An Analytical Study of Grade Eleven Myanmar Textbooks Focusing on their Objectives, Contents and Contributions to Myanmar Literature

The purpose of this research is to analyse the Grade Eleven Myanmar textbooks (Selected Myanmar Prose and Selected Myanmar Poetry) focusing on their objectives, contents and contributions to Myanmar literature, and to explore the perception of the teachers who teach Myanmar on these textbooks. The triangulation design, one of the mixed methods designs, was used for this study. The researcher conducted content analysis plus survey questionnaires which can be used to evaluate textbooks from the perspective of teachers, ensuring a higher level of objectivity of the results and less subjective judgements. The checklists were developed for both textbooks, in accordance with the nature of Grade Eleven Myanmar textbooks and the survey questionnaires for the perception of teachers who teach Myanmar, were developed in order to gain both qualitative and quantitative data. All senior Myanmar language teachers (totally 70) from the Basic Education High Schools and Sub-high Schools in Hsalingyi, Yinmarbin and Pale Townships, were chosen as participants in this study. Results from the qualitative content analysis showed that both textbooks can fulfil the goals and objectives of teaching Myanmar and Grade Eleven Myanmar Syllabus though objectives themselves seem to be updated. Similarly, according to the results of the quantitative data, the teachers satisfied the objectives. The researcher found that both textbooks need to be updated in terms of contents. Despite the major satisfaction in contents, the results described that the Myanmar language teachers did not satisfy the textbooks in terms of exercises. It is found that both textbooks can highlight the brief history of Myanmar literature and make several contributions to it. The teachers who used those textbooks also confessed that statement. The findings of this study reveal the strengths and limitations of Grade Eleven Myanmar textbooks designed for use in a Myanmar context