Seameo regional language centre

Textbook evaluation: 
The case of English textbooks 
currently in use in Vietnam’s upper-
secondary schools
Nguyen Thi Thuy Minh, Ph.D
College of Foreign Languages
Vietnam National University Hanoi
SEAMEO REGIONAL LANGUAGE CENTRE
2007

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Abstract
The textbook is a key component in most language programs. In an English as a 
foreign language context, it may even constitute the main and perhaps only source of 
language input that learners receive and the basis for language practice that occurs 
both inside and outside the classroom. However, research has suggested that despite 
their important role, textbooks are not always professionally designed and do not 
always fit the curriculum and closely correspond with the aims of the teaching 
program and the needs of the students.
Thus, textbooks should be carefully evaluated and selected before being used for a 
language program. Textbook evaluation helps the managerial and teaching staff select 
the most appropriate materials available for a particular course. It also helps to 
identify the strengths and weaknesses of a particular textbook that is already in use. 
This is to inform teachers in the process of textbook adaptation and decision-making 
for the next course.
It is in this view that the present study seeks to evaluate a new series of English 
textbooks currently developed for use at the upper secondary school level in 
Vietnam. Specifically, it seeks to examine the communicative nature of the textbooks 
and the ease of their use with a view to proposing practical implications for both 
textbook authors and teachers who have been and will be using the books.

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