The implementation of a new English textbook at a Vietnamese university: The teachers’ perspective

Abstract

English teaching materials are considered as central to any language programs in many textbook-based contexts including Vietnam. Despite receiving significant attention, the selection process of a textbook is usually conducted in a top-down manner, which accordingly creates challenges for teachers in implementing the selected textbook in their teaching practices. This quantitative small-scale study aimed to explore the teachers’ opinions about the adoption of a new business English textbook at a Vietnamese university. Participants were 16 teachers who responded to the questionnaire adapted from the English Language Textbook Evaluation Checklist by Mukundan & Hajimohammadi (2011). The findings revealed some unexpected realities that the teachers had to confront when adopting the new textbook. While expressing a generally positive view of the quality of the book, the teachers reported struggling to cover the content and conduct the activities in the book. This not only provides teachers with some recommendations in revising and adapting the textbook in their teaching but also raises some practical implications for policy-makers in providing professional support for teachers to curate and develop teaching materials.