Junior High School English Teachers’ Perspectives on Current English Textbooks in Hsin Chu County

• Main Authors: Chao-Ying Lu, 呂昭穎
• Other Authors: Hui-Chih Wang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/v6w75u

碩士 === 中原大學 === 應用外語研究所 === 98 === The purpose of this study is to understand the status of the textbook selection process in the junior high schools of the Hsin Chu County, as well as the advice and satisfaction levels of the teachers. It then explores the factors that may affect the outcome of the textbook selection process by analyzing the relationships between the different variables, including the teachers’ backgrounds, school sizes, the issues encountered during the selection process, as well as teachers’ satisfaction after using the selected textbooks. Next, a questionnaire was designed to and distributed to 184 English teachers from the junior high schools in Hsin Chu County as the subjects. As a result, 140 valid questionnaires were returned. By evaluating the data using the t-test and the ANOVA analysis of variance, the researcher made the following conclusions: 1. Kan-Hsuan, Hanlin, and Nan-I are the most commonly used English textbooks and that, in most cases, the teaching materials are selected by the English Teaching Committee of almost all junior high schools. 2. English teachers in the Hsin Chu County believe that the status of the existing textbook selection process meets the principles of textbook selection. 3. It is important to note that the external factor that influences the selection of the English textbooks is the font size. The internal factors focus primarily on the difficulty level of the teaching materials. In other factors focus on if the workbooks reflects the key points of the textbook. 4. Overall, the teachers in Hsin Chu County are satisfied with the external, internal, as well as other factors related to selection of the English teaching materials. 5. The teachers’ satisfaction levels in regards to the external factors of the teaching materials may vary because of the “location of school” and the “age”. However, it will not be affected by the “teaching experience” and “gender”. 6. The teachers’ satisfaction levels vary regarding the internal factors of the teaching materials because of the “gender”, “location of school”, or the “teaching experience”. However, it is not affected by the “age” factor. 7. Variations exist in the teachers’ satisfaction levels regarding other factors of the teaching materials because of the “location of school” or “age”. However, it is not affected by the “gender” or “teaching experience”. 8. Teachers have encountered numerous difficulties and inconveniences while using the textbooks. Examples of such problems are a lack of teaching hours, and the restoration of teaching materials to be one outline and one textbook. Finally, the research findings provided suggestions and future recommendations on textbook selection and usage for education and administrative agencies, schools, teachers and publishers. The results were helpful to junior high schools in Hsin Chu County, as well as could enhance the professional knowledge of the teachers, thereby to boost the instructional effectiveness.