Abstract
Undoubtedly, the close integration of language and the
particular context for specific students is of prime importance for adapting
and adopting English textbooks. Like other high school English textbooks, The
existing textbooks for vocational and technical schools in Iran are
academically-oriented with more emphasis on cognitive development and less
consideration of students’ needs, abilities, interests, potentials and
developmental history. This paper briefly scrutinizes the framework and
components of the existing English textbooks in high schools and vocational/
technical schools at the same level or grade and emphasizes the necessity of
developing and producing English textbooks in terms of students’ language
levels, competence, needs, and the objectives of the program in these schools.
If English textbooks are designed and developed well regarding materials and
learners’ factors, then vocational /technical curriculum will provide a good
basis for learning and teaching. The study has recommendations and implications
for improvement of ESP courses considering these students’ needs.
Keywords:competence-driven curriculum, need analysis,
vocational and technical schools.
Introduction
Textbooks as a basic and vital component within the
curriculum facilitate concrete models for learning and fulfill a teacher
development role (Nunan, 1988). In Iran, all textbooks are designed and
developed by Ministry of Education. Moreover, the same English textbooks are
taught in all schools with students of various talents and competence in each
grade. On the other hand, Richards (2007) takes for granted the analysis of
learners’ needs in this regard and argues that “a sound educational program
should be based on an analysis of learner needs.” (p.51). And, Robinson (1991)
regards it as an indispensable criterion which is adopted and validated in
English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Arguably, viewing language levels of
students, their background knowledge, experiences, enthusiasm and incentive
play a significant function in language learning (Hutchinson & waters,
1987)). In addition, they pointed out that in developing ESP courses, the
crucial presupposition is to associate an English course with students’ needs
so as to enhance their motivation and make learning easier and sooner.
What’s more, as an instance of outcome-based program,
competence-based curriculum is increasingly improving in vocational schools
(Mulder, 2017). This kind of education, which is becoming increasingly dominant
in European countries and Australia, involves the amalgamation of knowledge,
and skills, as the intended result of learning (Clarke & Winch, 2007). In
Vocational programs or technical education, students are prepared to be
involved in as a technician or to get a job in a craft or trade (UNESCO, 2018).
In Iran, vocational schools at high school level are called Work-Knowledge
school, Technical School, or School of Art.
The purpose of this paper is to inspect and clarify the
main features of English Textbooks in Vocational schools/ Technical schools in
Iran based on competence-based education considering need analysis advantages
and to extend our understanding of this form of education in operation. In
other words, the author’s emphasis is on the specificity of English textbooks
for the technical/ vocational curriculum design.
Review of the Related Literature
In Iran, teaching/learning English formally starts from
junior high schools to the students aged between 12 and 15 years. The whole
system of education (both in non-profit and state schools) and its textbooks
are designed and developed within the purview of the Ministry of Education.
Moreover, the same English textbooks are provided for the students of all
proficiencies whether they are in gifted/ special schools or in vocational/
technical/work-knowledge schools with students of low proficiency. Also, the
English textbooks for high school consist of a reading section with a higher
priority to scientific texts for these students of varying proficiency, talent
and interest (Atai&Mazlum, 2013) and the same parts and components for
writing, listening and speaking skills for all schools; that is, the textbooks
have a academically-oriented framework in which cognitive development is
emphasized. Therefore, students’ needs for learning English are not met by
these formal curriculum (Pishghadam&Saboori, 2014). More importantly,
materials should expedite the learning of a language; they should be adapted
and adopted for learning rather than for teaching (Tomlinson, 2014).
Curriculum
A curriculum as the entirety of learner experiences in the
education (Wiles, 2008) is composed of a number of components that covers the
headings of content, learning experiences, goals and assessment (Child, 2004).
And, the diagnosis of the learners’ needs and formulation of the objectives are
the first essential elements in a curriculum. Furthermore, Goodlad and Su
(1992) dealt with the several dimensions of curriculum design, among them are
scope, sequence, continuity, articulation, and balance. In their view, in
‘scope’ dimension, we consider the cognitive learning, affective learning as
well as the depth and range of content, and different kinds of instructional
experiences involving the students in their learning. Nonetheless, because the
selection of such knowledge will influence the development of future knowledge,
any issue in this case is highly political (Hamayer, 2008).
Not surprisingly, when the textbook or program should be
what it is supposed to be, it should follow the dependent variables; it should
be modified with the needs of the students involved in (Chookhampaeng, 2003).
Therefore, in producing the course program, the materials developers should
consider both the course descriptions and the outputs resulted from the courses
based on students’ ability, knowledge, and their needs; they should also
recognize and understand the rationale for the course in context based on the
objectives of the school (Ornstein, 1990). This kind of curriculum create a
method and practice of teaching that supports emotive motivation in students
and students have the chances to indicate and report on what they are learning
and experiencing in the classroom (Jenkins, 2000).
Need Analysis
In any course or program, instructional goals and
objectives are the basic components to be developed at the beginning.
Obviously, they illuminate the language components for learning during the
course (Brown, 1995). In the same line, West (1994) believes needs analysis
specifies and elucidates what students should do using the foreign language in
the target setting and how they may learn and become proficient in the target
language during the instruction. Nowadays, “needs-based philosophy” is becoming
the essential part of language instruction especially in the case of ESP and
vocationally-oriented program design (Brindley, 1984).
Likewise, some researchers have paid much attention to
need analysis in course design and development (e.g., Atai, 2002) but the real
challenge in developing textbooks and specific-purpose curricula for different
kinds of schools and students with
diverse competence finally remains the same (Eslami-Rasekh, & Quiroz, 2007). Schmitt (2000) presumes that this
analysis is the starting point in all processes of learning so as to identify
the materials and resources. In the same vein, Flowerdew and Peacock (2001)
maintain that this kind of analysis “fine tunes the curriculum to the specific
needs of the learner” (p.178). Even some
scholars hold that not merely the perceptions of students of their needs but
the various perceptions of the learners’ needs from the viewpoints of teachers,
and graduates of those schools should be considered and emphasized (e.g.
Aguilar, 1999). In addition, “need” is a cover term which encompasses a vast
scope of desires, wants and lacks of something (Chambers, 1980).
On the other hand, needs assessment is an essential means
of doing research in order to prioritize the needs of students before text
developers decide and identify each lesson and its component parts for students
of various schools (Jordan, 1997). Furthermore, Brown (1995) holds that needs
assessment is a process of collecting data through diverse activities and from
various groups of students to identify their special learning needs; this
required process can develop and provide the first step of a suitable
curriculum for the ESP courses. In the same line, Robinson (1991) maintains
that a need analysis through needs assessment can direct and shape what
explicitly and precisely learners need to do through the medium of English.
Consequently, some researchers regard needs analysis as the heart of the EAP
approach (Flowerdew, 2013). Also, he argues that needs assessment should be
considered as the foundation and basis of ESP textbooks.
English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
Widdowson (1981) argued that through determining and
specifying the language learning needs of specific groups, we can decide and
specify what we should include in their textbooks so as to meet their needs and
objectives. Therefore, there are some differences between general English and
ESP courses based on the “awareness” of the students’ needs. In fact, this
awareness will have an impact on the selection and inclusion of the reasonable
content of the textbooks (Hutchinson and Waters, 1992).
In the same vein, Jordan (1997) contended the focus of ESP
is on the use of language in context instead of mere teaching of grammatical
structures or vocabulary. This is what Dudley-Evans (1998) held that makes ESP
unique and in demand. Also, Purpura and King (2003) maintained that the needs
analysis of ESP should be based on a procedure of gathering and analyzing the
essential information about the ‘target language needs of the learners. This
paves the ways for learning with increased motivation, improves what they
learned in specific context and facilitates the learning objectives. Hence, ESP
textbooks bridge the gap between students’ basic English proficiency and their
mainstream programs and offer a holistic English learning program for all
students (Dudley-Evans, 1998).
On the other hand, even though Hutchinson and Waters
(1987) contend that a valid method to ESP should be in terms of the perception
of the process of language learning, Belcher (2006) believes that the two most
significant facets of current arguments on ESP are need analysis and
authenticity in which the materials or course development can obtain better
understanding of specific students’ real needs and expectations in order to
facilitate the course objectives. This issue is increasingly emphasized by
Basturkmen (2003) in that he considers ESP course design more on a
“wide-angled” design rather than a “narrow-angled” one in which in
“wide-angled” design, the textbook is composed of a larger or comprehensive
scope of work, professional, or academic environment. To this end, Johns (1988)
pointed on authentic texts and activities in ESP materials which raise
students’ awareness of common linguistic patterns, so students will become
acquainted with tasks which they will come across in the target situations.
Towards Competence-based Education (CBE) in Vocational and
Technical Schools
Currently, researchers and policymakers are increasingly
paying heed to the use CBE in many countries, particularly in vocational
schools (Illeris, 2009). Vocational education and vocational schools, developed
in collaboration with industry, can facilitate the transition from school to
work while providing employers with trained workers. These schools can also
enhance a vast range of work-based learning routes for some specific students (UNESCO,
2018); any form of competence is regarded as significant in this approach.
Likewise, De Brujin’s research (2012) clarified four key
characteristics and guidance facets of this approach; they were 1) powerful
learning environments (adaptively and expansion of tasks), 2) proven teaching
methods and experiential ones in a new educational concept (flexible use), 3)
professional identity learning (modelling, coaching) and 4) self-regulation
(monitoring, guiding, scaffolding). He further added that the instructor’s
professional identity formation is of crucial importance relating to the
background of the contents and the activities involved in the textbooks.
Conclusion
At the heart of the development and selection of English
textbooks for students at each level or grade, there needs to be a theory of
community and a theory of educational change in relation to that community with
special proficiency, levels, talents, interests, wants, needs, objectives,
values and future jobs. Although in Iran, students with various proficiency and
needs are taught through same English textbooks at one grade, the adapting and
adopting these books based on the aforementioned essential facets certainly
represents books that increasingly motivate students of vocational/technical schools
for learning. Now that in many countries even an area-based curriculum is being
considered in order to re-examine the relationship between schools and their
local communities and their specific students, specifying textbooks in terms of
the previous variables can open up the possibility of practical undertaking and
offer opportunities for new educational resources for new forms of
accountability and responsibility, and overcome the existing challenges in
learning. Unquestionably, further quantitative and qualitative studies will
present more obvious and accurate results.
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