First of all, for the quantity of language elements and four skills, it was suggested by all of the interviewees, inclusive of four urban students and two rural ones, that diverse genres and types be added to listening practice, such as chants, songs (USH1), short stories, and dialogues (USH2, RSH2). Words and phrases were supposed to be increased by three of the urban students (USH1, S3, S4) and both of the rural ones (RSH1, RSH2). Also, writing was thought insufficient by two of the urban ones (USH2, USH3) and both of the rural ones (RSH1, RSH2). In addition to translation and sentence patterns, guided writing was also suggested (USH2, RSH1). The insufficiency of speaking was also indicated by USH3, USH4 and USH5 because they
hoped to have correct pronunciation (USH3, RSH1) and opportunities of speaking English in the classroom (USH4).
With regard to difficulty levels, the difficulty level of listening practice was diversely perceived. The speed of listening CDs was supposed to be faster and more native-like by USH3 and USH4. Nevertheless, one of the rural students, RSH1, reflected that the difficulty level of listening in the workbook was inconsistent with that in exams due to different speed. The speed of the listening in exams was faster.
On the other hand, one of the urban students, USH2, stated his problems with listening comprehension because of the fast speed and short answering time. In terms of reading, it was found by RSH1 that articles in textbooks were shorter than those in the BCT. Writing practice was also suggested to have diverse types (USH3 and RSH1), such as cloze and short speeches, and so was speaking practice.
Satisfaction with the textbook
Concerning the overall features, freshness of articles and space for taking notes were insufficient (USH2, USH4, RSH2). It was suggested that the articles be advanced by extending the topic. For example, the topic of Lesson Nine in Volume Four was symptoms of getting sick or hurt. The reading could further talk about how to take care of a patient (RSH2).
With regard to words, phrases and pronunciation, each of the students indicated the importance of strategies of memorizing words as well as pronunciation.
Concerning the former feature, USH1, USH4 and RSH1 appreciated Theme Words section because it offered pictures and helped them remember words. However, RSH1 reported that the section presented only words and pictures instead of a passage. The weakness caused her difficulty in retaining theme words. Furthermore, though strategies of memorizing words were valued by all of the interviewees, they all
reflected that few examples of these strategies were presented. USH2 indicated that only Reviews One and Two of Volume Four presented suffixes, for example, suffixes to form an adjective, -ful, -y, and -ous. The insufficiency of word memorizing strategies was compensated with teachers’ extra instructions. Regarding pronunciation, although vowels and consonants were presented, USH2 suggested stress of a word and a sentence be instructed in class and RSH2 recommended interactive DVDs to help her autonomously practice pronunciation. In addition to the above features, USH3 indicated that explanation of words needed improvement because some words had the same Chinese translations but different usage, for example, from vs. since.
Both of them are translated as “從,” but they are used in different contexts.
With respect to grammar, it was found that explanation of when to apply a tense and comparison of similar grammar (e.g., to V v.s. V-ing) did not meet students’ needs.
USH1, USH2 and USH3 were all confused with the usage of tenses, such as past progressive and past simple. Concerning comparison of similar grammar, although this was offered in every review section of each volume, USH1, USH2, and USH3 still reported that it was insufficient and more practice should be offered.
For the suggestions of texts, genres and topics were supposed to be diverse and incorporated with different topics or subjects. USH2 said, “The most common genres are dialogues and short reading in each lesson as well as songs in every review section.
Other genres do not appear in textbooks. Topics should be related to our daily life, such as graduation, school festivals, and sports day.” RSH2 further stated, “Cultures in the last two volumes are abundant, for example, Chinese zodiac, Guinness World Records. The topics in the other volumes are easier. They can be integrated with other topics. For example, food can be integrated with health and shopping. USH4 found that festivals were introduced, but most of them were common sense. USH1 and USH3 perceived that cultures were presented, but they hoped to know more about
foreigners’ daily life, e.g., manners, tattoos. Furthermore, moral values were hoped to be incorporated in texts. USH1 remembered that Lesson Four in Volume Five, which was about adopting stray dogs, and she believed that it could arouse people’s moral awareness. Concerning other features in texts, it was suggested by USH2 that different meanings of a word should be presented for students to review. A different layout could be used to highlight not only new words but also key grammar.
With respect to four skills, it was found by five of the six interviewees that reading and writing practices were much more than listening and speaking ones.
Listening, in particular, was thought to be improved due to the inappropriate speed of listening CDs and unclear pictures (USH2 and ISH5). USH1 further indicated that speaking practice only focused on grammar. USH3 thought that Warm-up was a good chance to talk about the topic but time was usually insufficient.
With respect to learning resources and methods, five of the six students did not remember that Volume One had presented how to look up a word in a dictionary.
USH1 and RSH1 thought that it was necessary to use a dictionary in every volume. In addition, each of the interviewees hoped to learn more about learning strategies, for example, how to analyze a cloze and discover the correct answers, how to utilize appendixes and note pages in the final part of each volume. They also hoped that listening CDs would be able to adjust its speed to suit a listener’s needs. Besides, more resources should be offered, such as websites, music and magazines. What’s more important, practice should be sufficient; otherwise, students had to spend more money buying extra reference books and workbooks.
Comments on textbook writers’ philosophy and the use of the textbook
Regarding textbook writers’ ideals, all of the students agreed with the importance of four skills. However, the proportions of theses skills were imbalanced. Presentation
of cultures was also perceived by all of them but was insufficient in completeness (USH1).
Concerning the sequencing, all of the interviewees reported that their teachers usually instructed words and grammar first and then followed the sequence in the textbook. They thought that teachers’ arrangement was suitable and fluent for them because they could apply words and grammar which had just been learned to reading the texts. Reading comprehension thus could be reinforced.
With regard to functions that the current textbooks already had, these functions were thought to be presented: “using grammar correctly” (USH1, USH4), “learning words and sentences of daily life” (USH1, USH2), “literature” (e.g., poetry), and
“local and foreign cultures” (USH4).
In the second part of the interview, students’ needs, preferences and difficulties, three of the students liked readings due to diverse topics (USH1, USH3, USH5).
Dialogues were appreciated by USH4 because it could be rewritten and had different endings. Theme words were prized by USH2 because of the practicality. On the other hand, USH2 disliked insufficient explanation of grammar; RSH1 was discontent with the speed of listening CDs; RSH2 thought that pictures did not suit the texts.