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The document outlines key characteristics for evaluating English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks, emphasizing the importance of the PPP lesson structure, personalization, and the use of natural language. It also discusses the necessity of recycling content for effective learning and provides additional criteria for a comprehensive evaluation, including audience suitability, language organization, and cultural bias. Overall, it serves as a checklist for educators to assess the quality and effectiveness of course materials.

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2 views

Course Book Assignment

The document outlines key characteristics for evaluating English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks, emphasizing the importance of the PPP lesson structure, personalization, and the use of natural language. It also discusses the necessity of recycling content for effective learning and provides additional criteria for a comprehensive evaluation, including audience suitability, language organization, and cultural bias. Overall, it serves as a checklist for educators to assess the quality and effectiveness of course materials.

Uploaded by

amirhamzakhan03474649
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Course Book

Coursebook Evaluation [An ELT Checklist]


In 5 Characteristics of a Good Textbook we discussed five quick and easy ways to evaluate a textbook, a
small coursebook evaluation sample.
1. The PPP lesson structure
There are quite a few different strategies out there, but this one never gets old. Presentation, Practice and
Production (PPP) is one of the most popular lesson plan formats. And it’s a must-have of every good
coursebook.
For example, for a 60 minute lesson, allow 15 minutes for Presentation of new material, 20 minutes for
Practice, and 25 minutes for Production. These stages are very clear cut in well-written textbooks.
2. Personalization
To learn something, students need to own it. Personalization happens when activities allow students to
express their own preferences and opinions.
Personalization is true communication, as learners communicate real information about themselves. It
makes communication activities meaningful and gives students motivation.
Look for activities that give students the opportunity to express how the topic relates to them personally
rather than generally.
3. Natural language
This point is relevant only to ESL coursebooks. So, English teachers, consider the following situation:
A man walks into a pet shop. ‘A mouse, please.’
Sounds grammatically correct, doesn’t it? And it is. The only problem is you don’t buy a pet the way you
buy train tickets. In other words, don’t just check grammar; check register and style as well in your
coursebook evaluation.
4. Recycling in the book
Like it or not, forgetting things we’ve studied before is part and parcel of the learning process. We need
repetition and regular revision.
However, recycling is not the same as revision. Revision means going through the main points at the end
of a learning unit.
Recycling goes one step further
If you are looking for a more detailed analysis, you can also check out the following criteria, which are
suggested by many acclaimed authors and teacher trainers:
1. The target audience. Does the book fit the intended student audience?
2. The level of language proficiency.
3. The context in which the material is to be used. Is it for general learners or for ESP (English for
Specific Purposes)?
4. How the language is organized and presented into teachable units and lessons. How many hours
of class time does the book provide material for? Is it easily adaptable in your teaching context?
5. The author’s views on language and teaching methodology. What does the author prioritize?
Communication, grammatical accuracy, exam preparation?
6. Are the materials to be used as the core course book or to be supplementary to it?
7. The Teacher’s Book. Is it available in print? Does it provide teaching tips and alternative
activities to cater for all learner types? Is it useful for both beginner and experienced teachers?
8. A key vocabulary list.
9. Cultural bias. Is the material generic or too culturally specific? Are there any negative cultural
stereotypes?
10. Skills integration. Are receptive and productive skills integrated? Is equal weighting given to all
skills?
11. Reading text variety. Can you find all sorts of reading texts, such as magazine articles,
biographies, advertisements, emails, and personal and business letters?
12. Listening recordings. Are they authentic or artificial? The role of coursebooks is to select and
simplify the language to make it more accessible to students, while still providing natural input
for unconscious acquisition.

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