Textbook Evaluation (Total English Books)
Introduction
Textbook evaluation is highly crucial since it can help teachers select and adapt appropriate materials for their learners. The principal concern of researchers in the area of materials development and textbook evaluation is the extent to which materials, as the primary source of input, satisfy the needs of the EFL learners.
Tomlinson (2011) defines materials as anything which is used by the teachers or learners to help facilitate the learning of a language whereas materials development refers to anything that is done by writers, teachers and learners to provide sources of language input and exploit those sources in ways that maximize the likelihood of intake. Materials can include “textbooks, cassettes, videos, CD-Rom, dictionaries, grammar books, readers, workbooks, or photocopied exercises”(Tomlinson, 2011, p.2). The term ‘textbook’ is defined by Merriam Webster (2003) as “a book used in the study of a subject as one containing a presentation of the principles of a subject or as a literary work relevant to the study of a subject.” This term, also called text, which is the most prevalent term to refer to a book exploited in teaching learning situation.
English language teaching has many important components, but the essential constituent to many EFL classrooms and programs is the textbook. Hutchinson and Torres (1994, p. 315) maintain “no teaching-learning situation, it seems, is complete until it has its relevant textbook.” Sheldon (1988, p.237) claims that textbooks “represent the visible heart of any ELT program.” The view held by the scholars in the field stresses the importance of judicious selection and evaluation of textbooks. Sheldon (1988) discusses several reasons for material’s evaluation. She holds that the selection of an ELT textbook often signals an important administrative and educational decision in which there is considerable professional, financial or even political investment. Williams (1983) maintains, “Any textbook should be used judiciously, since it cannot cater equally to the requirements of every classroom setting” (p. 251). Cunningsworth (1995) discusses the reasons for materials evaluation as follows:
Reasons for material evaluation activities are many and varied. The intention to adopt new course books is a major and frequent reason for evaluation. Another reason is to identify particular strengths and weaknesses in course books already in use, so that optimum use can be made of their strong points, whilst their weaker areas can be strengthened through adaptation or by substituting material from other books (p. 14).
As Total English is one of the most widely used ELT textbooks in Iran context, the present study aimed at evaluating the textbook to shed more light on its adequacy for ELT programs for Iranian, language teachers, and students.
فهرست مطالب
Chapter 2: Literature review.. 3
2-1-Textbooks: Pros and Cons. 4
2-2-What is Textbook Evaluation. 6
3.3. Data Collection Instruments. 11
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