Lecture 2: Textbooks/Course

books: Selection, evaluation

and adaptation
EDU 2301
 Part 1: What is a
textbook/course book?
 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.”
 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
Textbooks
Textbooks
Part 2: Why is it for?
Why teachers use textbooks:
 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
The Perfect Book
 No ready-made textbook will ever
perfectly fit every language
program!

There is NO IDEAL
TEXTBOOK.
IDEAL TEXTBOOK

Ideal for the

Ideal for Ideal for TEACHING-
TEACHER LEARNER LEARNING
CONTEXT
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.”
Part 3: How to select them?
 Selection of Course books

• Choosing a course book can be extremely

difficult.
• We cannot get a good picture of the suitability of a
book until we have been working through it for
some time.
• The teacher’s responsibility involves not only
student assessment, but also the evaluation of
the teaching and learning process itself.
• This means that the materials must be evaluated
as well.
 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., India, Nigeria).

• EFL means teaching or learning English in a

country where English is not spoken, this is the
correct term and approach
The course book should help teachers by
providing:

1. A clear program which is appropriately

sequenced and structured to include revision.
2. A wider range of material than we can collect
individually.
3. Economy of preparation time.
4. A source of practical teaching ideas.
5. Work that our pupils can do on their own.
6. A basis for homework.
7. A basis for discussion and comparable with
other schools.
 The course book also helps our pupils
because it offers them:

1. A sense of purpose, progression and

progress.
2. A sense of security.
3. Independent and autonomous learning.
4. A reference for checking and revising.
 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.
Graves, 2000:176

“ Be free to modify, evaluate, develop,

change, eliminate, or add to the
materials of the book.”
Textbook / Workbook Focus Should be…

• Grammar focus – Sequenced exercises that

allow the student to focus on the new grammar
point and solidify their learning
• Vocabulary focus – Thematic vocabulary
reflected in the chapter
• Listening focus –Functional conversations that
introduce the target grammar
• Speaking focus – Interactive speaking task
focused on the student’s production of target
vocabulary, grammar and functional language.
• Pronunciation focus – Stress rhythm, and
intonation practice based on the target
vocabulary and grammar
• Reading & writing focus – Thematic passages
that incorporate personalized writing activity that
stimulates student production of target
vocabulary and grammar
• Cultural focus – Topics that introduce the
different ways different cultures act in given
situations that reflect the principles of positive
multiculturalism.
• Media Programs - A springboard for student
involvement and interaction.
 II. Criteria for Selection and Use of
Course books

• The teacher’s responsibility involves not only

student assessment, but also the evaluation of
the teaching and learning process itself.
• This means that the materials must be evaluated
as well.
• The teacher’s responsibility involves the
evaluation of the teaching and learning process
itself.
• This means that the materials must be evaluated
as well.
 Criteria

• Therefore, teachers should prepare a course

book evaluation form, which can be used to
analyze their course book or text.

There are several different criteria to consider

when evaluating new textbooks for possible
adoption in your institution.
• Here are some to consider:
 Criteria
a. The text makes clear the links between the
classroom and the wider world.
b. The text fosters independent learning.
c. The text focuses our pupils on their learning process.
d. The text is easily available.
e. The text meets our pupils’ needs.
f. The text can be used at more than one level of
difficulty (heterogeneity).
g. The pedagogical objectives of the materials are clear.
h. The text is more attractive in appearance for the
students than the teacher produced materials.
 Points & Aspects to consider When
Selecting a Course Book
1. Layout and design: we must judge whether the
course book layout and design are appropriate and
attractive for our pupils.
- How appealing is the material?
- Will it hold student’s interest and satisfy
them?
- Is it relevant, transferable, task oriented for
maximum student involvement?
2. Activities: Is there a balance of activities. There
should be a substantial amount of aural language
input and a wide variety of communicative activities.
3. Language content: analyze of texts, exercises,
activities and tasks in the text and ask yourself, “Are
the activities sequenced logically, from simple to
difficult, from mechanical to meaningful, from
passive to productive and from accuracy to fluency”.
4. Skills: Is there a balance of appropriate integrated
skills for the level.
-For lower level and Elementary Education the aural component is more
important than the written one, and the receptive skills are more
important than the productive ones.
-Can text used at more than one level of difficulty (heterogeneity-those
students that come the class with Less or More knowledge).
-Are the pedagogical objectives of the materials are clear.
5. Language type: Evaluate the realistic nature--authentic,
well simulated, and contrived--of materials and activities.
- Authentic or simulated authentic
-Is the language is realistic and the right type?
-relevant to our pupils’ needs?
-Vocabulary should be relevant to our pupils’ interests, close to their
world and presented in a meaningful context.
-Is the progression adequate for the cognitive stage of development of
our pupils.
6. Subject and content: Subject and content should be
relevant, realistic at least some of the time, interesting and
varied.
-What topics are included and do they match up to our
pupils’ personalities, backgrounds and needs.
7. Guidance: Is there enough guidance not only for the teacher,
but also for our pupils. We need to have clear explanations of
how the material should be used to take the maximum
advantage out of it. The materials should be clear, easy to
follow and have well-defined objectives that the whole class
can understand.
8. Practical considerations:
-Is the price of the materials suitable for our pupils?
-Are all the components of the course (tapes, worksheets, etc.) readily
available?
-Audience for whom the text appears to be intended (age of
learners, level of proficiency, purpose for studying English)
9. Authors beliefs about theory and practice in language
learning and teaching
10. What is the teacher's role--what does the teacher have to
do in order to facilitate learning?
11. TESTS - Describe how the text assesses the
learner's learning or attaining the goals set forth.
12. General strengths and weaknesses of the text.
13. Does this text fit with your Institutional goals?
- length of the semester/course,
- what the curriculum says needs to be covered?
14. Helps Teachers:
-A wider range of material than we can collect individually.
-Work that our pupils can do on their own.
-A basis for homework.
-A source of practical teaching ideas and Economy of preparation time.
15. Helps the Pupils - because it offers them
-A sense of purpose, progression and progress.
Part 4: How to evaluate them?
 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.
 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
 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.
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.”
 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-useevaluation 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-useevaluation provides retrospective assessment of a
course book and also serves to decide whether to use the
same course book on future occasions.
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.
 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).
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?
Part 5: How to adapt them in
the classroom?
 WAYS OF TEXTBOOK ADAPTATION
 Modifying content
 Adding or deleting content
 Reorganizing content
 Addressing omissions
 Modifying tasks
 Extending tasks
- Richards, 2014
 Finally
• No course book will be totally suited to a particular teaching
situation.
• The teacher has to find his/her own way of using it and
adapting it if needed.
A. The materials for a specific lesson will fall into two
categories:
1. Those associate with the textbooks
2. Authentic materials that the teacher
incorporates into classroom activities.
• Authentic materials are usually defined as those which have
been produced for purposes other than to teach language.
• Every Institution should create an evaluation tool that can be
used when considering a new textbook.
 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