UNIVERSIDAD CATÓLICA DE LA SANTÍSIMA CONCEPCIÓN
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY
TEXTBOOK
EVALUATION
Vicky Fuentealba Torres - Belén Parra Tapia
1.Fill in the following details
Title: Tune up
Author: Adela Fidalgo Benayas, Alberto Fontanillo Carrascal, Inmaculada
Mayorga Malvarez, Michael Downie, David Gray, Juan Manuel Jiménez, Robert
Campbell, Gill Holley, Rob Metcalf
Publisher: ©2013 by Santillana del Pacífico S.A. de Ediciones Dr. Aníbal
Ariztía
1444, Providencia, Santiago (Chile)
Price: Not for sale
ISBN: 9789561523135965392
No. Of Pages: 215
Components: SB, Tests, CD.
Level: 12th Grade
Physical size: 26,5 in height x 20,5 in
width
Units: 8 Lessons/sections: 4 (per unit)
Hours: Each lesson last between 2 and 3 pedagogical hours. It will depend on
the English level of the students, because most of the activities ask for opinions
or more complex analyses which are difficult to solve in the cases of students
with a low English level and may take more time to complete a lesson.
Target skills: All four skills included: reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
Target learners: Teenagers (between 17 and 18 years old students).
Target teachers: English teachers.
2.
Write a report based on the following aspects and comments.
ASSESSMENT (Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent)
Rationale: Excellent. The objective of this book is to give students the
opportunity to practice the English language through contextualized situations.
In each activity is a real context is given in order to engage students. This
coursebook is focused principally on the production of the language where they
have the opportunity to develop their critical thinking while they are completing
the activities. Furthermore, in each unit is specified the kind of activities or
abilities that students have to achieve.
Availability: Fair. This book is given by the MINEDUC and its
commercialization is prohibited. But if it is required to contact with the
publisher´s representatives, there is a web page to contact them
www.santillana.cl.
User definition: Good. In this book the user definition is not complete. The only
information that is provided is the students´ level which is 12 th grade. However,
based on the difficulty of the activities of this book, it is possible to infer that
students who are going to use this coursebook would have a high level of
English.
Layout/graphics: Excellent. The layout is visually attractive because each part
of the coursebook uses different designs, colors, images, etc. There is a mix of
text and graphical material. Despite the fact that it has a lot of different images,
figures, colors, etc. It does not look messy because they are clearly organized.
In addition, each unit has its own color (Green, red, blue, etc.). Some of the
sections, such as “Language in use!”, are identified with a particular color.
Besides, it also uses real images which are appropriate for 12th grade students.
Accessibility: Excellent. The material is clearly organized. For students is
possible to have a clear view of their progress. There is an index, a list of
irregular verbs (infinitive, past simple, past participle) and headings which give
students the possibility to work x with self-study purposes by themselves.
Linkage: Excellent. Everything is connected, the units, the lessons and the
exercises. In the case of the activities, they have an input, exercises and a
closing part.
Selection/grading: Excellent, there are enough steps for students because
each unit, section and activity is gradually developed. Each part of the book
starts with an introductory activity or topic which engages students. Then, the
different parts of the units are developed in a deeper way and in different forms
allowing students to develop different skills.
Physical characteristics: Good. Paperback book in vivid full-color. Its physical
size is 26,5 in height x 20,5 in width, it has 215 pages. The book provides with
blank spaces for students to write their answers down but it is not enough, for
such reason students have to use their copybooks to work on some of the
exercises.
Appropriacy: Good. This book is really attractive for students because the
topic of the units can engage them easily. For example in the unit number 6
“Spending time together” students can think immediately about activities or
hobbies that they enjoy doing. However, this is a book for students that have a
high English level because most of the activities include teamwork,
conversations, opinions, etc. It is true that this kind of activities gives students
the opportunity to produce the language; however, the coursebook is poor in
information that could help students with a low English level. For example, in
the page number 20, there is an activity in which students have to work with the
conditional “if”. It is true that in the same page is provided an explanation about
how it is used, but it is not enough for students that may have difficulty learning
English . Due to that, we think that some activities need a deeper explanation of
some grammatical structures.
Authenticity: Excellent. Because the entire book is based on real materials (L1
materials) which are made to other purposes different to teach. For example the
reading look like if they were from the real life. The dialogues that students
have to listen are as common as real world dialogues. Furthermore, the
activities are contextualized, so students can do all the activities as if they were
real world situations.
Sufficiency: Good. It provides enough activities to engage and practice the
English language, but it need more information to teach students basic rules,
structures, etc. Thus, it is possible to teach with the coursebook but after that, it
is important to teach students a little bit more about the contents.
Cultural bias: Excelent. Throughout the book different cultures are represented
and its content teaches students to embrace and respect different cultural
differences, social values, attitudes, behaviours, beliefs etc. The text includes a
section called “living in harmony” This section asks you to reflect on
fundamental values that help us live harmoniously within society and the world
around us. For instance in unit 1 it explicitly says “respecting and valuing the
ideas and and cultures of all people equally”.
Educational validity: Fair. This coursebook does not provide the nature and
role of learning skills or concept development in students.
Stimulus/Practice/Revision: Good. The coursebook includes meaningful task
where each activity is contextualized. It also provides a lot of activities that
allow students to practice and develop different skills. In addition, at the end of
each unit there are tests (review, worksheets, project and their progress) which
show what students have learnt during the lessons. Perhaps, adding the key
answers at the end at the end of the book could help to promote autonomy
among students because sometimes teachers are not able to check all the
activities and students could do it by themselves.
Flexibility: Excellent. Most of the activities of this coursebook are focused on
students with a high English level because they have to produce a lot of
productive skills, specifically speaking, so to put this ability in practice, it is
necessary to know some grammatical rules, structures and exceptions in the
English language. However, if there are students with a smaller knowledge of
English, these activities can be modified. The teacher can reduce the number of
activities or carry them out in a simpler way.
Guidance: It is impossible to know because this is only the coursebook.
Overall value for money: Good. This coursebook does not have cost for
students, it is delivered by the MINEDUC. It is easy to use, in the case of the
teacher works with students with a high English level. However it could be
modified. The problem is that this book require a lot of time to complete it, more
than one year, because to achieve the objectives of each unit, each lesson
must be covered in more than one pedagogical hour.
A) Do the materials provide a balance of activities that is appropriate for
your students?
Yes: X
No:
Comment: This textbook provides a balance of activities because each unit
includes the 4 skills: speaking, reading, listening and writing. In addition, it
develops each activity with different levels of difficulty. For example, receptive
skills (listening and speaking) are divided in pre-, while- and post-. It means that
students start with simple exercises and finish with more complex exercises.
B) Is there a sufficient amount of communicative output in the materials
under consideration?
Yes: X
No:
Comment: This textbook provides with many opportunities for students’
communicative production, offering a serie of different activities to improve their
communicative skills and efficiency. It presents a variety of practical
expressions, useful language and vocabulary for students to practice what they
learn.
C) Do the materials provide enough roughly-tuned input for your
students?
Yes: x
No:
Comment: Based on the examination of the textbook we found several material
which may be challenging for students, activities that are more complex or
higher than 12 grade students current proficiency level, but despite the material
difficulty students are provided with listening and reading strategies to aid
comprehension.
3. Answer these questions related to language, skills, topics and
methodology.
Language content
-Does the coursebook cover the main grammar items appropriate to each
level, taking learners’ needs into account?
Partly. This coursebook is not focused on teaching grammar. This is
focused on produce English language. It does not teach grammar structures or
target languages (from basic grammar to complex grammar). Each activity
includes grammar but unconsciously because while students are developing
each activity and producing language, they are including grammar (previous
knowledge of grammar). Besides, there is a section of the book called
“Language in use!” where are explained some grammar rules, but they are
briefly explained. For example in the page number 20 it is explained the use of
“if”. Thus, if a student has a poor level of grammar, it would be difficult for
her/him to develop most of the activities.
-Is material for vocabulary teaching adequate in terms of quantity and
range of vocabulary, emphasis placed on vocabulary development,
strategies for individual learning?
Yes, it is adequate. Students are presented with a lot of vocabulary related to
different topics. Each unit give them the opportunity of learning and acquiring a
wide range of vocabulary that could help them to communicate more effectively.
-Does the coursebook include material for pronunciation work? If so what
is covered: individual sounds, words stress, sentence stress, intonation?
Yes. At the beginning of the coursebook it is explained that it includes
material for pronunciation: “In this section you will practice different sounds that
are important for understanding and communicating in English” (p. 4). For
example in the page number 24 (unit 1, lesson 4) students work with individual
sound. In the page 33 (unit 2, lesson 1) students work with intonation. In the
page number 36 (unit 2, lesson 2) they work with word stress. In the page 52
(unit 3, lesson 1), they work with sentence stress etc.
-Does the coursebook deal with the structuring and conventions of
language use above sentence level, eg how to take part in conversations,
how to structure a piece of extended writing, how to identify the main
points in a reading passage?
Yes. In some activities, the coursebook provides expressions (exponents)
which can be used by students. For example in the page number 59 there is a
section entitled: “Speak out!” where appears some expressions when you are
agreeing or disagreeing. These are: “I disagree with you because…”, “I agree
because…”, “You’re absolutely right!”, “No way!”, “I totally disagree…”. The
coursebook also provides a section entitled “learning tips!” which teaches or
gives recommendation to students. For example in the page number 76 there is
an explanation of how to write a persuasive essay. “When writing a persuasive
essay, its important to argue why your position is correct, but also why the
opposing position is wrong. In this case, if you are supporting the idea that
watching TV is better than playing Video Games, you need discuss the benefits
of TV and also the negative aspects of Video Games”.
-Are style and appropriacy dealt with? If so, is language style matched to
social situation?
Yes. The coursebook have changes in language styles, but these changes
are not too pronounced or noticeable.
Skills
-Are all four skills adequately covered, bearing in mind your course aims
and syllabus requirements?
Yes, all four skills are adequately covered, throughout the entire textbook
there are enough activities dedicated to each skill. As a result, students have
the opportunity to practice and improve their proficiency not just in one the
skills, but in all of them. For instance, in unit 2 “The arts and their influence”
students have to read newspaper articles, books summaries, magazine articles,
book extracts, etc. In addition, they also work on their listening skills by listening
to interviews, reports, conversations, etc. Additionally they practice their oral
skills by discussing about different types of literature, talking about preferences
and finding out information. Last but not least, the writing skill is covered by
working on text message and writing about social networking influences in the
arts and culture.
-Is there material for integrated skills work?
Yes, there is material for integrated skills work. Most of the activities found
in the textbook require the use of at least 2 skills which contributes to a more
meaningful and interactive language learning. For example the pronunciation
activity on page 33 says “Listen to the radio reporter asking a musician for
information. a) Pay attention to the intonation of the questions. b) Write the
questions you hear. c) Listen again and check. d) Practice the questions with
your partner. Focus on your intonation”. This particular activity shows clearly
how a listening activity leads to writing which lately will give place to an
interactive speaking activity.
-Are reading passages and associated activities suitable for your
students’ levels, interests, etc.? Is there sufficient reading material?
All the units of the textbook include at least one reading passage, all of them
are suitable for 12 grade students. The topic of the reading passages are
related to daily themes such as music, books, tv shows, advertising, technology
etc. The themes exposed in the textbook offer them a taste of the real word,
using authentic language, and involving topics that are interesting and
meaningful to them.
-Is listening material well recorded, as authentic as possible,
accompanied by background information, questions and activities which
help comprehension?
All the listening activities have background information, questions and
activities to aid comprehension. The listening activities are also divided into a
pre, while and a post listening section. In one hand, the pre-listening section
gives students the opportunity of becoming familiar with some keywords that
will help them to understand the listening. On the other hand the while-listening
part is designed for students to work on some activities while the listening is
being played. The activities usually consist on answering questions, completing
sentences, circling the correct answer, matching words to their definitions, etc.
Lastly, the post-listening part aims to make use of the what the students learn
from listening in order to develop other skills.
-Is material for spoken English (dialogues, roleplays, etc) well designed to
equip learners for real-life interactions?
Yes, most of the material is well designed. The majority of the spoken
activities in the textbook consist on active communication among students,
where they interact as if they were in a real life situation. For instance, on page
37 one of the activities is to "Talk about other activities in your life." In this
activity students have to talk about what kind of food they like, about a book
they loved reading, a film they hated watching, about an activity they spend
time doing, etc. This activity shows clearly how students make use of language
that is frequently exchanged in real life interactions.
-Are writing activities suitable in terms of amount of guidance/control,
degree of accuracy, organization of longer pieces of writing (eg
paragraphing) and use of appropriate styles?
Yes, most of the writing activities consist in creating a paragraph using the
vocabulary students have been learning during the lessons. For the creation of
the written passages students have to follow certain rules indicated in the
textbook. Throughout the book there is a clear progression from easier to
difficult tasks, and from guided to freer writing practice.
Topic
-Is there sufficient material of genuine interest to learners?
Yes, there is enough material that may result interesting and relevant for 12
grade students, such as topics related to music, urban art, social networking,
technology, going out with friends, free time activities, traveling, etc.
-Is there enough variety and range of topic?
Yes, there is a vast variety and range of different topics. In this way students
can learn useful vocabulary about many different themes and improve their
proficiency in the English language.
-Will the topics help expand students’ awareness and enrich their
experience?
Yes, absolutely. Every new language learning within the topics will
contribute to enrich students’ vocabulary, experience and proficiency as a user
of the English language.
-Are the topics sophisticated enough in content, yet within the learners’
language level?
The topics are sophisticated enough, covering themes related to art,
literature and culture around the world. The topics were designed considering
students’ English competence and level. Some of the topics are more advanced
than others, nevertheless students are still capable of working on them without
a lot of difficulty.
-Will your students be able to relate to the social and cultural contexts
presented in the coursebook?
Yes, the topics of the textbook were chosen by paying special attention to
cultural aspect shared by different societies and specially focusing in the culture
in which the students are immersed.
- Are women portrayed and represented equally with men?
Yes. We did not find any gender issue, both women and men are
represented equally throughout the entire book.
-Are other group represented, with reference to ethnic origin, occupation,
disability, etc.?
Yes, other groups are clearly represented throughout the entire book,
particularly within the first unit. In lessons 1 and 2 we can can see people from
different ethnic origins, and occupations and age, gender etc.
Methodology
-What approach/approaches to language learning are taken by the
coursebook? Is this appropriate to the learning/teaching situation?
The approaches used by the coursebook are the natural and the
communicative approach. The activities of this textbook are focused to produce
English language but without care too much about grammar, its principal
objective is to use the language and communicate real meanings.
-What level of active learner involvement can be expected? Does this
match your students’ learning styles and expectations?
An active learner is to be expected, because they have a central,
participative and interactive role in most of the activities.
-What techniques are used for presenting/practising new language items?
Are they suitable for the learners?
The new language is presented with real world situation. They are involved
in a context and if they have doubts about the contents, they are given a brief
explanation of the topic, content, structure or rule that they are practicing. The
section that helps them is called “language in use! (It is generally in the same
page that they are working on).
-How are the different skills taught?
All the skills are taught with authentic material or activities.Receptive skills
(listening and reading) are taught with the format of a SDL lesson (Self
Directed Learning) a pre-listening or pre-reading, a while-listening or whilereading and a post-listening or post-reading. They listen to authentic audios
which will improve their understanding of spoken English. They read texts that
will build their reading comprehension and vocabulary in English. Speakings
are introduced with text, images and activities. Then the students have to
speak with their classmates (in pairs, trios, bigger groups or as a whole class)
using the same vocabulary. In the speaking activities the book provides
students with a section called “speak out” which give them some expressions or
exponent that will be useful while they are speaking. Its objectives is to put into
practice what you have learned with your classmates. Writing consist on filling
the blankets or writing text. When they have to write text (essays, emails, etc.) it
is given the outline about what and how they have to write (semi-controlled
writing). Its objective is to put into practice what students have learned.
-How are communicative abilities developed?
Communicative abilities are developed in pairs, groups or as a whole class.
They are engaged with a topic, vocabulary and then they have to produce
language and to put into practice what they have learned.
-Does the material include any advice/help to students on study skills and
learning strategies?
Yes. There are different sections which helps students .These are:
Check This Out (it gives students some extra information about the topics they
are reading or listening to); Learning Tip (it offers tips and advice to develop
and improve students` learning); Language in Use (it helps students review and
remember the most important points in the lesson); Speak Out (it provides
useful language to help students improve their conversational skills); Step it Up
(it presents an extra activity to challenge their English skills).
-Are students expected to take a degree of responsibility for their own
learning /eg by setting their own individual targets?
Yes, because it is supposed that all of them will have access to their own
books, and the book gives enough information to develop their own learning.
The teacher can introduce the topic, some contents and then students can
work by themselves. Moreover, the topics of each unit are attractive and
engaging, so they can be motivated to work on their own when necessary.
Does the book suit your students?
1. Is it attractive? Given the average age of
your students, would they enjoy using it?
2. Is it culturally acceptable?
3. Is it about the right length?
4. Does it achieve an acceptable balance
NO
between the relevant language skills,
and integrate them so that work in one
skill area helps the others?
YES PARTLY
YES PARTLY
NO
YES PARTLY
NO
YES
PARTLY
Does the book suit the teacher?
1. Is there a good, clear teacher’s guide
YES PARTLY
with answers and help on additional
activities?
2. Are the recommended methods and
YES PARTLY
approaches suitable for you, your
students and your classroom?
3. Are the approaches easily adaptable
YES PARTLY
if necessary?
4. Does the book use a “spiral” approach,
YES PARTLY
so that items are regularly revised and
used again in different contexts?
Does the book suit the syllabus and the examination?
1. Has the book been recommended or
YES PARTLY
approved by the authorities?
2. If it does more than the syllabus requires,
YES PARTLY
is the result an improvement?
3. Is there a good balance between what
YES PARTLY
the examination requires and what the
students need?
4. Final recommendation
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
NO
Based on our observation, “Tune Up” is an excellent book to be used in schools
because it is an efficient textbook, full of activities that provides plenty of
interactive practice. According to us, some of the characteristics that made
“Tune Up” an excellent book are:
Firstly, it is visually attractive and its topics are meaningful and engage students
very easily. All the pages are in colors, and it contains images that call students’
attention. Besides, it does not includes many grammatical exercises which may
result appealing to students. The topics are also relevant and suitable for 12th
grade students. Some of the topics found in the textbook are spending time
together, moving forward, social networking, arts, etc
Secondly, the book integrates the four language skills (reading, speaking,
listening and writing) which is of vital importance in order to raise learner’s
proficiency levels and enable advanced language learning. Furthermore,
integrating the four skills allow students to practice the english language as in a
real life situation and more importantly, enhance students’ communication
competence.
Thirdly, all its activities represent real word situation (where each activity is
contextualized) and all the materials that the book includes are authentic. A
really positive characteristic that gives students the possibility to use the critical
thinking, to express their ideas, opinions, to use communication and interaction
with their classmates.
Fourthly, It also teaches pronunciation (stress, intonation, etc.) which is not
common in coursebooks. Besides it also gives tips or other kind of information
which would help students. This information or sections are: Check This Out (it
gives students some extra information about the topics); Learning Tip (it offers
tips and advice to develop and improve students` learning); Language in Use (it
helps students review and remember the most important points in the lesson);
Speak Out (it provides useful language to help students improve their
conversational skills); Step it Up (it presents an extra activity to challenge their
English skills).
The only negative aspect that we could find, is that it does not provide students
a deep explanation about the use of some structures, grammatical rules, etc.
They could be covered by teachers during the classes (theoretical classes
before to do the exercises), but this book could include more information about
theory about English.
To conclude, this is an excellent cooursebook, but it is a challenge to put into
practice it. To use this book in classes it will be necessary to change the
methodology to teach because most of the teacher are accustomed to teach in
a traditional way (grammar, grammar exercises, tenses, etc.) With this book the
students acquire the central role, they are who have to communicate, interact
and express their ideas.