VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE ---------- DO THI TO NGA CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS “TIẾNG ANH 3”, “TIẾNG ANH 4”, “TIẾNG ANH 5”. A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION ĐÁNH GIÁ BƯỚC ĐẦU CÁC YẾU TỐ VĂN HOÁ TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA “TIẾNG ANH 3”, “TIẾNG ANH 4”, “TIẾNG ANH 5” M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English linguistics Code: 60220201 HA NOI, 2015 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE ---------- DO THI TO NGA CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS “TIẾNG ANH 3”, “TIẾNG ANH 4”, “TIẾNG ANH 5”. A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION ĐÁNH GIÁ BƯỚC ĐẦU CÁC YẾU TỐ VĂN HOÁ TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA “TIẾNG ANH 3”, “TIẾNG ANH 4”, “TIẾNG ANH 5” M.
MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Assoc. Nguyen Van Do HA NOI, 2015 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby state that I, Do Thi To Nga, being a candidate for the Degree of Master of Arts, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of M.A Thesis deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the thesis. Hanoi, July 2015 i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Assoc.
Nguyen Van Do, my supervisor, for thorough reading, critical comments, invaluable suggestions, various sources of reference and precious corrections on my writing. Furthermore, I am grateful to his close guidance and generous help, which have been great encouragement to me during the process of writing up the thesis. I, hereby, would like to express my sincere thanks to lecturers of Faculty of Post Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies of Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting lessons and suggestions, which aroused the thesis for this study to be realized. My appreciation is also extended to the authors of English primary textbooks Tiếng Anh 3, Tiếng Anh 4, Tiếng Anh 5 for their assistance in data analysis.
Finally, I would like to thank my family, especially my parents and my husband for their constant source of love, support and encouragement in times of difficulty and frustration. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT The study on ―Cultural elements in English textbooks “Tiếng Anh 3”, “Tiếng Anh 4”, “Tiếng Anh 5”. A preliminary evaluation‖ is a Minor Programme Master thesis. It is aimed at examining the cultural elements presented in the textbooks Tiếng Anh 3, Tiếng Anh 4, Tiếng Anh 5 and suggesting some hints to improve it in the future.
Based on quantitative methods, the study gives a brief account of how culture is treated according to the modified checklists designed by two groups of authors Adaskou, Britten and Fahsi and Cortazzi and Jin, Hirsch et al. The main findings reveal that both local and non-local cultural references are presented in the textbooks and among the four cultural dimensions disseminated in the textbooks, sociological sense is the most dominant dimension. From the findings, some suggestions are given with the hope that they might be a reliable source of reference for English teachers and English textbook authors to have general view about how cultural element is presented in the English primary textbooks and provide some hints on how to improve it in the future. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Part A.
Aims of the study. Methods of the study. Scope of the study. Design of the study.
Definition of culture. Culture and foreign language learning. Textbook and its role in foreign language teaching. Classification of cultural contents in foreign language textbooks.
Checklist for evaluating the cultural elements in foreign language textbooks. Material used for analysis. Procedures of conducting the study. Method of the study.
22 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Findings and Discussion. Data analysis of the presence of local and non-local cultural reference disseminated in the textbooks. Data analysis of cultural dimensions presented in the textbooks.
The occurrences of local culture reference. The occurrences of non-local culture reference. Some suggestions to improve the cultural contents in English textbooks. Summary of main findings.
Limitation of the study and suggestions for further research. v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The distribution of cultural items with Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese culture reference in dialogues and reading passages. 24 Table 2: Frequency of Local Culture Distinctive Occurrences in the textbooks. 26 Table 3: Frequency of Non-Local Culture Distinctive Occurrences in the textbooks.29 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
RATIONALE In this 21st century, when the world has become ―flat‖ and closely integrated, effective communication seems to be one of the crucial concerns. In order to communicate well and successfully, people need to understand not only each other‘s language, but also each other‘s culture. This can open the door to better international understanding and ensure successful relations. Language and culture are indivisible elements in the field of language teaching.
According to Peck (2012), ―language learning should be more than the manipulation of syntax and lexicon‖. It means that just learning four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) may not lead to the proper understanding of the hidden meanings of a language. Thanasoulas (2001) also confirms that ―teaching a foreign language is not tantamount to giving a homily on syntactic structures or learning new vocabulary and expressions, but mainly incorporates or should incorporate, some cultural elements which are intertwined with language itself.‖ Inevitably, the role of textbooks in English Language Teaching cannot be underestimated and cannot be separated from language learning in classroom. They are considered the key component in most TEFL programs, which is essential for both teachers and learners (Tok, 2010).
It is the visible heart of any English Language program (Sheldon 1988). McGrath (2002) also states that a textbook is like oil in cooking, it is a useful base ingredient. Cortazzi and Jin (1999) confirm that: A textbook can be a teacher, a map, a resource, a trainer, an authority, a de-skiller and an ideology. Hence textbook can be a major source of cultural elements beside providing linguistic and topical contents ….
1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com In accordance with the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project, on 12 August 2010, Ministry of Education and Training issued Decision No 3321/QĐ- BGDĐT on the Promulgation of the Pilot English Curriculum for Elementary, and one of its objectives is providing a basic knowledge of English-speaking countries, their peoples and cultures; as well as fostering pupils‘ love and respect of their own language and culture. Hence, it can be seen clearly that the English syllabus explicitly emphasizes the development of pupils‘ cross-cultural awareness right at the beginning of learning English. It may be supposed that, in foreign language textbooks used in primary schools, whether the teaching of culture is implicit or explicit, cultural aspects of textbook content as well as the improvement of pupils‘ cultural awareness should be given adequate attention. Since 2011, the Vietnam Education Publishing House, in line with the Decision No 3321/QĐ-BGDĐT, has introduced a new set of English textbooks for primary students which provides a good opportunity to include cultural content into the teaching syllabus, and thus enriching pupils‘ cultural knowledge along with developing their four language skills.
AIMS OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the cultural elements in three English textbooks Tiếng Anh 3, Tiếng Anh 4, Tiếng Anh 5 used at primary school level in Vietnam, compiled by Hoang Van Van et al., published by Vietnam Education Publishing House. This study is hoped to assist teachers, educators and English textbook authors to have general view about how cultural element is presented in English primary textbooks and provide some hints on how to improve it in the future. RESEARCH QUESTIONS The concept of ―cultural analysis and evaluation‖ may not attain a unique understanding and differ in different studies according to different researchers. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com In this study, the cultural analysis of the textbook is supposed to answer the following questions: Research question 1: Are both local culture and non-local culture disseminated in the English primary textbooks Tiếng Anh 3, Tiếng Anh 4, Tiếng Anh 5? Which is the most prominent culture presented in the textbooks? Research question 2: What is the most prominent cultural dimension presented in the textbooks? How is culture disseminated in the textbooks? 4.
METHODS OF THE STUDY In this study, quantitative method is much resorted to. To collect data for analysis and evaluate, two checklists focusing on the kinds of cultural categories are designed. The collected data is be analyzed using comparing and contrasting techniques to find out the quantitative account of references to different cultural categories in the textbooks. SCOPE OF THE STUDY In Vietnam, there exist two official sets of English textbooks for primary level compiled by Vietnamese authors.
They are Let’s learn English 1, Let’s learn English 2, Let’s learn English 3 and Tiếng Anh 3, Tiếng Anh 4, Tiếng Anh 5. The initial set was first published about 10 years ago and the latter has just been developed in line with the Project 2020 since 2011. In this study, I just focus on the contents in the second set. The study just makes an attempt to conduct a preliminary evaluation about cultural elements in the primary English textbooks.
It is believed that a good cultural evaluation of a textbook can be made only when the goal of cultural instructions is clearly stated in the syllabus. In the national primary school English syllabus there are no appropriate guidelines for cultural instructions although the stress on pupils‘ cross-cultural awareness is emphasized. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. DESIGN OF THE STUDY The study is composed of three parts: Part I: Introduction: presents the rationale, aims, scope, research question, and methodology of the study Part II: Development: This part consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: Literature review: - Literature review: discusses the notions of cultures, the relationship between culture and language learning, the classification of cultural elements in foreign language textbooks and checklists for evaluating the cultural elements in foreign language textbooks.
Chapter 2: Methodology: This chapter states the chosen methods to carry out the study and to analyze the collected data. It also deals with informants and procedures of the data collection. Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion: This chapter analyses collected data to find out different cultural elements in the textbooks. Then, a preliminary evaluation is made based on the results from three research questions.
Part III: Conclusion: This part summarizes the main findings of the study and offers suggestions for further research. 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Definition of culture Culture has a lot of definitions. According to Vietnamese Encyclopedia, there are about 400 definitions of culture.
Generally, culture is a very broad term that is difficult to define. Duranti (1997) says that culture is such a complex notion that it may be neither possible nor desirable to arrive at an all encompassing definition of it. It means different to different people. From an aesthetic point of view one can say that culture includes art, canonized literature and objects with a strong historical value.
Viewed from an anthropological point of view culture includes everything that has to do with a group of people such as language, clothes, values, beliefs, behavior, norms, attitudes etc.