Coursebook Evaluation Course Content

REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON
Peace – Work – Fatherland RÉPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN

---------------- Paix – Travail – Patrie
THE UNIVERSITY OF NGAOUNDERE ----------------
------------------ UNIVERSITÉ DE NGAOUNDÉRÉ
HIGHER TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE BERTOUA ------------------
P.O.Box. 652 Bertoua Email: ÉCOLE NORMALE SUPÉRIEURE DE BERTOUA
ens.bta@gmail.com BP 652 Bertoua Email :
----------------- ens.bta@gmail.com
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH MODERN LETTERS -----------------
DÉPARTEMENT DE LETTRES MODERNES
ANGLAISES
LEVEL THREE
COURSEBOOK EVALUATION
AN OVERVIEW OF LECTURE NOTES
Proposed by
Mr NIBA
Course Content
• Course Introduction
• Generalities and definition of key concepts
• Overview of course book
• What is a course book?
• The course book as ELT material
• The advantages of textbooks
• Problems with Textbooks
• An appropriate textbook
• The purpose of textbook evaluation
• Steps in textbook evaluation
• Observation in textbook evaluation
• Textbook evaluation checklists
• Practical exercises
Textbooks, coursebooks,
materials…..
• In many cases the term “materials” is used in place
of “textbooks”, which refers to anything that is used
by teachers or students to facilitate the learning of a
language. The term “textbooks” is still widely used,
but its reference has expanded from books to all the
materials used around or independent of the books.
The advantages of textbooks
 They provide structure and a syllabus for a program
 They help standardize instruction
 They maintain quality
 They provide a variety of learning resources
 They can provide effective language models and input
 They can train teachers
 They are visually appealing
 They are an effective resource for self-directed learning; an effective
resource for presentation material; a source of ideas and activities;
• They allow the teacher to manage and organise the learning process more
efficiently.
• They give direction to lessons, they guide discussions, they provide
continuity to the learning process and provide a plan of action to the teacher.
The advantages of textbooks
• In short, they offer security to teachers; the teacher does not
have to make important decisions on what to teach, in which
order and how to teach (this is particularly useful for
inexperienced teachers who lack the skills and confidence for
developing materials of their own).
• Textbooks can also save teachers a lot of time since they offer
a wealth of activities and ideas for language development and
practice.
• One of the primary advantages of using textbooks is that they
are psychologically essential for students since their progress
and achievement can be measured concretely when we use
them.
Problems with textbooks
• Adoption of traditional language learning processes. Many
textbooks are not up-to-date with current research in Second
Language Acquisition and may include language learning
activities which have proved to be ineffective.
• Unhelpful teacher guides. Many coursebooks are
accompanied by teacher guides which essentially provide a
key to the textbook activities and no substantial support or
guidance on how to implement the course.
• Failure to recognise constraints present in most teaching
contexts.
• [Based on Richards 2001, Sheldon 1988]
An appropriate textbook
• No perfect textbook exists but the most appropriate book for you and your
students does. An appropriate textbook must satisfy at least three
conditions:
– It should suit the needs, interests and abilities of your students
– It should meet the requirements of the official curriculum/syllabus
– It should suit you
• In order to decide whether a particular textbook is indeed appropriate,
textbook evaluation is necessary. Textbook evaluation, like any other
evaluation activity, should be focused, systematic and principled.
Textbook evaluation helps teachers move beyond impressionistic
assessments and it helps them to acquire useful, accurate, systematic, and
contextual insights into the overall nature of textbook material
Purposes of textbook evaluation
• a) to select the most appropriate textbook from the array of
textbooks available on the market,
• b) to adopt and revise textbooks which are being used in
class.
• c) Textbook evaluation can also serve the purpose of teacher
development (Hutchinson 1987). When teachers are involved
in developing their own criteria for evaluating their materials,
they are obliged to analyse their own presuppositions and
clarify their theories as to the nature of language and
learning.
Steps in textbook evaluation
• Analyse the nature and underlying principles of the teaching/learning
situation:
• analysis of student needs
1 • identification of the goals of the curriculum and aims of the syllabus

• identification of the constraints of the classroom context
• On the basis of the results of your analysis, define criteria on which the
evaluation will be based
2 • Prioritise criteria.
• Analyse the nature and underlying principles of the available materials.

• Compare the results of the two analyses: How far do the materials fulfil your
3 chosen criteria?
Textbook evaluation checklists
• They are systematic (all issues deemed important are

considered)
• They are cost effective (a great deal of information can be
recorded in a relatively short space)
• They are convenient (allowing for easy comparison between
different sets of material)
• They are explicit provided that all categories are understood
by all those involved in the evaluation
• Based on McGrath 2002:27
McDonough and Shaw checklist
• The External evaluation focuses mainly on the introduction, blurb and
table of contents
• Intended audience: Who are the materials targeted at?
• Proficiency level: For which particular language level?
• In which context are the materials to be used? (EGP or EAP?)
• How has the language been presented and organised into teachable
units? How many units and how many hours per unit?
• What is the author’s view on language and methodology?
• Are the materials to be used as the main “core” course or to be
supplementary to it?
• Is a teacher’s book in print and locally available?
• Is a vocabulary list/index included?
McDonough and Shaw checklist
• What visual material does the textbook contain? Is it there
for cosmetic value or is it actually integrated in the text?
• Is the layout and presentation clear or cluttered?
• Is the material too culturally biased or specific?
• Do the materials represent minority groups and/or women in
a negative way? Do they present a “balanced” picture of a
particular country/society?
• Is the textbook accompanied by audio/video material? Is it
essential to possess this extra material in order to use the
textbook successfully?
• If tests are included are they useful for your particular
learners?
Grant’s (1987) checklist: CATALYST
Stage 1
• Communicative? Is the textbook communicative? Will the students be
able to use the language to communicate as a result of using the
textbook?
• Aims? Does it fit in with our aims and objectives?
• Teachable? Does the course seem reasonably easy to use, well-organised
and easy to find your way around?
• Available add-ons? Are there available additional materials such as
teacher’s book, tapes, workbooks?
• Level? Does the level seem about right?
• Your impression? What is you overall impression of the book?
• Student interest? Are your students likely to find the textbook interesting?
• Tried and tested? Has the course been tried and tested in real
classrooms? Where? By whom? What were the results? How do you
know?
Stage 2
Questionnaire Part 1:
Does the book suit your students?
YES PARTLY NO
1. Is the textbook attractive given the
average age of your students?
YES PARTLY NO
2. Does it reflect what you know about
your students‟ needs and interests?
YES PARTLY NO
3. Is it about the right level of difficulty?
YES PARTLY NO
4. Are there enough authentic materials
so that students can see that the book is
relevant to real life?
YES PARTLY NO
5. Does it achieve an acceptable balance
between the relevant language skills and
integrate them so that work in one skill
are helps the other?
Stage 2
Questionnaire Part 2: Does the book suit the
teacher?
1. Is there a good, clear teacher‟s guide YES PARTLY NO
with answers and help on methods and

additional activities?
YES PARTLY NO
2. Are the recommended methods and
approaches suitable for you, your students
and your classroom?
3. Does the book use a „spiral‟ approach so YES PARTLY NO
that items are regularly revised and used

again in different contexts?
YES PARTLY NO
4. Are the approaches easily adaptable if
necessary?
YES PARTLY NO
5. Does using the course require little or no
time-consuming preparation?
Stage 2
Questionnaire Part 3: Does the textbook suit
the syllabus and examination?
YES PARTLY NO
1. Does the book follow the official syllabus in a
creative manner?
YES PARTLY NO
2. Is the course well-graded so that it gives well-
structured and systematic coverage of the
language?
YES PARTLY NO
3. If it does more than the syllabus requires, is
the result an improvement?
4. Do the course‟s methods help the students YES PARTLY NO
prepare for the exam?

YES PARTLY NO
5. Is there a good balance between what the
examination requires and what the students
need?
Practical exercises
• These exercises will focus on the evaluation of
the Mastering English series.
• 1, 3, 5, 7 (Mastering English Book One)
• 2, 4, 6, 8 (Mastering English Book Two)
• 9, 11, 13, 15 (Mastering English Book Three)
• 10, 12, 14, 16 (Mastering English Book Four)
• 17, 19, 21, 23 (Mastering English Book Five)
• 18, 20, 22, 24 (Across the Mongolo)
Practical exercises
• The course books above will be evaluated
using any checklist of your choice
• Each group will be expected to present a
report of 5-10 pages on their findings.
• The report should show proof the mastery of
the steps in course book evaluation and
research and documentation techniques
• Further elaborations will be seen as the
course unfolds.

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REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON

Peace – Work – Fatherland RÉPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN

1 • identification of the goals of the curriculum and aims of the syllabus

• Analyse the nature and underlying principles of the available materials.

• They are systematic (all issues deemed important are

with answers and help on methods and

that items are regularly revised and used

prepare for the exam?

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