Chapter 10:
What do teachers really want
from coursebooks?
Hitomi Masuhara
Presented by:
Fatemeh Kabiri
Narges Hoseinpoor
Masoumeh Javanmard
Mahjoobeh Azimi
Why teachers use coursebooks?
The usual answers of teachers:
They are:
- engaging
- inspiring
- flexible
- effective
But in reality?
- rigid methods
- difficult to use them
- fashionable approaches
- their content seems too alien to be
imported directly into classroom
What's teachers' needs and wants?
Suppose a classroom that has
immigrants; so students have different
communication skills and linguistic
competence….
So their program of teaching should be
based on a need analysis.
In contrast to the range and number of
studies on learner variables, studies of
teacher variables is still hard to find.
This time, we want to discuss on teachers'
needs and wants and the role of teacher in
teaching process.
Views toward teachers in past:
- an anonymous passive being, giving
flexibility to the rules of a method.
- application of theory to practice: making
visible the nature of knowledge, making
them elaborated and understandable.
2 competences to be a teacher in past:
knowledge about:
knowledge about language and about
learning and teaching.
knowledge how:
the methodology of teaching and practical
classroom management skills.
But one extra competence that had been
added recently:
sociocultural theory:
Teachers become aware of their own
beliefs and the principles behind their
practice through dialogic and collaborative
inquiry.
Why we should focus on teachrs'
variables?
Because they:
- have central roles in materials
development.
- select materials.
- adapt and develop materials.
- have their own intuitive theories.
- use effective language learning materials.
How are needs defined in the
literature?
- ownership: whose needs are they
- kinds: what kind of needs are identified
- Sources: what are the sources for the
needs?
Identifying kinds of teacher needs:
-self-perceived needs: reported by the
teacher.
-needs percieved by others: colleages,
researchers, teacher
trainers…through….observation, analysis of
teachers' interview and questionnaire
responses of the teacher.
- objective measured needs:
identified in objective studies… quantified
data is collected… interpret and analyse by
the third party… detached and accurate.
Teachers’ needs:
- The study of teachers' needs would
provide useful information for example for
the content, coverage and format for
producing a teacher's guide.
Teachers’ needs:
- also teachers' needs would predict the
final selection of a course book and studies
of teachers’ needs may also provide a
content coverage inventory in developing
and evaluating materials.
In many cases, what may be identified by
the teachers themselves and by a third party
as their needs could be their wants as well.
like promoting an extensive reading
approach.
Teachers’ wants:
Teachers' wants, can be distinguished from
needs when there is preference, despite the
fact it may not be necessary, encouraged or
assumed.
Like some creative writing activities in their
speaking classes.
The study of teachers wants in this
sense may lead to discoveries of
idiosyncratic aspects of teaching of gaps in
materials coverage or even of innovative
approaches to development or use of
materials.
There are some debates between the
supporters and sceptics of course book.
Those who regard the course book as a tool
and those who regard it as a script seems to
recur with different guise.
the theoretical frame work is useful in putting
each claim into perspective. when examined
against the framework the force of both
claims starts to reduce.
first in both cases teachers needs are
assumed and not defined.
secondly the source and methods of how
the particular teachers needs were identified
are not explicit.
Teachers- an endangered species:
exploring teachers needs and wants is
crucial when the role division between the
material producers and the users seems to
be more and more evident.
The teachers homegrown materials may be
more finely tuned to local classroom needs
with valid methodological awareness, but
the colourful or glossy appearance of
commercial course book maybe more eyecatching and may seem to the learners to
have more face validity.
traditionally the process of course design
suggest that materials design or selection
should come at a later stage of the process.
The sequence of course design,
summarised as the linear model x.
The sequence of course design •
recommended
this model x shows how the teaching context
and the learner needs provide a framework
for the objective and then the decisions
concerning the best methods and materials
are made accordingly.
many practitioners however may find that
this theoretical model x does not represent
the actual sequence that they experience in
their ELT institutions all over the world.
instead a more familiar sequence may be
described in the following manner.
first the teachers and administrators draw up
a very general profile of a particular class
and learners .the level of their proficiency
based on the tests administered at the
beginning of the course. The goal of
teaching is usually represented in the name
of the course [e.g. First Certificate
Preparation Course, oral communication 1]
materials selection holds a crucial position in
the second stage of the course design
sequence ,the teachers and administrator
select from commercially available course
books the one suitable for the class defined
in the initial stage.
by contrasting model Y with model X it
becomes apparent how crucial stages of
the course design have been moved from
the hands of the teachers and
administrators into those of material
producers.
But one positive note:
this role division between producers and
users of materials may even be seen as
sensible and realistic provided teachers
needs and wants are reflected in materials,
that theoretical validity is pursued by the
producers and that the teachers have
overall control in the teaching.
If the two contemporary phenomena of role
division and reversal of the course design
sequence were to stay, then efficient and
effective systems must be established in
order to empower teachers.
Empowerment of teachers:
The need for objective measurements of the
quality of published course books:
- Suggestions
- Developments
Suggestions:
- Sheldon (1988) advocated several ways of
achieving objective measurements. They
included:
The desirability of introducing a Which?
magazine for ELT course books ( Brumfit
1980:30)
improvement and innovation in ELTJ
reviews in order to enhance their validity,
usefulness and availability, for example
collaborative teachers' and learners'
reviews.
Developments:
The Which? Magazine for ELT course •
books has not materialised , possibly
because the increasing diversity of users
and contexts does not allow simple
comparisons.
Improvement and innovation in ELT Journal
reviews have taken place and this seems to
be functioning well. In addition to traditional
impressionistic pre-use reviews by experts ,
collaborative systematic pre-use reviews.
Online book are becoming widely available
these days. Some providers (e.g. Google
Book) offer links to reviews published in
scholarly journals.
Stricter and more systematic
material selection
procedures:
- Suggestion
- Developments
Suggestion:
In the 1998 version of this chapter I
suggested that it would be useful to have a
systematic review comparing evaluation
checklist and that empirical studies of
learners' and teachers' needs could facilitate
data-based development of evaluation
criteria.
Developments:
Even more checklists and frameworks are •
now available which are designed to
enable systematic selection of materials.
In a shrinking world where English is
becoming one of the basic skills, there are
growing demands for accountability for ELT
materials, as evidenced by the proliferation
of evaluation checklists.
The increase in the reports on materials
development projects all over the world in
Folio(the journal of the international
materials development association
MATSDA) seem to testify that the users at
institutional and national levels seem to be
taking the initiative in the evaluation,
selection and development of their own
materials.
Tomlinson (2003) developed a procedure in
which teachers are helped to articulate their
implicit theories in the process of developing
their own evaluation criteria. He also argues
that writing criteria for evaluation provides
opportunities to reflect upon teachers’ own
practice in their contexts and to critically
evaluate the criteria listed by experts.
NOTE:
What distinguishes his approach to
developing checklists is that he separates
universal criteria (those applicable to any
learning context anywhere) from local
criteria(those specific to a particular context)
and that the criteria are not taken from
external sources.
Establishing methods and feedback
routes of users’ evaluation:
- Suggestions
- Developments
Suggestions:
Rea- Dickins (1994) summarises three
kinds of evaluation:
Pre-use evaluation which can be done
prior to the use of a course books (for the
purpose of checking the construct validity
and the match with the needs)
In-use evaluation
Post- use evaluation, measured in terms
of learners’ performance.
Developments:
There seem to be more and more
postgraduate students engaged in
research on materials development which
involves whilst-use and post-use
evaluation (see Tomlinson and Masuhara
2010).
Some writers and publishers are trying to
incorporate whilst- and post-use feedback
in their materials through piloting.
Establishing systems for teachers’
needs and wants to be reflected in the
production processes:
In section 10.5 opportunities for change
Wider perspective in teacher
development:
- Suggestions
- Developments
Suggestions:
In the 1998 version of this chapter he
suggested inclusion on teaching
development course of components of
material evaluation , adaptation and writing ,
and also the inclusion of research
methodology training in postgraduate
courses in TEFL/TESL and Applied
Linguistics.
Developments:
In the UK and South Korea there are
dedicated materials development MA
courses and a number of universities all
around the world now offer materials
development modules on the postgraduate
courses in TEFL or Applied Linguistics.
More acknowledgement of the teachers’
non-teaching expertise and workload.
Johnson(1989), summarized in table 10.2,
stages decision-making roles and products
in curriculum development.
Opportunities for change:
Judging from the fact that the ‘for and
against course books’ bate recurs and
persists, regular successful communication
between materials producers and users
doesn’t seem to be taking place.
Some publications from materials producers,
such as Amrani, Donovan(1998) and
SingaporeWala (2003a,2003b)would be a
great step forward in promoting open and
effective communication between the
producers and users.
New opportunities:teacher's
forums organised by publishers:
Example A: evaluation meetings
Representative samples of teachers are
invited to a half day lunch and coffee
meeting.
A: the newest commercially available
coursebooks are presented.
B: what the teachers consider to be good
and useful activities are identified.
C: discussion as to why the activities are
useful.
Many variations of this kind are possible
depending on the objectives.
Example B: take your pick sampling
meetings
The materials writer produces three kinds of
prospective mini-course books in which a
controversial point of choice is
embodied.e.g three mini-course books are
all text-based with the same text but one is
structure based the second is explicit
strategy training oriented and the third aims
at implicit.
Example C: users meet to become
producers
Tomlinson reports an interesting case of
teachers producing materials at national
level in collaboration with a publisher.they
meet together,brainstorming about the type
of coursebook they
need.
. The materials are then taken back by the •
teachers to their schools.and the results
inform the revision process.this option
seems preferable to other suggestions in a
sense that:
A: it provides solutions to many of the
problems caused by the role divisions.
B: the materials adress the teacher"s needs
and wants.
C: materials can be used in classrooms and
revised.
What sort of opportunities then are there for
reflecting taecher"s needs and wants
through the stages of materials use? Table
10.4 illustrates the stages and various
possibilities for reflecling teacher"s needs
and wants.
We have tried to suggest some new
approaches as well as to list those which
are currently practiced some of the new
approaches will now be examplified in more
detail.
New opportunities: institution-based
evaluation:
Example A: pre-use evaluation of
materials being timetabled as a staff
meeting in teaching hours.
Materials selection and materials evaluation
should be set up with institutional support.fof
instance, teachers could form groups.first
each group member reflects and lists criteria
they think are important, they take three
steps in identifying the needs.
First, listing the needs, then categorizing
them and lastly prioritising then the criteria
could be gathered and compared. The list of
criteria produced can be filed as the criteria
for post-use evaluation and also for similar
future materials selection session in staff
meeting.
Example B: keepin records of use
It is an interesting study to keep records of
which parts of a course book are used and
which are not. Keeping records should be
fairly simple. Teachers' meeting can be held
to reflect and analyse why some parts of the
same book get used and others discarded.
Another option may be a record of how
techers exploit the course book.
Example c: post-use validating the
selection criteria at a stuff meeting
In such a meeting the pre-use selection
criteria which are produced prior to the
course can be validated. The re-evaluation
of the materials can be attached to the
course book for later use.
Publishers may benefit from stablishing
some systems under which this kind of postuse evaluation of course books can be fed
back to the materials writers and editors.
New opportunities: teachers'
professional development
through material evaluation,
adaptation and development.
Masuhara(2006) argues that material
development is one of the most effective
approaches to teacher development and
that it can help teachers become more
aware, able, critical, creative and effective in
their teaching.