Based on the findings and limitations of the study, suggestions for future research can be made. Further research can be conducted to examine the perceptions of the teachers and students with the same number of participants so that researcher can find out the significant similarities and differences between teachers‟ and students‟ perspectives. What is more, similar studies should put the textbooks under investigation in comparison to other books published in Vietnam by the Ministry of Education and Training.
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APPENDICES APPENDIX A. QUESTIONNAIRES
Appendix 1. Questionnaire for teachers
Dear Teachers, I am an MA TEFL student at Quy Nhon University. This questionnaire is designed to investigate the 11th grade English Textbook. Your cooperation would be much appreciated.
I look forward to receiving your replies. Thank you for your participation.
PART A: Please complete the following items as appropriate.
I: Sex: a) male b) female
II. Length of EFL experience in the 11th grade English textbooks a. Less than one year b. 1-5 years c. 6-10 years
PART B: Read each item and indicate your opinion with a scale of 5. Tick the relevant column which best reflect your opinion.
The answers are: a) Strongly Agree (SA), b) Agree (A), c) Neutral (N), d) Disagree (D), d) Strongly Disagree (SD)
Items
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
Physical appearance and format
1. The cover of the 11th grade English textbooks is attractive.
2. The cover of the 11th grade English textbooks is durable.
3. The layout of the textbook motivates students to perform the tasks.
Items
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
4. The illustrations in the 11th grade English textbooks are directly related to the content to help the learner understand the printed text.
5. Main headings and subheadings in the 11th grade English textbooks are well organized.
6. The instructions in the 11th grade English textbooks help students to comprehend the items thoroughly.
Content (units, activities, exercises, skills and sub-skills)
7. The difficulty level of the 11th grade English textbooks is appropriate to the students‟ level.
8. The content is organized according to the students‟ language needs.
9. Each unit is in the same format.
10. The topics of the units are interesting for students.
11. The units in the 11th grade English textbooks provide students coverage of four main skills and other sub-skills (vocabulary and grammar).
12. The 11th grade English textbooks include information about different people from different countries.
13. The content of the 11th grade English textbooks is prepared by taking into
Items
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
consideration the whole academic year.
14. The exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are relevant to students‟ interests.
15. As a result of using the 11th grade English textbooks, students can use English as a means of communication.
16. The 11th grade English textbooks content reflects cultural characteristics of the target language.
17. The reading exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are appropriate for improving students‟ reading skills.
18. The writing exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are appropriate for improving students‟ writing skills.
19. The speaking exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are appropriate for improving students‟ speaking skills.
20. The listening exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are appropriate for improving students‟ listening skills.
21. The vocabulary load seems to be reasonable for the students‟ level.
22. The vocabulary items are controlled to ensure systematic gradation from simple to complex.
23. The exercises in the 11th grade English
Items
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
textbooks improve students‟ comprehension skills.
24. The exercises improve students‟ ability to distinguish between main ideas and details.
25. The exercises promote meaningful communication by referring to realistic situations.
Roles of English textbooks
26. The 11th grade English textbooks serve as a syllabus.
27. The 11th grade English textbooks help planning daily instruction.
28. The 11th grade English textbooks serve as a source of assessment items.
29. The 11th grade English textbooks serve as a source of homework.
30. The 11th grade English textbooks serve as an essential source for teacher.
Thank you very much
Appendix 2. Questionnaire for students
Dear students, I am an MA TEFL student at Quy Nhon University. This questionnaire is designed to investigate your concerning the 11th grade English Textbook. Your cooperation would be much appreciated.
I look forward to receiving your replies. Thank you for your participation.
PART A: Your personal background:
I. You are: a) male b) female
II. You have been learning English for:
a) 5 years b) 8 years c) more than 8 years
PART B: Read each item and indicate your opinion with a scale of 5. Tick the relevant column which best reflect your opinion.
The answers are: a) Strongly Agree (SA), b) Agree (A), c) Neutral (N), d) Disagree (D), d) Strongly Disagree (SD)
Items
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
Physical appearance and format
1. The cover of the 11th grade English textbooks is attractive.
2. The cover of the 11th grade English textbooks is durable.
3. The layout of the 11th grade textbooks motivates students to perform the tasks.
4. The illustrations in the 11th grade English textbooks are directly related to the content to help the learner understand the printed text.
5. Main headings and subheadings in the 11th grade English textbooks are well organized.
6. The instructions in the 11th grade English
Items
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
textbooks help students to comprehend the items thoroughly.
Content (units, activities, exercises, skills and sub- skills)
7. The difficulty level of the 11th grade English textbooks is appropriate to the students‟ level.
8. The content is organized according to the students‟ language needs.
9. Each unit is in the same format.
10. The topics of the units are interesting for students.
11. The units in the 11th grade English textbooks provide students coverage of four main skills and other sub-skills (vocabulary and grammar).
12. The 11th grade English textbooks include information about different people from different countries.
13. The content of the 11th grade English textbooks is prepared by taking into consideration the whole academic year.
14. The exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are relevant to students‟ interests.
15. As a result of using the 11th grade English textbooks, students can use English as a means of communication.
16. The 11th grade English textbooks content reflects cultural characteristics of the target language.
17. The reading exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are interesting for students to practice.
18. The writing exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are appropriate for improving students‟
writing skills.
19. The speaking exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are appropriate for improving students‟
Items
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
speaking skills.
20. The listening exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks are appropriate for improving students‟
listening skills.
21. The vocabulary load seems to be reasonable for the students‟ level.
22. The vocabulary items are controlled to ensure systematic gradation from simple to complex.
23. The exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks improve students‟ comprehension skills.
24. The exercises improve students‟ ability to distinguish between main ideas and details.
25. The exercises promote meaningful communication by referring to realistic situations.
Roles of English textbooks
26. The 11th grade English textbooks serve as a syllabus.
27. The 11th grade English textbooks help planning daily instruction.
28. The 11th grade English textbooks serve as a source of assessment items.
29. The 11th grade English textbooks serve as a source of homework.
30. The 11th grade English textbooks serve as an essential source for teacher.
Thank you very much
APPENDIX B. INTERVIEWS
My name is Nguyen Thi Chung. I am conducting research titled “Teachers’
and Students’ perceptions on the 11th grade English textbooks”.
The purpose of this interview is to collect data to my investigation into the perceptions of teachers who experienced the first time. Your responses to the question will be studied. If they are frank and accurate, they will be an invaluable help in my research. You can be sure that you will not be identified in any case.
Please do not discuss any of the questions with your friends. Thank you very much!
Appendix 3. Interview for teachers
Question 1: What make people impressed most when approaching an English textbook?
Question 2: How does the content of the 11th grade English textbooks meet the student‟s needs and interests?
Question 3: How do the activities and exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks reinforce what the students have already learned and improve students‟ English skills?
Question 4: How are four English skills (reading, speaking, listening, writing) presented in the 11th grade English textbooks?
Question 5: How complicated were the vocabularies represented in the 11th grade English textbooks?
Appendix 4. Interview for students
Dear students, thank you for agree to take part in our research. We highly appreciate your help in completing this survey interview.
In your experience, please answer some questions related the challenges of textbook
Question 1: What make people impressed most when approaching an English textbook?
Question 2: How does the content of the 11th grade English textbooks meet the student‟s needs and interests?
Question 3: How do the activities and exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks reinforce what the students have already learned and improve students‟ English skills?
Question 4: How complicated were the vocabularies represented in the 11th grade English textbooks?
Question 5: What are your interests and challenges during learning the 11th grade English textbooks?
APPENDIX C. THE TRANSCRIPTION CONVENTIONS
The teachers’ interview result
Question 1: What make people impressed most when approaching an English textbook?
T1: In my opinion, people are interested in the cover of the textbook, and the colorful layout of the textbooks if they are attractive. Moreover, the clear format and headings are essential to help teachers follow easily.
T2: Well, I think that while selecting an EFL textbook, I focus on the textbook’s layout, instructions, and topics. In addition, I might read through the headings and sub-headings to obtain a general view of the textbooks.
T3: Actually, the high-quality pictures and material play an important for choosing the textbooks. Moreover, visual aids are quite important in language teaching, which help the teacher teach the student easily.
Question 2: How does the content of the 11th grade English textbooks meet the student‟s needs and interests?
T1: From my point of view, the content of the textbooks is updated with new and trending topics such as Unit 1: Generation gap, Unit 3: Becoming independent, Unit 6: Global warming, Unit 10: Healthy and longevity, which helps students understand and access new problems. Besides, students can become more independent in speaking English.
T2: I think students can improve their English such as reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills, which helps students pass the final exam easily and communicate English very well.
T3: In my opinion, students are equipped with skills and subskills such as reading, speaking, listening, writing, various vocabulary, grammar, and
structures. The textbooks further provide more knowledge about the culture, customs, and people in the world.
Question 3: How do the activities and exercises in the 11th grade English textbooks reinforce what the students have already learned and improve students‟ English skills?
T1: Well, students are consolidated after each lesson by doing some exercises and activities. They can practice doing exercises and activities to improve their English skills such as reading comprehension, and communication.
Nonetheless, some listening exercises are not appropriate for students’ levels.
T2: Yes. The textbook has several exercises that can be learned by the students. The material from the textbook can come from the exercises. The students get the conclusion after doing some exercises. They can get the theory from the exercise. Generally, the textbooks have exercises and activities to help students develop reading skills and speaking skills. In addition, students can apply to write an email, a letter, and an essay easily, so their writing skills are improved.
T3: Sure. But to make it completely suit, I used to add some other material from the other textbooks. Some activities and exercises tend to help students apply in real situations; however, they are quite challenging for students.
Question 4: How are four English skills (reading, speaking, listening, writing) presented in the 11th grade English textbooks?
T1: From my point of view, the textbook served listening activities, speaking such as practicing dialogue, writing, and reading as well.
T2: It was a good balance of four main skills represented in the textbooks. It concludes all the aspects in every unit of the book.
T3: I think that each unit performs 4 main skills such as reading, speaking,
listening, and writing. Each skill lesson is designed to teach in a period.
Question 5: How complicated were the vocabularies represented in the 11th grade English textbooks?
T1: It depends. Because sometimes when we think it was easy for us, the students' comprehension might not be as we expected it to be. Maybe vocabulary represented in the textbooks is difficult for students such as generation gaps topic and becoming independent topic.
T2: In my opinion, most vocabularies in the 11th – grade English textbooks are designed from simple to complex.
T3: Most of the vocabularies represent from simple to complex. However, some vocabulary themes are quite more challenging for student levels.