Adapting english 10 textbook for students at viet duc upper seconday school a case study

1 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES LƯU THỊ THÚY ADAPTING ENGLISH 10 TEXTBOOK FOR STUDENTS AT VIET DUC UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL – A CASE STUDY ĐÁNH GIÁ VÀ HIỆU ĐÍNH SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH LỚP 10 CHO HỌC SINH TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG VIỆT ĐỨC – ĐIỂN CỨU M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Ha Noi, 2010 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES LƯU THỊ THÚY ADAPTING ENGLISH 10 TEXTBOOK FOR STUDENTS AT VIET DUC UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL – A CASE STUDY ĐÁNH GIÁ VÀ HIỆU ĐÍNH SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH LỚP 10 CHO HỌC SINH TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG VIỆT ĐỨC ĐIỂN CỨU M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Dr Đỗ Tuấn Minh Ha Noi, 2010 LIST OF ABBREVIATION LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale for choosing the topic Aims and objectives Scope of research Significance of the assignment Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Teaching materials in ELT/ESL classrooms Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2 Textbooks adaptation 1.3 The statement of the problems CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Error! Bookmark not defined 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.3.1 Textbook analysis 2.3.2 Survey questionnaire 2.3.3 Informal interviews 2.4 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS Error! Bookmark not defined 3.1.1 Overview of the national curriculum and course objectivesError! Bookmark not defined 3.2.1 The appropriateness of the textbook with the objectivesError! Bookmark not defined 3.3.2 The suitability of the textbook to the content prescribed by MoETError! Bookmark not defined 3.3.4 Student survey Error! Bookmark not defined 3.3.5 Suggestions Error! Bookmark not defined PART III: CONCLUSION Error! Bookmark not defined LIST OF ABBREVIATION Upper secondary : US Lower secondary : LS School year : SY Ss : Student(s) National Assembly : NA Teaching and learning : T/L Viet Duc Upper Secondary School : Viet Duc US School World Trade Organization : WTO Ministry of Education and Training : MoET Upper secondary and Professional Teacher Development Project: USPTDP LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS FIGURES Figure1: Roles of textbook (Cortazzi, M & Lixian, 1999) Figure 2: Options for textbook (Harmer, 2002) TABLES Table 1: General objectives to achieve in Grade 10 Table 2: Teachers' judgment on students' ability on writing tasks Table 3: Students‟ ability in using macro skills related to the Topics CHARTS Chart 1: Teachers‟ opinions on the Suitability of the Objectives of the Textbook Chart 2: Teachers‟ judgment on communicative aims Chart 3: Teachers‟ judgment on student‟s interested topics Chart 4: Teachers‟ judgment on students‟ ability on speaking tasks Chart 5: Teachers‟ judgment on students‟ ability on grammar tasks Chart 6: Students‟ opinions on demanding the students‟ needs of the textbook Chart 7: Average percentage of student‟s ability to macro skills PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale for choosing the topic In Viet Nam, education is regarded a paramount investment option for the country‟s long term economic growth and equitable social development The country‟s accession to World Trade Organization (WTO) necessitated Viet Nam to accelerate strengthening of secondary education in developing human resources required for greater integration in the global economy With the increase in the enrolment rate to over 90%, lower secondary education has made commendable progress but expansion of upper secondary and professional secondary education and improvement of their quality remain to be key challenges for Viet Nam‟s education system It is a fact that the secondary education system in general and English education in particular in Vietnam has encountered a number of shortcomings in terms of teacher and teaching quality and students‟ attitude, or testing systems, etc The majority of students are lacking opportunities to access and practice English communication, a large number of schools are not able to provide adequate modern teaching and learning equipments, etc have questioned educational managers, teachers and students for ages In addition, the current teaching curriculum have mismatched with the testing and evaluation As a result, the students‟ achievement and the teaching quality as well have not been properly evaluated In execution of Resolution No 14-NQ/TW of January 11, 1979 of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee (4th Congress), Socialist Republic of Vietnam, it has been indicated that innovation of teaching curriculum and textbooks have been clearly directed with four main principles: (i) to have a firm grasp of the objectives and requirements in the contents and methods of education; (ii) to ensure the systematic, inheritance and development character of the educational program suited to the practice and traditions of Vietnam, to acquire the achievements of advanced education in the world; (iii) to ensure uniformity in knowledge and know-how standards, to increase the continuity with vocational education and post-secondary education, at the same time to work out plans to make the program and textbooks suited to the conditions and circumstances of different area; (iv) to conduct synchronically the renovation of the program, textbooks and the method of teaching and learning with the basic renovation of the method of evaluation, … renovation of the management of education 10 In the process of implementation of the above resolution, the Ministry of Education and Training has conducted development of standard curriculum and textbooks for pilot testing all secondary subject areas inclusive of English This task has been finalized so far English 10 textbook was carried piloting the second year in 44 upper secondary schools nationwide, English 11 started to pilot in school year (SY) 2004-2005 and English 12 has been completed and tested in SY 2005-2006 Therefore, a set of English textbooks have been officially approved for years and it would be confirmed that English teaching renovation in secondary education is crucial and assessment of implementation status in secondary schools is also very important It plays a momentous role in continuous improvement of the textbooks and teaching methodology in the future For all these reasons, a thesis named: “Adapting English 10 textbook for students at Viet Duc Upper Secondary School – A case study” has been fostered and conducted Aims and objectives In line with the above mentioned thoughts on teachers and learners‟ needs from the textbook, the author sets out to convey a question “How is English 10 employed at Viet Duc US School?” in terms of its methodology, content, objectives, practicality and then to determine whether the book corresponds closely with the teaching curriculum prescribed by MoET Specifically, the researcher seeks to examine the nature of textbook and the suitability of the textbook at Viet Duc School context It is expected that findings and discussion given would make certain contribution to the improvement of the textbook and propose samples of adaptation to enhance the effectiveness of the material within a case of Viet Duc US school In short, the study is an attempt to meet two aims It not only points to the value of teacher‟s use of the textbook in pursuance with MoET‟s curriculum but also to their wish for guidance in applying materials, adapting these and preparing their own (McGrath, 2002) 11 Research questions To fulfill the aims mentioned above, this research addresses the following questions: How far is English 10 textbook suitable for teachers and students at Viet Duc Upper Secondary School? How can English 10 be adapted to suit the Viet Duc School context? In other words, this study focuses on the evaluation of suitability of teaching and learning of English 10 textbook at Viet Duc School regarding its methodology, content, objectives, and practicality The evaluation will be compared with the teaching curriculum prescribed by MoET and then relevant adaptation will be given to demanding both teaching and learning settings at Viet Duc US School Scope of research As mentioned in the research‟s title, it is expected to carry out an investigation on the textbook of Standard English 10 Since then, the author will study teaching and learning situation in the light of learner-centred approach and communication learning approach, with selected students at grade 10 within Viet Duc US school Based on theoretical background and actual observations, recommendations for teaching adaptation of reading skills are given as an example Significance of the study The study aims at conveying a picture of the teaching performance with both strengths and weaknesses of English teachers at Viet Duc School in particular and in secondary schools in general, since then they would have more adjustments to demand the requirements of Vietnamese modern educational system; especially supporting curriculum designers and textbooks composers seriously draw experiences and make adjustments on the new English 10 standard textbook and current needs of society My second intention is to clearly understand how suitable the English 10 textbook is as applying at Viet Duc US School Besides, the author has expected to give recommendations for enhancing T/L quality of the school, providing consultation to educational managers to better understand English studies and making relevant policies of management in time; upgrading pre-service and in-service teacher training programs under the control of the project and MoET as well 12 Design of the study PART I: INTRODUCTION provides the basic information such as the aims, the scope, and significance of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT contains of chapters Chapter 1: Literature Review justifies the literature on roles of textbook‟s use in ELT classroom, reasons on material adaptation, definitions and techniques of adaptation and especially the statement of the problems whose background of teachers and students are given clearly with the application of textbook at the school Chapter 2: Research Methodology focus on the methodology employed in this study, including the methodology, the participants, the instruments and data collection Chapter 3: Findings and Discussions are reported PART III: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS presents a review of the research and the recommendations for the improvement of the material with selected suggestions for further research 14 Madsen, K S., & Bowen, J D (1978) Adaptation in Language Teaching Rowley, MA: Newbury House 51 15 Nia Kurniawati (2010) Teacher‟s Use of Textbook in Teaching and Learning Processes (A case study of Four EFL Teachers in Senior High School in Indonesia), The 8th ASIA TEFL, 2010, Hanoi, Vietnam 16 Nunan, D (1988) Syllabus design Adelaide: Oxford University Press 17 Nunan, David (1991) Language teaching methodology: a textbook for teachers Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall 18 Nunan D (1992) Research Methods in Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 O‟Neill, R 1982 Why Use Textbooks? ELT Journal Volume 36/2 20 Selinger,H.W., and E Shohamy 1989 Second Language Research 21 Sheldon, L (1988) „Evaluating ELT Textbooks and Materials‟ ELT Journal Volume 42/2 38 22 Stake, E.R (1995) The Art of Case Study Research, CA: SAGE Publications 23 Hutchinson, T., & Water, A (1993) English for specific purposes Cambridge University Press 24 Tomlinson, Brian (1998) Materials development in language teaching (ed) New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998 25 Wajnryb, R (1992) Classroom Observation Tasks, Cambridge: CUP 26 Wisker, G (2001) The Postgraduate Handbook, New York: Palgrave 52 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS th In an attempt to evaluate the textbook currently used for grade 10 students at Viet Duc Upper Secondary School, we would greatly appreciate if you could response to the questions below Your opinions would be very useful to evaluate the objectives, content, and methodology, practicality of Tieng Anh 10 textbook in accordance with teaching curriculum of MoET and the improvement of the textbook for the future use Thank you very much for your valuable contributions To answer the survey questions below, please tick as many boxes/cells as appropriate I THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE TEXTBOOK WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE Do you think that all units of the textbook correspond closely with the teaching curriculum prescribed by MOET? Yes Do you think that all units of the textbook correspond closely with the needs of the students? Yes What approach/ approaches to language learning are taken by the book? Communicative language teaching Learner – centered teaching Teacher – centered teaching Others: Is this appropriate to the learning and teaching situation? Yes II II THE SUITABILITY OF THE TEXTBOOK TO THE CONTENT PRESCRIBED BY MOET A TOPICS Which of the following topics are of the student‟s interests? (please tick the appropriate cell ID Topi A day in the life of … School talks People‟s background Special Education Technology and you 53 10 11 12 13 14 An excursion The mass media The story of my village Undersea world Conservation National parks Music The Pacific Rim The world cup 15 Cities 16 Historical places B WRITING SKILLS After learning this textbook the students are able to the following tasks: Writing a narrative Filling in a form Writing about people‟s background Writing a letter of complaint Writing a set of instruction Writing a confirmation letter Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media Writing an informal letter: giving directions Describing information from a table Writing a letter of invitation Writing a letter of acceptance or refusal Writing a profile Describing a film Writing an announcement Describing a city Describing a chart C SPEAKING SKILLS After learning this textbook the students are able to talk about the following issues: Talking about daily activities Talking about people‟s background Making an interview and reporting on results How to use modern inventions and new technology Expressing agreements and disagreements Asking about the uses of media Talking about plans and possible results Talking about favorite kinds of music D GRAMMAR How are new grammar items presented and practiced? Appropriate Your suggestions to improve: After learning this material the students are able to acquire the following language points Simple tenses Present perfect tense Past perfect tense Future perfect tense Future progressive Conditional sentence type Conditional sentence type Reported speech (change in tenses; reported questions) E VOCABULARY Do you think that after learning this textbook, the students are able to comprehend texts/materials relating to the topics they have learned of approximately? 150 words 250 words 10 Do you think that, after learning this textbook, the students are able to write paragraphs (of about 120 -150 words) of the topics they have learnt? Yes No 11 How can you give suggestions on the proportion of the macro skills in each unit? Macro skills Listening 55 Speaking Reading Writing 12 How can you give your judgments of each part of units in the textbook, and give suggestions for the improvement? Difficult Speaking Listening Reading Writing Language focus Test yourself 13 Can you give suggestions on each part of a unit Appropriate Delete Supplement Simplify Suggestions Speaking Listening Reading Writing Language focus Test yourself F THERELEVANCE OF THE “TEST YOURSELF” TO THE PREVIOUS UNIT 14 Is it necessary to have periodic review and test sections like the “Test yourself” in the textbook? Yes No If yes, please give your reason:………………………………………………… 15 What you think of the Structure of each “Test yourself”? Appropriate Inappropriate Your suggestions to improve it: ………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your cooperation! 56 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS th In an attempt to evaluate the textbook currently used for grade 10 students at Viet Duc Upper Secondary School, we would greatly appreciate if you could response to the questions below Your opinions would be very useful to evaluate the objectives, content, and methodology, practicality of Tieng Anh 10 textbook in accordance with teaching curriculum of MoET and the improvement of the textbook for the future use Thank you very much for your valuable contributions To answer the survey questions below, please tick as many boxes/cells as appropriate III THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE TEXTBOOK WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE 16 Do you think that all units of the textbook correspond closely with the teaching curriculum prescribed by MOET? Yes 17 Do you think that all units of the textbook correspond closely with the needs of the students? Yes 18 What approach/ approaches to language learning are taken by the book? The whole class work Pair work Small group work Individual work Student presentation Others: Is this appropriate to the learning and teaching situation? Yes IV II THE SUITABILITY OF THE TEXTBOOK TO THE CONTENT PRESCRIBED BY MOET A TOPICS 19 After learning this textbook the students are able to use the macro skills communicating in English about topics related (please tick the appropriate cells) 57 Topics A day in the life of … School talks People‟s background Special Education Technology and you An excursion The mass media The story of my village Undersea world Conservation National parks Music The Pacific Rim The world cup Cities Historical places B WRITING SKILLS 20 After learning this textbook the students are able to the following tasks: Writing a narrative Filling in a form Writing about people‟s background Writing a letter of complaint Writing a set of instruction Writing a confirmation letter Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media Writing an informal letter: giving directions Describing information from a table Writing a letter of invitation Writing a letter of acceptance or refusal 58 Writing a profile Describing a film Writing an announcement Describing a city Describing a chart C SPEAKING SKILLS 21 After learning this textbook the students are able to talk about the following issues: Talking about daily activities Talking about people‟s background Making an interview and reporting on results How to use modern inventions and new technology Expressing agreements and disagreements Asking about the uses of media Talking about plans and possible results Talking about favorite kinds of music D GRAMMAR 22 After learning this material the students are able to acquire the following language points Simple tenses Present perfect tense Past perfect tense Future perfect tense Future progressive Conditional sentence type Conditional sentence type Reported speech (change in tenses; reported questions) E VOCABULARY 23 Do you think that after learning this textbook, the students are able to comprehend texts/materials relating to the topics they have learned of approximately? 150 words 250 words 59 24 Do you think that, after learning this textbook, the students are able to write paragraphs (of about 120 -150 words) of the topics they have learnt? Yes No F THERELEVANCE OF THE “TEST YOURSELF” TO THE PREVIOUS UNIT 25 Is it necessary to have periodic review and test sections like the “Test yourself” in the textbook? Yes No If yes, please give your reason:………………………………………………… 26 How you improve the Structure of each “Test yourself”? Your suggestions to improve it: Thank you very much for your cooperation! 60 BẢN DỊCH PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT Ý KIẾN HỌC SINH Nhằm đánh giá chất lượ ng sách giáo khoa Tiế ng Anh 10 sử dụng Trường Trung học phổ thông Việt Đức, đề nghị em vui lòng trả lời câu hỏi Ý kiến em giúp ích cho việc đánh giá mục tiêu, nội dung, phương pháp tính thực tế sách Tiế ng Anh 10 cho phù hợp với chương trình B ộ Giáo dục Đào tạo việc nâng cao tính hiệu sách cho khóa học sau Cảm ơn đóng góp quý báu em Để trả lời câu hỏi vấn, xin vui long đánh dấu vào thích hợp V SỰ PHÙ HỢP CỦA CUỐN SÁCH VỚI MỤC TIÊU KHÓA HỌC 27 Bạn có thấy tất sách đáp ứng yêu cầu chương trình giảng dạy Bộ Giáo dục Đào tạo khơng? Có 28 Bạn có thấy tất sách đáp ứng nhu cầu học sinh khơng? Có 29 Các phương pháp giảng dạy áp dụng học sách Tiếng Anh 10 ? Làm việc lớp Làm việc nhóm Làm theo nhóm nhỏ Làm việc độc lập Học sinh thuyết trình Khác: Phương pháp phù hợp với mơi trường dạy học trường khơng ? Có VI.SỰ PHÙ HỢP CỦA CUỐN SÁCH VỚI NỘI DUNG YÊU CẦU CỦA BỘ A CHỦ ĐỀ 30 Sauk hi học sách em có khả sử dụng kỹ để giao tiếp tiếng Anh chủ điểm học không (Điền vào ô phù hợp) Chủ điểm A day in the life of … School talks People‟s background 61 Special Education Technology and you An excursion The mass media The story of my village Undersea world Conservation National parks Music The Pacific Rim The world cup Cities Historical places B KỸ NĂNG VIẾT 31 Sau học xong sách em có khả hoàn thành nhiệm vụ sau: Writing a narrative Filling in a form Writing about people‟s background Writing a letter of complaint Writing a set of instruction Writing a confirmation letter Writing about advantages and disadvantages of the mass media Writing an informal letter: giving directions Describing information from a table Writing a letter of invitation Writing a letter of acceptance or refusal Writing a profile Describing a film Writing an announcement Describing a city Describing a chart C.KỸ NĂNG NÓI 62 32 Sau học xong sách em có khả hồn thành nhiệm vụ sau: Talking about daily activities Talking about people‟s background Making an interview and reporting on results How to use modern inventions and new technology Expressing agreements and disagreements Asking about the uses of media Talking about plans and possible results Talking about favorite kinds of music D NGỮ PHÁP 33 Sau học xong sách em có khả hoàn thành nhiệm vụ sau: Simple tenses Present perfect tense Past perfect tense Future perfect tense Future progressive Conditional sentence type Conditional sentence type Reported speech (change in tenses; reported questions) E TỪ VỰNG 34 Sau học xong sách em có khả đọc hiểu bài/ tài liệu liên quan đến chủ đề học với khoảng? 150 từ 250 từ 35 Sau học xong sách này, em viết đoạn văn (khoảng 120 -150 từ) chủ đề học? Có Khơng 63 F SỰ PHÙ HỢP CỦA PHẦN “TEST YOURSELF” VỚI CÁC PHẦN TRƯỚC 36 Theo em có cần thiết phải có phần ơn tậm kiểm tra “Test yourself” sách khơng? Có Khơng Nếu có, xin nêu lý do:………………………………………………… 37 Em muốn thay đổi cấu trúc phần “Test yourself”? ………………………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn đóng góp em nhiều! ... collect data for the study because the purpose of this study is to evaluate and adapt the English 10 textbook for students at Viet Duc US School The evaluator is also a teacher who has used the materials... adaptation that need to be taken into account The discussion implies that issues such as what adaption is, why to adapt, how to adapt, who are participants and other issues of material adaptation...2 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES LƯU THỊ THÚY ADAPTING ENGLISH 10 TEXTBOOK FOR STUDENTS AT VIET DUC UPPER