrane (2003)

Data collection

In analysing the textbook, the procedure by Xiao (2010) was employed due to its convenience and the resemblance between the two studies Every task within the ten units was viewed as a learning unit, as each task represented a fundamental part of the textbook and conveyed its distinct cultural information separately from the others There are several essential stages involved in the process of analysing a textbook

Phase 1: Pre-analysis - Examine the Objective of the target unit

In this phase, the objective of each target was examined to get an insight into

45 the basic concept of cultural contents in that unit This is mainly because the objectives would outline each unit's essential points, topics, skills, and cultural information

For example, the objectives in Unit 3 in Global Success English 10 highly focus on music Through the objectives, it is clear that the musical elements of many countries will be presented, illustrated considerably through the Culture part with

“Chau Van Singing” and the Project to research traditional music in Vietnam and other countries Based on these objectives, the researcher understood which sources of culture appear in that specific unit In this case, for Unit 3, there would probably be cultural information from target culture and Vietnamese culture as source culture

Phase 2: Selecting relevant data and excluding the irrelevant data

During this phase, the relevant data for each unit was analyzed descriptively to obtain statistics of frequency Specifically, this data was identified, and irrelevant information was excluded Relevant data pertains to items that contain cultural contents, whereas irrelevant data refers to elements lacking cultural elements To select the data from the target textbook, the researcher examined why some parts of the lesson included cultural content while others did not For example, the Pronunciation section in Unit 3 of English 10 was found to be culture-free (Appendix

C) , while the Culture section included a text about Chau Van Singing, which is considered to convey cultural content from source culture (Appendix D)

Phase 3: Textbook analysis - Categorize the information in the textbook into sources and dimensions of culture

After examining the objectives and gaining an overall idea of the contents of a unit, the researcher carried out the third phase to find out the main contents of the unit and to code them with sources and themes in the framework presented in Table

1 The analysis helped tally the frequency of cultural sources and themes portrayed by these sources By noting and coding the cultural content of each task, the researcher determined the cultural categories it belonged to To classify themes under cultural sources, the researcher identified the primary ideas or related items of each

46 section and assigned corresponding codes as per the guidelines provided in the checklist provided by Xiao (2010)

Phase 4: Cross-checking and finalising the data

In this stage, a researcher was invited to analyse the cultural contents in the English 10 Textbook individually, and the findings were subsequently compared to ensure validity The agreement rate between the two analysts is approximately 92% Then a review was carried out to negotiate the differences between the items coded differently Once the data was finalised, tables and charts were created to facilitate report writing, representing the frequency of of the cultural contents

Before conducting the data collection process, each participant received a consent form This form details the study's purpose, the procedure, the benefits of participation, confidentiality issues, and signatures The participants had time to read the study thoroughly and confirm their participation After that, copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the participants in May 2023 Questionnaires were filled out, and the study reached a desirable response rate of 86%

After the quantitative data were collected, 5 participants from the questionnaire group were chosen for the interviews from the group of questionnaire participants The first criterion for choosing the interviewees is their availability and willingness since they were the participants who agreed to partake in the interview in the consent form The second criterion is that the answers of the chosen participants had to be representative After analysing quantitative data, the researcher found a trend of agreement and disagreement in the students' perceptions The participants who had the closest answer to this trend were chosen based on this trend All of the interviews took place in September 2023 at school; the chosen location of the students and the language used during the interview was Vietnamese, selected by the interviewees to avoid linguistic barriers The interviews were all recorded with the participants' permission for future reference and analysis

Data analysis

To address the first research question, the researcher analysed the data acquired from the textbook analysis by identifying the target culture, source culture, international target culture, and intercultural interaction These categories were further divided based on categorising the data into cultural types, including big “C” and little “c” cultures The researcher then quantified the data using frequencies and percentages to support the answers to the first research question The quantitative analysis focused on determining the proportion of cultural information, different categories and types of cultural content, and various themes associated with big “C” and little “c” cultures in the textbook

Quantifiable data was obtained exclusively through a questionnaire After achieving adequate responses, respondents' answers were converted to data using Google Typeform and SPSS once collected from the students After that, the researcher calculated Cronbach's Alpha with the help of SPSS to assess the reliability of the questionnaire Cronbach's Alpha can be understood as a measure employed to evaluate the questionnaire’s reliability, also known as internal consistency, through a set of test items Since the 𝛼 for three sets of questions concerning representations of cultural contents in 10th-grade English textbook and the suitable strategies to teach these contents are greater than 0.6 (0.71, 0.66, and 0.72 respectively), these question sets are reliable to conduct this study (Salkind, 2015) Finally, tables were drawn to represent the statistics and answer the first and second research questions Afterward, a thorough analysis of the charts was conducted to describe and make implications and interpretations

Due to the nature of qualitative data, this process should require longer and more careful analysis than the former quantitative stage Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data since it is “one of a cluster of methods that

48 focus on identifying patterned meaning across a dataset” (Braun & Clarke, 2006) This method is useful for answering the third question of the study Hence, the six- phase thematic analysis framework designed by Braun and Clark (2006) was applied to this study

In the first step, once qualitative data was collected, all the interview recordings of this study were transcribed Since the language used during the interview was based on the interviewees' preference to minimise linguistic hindrance, interviews conducted in Vietnamese were translated into English After the interviews were translated, they were reviewed by the participants for confirmation In the next step, the researcher read and re-read the transcription thoroughly and made observation notes on Google Docs to identify the information related to the research questions After that, the initial codes were systematically generated, which are considered “symbolic meaning to the descriptive or inferential information compiled during a study” (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaủa, 2014), from the data and collated to determine essential features of the data which may be helpful to address the research question In this stage, the codes were formulated manually with the use of Microsoft Word since the use of software may not touch the hidden meanings of the data

Initial codes regarding students’ perceptions of the teaching and learning of cultural content

After that, the researcher checked the codes against the data to ensure no meaningful code was missing Next, the codes were grouped and labelled with themes identified from the literature review Meanwhile, newly emerged codes were collected

49 to form a new theme, and irrelevant codes were excluded Finally, the generated codes and themes were used to write up the analysis

Language learning support Chen and Lin (2017), Yang & Zhang,

(2020), Byram & Wagner (2018) Practicality Kramsch (2018), Byram (2018b),

Personal interests Newly emerged theme

Familiarity of cultural content Newly emerged theme

The qualitative data from the interview, which helps to give reasons for the responses from the questionnaire, was used to answer the third research question.

Ethical issues

Measures were taken to ensure that this study adhered to ethical standards All of the participants were given a consent form from the beginning of the study, which provides detailed information about the study's purpose, the study, the procedure of the study, the benefits of partaking in the study, and information related to participation and confidentiality issues Besides, participants’ identities are kept anonymous, and the data collected from them is highly confidential In the findings section, pseudonyms were used to give anonymity to the interviewees as well

In conclusion, this study investigated the cultural elements in English 10 Textbook – Global Success and the perceptions of 10th-grade students concerning the teaching and learning of cultural contents It employed a sequential explanatory mixed methods design with two different phases Content analysis and a questionnaire were used to gather quantitative data, while interviews were subsequently conducted for qualitative data The data was then analyzed to yield meaningful findings

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Quantitative data

Quantitative data was collected by analyzing textbooks and using a questionnaire The textbook analysis focused on understanding the cultural content in the English 10 textbook - Global Success, whereas the questionnaire aimed to uncover students’ perceptions of teaching and learning cultural content

The analysis of the English 10 textbook aimed to explore the frequency of how four cultural categories and different cultural themes were represented The textbook's content was examined to see if it aligned with specific cultural categories, including source culture, target culture, international target culture, and intercultural interaction Additionally, the analysis assessed the extent to which different cultural themes from Big “C” and little “c” cultures were covered

4.1.1.1 Representation of cultural categories in the textbook

English Textbook 10 contains ten units, each including eight sections and four reviews Some contents in Language were excluded from the analysis as they do not have cultural significance

Cultural and cultural-free sections in English 10 Textbook Global Success

Parts of one unit Sections cultural/culture-free

Getting started Getting started cultural

Project Vocabulary cultural/culture-free

As aforementioned in Chapter 3, three units of analysis, including texts, pictures, and activities, were used Pictures are photographic and illustrative materials in each unit; text pertains to the conversational, dialogue, and paragraph-based content, designed to simulate real-life communication situations, while activities focus on speaking and discussion exercises to improve the learners' communication skills To be specific, 167 pictures, 68 texts, and 101 activities in total were examined The findings are presented in Table 11

Percentage of Source Culture, Target Culture, International Culture, Intercultural Interaction and Universality across Culture in English 10 - Global Success textbook

Types of culture Aspects of analysis Total

Based on Table 12, the most significant proportion of the content falls under the category of Universality across Culture, accounting for 64% of the total content

It is also clear that the English 10 Textbook includes all types of cultural content in pictures, texts, and activities Regarding more specific cultural contents, source culture stands second at 24.7%, a substantial percentage compared to other categories This is followed by target culture with 5.6% of the content In contrast, the categories of Interactional culture and International target culture account for only 3.3% and 2.4% of the content, respectively

In general, culture-neutral information is most prevalent in the target textbook This trend is supported by the presence of many parts within the textbook that contain no explicit cultural references, such as random pictures of a family (Project - Unit 1), volunteering activities (Listening - Unit 4), or a classroom (Reading - Unit 8) Universality across Culture is also represented through texts like a reading text about green living (Reading - Unit 2), a text about gender equality (Reading - Unit 6), and a conversation about tour planning (Communication and Culture - Unit 10) with no cultural references Some activities are unrelated to culture, some of which require students to talk about a button that students want on the Robot Vacuum (Listening - Unit

5), discuss online learning (Speaking - Unit 8), or discuss the most effective way to save

53 endangered animals (Listening - Unit 9) This aligns with the findings of Kieu (2016) and Nguyen (2022) in studies on the English textbook series for upper-intermediate students as part of the 2020 Project and the 10-year Curriculum's English 9 Textbook in Viet Nam, which puts immense focus on covering universal culture instead of cultures of a specific region or country

The target textbook features a significant amount of cultural content related to Vietnamese culture, which is distributed evenly across the ten units, as it contains numerous texts that depict Vietnamese culture, such as a reading text about Chau Van Singing (Communication and Culture - Unit 3) or the benefits of Viet Nam as a member of many international organisations (Looking Back - Unit 7) Numerous Vietnamese-related visuals, especially the 11 pictures of famous attractions in Vietnam (Project - Unit 10), are also found Some activities of the analysed textbooks are also designed to focus on Vietnamese culture For example, students must discuss whether they want to participate in Vietnam Idol (Writing - Unit 3) or which environmental problem is the most serious in Vietnam (Writing - Unit 9) These findings corroborate with prior research conducted by Nguyen (2018) on Vietnamese English textbook series for high school students, as well as studies by Idriani (2017) and Diana (2021) that examine cultural content in Indonesian textbooks These authors pointed out that the coverage of source culture is significant in the studied textbooks However, the findings of Xiao (2010) contrast with the studies above, as it revealed that the analysed textbook did not prioritise cultural content associated with the source culture

In comparison to the source culture, the target textbook does not place as much emphasis on the target culture The cultural content about the target culture is predominantly found in Unit 1 - Family life, Unit 3 - Music, Unit 5 - Inventions, and Unit 10 - Ecotourism This contrasts the findings of Ashrafi and Ajideh (2018) and Lee and Lee (2020), who examined textbooks in Iran, Hong Kong, and mainland China and observed a different pattern Additionally, it was discovered that American culture constituted nearly half of the target culture content This observation aligns with the

54 research by Zhang and Chang (2022), which identified American culture as the primary inner circle culture depicted in the target culture content

According to the Table, it is evident that the analysed textbook includes limited information on intercultural interaction and international target culture, accounting for only 3.3% and 2.4% of its content, respectively Over half of the intercultural interaction elements were recorded through conversations between Vietnamese speakers and English-speaking people, namely the dialogue between Anna and Nam about whether children should do housework (Unit 1 - Speaking) or a conversation between Lan, Mark, and Linda about careers (Unit 6 - Getting Started) Considering international target culture, this cultural source is mainly displayed through visuals and tasks related to Asimo Robot from Japan (Unit 5 - Reading) or Valentina Tereshkova from Soviet (Unit 6 - Gender Equality) The study's results correspond with Kim and Paek's (2015) and Zhang and Chang’s (2022) findings of insufficient intercultural interaction in Korean and Chinese textbooks

For the target textbook, it is clear that all sources of culture are represented While source culture content is the most prevalent, there is a marked lack of elements concerning International target culture and intercultural interaction A more detailed analysis related to the existing themes in the target textbook was carried out to explore the distribution of cultural content further

4.1.1.2 Representation of cultural types in the textbook

The theme of each unit present in the textbooks was first coded following Xiao's coding method (2010), which involves categorising references of big “C” culture and little “c” culture

The themes of the units in the target textbook under big “C” and little “c” culture

2 Humans and the environments little c

7 Vietnam and International Organizations Big C

8 New ways to learn Big C

The book that was analysed contained cultural content that was represented in both tangible and intangible forms throughout, with a dominance of Big “C” culture Seven of the ten units in the book were categorised as about Big “C" culture, while only three units represent topics related to little “c” culture

Distribution of the big “C” and little “c” culture under cultural categories

SC TC ITC ICI Units of analysis Big C little c Big C little c Big C little c Big C little c

In general, the information presented in Table 14 indicates that there is an unequal distribution of big “C” and little “c” representation in the textbook being

56 studied The focus seems to be mainly on big “C” culture in all of the cultural sources, such as those related to the source culture, target culture, international target culture, and intercultural interactions, which may be linked to the fact that most of the units covered in the textbook concern big “C” culture This is consistent with the research findings of Xiao (2010) yet incongruent with Matic's (2015) and Nguyen’s (2018) findings To explore this unequal distribution, examining the cultural contents belonging to different themes is necessary

Distribution of the 17 sub-cultural themes in English 10 Textbook - Global Success

Theme Sub-theme SC TC ITC ICI Sum

Based on the given data, it can be observed that English textbook 10 has a

57 significant focus on cultural themes related to Lifestyles, Geography, and Music/Sports, Education Vu (2016) and Nguyen (2018) had similar observations, with Education, Lifestyles, and Geography as dominant cultural elements in their investigated textbooks

The representation of Lifestyles is the most noticeable, with 26 occurrences; however, this is the only highest-ranking theme falling under little “c” culture Geography is the textbook's second most dominant cultural theme, with 18 occurrences, while Music/Sports and Education follow with 15 and 14 occurrences, respectively

The theme of Lifestyles is explored through cultural content from both source culture and target culture and includes visuals and texts that detail the daily routines of Vietnamese and Western families Additionally, the green lifestyle of the young generations in Vietnam or their interest in participating in voluntary activities are found in Units 2 and 4 of the target textbook

Qualitative data

In the interview, the students were asked to justify their answers in the completed questionnaire Specifically, they gave reasons for their perceptions concerning each item in the questionnaire Additional questions were also asked if needed to gain a better understanding of students’ justifications

The qualitative data gathered from the students were discussed under two major themes, which were linked to the main parts of the questionnaire, namely the categories and types of cultures and ways of representing and teaching these items The first theme is the interviewees’ reasons for their response regarding preferences for cultural content to be covered in their English textbook, revolving around four sources of culture and different cultural themes, and the second theme puts an emphasis on the suitable techniques for teaching cultural content

4.2.1 Justifications for including varied categories and types of culture

Despite having different ways to explain themselves, all interviewees

66 considered one of the most prominent benefits of including cultural content in their English textbook is knowledge expansion Most of the interviewees mentioned keywords such as “gain knowledge” or “expand cultural knowledge To illustrate, S2 stated that she can broaden her understanding of different cultural knowledge and interesting facts through “reading passages in the textbook and learning through the teacher's activities related to cultural content.”

Many of the interviewed students stated that they can broaden their knowledge about the cultures of different countries worldwide For example, S4 claimed:

Students like us do not have much opportunity to get exposed to languages like Chinese, Russian, or Japanese, so it is difficult to understand the cultures of those countries through native reading materials Thanks to English as the common language and our English textbook, I can have a source to absorb cultural content more easily and expand my knowledge

Moreover, many students named different cultural topics for knowledge expansion as they thought they could learn more about these topics with the help of textbooks According to S1, students can learn more about themes such as “cuisine, customs, clothing, and festivals” through their textbook, while “politics, economy, and daily life” are some mentioned topics by S2

Likewise, Alrashidi (2021) highlighted that the students in his study expressed a strong interest in learning from various cultural sources as a means to broaden their understanding of different cultures On the other hand, in Xiao's (2010) study, it was discovered that one reason students preferred to learn target culture information was their desire to acquire knowledge about target culture

During the interview, students provided several reasons related to language learning effectiveness and why they favoured including cultural content in their English textbooks Two students when asked claimed “learn more vocabulary about cultures” as a reason for cultủal instruction, allowing them to use these words and phrases in other learning activities In addition, S4 added that with a broader vocabulary related to cultures that students learn, they will find it easier to “approach the lessons and apply the acquired vocabulary in activities such as reading, speaking,

67 or listening exercises.” Similarly, Chen and Lin (2017) and Yang and Zhang (2020) suggested that teaching cultural content from various sources can improve students' language learning, including vocabulary building, listening comprehension, speaking skills, and writing skills One student also emphasized knowledge retention as another benefit of teaching culture, as comparing and contrasting features of different cultures helps students “memorize the knowledge better.”

Motivation is another contributor to students’ interests in incorporating culture-related information in their English textbooks, which corroborates with the findings of Alrashidi (2021) Many of the interviewees in this study found lessons containing cultural facts and information enjoyable and captivating, increasing their enthusiasm for learning They thought lessons would be “more interesting” or “more appealing” with the incorporation of cultural instruction This is exemplified by the reason given by S5, which emphasised “learning language knowledge like grammar and pronunciation can be quite boring”, and students would find the lessons captivating if they could also “learn about culture through different tasks, such as through reading and listening exercises.” Meanwhile, S2 stated that incorporating cultural content into a lesson can help students “discover some surprising pieces of information or facts, contradicting their beliefs.” This makes lessons more captivating to students, boosting their enthusiasm for learning

The interviews showed that students' learning preferences were influenced by the practical purposes of acquiring culture-related knowledge All students emphasised the importance of communication effectiveness as a motivation for learning about different cultures with repeated keywords including “communicate effectively”, or “easier to communicate” For instance, students such as S1 and S2 indicated they loved studying different cultures from their textbooks, as it would be easier for students to “communicate with many different people and in different situations when they have such broad knowledge.” S3 even detailed that besides

68 native speakers, students would also meet “people from Asia and Africa who speak English,” so it is important for them to understand their cultures to communicate more effectively S3 added that if one does not have basic knowledge of their interlocutor’s culture, “awkward situations and misunderstandings” may arise, leading to communication breakdowns This bears some striking similarities to the studies by Byram (2018b) and Cortazzi and Jin (2015) since they found that integrating cultural instruction in language teaching can enhance students' ability to communicate effectively with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds

The interviews also named some future settings that they may need to take cultural awareness into consideration These settings include their workplace, especially “multinational corporations,” where they interact with colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds They also mentioned “future visits to non-English speaking countries”, “studying abroad,” and encounters with foreign tourists in their country as potential contexts for using English as a means of communication As explained by S2, by meeting people from foreign countries, students can “use English as a common language for communication,” and knowing their cultures can help them “communicate successfully.” This is congruent with the study conducted by Alrashidi (2021), in which the interviewee stated she wanted to learn culture-related vocabulary to use for her travels and to talk about the daily habits in her countries

In addition, the findings of the interviews revealed that all students considered other practical uses of learning cultural contents They firmly believed that, as Vietnamese individuals, it was crucial to learn about their native culture and ensure its preservation For example, S2 stated that as Vietnamese, students should

“understand Vietnam first before learning about other countries' cultures.” Learning about Vietnamese culture through English textbooks equipped them with the fundamental knowledge necessary to introduce their country to foreign friends in the future This can be illustrated by the fact that learning culture-related elements in

69 textbooks will help students to “have more understanding and respect for Vietnamese culture” and “introduce our country's culture to foreigners face-to-face or through social media platforms like Facebook or TikTok.” This finding corroborates the study of Xiao (2010) and Vu (2016)

Integration of quantitative and qualitative data

By integrating both types of data, this study aims to draw a comprehensive picture of students' perceptions of the representation of cultural content in their English textbook and the strategies for cultural instruction The quantitative data will provide statistical evidence of prevalent perceptions, while the qualitative data will offer nuanced insights and a deeper understanding of the students' experiences This integration will contribute to a more robust analysis and interpretation of the findings

4.3.1 Students’ perceptions regarding the representation of cultural content in the textbook

This study explored how students perceive and expect cultural content in a specific textbook According to the questionnaire, cultural knowledge was recognised to be present in most tasks, but the tasks in the textbook still primarily focused on linguistic learning rather than cultural learning The students generally believed that the target textbook could cover all cultural sources To be more specific, a majority of students positively perceived the coverage of Vietnamese culture in the textbook, indicating that it effectively addressed various aspects of Vietnamese culture Additionally, students acknowledged the representation of elements from the target culture in the textbook However, a number of students expressed concerns about the limited emphasis on international target culture and intercultural interaction

The quantitative data collected from the study also revealed that a majority of respondents expressed a strong interest in integrating diverse cultural knowledge with linguistic knowledge in their textbook In terms of specific cultural content, many students agreed that understanding the culture of English-speaking countries, their

Vietnamese culture, and intercultural interaction is essential However, there was less interest in non-English-speaking cultures The results also highlighted that students valued a comprehensive understanding of Big "C" and little "c" cultures, encompassing aspects such as history, socioeconomic factors, daily life, and cultural practices

In addition, it was found that most students perceived that the target textbook addressed various sources of culture They also expressed a strong interest in integrating cultural knowledge into their textbook This suggests that students recognise the importance of understanding cultural aspects alongside language learning This is greatly reflected through the qualitative data, in which the students highlighted how significant learning cultural content was and provided the reasons behind their perceptions Based on the qualitative data, students derive multiple benefits from learning about different cultures One of these advantages includes expanding their knowledge When studying cultural information, students can broaden their knowledge about the cultures of different countries and cultural topics Multicultural teaching and learning also facilitate learning effectiveness since students can expand their English and advance many useful skills Additionally, students can apply cultural knowledge in practical situations, namely having conversations with people from different backgrounds, travelling, studying abroad, or working in multinational corporations Furthermore, the interviewees explained that exposure to cultural content in English textbooks helps them increase learning motivation, and cultural awareness Learning different cultural sources and topics is also a way for them to acknowledge cultural diversity, develop positive attitudes toward different cultures, and better understand the importance of learning about their culture Another benefit of cultural integration in English textbooks is personal interests related to curiosity and the preference for exploring pop culture

However, students expressed concern regarding familiarity when integrating cultural content into English lessons Recognising the significance of cultural content, they also preferred some specific topics to be included, such as daily lives, food,

77 customs, or social norms The students argued that those themes are more applicable, practical, and easier to absorb than other complex or political themes As a result, they would establish stronger connections between their experiences and the content being taught and enhance their engagement and motivation to learn

By combining quantitative and qualitative data, a complete picture of the students' perceptions towards incorporating cultural content in their English textbook is depicted This integrated approach allows us to consider the overall trends and students’ explanations for their perceptions Ultimately, it provides valuable insights that can inform the adjustment and development of a culturally inclusive and engaging English textbook

4.3.2 Students’ perceptions regarding the appropriate pedagogical techniques for introducing cultural content

In terms of the quantitative data about appropriate pedagogical techniques for introducing cultural content, the students had positive perceptions and identified various reasons for selecting specific techniques The most preferred technique, unanimously agreed upon, involved presenting cultural background that is relevant to the topic This was followed by utilising visual materials such as films, TV shows, photographs, newspapers, and printed materials Introducing cultural knowledge through current events related to culture was also considered effective Engaging in discussions about cultural similarities and differences, showcasing cultural objects like figurines, tools, and jewelry, and involving expert sources such as exchange students, immigrant students, or students speaking the language at home were highly regarded techniques Researching cultural information before class and incorporating role-play activities were relatively favored methods However, there was moderate agreement regarding using literary texts to provide cultural content

The qualitative data further answer the research question by identifying various reasons given by the students for the use of different techniques for cultural instruction, which implies that the students recognised the importance of various

78 pedagogical techniques The first reason they gave is language learning support because students believed they could have better lesson comprehension, knowledge retention, and skill improvement Students can also nurture their learning motivation through learning with different methods In addition, practicality is also a reason provided by the students for the use of various techniques for cultural instruction

On the other hand, students emphasised that teachers should be flexible in using diverse teaching techniques The students highlighted that different types of materials and varying difficulty levels require teachers to adapt their approach to ensure effective learning They also express the importance of catering to different learning needs and preferences by incorporating various methods Concerns about time constraints are also raised, as some methods may be challenging to carry out within limited class time

By integrating quantitative and qualitative data, the students' perceptions towards the appropriate pedagogical techniques for introducing cultural content can be shed light on This combination allows for a more nuanced understanding of their preferences and provides valuable insights for developing effective teaching strategies.

Discussion

4.4.1 Representation of cultural categories in the textbook

From the textbook analysis, cultural-free information made up a large part of the textbook content, and all sources of culture are represented in the target textbook However, this textbook had an unequal representation of cultural sources, with a strong presence of source culture and a noticeable absence of elements about the international target culture and intercultural interaction

In the English textbook for 10th-grade students, the findings point out that the majority of the information in this book tends to be culture-neutral This is congruent with the studies by Kieu (2020) and Nguyen (2022), and the high coverage of Universality across Culture content suggests that the textbook aims to provide information that applies to a broad range of cultures rather than solely focusing on

79 any specific cultural group Therefore, this may be useful for learners seeking to gain a general understanding of the world around them, and they can use this type of information as a medium to convey messages and exchange information

Apart from the content that is universally applicable across cultures, the target textbook contains a substantial number of materials focused explicitly on Vietnamese culture, which is consistent with previous research by Nguyen (2018), as well as studies by Idriani (2017) and Diana (2021) These cultural information and tasks can help students better relate to and connect with the materials being taught, improving their engagement and retention of the content Additionally, exposure to source culture materials can help students gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of their culture It also allows students to embrace the ownership of English (McKay,

On the other hand, the target textbook does not highlight the target culture to the same extent as source culture This contrasts with the results of previous studies by Ashrafi and Ajideh (2018) and Lee and Lee (2020) Intercultural interaction and International target culture are the least represented cultural sources in the target textbook

Concerning students’ perceptions towards the cultural content in the English textbook for 10th graders, most agreed that diverse cultures are represented in this textbook Specifically, the majority of students agreed that the book emphasised Vietnamese culture, followed by target culture, with a slightly lower agreement rate However, many students felt that the textbook did not focus enough on the international target culture The survey also revealed divided opinions on the level of intercultural interaction in the book, with some students agreeing and others disagreeing These are congruent with the findings of Xiao (2010) and Vu (2016)

The alignment between the analysis and perceptions of the students of the target textbook suggests that the content of the English 10 Textbook successfully reflects a diverse range of cultural sources and topics, which is likely to contribute to a more inclusive and comprehensive learning experience for the students Among all sources of culture, the textbook has managed to represent Vietnamese culture with

80 high coverage, while it may not adequately emphasise international target culture and intercultural interaction

With its international status, English has become a language that guarantees broader communication amongst individuals from different countries or in a single country (McKay, 2002) Since learners are preparing themselves for the use of English in international contexts, the cultural content that should be taught is much broader For teaching materials to capture such broadness, their cultural content must be drawn from multiple sources The target textbook clearly reflects the authors' awareness of the global nature of English and their commitment to the inclusivity of different cultural sources As stated in the preface, the authors have successfully incorporated a variety of cultural sources, including not only the target culture but also Vietnamese culture, international target culture, and intercultural interaction However, the coverage of cultural elements is not soundly distributed to some extent

Regarding students' expectations about cultural representation in the textbook, the survey reveals that students generally hold positive attitudes towards cultural education and most aspects of culture-related content, which is consistent with the findings of Zhang and Ma (2004), Xiao (2010), Vu (2016), and Kahraman (2016) There are some reasons for students’ cultural preferences, stated in the interviews, including knowledge expansion, language learning support, practical use, cultural awareness, personal interests, and familiarity of the cultural content

However, when asked to prioritise the importance of three cultural groups, the students' levels of interest varied The source culture, intercultural interaction, target culture, and international target culture were ranked in order of preference, from most favoured to least favoured The variation in students' preferences regarding the importance of cultural groups suggests a shift in perception compared to previous research While Xiao (2010) and Vu (2016) found that students prioritised learning about the target culture, the present study indicates that students have a different ranking of preference, with the source culture being rated as more important than the target culture and international target culture This shift in preference may be

81 attributed to various factors, such as changes in increased globalisation or evolving educational approaches Moreover, including intercultural interaction as a cultural source in the present study highlights a significant deviation from the previous research by Xiao (2010) and Vu (2016)

Traditionally, in foreign language teaching, teaching and learning have been linked to target culture, which is the cultural information about English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States (Alptekin, 1993) Nevertheless, English has gradually become the most widely used language all over the world since the second half of the twentieth century (Yano, 2009) The fact that source culture and intercultural interaction were considered by the students in this study suggests a growing awareness of the importance of engaging with diverse cultures and fostering intercultural competence

4.4.2 Representation of cultural types in the textbook

English 10 - Global Success textbook covers both big “C” and little “c” cultures yet places a higher emphasis on cultural themes associated with big “C” culture, such as geography, music, education, politics, and literature/art This finding is similar to the research findings of Xiao (2010) However, it contrasts with the observation of Matic’s study (2015) and the study of Nguyen (2018) Specifically, the cultural themes emphasised in the target textbook include Lifestyles, Geography, Music/Sports, and Education Additionally, the English textbook 10 provides minimal coverage of some less common cultural themes such as Economy, Customs, and Food It also does not include themes like Hobbies and Gestures/Body Language This observation aligns with the findings of Ashrafi and Ajideh's (2018) study, which also pointed out the absence of the “Body Language” theme in the textbook The significant emphasis on big “C” culture may not provide students with sufficient information about the everyday practices and customs of different groups, which could lead to incomplete or stereotypical views of those cultures The reason for this imbalance can be ascribed to the small scope of this study, which dwells on only the English textbook for Grade 10, so this finding cannot be applied to other books in the

Conversely, though considering cultural elements from both big “C” and little

“c” important, students demonstrated a stronger preference for cultural content from little “c” culture, particularly lifestyle, food, and custom, compared to the emphasis placed on big “C” culture themes like education and history This is because the students may put an emphasis on the practical aspects of culture, which will facilitate real-life communicative situations Additionally, some students claimed they are more comfortable and familiar with "little c" culture, as it often relates to their cultural background or immediate surroundings This familiarity can improve the learning process and create a sense of connection with the cultural content One student’s explanation is shown below

I love learning about topics related to daily life, such as food, customs, values or holidays, because those topics are close to us, making it easier to absorb the knowledge And obviously, I will be more interested in learning when the content is familiar (S4)

CONCLUSION

Global Success textbook?

Question 2: What are the 10th-grade students’ perceptions of cultural content

The second aim of this study was to investigate the students' perceptions and expectations of cultural content presented in the target textbook The feedback from students suggests that the textbook's tasks primarily focused on linguistic learning rather than cultural learning, and cultural knowledge content was acknowledged to be present in most tasks, according to student responses Considering the coverage of cultural content, most students positively perceived Vietnamese culture, and the

86 textbook effectively covered various aspects of Vietnamese culture In addition, the students perceived that a fair number of elements from target culture are represented in this textbook However, a considerable number of students expressed concern about the limited focus given to international target culture and intercultural interaction

According to the data collected from this study on students' perceptions of teaching and learning cultural content, the majority of respondents expressed a strong interest in incorporating cultural knowledge alongside linguistic knowledge in their textbook When it comes to the specific cultural content that students consider important, the data revealed that a large number of students agreed that it is essential to know the target culture of English-speaking countries, their own Vietnamese culture, and intercultural interaction However, there appears to be a relatively lower level of interest in non-English-speaking cultures Furthermore, the results highlighted that students valued a broad understanding of big “C” and little “c” cultures, encompassing various aspects such as history, socioeconomic factors, daily life, and cultural practices

Based on the qualitative data, the students are keen on learning the cultural content of different sources, for they derive multiple advantages from cultural learning These benefits include the expansion of knowledge, enhanced language learning, learning motivation, practical application, increased cultural awareness, and alignment with personal interests, yet they also raise their concern about the issue of familiarity.

Question 3: What are the 10th-grade students’ perceptions of suitable

Regarding the students' perceptions toward the appropriate pedagogical techniques for introducing cultural content, all students expressed positivity toward the implementation of different teaching techniques, and they identified langugage learning effectiveness, motivation boost, practicality, and teachers' flexibility as their reasons for selecting appropriate techniques to teach and present cultural elements

The most favoured technique, unanimously agreed upon, involved presenting cultural background relevant to the topic, followed by Visual materials (films, TV shows, photographs, newspapers, and printed materials) and introduction of cultural knowledge through current events related to culture

Engaging in discussions about cultural similarities and differences, showcasing cultural objects (figurines, tools, and jewelry), and involving expert sources like exchange students, immigrant students, or students who speak the language at home are well-received techniques Researching cultural information before class and incorporating role-play activities were relatively favored methods However, utilising literary texts to provide cultural content received moderate agreement.

Implications of the study

The findings of the present research offer valuable insights that can contribute to enhancing language teaching and learning in the classroom, as well as developing instructional materials Consequently, this section outlines the practical implications that can be derived from these findings

This study's findings illustrate the preferences of students toward Vietnamese culture and cultural elements related to intercultural interaction However, the limited incorporation of intercultural interaction in the textbook implies a missed opportunity for students to advance their intercultural competence Additionally, intercultural interaction plays a crucial role in promoting understanding, empathy, and effective communication across cultures Therefore, it is essential for the authors of instructional materials to consider greater inclusion of intercultural content and activities, enabling students to engage in meaningful interactions with different cultures Furthermore, the textbooks should provide detailed guidance and instructional explanations on how teachers can effectively teach cultural content This will raise teachers' awareness of the crucial role cultural elements play in language learning while also exposing students to the cultural knowledge conveyed in these materials When teachers receive guidance and instructional explanations on teaching

88 cultural content, they can integrate it seamlessly into language lessons, making the learning experience more engaging and relevant for students

As there was a small percentage of little “c” culture, the authors of instruction materials should reconsider the portion and balance of types of culture with emphasis on fostering learners' communicative competence Related to the themes, it was supposed that greater attention should be paid to themes such as values, customs, holidays, and gestures/body language by the authors of textbooks in order to enhance students' communicative competence, such as sociolinguistic competence and strategic competence

According to the study, students tend to favour different teaching techniques for cultural instruction The implication is that teachers need to be flexible and adaptable in their instructional practices, so teachers should consider incorporating various teaching techniques to cater to different students' needs For example, visual learners may benefit from visual aids, such as images or videos, while kinesthetic learners may benefit from hands-on activities or role-playing exercises By recognising and accommodating different learning styles, teachers can create a more inclusive and engaging learning environment Another implication is that teachers should be aware of the cultural backgrounds and experiences of their students Cultural content should be presented in a way that is relatable and meaningful to students, taking into account their diverse perspectives and experiences This can help foster a sense of belonging and promote cultural understanding among students.

Limitations and suggestions for future studies

This study focused on analysing the cultural content in one English textbook for 10th-grade students - Global Success This limited scope may not provide a comprehensive understanding of cultural content across all English textbooks in this series To overcome this limitation, future research can extend the analysis to include the entire series of Global Success textbooks used in the curriculum This broader approach can provide a more holistic and nuanced perspective on the representation of cultural content in English textbooks

In addition, the study only examined one part of the nine English textbook series used by 10th graders in Vietnam A fruitful direction for future research will be to compare multiple textbook series to identify similarities and differences in their cultural coverage This may contribute to a deeper understanding of how different textbooks address cultural content, allowing educators to make informed decisions about the most effective resources for teaching cultural topics

Future research should also compare local and international textbooks regarding cultural coverage to gain insights into the effectiveness of different cultural content approaches This can provide valuable information on the potential advantages and disadvantages of each type of textbook, aiding educators in selecting appropriate resources that align with the cultural needs and preferences of Vietnamese students

The study only focused on 10th-grade students in a single high school in Vietnam, limiting the generalizability of the findings Future research should aim to include a more extensive and diverse sample of students from different levels and schools By expanding the participant pool, researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of students' attitudes, expectations, and perceptions regarding cultural learning and its inclusion in textbooks

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APPENDIX A CODING GUIDELINES FOR BIG “C” CULTURE

Politics The activities involved in getting and using power in public life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or a society

Activities of leaders of countries

International conferences and affairs on political issues

Economy The relationship between production, trade and the supply of money in a particular country or region Statistical data

Domestic and International economic issues

History All the events that happened in the past, the past events concerned in the development of a of a particular place, subject country

Geography The scientific study of the earth's surface, physical features, divisions, products, population Geographical description of a place

Literature/ Arts Literature: pieces of writing that are valued as works of art, especially novels, plays and poems Art: the use of the imagination to express ideas or feelings, particularly in painting, drawing or sculpture

Social norms The behavioral expectations and cues within a society or group When and where it is to say certain things or to use certain words, to discuss certain topics, and when not to

The most important contents which should be included in a application letter

Education A process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges, to improve knowledge and develop skills

Architecture The art and study of designing buildings, the design or style or buildings Great architectural products or works

Music/ Sports Music: Sounds that are arranged in a way that is pleasant or exciting to listen to People sing music or play it in instruments Sports: activity that you do for pleasure and that needs physical effort or skill, usually done in a special area and according to fixed rules Or a particular kind of sport

Sport competitions Types of sports

Science Knowledge about the structure and behaviour of the natural and physical world, based on facts that you can prove, for example by experiments

Note: The themes and definitions are adapted from Xiao (2010) and based on The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

APPENDIX B CODING GUIDELINES FOR LITTLE “c” CULTURE

Food Things that people or animals eat; a particular type of food

Holiday A day when most people do not go to work or school, especially because of the holiday

Origin, purpose and significance of a religious or national celebration

People's particular activities on the holiday

Lifestyles The way in which a person or a group of people lives and works

Interpersonal interaction and social activities Activities and styles of family life

Customs An accepted way of behaving or of doing things in a society or a community

Ceremony traditions Invitation card traditions

Values Beliefs about what is right and wrong and what is important in life

Identifying what is good, beneficial, useful, beautiful, desirable, appropriate, etc Values for love, life, and jobs

Hobbies Activities that you do for pleasure when you are not working

TV programme Preferences Listening to music

A movement that you make with your hands, your head or your face to show a particular meaning

Body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements

Note: The themes and definitions are adapted from Xiao (2010) and based on The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

APPENDIX C EXAMPLE OF A CULTURE-FREE TASK IN ENGLISH 10 TEXTBOOK

APPENDIX D EXAMPLE OF A TASK WITH CULTURAL CONTENT

IN ENGLISH 10 - GLOBAL SUCCESS TEXTBOOK

PHIẾU ĐỒNG THUẬN THAM GIA VÀO NGHIÊN CỨU