MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI THANH LOAN EXPLORING THE PILOT USE OF THE TEXTBOOK “LIFE ELEMENTARY” FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS IN HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI THANH LOAN EXPLORING THE PILOT USE OF THE TEXTBOOK “LIFE ELEMENTARY” FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS IN HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: TRUONG BACH LE, Ed. HUE, 2017 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ NGUYỄN THỊ THANH LOAN KHẢO SÁT VIỆC SỬ DỤNG THÍ ĐIỂM SÁCH GIÁO KHOA “LIFE ELEMENTARY” CHO SINH VIÊN NGOẠI NGỮ KHÔNG CHUYÊN TẠI ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SỸ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN: TS. TRƯƠNG BẠCH LÊ HUẾ, 2017 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP The thesis entitled “Exploring the Pilot Use of the Textbook Life Elementary for Non-English Major Students in Hue University” was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Truong Bach Le, at Department of English, Hue University of Foreign Languages.
I hereby declare that the information reported in the present thesis is the result of my own work, except where due reference or citation is made. The current thesis has not been accepted for any degree or diploma. Supervisor Researcher Truong Bach Le, Ed. Nguyen Thi Thanh Loan Hue, 2017 i ABSTRACT The purposes of this research were to investigate the perceptions and practice of using the pilot textbook Life Elementary for non- English major students in Hue University, as well as some difficulties and suggestions to utilize the textbook.
The participants of the study were 20 teachers and 100 students randomly chosen from those who were teaching and taking General English courses at Department of English for Specific Purposes, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University. A multi-method approach combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed to collect the data to answer the research questions. The approach was obtained by means of triangulation which consisted of questionnaires, interviews and class observation. The findings indicated that most of HU teachers and students have positive perceptions towards the role of the pilot textbook Life Elementary apart from a few minor negative aspects.
The findings of the study implied that to some extent, Life Elementary was exploited both inside and outside classrooms by the users. Regarding in-class use of the textbook, the study reveals that teachers have made an attempt to adapt the pilot textbook in order to suit their own context of teaching. Meanwhile, the majority of students show their positive attitude towards the in-class use of the new course book. Nevertheless, it is also revealed that Life users are facing a number of difficulties including1ack of exercises compatible with the exam format adapted at the university, time constraint, heavy content load of the syllabus, students‟ poor English proficiency, large classes, price of the book, and other factors.
Finally, some suggestions were thus made in order to better the practice of using Life Elementary. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Truong Bach Le, at Department of English, Hue University of Foreign Languages, for his enthusiastic support, expert guidance, and kindness throughout the development of the study. Without his continuous assistance and great encouragement, I could never have completed my thesis.
Second, I am also very much thankful to Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Chau who is a special friend of mine and a teacher at Thua Thien Hue Center for Information and Technology for her valuable instructions on the use of SPSS and other technical support. My sincere thanks go to my intimate friend and colleague as well, Ms. Nguyen Le Ngan Chinh for her proofreading and constructive feedback on previous drafts of the thesis.
Third, I wish to specially thank the teachers and students at Department of English for Specific Purposes, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University, who participated in this study for their willingness to spend their time answering my questionnaires and interviews, and give me a chance to observe their classes. Fourth, I am grateful to the Board of Administrators of University of Foreign Languages, Hue University as well as my colleagues who facilitated me for taking this MA course and conducting my MA thesis during my working time. Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my beloved husband and dear, little daughter for their endless love, encouragement and great inspiration by which I was motivated to finish this study. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP.
iii LIST OF CHARTS. vii LIST OF FIGURES. ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 An overview of textbooks .2 Roles of textbooks .1 Positive roles of textbooks .1 Negative roles of textbooks.2 Exploring the use of EFL textbooks .1 Selection versus evaluation .2 Role of textbook selection .3 Process of textbook selection .1 Role of textbook adaptation .2 Techniques for textbook adaptation .1 Definitions of textbook evaluation .2 Role of textbook evaluation .3 Approaches and criteria for textbook evaluation .3 Review of previous studies .4 Review of the textbook Life Elementary.2 Research Design and Approach .4 Instruments of Data Collection .5 Data Collection Procedure .1 Administering the questionnaire .6 Data Analysis Methods .32 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .1 Reliability of the research .2 Participants‟ perceptions of the use of the pilot textbook Life Elementary .1 Teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of the role of the pilot textbook Life Elementary .2 The overall evaluation on the pilot textbook Life Elementary .3 The pilot use of the textbook Life Elementary .1 Preparation for the pilot use of the textbook Life Elementary .1 Reasons for using the textbook Life Elementary .2 Teachers and students‟ preparation for the pilot use of the textbook Life Elementary .2 The use of the textbook Life Elementary inside and outside classroom .1 The use of the textbook Life Elementary inside classroom .2 The use of the textbook Life Elementary outside classroom .3 The difficulties in using the textbook Life Elementary .1 Lack of exercises compatible with exam format .3 Heavy content load of the syllabus .4 Students‟ poor English proficiency .6 Price of the book .4 Suggestions to improve the use of the textbook Life Elementary .58 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS .1 Summary of the key findings. Implications for teachers.
Implications for students. Implications for administrators. Limitations and suggestions for further research .63 vi LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.1: Teachers‟ evaluation on the pilot textbook Life Elementary .2: Students‟ evaluation on the pilot textbook Life Elementary .3: Reasons why students learned Life Elementary .4: Students‟ in-class use of the pilot textbook .5: Teachers‟ responses to out-class use of the pilot textbook Life Elementary 46 Chart 4.6: Students‟ responses to out-class use of the pilot textbook Life Elementary 48 Chart 4.7: Lack of exam-centeredness as a difficulty in using the textbook .8: Teachers‟ perceptions of some suggestions given in the questionnaire .9: Students‟ perceptions of the suggestions given in the questionnaire. 57 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Demographic characteristics of the respondents to the questionnaire for teachers .2 Demographic characteristics of the respondents to the questionnaire for students .3: Groups of items in questionnaires .4: Summary of the samples of the classroom observation .1: Reliability of the questionnaires .2: The mean scores of the participants‟ perceptions towards the role of Life Elementary .3: Percentages of teachers and students‟ attitudes towards the textbook‟s role on teachers .4: Percentages of teachers and students‟ attitudes towards the textbook‟s role on learners .5: The mean scores of the participants‟ evaluation on Life Elementary .6: The mean scores of the reasons why teachers taught Life Elementary.7: The mean scores of participants‟ preparation for the pilot use of the textbook Life Elementary .8: The mean scores of teachers‟ textbook adaptation .9: Time constraint and the use of the textbook Life Elementary .10: Heavy content load as a difficulty of the pilot textbook .52 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1: Concurrent Triangulation Strategy (Source: Creswell, 2003) .31 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter begins with the background that motivated the research.
Besides, it describes the research rationale, research aims, research questions as well as the scope of the research. Finally, the organization of the study is also included in the chapter. Research background It is undeniable that the need of learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) has been increasingly urgent for the last few decades due to the globalization and international integration. In Vietnam, therefore, English has been recognized a part of curricular from elementary schools to tertiary level of education.
An English lesson is a process which involves an interaction among 3 primary elements: the teacher, the textbook, and the student (Allwrights, 1981). In favor of the textbook role, Hutchinson and Torres (1994) argue that a course book can serve as a tool for supporting teachers and as an instrument of modifications and alterations. It is also widely accepted that course books are valuable aids offering useful material and support to teachers. In other words, course books reinforce the teacher‟s work and offer material for further learning and revision.
Meanwhile, from learners‟ perspectives, textbooks guide them towards the hard process of learning. In brief, a course book provides teachers and learners with a structure of teaching and learning, methodological support and opportunities for revision and preparation (McGrath, 2002). Moreover, it gives teachers a relief as it reduces the heavy load of preparation, saves time and eases teaching and learning process. According to the National Foreign Language Project 2020 launched by Ministry of Education and Training in 2008, by the year 2020, every student will have reached a certain level of English proficiency as a compulsory requirement for graduation.
It is obvious that students‟ communicative competence has been paid 1 great attention to be well-developed together with their language knowledge. In light of the Project 2020, a new set of textbooks is designed with focus on communication in contrary with linguistic form for schools. In colleges and universities, however, the choice of course books, which is dependent on the curriculum, alters from place to place. Since “a textbook is an important means of satisfying the rage of needs that emerge from the classroom” (Hutchinson & Torres, 1994, p.
327), it is essential to make a careful choice to meet the need of new teaching approach. Research rationale From my own teaching experience at Department of English for Specific Purposes (Department of ESP), Hue University of of Foreign Languages (HUFL), there are two sets of course books which are currently used to teach General English (GE) courses of three levels A1, A2 and B1 for non-English major students in Hue University (HU). First-year students have to take a placement test at the beginning of the course so that they will be classified into different groups with corresponding levels of English proficiency. Most of them will use English Elements as an official set of course books while a few groups of selected students who have passed the placement test with high score and desire to take a piloted learning program will have a chance to study with the other set of course books- Life.
Despite the fact that the textbooks Life are simultaneously used as a pilot set of course books, beside an official one, for HU non-majors, to the researcher‟s best knowledge, little research has been carried out to analyze the suitability of the design and nature of the pilot set of course books under perceptions of HU teachers and students and how the books are used in practice.