MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY ------------ NGUYEN THI HA LINH AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ USE OF THE SET OF NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS TIENG ANH 11 AS RESOURCES FOR ACHIEVEMENT TESTS AT SOME UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN QUANG TRI PROVINCE 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, 2020 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY ------------ NGUYEN THI HA LINH AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ USE OF THE SET OF NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS TIENG ANH 11 AS RESOURCES FOR ACHIEVEMENT TESTS AT SOME UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN QUANG TRI PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: TRUONG BACH LE, D. HUE, 2020 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ LINH NGHIÊN CỨU GIÁO VIÊN SỬ DỤNG BỘ SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH 11 MỚI NHƯ NGUỒN TƯ LIỆU CHO KIỂM TRA ĐỊNH KỲ Ở MỘT SỐ TRƯỜNG THPT Ở TỈNH QUẢNG TRỊ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRƯƠNG BẠCH LÊ HUẾ, 2020 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no materials previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
Signed: Nguyễn Thị Hà Linh Date: 18/ 12/ 2020 i ABSTRACT The purposes of this study are to investigate Vietnamese upper secondary school teachers‟ use of the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 including two student‟s books Tieng Anh 11 and the accompanying components- two workbooks, two accompanying CDs, and two teacher‟s books as resources for achievement tests. To carry out this research, both qualitative and quantitative approaches including questionnaire and interviews were used to collect the data from research participants at some upper secondary schools in Quang Tri Province. The findings of the study showed the teachers‟ practices in using the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 for achievement tests. They reported adapting the exercises and activities, following the teaching procedures, and referring to the book maps in the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 to organize revision, design one-period tests and semester exams.
Furthermore, using the accompanying workbooks to revise what students learned accounted for the highest rate. Besides, the teachers reported the benefits of using this set of materials in different ways as resource for achievement tests, i., a syllabus to determine the content of the tests and to develop the matrix frame, supply of exercises in English language knowledge (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) and four skills to revise and design the achievement tests. Some main challenges of the upper-secondary school teachers in using this set are also uncovered through the results. The teachers mostly have difficulties in finding the relevant materials matching the prescribed test formats as well as the required language competence in the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11, lacking the instructions in the teacher‟s books for teachers to revise and design the achievement tests.
From the research findings, some implications were suggested for teachers‟ flexibility in their teaching and test preparation processes, and for improving the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A complete study would not have been completed without assistance. Therefore, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to people supporting and helping me during the research. Firstly, I am deeply grateful to my supervisor – Dr.
Truong Bach Le for giving me valuable guidance, sincere advice, and enthusiastic support in my entire research process. Without his instructions and comments, I would not have overcome difficulties to accomplish this thesis. Secondly, I would like to extend my thanks to University of Foreign Languages, Hue University for facilitating for me to finish this study. Lastly, I also cordially thank the teachers at the upper secondary schools in Quang Tri Province who participated in the data collection process.
Finally, my special thanks to my family and friends who always helped, encouraged, and motivated me to continue this research. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of original authorship. iii Table of contents. iv List of tables.
vii List of abbreviations. viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Background of the study. Rationale of the study .5 Significance of the study .6 Scope of the study .7 Structure of the study.
5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 Textbooks in language teaching and testing .1 Definition of textbooks and the set of textbooks .2 Textbooks as resources .3 The role of textbooks in teaching and testing .4 The disadvantages of using textbooks .5 An overview of the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 .1 Basic concepts of test and testing .2 Types of tests. Progress achievement tests. Final achievement tests. The role of achievement tests.
An overview of achievement tests at upper-secondary schools in Vietnam .3 The role of testing in teaching and learning .4 The connection between textbooks and testing .4 Data collection instruments .5 Data collection procedure .7 Research validity and reliability. 31 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .1 Results of the study .1 How teachers use the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 as resources for achievement tests .1 Teachers‟ adopting the teaching procedure, activities in the books .3 Teachers‟ use and adaptation of exercises and activities in the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 .4 Teachers‟ designing practice exercises and test items for achievement tests .2 The benefits teachers had in using the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 as resources for achievement tests.2 The benefits of the contents and unit sections .3 The benefits of contents provided in the components of Tieng Anh 11 .3 The difficulties/ challenges teachers had in using the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 as resources for achievement tests. The content load. The lack of test formats and scoring criteria in the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11.
The difficulties in finding extra materials relevant to the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 .1 Teachers‟ use the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 for achievement tests .2 The benefits teachers encountered in using the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 for achievement tests .3 The difficulties teachers faced in using the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 for achievement tests. 48 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .1 Summary of findings .1 Teachers‟ use the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 as resources for achievement tests .2 The benefits teachers have in using the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 as resources for achievement tests .3 The challenges teachers have in using the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11 as resources for achievement tests .1 Implications for teachers .2 Implications for textbook writers.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies .2 Suggestions for further studies. 1 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3. Demographic characteristics of the respondents to the questionnaire for teachers.
Themes, subthemes and items in the teachers' questionnaire25 Table 3. Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient of the pilot questionnaire. The criteria to measure the reliability coefficient via Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient. Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient of three main clusters to evaluate the reliability of questionnaire.
Teachers‟ adopting the teaching procedure, activities in the books. Teachers‟ reference to the topics of the units to find relevant materials. Teachers‟ use and adaptation of exercises and activities. Teachers‟ designing practice exercises and test items for achievement tests.
The benefits of the syllabus in the set of new English textbooks Tieng Anh 11. The benefits of contents and unit sections. The benefits of contents provided in components of Tieng Anh 11. The content load.
The lack of test formats and scoring criteria. The difficulties in finding extra relevant materials. 43 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BC: British Council EAT: English achievement tests EFL: English as a foreign language ESL: English as a Second Language ETS: Educational Testing Service HKCEE: Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination IDP: International Development Program IELTS: International English Language Testing System MOET: Ministry of Education and Training SBA: School based-assessment SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Science TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language TOEIC: Test of English for International Communication B1: Intermediate level PET: Preliminary English test viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter indicates the background and rationale of this study, the research aims, research questions, research scope, and structure of the thesis. Background of the study English is considered as the most popular tool of communication in the world today.
It connects people around the world together, pointing out that everyone needs to learn English together with their mother tongue. In Vietnam, English has been an important subject taught from primary school to university. In upper secondary school, English is one of the 6 subjects included in the graduation exam. Moreover, according to chapter VIII of circular no.
04/2017/BGDĐT, if the candidates have one of the certificates prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), they will be exempted from the English language test in the graduation exam at the upper- secondary school. For examples, students have an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score from 4.0 or a number of other qualified certificates are issued by international education institutions such as British Council (BC), International Development Program (IDP), or Educational Testing Service (ETS), they will be exempted from the English exam and IELTS or TOEFL scores were converted equivalently to students‟ English tests score (Appendix G). In addition, each course or grade at the upper-secondary schools has been following an English textbook or a set of English textbooks as a part of the syllabus. Therefore, textbooks play an essential role in learning and teaching.
Richards (2005) states that textbooks are the core element of most language programs. They supply the subject matter, skills, knowledge, and syllabus to teach and prepare students in testing or examination. The materials accompanying the textbooks also help teachers to follow and refer to during the learning and teaching process. Besides, textbooks provide teachers with a basis for evaluating students‟ learning process through available exercises or tests in these textbooks.
Seldon (1998) asserts that the selection of an English as a foreign language textbooks is often a sign of an important educational decision. At the same time, how to use textbooks effectively in a course concerns by many teachers. In recent years, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has introduced the sets of new English textbooks taught at a number of upper secondary schools in Vietnam. These sets of materials have made changes in teaching and learning activities with new methods.
As a 1 guidebook and resource, they can also bring ideas and materials for the teaching and learning process as well as the testing and assessment for teachers. Up to now, the teaching and learning processes have been accompanied with testing and assessment. There are different tests depending on different purposes such as those to identify the learners‟ strengths and weaknesses, test to measure their ability in language, to place them at the correct stage of courses or grades, and to determine whether students acquire the knowledge learned in the course or not. Furthermore, the textbooks and tests are closely linked because textbooks provide content and knowledge for teachers in testing and the washback of tests also impact on textbook development.
Although some limitations exist in using textbooks in teaching and testing, teachers can benefit they know how to use them reasonably.