Global Englishes in English Language Teaching: Evaluating Coursebooks Used in an Undergraduate Program in Vietnam

ABSTRACT This study examines coursebooks used to teach English to undergraduate students majoring in English at a public university in Vietnam. The aim is to evaluate the extent to which the coursebooks prepare students for future use of English as an international language. This is in response to a call made by key scholars, including those in Vietnam, for a paradigm shift in English language teaching (ELT) to adapt to the changing sociolinguistic landscape of the twenty‐first century. In today's interconnected world, English is commonly used as a global lingua franca. However, it is widely considered a foreign language in Vietnam. Three coursebooks were analyzed using an adapted Global Englishes Language Teaching (GELT) framework. Focusing on four main features comprising ownership, target interlocutors, models and norms, and depiction of culture, the analysis revealed a predominantly traditional ELT orientation, although positive signs of change towards a Global Englishes‐oriented approach could be identified. The findings also showed that while the listening and speaking coursebook and the reading coursebook moved further along the continuum from traditional ELT towards GELT, the writing coursebook displayed the least tendency to incorporate a Global Englishes (GE) perspective. Implications for the design and selection of coursebooks for GELT, as well as for the adaptation of these coursebooks for GE‐aware language teaching, were discussed.