VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ DUNG AN EVALUATION OF “FAMILY AND FRIENDS 3”, AN ENGLISH (NGHIÊN CỨU ĐÁNH GIÁ GIÁO TRÌNH “FAMILY AND FRIEND 3” DÙNG CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC TẠI VIỆT NAM) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2016 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ DUNG AN EVALUATION OF “FAMILY AND FRIENDS 3”, AN ENGLISH (NGHIÊN CỨU ĐÁNH GIÁ GIÁO TRÌNH “FAMILY AND FRIEND 3” DÙNG CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC TẠI VIỆT NAM) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code: : 60140111 Supervisor : Dr. ĐỗTuấn Minh HANOI - 2016 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authority of the thesis submitted entitled: An evaluation of “Family and Friends 3”, an English textbook used for primary school students in Viet Nam In fulfillment of the requirements for thesis and field study report in Master program issued by the Post Graduate Committee Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the text of the thesis.
Hanoi - 2016 Lê Thị Dung i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply thankful to many people without whose help the present thesis could not have been completed. First and foremost, I would like to express my deep indebtedness to my supervisor Dr. Do Tuan Minh – the vice president of University of Languages and International Studies, Viet Nam National University Hanoi for his invaluable guidance and endless support. His useful advices, comments and corrections help me complete my thesis.
My sincere gratitude are due to Assoc. Le Van Canh and Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan for their kindness and generosity in providing suggestions, and helpful advice. My thanks are also extended to all my lecturers at Department of Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU who gave me meaningful lessons and valuable knowledge; from which I know how to conduct my study.
I sincerely thank the whole group of primary school teachers in Hanoi by whom meaningful data for my thesis was collected. Last but not least, I owe the completion of this dissertation to my family, my colleagues and friends who have always given me motivation and encouragement to carry on my thesis. i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT There is no doubt that materials play an important role in language teaching and learning. However, no textbook is perfect in a particular teaching situation since there is an mixture of components affecting it such as the aims of the course, students‟ interest or students‟ ability.
Therefore, materials evaluation is essential in deciding which textbook should be chosen before applying it to any course. This thesis was carried on to evaluate a material which has been in use for primary school students in Vietnam. Although it has been in use for a long time as a popular textbook, there is no research checking whether teachers satisfy with it as well as its appropriateness to the teaching situation in Vietnam in term of both appearance and content. In order to fulfill the objectives of the study, the researcher found prior studies at the same field to find out different opinions of researchers about textbook evaluation and adaption.
Then she analyzed the material using the “English textbook evaluation criteria for the school system in Viet Nam” accompanying circular 31/2015/TT-BGDĐT, complied by a group of authors. Finally, the researcher conducted a survey on primary school teachers in Hanoi to find how much they satisfy with the material in term of its appearance, methodology, content and skills as well as its user support. The result of this survey was compared with the document analysis to answer the research question. Some suggestions for adaptations were also given to make the material become more suitable with the teaching situation of Vietnam.
The findings exhibited that Family and Friends 3 is not against Vietnamese culture and tradition. It is not against Vietnamese rules or contain any prejudices. The layout and design of this textbook are highly appreciated. In addition, textbook user support is also one of strong points of FF3 since it provides very helpful supplementary materials for both teachers and students.
Besides, in general, its content and skills get quite good comments from teachers. However, due to ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com teachers‟ opinions, FF3 remains some drawbacks. Firstly, as a commercial textbook, FF can not directly promote patriotism, nationalism or political security of Vietnam. In addition, sometimes students are not given sufficient tasks to practice skills.
It needs updating more new and interesting topics for students too. To deal with those drawbacks, some adaptation techniques such as adding, re-ordering, simplifying or deleting are suggested for better use of this material in the future. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VNU: Vietnam National University FF 3: Family and Friends 3 ELT: English Language Teaching PSSs: Primary School Students iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Teachers‟ opinions on the appropriateness of the textbook to the prerequisite criteria in the checklist .32 Table 2: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of design .33 Table 3: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of organization .34 Table 4: The suitability of the material to the requirement of the checklist in term of objectives and Teaching Principles .35 Table 5: The suitability of the material to the requirement of the checklist in term of methodology .1: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of general content .2: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of general content .38 Table 7: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of listening skill .39 Table 8: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of speaking skill .40 Table 9: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of reading skill .41 Table 10: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of writing skill .41 Table 11: Teacher survey result on the match of textbook to the requirement of the checklist in term of textbook user support .43 Figure1: Teachers' opinion on vocabulary in FF 3 .42 Figure 2: Teachers' opinions on grammar practice in FF3 .42 Figure 3: Teachers' opinions on pronunciation practice in FF3 .42 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi PART A: INTRODUCTION. Background to the study and the statement of problem. The English program for primary students in Vietnam.
The English textbook “Family and Friends 3”. Statement of problem. Aims of the study. Scope of the study.
Significance of the study. Overview of the study. Materials in language teaching and learning. What are materials?.
Role of materials. Definition of materials evaluation. Reasons for evaluating materials. Types of material evaluation.
The procedure of material evaluation .11 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Criteria for materials evaluation. Definition of materials adaptation. Reasons for adapting materials.
Kinds of materials adaptation. Techniques for adaptation .17 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY. Questionnaires for teachers. Data collection procedure.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.2 Cultural and social factors .3 Design and organization. Objectives and methodology. Content and skills. Textbook user supports .30 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.1 The suitability of the material to the requirement of the checklist in term of some prerequisite criteria.
The suitability of the material to the requirement of the checklist in term of design and organization. The suitability of the material to the requirement of the checklist in term of objectives and methodology. The suitability of the material to the requirement of the checklist in term of content and skills. The suitability of the material to the requirement of the checklist in term of textbook user supports.
V viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Background to the study and the statement of problem 1. Theoretical background There is no doubt that textbooks play as an important component in most language programs. The vital role of textbook has been mentioned by many authors.
For learners, they serve as the foundation for much of the language input learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom. In some situations, the textbook may serve to supplement the teacher‟s instruction. For teachers, they act as curriculum models to follow. They give ideas about what to teach and guide them how to plan for the lessons.
Therefore, Sheldon (1988) said that textbook is considered as the visible heart of any ELT program and its roles in teaching and studying process are undeniable. However, “No course book will totally be suited to a particular teaching situation. The teacher will have to find his own way of using it and adapting it if necessary. In their book “Materials and Methods in ELT” (1993), McDonough and Shaw also give a list of reasons for evaluating and adapting materials: methodology, students, course objectives, the target language and its context.
According to Sheldon (1988), the selection of a particular book is an executive educational decision in which professional, financial and even political investment should be considered. Evaluation textbook forms professional judgments which helps schools have reliable base in choosing a textbook for a particular purpose. The English program for primary students in Vietnam Since English becomes an important international language, it has got much concern of Vietnamese government, educators and students. The Prime Minister‟s decision No.
1400 about the National Foreign Languages Project entitled “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, period 2008- 2020” set a goal that: 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com “by the year of 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 integrated and multi-cultural environment”. Due to this decision, in Vietnamese education system, English is compulsory for students at the beginning of grade 3. However, currently in Vietnam, except some mountainous areas, English is introduced to students from grade 1 and continuously taught to grade 12 as one of main subjects.
To implement this decision, during the period of time from 2008 to 2020, a new curriculum with new textbooks has been made and applied to school system in Viet Nam. However, for primary schools, there still exist some different textbooks like “Let’s learn”, “Let’s go”, “Tieng Anh” or “Family and Friends” and schools can optionally choose one of them. Among these textbooks, “Family and Friends” by Oxford University Press is favored in many schools. The English textbook “Family and Friends 3” Family and Friends is written by Tamzin Tompson and Naomi Simmons, published in London by Oxford University Press.
It includes six series of books (FF1, FF2, FF3, FF4, FF5 and FF6) for grade 1 to grade 6 in which, FF 3 is expected to use for grade 3 students.FF3 Class book is used for teachers and students in teaching and learning at class.