Đánh giá sách giáo khoa tiếng anh 6 tập một (sách thí điểm) thí điểm biên soạn trong khuôn khổ của đề án “dạy và học ngoại ngữ trong hệ thống giáo dục quốc dân, giai đoạn 2008 – 2020

Nghiên cứu mục đích, yêu cầu của Đề án quốc gia về “Dạy và học ngoại ngữ trong hệ thống giáo dục quốc dân, giai đoạn 2008 2020” và Chương trình tiếng Anh Trung học cơ sở của Bộ Giáo dục làm căn cứ để đánh giá cuốn sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 6 Tập 1 (Sách thí điểm) đã được triển khai dạy thí điểm ở một số trường THCS trên địa bàn tỉnh Hải Dương. Đánh giá dựa trên các tiêu chí đánh giá sách giáo khoa thể hiện trong bản câu hỏi về 12 khía cạnh : Hình thức, Thiết kế minh họa, Đĩa CD sách bài tập sách giáo viên, Mục tiêu, Chủ đề, Tính tiếp nối, Phương pháp, Kiểm tra đánh giá. Kết quả điều tra cho thấy cuốn sách đáp ứng tốt các yêu cầu của Đề án 2020 và của Chương trình Tiếng Anh THCS. Một số gợi ý và đề xuất để nâng cao chất lượng sách, khai thác và sử dụng cuốn sách được đề cập ở phần cuối của nghiên cứu.

I am grateful to all the people who have helped me with this research study First of all, I want to express my deepest respect and special thanks to mysupervisor - Prof Dr Hoang Van Van - for his valuable encouragement,professional guidance and expertise in every step of my thesis Without his helpand care, I could not have completed this research paper

Secondly, I would like to state my sincere thanks to the teachers and staff ofthe Postgraduate Department - College of Foreign Languages - Vietnam NationalUniversity, Hanoi for their facilitation and guidance in the completion of myresearch Thirdly, I want to express my gratitude to the editors and writers ofthe series of English textbooks for lower secondary schools, the teachers and

students teaching and learning the piloted textbook Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1 (Sách thí

điểm) in Hai Duong province assistance and participation in my survey research

Lastly, my thanks go to my family members, friends and other colleagues

at Hai Duong College for their patience and support in order for me to completethis study

on a combination of evaluation checklists and criteria suggested by different authorsand informal talks with the respondents are utilized as the research instruments ofthe study The results of the study show a very high level of agreement for thesuitability of the book among the participants Recommendations and suggestionsfor future use of the book are also made in the last part of the study.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Background to the Study and Statement of the Problem 1

1.1 Theoretical Background 1

1.1 Practical Background 1

1.1.1 National Foreign Languages Project, Period 2008-2020 (NFL 2020 Project) and the Piloted English Language Curriculum for Lower Secondary Education 1

1.1.2 The Context of Teaching and Learning Piloted English 6 in Hai Duong College and Hai Duong Province 2

3 Statement of the Problem 2

3 Aims of the Study 3

4 Research Questions 3

5 Scope of the Study 3

1.5 Significance of the Study 4

1.6 Overview of the Study 4

1.7 Key Terms 5

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 7

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

1.1 Teaching and Learning English in Vietnam under the National Foreign Language Project Entitled: “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020” 7

1.1.1 Teaching and Learning English in Vietnam: Challenges and Opportunities 7 1.1.2 NFL 2020 Project 7

1.1.3 The Curriculum of Teaching English for Lower Secondary Schools 8

1.1.4 The Textbook "Tiếng Anh 6" - Tập 1 (Sách Thí Điểm) 9

1.2 Textbook Evaluation 11

1.2.1 Roles of Textbooks 11

1.2.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Textbooks 11

1.2.3 The Needs for Textbook Evaluation 12

1.2.4 Defining Textbook Evaluation 13

1.2.5 Textbook Evaluation Criteria 14

1.2.6 Previous Studies on Textbook Evaluation 18

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 21

3.2 Research Method 21

3.3 Participants 21

3.4 Research Instruments 22

3.5 Data Collection Procedure 23

CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 24

4.1 General Appearance 24

4.2 Design and Illustration 26

4.3 Accompanying Materials 27

4.4 Objectives 29

4.5 Topics 30

4.6 Contents 32

4.7 Skills 33

4.8 Social and Cultural Context 35

4.9 Linkage 37

4.10 Teachability 38

4.11 Methodology 39

4.12 Testing 40

PART C: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 42

1 Conclusion 42

2 Recommendations 43

REFERENCES ……….47

or written texts (Johnson, 2001: 239) Despite these important roles assigned fortextbooks, not all textbooks can meet these requirements.

1.1 Practical Background

1.1.1 National Foreign Languages Project, Period 2008-2020 (NFL 2020 Project) and the Piloted English Language Curriculum for Lower Secondary Education

Currently in Vietnam, the subject of English in the education system fromprimary to high school is in the initial process of a comprehensive reform Amongthe decisive factors in this reform, textbook is paid special attention to not onlybecause it is the most widely used tool for curriculum interpretation andimplementation but also because it is the major teaching and learning resource atschool Complying with the Vietnamese Prime Minister's Decision No.1400, theNFL 2020 project Entitled: “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the

National Education System, Period 2008-2020” and the Piloted English Language

Curriculum for Lower Secondary Education , a 10-year-curriculum series of English

textbooks from grade 3 to grade 12 has been designed with an aim to "form and develop English language communication competence" (Piloted English Language

Curriculum for Lower Secondary Education - p3) The piloted English textbooksfor grades 3, 4, and 5 have been taught in primary schools nationwide and have

received positive feedbacks In the school year 2012 -2013, the English textbook forgrade 6 has been taught for more than 7,000 sixth grade students with A1 certificate(according to the Common European Framework Reference - CEFR standard) of 88secondary schools in 30 provinces Beside textbooks and students' quality, teachers'quality and methodology have also been emphasized To be qualified for teachingthe piloted textbooks, secondary teachers are required to have B2 certificates andattend a training course in methodology

1.1.2 The Context of Teaching and Learning " Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm) in Hai Duong College and Hai Duong Province

Hai Duong College is among 18 key universities and colleges nationwideselected to be the training centers for providing the training courses in languagecompetence and methodology for primary and secondary English teachers FromSeptember 2011 up to now, teachers in Hai Duong College, Foreing LanguagesDepartment and I am one of its members have trained 240 primary, secondary andhigh school English teachers from Hai Duong and Bac Ninh provinces Currently,

we are training 124 primary and secondary school English teachers Trainingteachers to meet the requirements of the National Foreign Languages Project and to

be qualified for teaching the piloted English textbooks is of our primary concern

In Hai Duong province, "Tiếng Anh 6 "(Sách thí điểm) textbooks have also

been taught for 6 groups of 240 students in 3 lower secondary schools in the schoolyear 2012 -2013 Of these three schools, two are located in Hai Duong city (Le QuyDon and Binh Minh lower secondary school) and one in the rural district of Tu Ky(Phan Boi Chau lower secondary school) There will be 13 more secondary schoolsqualifying for teaching the piloted English 6 in the school year 2013-2014

3 Statement of the Problem

"Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm) for sixth graders are designed to comply

with the Vietnamese Prime Minister's Decision No.1400, the NFL 2020 Project,Period 2008-2020 and the Piloted English Language Curriculum for LSE and areadopted as textbooks for 240 piloted students in Hai Duong province in the school

year 2012-2013 It is necessary that an evaluation on the book be carried out todiscover whether it really matches the aims and requirements of both the NFL 2020Project and the Piloted English Language Curriculum for LSE and to identifywhether the book is suitable within the context of teaching and learning in HaiDuong It is also hoped that recommendations and suggestions are made in order toimprove the textbooks' quality and make the best use of the textbooks in the currentsituation

3 Aims of the Study

This research aims at evaluating "Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm)

compiled under the NFL Project Entitled: “Teaching and Learning ForeignLanguages in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020” to determinewhether this textbook meets the aims and requirements of the NFL 2020 Project andPiloted English Language Curriculum for LSE and whether the employment of thistextbook is appropriate in the context of teaching and learning in Hai Duongsecondary schools Basing on the findings, suggestions and recommendations toimprove the book for future use will be made

4 Research Questions

The study aims at answering the following questions:

1 To what extent does the textbook "Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm) used in

Hai Duong lower-secondary schools match with the requirements of the NFL

2020 project and the Piloted English Language Curriculum for LSE?

2 What suggestions should be made to improve the book for future use in thecontext of teaching and learning the book in Hai Duong lower secondaryschools?

5 Scope of the Study

In terms of theoretical framework for textbook evaluation, there have beenvarious checklists and criteria suggested and developed by different authors Theseevaluation frameworks vary considerably in their scope, form, detailed criteria andthe terms used to describe criteria With respect to the study's subject matter, the

textbooks for English 6 consists of two volumes However, due to time constraints,

this research only focuses on evaluating the first volume - "Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm) As any of the frameworks and checklists aim at evaluating

textbooks in general with no specifications for a specific textbook under a particularcontext of evaluation like this, the evaluation criteria used in the study is acombination of the evaluation frameworks and checklists proposed byCunningsworth (1984, 1995), Davies (2006), Ellis(1997), Hutchison and Waters(1993), Littlejohn (1998), Mc Donald and Shaw (1993), Sheldon (1988), Skiero(1991), Tomlinson (2003) and Williams (1983) The population is restricted to 60

sixth grade students and 6 teachers in 3 lower secondary schools in Hai Duong in

the academic year 2012-2013 and 1 editor and 5 writers of Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1"

(Sách thí điểm).

1.5 Significance of the Study

It is hoped that the study will contribute to the establishment of qualities for

a better "Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm textbook in the current situation of a

total and thorough change in the teaching and learning cause of English in HaiDuong under the impetus of the NFL 2020 Project It is also hoped that with the co-operative evaluation from multi-dimentional educational agents: the textbook editor,authors, teachers and learners, the study will give positive feedbacks on the book sothat it will soon be adopted to teach English for six-graders nationwide

Tiếng Anh 6, tập 2 (Sách thí điểm) would have been evaluated.

1.7 Overview of the Study

The study includes three parts as follows:

Part A - Introduction- introduces background to the study The statement of the

problem, the aims, the research questions, the scope and the significance of thestudy are also presented

Part B includes three chapters:

Chapter 1 - Literature Review- provides an overview of the Piloted English

Language Curriculum for LSE in Vietnam, a birdview of the Tiếng Anh 6 (Sách thí điểm) volumes and "Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm and theoretical issues related

to textbook evaluation In this chapter, some empirical studies of textbooksevaluation will be reviewed

Chapter 2 - Methodology- describes the research methodology employed in this

study It introduces the research questions, research method, participants, researchinstruments and data collection procedures

Chapter 3 - Result and Discussion- presents the results, data analysis and research

findings of the study

Part C - Conclusion- summarizes what has been studied and gives

recommendations for the improvement of the textbook

1.8 Key Terms

Curriculum: 'Principles and procedures for the planning, implementation,

evaluation and management of an educational program Curriculum study embracessyllabus design (the selection and grading of content) and methodology (theselection of learning tasks and activities)' (Nunan, 1998:158)

Syllabus: ' A specification of what is to be taught in a language program and the

order in which it is to be taught A syllabus may contain all or any of the following:phonology, grammar, functions, notions, topics, themes, tasks' (Nunan, 1988:159)

Materials: 'Anything which is used to help to teach language to learners Materials

can be in the form of a textbook, a workbook, a cassette, a CD-Rom, a video, aphotocopied handout, a paragraph written on a whiteboard: anything which presents

or informs about the language being learnt' (Tomlinson, 1998: xi)

Foreign Language: 'A language which is not normally used for communication in

a particular society' (Tomlinson, 1998: x)

Evaluation: 'The process of seeking to establish the value of something for some

purpose' (Brown & Rogers, 2002: 289)

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Teaching and Learning English in Vietnam under the National Foreign Language Project Entitled: “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020”

1.1.1 Teaching and Learning English in Vietnam: Challenges and Opportunities

In Vietnam, as cited by Dr Nguyen Ngoc Hung - Head of the Committee ofthe NFN Project in a TESOL conference in 2011, foreign languages are taught as asubject at schools and colleges (about 98% students study English, 2% for Russian,Chinese, French, German and Japanese) However, most students cannotcommunicate or use English in their study after 7 years at school and 2 more years

at college In addition, 62,000 secondary English teachers plus 24,000 teachers ofprimary education from grade 3 need improvements in language proficiency andteaching methodology Besides, over-crowded classrooms; centrally dictatedtextbooks and strict control of syllabus; poor teaching and learning equipment;teach-to-the-test fashion; low teachers’ salary, etc are central problems to the cause

of teaching and learning foreign languages in Vietnam

Despite these obstacles, there are still many opportunities The strongcommitment from Ministries and the government; the awareness of the importance

of English for professional development and career by teachers and students,especially the government’s new investment in the National Foreign LanguageProject from 2008-2020 and the strong international cooperation and partnershipswith international organizations are the impetus for us to carry out the Innovation inEnglish Language Education in Vietnam

1.1.2 NFL 2020 Project

The Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training is currently launching theProject entitled “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National

Education System, Period 2008-2020” which was approved by the Prime Minister

on September 2008 (Decision No 1400/QD-TTg - See Appendix 5 - XXIX) TheNFL 2020 Project specifies the goals of teaching and learning English within thenational education system and identifies seven tasks at both macro and micro levelsfor implementing the project in three different phases (2008-2010, 2011-2015 and2016-2020) at a projected cost of 9,378 billion VND

The main goals of the project include increasing the use of foreignlanguages, mainly English in teaching and the foreign language competence

amongst Vietnamese young people: ' by 2020 most Vietnamese youth whoever graduate from vocational schools, colleges and universities gain the capacity to use

a foreign language independently This will enable them to be more confident in communication, further their chance to study and work in an integrated and multi- cultural environment with variety of languages This goal also makes language as

an advantage for Vietnamese people, serving the cause of industrialization and modernization for the country' (Decision No 1400/QD-TTg - See Appendix 5 -

XXIX)

In order to achieve these goals, ten specific tasks have been designed.Centrally important to the tasks are the making of language programs complied withthe 10-year National Curriculum for English from primary, lower secondary andsecondary schools which will be launched nationwide from the year 2011 - 2015,the completion of the textbook making, the procedures of assessment and trainingcourses on teaching methodology for teachers and the upgrading of teaching andlearning facilities, etc

1.1.3 The Curriculum of Teaching English for Lower Secondary Schools

The curriculum of teaching English for lower secondary schools includestwo parts: general issues and suggestions for teaching contents for each grade andlevel Theoretical issues of the principles of curriculum construction anddevelopment, goals, contents, methodology, testing and evaluation, and conditions

for implementing the curriculum are stated in the first part Suggestions for teachingcontents for each grade and level are given in the second part of the curriculum.

In regard to principles of curriculum construction and development, thecurriculum is developed and established based on a ten-item principle with a strongemphasis on language competences and communicative abilities about selected andlinked themes and topics After finishing the curriculum, students will be able toreach A2 level of specified in the CFFR

General goals for the use of four skills in daily and familiar situationsequivalent to A2 level, linguistic, social and cultural knowledge, attitudes towardslearning English and learning strategies are presented Specific goals for each gradeand level have also been set For example, after finishing grade 6, students' fourskills of listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as linguistic knowledge ofphonetics, vocabulary and grammar are targeted at a basic level, including theability to understand and react to familiar topics such as family, school, friends,festivals, landscapes, celebrities, TV, sports, etc

Curriculum's contents consisting of systems of themes and topics,communicative competences, linguistic knowledge, learning how to learn, theadoption of teaching method of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) andlearner-centered approach, testing and assessment procedures and conditions forcurriculum implementation are further described in the curriculum

Finally, specific suggestions of themes, topics, communicative competencesand language items for the teaching contents for each grade and levels areintroduced

1.1.4 The Textbook " Tiếng Anh 6" - Tập 1 (Sách Thí Điểm)

"Tiếng Anh 6" (Sách Thí Điểm) following "Tiếng Anh 3", "Tiếng Anh 4" and "Tiếng Anh 5", is a two-volume series, marking the first of a four-level English language

textbook for Vietnamese students of lower secondary schools learning English as aforeign language (EFL) It closely responds to the systematic, theme-based syllabusapproved by the Ministry of Education and Training in October 2011 The series

comply with the Communicative Language Teaching and Learner-centeredapproach, focusing on the use of language (pronunciation, vocabulary, andgrammar) to develop the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading andwriting) and carefully catering for the cultural traits of Vietnam as well as countriesaround the world, especially the English-speaking countries.

The textbook "Tiếng Anh 6" - Tập 1 (Sách Thí Điểm) is complied with regard

to the practical experience in ESL learning and teaching in Vietnam and under theco-operation with the British Council and Pearson publisher The book contains two

main themes: Our Communities and Our Heritages Each theme is covered in three

units with three different topics After each theme, there is a review Each unit isdivided into seven sections: getting started, a closer look 1, a closer look 2, culture

& communication, skills 1, skills 2, looking back and project

Section 1 - Getting Started - occupies two pages and is intended for one

45-minute lesson in class First, there is a conversation which sets the topic of the unit

It is followed by the vocabulary and grammar items as the linguistic input for theskills and activities of the sections that follow

Section 2 - A Closer Look 1 - is designed as a 45-minute lesson with an aim

to present and practise the vocabulary and pronunciation of the unit focusing onproviding a variety of exercise types for intensive practice of vocabulary andpronunciation

Section 3 - A Closer Look 2 - introduces the main grammar points of the

unit Grammar in use is presented in a short text / talk / interview followed byexplicit grammar tables and exercises There are "Remember Boxes" to helpstudents avoid common errors

Section 4 - Culture & Communication - helps students apply what they

have learnt in the previous sections in everyday life situations and provides for themwith cultural information about Vietnam and other countries in the world

Section 5 - Skills 1 - builds and develops students' Reading and Speaking

skills There is a reading text which is often based on the vocabulary and structures

that the students have previously acquired Important new vocabulary items areintroduced in the text and practised in a follow-up activity Speaking activity aims

to support students to speak English freely, using the recently practised languageand their knowledge of English

Section 6 - Skills 2 - provides students with an opportunity to listen to the

language they have practised orally in section 5 and improves their listening skills:listen for general and specific information

Section 7 - Looking Back & Project - lasts about one period of 45 minutes.

The Looking Back part recycles the language of the unit through different activitieswhereas the Project part helps students to work independently or work in a team on

a field related to the unit subject

The time allocated for the book is 52 periods (approximately 39 hours)

1.2 Textbook Evaluation

1.2.1 Roles of textbooks

Historians have discovered that textbooks were used in ancient Greece foreducational purposes In Chinese, "study" means "read the textbooks" Textbooksare common manual instructions and resources used in every educational institution.They consist of detailed materials on current topics and are designed to facilitatelanguage development and knowledge acquisition They are central to the teachingand learning of any language program because they represent the appropriatecontent specifications selected from the total corpus of a language for teachingpurposes and for what is considered most useful to the learners as stated in thecurriculum

In Vietnam, as reflected in the Education Act, textbooks are considered aneffective and important tool for the teaching and learning cause, bearing the legalresponsibility in them Textbooks are not only legal commands but moreimportantly, they lead learners and teachers to follow the right directions to achievespecific goals set by education administrators and educational strategic planners

1.2.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Textbooks

Textbook-based teaching has been a controversial issue among educators andlinguistics Brumfit (1979: 30) points out that textbooks can deskill teacher and

make teachers depend on them He claims that 'many of them don't' and 'even the best textbooks take away initiative from teachers by implying that there is somewhere an "expert" who can solve problems for the teacher and individual students Alwright (1982) in his famous paper 'What do we want teaching materials for?' when considering goals, content, method and guidance in a textbook finds out that 'the management of language learning is far too complex to be satisfactorily catered for by a pre-packaged set of decision embodied in teaching materials'

The counter-argument that a textbook is a convenient aid seems to receivegeneral agreement from a large number of authors such as O'Neil (1982), Williams(1983), Hutchison (1984), Grant (1987), Cunningsworth (1995) and Ur (1996) This

view is further demonstrated by Richards (2001) In his opinion, textbooks "provide the basis for the content of the lessons, the balance of skills taught and the kinds of language practice the students take part in."

Evidently, in most countries in the world, a standard series of textbooks areused for all school levels to ensure a logical consistency and normal progression oflesson difficulty Teachers are required to adopt these textbooks so that they matchthe objectives of their course and meet the learning needs of their students Learnersneed a textbook because it defines what is to be learnt and what will be tested andoffers support for leaning outside class

1.2.3 The Needs for Textbook Evaluation

There is no denial that textbook evaluation along with syllabus design,learner assessment and the study of classroom process, etc are centrally importantapplied-linguistics activities Textbook evaluation is one of the ways to overcome

the limitations of textbooks Textbook evaluation process …' begins with determining what information to gather and ends with bringing about the change in current activities or influencing future ones' (Dudley,1998:28).

The effects of work on textbook evaluation, according to Ellis (1997), are

either 'to choose among materials available the most suitable ones to use for a particular situation' or 'to determine whether the material which has been chosen works for that situation after it has been used for a period of time' The findings of

textbook evaluation after a number of criteria have been taken into considerationwill bring about remedial action, e.g the adaptation or supplementation oftextbooks or the provision of appropriate guidance and support for teachers andlearners in how to use them appropriately

1.2.4 Defining Textbook Evaluation

Textbook evaluation has become such an important applied-linguisticactivity that it attracts the attention of many linguistic researchers since the 1980s.Hutchinson and Waters (1993:72) see evaluation as a matter of judging the fitness

of something for a particular purpose: 'Given a certain need, and in the light of the resources available, which out of number of possibilities can represent the best solution? There is no absolute good or bad - only degrees of fitness for the required purpose'

According to Brown (1995), textbook evaluation is 'the systematic collection and analysis of all relevant information necessary to promote the improvement of a curriculum and assess its effectiveness within the context of the particular institution involved' Brown emphasizes the systematic manner of the information

under evaluation with reference to curriculum development and the contextual

situation of an educational institution

Tomlinson (2003:15) is interested in examining the value that a textbook or

material offers those who use it He defines this activity as "a procedure that involves measuring the value (or potential value) of a set of learning materials It involves making judgment about the effect of the materials on the people using them"

In short, it can be said that textbook evaluation is the process of judging thenecessary information systematically to see the value of it on its specific users,taking the contextual factor into consideration

1.2.5 Textbook Evaluation Criteria

It is obvious from a consideration of the effects of textbook evaluation that asuccessful textbook has to meet a set of evaluation schemes and criteria If this isthe case, what scheme and criteria should be conducted and used to determine thesuccess of a language program that a textbook reflects? In an attempt to answer thisquestion, many experts, notably Cunningsworth, 1984, 1995; Davies, 2006; Ellis,1997; Hutchison and Waters, 1993; Littlejohn, 1998; Mc Donald and Shaw, 1993,Sheldon, 1988; Skiero, 1991; Tomlinson, 2003 and Williams, 1983 have tried toestablish practical and applicable advice on textbook evaluation

Williams (1983) proposes an evaluation scheme which assesses theeffectiveness of a material from pedagogical, linguistic, general, and technicalperspectives Textbooks, therefore, should be evaluated on their inclusion of generallinguistic instructions and rules, their embrace of practice material and can function

to guide students' grammar and skills as well as pronunciation

Cunningsworth (1984) gives a more detailed treatment of a coursebookanalysis He suggests a checklist of six categories for course analysis: languagecontent, selection and gradation of language items, presentation and practice of newlanguage items, developing language skills and communicative abilities, supportingmaterials motivation and the learners, conclusion and overall evaluation

Cunningsworth (1995) gives a clear cut between two approaches to acoursebook evaluation: impressionistic and in-depth evaluation The first approachentails a choice of a material from a lot of new existing materials The second one

takes a closer look at 'how specific items are dealt with, particularly those which relate to students' learning needs and syllabus requirements, how different aspects

of language are dealt with, etc.' As a result, he suggests a list of checklists covering

seven areas: Aims and Approaches; Design and Organization; Language Content;Skills; Topic; Methodology ; and Teacher's Guide

Sheldon (1987) pays attention to not only the inner value of the textbook butalso the textbook's design He suggests a sheet of seventeen items for checking anycoursebook: rationale, availability, user definition, layout and graphics,accessibility, linkage, selection and grading, physical characteristics, appropriacy,authenticity, cultural bias, educational validity, practice and revision For each ofthese items, he also makes it clear by giving key questions

Skiero (1991) brings to focus two main categories in a textbook evaluation:the textbook and the teacher's manual

 The textbook:

1 Bibliographical data

2 Aims and Goals

3 Subject Matter

4 Vocabulary and Structures

5 Exercises and Activities

6 Layout and Physical Make-up

 The teacher's manual:

1 General Features

2 Supplementary Exercises

3 Methodological and Pedagogical Guidance

4 Linguistic Background Information

A four-step model for macro-evaluation is presented by Hutchison andWaters (1993) In this view, the first step is defining criteria which seek answers to

two questions: 'On what bases will you judge materials?' and 'Which criteria will

be more important?' The second and third steps are subjective and objective

analyses which aim to find out the realizations of the criteria we want in the courseand how the material being evaluated realizes the criteria The last step is matchingwhich clarifies how the material matches your needs

Ellis (1997:37) proposes an empirical micro-evaluation with a two-stepevaluation framework In the first stage, L2 instruction and textbooks are assessedaccording to predictive standards against the numerous established evaluationchecklists to be adopted In the next stage, teachers / evaluators are called upon toeither "impressionistically" assess the material according to their own perspectives

of its efficacy or by involving the students and asking for their input on the materialused

Littlejohn (1998:192) rejects Cunningsworth (1995)'s checklist, arguing that

they would involve 'making general impressionistic judgments on the materials' He

tries to overcome these weaknesses by suggesting a framework for evaluation withconcerns about the physical aspect of the material and how they appear as acomplete set of book; aspects of tasks; and the overall aims of the materials, contentand tasks selection and sequencing, teacher's and learner's roles

Tomlinson (2003) defines three types of material evaluation: pre-useevaluation, whilst-use evaluation and post-use evaluation He also agrees thatmaterial evaluation is a procedure to measure some or all of the aspects such as:appeal to learners; credibility to learners, teachers and administrators; validity;reliability; ability to interest learners; ability to motivate learners; short-term andlong-term learning value; learners' and teachers' perception of the value of thematerial; assistance given to teachers in terms of preparation, delivery andassessment, etc

More recently, Davies (2006) developed a fourteen-item questionnairespecifying three categories in evaluating a coursebook: extent to which the coursewas enjoyable, classroom atmosphere, the teachers, teachers' likes and dislikesabout the course; content of the coursebook, teacher-made materials, level ofclassroom tasks and learning language skills; learners' attitudes to studying English,their exposure to English outside classroom and about their participation inclassroom activities His class-specific questionnaire used helps discover learners'

wants and needs from a course and leads to significant changes in syllabus type,skills focused, task types, teaching style and topics.

Briefly, the criteria and checklists suggested in these publications provide auseful starting point for any evaluation process Despite the fact that they aredeveloped under different rationales, they still share three common features inrationales:

1 In terms of learners, textbooks should correspond to students' interests,needs, level of proficiency and the socio-cultural background

2 In terms of Curriculum, textbooks should correspond to the CurriculumGuidelines and reflect the aims of teaching

3 In terms of methodology, textbook compilation should be based on thetheories of second language acquisition and on the latest language teachingmethods

As for scoring system established in evaluation checklists and schemes, itseems that the experts tend to adopt different elaborated scoring systems: (i) everyitem is assigned a series of evaluative numbers in which the higher numberindicates the higher scores as in Williams (1983), (ii) every item is given a weightvalue (Cunningsworth, 1995), (iii) evaluative scores are distributed to everycategory which contains several items (Hutchinson & Waters, 1993), (iv) thechecklists only list the items worthy of teachers' attention in selecting textbooks and

do not provide a very specific scoring system (Tomlinson, 2003)

Although these approaches are the most common and likely straightforward,the shaky theoretical basis of such checklists and the subjectivity of judgments haveoften been a source of disappointment as it appears that some of the lists’ items areimpressionistic, subjective and do not fit the contextual factors of a particular

evaluation as 'they lack coverage, systematicity and / or a principled base' (Tomlinson (2003 - 26)' The answer, Tomlinson suggests, is that 'it is extremely useful to develop a set of formal criteria for use on a particular evaluation and then

to use that set as a basis for developing subsequent context-specific sets'

1.2.6 Previous Studies on Textbook Evaluation

Tomlinson et al (2001) evaluated some textbooks published by leading UK

publishers: "Language in Use" and "True to Life" (by Cambridge University Press),

"Cutting Edge" and "Wavelength" (by Pearson Longman), "Inside Out" and

"Reward" (by MacMillan Heinemann Press) The overall criteria and

coursebook-specific criteria were carefully treated under eight categories and four categorizedrespectively Moreover, specific criteria for cassettes and CD ROM, teacher's book,workbook and video were also used in this evaluative study The author commented

on every single coursebook and drew seven positive trends and sixteen negativetrends in the UK's current courses Some of the trends are:

 Positive trends:

1 The move towards stimulating more personal responses from the learner

2 The attempt of many of the courses to encourage humour and fun

Alamri (2008) conducted a study to evaluate the Sixth Grade EnglishLanguage Textbook for Saudi Boys' Schools A 63-item questionnaire was groupedunder 12 main categories: the general appearance, design and illustration,accompanying materials, objectives, topic appropriateness, language components,socio-cultural contexts, skills development, teachability, flexibility, teachingmethods, and practice and testing The findings of this study revealed that this is agood textbook because it satisfies almost all the categories listed Ten points ofrecommendations emphasizing the characteristics of a good textbook is also made

in terms of glossary, attractive illustrations, critical thinking topics, better listeningmaterials, students' multi-intelligences consideration and so on

Nguyen Thi Huong Lan (2004) made an evaluation of the piloted "English

10 textbook 2" at Nguyen Tat Thanh high school The author used the model

suggested by Hutchinson and Warters (1993) which was reflected in a twenty-itemquestionnaire for teachers and another twenty-two item questionnaire for studentsand informal interviews with the teacher informants and the student sample toevaluate the textbook's objectives, content and methodology as compared to thestatement objectives and aims defined by the Vietnam's Ministry of Education andTraining (MOET) for grade 10 The findings of this study show that the textbookunder evaluation partly met the course requirements and suitable to the students'level of English in such areas as suitable topics, appropriate listening sections,various and appropriate text types and skill-integrated task types and activities.However, students' ability to communicate in English about the required topicsstated in the objectives are not well-met; the texts on speaking, reading and writingskills are difficult and there is not enough proper instructions given Someadjustment of content and methodology, exercises designed basis and adaptationtechniques such as adding, deleting, simplifying and reordering are also included inthe study

Tran Thi Chung Oanh (2010) evaluated the material "Lifelines" for the first

year non-English major students at Hai Phong University The author adoptedHutchison and Waters (1987)'s criteria and employed questionnaires and informalinterviews as research instruments Major findings of the study revealed that thematerial's content and methodology suited the students' requirements but there wassome mis-match in time allocation Finally, suggestions on the materialimprovements on time proportion for each unit and time allocated for the coursewere made

Nguyen Thi Nguyet Anh (2010) conducted a study on teachers evaluation on

"Let's go 1A - 2nd edition" for grade 3 at primary schools in the north of Viet Nam.

A combination of the evaluation model by Hutchison and Waters (1987) andCunningsworth (1995)'s checklist was employed The criteria were divided into six

areas: objectives, content, language points, accompanying supplementary materials,general look and methodology The results of the survey indicated that "Let's go 1Asecond edition" basically met the objectives of the course and the curriculum.Limitations of the book rested in limited topics, unbalanced skills, a challengingcommunicative methodology for teachers and the way linguistic input waspresented Solutions to these problems were the presentation of communicativegoals in course syllabus design as well as adaptation techniques.

For short, while some of the checklists focus on such aspects of evaluation asphysical appearance or pedagogical methods, others take into account the socio-cultural facets All of the authors mentioned used one single checklist or acombination of two or more checklists of criteria, depending on their specificpurposes In the current study, it is decided to select features in these checklistswhich are common and at the same time necessary to evaluate all the necessaryconsiderations of the book in terms of not only its physical appearance, but also thepedagogical methods presented, social-cultural context and some other importantvalues

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

This chapter consists of five sections Firstly, the research questions arestated Secondly, the research method is presented The third section describes theparticipants of the study Section 4 provides a description of the researchinstruments The chapter ends with the description of the different methods of datacollection procedures and analysis in section 5

3.1 Research Questions

As presented in the introduction, this research aims to answer the followingquestions:

1 To what extent does the textbook "Tiếng Anh 6" - tập 1 (Sách thí điểm) used

in Hai Duong lower-secondary schools match with the goals andrequirements of the NFP 2020 project and the Piloted English LanguageCurriculum for LSE?

2 What suggestions should be made to improve the book for future use inthe context of teaching and learning the book in Hai Duong lower secondaryschools?

the general editor and authors of the series of English textbooks (Sách thí điểm) for

lower secondary students, teachers teaching "Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm)

and sixth grade students

The total number of the study population is seventy-two - 55 females and 17males, including one general editor and five authors of the piloted English textbooksfor lower secondary students from grade 6 to grade 9, six lower secondary teachersand sixty sixth-graders While all the teachers teaching the intended textbook areselected, a random sampling strategy is employed to select ten from each of the sixclasses of three lower secondary schools in Hai Duong Province Questionnaireswere sent to all the authors, teachers and students and all of them were collected andused in this study

The textbook author participants taking part in the study include four femalesand two males All of them are leading professors, Assoc professors, lecturers,educational administrators or teachers at prestigious educational institutions acrossVietnam

All of the teachers involved in the survey are female, ageing from 28 to 43.They have been teaching English for at least five years and all of them have got B2certificate, especially, two of them have got C1 certificates (according to CFFR) to

be qualified for teaching these classes

Of the 60 student participants, forty of them are from Hai Duong city and theother twenty are from Tu Ky - a rural district in the south-east of Hai Duongprovince There are 35 female students and 25 male students of age 12 - 13 Thestudents' English competence is at the qualified level of A1 as required in the NFL

2020 Project

3.4 Research Instruments

In this study, two yes-no statement questionnaires in the form of studenttextbook evaluation form and teacher textbook evaluation form were used to collectthe information needed The teacher textbook evaluation form comprises of threesections (Introduction, Personal Information, Statements) with 53 statementsgrouped under 12 categories, namely: General appearance, Design and Illustration,

Accompanying Materials, Objectives, Topics, Content, Skills, Social and CulturalContext, Linkage, Teachability, and Methodology (See Appendix 1 - I) The studenttextbook evaluation form contains 51 items of 12 categories as in the evaluationform for teachers (See Appendix 2 - VII) For the convenience and facilitation ofthe students' responses to the statement, a Vietnamese version of the evaluationform for students was provided for the student respondents (See Appendix 3 - XII)

Besides, informal talks with the textbook authors, teacher and studentinformants were also conducted after the survey information had been obtained formore in-depth information exploitation on specific statements The results of thesetalks were noted down and recorded so that any variance can be revealed andadjusted

3.5 Data Collection Procedure

In the first place, the questionnaires were established based on the checklist

of criteria which are the most appropriate to the study Then, they were distributed

to and received from the teacher and student informants in Hai Duong schools at the

same time when they have finished all the lessons in the textbook "Tiếng Anh 6 Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm) On the other hand, the questionnaire was sent to textbook

-editor and authors via email Before filling in these questionnaires, the participantswere provided with enough explanation and instruction procedure Data for thestudy was collected via the questionnaires handed for the textbook authors, teachersand students

Data from informal talks with the editor and the author of "Tiếng Anh 6 - Tập 1" (Sách thí điểm) as well as with all the teachers and 10 students conducted in six

classes during and after the course program, both inside and outside of theclassroom was also gathered The researcher asked questions, noted down orsometimes recorded their answers for the convenience of further reference

Finally a comparative analysis of student textbook evaluation form andteacher textbook evaluation form was conducted in order to answer the two researchquestions Comparison is also made to distinguish the similarities and differences inopinions by lower school teachers and textbook editor and authors

CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter aims at providing an in-depth interpretation and analysis of theresults gathered from the evaluation sources - questionnaires and informal talks withthree groups of teacher and student respondents under investigation Differentgroups of the participants received and answered the questionnaires under differentperspectives The results were statistically treated to determine the percentages oneach of the statements per each category of the evaluation criteria Furthermore,information from informal talks was also interpreted for more reliable

demonstration of the strengths and weaknesses of "Tiếng Anh 6" - Tập 1 (Sách thí điểm) complied under the NFL 2020 Project as compared with the requirements of

the Project and those specified in the Piloted English Language Curriculum forLSE

4.1 General Appearance

Users of a book often make their first impression of it when looking at itsgeneral appearance or physical make-up / lay-out / physical appearance / practicalconsiderations as termed by different authors The importance of external evaluation

is stressed by McDonough and Shaw (1993) as it 'offers a brief overview of theoutside of the book' Tu'eimah (1985) contends that the evaluation of the generalappearance, or the physical make-up as he terms it, is of great importance

The judgment on general appearance is often based on the value of the book

in such aspects as the covers, font size, orientation page and table of contents Thesefactors not only make a book attractive but also motivate the learners With regard

to this criterion, the textbook under evaluation is highly appreciated The results ofevaluation are demonstrated in Table 1 below

Students Teachers

1 The covers are informative and attractive 45 (75%) 8 (66.7%)

2 The font size and style are appropriate 57 (95%) 10 (83.3%)

3 The book has a complete and detailed table of 55 (91.7%) 11 (91.7%)

4 There is an informative orientation page 53 (88.3%) 10 (83.3%)

5 Review section and vocabulary list or glossaries

are included

60 (100%) 12 (100%)

Table 1: Evaluation on General Appearance

Table 1 shows a very high level of agreement among participants upon theappropriateness of the general appearance of the book for sixth graders 95% of thestudents and 83.3% of the teachers and Textbook authors agree that the font sizeand style are appropriate Positive evaluation is also made for the complete anddetailed table of contents of the book, with the same agreement percentage of 91.7%

by the teacher and student respondents High evaluation results are also made on theorientation page of the book Especially, 100% of the participants agree that thereare useful review sections and helpful supplementary aids in the form of extensivevocabulary lists and expression glossary Of the five evaluation criteria for generalappearance, the criterion of informativeness and attractiveness of the book's coversreceives the lowest agreement, gaining the agreement of 75% of the student and66.7% of the teacher participants

Findings of the study also reveal that in terms of practical considerations thebook is satisfactory and well-organized The texts are well-printed and laid out withquality paper and colour of ink The font size for topic and exercises, the top,bottom, left and right margins, the space between words, sentences, lines andparagraphs are appropriate The titles and subtitles are in different fonts and colorswhich attract students' attention However, some respondents are not quite happywith the covers of the book, saying that the pictures are not very attractive as theygive little meaning and representation of the contents of the book This makes thedegree to which the covers reflect the contents of the book as well as draw thestudents' attention and interest low Nevertheless, on the whole, the book has anappropriate general appearance

4.2 Design and Illustration

It is said that the layout and organization of textbooks give plenty of supportfor written texts and thus helping to achieve the intended information Many experts

such as Cunningsworth (1984), Nunan (1991) and McDonough and Shaw (2003)agree that teaching materials with visually attractive, catchy, thought-provoking andwell-organized layout and structure, containing an optimum density and mix of textand graphical material such as drawings, pictures, photos, etc on each page createpositive effects on learning outcomes and long-term recall of the language itemsand activities because they draw learners' curiosity and attention to the teachingpoints Sheldon (1988-8) also points out that '… layout, format, typography andgraphics are also essential for a successful coursebook'.

Details of evaluation on Design and Illustration of the textbook are illustrated in thetable below

Students Teachers

1 There is a variety of design to achieve impact. 55 (91.7%) 10 (83.3%)

2 There is consistency in the use of headings, icons,

labels, italics, colour and other methods of

Table 2: Judgment on Design & Illustration

As clearly shown in the table, the design and illustrations of the textbook

"Tiếng Anh 6" - Tập 1 (Sách thí điểm) receive favourable responses from the

participants 91.7% of the student participants and 83.3% of the teacher participantssupport the statement that there is a variety of design to achieve impact Concerningthe issue of consistency in the use of headings, icons, labels, italics, colour andother methods of signposting, there is a complete consensus among the participants.The majority, 91.7% of the teachers & textbook writers and 100% of the studentsasked agree on the statement

Also, the illustrations of the book are rated excellent in stimulating students'visualization and creativeness, with the agreement of 96.7% of the students and

83.3% of the teachers Most of them think that the fancy illustrations are veryhelpful in adding more meaning and information to the texts and help the pagesavoid from being too dull and boring, thus creating motivation and interests as well

as aiding in better understanding of the texts Furthermore, the results indicate anabsolute agreement of 100% teacher and student participants on the statement thatthe book contains illustrations from local environment All of them agree that thereare many pictures and drawings which are familiar to their daily life and are goodreflections of their lives and learning experiences

4.3 Accompanying Materials

Many researchers tend towards the opinion that a textbook should not only

be evaluated on the basis of what is contained between its covers alone but thatjudgment should expand to include the accompanying materials, if any Amongthem, Tomlinson (2003) asserts the availability of CD-ROM and cassettes asimportant elements in the success of any language program In addition,Cunningsworth (1995) sets a separate section for teacher's book on his evaluationchecklist, including such concerns as guidance for teachers about teachingtechniques and language items such as grammar rules and culture-specificinformation, principles underlying the material, and keys to exercises

The accompanying materials of "Tiếng Anh 6" - Tập 1 (Sách thí điểm) include

the teacher's book, the workbook and the audio CD The results for this category aresummarized in the table below

Students Teachers

1 The CD-ROM that accompanies the book is

suitable

25 (41.7%) 11 (91.7%)

2 The workbook helps reinforce, recycle and expand

the language items learnt

47 (78.3%) 9 (75%)

3 The teacher's book that accompanies the book is

informative, useful and explicit

11 (91.7%)

4 The tapescripts, answer keys, vocabulary lists,

structural/functional inventories, and lesson

10 (83.3%)

summaries are provided in the Teacher’s Book.

Table 3: Judgment on Accompanying Materials

Table 3 shows that a large percentage of the participants agree upon thesuitability of the textbook's accompanying materials, except for the issue of CD-ROM that accompanies the book 78.3% of the student respondents and 75% of theteachers think that the workbook helps reinforce, recycle and expand the languageitems learnt 11 out of 12 teacher participants are satisfied with the teacher's book

in that they are informative, useful and explicit with a lot of guidance on teachingmethodology and activity organization 83.3% of them are happy with thetapescripts, answer keys and lesson summaries provided in the teacher's book.However, it is found out that there are no vocabulary lists and structural/functionalinventories as valuable sources of reference for teachers attached to the teacher'book

With regard to the CD-ROM, while the majority of the teachers think that it

is suitable, only 41.7% of the students support the statement This indicates thatthere are different perspectives held by teachers and students on the issue oflistening to native speakers in the audio CD It is a fact that the students are used tonon-native accents in class so while it seems not very difficult for teachers to listen

to the native speakers, it is a real challenge for students when listening to naturalspeech and intonation, especially students in the rural area of Tu Ky District, HaiDuong Province with very little access and poor conditions of exposure to nativeaccents Moreover, most of the students have difficulty with the rate at which thespeaker speaks, their way of articulation and some other aspects of connectedspeech such as linking or assimilation

4.4 Objectives

It is obvious that every textbook has to fulfill a set of objectives to ensure thatappropriate learning is achieved Just as syllabus objectives specify the knowledge andskills students will acquire at the end of a course, lesson and unit objectives describe theobservable behaviors learners will display at the end of the unit McDonough & Shaw

set of objectives that we have to work on' The textbook under investigation has toaccomplish tasks and objectives set in the NFL 2020 Project and those in the PilotedEnglish Language Curriculum for LSE as well as the objectives for itself Results ofevaluation on the book are tabulated in table 3.

Students Teachers

1 The book fulfills the objectives of the National

Foreign Language 2020 Project and the Piloted

English Language Curriculum for Lower Secondary

4 The developmental objectives are measurable. 38 (63.3%) 10 (83.3%)

5 The developmental objectives suit the level of six

graders

36 (60%) 8 (66.7%)

Table 4: Judgment on Objectives

According to the results shown in table 4, a large number of respondentssupport the view that the book meets the objectives set in the NFL 2020 Project andthose in the Piloted English Language Curriculum for LSE as well as thedevelopmental and terminal objectives for itself Regarding whether or not the booksatisfies the objectives of the National Foreign Language 2020 Project and thePiloted English Language Curriculum for Lower Secondary Education, both thestudents and teachers agree on the statement with the percentage of 76.7 % and 75%respectively

As for terminal objectives, both of the student and teacher participants thinkthat the terminal objectives define the desired degree of mastery With regard towhether or not the terminal objectives meet the needs and wants of sixth graders,three-fourths of the participants agree that there is a good match between theterminal objectives of the book and the needs and wants of teenagers Concerningthe issue of developmental objectives, 63.3% of the students agree that they are

measurable On the other hand, the number of teacher respondents who agrees withthis statement is much higher, at 83.3% And finally, 60% of the students and 66.7%

of the teachers agree with the statement that the developmental objectives suit thelevel of the targeted students

As indicated in the above results, there is a general agreement that thetextbook clearly outlines and satisfies the objectives set There is, however, somedisagreement on the point that the developmental objectives are measurable stated

by the student respondents It is important to note here that Form 6 marks animportant change from play to 'real work' for sixth graders At this very first stage

of the change, the students may not really catch up with what is set in thedevelopmental objectives for them

4.5 Topics

All of the authors in the literature review stress the appropriateness oftextbook topics, such as Sheldon (1988), Cunningsworth (1995), Littlejohn (1998)and Tomlinson (2003) The aspects of topic appropriateness mainly focus on thevariety and appeal of topics, the ability to raise learners' awareness and expand theirexperience, the good selection of topics in terms of learners' language level and theexclusion of embarrassing topics

The part of the survey questionnaire designed for the evaluation on the topicappropriateness of the textbook in question includes five criteria The results collectedare demonstrated in table 5

Students Teachers

1 There is enough variety and range of topics. 47 (78.3%) 9 (75%)

2 The topics appeal to sixth graders with different

interests and personalities

54 (90%) 10 (83.3%)

3 The topics raise learners' critical awareness and

enrich their experience

51 (85%) 10 83.3%)

4 The topics are sophisticated enough in content, yet

within the learners' language level

56 (93.3%) 11 (91.7%)

disturbing topics

Table 5: Judgment on topic appropriateness

Table 5 displays the judgment of teachers and students on theappropriateness of the topics covered in the book Generally, the results indicate ahigh consensus of the participants on the suitability and appeal of the topics

Concerning the issue of whether or not there is enough variety and range oftopics, 56 out of 72 participants agree with the statement Most of them think thatthe book contains a wide variety of interesting contemporary topics and themes that

both the teachers and students seem to enjoy such as My New School, My Home, My Friends, My Neighbourhood, Natural Wonders in the World, and Our Tet Holiday.

On whether or not the topics appeal to sixth graders with different interests andpersonalities, 54 student and 10 teacher participants agree with the statement,accounting for 90% and 83.3% respectively

Again, the table shows more than 80% of the teachers and students agree onthe statement that the topics raise learners' critical awareness and enrich theirexperience Most of them think that the topics appear to be helpful to students andstimulate them to generate their critical thinking and leave room for makingjudgments on others' opinions Over 90% of the respondents indicate that althoughthe topics are quite sophisticated in content, they are within the learners' languagelevel A complete agreement of 100% of the respondents is made on the statementthat these topics are carefully selected, thus avoiding potentially embarrassing ordisturbing topics

As compared with the list of topics stated in the Piloted English language

curriculum for LSE, the textbook covers the two themes of Our Communities and Our Heritages divided into six topics: My new school, My home, My friends, My

neighborhood, Natural wonders of the world and Our Tet holiday Some changes

have been made Firstly, the topic of Famous Vietnamese people in the Piloted English language curriculum for LSE is not utilized and in stead, the topic of My neighborhood is added Secondly, the topic of Natural Wonders of Vietnam is

expanded into Natural Wonders of the world However, all these adjustments and

changes are made possible in order to "be in line with requirements, interests andlearning abilities to maximize the learners' communicative competence" (Appendix

3 - Piloted English language curriculum for LSE -XXII)

4.6 Contents

The contents of a language program are reflected through the inclusion ofsuch components as grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation work Evaluating thesecomponents is considered essential by most scholars as observed in the literature ofthis study (Sheldon, 1988, Skiero, 1991, Cunningsworth, 1995, Tomlinson, 2003)

The contents of the textbook under evaluation are valued against five criteria Table 6 illustrates the survey results on the book's contents

Students Teachers

1 Grammar items stressing communicative competence

are appropriate to sixth graders

4 The content is pitched at the right level of maturity,

language, and conceptual level

54 (90%) 11 (91.7%)

Table 6: Judgment on Content Appropriateness

Table 6 shows a complete agreement by both the teachers and students onmost of the statements and a slight conflict between the teacher and studentparticipants on one of them

In terms of grammar, 54 student participants and 8 teachers agree that thegrammar items stressing communicative competence are appropriate to sixthgraders Over 90% of the respondents think that the book's grammar, vocabulary,and pronunciation are graded appropriately and the content is pitched at the rightlevel of maturity, language and conceptual level Most of the respondents agree thatthe book's content is presented topically, integrating any grammatical items that suit

the topic and is presented functionally, which allows students to learn according totheir needs The level of difficulty is increasing but the students can easily adapt.

However, another finding shows that there is difference between the students'and teachers' perception on the appropriateness of materials for vocabulary andpronunciation 93.3% of the students supports the statement whereas a lowerpercentage of 66.7% of the teachers agrees with this According to some of theteachers, the materials for pronunciation are poor and hence they cannot effectivelyteach pronunciation

Comparing to the range of contents specified in the NFL 2020 Project andthe Piloted English Language Curriculum for LSE, the contents catered for in thistextbook covers what is required in terms of contents for linguistic competences,linguistic knowledge in phonetics, vocabulary and grammar

1 The four skills are adequately covered and integrated. 57 (95%) 11(91.7%)

2 Listening material is well recorded and varied

(monologues, group conversation, songs, people in

every day situations, e.g in shops, restaurants, etc.)

51 (85%) 10 (83.3%)

3 There is sufficient reading material collected from

different sources (magazines, novels, newspapers,

letters, diaries, menus, advertisement, etc)

53 (88.3%) 10 (83.3%)

4 There is sufficient material for spoken English (e.g

dialogues, role-plays, discussions, debates,

problem-solving activities, etc.)

etc.)

56 (93.3%) 11 (91.7%)

5 Writing activities are suitable and varied (stories, 51 (85%) 10 (83.3%)

letters, poems, form-filling, etc.).

Table 7: Evaluation on Skills Development

According to the table, the development of four skills of listening, reading,speaking and writing is positively evaluated by the respondents

More than 90% of the teachers and students think that the four skills areadequately covered, highly integrated and recycled It is also portrayed that thelistening material is well-recorded and varied to expose students with real lifeinteractions 88.3% of the students and 83.3% of the teachers are satisfied with thereading materials in the book in that they are based on authentic texts - texts writtenfor any purpose other than language teaching

In respect to writing skills, 85% of the students and 83.3% of the teachersagree that they are quite suitable and various in registers and forms However,several respondents state that some of the writing activities are more or lessunrealistic and irrelevant to sixth grade students such as writing a webpage for yourschool or write a travel guide about a place you know

Activities and materials for speaking skills are evaluated with the highestpercentage of the respondents Almost 93.3% of the students and 91.7% of theteachers agree that there is sufficient material for spoken English and that most ofthe activities are based on realistic situations which can be localized andpersonalized under their real context of teaching and learning Nevertheless, thefindings also reveal that the book has no specific section allocated to the practice ofstress and intonation Added to this, some of the speaking activities in the projectsection are quite difficult for the students, partly on the nature of the task but moreparticularly on the lexis required to describe or understand it When dealing withthese kinds of activities, teachers still need to do a lot of adapting in the classroom

Taking into account the goals for the four skills stated in the Piloted EnglishLanguage Curriculum for LSE and in the NFL 2020 Project, it can be said that thebook provides adequate opportunities for the development of the four language

skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking and fulfill the requirements of thePiloted English Language Curriculum for LSE and the NFL 2020 Project

4.8 Social and Cultural Context

It is proposed by many authors in applied linguistics that the facets of socialand cultural should be paid special attention to in evaluating textbooks As pointedout by Sheldon (1988 - 204), it is important to check whether or not a textbook …

'enshire stereotyped, inaccurate, condescending or offensive images of gender, race, social class, or nationality'.

Findings on the suitability of the book in terms of social and cultural context arerevealed in table 8 below

Students Teachers

1 The speech situations are relevant to learners'

background, culture and environment

58 (96.7%) 11 (91.7%)

2 The book is free from stereotyped, inaccurate,

condescending or offensive images of gender, race, social

4 The cultural input is representative of the cultural

knowledge that native peers would have

54 (90%) 11 (91.7%)

Table 8: Evaluation on Social and Cultural Context

According to what is shown in the table, responses to the statements in thiscategory are positive

Regarding the issue of the relevance of the speech situations to learners'background, culture and environment, 96.7% of the students and 91.7% of theteachers agree with the statement The majority of the respondents also agree thatthe book mostly avoids presenting negative gender, racial, cultural and nationalstereotypes

In terms of whether or not the linguistic input is culturally dense with idioms,expressions and slangs, is revealed that almost all of the participants show their

agreement with the issue Considering the cultural input of the book, a highpercentage of 90% of the students and 91.7% of the teachers believe that it isrepresentative of the cultural knowledge that native peers would have However,some of the participants think that the contents of the textbook totally encompassthe typical Vietnamese social and cultural context with such topics as celebrationand ethnicity, etc so less emphasis is laid on the social and cultural factors of theethnic minorities as well as native speakers of the English language.

In short, the book is considered successful in portraying quite a diverse array

of ethnic groups in Vietnam and some countries around the world and thepresentation of the characters in realistic settings and relationships helps strengthenits authenticity in regards to the target social and cultural context

4.9 Linkage

In evaluating a textbook, it is also necessary to look at the traces of internal andexternal linkage among its components Results on the adoption and presentation oflinkage principle in the book are tabulated in the table below

Students Teachers

1 The book is clearly linked to the curriculum they

serve

57 (95%) 11 (91.7%)

2 The units and tasks / exercises connect in terms of

theme, situation, topic, pattern of skill development, or

grammatical/lexical progression

59 (98.3%) 12 (100%)

3 The book coheres both internally and externally (e.g

with other books in a series)

56 (93.3%) 11 (91.7%)

4 The book builds upon prerequisite skills and ideas 59 (98.3%) 12 (100%)

5 The topics and content connects to everyday

experiences and prior learning

59 (98.3%) 12 (100%)

Table 9 Evaluation on Linkage

As indicated in table 9, there is a complete consensus among the participants

on the linkage of the book to the curriculum as well as among the units, tasks and

prerequisite skills and ideas