An analysis of cultural factors in the textbook english 12 from the perspective of english as an international language

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES   NGUYỄN THỊ HƯƠNG GIANG AN ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL FACTORS IN THE TEXTBOOK ENGLISH 12 FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE PHÂN TÍCH CÁC YẾU TỐ VĂN HĨA TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH 12 THEO QUAN ĐIỂM TIẾNG ANH LÀ NGÔN NGỮ QUỐC TẾ M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10 HANOI – 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES  NGUYỄN THỊ HƯƠNG GIANG AN ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL FACTORS IN THE TEXTBOOK ENGLISH 12 FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE PHÂN TÍCH CÁC YẾU TỐ VĂN HÓA TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH 12 THEO QUAN ĐIỂM TIẾNG ANH LÀ NGÔN NGỮ QUỐC TẾ M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10 SUPERVISOR: Dr LÊ VĂN CANH HANOI - 2013 Abbreviations ASEAN CLT EFL EIL ELF ELT ESL FLT MOET 10 SLA 11 TESOL 12 WTO 13 WEs iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II ABSTRACT III LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IV TABLE OF CONTENTS V LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES VIII PART I - INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Research aims, objectives and research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study The structure of the thesis PART II - DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I THEORY AND LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The concept of culture 1.1.1 Definition 1.1.2 Relationship between language and culture 1.2 Culture in second/ foreign language teaching 1.3 English as an International Languge 1.3.1 Kachru's Three Circles Model and English varieties v 1.3.2 What is English as an International Language (EIL)? 10 1.4 The issue of culture in the context of teaching English as an International Language 12 1.5 Cultural content in materials for EIL teaching 14 1.6 Previous studies 17 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 20 2.1 The Vietnamese English teaching context 20 2.2 Overview of the National Curriculum and Syllabus for ELT 21 2.3 Research methodology 22 2.4 Content analysis 22 2.5 The conceptual framework of the study and criteria for analysis 23 2.5.1 The conceptual framework 23 2.5.2 Criteria for analysis 23 2.6 Content analysis procedure 24 2.6.1 Purpose of the analysis 24 2.6.2 Sample of the analysis 24 2.6.3 Elements of the analysis 26 2.6.4 Units of analysis 26 2.6.5 Instrument of the analysis 26 2.6.5.1 Constructing the content analysis card 26 2.6.5.2 Description of the content analysis card 26 2.6.5.3 Applying the content analysis card 27 2.7 Procedures of the study 28 vi CHAPTER III: FINDINGS ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Culturally oriented activities in the textboo 3.2 Cultural representation in the textbook 3.3 Cultural distribution in the textbook 3.3.1 Vietnamese culture in the textbook 3.3.2 International culture in the textbook 3.3.3 Target culture in the textbook 3.4 Opportunities for students to compare and PART III - CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusion Recommendations Limitations of the study Suggestions for further research BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX vii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figures Figure Figure Kachru' Figure The org Tables Tables Table 2.1 Table 3.1 Table 3.2 Table 3.3 Table 3.4 Table 3.5 Table 3.6 Table 3.7 The stru Frequen whole a Frequen Anglo-S Frequen textboo Frequen English Frequen textboo Frequen English Frequen opportu viii PART I - INTRODUCTION This part introduces the rationale of carrying out this study, its aims and objectives as well as its scope and significance The part also presents the structure of the thesis Rationale of the study Unlike any other language which normally rests itself in its homeland, English has stepped beyond the boundary of its first settlements, initially the United Kingdom, later the United States of America, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, travelling to every corner of the world, being used by people of all kinds of nationalities and ethnic backgrounds as a common language for most of their international encounters (Crystal, 1997; Graddol, 1997; McKay, 2002) and has actually grown into "a world property" (Talebinezhad, 2001), used "by the world" and "for the world" (Ngo, 2012) One of its lengthened names: English as an International Language (henceforth EIL) indicates an attempt to reflect such global scale usage of the language English has become a global language with so many implications for the teaching and learning of the language McKay (2002: 1) points out that "the teaching and learning of an international language must be based on an entirely different set of assumptions than the teaching and learning of any other second or foreign language" These assumptions give rise to changes in teaching methods, learners' goals, materials, assessment and the view on the cultural content in the teaching and learning materials One of the questions arising from the context of EIL teaching is: Is totally (or extremely) native English-speaking cultures oriented approach to teaching and learning materials still reasonable with the advent of EIL? This question implies changes in approach to cultural content of materials for EIL teaching As a high Penny Ur (2009), English as a lingua franca and some implications for English teachers Retrieved July, 2012 from www.tesol-france.org/Colloquium09/Ur_Plenary_Handouts.pdf Pham, H.H (2001), A Second Look at the Question of the Ownership of English Teacher’s Edition, November 2001, 4-10 Prodromou, L (1988), 'English as cultural action' ELT Journal 42/2: 73-83 Prodromou, L (1992), 'What culture? Which culture?' ELT Journal 46/1: 39-50 Richards, Jack C Curriculum Development in Language Teaching, Cambridge Language Education, Series Editor Cambridge University Press Richards, Jack C., Platt, J., Platt, H (1992), Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics Longman Risager, K (2006), Language and culture: Global flows and complexity Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Saluveer, E (2004), Teaching culture in English classes M.A thesis, University of Tartu, Department of English Retrieved from www:lara25.com/mywebdisk/CI-EP/saluveerpdf Schneider, E W (2011), English around the world An introduction Cambridge: CUP Seidlhofer, B (2001), Closing a conceptual gap: The case for a description of English as a lingua franca International Journal of Applied Linguistics,11, 133-158 Seidlhofer, B (2003), A concept of international English and related issues: from 'real English' to 'realistic English' Strasbourg: Council of Europe Seidlhofer, B (2004), Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 24, 209-239 Shank, G (2002), Qualitative research: A personal skill approach New Jersey: Merril Prentice Hall 45 Smith, L (1976), 'English as an international auxiliary language.' RELC Journal 7/2, 38-43 Talebinezhad, M R & A Basic Assumptions in Teaching English as an International http://iteslj.org/Articles/Talebinezhad-EIL.html Thanasoulas, D (2001), The importance of teaching culture in the foreign language classroom Radical Pedagogy, ISSN:1524-6345 Retrieved from http://radicalpedagogy-icaap.org/content/issue3 _ 3/7-thanasoulas.html Ton, N.N.H & Pham, H.H (2010), Vietnamese teacher’s and students’ perceptions of global English Language Education in Asia, 1/1, 46-81 Tran, L (2000), A Vietnamese Perspective on World Englishes Teacher’s Edition 4, 26-32 Widdowson, H C (1994), The ownership of English TESOL Quarterly 28, 377388 Yano, Y (2006), Cross-cultural communication and English as an international language International communication studies XV-3 Retrieved from http://www.uri.edu/laics/content/2006v15n3/15Yashukata.Yano.pdf Yano, Y (2007), English as an international language: its past, present, and future, On-Demand Internet Course Book: World Englishes In Vietnamese Hồng, Văn Vân (2011), Chương trình sách giáo khoa trung học phổ thông, hệ chuẩn T/c khoa học Đại học Quốc gia Hà nội, tập 27, số 2, 96-106 Hoàng, Văn Vân (2011), Vị tiếng Anh giới Việt Nam /Tcngôn ngữ số 1, 11-18 Ngơ, Hữu Hồng (2012), Tiếng Anh tồn cầu giao tiếp liên văn hoá Báo cáo hội thảo khoa học-Đại học Ngoại ngữ - Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội, 2012 46 Ngơ, Hữu Hồng (2012), Tồn cầu hóa ngơn ngữ tồn cầu: Một nghiên cứu quốc tế học Tiếng Anh- Cơng trình nghiên cứu khoa học cấp sở -Đại học Ngoại ngữ - Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội, 2012 Ngơ, Hữu Hồng (2013), Tiếng Anh tồn cầu giao tiếp liên văn hố /Tcngơn ngữ số 3/2013, 29 -40 Võ, Thị Thảo Ly (2009), Tiếng Anh “chuẩn” người ngữ hay Tiếng Anh ngơn ngữ quốc tế Tạp chí khoa học 3, 5-11 Đại học Đà Nẵng 47 APPENDIX CONTENT ANALYSIS CARD Unit Reading VC IC TC CC Unit Reading VC IC TC CC I Unit Reading VC IC TC CC Unit Reading VC IC TC CC II Unit Reading VC IC TC CC Unit Reading VC IC TC CC III Unit Reading VC IC TC CC Unit Reading VC IC TC CC IV Unit Reading VC IC TC CC Unit 10 Reading VC IC TC CC V Unit 11 Reading VC IC TC CC Unit12 Reading VC IC TC CC VI Unit 13 Reading VC IC TC CC Unit 14 Reading VC IC TC CC VII Unit 15 Reading VC IC TC CC Unit 16 Reading V IC TC CC VIII APPENDIX ADAPTATION (Suggested adaptation to reading text, unit 3, textbook English 12) 'In most social situations where some informality is allowed, a brief raise of the hand and a small wave is fine For instance, if you are walking across the schoolyard and see your teacher approaching you, a small friendly wave to attract his or her attention is appropriate." (Extracted from reading text, unit 3, textbook English 12) The reading text introduces some ways of attracting attention by using non-verbal communication in English; the extract is a suggestion for students to use this form to attract teacher's attention However, Vietnamese culture does not allow students to use "a small friendly wave" to attract their teacher In most Vietnamese contexts, students have to approach the teacher they want to attract, wait until the teacher sees them, then, and use verbal communication to greet the teacher before doing anything If the teacher in charge with the reading text does not clarify the differences between Anglo-Saxon cultural convention and Vietnamese cultural convention in using non-verbal communication to attract somebody's attention, students may be left with impression that the English students are rude to their teachers They may also think that their Vietnamese culture is too strict, not so "democratic" as English culture and get some feeling of dissatisfaction with their own culture Neither of the extremes are the outcome that we expect IX APPENDIX ADAPTATION (Suggestions for dealing with implicit cultural information in the textbook) A consideration amount of cultural information in the textbook is not presented explicitly Characters in reading texts and listening texts are not nationality labelled or even anonymous For example, the main character in the reading text in unit is anonymous both in name and in nationality, so students not know who they are reading about, whose way of life they are getting to know The characters in reading text in unit and in listening texts in units 1, 3, 4, 5, albeit name-labelled, anonymous in nationality This limitation would lead to impression that students are learning about "not only imaginary but vacuous, empty of life" ( Prodromou, 1988) Unit1 - Reading text Problems: The main characters are anonymous, no name, no nationality Cues: Working hours (8a.m-5p.m); eel soup; some cultural values: the mother is caring, the family is close-knit; the girl's attempt to gain a place at university, most men does not like cooking Suggestion: Way of life, cultural values and some facts indicate that the text is about a Vietnamese family Unit 1- Listening text Problems: The characters have no nationality Cues: The characters' names: Paul and Andrea; cultural values: Paul's family is not a close-knit, having six children is surprising Suggestion: The characters are American Unit - Listening text Problems: Character has no nationality Cues: Name: Linda Cupple; job: social worker; values: a social worker advise young people on how to use the telephone in their family, X Suggestion: American way of life Unit - Listening text Problems: Characters not have nationality Cues: English names: Gavin, Jenny; school activities: boarding school, students write essays, students are disruptive, tearaway; cultural values: school days were not the best days for most students Suggestion: The characters belong to one of the Inner Circle countries Unit - Reading text Problems: The characters have no nationality Cues: English names: Sarah, Ellen, Brenden; facts: 10 degrees Celcious, St John's College Suggestion: American or British or Australian culture Unit - Listening text Problems: The characters have no nationality Cues: English names: John and David; college activities: tutors, overseas students, tutorials appointments, long reading lists, a large proportion of international students MSc course in AERD - department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Suggestion: Inner Circle culture XI APPENDIX ADAPTATION (Suggestions for teachers to create opportunities for students to compare and contrast cultures in the textbook English 12) In most reading and listening lessons, students are asked to answer factual questions In speaking lessons they are expected to imitate the sample dialogues (fixed in structure) and use prescribed language and expressions In writing lessons, students read samples, adopt the organization and styles of the samples and then write something similar in English In this way, the textbook does not help students realize the differences in rhetorical styles, discourse conventions between Vietnamese and British/American cultures, nor does it provide enough chances for students to reflect and make comparison and contrast between their home culture and other foreign culture Diversity within cultures is not ensured in the textbook For example, the cultures of ethnic minority students in rural areas in Vietnam are not presented The textbook portrays the images of urbanized and rich people The life described in the textbook may be alien to students that live in rural areas or come from poor family; therefore, it is difficult for them to relate what they learn in the textbook to their own real life's experience Therefore, teachers in charge with the textbook should prepare supplementary materials which are suitable for their particular students, such materials that could narrow the gaps in terms of cultural information that the textbook leaves for them XII ... points out that "the teaching and learning of an international language must be based on an entirely different set of assumptions than the teaching and learning of any other second or foreign language" ... UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES  NGUYỄN THỊ HƯƠNG GIANG AN ANALYSIS OF CULTURAL FACTORS IN THE TEXTBOOK ENGLISH 12 FROM THE PERSPECTIVE. .. study has arisen from the fact that today English has gained the status of an international language, entailing changes in approach to basis of cultural content in EFL teaching materials Therefore,