Seameo regional language centre
particular classrooms. Nevertheless, what might have discouraged teachers from
tải về 421.94 Kb. Chế độ xem pdf
|
particular classrooms. Nevertheless, what might have discouraged teachers from doing so is the fact that the high-stake, external examinations such as end-of-year tests, graduation or university entrance exams are not yet localized. There is only one common test for students throughout the whole country. Thus, teachers are under pressure to cover as much as possible in the books so as to most effectively prepare their students for these exams and they hesitate to adapt the books. On the top of that, many education managers in provincial education services tend to hold a view against textbook adaptation and explicitly request that teachers strictly follow the textbooks. Furthermore, the teachers also mentioned some unfavorable conditions for adopting CLT in their schools such as large class size, passive students, lack of a real need for communication in English and grammar-based tests which had adversely impacted on the teaching and learning. Finally, they also addressed some other issues, for example schools lacking in technology and facilities and teachers lacking in good knowledge of the history, geography, culture and people of English speaking countries. Teacher’s manuals, unfortunately, did not supplement this information. Concerning the discussion of the limitations of these books, it would seem unfair to blame all on the textbook writers, however. Very often, textbook writers work within 55 certain constraints. There are parameters set by sponsors or/ and publishers that they have to adhere to. The finished product, therefore, is often a sort of compromise of these competing demands from different stakeholders (Renandya, personal communication). In the case of MOET new books, the writers in fact have been caught between a rock and a hard place. They have to adhere to the curriculum guidelines which set quite high goals to achieve on the one hand, and cater to the varied proficiency levels of the target student population, on the other. |