Unit 18 Evaluating and Adapting Textbooks
Aims of the Unit
- to understand the purpose for teacher ’s evaluating and adapting textbooks;- to learn
the methods for evaluating textbooks;
- to get to know the methods for selecting textbooks;-to get to know the methods for
adapting textbooks.
I. What is Textbook Evaluation?
The core of systematic textbook evaluation is to examine how well a given
textbook matches the needs of a language programme and how effectively and
efficiently it can realise the objectives of the programme.
II. Features of Good Textbooks
••Good textbooks should attract the students’ curiosity, interest and attention.
•Textbooks should help students to feel at ease.
•Textbooks should help students to develop confidence.
•Textbooks should meet students’ needs.
•Textbooks should expose the students to language in authentic use.
•Textbooks should provide the students with opportunities to use the target language
to achieve communicative purposes.
•Textbooks should take into account that the positive effects of language teaching are
usually delayed.
•Textbooks should take into account that students differ in learning styles.
•Textbooks should take into account that students differ in affective factors.
•Textbooks should maximise learning potential by encouraging intellectual, aesthetic
and emotional involvement which stimulates both right and left brain activities.
III. How to Select Textbooks
A Three-part questionnaire designed by Grant (1987)
•Does the book suit your students?
•Does the book suit the teacher?
•Does the book suit the syllabus and examination?
III. Adapting Textbooks
* Traditional textbooks
(1) Emphasis more on forms, patterns of language, grammar than communicative
functions of language.
(2) Focus on reading and writing activities rather than listening and speaking
activities.
(3) Use L1 as the medium of instruction
(4) Emphasize the importance of fluency
(5) Focus rather narrowly on syllabus and examination.
(6) Easy to use and highly examination-oriented, so often attractive to some teachers
* Communicative textbooks
(1) emphasize the communicative functions of language
(2) try to reflect the students’ needs and interest
(3) emphasize skills in using the language, activity-based
(4) a good balance among the four language skills.
(5) Emphasize listening and speaking more than traditional textbooks
(6) Both content and methods reflect the authentic language of everyday life.
(7) Encourage work in groups and pairs
(8) Demanding on the teachers’ organizational abilities
(9) Focus on fluency, not just accuracy
3) Teachers’ task in using textbooks
The teachers’ task usually include
(1) to assume the students’ aims, and learning styles, their likes and dislikes, their
strengths, and their weaknesses
(2) to decide what methods and materials are most appropriate, given the aims of the
syllabus
(3) to decide whether to use, adapt, replace, omit or supplement the methods and
materials used in the textbook.
The following diagram demonstrates the use of LARA in adopting textbooks.
This diagram shows, if the content material and the method are suitable, the teacher
can use them. But if no, there is necessity for LARA.
* adapt either the content, or the method, or both
* replace the content, or method used in the exercise with something you consider
more suitable
* omit or leave out the exercise if it is irrelevant or unsuitable
* add more material, either from supplementary textbooks, or from your own
resources if the textbook is lacking in some respect.
•Omission
•Addition
•Reduction
•Extension
•Rewriting/modification
•Replacement
•Re-ordering
•Branching