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Review of English for Ethiopia Grade 5 Textbook

Received: 25 May 2020     Accepted: 18 June 2020     Published: 28 July 2020
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Abstract

Constructivism is considered as leading paradigm of Ethiopian educational policy. So, instructional approaches and preparation of teaching materials expected to be in line with this paradigm. In this regard, educational psychologists, expected to review and comment on the qualities of instructional approaches used in textbooks. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate if English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook is prepared in line with basic principles of constructivism theory. To this end, qualitative approach is used to review English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook. In the present review course syllabus of English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook and the teacher’s guidebook is considered simultaneously with the textbook. The instrument used for the review developed by the present researcher and its’ validity checked by three educational psychologists. The result of the review show that, except few limitations, English textbook used to teach Ethiopian grade 5 students is prepared in line with major principles of constructivism. The contents and structure of English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook is good in terms of promoting personal construction of knowledge, enhancing active learning, encouraging collaborative learning, making learning realistic, make learning situations relevant, activate learners’ prior knowledge, incorporating different concepts from different disciplines, integrating the four macro-language skills, and incorporating activities which have feature of enhancing learners’ critical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving skills. Even though majority of tasks in English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook are designed in line with constructivism principles, the textbook has limitations, in terms of allowing learners to form topics, incorporating self-assessment questions, allocating proportional time for units and incorporating activities which encourage use of authentic learning materials.

Published in International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences (Volume 5, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11
Page(s) 40-46
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Constructivism, Textbook Review, Active Learning

References
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[2] Chapelle, C. A. (2016). The Significance of Culture in Language Teaching. In Teaching Culture in Introductory Foreign Language Textbooks (pp. 1-35). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
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[6] Dereje, N. B. (2012). Primary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teaching in Ethiopia: Policy and Practice (Doctoral dissertation, Addis Ababa University).
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Addis Kebede. (2020). Review of English for Ethiopia Grade 5 Textbook. International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 5(3), 40-46. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11

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    ACS Style

    Addis Kebede. Review of English for Ethiopia Grade 5 Textbook. Int. J. Psychol. Brain Sci. 2020, 5(3), 40-46. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11

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    AMA Style

    Addis Kebede. Review of English for Ethiopia Grade 5 Textbook. Int J Psychol Brain Sci. 2020;5(3):40-46. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11,
      author = {Addis Kebede},
      title = {Review of English for Ethiopia Grade 5 Textbook},
      journal = {International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences},
      volume = {5},
      number = {3},
      pages = {40-46},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpbs.20200503.11},
      abstract = {Constructivism is considered as leading paradigm of Ethiopian educational policy. So, instructional approaches and preparation of teaching materials expected to be in line with this paradigm. In this regard, educational psychologists, expected to review and comment on the qualities of instructional approaches used in textbooks. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate if English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook is prepared in line with basic principles of constructivism theory. To this end, qualitative approach is used to review English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook. In the present review course syllabus of English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook and the teacher’s guidebook is considered simultaneously with the textbook. The instrument used for the review developed by the present researcher and its’ validity checked by three educational psychologists. The result of the review show that, except few limitations, English textbook used to teach Ethiopian grade 5 students is prepared in line with major principles of constructivism. The contents and structure of English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook is good in terms of promoting personal construction of knowledge, enhancing active learning, encouraging collaborative learning, making learning realistic, make learning situations relevant, activate learners’ prior knowledge, incorporating different concepts from different disciplines, integrating the four macro-language skills, and incorporating activities which have feature of enhancing learners’ critical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving skills. Even though majority of tasks in English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook are designed in line with constructivism principles, the textbook has limitations, in terms of allowing learners to form topics, incorporating self-assessment questions, allocating proportional time for units and incorporating activities which encourage use of authentic learning materials.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Review of English for Ethiopia Grade 5 Textbook
    AU  - Addis Kebede
    Y1  - 2020/07/28
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11
    T2  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
    JF  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
    JO  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
    SP  - 40
    EP  - 46
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1573
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20200503.11
    AB  - Constructivism is considered as leading paradigm of Ethiopian educational policy. So, instructional approaches and preparation of teaching materials expected to be in line with this paradigm. In this regard, educational psychologists, expected to review and comment on the qualities of instructional approaches used in textbooks. Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate if English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook is prepared in line with basic principles of constructivism theory. To this end, qualitative approach is used to review English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook. In the present review course syllabus of English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook and the teacher’s guidebook is considered simultaneously with the textbook. The instrument used for the review developed by the present researcher and its’ validity checked by three educational psychologists. The result of the review show that, except few limitations, English textbook used to teach Ethiopian grade 5 students is prepared in line with major principles of constructivism. The contents and structure of English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook is good in terms of promoting personal construction of knowledge, enhancing active learning, encouraging collaborative learning, making learning realistic, make learning situations relevant, activate learners’ prior knowledge, incorporating different concepts from different disciplines, integrating the four macro-language skills, and incorporating activities which have feature of enhancing learners’ critical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving skills. Even though majority of tasks in English for Ethiopia grade 5 textbook are designed in line with constructivism principles, the textbook has limitations, in terms of allowing learners to form topics, incorporating self-assessment questions, allocating proportional time for units and incorporating activities which encourage use of authentic learning materials.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Psychology Department, Bule Hora University College of Behavioral and Education Sciences, Adolla Wayyu, Ethiopia

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