evaluation for suitability, potential, external, internal, overall, types

1. LECTURE 5
EVALUATION TYPES

2. THE CONTEXT OF EVALUATION
• ‘open market’: teachers have a large
amount of materials to choose from
• ‘handed materials’: teachers are given
materials by education authority –
need to cope with it.
• There’s no exact formula or yardstick
for evaluation but some model will be
helpful for teachers

3. EVALUTION TYPES
• PRE-USE
–Most difficult because teachers have
no actual experience in using the book
–To look at potential / future
performance
–Normally employs evaluation of
potential

4. EVALUTION TYPES
• IN-USE
–Evaluate whilst the material is in use
–Monitoring newly introduced book or
well established but aging book that
might need replacement
–Normally employs evaluation of
suitability

5. EVALUTION TYPES
• POST-USE
–Provides a retrospective assessment of
the performance of the book already
used
–Identify strengths & weaknesses
–Help to decide whether to continue the
use of it or not
–Normally employs evaluation of
suitability

6. EVALUATION OF
POTENTIAL
• To see what the book might be good for &
in what situations it could succeed
• No predetermined use in mind
• Mostly adopted in teacher training
courses – to equip students with (basic)
criteria before more specific evaluation is
faced in the future
• Question: what would this book be good
for?

7. EVALUATION OF
SUITABILITY
• Matching textbook against a specific
requirements – learners’ objectives,
background or resources available.
• Normally employs a checklist – specially
designed or ready-made
• Question: Would it be good for my class?

8. THE EXTERNAL EVALUATION
• Examining ‘what the books say about
themselves
– The ‘blurb’: claims made on the cover of
the book
– The introduction: foreword by author or
editor
– The table of contents:
• list of topics/pages
• The ‘bridge’ between external claims & actual
content
(M62-66)

9. Information that can be obtained
from external evaluation:
• The intended audience
• The proficiency level
• The context
• How language is presented & organized
• The author’s views on language &
methodology
Note: for other factors to consider, refer to M64-65

10. THE INTERNAL EVALUATION
• For effective evaluation, at least two
(preferably more) of these factors
need to be investigated:
–The presentation of the skills in the
materials
–The grading & sequencing of the
materials
–The balance between the emphasis
& the opportunity for practice
(M66-70)

11. THE INTERNAL EVALUATION
–The authenticity of recordings
–Incorporation of real interactions
–The relationship between tests &
exercises
–Suitable for all learning styles
–Motivation factors for teachers &
students

12. THE OVERALL EVALUTION
• The usability factor - how far
materials can be integrated into the
syllabus
• The generalizability factor - ‘core’
features that is generally useful
• The adaptability factor - parts that can
be added/extracted in other context
• The flexibility factor - how rigid is the
sequencing & grading?
(M70-71)