Nghiên cứu tính phù hợp của giáo trình American Headway 1 dùng cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất của Đại học Công nghiệp Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh cơ sở Thanh Hóa

Vietnam national university, Hanoi University of language and International studies Faculty of Post- graduate studies ************** Lê thị ca sơn Appropriateness of the textbook “American headway 1” for the first year students at ho chi minh city university of industry based in thanhhoa province (Nghiên cứu tính phù hợp giáo trình American Headway dùng cho sinh viên năm thứ Đại Học Công Nghiệp TP Hồ Chí Minh sở Thanh Hoá) M.A Minor thesis Field: English teaching methodology Code: 601410 HANOI- 2010 Vietnam national university, Hanoi University of language and International studies Faculty of Post- graduate studies ************** Lê thị ca sơn Appropriateness of the textbook “American headway 1” for the first year students at ho chi minh city university of industry based in thanhhoa province (Nghiên cứu tính phù hợp giáo trình American Headway dùng cho sinh viên năm thứ Đại Học Công Nghiệp TP Hồ Chí Minh sở Thanh Ho¸) M.A Minor thesis Field: English teaching methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Đỗ Bá Quý, M.Ed HANOI- 2010 iv Table of contents Page Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv List of ABBREVIATIONs vii List of Tables and charts viii Part A: Introduction 1 Rationale……………………………………………………………………… Aims of the study………………………………………… Research questions…………………………………………… Significance of the study……………………………… Methods of the study…………………………………………………………… Scope of the study……………………………………………………………… Design of the study……………………………………………………………… Part B: Development Chapter 1: Literature review 1 Textbook…………………………………………………………………… 1.1 Definitions of textbook…………………………………………………… 1.2 The roles of textbook……………………………………………………… 1.3 Textbook evaluation……………………………………………………… 1.4 Textbook adaptation……………………………………………………… 1.2 Language skills……………………………………………………………… 10 1.2 Receptive skills…………………………………………………………… 10 1.2 1.1 Listening…………………………………………………………………… 10 1.2.1.2 Reading…………………………………………………………………… 10 v 1.2.2 Productive skills…………………………………………………………… 11 1.2.2.1 Speaking………………………………………………………………… 11 1.2.2.2 Writing…………………………………………………………………… 11 1.3 Language elements……………………………………………………… 12 1.3.1 Grammar…………………………………………………………………… 12 1.3.2 Vocabulary………………………………………………………………… 12 1.3.3 Pronunciation……………………………………………………………… 13 1.4 Summary……………………………………………………………………… 13 Chapter 2: An overview of the textbook and current Situation of using textbook at HUI 14 2.1 Current situation of using textbook…………………………………………… 14 2.1.1 Brief introduction of HUI…………………………………………………… 14 2.1.2 Teachers and teaching methods…………………………………………… 15 2.1.3 Students and their background……………………………………………… 16 2.2 An overview of the textbook………………………………………………… 17 Chapter 3: Methodology……………………………………………… 19 3.1 Setting………………………………………………………………………… 19 3.2 Research design……………………………………………………………… 20 3.3 Participants…………………………………………………………………… 20 3.4 Data collection instruments…………………………………………………… 21 3.4.1 Survey questionnaires……………………………………………………… 21 3.4.2 Interview…………………………………………………………………… 22 3.5 Data collection procedures…………………………………………………… 22 3.6 Summary……………………………………………………………………… 23 Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion………………………………… 24 4.1 Data and data analysis …………………………………………………… 24 4.1.1 Survey questionnaires……………………………………………………… 24 4.1.2 Interview…………………………………………………………………… 34 4.2 Feasible solutions…………………………………………………………… 36 vi 4.2.1 Extension…………………………………………………………………… 36 4.2.2 Re-ordering………………………………………………………………… 37 4.2.3 Modification………………………………………………………………… 37 4.2.4 Braching…………………………………………………………………… 38 4.2.5 Addition…………………………………………………………………… 39 Part C: Conclusion……………………………………………………… 40 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 40 Limitation of the study and suggestions for further studies…………………… 40 Reference…………………………………………………………………… 42 Appendices vii List of ABBREVIATIONS HUI Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry ELT English language teaching GE General English ESP English for Specific Purposes AH1 American Headway PPP Presentation - Practice - Production viii List of Tables and charts TABLES Table 1: Content of the textbook “American Headway 1” Table 2: The teachers’ experience of teaching Table 3: The role of the textbook in teaching and learning English Table 4: Teachers’ opinions about the presentation of four skills in the textbook Table 5: Students’ opinions about the presentation of four skills in the textbook Table 6: Teachers’ opinions and students’ opinions about the difficult degree of four skills in the textbook Table 7: Teachers’ opinions and students’ opinions about skill development Table 8: Teachers’ opinions and students’ opinions about the level emphasis on the four macro skills of each unit in the textbook Table 9: Teachers’ opinions and students’ opinions about the location of time for four macro skills CHARTS Chart 1: Students’ history of learning English Chart 2: Students’ time of learning English Chart 3: Teachers’ satisfaction of the textbook Chart 4: Students’ satisfaction of the textbook Chart 5: Teachers and students’ attitudes towards grammar points in the textbook Chart 6: The approach to grammar in the textbook Chart 7: The stage of PPP approach paid most attention Chart 8: The number of techniques of PPP approach is used in each unit Chart 9: The quantity of new words in every unit Chart 10: Students’ vocabulary after learning the textbook Chart 11: The textbook includes materials for pronunciation works Chart 12: Students’ pronunciation after completing the textbook Part A: Introduction Rationale for the study The textbook is “the visible heart of any ELT (English Language Teaching) program” (Sheldon 1988:237) Textbooks help to standardize instruction and assessment That is, by giving students in different classes the same textbook, teachers can teach and test them in the same ways (Richards 2005) The textbooks also provide syllabus for a program, thus supporting novice teachers, training them in methodology and saving their time and effort for more worthwhile pursuits than material production (Cunningsworth 1995) What are more, students also often expect to use the textbook in their learning program (Sheldon 1988) Without textbooks, they may think their learning is not taken seriously, thus, textbooks are psychological essential for students Textbooks may constitute an effective resource for learning in the classroom and self-directed learning (Cunningsworth 1995) A learner without a textbook might be out of focus and teacher-dependent However, textbooks are not always professionally designed and not always fit the curriculum and closely correspond to the aim of a teaching program and the needs of the students Thus, textbooks should be carefully evaluated and selected before being used for a certain language program As a teacher of HUI (Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry), I have worked quite closely with the textbook “American Headway 1” I have noticed that although the book has shown a great deal of improvements, it also bears several limitations These limitations may cause considerable difficulty for both students and teachers, especially, for teachers who wish to teach in a communicative way For all those reasons, I think that textbook evaluation helps the managerial and teaching staff select the most appropriate material available for a particular course It also helps to identify the strengths and weakness of a particular textbook This is to inform teachers in the process of textbook adaptation and decision-making for the next course To this end, I have decided to carry out a study entitled “Appropriateness of the textbook “American Headway 1” for the first year students at HUI based in Thanh Hoa Province Aims of the study The study aimed at: - Evaluating "American Headway 1" in the terms of its methodology and practicality Specifically, it seeks to answer such a question as how the four language skills and language elements are taught and practiced - Finding out the strengths and the weaknesses of the textbook - Suggesting changes to enhance the textbook's appropriateness for the first year students' needs at HUI based in Thanh Hoa Province Research questions The research is carried out with an attempt to find out the answer to the following research questions: - Is the textbook “American Headway 1” suitable for the students‟ level and the teachers at HUI based in TH Province in terms of language skills and language elements? - What suggestions should be offered to help teachers and students to overcome the weaknesses of the textbook? Significance of the study In order to serve the purpose of teaching and learning effectively, the textbook needs to be professionally designed, fits the curriculum and closely corresponds with the aim of the teaching program and the needs of the students Thus, teachers and learners working with the textbook might experience considerable difficulty in achieving the ultimate goal of their teaching and learning program, which is developing students‟ communicative competence The current study helps to identify the problem and suggests ways of improving them This contribution would be of practical value to textbook authors, teachers and students Methods of the study In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, the study was designed to use two methods: survey questionnaire and informal interview The data can be recorded formally and informally The interview is used to record information from teachers and students The survey questionnaire to both students and teachers is to get more information to support the study Scope of the study The author of the study is always aware that a great number of criteria should be taken into consideration for a textbook and each criteria on need taking into account various aspects However, within the limits of a minor thesis, this study only seeks the appropriateness of the textbook “American Headway 1” in terms of their methodology and practically Specially, it seeks to examine the communicative nature of the textbook and the ease of their use That is, to seeks to answer such question as how the four language skills and language elements are taught and practiced Design of the study The minor thesis is divided into three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion Part A (Introduction) presents the rationale, the aims, the scope, the methods and the design of the study Part B (Development) consists of four chapters Chapter reviews the theoretical background, which is relevant to the purpose of the study Chapter gives a brief introduction of the textbook and current situations of teaching and learning at HUI Chapter describes the research methodology, which focuses on the context of the study, participants and the instruments and data collection procedures Chapter deals with data analysis and some suggestions Part C (Conclusion) summaries the study and offers some suggestions for further research XIII XIV III Consonants XV XVI IV Stress and Intonations  Stress  Intonations XVII XVIII Appendix Vocabulary (Application for reading text – Unit 7) Unit 7: Then and now Reading: Two famous Firsts George Washington (1732 – 1799) He was the first president of the United States He became president in 1789, eight years after the American War of Independence His early life His later life George was born in Virginia His family He was Commander-in-Chief of the army and owned a big farm and had slaves George fought the British in the War of didn’t have much education During his life Independence When the War ended in 1783 he had three jobs: he was a farmer, a soldier, he was happy to go back to the farm, but his and a politician He grew tobacco and owned country wanted him to be president Finally, horses He worked hard but he also liked in 1789, he became president, and gave his dancing and going to the theatre In 1759 he name to the new capital city He started the married a widow called Martha Custis They building of the While House, but he never were happy together, but didn’t have any lived in it By 1797 he was tired of politics children He went back to his farm and died there two years later I New words: New words - Own (v): sở hữu - Slave (n): nô lệ - Farm (n): trang trại - Army (n): quân đội - Farmer (n): nông dân - Independence (n): Sự độc lập - Soldier (n): binh sĩ - President (n): tổng thống - Politician (n): trị gia - To be tired of: mệt mỏi - Tobacco (n): thuốc - Politics (n): trị - Commander-in-Chief (n): tổng quân lệnh Hoa Kỳ XIX - Horse (n): ngựa - Widow (n): bà goá - Die (v): chết II Vocabulary exercises: Reading the text carefully and choose the best answer a George was born in Virginia His family … a big farm and had … A had/slaves C owned/slaves B owned/sisters D consisted/brothers b During his life he had three jobs: he was a farmer, a…, and a politician A doctor C teacher B soldier D engineer c He grew tobacco and owned … A dogs C lions B cats D horses d In 1759 he married a … called Martha Custis A woman C housewife B girl D widow e He was Commander-in-Chief of the army and fought the British in the War of… A Freedom C Peace B Independence D Civil f When the War ended in 1783 he was happy to go back to the farm, but his country wanted him to be … A president C teacher B soldier D engineer g He started the building of the While House, but he never lived in it By 1797 he was …of politics A bored C tired B sad D sorrow Gap-filling His early life XX George was born in Virginia His family (1)…a big farm and had slaves George didn’t have much education During his life he had three jobs: he was a farmer, a soldier, and a (2)… He grew (3)…and owned horses He worked hard but he also liked dancing and going to the theatre In 1759 he married a (4)…called Martha Custis They were happy together, but didn’t have any children His later life He was Commander-in-Chief of the (5) …and fought the British in the War of Independence When the War ended in 1783 he was happy to go back to the (6)…, but his country wanted him to be president Finally, in 1789, he became (7)…., and gave his name to the new capital city He started the building of the While House, but he never lived in it By 1797 he was (8)…of politics He went back to his farm and (9)…there two years later Matching A with B A B Own (v): A trị gia Slave (n): B thuốc Farm (n): C ngựa Farmer (n): D bà goá Soldier (n): E tổng quân lệnh Hoa Kỳ Politician (n): F sở hữu Tobacco (n): G nô lệ Horse (n): H mệt mỏi Widow (n): I Sự độc lập 10 Commander-in-Chief (n): J trang trại 11 Army (n): K chết 12 Independence (n): L binh sĩ 13 President (n): M trị 14 To be tired of: N nông dân 15 Politics (n): O quân đội 16 Die (v): P tổng thống XXI Puzzle Across: The person who has an vital role in the government The kind of animal, it is very helpful for human in carrying goods The people belong to the poor working classes of the society A country strong or weak have to depends on it A verb that expresses when a person go away forever A person works in the army The president often claims the “declaration of… ” of his country A verb that expresses someone has something or something belongs to someone A kind of tree that people use smoke Down A person who works in the government has the highest position p h s p d s I o t III Keys choose the best answer XXII a C b B c D d D e B f A Gap-filling Owned Politician Tobacco Widow Army Farm President tired g C Matching A with B F G J N 13 P L A 14 H C 15 M D 10 E 11 O 12 I 16 K Puzzle p o l e h B o r s o l t i c i a c e s s p i l a v e i t i c s d i e s o l d i e r I n d e p e n d e n o w n o b a c c o t n XXIII Appendix Writing section- summary Controlled Writing Pre-writing (Sentence transformation or word choice) Semi-controlled Writing Free Writing (Topic and genre is Semi-controlled Writing specified) (Structure and content is specified) Unit – Introducing yourself Read about Rafael and listen Complete the text about Yaling (Page 5) Name/ age/ ability/ My name is Hoa = I am Hoa hobby/nationality/ phone I am 20 years old, I am a Write about you number/address/ family… student at HUI… We begin letters with Dear… Writing address: Write a similar letter to a We end letters to a friend with -We put the number of the pen pal about you Best wishes street first Your address but We use Love if we know the not your name person very well -The zip code at the end Your signature -The date Unit – A letter to a pen pal Read Max’s letter to his pen pal and study the organization of the letter The reasons to write letter and content of the letter Finishing the letter Unit 5: Describing where you live Read the text “My house” (page 27) Think about where you live both outside and inside Unit 6: Formal letter Garden, yard, garage, rooms, walls, doors, window, balcony, Paragraph -Where is it? -Is it old or new? -How many rooms are there? -Is there a yard? Paragraph -Who you live with? Paragraph -Do you like it? Why? What is the best thing? Write a similar description of your house or apartment in about 100 words XXIV Read the advertisement for a job Carol is interested in the job about her and complete her letter Study the organization of Carol’s letter Learn the way to write address and the date Look at the advertisement for -We begin all letters, both formal and informal, with Dear… -We use Ms, Miss or Mrs for a woman We use Mr for a man -We not use short forms (I’m, he’s, It’s, they’ re) in formal letters -We end formal letters with Sincerely yours -Sign the letter and print your name -Paragraph 1: Introduction -Paragraph 2: The main part of the letter -Paragraph 3: Ending Complete the paragraph about Jim’s vacation Write a similar paragraph about Alison’s vacation Bus/ hotel/ mountains/ lions/ tent/ took photograph… -Where/go? -When/go? -How long/stay? -How/travel? -Where/stay? -What/do? -What/see? -Enjoy the vacation? Write about your last -What is his/her name? -When did your meet? -Where did you meet? -What did you together? -How often you see each other now? -What you when you meet? Use your sentences from Exercise to write a similar description of someone in your family Be sure to include the following information: Your opinion of the person / physical description / his or her character, habits, likes, and dislikes Write about 100 words about an old friend -Write Dear Sir or Madam if you not know the name of the person you are writing to -Remember! There are no short forms in a formal letter -This is the usual ending if we want a reply to a letter: I look forward to hearing from you -If you not know the name of the person you are writing to, write Sincerely, Write a letter to the Keltic Lodge in Nova Scotia, Canada Book as ingle room for four nights next month Ask for a room with an ocean view, and ask for a brochure of the lodge another job and write a similar letter Unit 7: Describing a vacation Read the information about Jim and Alison Make notes about your last vacation Complete the question about Jim’s vacation and write short answers vacation in about 50 words Unit 8: Old friends Complete the text with words from the box  Think of someone in your family Answer the following questions about him/her Read your sentences aloud to the rest of the class Which relative did you choose? Why did you choose that person? Think about the description of your old friend like this: the parts that describe her physical appearance / the parts that describe her character / the parts that describe her habits Unit 9: Formal letter Look at the organization of a formal letter XXV not Sincerely yours The address is: Middle Head Peninsula Ingonish Beach, Nova Scotia BOC 1LO Canada -Paragraph How big is it? Where is it? - Paragraph What is it famous for? - Paragraph Does it have any problem? - Paragraph What you like best about it? Write Unit 10: My capital city Read about Hong Kong and complete the text using the words in the box Population/ traffic/ pollution/ vehicles/ shops/ supermarket/ harbor… four paragraph about your capital city Begin each paragraph with the same words as in the text about Hong Kong Write 100-150 words Unit 11: Describing people Complete the text with the correct liking words from Exercise 13  Think of someone in your family Answer the following questions about him/her Read your sentences aloud to the rest of the class Which relative did you choose? Why did you choose that person? Think about the description of your old friend like this: the parts that describe her physical appearance / the parts that describe her character / the parts that describe her habits - Paragraph Description - Paragraph Like/dislike - Paragraph Personality Use your sentences from Exercise 13 to write a similar description of someone in your family Be sure to include the following information: Your opinion of the person / physical description / his or her character, habits, likes, and dislikes Write about 100 words -Good weather: hot/ cool/ dry/ blue sky/sunny/go to beach/ sunbath/ play Ping-Pong/ go for a walk… -Bad weather: rainy/cold/ wet/ foggy/ stormy/stay in a hotel/ in the room/sleep… Use your sentences from Exercise to write a similar postcard Be sure to include the following information: Bad weather/ good weather Write a postcard to a about someone in your family Unit 12: Writing a postcard This postcard describes a vacation with good weather or bad weather Read it and underline the words for either good weather or bad weather friend Write about… -where you are on vacation -The weather -Something you often -Something you did you are yesterday -Something XXVI going to tomorrow Unit 13: Once upon a time - A fairy tale Complete the story with the adjectives and adverbs from the box Write another fairy tale that you know Write about 200 words Remember to use adjectives and adverbs Begin Once upon a time End …and they lived happily ever after -Read the text and add the phrases from the box Adjectives: beautiful, green, hot, angry, deep, handsome, unhappy… Adverbs: carefully, happily, quickly, suddenly, immediately, unfortunately, quietly… Unit 14: A thank you letter Do you remember Dorita in unit of the textbook? She went to New York to study English, but now she has returned home to Argentina Complete the letter that she has written to Annie and Marnie - How many mistakes in your letter can you find? - Compare the mistakes you have found with a partner Correct the letter Paragraph 1: Introduction -Paragraph 2: The main part of the letter -Paragraph 3: Ending Write a similar thankyou letter to someone who has looked after you XXVII ... 90 10 0 10 0 80 80 0 0 10 70 80 10 0 10 0 90 90 0 10 0 0 11 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 0 0 10 0 10 0 0 12 80 70 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 0 13 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 70 75 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 0 14 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0... T S 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 70 80 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 L (%) S (%) R (%) W (%) T S T S T S T S 10 0 10 0 10 0 10 0... ? ?American headway 1? ?? for the first year students at ho chi minh city university of industry based in thanhhoa province (Nghiên cứu tính phù hợp giáo trình American Headway dùng cho sinh viên năm