3. Coursebook Evaluation

Who needs a textbook? Read the following three teachers’ opinions about coursebooks. Which one do you agree with most? Teacher 1: ‘I don’t use a textbook. I prepare all my own teaching materials. After all I know my students’ needs better than any coursebook writer does.’ Teacher 2: ‘I couldn’t teach without a textbook. I use it just like a recipe. Follow it page by page, and you can’t go wrong.’ Teacher 3: ‘I find my coursebook very useful. I use it a lot. But not all the time.’ Can you think of a course/situation for which each of the approaches would be most suitable?

Questions for discussion: ‘A bad textbook is better than no textbook.’ Do you agree? Many people have argued that the teacher is much more important than the textbook: in the hands of a good teacher, even a bad textbook can be made to work well. What do you think? Do your students think that they need a textbook? If so, why?

The role of coursebooks Discuss in pairs: Are you in favour of using coursebooks? What are your reasons? What coursebook package are you using? Does it serve to your satisfaction? Are there any faults to it? What do you do about them?

In groups: Compile a list of advantages and disadvantages of coursebooks.

Pros: Provides a clear framework – sense of structure and progress. Serves as a syllabus – carefully planned and balanced. Ready-made texts and tasks save time. Economy – relatively cheap. Convenience – easy to carry around, not dependent on electricity supply/hardware. Provides guidance and support for teachers. Autonomy – provides space for teacher-independent learning. Cons: Inadequacy – consideration of individual learning needs. Irrelevance, lack of interest – topics. Homogeneity – do not cater for variety of levels of ability, learning styles and strategies. Over-easiness – teachers find it too easy to follow the coursebook uncritically and work as mediators of its content only. Limitation – set structure and sequence may lead to boredom and lack of motivation.

According to Cunningsworth (1995:7), coursebooks have multiple roles in ELT and can serve as: a resource for presentation material (spoken/written) a source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction. a reference source (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) a syllabus a resource for self-directed learning or self-access work. a support for less experienced teachers.

Summary - roles Coursebooks are generally viewed as a resource in achieving aims and objectives that have already been set in terms of learner needs. They should not determine the aims themselves or become the aims. We must remember to teach the language not the textbook! The role of the coursebook is to be at the service of teachers and learners but not to be their master. The aims of the coursebook should correspond as closely as possible to the aims of the teacher, and both should seek to meet the needs of the learners to the highest degree.

Textbooks There’s a variety of textbooks on the market. They could be categorized in many ways (e.g. student-centred materials and teacher- centred materials). We will be looking at two categories: Traditional textbooks Communicative textbooks

Traditional textbooks Try to get students to learn the language as a system. Once they have learned the system, it is hoped that they are then equipped to use the language for their own purposes in any way they think fit. Characteristics: Tend to emphasise the forms, or patterns, of language (the grammar) Tend to focus on reading and writing activities Often make use of a great deal of source language Tend to focus rather narrowly on a syllabus and examinations Seem easy to use for teachers

Communicative textbooks Try to create opportunities for the students to use the language in the classroom (before using it in real life. Characteristics: Emphasise the communicative functions of language (e.g. asking for information, making requests, apologising, asking the way, etc.) Try to reflect students’ needs and interests Emphasise skills in using the language - activity based Usually a good balance among the four language skills, but may emphasise listening and speaking Tend to be very specific in their definition of aims Both content and methods reflect the authentic language of everyday life Encourage pair and group work – heavier demands on teachers’ organizational abilities Emphasise fluency, not just accuracy

Coursebook study In small groups: Put the following textbooks on a scale from the most traditional to the most communicative. Be ready to support your opinion. Make a list of communicative activities in one unit of a chosen coursebook. Make a list of non-communicative activities – drills – used in one unit of a chosen coursebook.

4 communication tests A quick way of telling how communicative a course is: Is the language – spoken and written – unnatural? For example, are the dialogues written in ‘textbookese’ or are they realistic? Do all the reading texts seem artificial, or are some of them at least real-life examples of communication writing? Are the language exercises all merely textbook activities of a kind no one does in real life? Or are many of the activities likely to occur in real life? Do the activities only emphasise accuracy (particularly written accuracy) rather than fluency? For example, are most of the activities tightly controlled by the teacher, to ensure that the students do not make any mistakes? Or is there enough fluency practice, e.g. students talking to each other in groups or pairs? Does the course emphasise study or practice? For example, does it spend so much time studying language forms such as verb tenses that it does not give the students enough time to use them?

If the lesson is not appropriate Suggest how you would deal with a lesson which wouldn’t be appropriate for your class.

Textbook and teacher’s role 1. To assess the students’ aims, and learning styles, their likes and dislikes, their strengths, and their weaknesses. 2. To decide what methods and materials are most appropriate, given the aims of the syllabus. 3. To decide whether to use, adapt, replace, omit or supplement the methods and materials used in the textbook.

Textbook appropriateness To decide whether to use a particular lesson in a coursebook, you can ask the following questions: Is the language at the right level? Is the topic/content suitable? Are the activities right for my class? Is the sequencing logical?

If the lesson is not suitable If the lesson or its part is not appropriate, there are four solutions to it. 1. Omit the lesson. 2. Replace it with your own lesson – deal with the same language or topic (students can still use the book to revise). 3. Add to what is in the book – use the textbook’s strengths and combine them with your own skills and perceptions of your class. 4. Adapt what is in the book – use the same basic material, but do it in your style. Using the textbooks creatively is one of the premier teaching skills.

The four skills in coursebooks In pairs, look at your textbooks and discuss: Is practice in all four skills included? If so, is it balanced? If not, which skills are omitted? Is there a reason? Is there a clear progress in the skills work? Does the coursebook contain authentic material at an appropriate level? Is semi-authentic material used representative of authentic discourse? Is the non-authentic material a good model for learners to follow?

The coursebook package The coursebook package – say what is available to you and your students and how much you (would) use the available package components.

Teacher’s books and teachers Most coursebooks identify the roles of the teacher: e.g. The teacher's role is to act as a presenter of material, manager of learning resources and activities, and informant for the students. The teacher will: provide warm-up introductory activities to lead into the lesson; present the new material; provide explanations where needed; direct students to move from one exercise or activity to another; monitor student performance; correct or explain where necessary; encourage personalized application of the language; suggest further practice material from the revision sections and the Workbook.

Functions of teachers’ books  setting out the guiding principles of the course  stating the aims and objectives of the course  describing the basis for the selection and grading of the language content  explaining the rationale for the methodology used  giving an overview of the way the course is constructed, and of how the different parts relate to one another  providing practical guidance on how to use the material  giving linguistic information necessary for effective use of the material in class  providing background cultural information where this is necessary in order to understand the contexts being used in the material  promoting better understanding of the principles and practice of language teaching in general, and helping to develop teaching skills.

Unit contents What may be included: stated objectives for each unit language items to be taught details of predictable problems that learners may encounter suggested procedures for the planning, preparation and teaching of lessons sequencing and progression of lessons planning of schemes of work language to be used by the teacher in class cross-referencing by page number and by clear page layout advice on the use of correction techniques keys to exercises and cultural explanations regular tests TASK: Discuss in pairs which of the mentioned features do you find necessary, which helpful and which not important. Is there anything missing?

Underlying messages Sexism Ageism Social orientation Values

Non-linguistic content study Sexism – if you book is illustrated, look at the first 30 pictures. Count the number of men and the number of women featured in them. If there are no pictures, look at the grammar or vocabulary exercises, and do the same count on pronouns or nouns with clear gender. Is there a significant difference? What is the implication? Using either illustrations or texts, look at the occupations which are assigned to men and women. Comment. Adults clearly over the age of 40 as compared with ‘young adults’ (not counting children). Look and comment on aspects such as wealth, social class, ethnic affiliation, occupation, cultural background. Compare with social background of students and comment. Values

Evaluation - a three-stage process 1 initial evaluation; 2 detailed evaluation; 3 in-use evaluation.

Initial evaluation to filter out obviously unsuitable materials apply the 'CATALYST' test C - Communicative? A- Aims? T - Teachability? A- Available Add-ons? L - Level? Y - Your impression? S - Student interest? T - Tried and tested?

CATALYST TEST Communicative? Is the textbook communicative? Will the students be able to use the language to communicate as a result of using the book? Many teachers regard this as a fundamental question. Aims? Does it fit in with our aims and objectives? These may be laid down by the authorities, or devised by ourselves. Teachable? Does the course seem teachable? Does it seem reasonably easy to use, well-organised, easy to find your way around? Available Add-ons? Are there any useful 'add-ons' - additional materials such as teacher's books, tapes, workbooks, etc? If so, are they available? Level? Does the level seem about right? Your impression? What is your overall impression of the course? Student interest? Are your students likely to find the book interesting? Tried and tested? Has the course been tried and tested in real classrooms? Where? By whom? What were the results? How do you know?

Detailed evaluation a three-part questionnaire designed to help you to decide how far a coursebook meets three conditions: does the course suit your students? does it suit the teacher? does it suit the syllabus? NOTE: Adapt the general questionnaire according to your situation.

In-use evaluation Once you have adopted a textbook, it is of course necessary to re-evaluate it constantly. This evaluation process should be continuous, even in situations where you do not plan to replace the textbook for some time. For it is only by constant evaluation that one can ensure that the teacher is the master, and not the slave, of the textbook!