HUE UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
*****

COURSE: MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT AND ADAPTATION

(BIÊN SOẠN VÀ CHỈNH SỬA TÀI LIỆU)

FINAL ASSIGNMENT

Course instructor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. LE PHAM HOAI HUONG

Academic Year: Semester II, 2023-2024
Students’ full names and IDs:
1. Nguyễn Ngọc Thư Trang – 20F7511221
2. Nguyễn Thị Hồng Ngát – 21F7010136

HUE, 4/2024
I. Introduction
Textbooks play a vital role in education, shaping the learning landscape in classrooms.
Among the myriad of resources available, "Global Success" has become a cornerstone in
studying English in educational institutions since 2018. This widespread usage prompted our
team to conduct a thorough evaluation of its implementation in grade 10 classrooms. Serving as
more than just a learning tool, "Global Success" not only provides language input and practice
but also serves as the foundation for lesson content, skill development, and language proficiency
enhancement. Its omnipresence underscores its potential to influence both student engagement
and teacher pedagogy. In this essay, we will evaluate the strengths and highlight the challenges
that teachers commonly face when using "Global Success" in their teaching practices. We will
provide solutions and improvement suggestions to ensure that the content is suitable and
effective for both teachers and students.

II. Textbook evaluation

1. Evaluate the strengths of the textbook “Global Success English 10”
Firstly, the textbook covers a wide range of essential topics. With 10 units in total, each unit
revolves around a crucial theme related to important aspects of life, spanning from personal
skills to social knowledge. These carefully selected topics are tailored to the age and academic
level of grade 10 students, aiding them in developing comprehensive skills and knowledge
necessary for future success. For example:

 Unit 1: "Family life" assists students in honing communication skills within the family
while also learning about cultural values and traditions.
 Unit 9: "Protecting the environment" discusses the importance of the environment and
various activities and organizations worldwide dedicated to environmental protection.
Secondly, the textbook employs real-world information. It ensures content relevance by
keeping it updated with global problems. Additionally, the book establishes real-life connections
by linking lessons to everyday experiences, highlighting the importance of learning English and
enabling students to apply learned knowledge in communication, studying, and future careers.
For example, in Unit 9: "Protecting the Environment," the book provides information on pressing
environmental issues worldwide, such as climate change and pollution, while suggesting
solutions for environmental protection. This integration of real-world issues not only enhances
students' understanding but also motivates them to take action in addressing global challenges.

Thirdly, the book's high applicability is evident through its provision of practical guidance. It
offers various hands-on exercises and application activities, including multiple-choice quizzes,
fill-in-the-blank exercises, and writing tasks, enabling students to review their knowledge and
hone their skills effectively. Furthermore, each unit includes a Project section, encouraging
students to undertake creative projects such as interviews, presentations, and report writing,
fostering the development of soft skills and creative thinking abilities. Additionally, the textbook
provides online learning support, including audio files, videos, and online practice exercises,

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enhancing students' learning experiences and effectiveness. These resources complement the
textbook content, catering to different learning styles and preferences while facilitating self-
paced learning.

Another strength of this textbook is its comprehensive development of the four language
skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Each lesson in the book focuses on enhancing
all four language skills in a coherent manner, designed with increasing difficulty levels to help
students progressively improve their language proficiency. Specific evidence includes:

 Listening exercises in the book comprise various short and long listening passages on
different topics, aiding students in practicing listening comprehension.
 Speaking exercises encourage students to participate in activities such as discussions,
presentations, role-plays, etc., fostering fluent and confident speaking skills.
 Reading exercises consist of articles, stories, emails, etc., enabling students to practice
reading comprehension and expand their vocabulary.
 Writing exercises include paragraph writing, letter writing, report writing, etc., helping
students practice fluent and accurate writing skills.
Beyond skill development, the textbook lays a solid foundation of knowledge. Lessons are
logically structured, guiding students systematically through sections like Getting Started, Main
Part, Communication and Culture, and Project, ensuring clarity of lesson structure and
objectives.

Furthermore, the inclusion of vivid images and illustrations enhances understanding, making
the content more accessible to students.

2. Evaluate the difficulties and challenges that teachers may encounter.

Despite its noteworthy strengths, the textbook “Global Success English 10” may also pose
some challenges for teachers:

Firstly, it is obvious that the book lacks of expertise. Due to covering many topics in one
curriculum, the Global Success English 10 book cannot go into each aspect in detail. This can
make it difficult for teachers to provide students a comprehensive understanding of a particular
subject, especially for complex or new topics. For example, in Unit 5: "Inventions", the book
only provides an overview of different types of technology without going into detail about how
they work or their impact on society.

Secondly, some views and opinions in the book Global Success English 10 may be subjective
and not suitable for everyone. This can lead to students being exposed to only one side of an
issue or to information that is inaccurate or misleading. Teachers need to be aware of these
potential biases and be prepared to provide students with alternative perspectives.

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 Thirdly, the latest version of Global Success English 10 was published in 2017, some
information may be outdated. This can make it difficult for teachers to provide students with
accurate and up-to-date information about the world. For example, Unit 5 “Inventions” does not
address the latest developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Last but not least, Global Success English 10 book is a typical example of an English
textbook that is not suitable for the Vietnamese context. The book uses many examples and
situations from Western countries, which may make it difficult for Vietnamese students to relate
to the lessons. For example, in Culture of Unit 1 “Family” (page 15), the passage mentioned
about five family values of British people in the 21st century so teachers may have difficulty
conveying knowledge when students do not have knowledge about the British people in
particular and England in general.

III. Adaption of Unit 4 in the textbook “Global Success English 10”

Based on the challenges outlined above, we propose solutions and adjustments to facilitate
teachers' teaching and ensure better accessibility to the content for students. We will use Unit 4,
"For a Better Community" (Page 42- 51) as an example to illustrate these adjustments.

1. Learner-centeredness and Critical Awareness development

Applying the strategies of Learner-centeredness and Critical Awareness (according to
Tomlinson, 2011), we incorporate an activity into the "Getting Started" section of Unit 4, "For a
Better Community" (page 42, see Appendix 1). In this activity (see Appendix 2), students are
prompted to brainstorm ideas about volunteer work they have previously undertaken to benefit
their community. This places students at the forefront, allowing them to actively engage in the
learning process and share their knowledge. Through this activity, students develop critical
thinking and communication skills. They are encouraged to reflect on their contributions to the
community and evaluate the effectiveness of their volunteer activities. Furthermore, students
practice sharing ideas, listening, and engaging in group discussion.

2. Provocative development
In Activity 2 (Culture, page 50, see Appendix 1), students are only required to talk "Save the
Children" based on the diagram they completed in Activity 1. Consequently, they lack critical
and creative thinking or deeper insights into the topic. Furthermore, this learning approach
confines students within their comfort zones, hindering exploration of new ideas. Therefore, we
employ a provocative method to adjust this activity (see Appendix 2). By initiating a debate
between two groups in the class, students can respond to and expand upon teacher-provided
questions related to the lesson content. These topics can spark lively debates and discussions in
the classroom, encouraging students to think critically and express their own viewpoints,
enabling them to explore various solutions and ideas. Simultaneously, this enhances students'
interest and engagement in the learning process.

3. Extending task

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 Implementing the techniques to adapt textbooks suggested by Richard (2006), we suggest
adding an additional task to Activity 1 in the “Vocabulary” section (page 44, see Appendix 1).
The initial activity asks students to match vocabulary terms with their corresponding definitions.
However, to cultivate a deeper understanding of these words, it is imperative to engage students
in activities that promote contextual usage and connect new vocabulary to their existing
knowledge base. Therefore, we suggest adding a group discussion activity. Students will be
divided into groups and tasked with discussing a designated topic while using newly acquired
vocabulary. Then, each group will nominate a representative to present and discuss the selected
topic. By introducing this additional activity, students will have the opportunity to gain a more
comprehensive understanding of the meaning and application of new vocabulary in appropriate
contexts.

4. Modifying task
In the ''Looking back'' section (page 50, see Appendix 1), the current exercise format for the
grammar section is to fill in the blanks with appropriate verb forms. Although utilizing a
straightforward activity such as fill-in-the-blanks can assist students in revisiting fundamental
concepts of the past simple and past continuous tenses, it falls short in fostering a deeper
comprehension of these grammatical structures. Students may struggle to apply their knowledge
of these grammatical forms to more advanced exercises. Moreover, this type of exercise may
overlap with the fill-in-the-blank exercise for Vocabulary. So we decided to change into a new
format that involves both reordering words and identifying the appropriate verb tenses (see
Appendix 2). Thus, the modified version will help students to improve their ability to identify
sentence components and apply the grammar knowledge they have learned to fill in the correct
tense form for the sentence.

IV. Conclusion
In conclusion, through this essay, we have analyzed the textbook "Global Success English
10" used in Vietnamese high schools, highlighting its strengths and potential challenges faced by
teachers during its implementation. Additionally, we proposed modifications to unit 4 "For a
Better Community" within the textbook to enhance its effectiveness. With the above assessments
and suggestions, the essay hopes to contribute to improving the quality of English teaching and
learning in Vietnamese high schools.

REFERENCES
1. Hoàng Văn Vân et al. (2022). Tieng Anh 10: Global success. Nhà xuất bản giáo dục Việt
Nam.
2. Le Pham Hoai Huong. (2023). Materials development and adaptation.
3. Richards, J. C. (2001). The role of textbooks in a language program. Available at:
https://www.professorjackrichards.com/wp-content/uploads/role-of-textbooks.pdf. Accessed Jan

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1, 2023.
4. Tomlinson, B. (2011). Materials development for language teaching. Second edition.
Cambridge.

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 APPENDIX

Appendix 1

Getting Started Communication And Vocabulary Looking Back

Culture/CILL

Appendix 2

Adapted version of Getting Started

Adapted version of Culture –

Communication And Culture/CILL

Adapted version of Grammar – Looking

Back

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 FINAL ASSIGNMENT ASSESSMENT (60% of the course grade)

 Introduction: (1 point)

 Textbook evaluation: (3 points)

 Adaptation of one unit in the textbook: (4 points)

 Language use: (1 point)

 Conclusion and appendice (s): (1 point)

Total: …………………./10 points