ENGLISH TEXTBOOK WRITING FOR VIETNAMESE PRIMARY SCHOOLS: A THEME-BASED APPROACH

Abstract

This paper is concerned with a new approach to English textbook writing for primary schools in Vietnam – a theme-based approach. It starts by establishing some general principles of language teaching and learning appropriate to the age of the primary school pupils. Then it presents the theme-based approach to writing English textbooks for Vietnamese primary schools, describing in some depth the method of developing the contents of a theme-unit (Unit 20 - Our Toys) in Tiếng Anh 3, Tập Hai, through combining and interweaving theme with other constituent components such as linguistic competence/function (reflected in language skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing) and linguistic knowledge (pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar), pointing out the advantages of the theme-based approach, and suggesting some communicative activities the English primary teacher can use when teaching their pupils this textbook unit. In the conclusion, the paper argues that the theme-based approach to English textbook writing for Vietnamese primary schools is an appropriate and effective approach. It reflects vividly the two approaches to foreign language teaching and learning which are in currency in the world: the learner-centred approach and communicative language teaching.