Tài liệu Adaptation strategies on lessons of skills in pilot english textbook series for lower secondary schools under task based learning approach

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES DƯƠNG THỊ LOAN ADAPTATION STRATEGIES ON LESSONS OF SKILLS IN PILOT ENGLISH TEXTBOOK SERIES FOR LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS UNDER TASK-BASED LEARNING APPROACH CÁC CHIẾN LƯỢC ĐIỀU CHỈNH CÁC BÀI DẠY KĨ NĂNG TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH THCS THÍ ĐIỂM DƯỚI CÁCH TIẾP CẬN CỦA PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC NGÔN NGỮ DỰA VÀO NHIỆM VỤ M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8220201.01 HA NOI, 2020 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES DƯƠNG THỊ LOAN ADAPTATION STRATEGIES ON LESSONS OF SKILLS IN PILOT ENGLISH TEXTBOOK SERIES FOR LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS UNDER TASK-BASED LEARNING APPROACH CÁC CHIẾN LƯỢC ĐIỀU CHỈNH CÁC BÀI DẠY KĨ NĂNG TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH THCS THÍ ĐIỂM DƯỚI CÁCH TIẾP CẬN CỦA PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC NGÔN NGỮ DỰA VÀO NHIỆM VỤ M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8220201.01 Supervisor: Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung HA NOI, 2020 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis entitled “Adaptation Strategies On Lessons Of Skills In Pilot English Textbook Series For Lower Secondary Schools Under Task-Based Learning Approach” is my own research requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Teaching Methodology Program at the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Signature Duong Thi Loan i ABSTRACT This study sought to evaluate the appropriateness of skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6Thi Diem to weak students and techniques for adapting the skills lessons, using case study methodology. The evaluation based on data collected from 2 teachers and 71 students from two weak classes at a lower secondary school in Hanoi in the form of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. Preadaptation questionnaires and interviews were to collect students‟ and teachers' evaluation of skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem. The findings showed that in order to fit weak student‟s needs at the lower secondary school in the research, some skills lessons needed some improvements in input and output relevance, text and illustration relevance, sequence of questions and activities, and scaffolding and recycling activities. Therefore, Maley (1998) adaptation techniques were used under Nunan (1991 & 2004) Task-Based Language Approach principles to improve the skills lessons. These adapted skills lessons were then delivered and then assessed by teacher and student participants. All data from the findings indicated that adapted skills lessons satisfied teachers‟ and students‟ needs in the research. Briefly, the study proposed some adaptation strategies on skills lessons under TBLA which teachers could utilize to increase the effectiveness of skills lessons when teaching Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem in a particular teaching and learning context. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My research project has been completed with the support of a great number of people. First, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Viet Hung for his support, encouragement, and valuable advice throughout this research. With his excellent insights and patient guidance, this thesis has been made possible. I also would like to especially thank anonymous participants who contributed data to this study. Finally, I would like to express my special thanks to my family for their support and encouragement throughout my study. iii TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION ....................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENT .......................................................................................... iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................ vii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................1 1.1. Rationale ..............................................................................................................1 1.2. Aims of the study and research questions ............................................................2 1.3. Significance of the study ......................................................................................2 1.4. Scope of the study ................................................................................................2 1.5. Organization of the thesis.....................................................................................3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................4 2.1. Task-Based Learning Approach ...........................................................................4 2.1.1. Definitions of “task” .........................................................................................4 2.1.2. Frameworks for TBLA ......................................................................................5 2.1.3. Principles for TBLA ..........................................................................................8 2.2. Textbook, textbook evaluation, and textbook adaptation ..................................12 2.2.1. Roles of textbooks in ELT ..............................................................................12 2.2.2. Textbook evaluation ........................................................................................13 2.2.3. Textbook adaptation ........................................................................................15 2.3. Textbook Adaptation under TBLA ....................................................................20 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................23 3.1. Research approach .............................................................................................23 3.2. Restatement of research questions .....................................................................23 3.3. The setting of the study ......................................................................................23 3.3.1. The setting of the study ...................................................................................23 iv 3.3.2. Participants ......................................................................................................24 3.4. Data collection instruments ................................................................................25 3.4.1. Questionnaire ..................................................................................................25 3.4.2. Interview .........................................................................................................27 3.4.3. Classroom observation ....................................................................................28 3.5. Data collection procedures .................................................................................28 3.6. Data analysis procedures ....................................................................................29 CHAPTER 4: THE FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS .....31 4.1. Evaluation of skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem before the adaptation ...31 4.1.1. Teachers‟ opinions of the skills lessons before the adaptation .......................31 4.1.2. Students‟ opinions of the skills lessons before the adaptation ........................37 4.1.3. Summary of teachers‟ and students‟ opinions before the adaptation .............44 4.2. Description of adapted skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6-Thi Diem under TBLA...44 4.2.1. Omission .........................................................................................................45 4.2.2. Addition...........................................................................................................45 4.2.3. Rewriting/Modification ...................................................................................46 4.2.4. Replacement ....................................................................................................49 4.2.5. Re-ordering .....................................................................................................49 4.3. Evaluation of skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem after the adaptation ......51 4.3.1. Overall opinion................................................................................................51 4.3.2. Scaffolding ......................................................................................................54 4.3.3. Task dependency .............................................................................................56 4.3.4. Recycling.........................................................................................................59 4.3.5. Authentic materials .........................................................................................60 4.3.6. Summary of teachers‟ and students‟ opinions after the adaptation ................61 4.4. Summary of the findings ....................................................................................61 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...............................................................................65 5.1. Summary of the research ....................................................................................65 5.2. Conclusion..........................................................................................................65 v 5.3. Implications ........................................................................................................66 5.4. Limitations of the study .....................................................................................67 5.5. Suggestions for further studies ...........................................................................67 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................68 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... I Appendix 1: Nunan (2004) checklist for task evaluation ........................................... I Appendix 2: McGrath (2002) checklist for textbook evaluation ............................. IV Appendix 3: Cunningsworth (1995) checklist for textbook evaluation .................. VII Appendix 4: Questionnaire for Students before the Adaptation ................................ X Appendix 5: Questionnaire for Students after the Adaptation .............................. XVI Appendix 6: Semi-structured Interview Checklist Before the Adaptation (English and Vietnamese versions) ..................................................................................... XXI Appendix 7: Semi-structured Interview Checklist After the Adaptation (English and Vietnamese versions) ..........................................................................................XXIV Appendix 8: Written transcript of taped interviews (English Translation)....... XXVII Appendix 9: Classroom Observation Form ........................................................ XXIII Appendix 10: Guidelines for Classroom Observation ........................................XXIV Appendix 11: Lesson Observation Sheets ........................................................... XXV Appendix 12: Samples of students‟ writing ..................................................... XXXIV Appendix 13: Adapted skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem ..................... XXXVI vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ELT: English Language Teaching MOET: Ministry of Education and Training N: Number of participants TBLA: Task-Based Learning Approach vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Salaberry‟s framework for TBLA (Salaberry, 2001) ...................................7 Table 2: Teacher participants‟ profile .......................................................................25 Table 3: Summary of students‟ evaluation on activities‟ instructions ......................38 Table 4: Summary of students‟ evaluation on illustrations.......................................38 Table 5: Summary of students‟ evaluation on pre-speaking and pre-writing activities ...................................................................................................................................39 Table 6: Summary of students‟ evaluation on activities‟ sequence ..........................39 Table 7: Summary of students‟ evaluation on questions‟ sequence in one activity .40 Table 8: Summary of students‟ evaluation on skills lessons ....................................41 Table 9: Summary of students‟ evaluation on the familiarity of lessons‟ topic .......42 Table 10: Summary of students‟ evaluation on the naturalness of language ............42 Table 11: Summary of students‟ evaluation on adapted Skills 1-Unit 9 ..................52 Table 12: Summary of students‟ evaluation on adapted Skills 2-Unit 8 ..................52 Table 13: Summary of students‟ evaluation on scaffolding in adapted Skills 1-Unit 9 .................................................................................................................................55 Table 14: Summary of students‟ evaluation on scaffolding adapted Skills 2-Unit 855 Table 15: Summary of students‟ evaluation on sequence in adapted Skills 1-Unit 9 ...................................................................................................................................57 Table 16: Summary of students‟ evaluation on sequence in adapted Skills 2-Unit 8 ...................................................................................................................................58 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Willis‟ framework for TBLA (adapted from Willis, 1996, 2012)...............6 Figure 2: The cycle of textbook adaptation (Grave, 2000, p205) .............................17 Figure 3: A framework for textbook adaptation (McDonough, Shaw, & Masuhara, 2013)..........................................................................................................................18 Figure 4: Framework for Textbook adaptation under TBLA ...................................22 ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Rationale With the aim of promoting English language teaching and learning throughout Vietnam in all school level, on 30th September 2008, Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) announced Decision No. 1400/QĐ-TTg “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, Period 2008 to 2020”. In order to attain the goal of National Foreign Language 2020 Project, in 2010 Vietnam Educational Publishing House, in collaboration with MacMillan Education and Pearson Education, published a new series of English textbooks for Vietnamese schools from grade 3 to grade 12 under MOET decision. This English textbook series has been piloted in selected schools all over Vietnam since 2011. The lower secondary school where the study was carried out is implementing this textbook series. Students in this school are placed into classes at appropriate academic level basing on their placement test scores. Therefore, there are classes at different levels of competence in English, from strong to weak ones. It is reported that many students in weak classes had difficulties in dealing with activities, especially in skills lessons. The difficulties arose not only due to student‟s incompetence but also because Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem is designed for public use, not for any particular learning environment. Therefore, some skills lessons are too difficult for weak classes in the author‟s school. This makes teachers spend more time on planning the lesson as well as explaining the tasks for students. It is assumed that if TBLA and its philosophy had been adopted in adapting Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem, such raising matters could have been solved. This reality motivated me to conduct this study to contribute my modest understanding of TBLA in adapting skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem. 1 1.2. Aims of the study and research questions The study is an attempt to evaluate activities and tasks of skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem to grade 6 classes at a lower secondary school in Hanoi, and assess the effectiveness of adaptation techniques on the lessons skills under TBLA. In brief, the study seeks to address the following questions: 1. What are teachers‟ opinions about the activities in original skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem? 2. What are students‟ opinions about the activities in original skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem? 3. What are teachers‟ and students‟ opinions about activities in Tieng Anh 6Thi Diem adapted under TBLA? 1.3. Significance of the study This study has been carried out to search for useful techniques to adapt skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem under TBLA. This research utilizes the principles of TBLA to adapt skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem in order to make the lessons more suitable to the level of weak students. Its findings hopefully would help teaching and learning Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem skills lessons in weak classes within the author‟s context become more effective. 1.4. Scope of the study The thesis does not cover skills lessons in pilot English textbooks of all levels, but focuses on skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6-Thi Diem due to the author‟s limited ability, time constraints and narrow-scaled study. The strategies mentioned in this study are techniques to adapt activities and tasks in skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6-Thi Diem. Additionally, this study was conducted in a lower secondary school in Hanoi. Only a small number of grade 6 teachers and weak students participated in the study. 2 1.5. Organization of the thesis Chapter 1 presents the basic information of the study, namely rationale, research questions, significance, scope and organization. Chapter 2 is the literature review of various concepts of Task-Based Learning Approach (TBLA), material evaluation, material development, and material adaptation. Chapter 3 covers the method of investigation which includes participants, instruments, methods of data collection and data analysis. In Chapter 4, the author gives a detailed presentation of data, description of data analysis, and explanations and interpretations of the findings of the study. This chapter also presents description of adapted skills lessons in Tieng Anh 6- Thi Diem under TBLA. Chapter 5 will deal with a review of the study, consider some limitations and give some suggestions for further study. In the last part of the study, to assure that the thesis is really valid, the researcher gives references and appendices. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Task-Based Learning Approach 2.1.1. Definitions of “task” The concept of “task” has become an important element in syllabus design, classroom teaching and learner assessment. There have been numerous variations of “task” definitions. A pioneering study on language tasks is from Prabhu (1987, p. 24) who sees a task as "an activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome from given information through some process of thought, and which allowed teachers to control and regulate that process". Another definition of “task” was provided by Richards, Platt and Weber in 1986: “…an activity or action which is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language (i.e. as a response). For example, drawing a map while listening to a tape, listening to an instruction and performing a command may be referred to as tasks. Tasks may or may not involve the production of language. A task usually requires the teacher to specify what will be regarded as successful completion of the task. The use of a variety of different kinds of tasks in language teaching is said to make language teaching more communicative … since it provides a purpose for a classroom activity which goes beyond the practice of language for its own sake.” (as cited in Nunan, 2006). Nunan (2006) in an article about TBLA defined “tasks” in the following way: “a task is a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning, and in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate form. The task should also have a sense of completeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right with a beginning, a middle and an end.” Branden (2006); Ellis (2009); & Skehan (1998) define a task as an activity or a series of activities which have a primary focus on meaning (i.e. learners are engaged 4 in understanding and producing messages designed to communicate information and opinions); contain a gap of some kind (information, opinion, reasoning); allow the learners to use their own linguistic resources (i.e. they do not simply reproduce language given to them); and have an outcome other than the display of correct language. Although these definitions are different in some ways, they share the same underlying assumption that tasks “involve communicative language use in which the user‟s attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical form” (Nunan, 2006). Nevertheless, this does not mean that TBLA neglects grammatical form. 2.1.2. Frameworks for TBLA Various frameworks of a task-based lesson have been proposed. In general, TBLA framework is generally used to refer to the sequence of subtasks within tasks to form the stages. The stages in one TBLA framework are different from one another since each researcher has their own ways of perceiving TBLA framework. Firstly, the three-phase TBLA framework is approved by Prabu (1987), Estaire and Zanon (1994), Skehan (1996), Willis (1996), Ellis (2006) and Willis (2009). Three stages in this framework are pre-task, task cycle, and language focus. As can be seen in Figure 1, a framework for TBLA proposed by Willis (1996), pre-task includes different preparing activities by introducing vocabulary items, promoting initial ideas of the topic of the main task, and other language features. These activities help students to perform the task confidently and effectively. Ellis (2006) states that pre-task activities can be used to “scaffold learners‟ performance of the task with the expectancy that this „other-regulation‟ facilitates the „self-regulation‟ learners will need to perform the main task on their own.” In the second phase, students are required to undertake a task where students have opportunities to experience using the language. By discussing with their partner or in groups, and reporting to the class, students develop their language fluency. Finally, there are following-up activities in the final phase of language focus which helps improve 5 learners‟ accuracy. This means that in this phase, students have a chance to focus on specific language forms which students already encounter in the previous stages. In this model, the teacher is expected to lead the class step-by-step to the expected outcome, to break down a step into smaller steps if the learners encounter difficulties and to offer one of more parallels to a step in the reasoning process to ensure that mixed ability learners could understand what is required (Ellis, 2006). Figure 1: Willis‟ framework for TBLA (adapted from Willis, 1996, 2012) Another model of TBLA is built by Salaberry (2001) using the concept of the three Is (Illustration, Interaction, and Induction) proposed by McCarthy (1998). Students‟ and teachers‟ stages are shown in Table 1. As described by the author, students are introduced to the topic and motivated to participate in a task in the first step. Then, 6 communicative analysis of language in communicative context is carried out. This is mostly initiated by learners, not the teacher. During the third stage, students have chances to practice and develop hypotheses about structure and functions of the language. Finally, students are required to produce a piece of work using the newly acquired features of the language. Teacher Learner 1. Introduction of topic  1. Involvement 2. Illustration  2. Inquiry 3. Implementation  3. Induction 4. Integration  4. Incorporation Table 1: Salaberry‟s framework for TBLA (Salaberry, 2001) Nunan (2006) introduces a procedure of six steps in his book on TBLA. The first step, schema building, is similar to Willis‟ pre-task phase whose purpose is to “introduce the topic, set the context for the task, and introduce some of the key vocabulary and expressions that the students will need in order to complete the task.” (Nunan, 2006). This is followed by controlled practice that extends the scaffolded learning that is initiated in step one by having students take part in using the target language vocabulary, structures and functions. Next, students are exposed to authentic listening practice, which extends the language from the model conversation in step two. After that, students have a chance to focus on linguistic elements by completing a sequence of exercises in which the focus is on one or more linguistic elements. In step five, provide freer practice, students are encouraged to express ideas using their own words. Finally, teacher introduces the pedagogical task to students who are asked to take part in a group work discussion and decision-making task. In Nunan‟s framework, the form-focused activity occurs before the task while Willis suggests putting a focus on form after the task. 7 In summary, although many frameworks for TBLA are proposed from different perspectives, they all bear the fundamental similarity that sequencing is a major characteristic of TBLA. As can be seen in the aforementioned models, scaffolding is implicitly and explicitly regarded as an indispensable part of TBLA. It is also important to note that, in addition to focusing on meaning, focusing on form also plays a crucial role in a TBLA framework. 2.1.3. Principles for TBLA Nunan (1991: 279) mentions five characteristics of a TBLA framework. In his later research, Nunan (2004) proposed seven principles for TBLA which are: scaffolding, task dependency, recycling, active learning, integration, reproduction to creation, and reflection. He suggested that these principles could be used to evaluate the materials or textbooks. 2.1.3.1. Scaffolding The first principle, scaffolding, refers to a supporting framework that lessons and materials provide to facilitate learning. Scaffolding appears through the use of “simplified language, teacher modeling, visuals and graphics, cooperative learning and hands-on learning” (Ovando, Collier, & Combs, 2003, p. 345). The reason for scaffolding is that “At the beginning of the learning process, learners should not be expected to produce language that has not been introduced either explicitly or implicitly” (Nunan, 2004). Nunan also suggests that timing is crucial when deciding to remove the supporting framework. This means that scaffolding should be removed when the students are more confident and proficient. 2.1.3.2. Task dependency The next principle, task dependency, means “within a lesson, one task should grow out of, and build upon, the ones that have gone before” (Nunan, 2004, p.35-36). This principle suggests that each task should take advantage of and be designed basing on the one before. This is aimed to lead learners step by step to the point final pedagogical task in the sequence. 8 This principle includes the receptive-to-productive principle and reproductive-tocreative-language principle. The receptive-to-productive principle refers to the proportion of time engaged in receptive (listening and reading) tasks and in productive ones: first, students spend more time in receptive tasks than in productive ones; later, they spend more time in productive work. The reproductiveto-creative-language principle, which is also about the sequencing of tasks, is introduced sepeartely below. 2.1.3.3. Recycling Another important rule for task is recycling where opportunities are created for students to come into with target language in different types of activities. Nunan stated that, in a task-based syllabus, grammatical and functional items will reappear numerous times in a diverse range of contexts. This would appear to be healthy for second language acquisition because it allows learners to „restructure‟ and develop an elaborated understanding of the item in question. 2.1.3.4. Active learning The fourth fundamental is active learning where students actively use the language they are learning to express themselves. “A key principle behind this concept is that learners learn best through doing – through actively constructing their own knowledge rather than having it transmitted to them by the teacher” (Nunan, 2004). This suggests that controlled practice should be limited; dependence on the teacher should be reduced. 2.1.3.5. Integration Regarding principle integration, it is advised to teach lessons where “linguistic elements – the grammatical, lexical and phonological components” – are integrated. This means that the teachers as well as textbooks should demonstrate the relationships between form, function and meaning to learners of English. 9