VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ THU HÀ AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON TEACHERS’ USE OF THE TEXTBOOK TIENG ANH THI DIEM 10 IN THE CLASSROOM AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG NINH NGHIÊN CỨU THĂM DÒ VỀ VIỆC GIÁO VIÊN SỬ DỤNG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH THÍ ĐIỂM 10 TRONG LỚP HỌC TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG THPT Ở QUẢNG NINH M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD:ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 8140231.01 HANOI – 2018 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ THU HÀ AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON TEACHERS’ USE OF THE TEXTBOOK TIENG ANH THI DIEM 10 IN THE CLASSROOM AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG NINH NGHIÊN CỨU THĂM DÒ VỀ VIỆC GIÁO VIÊN SỬ DỤNG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH THÍ ĐIỂM 10 TRONG LỚP HỌC TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG THPT Ở QUẢNG NINH M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD:ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 8140231.01 SUPERVISOR: ASSOC.PROF DR LÊ VĂN CANH HANOI – 2018 CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT I certificate that this combined thesis entitled “An exploratory study on teachers’ use of the textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 in the classroom at a high school in Quang Ninh” is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts is the result of my own work, except where otherwise acknowledge and that this combined thesis or any part of the same has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other universities or institutions Signature TRẦN THỊ THU HÀ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this study would not have been possible without the assistance of special and wonderful people First of all, I would like to acknowledge my indebtedness and gratitude to Mr Le Van Canh, for his unfailing encouragement, constant support and supervision during all stages of the study His enthusiastic assistance, guidance, support, and his wisdom greatly contributed to the fulfillment of my thesis I would also like to thank my supervisor for his patience in reading and editing my draft It must be an excruciating experience I am also indebted to all my friends in the Master Course whose constructive ideas, assistance and advice helped me much during various stages of learning and my M.A study Many thanks to my colleagues at Ha Long gifted high school for their support and encouragement for my survey research and all the time I this graduation paper Last but not least, I wish to express my acknowledgment to my husband, my parents for their invaluable contribution which indirectly contributed to the completion of this thesis To all these people I only hope that the achievement of my thesis will be favorable enough to satisfy their expectations ii ABSTRACT Innovation in ELT tends to be materialized through the introduction of new materials, textbooks, teaching methods, and teacher education programs There is a taken-for-granted view that the introduction of the new textbook which claims to be based on the findings of current theory and research results in the improvement of teaching Despite the fact that textbooks can influence the quality of classroom teaching and learning, there has been relatively little research in ELT on how teachers use the textbook inside the classroom Through interviews, classroom observation, and informal chats with classroom teachers this study demonstrates the gap between the intended innovation embedded in the textbook and the actual delivery in the classroom Also, the study seeks to identify factors that affect the way teachers use the textbook Some conclusions deriving from the study will be drawn to inform teacher educators of how to help teachers approach the innovative textbook more effectively iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Methods of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Organization of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The role of textbooks in English language teaching (ELT) 2.1.1 The role of textbooks in ELT 2.1.2 Advantages and disadvantages of using textbooks in ELT to teachers and learners 2.2 Textbooks as agents of change in ELT 10 2.3 Previous studies on the use of textbooks in ELT 13 2.4 The design of the three pilot English curricula and their innovative points 16 2.5 The intended methodology of the textbook CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 23 3.1 Background 23 3.2 Research questions 25 3.3 The case of the study 25 3.4 Participants of the study 26 3.5 Instruments 26 3.5.1 Classroom observations 27 3.5.2 Post-observation interview .27 3.6 Data collection and data analysis procedures 27 iv CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 30 4.1 The implementation of the textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem in the Classroom 31 4.1.1 Findings: 31 4.1.2 Discussion 38 4.2 Factors affecting teachers‟ implementation of the new textbook 40 4.2.1 Teachers’ understanding of the textbook methodology 41 4.2.2 The level of suitability of the textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 on the teachers and students 43 4.2.3.Teachers’ recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of the textbook and their impacts on teachers and students 44 2.4 Teachers and students’ difficulties when using Tieng Anh thi Diem 10 46 4.2.5 Discussion 47 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 50 5.1 Summary of the findings 50 5.1.1 How is the new textbook implemented in the classrooms? 50 5.1.2 To what extent such implementations match the underlying methodology of the textbook? .50 5.1.3 What are teachers' rationales for their innovation implementation? 51 5.2 Recommendations for more effective use of the textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 52 5.2.1 For infrastructure and equipment 52 5.2.2 For teachers .53 5.2.3 For administrators 54 5.3 Limitations of the study 54 5.4 Suggestions for further study 55 5.5 Conclusion 56 REFERENCES 57 APPENDIXES I Appendix The Interview Protocal I Appendix III Appendix VI v Appendix X Appendix XIV Appendix XVII Appendix XX Appendix XXIII Appendix 9: XXIX vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale The textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem has been in use in our school for years and it has received rhetorical approvals and postitive feedbacks from teachers and students However, how this new textbook is being used in the actual classroom remains to be under-researched As the book is being piloted, it is necessary to obtain empirical evidence of the way it is being used by teachers with their students This is the reason that motivates my exploratory study that is reported in this thesis This study also finds out the reasons why the teachers so and the results of this study will therefore help teachers have better understanding and assessment of this new textbook then can make appropariate adaptions for better exploitaiton of it in their future‟s teaching 1.2 Aims of the study With the above presented rationale, the purpose of this study is to examine the implementation of the new textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 inside high school classrooms Specifically, it aims to: (1) find out how the intended methodology of Tieng Anh Thi Diem textbook 10 is being implemented in the classroom; (2) understand teachers‟ attitudes towards and beliefs about the innovation implied in the textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10; and (3) find out the factors affected teachers‟ use of the textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 1.3 Research questions In order to achieve the above-stated aims, the following research questions were formulated: How is the new textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 implemented in the classrooms? Why they use the textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem that way? To what extent does such implementation match the underlying methodology of the textbook? 1.4 Methods of the study The study is to explore the implementation of the new textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 in the context of the recent curriculum renewal The purpose of the study is not to evaluate, but to understand how the innovation is being implemented by looking at the way the textbook is being used Therefore, it is designed as a single qualitative case study The case here is a gifted high school in Quang Ninh province Qualitative data were collected through interviews and classroom observations Participants The subjects chosen for the research include English teachers at a high school in Quang Ninh province The research is carried out during the second semester of the school year 2017-2018 Instruments of data collection Data for this study were obtained by means of class observations and teacher interviews - Class observations: There are total lessons being observed.Sixlessons for each teachers teaching different skills will be video recorded Three other lessons will be observed and taken notes - Recording classroom atmosphere in lessons - Interview with the teachers 1.5 Scope of the study As the study was designed as a single qualitative case study, it is limited to the exploration of the implementation of the new textbook Tieng Anh Thi Diem for Grade 10 in one single upper secondary school Generalization is therefore not intended The reasons for the scope of the study was that the new textbooks Tieng Anh Thi Diem for 10th grade have been in use in all classes of grade 10 in our school this year 1.6 Significance of the study This study can be significant in a number of ways First, as discussed earlier, the curriculum and textbook is a key component in most language programs In an Appendix 6- Interview 5: Interview questions for teachers How long have you been using the Tieng Anh thi diem? - I have been teaching English for nearly years What you think are the differences in terms of teaching methods between Tieng Anh thi diem 10 and the Tieng anh textbooks 10 you used before? Could you give one example? TEACHING METHODS Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 Tieng Anh textbook you used before 10 - Communcative method - - Project-based learning and teaching method - The cognitive method Grammar-translation method - Communicative method - The comprehension-based approach - The affective-humanistic approach What you think are the strengths of Tieng Anh thi diem 10 as compared with the Tieng anh textbooks 10 you used before? What are the weaknesses? Strengths: - authentic materials - effective and flexible in testing and assessing - provide updated information and colorful pictures to motivate learners - have a variety of interesting actvities - help learners become more active and creative in learning Weaknesses - Some dialogues in Getting Started seem unnatural - Language part: too long How suitable you think the Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 to YOUR students? and suitable to you as a teacher? What you with what you think is not suitable to your students? and to you? How effective are those solutions to those difficulties? XVII a How suitable? - to your students: + The topics are quite relevant and the knowledge required in each unit is suitable + My students‟ level is good enough to learn the Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 - to you: + I am well-trained enough to be qualified for teaching the Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 + I am in favor of communicative methods b What you with what you think is not suitable? - to your students: - to you: Do you think the Tieng anh thi diem 10 helps you to learn new teaching skills? If yes, what are those skills? Give specific examples a New teaching skills: - The Tieng anh thi diem helps me to learn new teaching skills such as critical thinking, communication skill, patience, time management skill, organization skill, IT skill b Specific examples: For example: In order to engage my students in carrying out the project and turn in their assignment on due date I have to use Edmodo application, which means I must study this software and learn how to use them properly By doing this, my IT knowledge has been improved Do you think your students have difficulties in using Tieng Anh thi diem 10? If yes, what you think are those difficulties? How you help your students overcome those difficulties? a Difficulties for students: - Not all students are good and active enough to study Tieng Anh thi diem 10 - They are getting used to old-fashioned method b How to help them overcome? - be patient and conscientious when working with weak students XVIII - design relevant and stimulating activities so that all students can learn - have some tutoring class to help low-achieving students to keep with the superior ones Do you, as a teacher, have any difficulties using Tieng Anh thi diem 10? What you to help you overcome those difficulties? How effective are your solutions to those difficulties? a Difficulties for teachers: - mixed ability class is a challenge to the language teachers in teaching - teachers must work hard, devote and their best to design interesting activities to motivate students and keep up with the lastest information, improve their background knowledge about many aspects b How to help yourself overcome? - Be hard-working, be well-informed of the latest information, always improve background knowledge about many aspects - diligently take part in some training courses taught by well-qualified trainers as well as observe the colleagues‟ lessons to improve teaching methods - Study more reference books, authentic materials - Improve IT knowledge to have more interesting mediated-lessons c How effective are your solutions? - the teaching methods are improved by leaps and bounds - the language teacher become more confident, active and proficient in teaching Thank you so much for your cooperation! XIX Appendix 7- Interview 6: Interview questions for teachers How long have you been using the TiengAnh thi diem 10? năm What you think are the differences in terms of teaching methods between Tieng Anh thi diem 10 and the tieng anh textbooks 10 you used before? Could you give one example? TEACHING METHODS TiengAnhThi Diem 10 TiengAnh textbook 10 you used before Giáo viên đóng vai trò gợi mở, hướng dẫn Giáo viên là người truyền đạt kiến học sinh tìm hiểu kiến thức thức Example: Trong tiết dạy ngữ pháp, giáo viên cho học sinh làm việc theo cặp, nhóm, sau đó giáo viên đưa vài gợi ý ví dụ, học sinh thảo luận, tự tìm kiến thức ngôn ngữ cần nắm What you think are the strengths of Tieng Anh thi diem 10 as compared with the Tieng anh textbooks 10 you used before? What are the weaknesses? Strengths: - Các chủ điểm hay, phù hợp với học sinh - Từ vựng phong phú - Các kĩ phát triển tốt hơn, có lồng ghép giữa các kĩ tiết học - Kiến thức củng cố các tiết học Weaknesses - tiêt học thiết kế nhiều nội dung nên khó có thể dạy hết thời gian 45ph How suitable you think the Tieng Anh Thi Diem 10 to YOUR students? and suitable to you as a teacher? What you with what you think is not XX suitable to your students? and to you? How effective are those solutions to those difficulties? a How suitable? - to your students: Đa số học sinh hiểu bài, nhiên tiết dạy dài - to you: Tương đối phù hợp b What you with what you think is not suitable? - to your students: Chia thời lượng bài dạy co phù hợp với học sinh, vd: bài dài có thể dạy thêm vào phần project - to you:quite suitable c How effective are those solutions? Đảm bảo nội dung bài học Do you think the Tieng anh thi diem 10 helps you to learn new teaching skills? If yes, what are those skills? Give specific examples a New teaching skills: dạy học theo dự án b Specific examples: Tổ chức học sinh làm theo nhóm (3-5 học sinh), lựa chọn dự án phù hợp để tiến hành, nhằm phát huy tự chủ của học sinh học tập, Do you think your students have difficulties in using Tieng Anh thi diem 10? If yes, what you think are those difficulties? How you help your students overcome those difficulties? a Difficulties for students: nhiều từ mới, khối lượng kiến thức nhiều b How to help them overcome? dạy kĩ phần từ và ngữ pháp, tích cực kiểm tra, lồng ghép các tiết học Do you, as a teacher, have any difficulties using tieng Anh thi diem 10? What you to help you overcome those difficulties? How effective are your solutions to those difficulties? a Difficulties for teachers: nhiều từ vựng cần cung cấp cho học sinh, nhiều kĩ dạy học cần kết hợp để bài dạy sinh động b How to help yourself overcome? XXI - nghiên cứu kĩ nội dung bài dạy - Thiết kế bài giảng cho phù hợp với học sinh c How effective are your solutions? Đa số học sinh hiểu bài Thank you so much for your cooperation! XXII Appendix UNIT 10: ECOTOURISM SPEAKING - CLASS 10 ENGLISH I OBJECTIVES By the end of the lesson, Ss will be able to: Use the vocabulary relating to the topic to talk about the things they can when they go on a tour to some places in Viet Nam II METHOD Communicative Approach III TEACHING AIDS The textbook, lesson plan, pictures IV ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION Students understand more about ecotourism, the benefits and principles of ecotourism Through ecotour, students are more responsible for protecting the wildlife, environment and the natural landscape of the places they travel to V MORAL LESSON - Students will become more aware of the benefits and principles of ecotourism as well as what they can when taking an eco tour - Educate students about sustainable tourism, thus they can understand that economic development does not mean sacrificing the environment but it can go along with protecting the environment XXIII IV PROCEDURE Stages/ Activities Time Work arrangement I Rules: War m- up: Play - There are five interesting places in Vietnam - Students find out the names for each place Individual from the cues given by teachers a quiz game - The quickest answer can get a small gift About interesting places in the world • This place is in the central Vietnam Hue • It is famous for a beautiful river • It has a lot of ancient buildings of previous Kings • This place is in the North of Vietnam Sapa • You can enjoy the traditional lifestyles of people in mountainous areas • It is famous for a love market Dalat • This place is in a valley of a highland • There are a lot of pine trees and flowers • It has four seasons during the day Danang • This place is in the centre Viet nam • It is a coastal city with beautiful beaches • It is a new, modern and active city XXIV HCM city Pre- • This place is in the south of Vietnam speaking • This place is famous for a big market 10 minutes • It had a new name from 1975 Whole class Lead in : The lesson today: Speaking: Travel and Enjoy Teacher asks students to review their understanding of ecotourism - Teacher review : What is ecotourism? - Which places mentioned are the most suitable for an ecotour? Why? Hue dan nang Hcm city, sapa da lat… Pair work Reading conversation - ask Ss to work in pairs to read the conversation between two friends and then practise with each other - ask Ss what they think the heading of the speaking section ( travel and joy) means and guess the topic Suggested answer: Tourism and what activities tourists can enjoy doing while travelling Model conversation: Hoa: Are you going somewhere for your summer holiday? Peter: Well, we‟ve booked an eco-tour to Bach Ma XXV Pair work National Park near Hue City Hoa: What are you going to see or there? Peter: We can explore the mysterious hiking paths in the forests, watch the birds, and look at the plants… Hoa: Sound great! Why is it called an ecotour? Peter: Well, you‟ll learn how to respect and protect wildlife and local people‟s life Hoa: What else will you do? Peter: If we have more time we‟ll visit Hue and enjoy the local food there Hoa: If I were you, I‟d visit Langco Beach as well Peter: Thanks for your advice I love swimming We‟ll think about that While - Task 2: Textbook Have Ss identify the main Individual speaking ideas in the dialogue work Ask them to complete the table with the information from the conversation 25 minutes - explain to Ss that when making their own conversations about the three tourist destinations, they should use the four questions in the table Cat Cat village is a village of the H‟mong people It is famous for its beautiful terraced rice fields ( ruộng bậc thang) and festivals featuring unique community cultures Don village in Dac Lac Province is home to the M‟Nong, Ede, and Thai ethnic minority groups It is famous for its stilt houses, elephant rides for tourists XXVI and interesting festivals The Gong Cuture ( or the Space of the Gong Culture – Khong gian van hoa cong chieng) in Central Highlands is home to cutures that value gongs It is included in the UNESCO list of intangible Cutural Heriage of Humanity Post- Competition: WE LOVE OUR HOMETOWN speaking QUANGNINH 10 minutes The rest of the lesson today is for a completion Group work We love our hometown I have chosen an MC who can direct the competition today • Aim of the contest: Introduce interesting places and traditions for ecotourists coming to Quang Ninh province Group work • Rule of the contest: each team can present or perform in 3-4 minutes to show what you know about the region • Participants: Three groups: - Group 1: A PowerPoint presentation on ecotourism in Halong - Group 2: A talk show: Introducing interesting places and traditions, foods, culture…… of Binh Lieu district - Group 3: Make a presentation using video clip (2-3 minutes) about Dong Trieu district and recommend activities for an ecotour there • Assessment: The group with the most votes will be XXVII Whole class the winner and receive present from teacher Concluding remarks: - Thanks for your careful preparation The whole class contributes so enthusiastically to the presentation of your friends - From the lesson today we can learn more about interesting places culture and traditions in Vietnam but also in our Hometown Quang Ninh Thus can recognize that our hometown Quang Ninh has many beautiful values and traditions and need preserving And I really hope that our love for our hometown will grow more in parallel with the responsibility to preserve it for the future generation Home Write a paragraph of about 10 sentences about your work: favorite place in Vietnam XXVIII Appendix 9: UNIT 10: ECOTOURISM- SPEAKING- CLASS 10 LITERATURE T: Our class will divide into three groups; you come to blackboard and write down all the national parks in Vietnam that you know Who volunteer? Nào cô gọi những xung phong nào? Lan, Phương and Ngân please Be quick because you have only minute S: ( come to blackboard and write down the national parks in Vietnam) T: Now let‟s check together Ok the 3rd group with 20 national park will be the winner The whole class, give them big hand please Let‟s move to the new lesson today Unit 10- Ecotourism-speaking T: Now the whole class, let‟s watch a video clip and tell me what activities are there in a national park S: Say different activities: watching wildlife, catching fish, going camping in the forest, visiting an old house, watching the waterfall T: now let‟s move to the activity one: Read this conversation between two friends Then practice it with a partner XXIX S: (Stand up and read the conversation aloud) T: Explain the words: booked, mysterious T: Now, let‟s move to the activity 2: Below are three destinations for Eco tourists Work in pairs Choose one destination and make a similar conservation as in XXX S: (Practice in pairs) Activity 3: Choose one ecotourism destination in Viet Nam and prepare a presentation about what tourists can see and there * Suggested destination • Cat Ba National Park • Nui Chua National Park • Phu Quoc National Park Three groups have prepared the presentation at home come to blackboard and present an ecotourism destination XXXI ... Advantages and disadvantages of using textbooks in ELT to teachers and learners The use of textbooks in teaching has both advantages and disadvantages, depending on how they are used and what the. .. instructional practices ranged along the transmission and interpretation teaching continuum, and teachers‟ understandings and their prior training had an impact on the extent of their implementation of. .. ideas and activities for instructions/ learning, and that they should give teachers rationale for what they Textbooks are one type of teaching and learning materials, and they as a matter of fact