4 Coursebook Evaluation II The coursebook package n

4. Coursebook Evaluation II

The coursebook package n 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: n provide warm-up introductory activities to lead into the lesson; n present the new material; n provide explanations where needed; n direct students to move from one exercise or activity to another; n monitor student performance; n correct or explain where necessary; n encourage personalized application of the language; n 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 n language items to be taught n details of predictable problems that learners may encounter n suggested procedures for the planning, preparation and teaching of lessons n sequencing and progression of lessons n planning of schemes of work n language to be used by the teacher in class n cross-referencing by page number and by clear page layout n advice on the use of correction techniques n keys to exercises and cultural explanations n regular tests TASK: Discuss in pairs which of the mentioned features do you find necessary, which n helpful and which not important. Is there anything missing?

Underlying messages n n Sexism Ageism Social orientation Values

Non-linguistic content study - Sexism n n 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.

Ageism n Count adults clearly over the age of 40 as compared with ‘young adults’ (not counting children). Does the picture relate to your students’ community?

Social orientation and values n n 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; n 2 detailed evaluation; n 3 in-use evaluation. n

Initial evaluation to filter out obviously unsuitable materials n 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? n

CATALYST TEST n n n n 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 n n 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!