GRAMMAR and BEYOND Seyit mer Gk GEDIZUNIVERSITY izmir

GRAMMAR and BEYOND Seyit Ömer Gök GEDIZUNIVERSITY izmir 12 Dec 2013

Outline • What is innovative in this textbook? • Context • Findings of Pre-use & In-use evaluation • Q&A

Introduction * 4 -level series * Components for Students 1. Student’s Book 2. Workbook 3. Writing Skills Interactive * Teacher Resources 1. Teacher Support Resource Book with CD-ROM 2. Class Audio CD 3. Teacher Support Website

Introduction * research-based * content-rich * contextualized grammar * students of North American English. * focuses on the grammar structures most commonly used in North American English * an emphasis on the application of grammar structures to academic writing. * practices all four skills

What Makes Grammar and Beyond Different? * Corpus-based information * Common mistakes sections * Writing practice in class

Context - Izmir Gediz University Prep School - 750 students - Modular System (CEFR) / 2 month each / B 2 exit level -At the beginning of the academic year: 60 % - A 1 25 % - A 2 10 % - B 1 5 % - B 2 - 30 -32 hour per week in each module

List of books A 1 - Grammar&Beyond 1 (16 hour) + Grammar&Beyond 1 WB (3 hour) LL Elem (9 hour) 2 Readers (2 hour) A 2 - Grammar&Beyond 2 + Grammar&Beyond 2 WB (22 hour) LL Pre-Int (8 hour) 2 Readers (2 hour) B 1 - Grammar&Beyond 3 + Grammar&Beyond 3 WB (18 hour) Q-Skills 2 Reading (8 hour) Contemporary Topics Intro (4 hour) 2 Readers (2 hour) B 2 - Grammar&Beyond 4 + Grammar&Beyond 4 WB (18 hour) Q-Skills 3 Reading (8 hour) Contemporary Topics Intro (4 hour) 2 Readers (2 hour)

Stages of Evaluation PRE-USE POST-USE IN-USE Adapted from Mc. Grath 2002

‘Pre-use evaluation involves making predictions about the potential value of materials for their users’. Tomlinson 2003, 23 ‘In-use evaluation is most reliable when it draws on the experiences of several teachers and several groups of learners’ (Mc. Grath 2002, 15). ‘Post-use/retrospective evaluation’ carried out to weigh up the effects and outcomes of the materials (Ellis 1997; Tomlinson 2003; Mc. Grath 2002) ‘the most valuable’ type of evaluation (Tomlinson 2003)

Methodology Evaluative Case Study Central Phenomenon: The coursebook series Mixed-Methods: ‘QUAN + QUAL’ (Dornyei 2007, 169) -Interview -Direct Observation -Video Stimulated Recall Qualitative -Questionnaire (Quantitative) Interpret: Interpretation based on quantitative and qualitative results

Research Questions 1. To what degree does the coursebook series meet the needs, wants and interests of the end users, namely teachers and students? 2. What are the attitudes of the teachers and students towards the coursebook series?

Data collection tools and participants * In-class observation + VSR (7 teachers) * Semi-structured Interview (9 teachers) * Semi-structured Questionnaire (4 -point Likert Scale / 45 items in total) (160 students) * Semi-structured Questionnaire (4 -point Likert Scale / 81 items in total)(14 teachers) * Focus-group interview (19 students)

Findings Grammar and Beyond Level 1 A 1 Module

Pre-use ‘+’ Contextualized Integration of Writing In the writing section, the students go beyond sentence level and see themselves in real practice. This is a big plus, I suppose. The grammar structures are given in context, so the students can be asked to deduce the functional meanings of grammar topics. Activities Avoid common mistakes are very useful as showing what is grammatically incorrect is a good way to teach what is grammatically correct. I personally liked the ‘avoid common mistakes’ part. It is like a FAQ section of a website. Design Grammar charts are embedded well into the units.

‘-’ Level The reading texts at the beginning of each unit are at times more demanding than the subject to be taught. Level The passages are long and a little complex at times. Content Pacing The students are not given enough time to digest and master the grammar topics. Writing The book is too loaded considering the allocated time period. Activities Not enough pair&group work activities. It is a good idea to integrate writing into grammar; however, the writing section of the book is unnecessarily too detailed.

In-use POINTS: 1 = STRONGLY DISAGREE 2 = DISAGREE 3 = AGREE 4 = STRONGLY AGREE GENERAL APPEARANCE 2 3 TEACHERS The font size and type used in the book is appropriate for my students. 1 2 3 4 7 % 0 % 50 % 43 % STUDENTS 1 2 3 4 The font size and type used in the coursebook is appropriate for me. 0 % 8 % 42 % 50 %

DESIGN AND LAYOUT 8 4 TEACHERS The learners can see easily what they have to do. 1 7 % 2 0 % STUDENTS 1 2 I can understand easily what I am expected to do throughout the coursebook. 9 % 29 % 3 4 57 % 36 % 3 4 50 % %12 LEVEL TEACHERS 1 The language used is at the right level for my students’ 35 36 % current English ability in general. 20 STUDENTS The language used is at the right level for me. 1 11 % 2 36 % 2 34 % 3 4 14 % 3 4 41 % 14 %

LEVEL (VOCABULARY) The vocabulary is too demanding and the sentences are complicated. I had to simplify the texts and grammar points. TEACHERS 1 2 3 4 The level of the vocabulary is appropriate for the students' 39 29 % 14 % 57 % 0 % level. 21 STUDENTS The vocabulary in the coursebook is suitable for my level. GRAMMAR PRESENTATION TEACHERS The grammar points are presented with brief and easy 41 examples and explanations. STUDENTS 25 The grammar items are presented clearly in the coursebook. 1 4 % 1 2 3 4 32 % 46 % 18 % 2 3 4 14 % 29 % 43 % 14 % 1 7 % 2 3 4 29 % 42 % 22 %

MOTIVATION TEACHERS The book raises my students' interest in further English 78 language study. 1 2 3 4 36 % 28 % 0 % STUDENTS 1 40 The book raises my interest in further English language study. 18 % 2 3 4 37 % 26 % 9 %

Other Findings *Almost half of the students in A 1 Level want to have explanations in Turkish. *Some of the students and teachers would like to have a revision part after every three units. * Most of the students inteviewed said that they found the ‘avoid common mistakes’ and ‘writing sections’ the most useful for themselves. They also stated that the book improved their writing skills best.

* Some of the teachers found the grammar charts unnecessary. However, the students said that these charts help them a lot. * The teachers and students find the book too intensive to be covered in eight weeks. * The teachers said that the ‘avoid common mistakes’ parts highlight the mistakes which are very similar to the ones their students usually make.

* The writing tasks require students to use certain structures, which sometimes constrains the students. * The listening tasks are used only for checking the answers.

Thank you! seyit. gok@gediz. edu. tr twitter. com/Seyit. Omer. GOK Website: www. seyitomergok. com GEDIZUNIVERSITY izmir