USING COURSE BOOKS IN ELT
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The document discusses the significance of course books in language education, describing them as essential tools for teaching and learning that provide structure, content, and resources. It outlines the roles, advantages, and disadvantages of textbooks, emphasizing the importance of evaluation and adaptation to meet the diverse needs of learners. Various evaluation models and adaptation strategies are presented to guide educators in selecting and customizing course materials effectively.
USING COURSE BOOKS IN ELT
- 1. USING COURSE BOOKS Prof. Sherro Lee A. Lagrimas KOREA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY SUMMER, 2016
- 2. WHAT IS A COURSE BOOK? Graves, 2000:175 defines a course book as “… a book used as a standard source of information for formal study of a subject and an instrument for teaching and learning.”
- 3. Richards, 2015 describes course books or textbooks as The key component in a language program, The basis for the language input learners receive and the language practice that occurs, The basis for lesson content and balance of skills taught For the learners, the textbook is the most important source of contact they have with the language
- 4. Cunningsworth, 1995:7 states the roles of course books in ELT as: a resource for presentation material a source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction a reference source a syllabus a resource for self-access work a support for less experienced teachers
- 5. Why teachers use textbooks: Extremely difficult to develop materials Time-consuming and demanding process to develop new materials Textbooks lessen preparation time, provide ready-made activities and provide concrete samples of classroom progress through which external stakeholders can be satisfied.
- 6. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF TEXTBOOK USE ADVANTAGES Provide structure and syllabus Help standardize instruction Maintain quality of teaching Provide a variety of learning resources Provide effective language models and input Train teachers Are visually appealing DISADVANTAGES May contain inauthentic language (may not be in accordance to real-world needs) May distort content May not reflect students’ needs (may not match students’ level, background, etc. ) Can deskill teachers Are expensive - Richards, 2015, The Role of Textbooks in a Language Program.
- 7. No ready-made textbook will ever perfectly fit every language program! There is NO IDEAL TEXTBOOK. IDEAL TEXTBOOK Ideal for TEACHER Ideal for LEARNER Ideal for the TEACHING- LEARNING CONTEXT
- 8. Cunningsworth,1984:6 “No course book will totally be suited to a particular teaching situation. The teacher will have to find his own way of using it and adapting it if necessary. So we should not be looking for the perfect course book which meets all our requirements, but rather for the best possible fit what the book offers and what we as teachers and students need.”
- 9. THREE OPTIONS FOR TEACHERS (Ansary & Babari, 2002) 1. Teachers need and use textbooks. 2. Teachers do not need and use textbooks. They produce their own materials. 3. Teachers select a textbook and supplement some other materials to perfect it.
- 10. Graves, 2000:176 “ Be free to modify, evaluate, develop, change, eliminate, or add to the materials of the book.”
- 11. EFL vs. ESL ESL means “English as a second language”. People usually use the word ESL to talk about teaching English to people who do not speak English. ESL teaching happens in an English-speaking country. Often, ESL students are people who came to live in an English-speaking country, and do not speak English very well. Definition: A traditional term for the use or study of the English language by non- native speakers in an English-speaking environment. That environment may be a country in which English is the mother tongue (e.g., Australia, the U.S.) or one in which English has an established role (e.g.,Philippines, India, Nigeria). EFL means teaching or learning English in a country where English is not spoken, this is the correct term and approach.
- 12. COURSE BOOK/TEXTBOOK EVALUATION Sheldon (1988) mentions two basic reasons to evaluate course books. First, the evaluation will help the teacher or program developer make decisions on selecting the appropriate course book. Also, evaluation of the merits and demerits of a course book will familiarize the teacher with its probable weaknesses and strengths.
- 13. ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED PRIOR TO COURSE BOOK EVALUATION 1. The role of the course book in the program Curriculum? Class size? Requirement? Workbook? 2. The teachers in the program Experience/level of training? Native/Non-native speaker? English proficiency? Part of course book selection? Free to adapt and supplement? 3. The learners in the program Proficiency level? Required to buy the book? Expectations? Readiness?
- 14. FOUR CRITERIA FOR COURSE BOOK EVALUATION A course book 1. Should respond to learner’s needs 2. Should reflect uses (present or future) should equip learners to use the language effectively for their own purposes 3. Should take account of students’ needs as learners should facilitate learning processes without being rigid 4. Should have a clear role as support for learning should mediate between target language and learner
- 15. APPROACHES TO COURSE BOOK EVALUATION 1. C.A.T.A.L.Y.S.T. Test Grant (1987) introduced a succinct evaluative approach called CATALYST test; an acronym in which the letters stand for Communicative, Aims, Teachability, Availibility, Level, Your impression, Students’ interest and Trying and testing. 2. M.A.T.E.R.I.A.L.S. Tanner and Green (1998) offer a practical assessment form based on Method, Appearance, Teacher-friendliness, Extras, Realism, Interestingness, Affordability, Level and Skills.
- 16. 3. MCDONOUGH AND SHAW’S TWO-STAGE MODEL McDonough and Shaw (1993) suggest that a. a brief external evaluation should be conducted firstly to have an overview of the organizational foundation of the course book; b. then, it should be followed by a detailed internal evaluation “to see how far the materials in question match up to what the author claims as well as to the aims and objectives of a given teaching program.”
- 17. 4. CUNNINGSWORTH’S MODEL Cunningsworth (1995) proposes pre-use, in-use and post-use evaluations. a. Pre-use evaluation is intended to predict the potential performance of a course book. b. In-use evaluation is conducted while using a course book “when a newly introduced course book is being monitored or when a well- established but ageing course book is being assessed to see whether it should be considered for replacement” (Cunningsworth, 1995, p. 14). c. Post-use evaluation provides retrospective assessment of a course book and also serves to decide whether to use the same course book on future occasions.
- 18. 5. ABDELWAHAB’S MODEL Abdelwahab (2013) suggests three basic methods to evaluate course books. a. The impressionistic method, as the name suggests, involves analyzing a course book on the basis of a general impression. b. He asserts that this method will not be adequate in itself and it needs to be integrated with the checklist method, which also covers the main idea of the present paper. c. The third one, the in-depth method, requires a profound scrutiny of representative features such as the design of one particular unit or exercise, or the treatment of particular language elements.
- 19. COURSE BOOK EVALUATION CHECKLISTS A checklist is an instrument that helps practitioners evaluate course books in an effective and practical way. According to Mukundan, Hajimohammadi and Nimehchisalem (2011a), checklists allow for a more sophisticated evaluation of the course book in reference to a set of generalizable evaluative criteria. Cunningsworth (1995) states, one major benefit of using checklists is that they provide a very economic and systematic way to ensure that all relevant items are considered for evaluation. Checklists may be qualitative or quantitative. When designed in the form of quantitative scales, they allow for an objective evaluation of a given course book. Qualitative checklists, on the contrary, elicit subjective information on the quality of course books by directing open-ended questions(e.g., Richards, 2001).
- 20. COURSE BOOK ADAPTATION ADAPTATION allows you to ‘personalize’ the course book and to ‘individualize’ it for a specific group of learners. STEPS IN TEXTBOOK ADAPTATION 1. PLANNING = needs analysis, course book evaluation, designing adaptations 2. TEACHING = implementing modifications 3. REPLANNING = plan again using conclusions made in the previous course 4. RETEACHING = implementation of new conclusions and decisions
- 21. WAYS OF TEXTBOOK ADAPTATION Modifying content Adding or deleting content Reorganizing content Addressing omissions Modifying tasks Extending tasks - Richards, 2014
- 22. REFERENCES Abdelwahab, M. M. (2013). Developing an English Language Textbook Evaluative Checklist. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 1(3), 55-70. Ansary, H., & Babaii, E. (2002). Universal characteristics of EFL/ESL textbook: A step towards systematic textbook evaluation. The Internet TESL Journal, 2, 1-8. Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Articles/Ansary- Textbooks/ Cunningsworth, A. (1995). Choosing Your Coursebook. Oxford: Heinemann. Grant, N. (1987). Making the most of your textbook. Oxford: Heinemann Publishers Ltd. Graves, K. (2000). Designing Language Course, A Guide for Teachers. Boston: Heinle, Cengage Learning Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. (2014). The Role of Textbooks in a Language Program. Retrieved from http://www.professorjackrichards.com/articles/role-of-textbooks
- 23. TASKS 1. Develop your own evaluation checklist based on the four criteria of course book evaluation, and the different approaches discussed. 2. Objectively compare and contrast your evaluation criteria with the sample provided. 3. Evaluate the course book assigned to you using any of the approaches discussed or the sample checklist. 4. Present the result of your evaluation to the class. Make sure to indicate the evaluation approach/es you used. 5. Prepare a PLAN FOR COURSE BOOK ADAPTATION. After evaluating the course book assigned prepare a plan enumerating the ways you will adapt the book considering your identified group of learners. Use the six ways of course book adaptation by Richards.