COURSEBOOK EVALUATION

1. Advantages of using a course oo!" It offers a coherent syllabus (what should be learnt and the order of it) Students are more aware of their progress, they see purpose in learning Students can do activities on their own as well they are more autonomous It provides the methodology (+ activities, texts, different types of learning material) It is visually attractive (pictures, comics) It offers lots of interesting information (e g cultural inf ) It offers lots of extra material (!"#$%&s, audiocassettes, videocassettes, flashcards, tests, etc ) 'ou don(t need to prepare your own material and syllabus It is a convenient pac)age (compared to hand#outs) and usually easy to carry

#. $isadvantages of using a course oo!" %ver#reliance on a boo) (*armer+ ,-hey are proposals for action, not instructions for use(. /rewster and 0llis+ ,the courseboo) is a menu from which you choose, not a recipe which you follow() 1ery often produced in 2merica or 3reat /ritain for the whole world (no local information, specific culture, no reference to our learners) 4uic)ly gets out of date (e g topics on current pop singers) &ight not suit your learners( needs, does not cater for mixed ability 5s &ight stifle your creativity, lead to boredom and lac) of motivation

%. &'at can (ou do )it' t'e *art of t'e course oo! +e.g. an activit(, a te-t./ (ou don0t )ant to use1 'ou can+ "elete it, add something, rewrite something. $eplace activities, re#order them, reduce them. 2dd time limit to the activity for fun. !hange the classroom arrangement, interaction pattern. 3ive students choice (e g do five activities out of ten).

A LIST O2 CRITERIA 2OR COURSEBOOK EVALUATION AI3S AN$ A44ROAC5ES 6 9 7hat sort of a**roac' does the boo) appear to adopt8 (activity#based, topic#based ) "o t'e ai6s of the courseboo) correspond closely with the aims in the teaching program and with the needs of learners8 : *ow are ne) teac'ing *oints graded8 *ow fre;uently are they introduced and how much practice material separates them8 < 2re there any special pages of units for revision, se7f8testing, or reference8 = 7hat are the art )or! and 7a(out li)e8 2re they attractive8 2re they useful or only decorative8 Is t'e *rint easy to read8 > "oes the course include examples of aut'entic 7anguage and 6ateria7s8 ? 7hat different co6*onents ma)e up the materials8 (cassettes, flashcards, !") @ Is the teac'er0s oo! easy to follow8 "oes it contain an index8 2re )eys to exercises given8 "oes it explain any methodological issues regarding teaching young learners8 A "oes the material have a specific cu7tura7 setting8 Is it acceptable to your learners8 Is cross#cultural comparison developed8 6B 2re people in the boo) treated e;ually8 Is there any racis6 or se-is68 2re there any ot'er grou*s of people presented (unusual Cobs, handicapped people) 66 Is the courseboo) flexible8 "oes it allow different teac'ing and 7earning st(7es8 69 !an you spot any notable o6issions8 7ill you have to supplement the courseboo) in any way8 LAN9UA9E CONTENT 6 9 : < "oes the courseboo) cover 6ain gra66ar ite6s appropriate to each level8 Is material for voca u7ar( teaching ade;uate in terms of ;uantity and range of vocabulary8 2re to*ics interesting for students8 "oes the courseboo) include material for *ronunciation )or!8 If so, what is covered+ individual sounds, word stress, sentence stress, intonation8

SKILLS 6 9 : < = > 2re all four s!i77s ade;uately covered8 2re they integrated8 2re reading *assages and associated activities suitable for your students( levels, interests, etc 8 Is there sufficient reading material8 Is 7istening 6ateria7 well recorded, as authentic as possible, accompanied by bac)ground information, ;uestions and activities which help comprehension8 Is material for s*o!en Eng7is' (dialogues, role#plays) well designed to e;uip learning for real life situations8 2re )riting 6ateria7s suitable for young learners (not too difficult or too easy)8

3ET5O$OLO9: 6 9 : 7hat level of active 7earner invo7ve6ent can be expected8 *ow are co66unicative a i7ities developed8 7hat opportunities exist for children to interact using 0nglish8 2re students expected to ta)e a degree of res*onsi i7it( for t'eir o)n 7earning8

A LOOK AT A SA34LE UNIT 6 9 : < = > ? *ow is each unit tit7ed8 7ill it be clear to your pupils what it is they are expected to learn in the unit8 *ow is ne) 7anguage *resented (story, familiar situations, topics, activities)8 *ow is the meaning of items conveyed8 2re new items re7ated to what has been learned previously8 5o) 6uc' ne) 7anguage is presented in each unit8 Is the rate at which new material is introduced appropriate for your pupils8 7hat )inds of practice activities are there8 Is there appropriate balance between contro77ed and freer *ractice8 2re they motivating and meaningful8 Is f7uenc( catered for in addition to accuracy8 *ow much of variet( of activit( is there8 "oes the boo) offer 6ot'er tongue trans7ation8 "o you regard this as useful or not8

VARIOUS 6 9 : < = "oes the boo) include furt'er 7eve7s (9, :)8 *ow much does it cost8 Is there a dictionar( at the end of the boo)8 "o you find this important8 Is the boo) dura 7e8 "oes it re;uire s*ecia7 e;ui*6ent (e g phonolab, computer, internet facilities)8 Is such e;uipment available to you8

:OUR <UESTIONS 6 9