An evaluation of the intercultural orientation of secondary English textbooks in Vietnam

Minh, Nguyen Thi Thuy; Phuong, Cao Thi Hong

doi:10.4324/9780429457371-10

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…This is evident in the interviews with teachers. The fact that some teachers regard textbooks as the biggest difficulty in implementing IFLT conformed with previous studies where they found that the coursebooks available are inappropriate for achieving IFLT objectives [51,52,55].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…She found that the strength of this textbook lies in its great deal of general cultural content, but it severely neglected the source culture compared to the target culture [49]. Minh and Phuong discovered that textbooks in Vietnam do not provide students with opportunities for intercultural learning, and the books also tend to present a static view of culture [51]. Teachers also felt the scattered, overgeneralized, and stereotypical culture presentation in textbooks [52].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, several studies have pointed out the importance of involving more outer and expanding circle countries in textbooks [53] as well as general cultural knowledge [15]. Although a study demonstrates that teachers can successfully use EFL textbooks along with possible teaching resources that include cultural values to foster learners' intercultural competence [54], most research indicates that the currently used textbooks are not appropriate for the cultivation of intercultural competence [51,55].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

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A mixed method study on Chinese primary school EFL teachers’ preparation, affecting factors and support needed to implement intercultural foreign language teaching

Wang

Meng-xue

2023

PLoS ONE

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Cultivating intercultural competence is a long-term and staged process requiring the efforts of all counterparts in the education field from primary school up to university. Currently, most research on intercultural education in China focuses on the tertiary education context, and little attention has been paid to elementary education as well as primary school EFL teachers. Against this background, this study intends to investigate Chinese primary school EFL teachers’ preparedness for intercultural foreign language teaching (IFLT), its influencing factors, and the support teachers need to implement IFLT. A convergent mixed method was used in this study. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews, SPSS and the thematic analysis method were used to analyze the data. Via both quantitative and qualitative methods, this empirical study found that: 1. Primary school EFL teachers are not well prepared for IFLT; 2. Textbooks, the current evaluation system, teachers’ lack of literacy in intercultural competence, insufficient teacher training on intercultural competence, and teachers’ lack of time and energy are five major factors that constrain the implementation of IFLT; 3. Support from school administration, the construction of intercultural-related materials and resources, and practice-oriented teacher training are the three main support teachers need. Based on these findings, the role of textbooks, experience abroad and general materials on culture in promoting IFLT were discussed. At last, implications and future research directions were proposed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

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A mixed method study on Chinese primary school EFL teachers’ preparation, affecting factors and support needed to implement intercultural foreign language teaching

Wang

Meng-xue

2023

PLoS ONE

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“…The results of the study revealed that the textbooks were appropriate and helpful for students in terms of layout and design, contents and activities. Nguyễn Thị Thùy Minh and Cao Thị Hồng Phương (2019) [19] implemented a study to evaluate the secondary textbooks in Vietnam to measure how well the students were prepared to develop their intercultural competence in global contexts. By using the document analysis, the findings of the study showed that despite the fact that the cultural contents of different countries worldwide were recommended in the textbooks, students did not stand much of a chance of improving their intercultural knowledge thoroughly.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into EFL Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives on Communicative Skills Represented in English Textbooks

Tu¹,

Tran²

2020

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Course books play an integral part in the process of teaching and learning in general and that of English language teaching and learning. Additionally, it is vital to choose appropriate course books for students to develop their communicative skills. In the context of Vietnam, the new English textbooks for high school students have been designed in an attempt to enhance the communication competence among Vietnamese high school students. Within such a context, this study aims at exploring EFL teachers and students’ perspectives on communicative skills represented in the new English textbooks grade 10. This study involved 42 students in answering a questionnaire and 5 teachers in responding the interview questions. The findings indicated that the new English textbooks grade 10 could improve their communicative skills. Specifically, the activities designed in the textbooks reinforced the communicative skills among students. Furthermore, language provided in the textbooks is appropriate and conducive for students, and the subject and content could aid students’ communicative skills. Such preliminary findings are hoped to contribute to a better understanding of the new English textbooks in English language learning in Vietnamese context.

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“…For teachers and learners at schools, a strong degree of alignment can ensure transparency and accountability between educational practice and outcomes (Baker, 2005;Hayes, 2003). Within the centralised system in Vietnam, pupils are expected to follow the National Curriculum programme in all subjects, and to take a high-stake assessment so-called the National High School Graduation Examination at the end of Grade 12 (Minh, 2007; H. T. M. Nguyen, 2017; T. M. H. Nguyen, 2019). Whilst the traditional approach towards alignment discourse includes expert review, teachers' surveys, and document analysis (Case et al, 2004;Martone & Sireci, 2009;Webb, 2007), this article sets out to employ a new study design that combines an in-depth discourse analysis of six English textbooks, and a robust topic modelling analysis so-called latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) (Blei et al, 2003) to capture thematic content from 150 English past papers from 2018 to 2020.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mind the gap between English textbooks and test papers: a corpus-based discourse from Vietnam

Nguyen

2023

Preprint

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Alignment in between curriculum and assessment remains an important, yet underexplored, topic. This study critically investigates the content (mis)match between English textbooks and English exam papers in Vietnam. This study explores an open question, often claimed by the ministers as the goal of the education reforms: Does the English Examination closely follow what was set out in the current English textbooks, in terms of the lexical content? Through corpus-based discourse analysis, this study evaluates 6 English textbooks and 150 English past papers for upper secondary students in Vietnam for 3 years. Results show a downward trend in content alignment between English exam past papers and the English curriculum. A subsequent discussion of underlying causes is included, and recommendations are offered for future research.

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An evaluation of the intercultural orientation of secondary English textbooks in Vietnam

Cited by 5 publications

References 1 publication

A mixed method study on Chinese primary school EFL teachers’ preparation, affecting factors and support needed to implement intercultural foreign language teaching

A mixed method study on Chinese primary school EFL teachers’ preparation, affecting factors and support needed to implement intercultural foreign language teaching

Insights into EFL Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives on Communicative Skills Represented in English Textbooks

Mind the gap between English textbooks and test papers: a corpus-based discourse from Vietnam

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