An investigation into intercultural components in three piloted english textbooks for vietnamese high schools under national foreign language 2020 project

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* KIỀU THỊ HÀ AN INVESTIGATION INTO INTERCULTURAL COMPONENTS IN THREE PILOTED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR VIETNAMESE HIGH SCHOOLS UNDER NATIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE 2020 PROJECT (Tìm hiểu yếu tố liên văn hóa sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh thí điểm cấp trung học phổ thông) M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I) Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi - 2019 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* KIỀU THỊ HÀ AN INVESTIGATION INTO INTERCULTURAL COMPONENTS IN THREE PILOTED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS FOR VIETNAMESE HIGH SCHOOLS UNDER NATIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE 2020 PROJECT (Tìm hiểu yếu tố liên văn hóa sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh thí điểm cấp trung học phổ thơng) M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I) Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 Supervisor : Professor Nguyễn Hòa Hanoi - 2019 DECLARATION I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone‟s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have taken efforts in this study However, it would not have been possible without the tremendous support and help of individuals I would like to extend our sincere thanks to all of them I am highly indebted to my honor supervisor, Professor Nguyễn Hòa, for his guide, advice and suggestions as well as correction during the course of my writing Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to my close friend for helping me get access to necessary information regarding the topic and their support in completing the study Thirdly, my thanks go to Ms Nguyễn Huyền Ly for her comment and corrective feedback on my work Last but not least, I also would like to thank my family for their indispensable support and encouragement Therefore, it is possible to state that without the help from the aforementioned people, this paper would never have been finished ii ABSTRACT As the rise in demand for intercultural communication, using language appropriately in social and cultural contexts is becoming a concern of the teaching and the learning process Textbooks, as the main source of teaching material, provide learners with not only language input and practice but also intercultural knowledge and skills to build up learners‟ intercultural communication competence For those reasons, I conducted this study to find out whether textbooks under the NFLP 2020 implemented in high schools include intercultural elements and help students in improving students‟ intercultural communication competence through learning tasks To achieve the aims of the study, I employed both qualitative method to analyze the content of the textbooks and quantitative method to report the results of the textbook analysis procedure and to discuss further the findings of the research The results of the study indicate that textbook compilers integrated cultural information from various sources including intercultural interactions in the textbook series On examining learning tasks presented in three textbooks, I found that textbook writers included tasks to develop students‟ intercultural competence in different dimensions according to Byram‟s model of IC The textbook series was developed in a rather efficient way to help students improve their international communication skills through diverse activities iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IC : Intercultural competence ICC : Intercultural communication competence SC : Source culture TC : Target culture InC : International culture ICI : Intercultural interaction UC : Universality across Culture CEFR : Common European Framework of Reference for Languages NFLP : National Foreign Language 2020 Project iv LIST OF TABLES Table 2.3: The categories and the criteria to classify culture (adapted Chao (2011)) ……………………… 17 Table 3.1.1: Topics presented in the textbooks for high school students 20 Table 4.1.a: Numbers of aspects of analysis on cultural-related content 41 Table 4.1.b: Percentage of Source Culture, Target Culture, International Culture, Intercultural Interaction and Universality across culture in three textbooks 42 Table 4.1.c: Frequency of Source Culture, Target Culture, International Culture, Intercultural Interaction and Universality across culture 43 Table 4.2.1: Dimensions of IC addressed in the learning tasks of three textbooks 48 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.2.2.: Factors in intercultural communication (Byram, 1997, p 34) 12 Figure 2.2.2.d: Byram‟s Model of intercultural communication competence (1997) 14 Figure 3.2.1.a Tieng Anh 10 representing source culture (Unit 3, p 32) 23 Figure 3.2.1.b: Tieng Anh 11 representing target culture (Unit 7, p.22) 24 Figure 3.2.1.c: Tieng Anh 11 representing international culture (Unit 5, p 62) 25 Figure 3.2.1.d: Tieng Anh 10 representing intercultural interaction (Unit 4, p 42) 26 Figure 3.2.1.e Tieng Anh 12 representing universality across culture (Unit 7, p.22) 27 Figure 3.3.3.a: An example of the learning task developing knowledge (Tieng Anh 11, p 64) 36 Figure 3.3.3.b: An example of the learning task developing attitudes ( Tieng Anh 10, p.16) 37 Figure 3.3.3.c: An example of the learning task developing attitudes (Tieng Anh 11, p.11) 37 Figure 3.3.3.d: An example of the learning task developing attitudes 37(Tieng Anh 12, p.24) 37 Figure 3.3.3.e: An example of the learning task developing skills of interpreting and relating (Tieng Anh 10, p.24) 38 Figure 3.3.3.f: An example of the learning task developing skills of discovery (Tieng Anh 11, p.41) 39 Figure 3.3.3.g: An example of the learning task developing skills of discovery (Tieng Anh 10, p.11) 40 Figure 4.2.1: Ratio of learning tasks aiming at increasing learners‟ IC 47 vi APPENDICES Appendix 1: Coding scheme- Sources of cultural information I Appendix 2: Coding scheme- Learning task analysis II Appendix 3: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students‟ attitude in Tieng Anh 10 (p.10) .III Appendix 4: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students‟ attitudes in Tieng Anh 10 (p.45) IV Appendix 5: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students‟ skills of discovery in Tieng Anh 11 (p.54) V Appendix 6: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students‟ skills of discovery in Tieng Anh 10 (p.11) VI vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .iv LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES .vi APPENDICES vii TABLE OF CONTENTS viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aims of the study and research questions 1.3 Methods of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Structure of the thesis .5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Role of textbooks as a source of cultural inputs 2.2 Intercultural communication competence 10 2.2.1 Intercultural communication competence in English language teaching 10 2.2.2 Model of intercultural communication competence 12 2.2.3 Intercultural dimensions 14 2.3 Sources of cultural information 15 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Textbook description 18 3.1.1 Textbook structure 19 3.1.2 Structure of ONE unit .20 viii CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION This chapter summarizes the main findings of the study, based on which, recommendations were suggested In this chapter, the limitations of the research and recommendations for further study as well as the author‟s professional development after the research were also presented 5.1 Recap and conclusion of the study Nowadays, English becomes a medium for international trade, commerce, communication, and education Teaching and learning this language is becoming a growing need For a long time, the focus of teaching and learning English process is to master the language itself However, language can not be separated from the social environment and culture In recent years, learning a language does not mean acquire vocabularies, grammar rules, pronunciation or language skills It is necessary to use language appropriately in different social and cultural contexts As the demand for interaction with people from different cultures increases, there is also potential misinterpretation and misunderstanding when communicating The main cause of that phenomenon is the cultural differences of interlocutors Therefore, raising language learner‟s awareness and skills to cope with those problems when they communicate in an international environment is more and more essential Teaching materials have a powerful influence on the process of teaching and learning a language Textbooks are not only one of the main sources of language input and practice but also a supply of intercultural knowledge and skills to build up learners‟ intercultural communication competence Recently, the number of students chooses to finish their high school degree or pursue higher education abroad has increased To communicate successfully in an intercultural environment, students should be drawn their attention to the issue and equipped with sufficient skills For those reasons, it drove me to conduct this study to find out whether current textbooks implemented in the school can help teachers and students in 56 improving students‟ intercultural communication competence Besides, there can be suitable adaptation and adjustment of materials to serve students‟ demands and the requirements to help students to be confident and successful in communication in international contexts The study was conducted with two main phases: data collection and data analysis Before conducting phase one, I reviewed the framework to categorize sources of cultural information in the textbook by Chao (2011) and adapted it to make it more appropriate with the context of the study The other theories reviewed was Byram‟s model of intercultural competence This framework was the backbone to analyze learning tasks demonstrated in the textbook series After that, a coding scheme was developed to collect relevant data for analysis Based on the guidelines from the framework by Chao (2011), visual information and written texts were investigated and put into different categories To answer the other two research questions, learning tasks were analyzed and classified into different dimensions according to Byram‟s model As relevant data were collected, I built up two content analysis tables to describe and analyze the data, one was to report data about the sources of cultural information and the other was to identify the intercultural dimension that learning tasks aim at To make the results more objective and more reliable, I conducted an independent analysis with another B.A holder The results then were correlated for further analysis The results of the study indicate that textbook compilers integrate cultural information from various sources including intercultural interactions in which people from different cultures communicate with one another or different aspects of different cultures are put together to find out similarities and difference or people from one culture interact with the environment of other countries The textbook series provides intercultural knowledge as well as other cultural materials for students to practice in classrooms It is also consistent with the guiding principles of developing the textbook series stated in Hoang (2015) In his article, he pointed out 57 one of the basic principles for developing textbooks was to ensure that crosscultural issues are adequately incorporated into the contents of the textbooks As Byram (1997) and Scollon & Scollon (1995) mentioned, intercultural communicative competences can be enhanced when students are exposed to a culturally rich environment in which they internalize the norms of different cultures This diversity of cultural origins is well-matched with Byram et al‟s perspective on intercultural dimension of language teaching In this regard, Byram et al state in their book that “materials from different origins with different perspectives should be used together to enable learners to compare and to analyze the materials critically It is more important than learners acquire skills of analysis than factual information” (1994, p.19) This means that the representation of ICI in current English textbooks should be modified or improved in a way that helps students to develop their ICC On digging into learning tasks presented in three textbooks, I found that textbook writers included tasks to develop students‟ intercultural competence in different dimensions according to Byram‟s model of IC Among the four dimensions of intercultural competence, the majority of learning tasks aims at developing learners‟ attitudes toward cultures and knowledge about cultures There are a few tasks addressing the skills of interpreting and relating As intercultural elements along with other cultural materials were further reinforced in the learning tasks such as task-based activities, online discovery, group and pair discussion and so on Through exposing to the content of ICI and conducting diverse activities, students can compare the differences and similarities among different cultures This point is consistent with Chao‟s (2011) argument that intercultural issues function as an essential part of the representation of culture-related content in English textbooks From the results of the data analysis processes, it can be noticed that the proportion of intercultural components and the learning tasks addressing IC in three textbooks series is different The differences may result from the differences in 58 cultural themes presented in those textbooks and there is properly no standardize figure to the distributions of intercultural elements and tasks in three textbooks Hence, it is concluded that the analyzed textbooks series is a good English textbook set from the perspective of ICC Textbook writers are concerned about developing students‟ ICC by including cultural and intercultural elements, which are inputs for linguistic as well as cultural practices To help students enhance ICC comprehensively, the knowledge of cultures is not adequate By conducting the activities and the learning tasks demonstrated in these textbooks, students have chances to develop their intercultural attitudes and skills It also follows the recent trend in English textbooks writing for learners who take English as a foreign language Current English textbooks tend to be designed to improve intercultural dynamics by incorporating more topics on ICI into culture-related content and IC learning tasks 5.2 Implications and recommendation Teaching and learning English can not be separated from teaching and learning its culture To support students master English effectively via textbooks, cultural elements should be highlighted during the lessons The teachers also need to draw students‟ attention to the issue of intercultural communication and help them to be aware of cultural differences in international environments as to conduct activities presented in the textbooks The results of the research provide teachers who are using the textbook series with another perspective about three textbooks For those teachers who approach the textbook under the perspective of intercultural communication competence, this study can be a reference for them when they use and adapt the textbooks to have appropriate adjustments with different learners With the analysis above, teachers‟ responsibility to find practical solutions to integrate cultural teaching into their language teaching in one way or another Teachers can plan their own extensive teaching program on cultures, especially for extracurriculum activities or involve intercultural activities in their four skills lessons Nevertheless, unless teachers are the interculturally competent and 59 knowledgeable, it is doubtful that they can help foster interculturality of their students To that, there should be plan and policies to draw teachers‟ attention to this issue and help them enhance their knowledge and skills of teaching Besides, every high school also needs to provide teachers with the proximal environment to implement their plan to enhance students‟ interculturality 5.3 Limitations Although the outcome of the study makes some beneficial contributions to the promotion of the continued development of intercultural competence in language teaching, it has some limitations as followed First of all, as content analysis in which the researcher analyzed in its natural context, this study is prone to be subjective Secondly, after conducting this research, the results show inequality in the distribution of sources of cultural information, dimensions of learning tasks as well as the difference in proportion in each textbook As I did not have a chance to interview the textbook writers, it could not be claimed for sure whether it was the authors‟ intention that intercultural elements as well as other sources of culture or it was just a coincidence when collecting materials for textbook writing Thirdly, the research had been conducted with only one set of textbooks With the criteria used for analysis proved to be approximately appropriate, the analysis has worked successfully with the materials of the study However, it is unsure whether it is applicable to other teaching materials at other levels in the series and in other settings Therefore, this research is inevitably limited application Lastly, although there was a two-round independent coding, I used handcoding with the aid of Excel as the main instrument of the study, a few references might be missed Besides, all figures collected during the research project were taken into consideration and analyzed comprehensively via guidelines, checklists and criteria, errors however minor, may still be detected 5.4 Suggestions for further studies The results of the study were expected to benefit high school teachers when adopting the textbooks in teaching in their contexts Based on the discussion on 60 learning tasks and cultural elements in the textbook series, teachers can make changes during the teaching process to suit their learners‟ needs and levels Additionally, the study has opened some directions for further research Similar studies can also be conducted with varying language proficiency levels and different authors There might be a study on whether students can develop their intercultural competence to a higher level after using this textbook series as the main materials in classrooms Besides, there should be a study to 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(pp.117-124).Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage Retrieved from http://wrt303sp08.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/weber_contentanalysis.pdf Woflson, N (1989) Perspectives: Sociolinguistics and TESOL New York: Newbury House Publishers 64 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Coding scheme- Sources of cultural information Textbook: Unit Source Texts Visua ls Target Texts Visua Internationa Intercultura l l interaction Texts ls Visua ls Texts Visua Sum Texts ls GT L R S L W CC L& P …… Total Note: GT: Getting started L: Listening L: Language W: Writing R: Reading CC: Communication and culture S: Speaking L&P: Looking back and project I Visua ls Appendix 2: Coding scheme- Learning task analysis Textbook: Unit Knowledge Attitude Skills of Skills of interpreting discovery Total tasks and relating GT L R S L W CC L&P … Total Note: GT: Getting started L: Listening L: Language W: Writing R: Reading CC: Communication and culture S: Speaking L&P: Looking back and project II Appendix 3: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students’ attitude in Tieng Anh 10 (p.10) III Appendix 4: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students’ attitudes in Tieng Anh 10 (p.45) IV Appendix 5: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students’ skills of discovery in Tieng Anh 11 (p.54) V Appendix 6: An example of a learning task aiming at developing students’ skills of discovery in Tieng Anh 10 (p.11) VI ... information The basis for classifying cultural information presented in a textbook is based on Cortazzi & Jin‟s work They distinguish cultural information used in foreign language textbooks into. .. promote ICC and can be practiced in classrooms In Vietnam, a new English textbook series has been implemented in some Vietnamese high schools under the National Foreign Language 2020 Project for years... continued that one cannot learn a language and neglect its culture because speaking a language means expressing its culture, exchanging a language embodies a particular way of thinking and living