Set Of Textbooks Research Articles

A critical discourse study of cultural and national identity (re)construction in Taiwanese high school EFL textbooks

ABSTRACT In foreign language textbooks, cultural representations embedded in texts and images not only facilitate the acquisition of linguistic knowledge but also construct ethnic or political identities. Over the past century, the mainstream ideology in Taiwan has changed due to the rotation of ruling parties and generational shifts. This change is also evident in contemporary English-as-a-Foreign-Language textbooks. In light of this emerging issue, this study employed critical discourse analysis to examine three sets of textbooks that are widely used in high schools in Taiwan. The study reveals that textbooks produced in Taiwan generally: (1) highlight the indigenous culture of the island, (2) extensively depict contemporary Taiwanese celebrities, specialties, and natural landscapes, (3) embellish the period of Japanese and Dutch-Spanish colonisation, and (4) strategically differentiate between ‘China/Chinese’ and ‘Taiwan/Taiwanese’. The findings expose the Taiwan-centric perspective of the textbooks while downplaying the significance of the national title – ‘the Republic of China’.

Challenging gender stereotypes: representations of gender through social interactions in English learning textbooks

This study explores the representation of gender through the social interactions presented in four sets of English textbooks used in China. By examining the representation of both gender stereotypes and changing roles, the results reveal that although traditional stereotypes exist in Chinese secondary school-level English textbooks, women’s changing social roles are acknowledged in that they are now beginning to be shown engaging in non-traditional female jobs. However, in family scenarios, women are still depicted as taking sole responsibility for housekeeping duties without any participation from adult males, showing the incomplete transformation of gender roles. No male characters are shown participating in non-traditional jobs, which reinforces the idea of the masculine role being ‘superior’ to feminine or non-masculine roles. The continued presence of gender stereotypes shows textbook editors’ tacit agreement with the gender norms. Drawing on gender as a fluid concept and social interactions of gender, this study acknowledges the variety and diversity of inputs of gender roles through social interactions in the learning community and suggests that students can be given access to a more gender-progressive education by improving the quality of social interactions between genders in textbooks and presenting a more equal view on gender roles.

Разработка аудиовизуального курса русского языка как иностранного с национальным культурным компонентом в рамках новой образовательной стратегии Китая

The research aims to present the experience of developing an audiovisual set of textbooks with a national-cultural component “Two Worlds – Two Souls” for Chinese university students in the “Russian Language” training program. The paper discusses the basic requirements for Russian language textbooks in China, the structure and content of the author’s set. The research is novel in that it is the first to propose a model of a set of Russian language textbooks for Chinese students focused on the development of two competencies (auditory and intercultural) and including texts about Russia and China (culture, history, traditions, people) in equal proportions. As a result, it was proved that at the present stage of development of Chinese education, materials based on the principle of a dialogue between native and foreign cultures are necessary, compiled taking into account a gradual increase in difficulty, including texts on traditional and modern topics and contributing to the development of many competencies.

Textbook Sets Through the Perspective of the Orientation of the Intended Chemistry Curriculum for Primary and Secondary Schools

Textbooks have a central role in chemistry education and represent the intended chemistry curriculum at the national level. This paper focuses on analysing the intended chemistry curriculum as represented by the visual representations and the activities for students in the textbook sets in relation to the topics of the Slovenian National Chemistry Curriculum both at the primary and secondary school levels. The analysis involved all textbook sets approved by the national representatives for the 2021/2022 school year. The results revealed that in most of the curriculum topics in the analysed Slovenian chemistry textbook sets, the curriculum orientation structure of the discipline prevails and the everyday life orientation is present for both primary and secondary schools. To improve the relevance of the textbook sets for students, the currently rare presence of history of chemistry, environmental orientation, and technology and industry orientation and the lack of the use of socio-scientific orientation should be overcome. It would be valuable if further studies in textbook sets would also address the intended chemistry curriculum from a more holistic perspective.

Folk Elements Compilation in Chinese Textbooks for Thai Elementary Schools

Background and Aim: Folk customs are an important part of culture, studying Chinese folk culture not only enhances Chinese learners’ language proficiency but also promotes their cultural exchange and fosters cross-cultural understanding. This research focuses on the folk elements in Chinese textbooks for Thai elementary schools, aiming to analyze the compilation of folk elements in terms of quantity, proportion, content, and difficulty level. Materials and Methods: A combination of literature review, comparative analysis, and interview methods is employed in this article to analyze the folk elements in six representative sets of Chinese teaching materials used in Thai elementary schools. Results: It was found that 1) The six representative sets of Chinese textbooks for Thai primary schools have rich and diverse folk elements, totaling over 4500. 2) Material folk elements are the most prominent, accounting for about 40.1%. They are followed by linguistic folk elements, comprising about 33.1%. Social folk elements comprise approximately 20.8%, while spiritual folk elements are the least represented, making up about 6.0%. 3) The folk elements are related to various social life topics and the associated Chinese vocabularies and expressions. 4) The difficulty levels of folk elements can be divided into elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Among them, elementary-level elements constitute the majority, comprising about 82.8%. Conclusion: Most of the representative Chinese textbooks in Thai primary schools have various types of folk elements. These folk elements may help Thai children grasp elementary Chinese vocabulary, social rules, and customs, and cultivate their awareness and ability for cross-cultural communication.

A Pragmatic Study on Primary School English Textbooks in Mainland China

English pragmatic competence in primary schools of mainland China has received increasing attention and the related issues have become popular research topics, but most former studies are limited to classroom teaching and particularly few on English textbooks of primary school. This study makes a pragmatic evaluation on the current primary school English textbooks in mainland China by taking a set of popular textbooks as an example. Adopting Cooperative Principle as theoretical frame, it mainly investigates and analyzes the conversational interactions in the textbooks, and the statistics shows that the textbooks generally conform to Grice’s “idealized communication model”, but there still exist many “odd” utterances which violate the maxims of Cooperative Principle, especially the Q-maxim and the M-maxim, while do not produce any conversational implicature in Grice’s sense. It thus concludes the pragmatic features of the textbook as “low naturalness”, “singularity in type” and “weak culturality”. This study is expected to act as a move for further research in this domain and a call on further improving the pragmaticity of primary school English textbooks in mainland China.

Methods of teaching language and literature to develop language competence for Vietnamese students

Developing language skills for students in Vietnam is an issue that needs attention. This article used interdisciplinary research methods between Linguistics and Education. Descriptive method was implemented to describe the characteristics of the Middle School Literature Program, the sixth grade Literature textbook set compiled. Analytical method was used to analyze the teacher's method of teaching literature and the linguistic abilities that need to be formed for students during this period. Developing this capacity is providing the most effective means to perfect thinking capacity. This article surveys teachers' Literature teaching methods applied to students at some Vietnamese schools with the aim of developing students' language and at the same time this will also be an information channel for completing Improve and criticize Literature textbooks compiled according to the new General Education Program (2018) in Vietnam that are in the early stages of being used.

Review for a set of textbooks for masters, focusing on the development of independent and research skills

Глобализационные процессы во всех сферах жизнедеятельности современного человека задают ситуации неопределенности при выполнении профессиональных задач. Выбор адекватных способов их решения требует от специалистов способностей к научному поиску, получению эмпирического материала, его осмыслению, критической оценке и внедрению в практику.
 Трансформационные процессы в образовании вызвали ряд противоречий, их разрешение требует исследований, результат которых задает стратегию профессиональной подготовки обучающихся в вузе. На основе комплексного исследования, проведенного в научной школе профессора Т.И. Рудневой, доказано, что специалист любого направления подготовки должен обладать методологической культурой, предполагающей навыки грамотной работы с научной информацией, реферования научных источников.

ANALYSIS OF QUALITY STANDARDS FOR DIDACTIC DESIGN OF TEXTBOOKS USING THE EXAMPLE OF A FABLE IN THIRD GRADE PRIMARY SCHOOL READERS

This paper analyzes quality standards for didactic design of textbooks, using the example of readers for the third grade, published by Klett, before and after curriculum changes resulting from the alteration of legal frameworks defined by the Regulation on the Curriculum for the Third Grade of Primary Education: 5/2019-6, 1/2020-1, 6/2020-1. By means of content analysis, the reader published by Klett and used in teaching until the 2020/21 school year will be analyzed, as well as the reader approved for use in accordance with the new recommendations, serving as a Serbian Language textbook in the Republic of Serbia from the 2020/21 school year. The analysis of the quality standards for didactic design of textbooks has been carried out according to the general quality standards for textbooks (Ivić et al., 2009) and legislative regulations (Law on Textbooks, Official Gazette RS, Educational Gazette 68/2015, 27/2018–13, and the Regulation on Quality Standards for Textbooks and Guidelines for Their Use, Official Gazette RS, Educational Gazette: 42/2016-11, 45/2018–40), which define the quality framework for textbooks and textbook sets. This analysis is conducted using the example of the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop, which is part of the curriculum. A comparative analysis of the realization of standards within the domain of didactic design will provide insight into the alignment of curriculum requirements and textbooks, both the previous and newly approved ones, using the fable as an example. Additionally, it will examine the encountered qualitative didactic adequacy of the reader as a component of the textbook set. This paper will highlight possibilities for enhancing the existing didactic-methodological apparatus that accompanies the fable, aiming to expedite the process of educational interpretation of the work.

A Study on the Representation of Global Competence in English Textbooks for Higher Vocational Education in China

This study aims to analyze the representation of global competence in English textbooks for higher vocational education in China. A two-dimensional textbook theoretical framework based on global competence was developed, including four indicators of global competence (vertical) and 3 dimensions of textbook content (horizontal). Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative content analysis, we analyzed the representation of global competence in a set of Chinese higher vocational English textbooks (D version textbooks) in terms of content level, rendering location, and representation form. The results showed that the D version textbooks covered all of global competence indicators, among which the indicator of knowledge and understanding of global competence is the most and the attitudes and values is the least. The 16 sub-indicators of global competence presented differently in content levels, implicitly in the rendering location, and with “reading comprehension,”“oral communication” and “integrated application” as the main representation forms. This theoretical framework is an extension of global competence theory in textbook study and is also a useful tool for content analysis on non-linguistic knowledge of English textbooks.

Français à la Nouvelle-Orléans par Charles A. Mignot

Reviewed by: Français à la Nouvelle-Orléans par Charles A. Mignot Florin Beschea Mignot, Charles A. Français à la Nouvelle-Orléans. OER, 2021. The first observation in this open educational resource is the "can do" approach exhibited by the table of contents by scaffolding students' strengths and interests, rather than insisting on difficulties and rescuing the learner. The learning outcomes are present at the end of each lesson as well, with the option for the student to self-assess their applied readiness on three levels. The author structured the resource as follows: Three sets of textbooks (Livres 1-3) distinguished by three levels (Niveau 1-3) with each containing 24 lessons. Each Livre is accompanied by two Cahiers, in which there are two Devoirs assigned to each corresponding Leçon in the textbook. The copious material (for a total of nine PDF files) offer effective usage as a whole, and by chapter, theme, and individual need. Since this resource is searchable, it is easy to find diverse exercises to supplement class and student needs. I do not feel comfortable assessing this material as I would a normal textbook, since it varies in both format and structure. However, the PDF format is accessible to both instructors and students, offering a more affordable printing option than other materials on the market. The structure of this material is not always systematic; it follows a traditional vocabulary-grammar-pronunciation approach, spoken and written skill building exercises, and activities in the first two Livres. However, Livre 3 is divided between several "Découverte de la langue" sections followed by "Pratique de la langue" sections, spotted with "Pause langue" exercises, and "Compréhension" checks. A plethora of activities are found both in the Livres and the workbooks (Cahiers), including, for instance, fill-in-theblank, transformation, and substitution exercises. However, I could not access many activities that mention videos and audio files so these aspects remain a hidden resource to me. I also noticed that the author is relying heavily on writing. There are no formal new vocabulary or grammar modules to introduce to students (typical for a communicative class or lesson format). The vocabulary is directly introduced in exercises, while the grammar and pronunciation modules have their own set of explanations, which are sometimes extensive. In terms of cultural-learning modules, I believe the exercises focus outside of the New Orleans area or theme, instead of in it (be it Louisiana French language, culture, artistic expression, particularities, etc.). While this extensive language practice resource could focus more on La Nouvelle Orléans, it is a fantastic source of exercises and activities to do in class with your students, or to assign as homework. [End Page 179] Florin Beschea Davidson College (NC) Copyright © 2023 American Association of Teachers of French

A Comparative Analysis of Multimodal Native Cultural Content in English-Language Textbooks in China and Mongolia

This article examines the multimodal native cultural content in two sets of English-language textbooks widely used in public junior high schools in China and Mongolia. A pre-existing analytical framework was adapted for this analysis. Through this adapted framework, this paper aims to analyze and compare the distribution of multimodal native cultural content in the chosen textbooks. The results reveal that the two sets of books contain diverse multimodal native cultural content, despite the significant imbalance between Big “C” and Small “c” categories in each set. The two sets of textbooks also have different emphases on representing these elements. We argue that previous studies overgeneralized language textbooks’ native cultural content. Learners’ intercultural communicative competence development may be impacted by the overemphasis and shortage of some cultural categories in the chosen books. This article concludes with implications for textbook design and classroom teaching and calls for further studies of teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of multimodal native cultural content.

Problemi nastave muzičke kulture u mlađim razredima osnovne škole na području Školske uprave Novi Pazar

In order to identify the current problems in teaching music culture in the Novi Pazar region and find solutions to overcome them, and therefore to improve teaching, we conducted an empirical study on a sample of 100 teachers from the territory of Novi Pazar, Sjenica and Tutin. Comparative, descriptive and content analysis methods were used in the research. According to the problem and goal of the topic, as a relevant research technique we used a survey with a suitable research instrument - a questionnaire for teachers. The results of the research show that 57.4% of schools do not have an instrument with chordal accompaniment, and even 85.71% of them have instruments from Orff's instrumentarium, and that both, where they exist, are not always available to teachers. All schools have CD players and internet, but they are not always available to teachers either. A certain number of teachers (as many as 40%) are dissatisfied with the textbook sets for this subject, because they do not contain CDs with recorded music material. As many as 75% of the surveyed teachers believe that they possess sufficient musical and methodical competences in the field of teaching methods of musical culture, and only 25% of them need to strengthen their methodical competences in this field. As many as 77% of the investigated teachers point out that the pedagogue, and 80% of them that the counselor and counselor-counselor never visited their music culture classes. The results of the research also show that none of the examined teachers has ever attended a seminar or any other form of training in the field of musical culture teaching methodology. After the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the research results, conclusions were drawn and specific proposals were given for overcoming the existing problems.

An Analysis of the Listening and Reading Sections of the Newly Published Japanese English Textbooks for Primary School

In 2020, Japan started a new English curriculum in which English classes began from grade 5, based on the latest edition of the Course of Study (the guideline produced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT). The objectives of this research paper are to examine seven sets of newly published English textbooks’ reading and listening sections to learn about their specific features, as well as their difficulty levels. The result demonstrates that in all seven sets of textbooks, the listening sections have far more volume of content than the reading sections. The readability tests indicate that the reading sections contain higher levels of sentences, which contradicts the authors’ initial impression. However, a careful study of the use of past tense verbs and prepositions in each section demonstrates that there are more prepositions in all seven sets of textbooks in the listening sections. The results indicate that past tense verbs and prepositions can be effective benchmarks to measure the readability level of these newly published English textbooks.

АНАЛИЗА СТАНДАРДА ДИДАКТИЧКОГ ОБЛИКОВАЊА САДРЖАЈА НА ПРИМЕРУ БАСНИ У ЧИТАНЦИ ЗА ПРВИ РАЗРЕД ОСНОВНЕ ШКОЛЕ ИЗДАВАЧКЕ КУЋЕ ЕДУКА

In this paper, we deal with the analysis of the quality standards of the didactic design of textbooks on the example of a reading book for the first grade published by Eduka (Jović and Jović, 2019). The analysis was performed according to general textbook quality standards (Ivić et al., 2009) and legal frameworks for regulating the quality of textbooks and textbook sets, using the example of fables that are part of the content of the analyzed source. The analysis of the achievement of standards in the field of didactic design in the paper will point out the possibilities of improving the existing didactic-methodical apparatuses that accompany fables. Keywords: textbook quality standards, didactic-methodical apparatus, textbook, reading book, fable

From Local to Globe: The Representation of Local Culture in An Undergraduate EFL Students’ Textbook

Given the wide variety of circumstances in which English is being used globally, the role of local culture in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is a challenging one. Based on the sociocultural viewpoint that language use is dynamic and context-dependent, this article is aimed to investigate the insertion of cultural values in the English textbook that is suitable and practical for undergraduate students. This developmental research employed Preffers model which consists of six stages: Identify the problem, describe the objectives, design & develop the artifact, test the artifact, evaluate testing results, and communicate the testing result. The sample of this study was 15 students of undergraduate students who is taking the English course. Results of an analysis of six sets of ELT textbooks that are distributed extensively and their cultural content are given. The validity test was done by three expert validators. It demonstrated the mean 86.7 and categorized as valid. Then, the practicality test showed a percentage 76.8% And also categorized as good practicality. Our result can be concluded that the developed English textbook is suitable, practical and beneficial for students. We further recommend using this textbook for teaching English.

An Examination on the Visuals in the Reading Texts of the Turkish Teaching Textbooks for Foreigners

There are various textbook sets commonly used in teaching Turkish to foreigners. In the literature, the literary content of these books has been examined by many researchers. However, there have not been enough studies on the visuals, which are as important as the texts in the books. The visuals belonging to the texts in the Gazi University Turkish Textbook for Foreigners Level C1 were examined in this research. In this study, document review method, which is one of the qualitative research designs, was used and 39 visuals used with 20 texts in the book were examined by the researcher and 3 experts in terms of their compatibility with the content of the texts. The visuals in the book were first grouped according to Levin's (1981) typology and it was determined that 97.42% of the visuals are representative and appropriately decorative. Then, the compatibility of the images with the texts was examined according to a five-item category list. It has been determined that helpful visuals are used in the book to predict the subject of the text, which is compatible with the content of the text. However, it has been concluded that the visuals are found insufficient to contribute to the comprehensibility of the text, to emphasize the important points in the text, and to support the main idea/emotion of the text. Suggestions were made regarding the use of organizational, explanatory and transformational visuals that contribute more to the understanding of the text in Turkish as a foreign language books.

Comparative Study of the Two Sets of Chinese Textbooks in Singaporean Secondary Schools

In the ethnically heterogeneous and linguistically hybrid Singapore, its bilingualism education is characterised by the mandatory mother tongue policy for its three main ethnic groups. For Chinese students’ language acquisition, this is practised in a way that Chinese language instruction in Singapore has been differentiated into four streams according to their individual differences in language proficiency. This study reports the findings obtained from a public funded large-scale empirical research project with a focus on the Mother Tongue Language curriculum in Singapore secondary schools. The questionnaire survey consists of 4811 students from 24 Singaporean secondary schools categorised on the basis of three key family language backgrounds, namely: Chinese-dominant, Chinese-English mixed, and English dominant. Using a comparative study methodology, the study seeks to juxtapose the perceptions of Secondary 2 and 3 students regarding their current language textbooks (developed in 2011) against the textbooks published in 2002. The survey revealed two key findings which highlight the diverse learning needs of students from varying backgrounds, thus indicating a greater and more complex challenge surrounding the revision of upcoming Mother Tongue Language instructional materials. It is our hope that the details of main findings manifested in this study can shed some light on the future endeavours in innovating Chinese education in other parts of the world with the similar sociolinguistic context.

The Confucian Ethics Curriculum in Singapore

Abstract In Singapore, the Confucian Ethics Curriculum was introduced between 1984 and 1992 as an elective subject of the moral education curriculum for secondary three and four students. The Singapore government put the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore (“the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore”, hereinafter referred to as “CDIS”) under the Ministry of Education in charge of developing a set of textbooks called Confucian Ethics and training teachers to teach them in schools. The textbooks were used in all secondary schools nationwide to fulfill the objective of teaching Confucianism. The attempt of systematic introduction of Confucianism to students as young as 15 or 16 years old through a formal curriculum in the public education system by the state is probably rare even in current Chinese societies, not to mention that the project was implemented nearly 40 years ago. The introduction of this curriculum in Singapore is of some significance for the preservation and promotion of Confucianism. This paper examines the Chinese textbooks of the curriculum in terms of background, objectives, systems, content, characteristics, and inspiration for future generations.

Data Analysis and Optimization of English Reading Corpus Based on Feature Extraction

In order to solve the difficulties faced by English reading teaching, this paper proposes a feature extraction-oriented method for data analysis and optimization of English reading corpus. This method specifically includes the evaluation of vocabulary coverage, comparing the value and vocabulary distribution evaluation of the two sets of textbooks in helping students master English core vocabulary and adapt to the English reading environment as soon as possible, testing whether the teaching of the three sets of textbooks can enable learners to reach the level of free reading corresponding English materials, and testing whether the gradient of the textbooks can be in line with the average language level required for reading corresponding English materials. The experimental results show that, compared with the blog-1565 based on the four authoritative core word lists, the English core word coverage of the two tutorials has reached 91.8% and 93.7%, respectively, and can be improved to 96% and 97.4%, respectively, after optimization. Conclusion. It is proved that the data analysis and optimization of English reading corpus based on feature extraction can play a directional role in the current English reading-related textbooks.