Textbook adaptation in ELT
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This document discusses various frameworks for evaluating and adapting English language teaching materials. It begins by outlining the advantages and disadvantages of using textbooks, as well as some criteria for evaluating materials such as appearance, teacher-friendliness, and suitability for learners' levels. The document then examines different methods for adapting materials, including editing, adding, replacing, and deleting content. It analyzes frameworks from Dalby (2009), McDonough and Shaw (2003), and Islam and Mares (2003) for adapting materials through techniques like expanding, subtracting, modifying, simplifying, and reordering. The document concludes by exploring approaches to materials evaluation, such as pre-use, while-use, and post-use evaluation, and
Textbook adaptation in ELT
- 1. UNIVERSITY OF CALDAS MASTER IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Yamith José Fandiño teacheryamith@gmail.com October, 2015
- 2. TEXTBOOK ADAPTATION AND EVALUATION (Dalby, 2009) ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES • Provide guidance • Save time • A starting point • Structure • Learners’ expectation • Straightjacket • Poor design • Boring/irrelevant topics • Culturally removed • Unauthentic language The MATERIALS test (Tanner & Green, 1998) Method Appearance Teacher-friendly Extras Realistic Interesting Affordable Learner’s level Skills being taught
- 3. TEXTBOOK ADAPTATION AND EVALUATION (Dalby, 2009) FOUR BASIC METHODS • Edit Make it more relevant, interesting, or practical. • Add Include extra activities. • Replace Change for more suitable materials or activities. • Delete Materials or activities are not covered. Written texts Listening activities Pictures Role play or mime characters Create a prequel Continue the story Discuss or debate the issue Making predictions, skimming, scanning, semantic mapping, and summaries Research assignment Predict the answers Make the questions easier Topic prediction, gist listening, and summaries Vocabulary grab. Descriptions Comparisons and contrasts Speculations Oral production
- 4. ADAPTING MATERIALS (McDonough & Shaw, 2003)
- 5. ADAPTING MATERIALS McDonough & Shaw (2003) Expanding Supply more of the same (quantitative nature); the model is not changed. Congruence Reasons: personalization, individualization, localization, and modernization. Techniques • Adding (expanding/extending) • Deleting (Subtracting/abridging) • Modifying (Re- writing/Re-structuring) • Simplifying • Re-ordering Extending Supply more by moving outside the methodology and developing in new direction (qualitative nature). Subtracting Reducing the length of material (quantitative nature). Abridging Taking out material for pedagogical reasons (qualitative nature). Rewriting Some of the linguistic content is modified. Re- structuring Some of the lesson procedures need modification. Simplifying Changing style, content, presentation. Re-ordering Putting parts of a course book in a different order.
- 6. ADAPTING MATERIALS McDonough & Shaw (2003) Islam & Mares (2003) Congruence Reasons: personalization, individualization, localization, and modernization. Techniques • Adding (expanding/extending) • Deleting (Subtracting/abridging) • Modifying (Re- writing/Re-structuring) • Re-ordering Reasons - McDonough & Shaw (1993): Congruence. - Cunningsworth (1995): learner styles and the learner as a whole. - Candling & Breen (1980): opportunities for real communication. Objectives: Real choice, learner autonomy, higher-level cognitive skills, engaging language input. Techniques • Adding (expanding/extending) • Deleting (Subtracting/abridging) • Simplifying • Reordering • Replacing material
- 7. ADAPTING MATERIALS APPLICATION Molinsky, S., & Bliss, B. (2001). Side by side Book 1 (3rd edition). USA: Longman. Have a look at unit 1 from Side by Side Book 1. Note down all the adaptations you would make to the published materials. Use McDonough & Shaw (2003) and/or Islam & Mares (2003) to specify the techniques you would use. Fill out the following table using your ideas. WHAT WHY HOW * Exercise/Section/Activity * Pedagogical reasons * Technique / Author
- 8. MATERIALS EVALUATION (Tomlinson, 2003) Types of materials evaluation Pre-use evaluation It involves making predictions about the potential value of materials for their users. It can be context-free. It is impressionistic since Ts flick through a book to gain a quick impression. Using criterion-referenced evaluation to reduce subjectivity and favor principled, rigorous, systematic, and reliable approach. While-use evaluation It is based on observation and short-term results. More objective and reliable than pre-use evaluation. Uses measurement instead of prediction of: • Instructions • Layout • Comprehensibility • Achievability • Practicality • Teachability Post-use evaluation It measures the actual effects of the materials on short-term and long term effects on the users. It provides data to make reliable decisions about the use, adaptation or replacement of the materials.
- 9. MATERIALS EVALUATION (Tomlinson, 2003) Developing criteria for materials evaluation - Brainstorm a list of universal criteria for any learning materials anywhere for any learners. - Subdivide some of the criteria to point specific aspects. - Monitor and revise the list of universal criteria: • Does each question an evaluation question? • Does each question only ask one question? • Is each question answerable? • Is each question free of dogma? • Is each question reliable as for different evaluators to interpret it similarly? - Categorize the list: learning principles, cultural perspective, topic content, teaching points, texts, activities, methodology, instructions, design. - Develop media-specific criteria for the books, the audio CDs, the videos, etc.. - Develop content-specific criteria (General English, business English, etc.) - Develop age-specific criteria - Develop local criteria - Trial the criteria. - Conduct the evaluation.
- 10. MATERIALS EVALUATION (Tomlinson, 2003) Developing criteria for materials evaluation Dalby, T. (2009). Adapting your course book: becoming skilled in the art of manipulation. TESOL Review 1, 145-166. Islam, C., & Mares, C. (2003). Adapting Classroom Materials. In B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (pp. 86-103). Great Britain: Bloomsbury. McDonough, J. and Shaw, C. (2003). Materials and Methods in ELT: A Teacher’s Guide. 2nd Publishing. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Tomlinson, B. (2003). Materials evaluation. In B. Tomlinson (ed.), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (pp. 15-36). Great Britain: Bloomsbury.