EXPLORING LANGUAGE INPUT OF THE READING TEXTS IN NORTHSTAR TEXTBOOKS FOR FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

There are many studies on English Language Teaching materials evaluation, but very few investigate the language input of reading materials though text input is considered a primary factor for successful foreign language learning. This research explored the language input of reading texts in a book series used in teaching reading for first-year English-major students at a foreign language university in central Vietnam. It aimed at investigating text topics, genres, length, language difficulty level and students’ as well as teachers’ perceptions of the studied texts in an attempt to facilitate students’ reading comprehension. Thirty-two reading texts were studied using a descriptive analytical approach. Individual and focus group interviews were implemented with 15 students and 7 lecturers. The findings showed the textbooks incorporated a wide variety of topics which are interesting and familiar to students. Article was the most popular text genre. The text length and language difficulty level proved to be appropriate to students’ levels. The lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of the texts also supported the textbook analysis findings. These findings implicated the selected textbooks should be kept in the curriculum but need further adaptation. Besides, some suggestions were made to help ELT lecturers modify the text input effectively.