Guide through the selection of textbooks.

1. How Much Do We know
about Our Textbook?
Zhang Lu

2. Task 1
In pairs, discuss:
What is the relationship between a
classroom teacher & the textbook?

3. A textbook
 serves to facilitate learning
 is a tool
A teacher
 is a consumer, a master & a designer
 must be innovative, reflective & creative

4. Task 2 Here are three teachers’ opinions about textbooks.
Which one do you agree with most?
Teacher 1: “I don’t use a textbook. I prepare all my own
teaching materials. After all, I know my students’ needs
better than any coursebook writer does”
Teacher 2: “I couldn’t teacher without a textbook. I use it
just like a recipe. Follow it page by page, and you can’t
go wrong.”
Teacher 3: “I find my coursebook very useful. I use it a lot
of the time. But not all the time.”

5. Task 3
In groups of 4, answer the following
question.
What does a coursebook offer?

6. A textbook offers:
 The syllabus
 Language presentation material
 Language practice material
 Skills development material
 A sequence of work
 Recycling and review of language
 Additional material

7. Task 4
In pairs, discuss
What is the relationship between
a syllabus & a textbook?

8. Language content
Process/
means
Syllabus objectives
General Goals of a Curriculum
Product/
outcomes

9. Key questions about three components of
a syllabus contains:
content -- a. what ?
b. order ?
c. criteria for the decisions?
process – a. how to present?
b. roles of t & Ss ?
c. how can materials
contribute to learning process ?
Product: a. knowledge of language ?
b. language skills ?
c. techniques of evaluation ?

10. Types of Syllabus:
 Structural--grammatical syllabus
 Notional syllabus
 Functional syllabus
 Notional-functional syllabus
 Situational syllabus
 Communicative Syllabus
 Task-based Syllabus

11. Definition of “a task” :
… an activity or action which is carried out as the
result of processing or understanding language。
For example, drawing a map while listening to an
instruction and performing a command… A task
usually requires the teacher to specify what will be
regarded as successful completion of the task.
Richards, platt, and Weber 1985

12. Criticizing task-based
Syllabus
 no guidance is provided on the selection of
tasks
 no guidance is provided on how tasks might be
related to the real-world language needs of the
learners.
 there are usually a variety of factors which will
interact to determine task difficulty.
 some of the factors will be dependent on the
characteristics of the learner, what is difficult
for learner A may not necessarily be difficult for
learner B

13. Which syllabus
We should
1. take account of what language teaching
aims are.
2. to focus on content is too restricted
and the language educator needs to
draw the principles and procedures
of curriculum studies and to apply
principles of effective management

14. Various ways of using coursebooks
A. Follow very closely and in the exact order of
presentation
disadvantages of this approach
B. A more balanced relationship between teacher
& coursebook
advantages of this approach
C. No set textbook; select their own lessons &
sequences of lessons from a large array of
published material

15. Why are some teachers so
dependant on the textbook?

16. Factors influence the degree of
dependence or autonomy in using
coursebooks
• type of educational system/environment
• Syllabus/materials constraints imposed by
education authorities
• Culture & expectation of learners
• Nature & amount of training for the teachers
• Teachers’ experience & confidence
• Teachers’ command of English
• Availability of alternative coursebooks &
resources for materials

17. Adapting the coursebooks

18. Adapting published materials
 Why adapt coursebooks?
 When to adapt?
 How can teachers adapt the
coursebook?
 Supplementing & replacing materials

19. Why adapt coursebooks?
Every learning situation is unique and depends on
the following factors:
 The dynamics of the classroom
 The personalities involved
 The constraints imposed by the syllabuses
 The availability of resources
 The expectations and motivations of the learners.

20. When to adapt?
We may need to adapt coursebooks because they are not ideal as they
stand in any of the following areas:
 Methods (an exe. may be too mechanical, lacking in meaning, too
complicated)
 Language content (e.g. there may be too emphasis on grammar)
 Subject matter (e.g. topics may not be interesting, outdated, not
authentic enough)
 Balance of skills (there may not emphasis on skills )
 Cultural content (there may be some cultural references that need
omitting or changing)
 Image (a coursebook may project an unfriendly image through poor
layout, low quality visuals, etc.)

21. How can teachers adapt the
coursebook?
i) Analyzing the coursebook , i.e. seeing what is
actually in the book and assessing its value &
relevance
ii) Either omitting or adding or re-ordering
parts of the lessons, so as to bring the
coursebook closer to what the teacher considers
is necessary to achieve the objectives of the
syllabus

22. Supplementing & replacing materials
Areas that usually need to be supplemented:
 Reading
 Listening
 Pronunciation
 Vocabulary
 Grammar

23. Evaluating for potential &
evaluating for suitability

24. Guidelines for evaluation
1. Coursebooks should correspond to learners’ needs.
They should match the aims & objectives of the
language-learning programme.
2. Coursebooks should reflect the uses which learners will
make of the language. Select coursebooks which will
help to equip students to use language effectively for
their own purposes.
3. Coursebooks should take account of students’ needs as
learners & should facilitate their learning processes,
without dogmatically imposing a rigid “method”.
4. Coursebooks should have Coursebooks a clear role as a
support for learning. Like teachers, they mediate
between the target language & the learner.

25. The overall evaluation
 The usability factor: how far the materials could
be integrated into a particular syllabus as “core”
or supplementary?
 The generalizability factor: is there a restricted
use of “core” features that make the materials
more generally useful?
 The adaptability factor: can parts be
added/extracted/used in another context/modified
for local circumstances?
 The flexibility factor: how rigid is the sequencing
& grading?

26. Examine a coursebook. Find out:
 What elements of language content are
specified?
 What course outcomes or objectives in
terms of specific achievements are stated?
 What processes are suggested for actual
classroom activities?

27. Than You