SIRHANHASKIZA SYAFEEZA

SYED

Overview

• Developments in quality of English materials• Why?

– English plays a vital role in country’s economic orientation to global community

– Children could make meaningful contributions to society, enhance self esteem and cultural identity

• How?– An upgrade of materials based on country’s

educational, economic and social factors.

Factors that affect choice of materials

– State ideologies– Parents’ choice– Ss and Ts preferences– Affordability– Availability

Characteristics of materials used in S.E.A

• Imported coursebook

• In-country coursebook

• Regional coursebook

Imported/Foreign/Global Coursebook

• Characteristics– X written for S.E.A market– Contain both helpful and unhelpful

instructions– Publishers : CUP, OUP, Longman,

Heinemann, Thomas Nelson & Sons

Advantages• Numerous visual

images• > systematic• Promote independent

learning• Teacher friendly• Guaranteed linguistic

accuracy• Texts are interesting,

vary in genre, cover a wide range of topic, contains humor

Disadvantages• Excessive images

distract learning• Difficult instruction for

learners• Inaccurate

representation of cultural image and information

• Content rarely related to learners’ life

• Expensive• X parallel to local

exam system

In-country/Domestic/Local Coursebooks

• Characteristics– Reflect educational objectives of specific

institution– Follow national curriculum– Own publisher in the country – Content is decided by the MOE– Developer are made of local and foreign

writers

Advantages• Promotes national

identities, religion, political viewpoints and local cultural elements

• Recognizable characters• Reflect learners’

sociocultural behaviors, values, beliefs and familiar experiences

• Follows local didactic ideology and exam system

• Instruction in mother tongue

• X expensive

Disadvantages• Lack attractive design

and images• Translation x properly

handled• Less ideal for skill-based

courses• Excessive amount of

vocab and syntactic structure

• Excessive local-culture content damage learners’ curiosity and challenge to creative mind

REGIONAL COURSEBOOKS

ADVANTAGES:

• Efficient distribution network-enhance affordability, good rapport with local distributors.

• Better financial investmnt-books more attractive n sellable (good market sales)

DISADVANTAGES:

• Reality:different level of Eng. Profiency in diffrnt countries.

• ? cultural aspect to include?- different.

• Written –x native speaker in 1 country n exported + accepted by other countries.

* Tertiary institutes & Vocational schools

have more autonomy in the text selection.

HOW MATERIALS ARE TYPICALLY USED

Teacher’s Perception & Application of Textbooks

Love textbooks - flexible 4 easy adaptation & include pedagogical support.

Learners’ Perception and Application of Textbooks

Flexible materials - room 4 learners

discuss issues related to them and match

their cultural values.

Prepared by:

Evaluation of Nine Textbooks from Indonesia,

Thailand & Vietnam

TEXTS EVALUATION

• Common similarities

Written by local writers

produced by local publishers

commonly used textbooks in their

own context

cater for local Ss needs while having to compete with other imported text

TEXTS EXAMINEDIndonesia •Improve yourself

•Communicative & Interactive English•Headlight•New Concept English

Thailand •English•Exploring Reading and Writing•Concentrate of Critical Reading•Focus on One Word

Vietnam English 7, English 11 & English 12

Positive Features

Cultural knowledge and national identity

Awareness of regional events

Awareness of the need for global integration

The mother tongue as a pedagogical tool

Opportunities of analytical thinking

Drawbacks

Uncommunicative use of English

Inauthentic use of English

Poor development of writing skills

Lack of consistency in appearance, content and method

Little opportunity for recycling of language

Poor affective engagement

Cultural knowledge & national identity

• Topic content – learners’ knowledge & cultural background

• National unity – accounts of daily values, traditional music and local celebrities

• X extreme• Cultures of the English speaking world,

travel around Europe, life in other countries, cultural icons & events around the world

Awareness of regional events

• Current social phenomena & problems in the region – provoke thoughts, reflect variety & essence.

• Subject matter – poverty, gender roles, west vs east, controversial relationship between race & intelligence, ASEAN unity by learning culture & lifestyle

Awareness of the need for global integration

• Great role of English – • bridging the separation of language & culture, • instrument for technological exchange &

integration into the global expertise & economy,• creative use of technology assist medic science,

communication & social advancement, • help to resolve problems – heavy populations,

social violance – world peace

Awareness of the need for global integration (2)

• Front cover (evidence)

• Use visual metaphors, modern looks of urban advancement, symbols of IT, local icons, international constructions

• Exhibit concepts of modernity, complexity & interaction.

The mother tongue as a pedagogical tool

• Guiding Ss through tasks & promoting the development of translation skills

• Aids T & Ss in translation practice, grammar instruction, pedagogical guidance

• Enters text in the form of local concepts,

• Support learners in a pedagogical sense: empowers them politically

• Manara, (2004)• Perception of 50 univ teachers & 300 Ss – the

use of Bahasa Indonesia in the English classroom

• Majority express interest in:• – the use of mother tongue as a way to examine

the social distance between L1 & L2., check comprehension, provide feedbacks, direct complex activities, explain abstract concepts, clarify problematic grammatical structure.

The mother tongue as a pedagogical tool (2)

• Manara (2004)

• Soaking instruction in NL deprive Ls – valuable opportunities for language to be recycled and become salient enough to facilitate L2 acquisition

The mother tongue as a pedagogical tool (3)

Opportunities of analytical thinking

• Use unconventional, thought provoking topics

• E.g: make sense of multi-sensory system, expand concepts, discussion on the most effective method, and political issues