Index
Cover1
Index.2
Introduction..3
Interview Transcript4-7
Interview Chart..8-10
Analysis..11
Factual Details12-13
References14
Introduction
This assignment aims to develop the critical analysis of coursebooks in
teachers-to-be when they have the opportunity to choose the best coursebook
according to different aspects such as students level of English, cultural bios,
availability, authenticity, guidance, to name but a few. This assignment is
divided into two sections. The first section has to deal with a teacher interview
which aims to elicit the teachers view on coursebooks. On the other hand, the
second section has to do with a coursebook analysis itself in which certain
aspects are asked to fulfil such as title, author(s), ISBN, N of pages, etc. and a
Rating Scale in which assess according to the assessors point of view as poor,
fair, good or excellent.
In the following pages you will be able to take a look at the different
stages that this assignment has. You will start with the transcript of the interview
followed by the interview chart and a short analysis of it. Furthermore, you will
find the factual detail of the coursebook assessment and a short review as well.
Transcript
1) Interviewer: Do you think course books are important?
Interviewee: they are important for the teachers and for the students as a guide
in terms of content and functions, but the responsibility of the teacher is to
expand and explore a little bit more this contents and functions in order to give
students a broader view of every single one of the contents reviewed in class.
You cannot plan a class for an activity based on only in the things the book is
offering you. There are many things you have to consider: the type of class you
have, the students you have, the level of the students, so if you consider the
level of students demand a higher contents or deeper functions in terms of
units, you have to do it.
2) Interviewer: So, would you say that those are the criteria for choosing a
book?
The level of students or
Interviewee: it very difficult to choose a book based on only the level of
students because every time you have a class, the level of the students and
type of students is different, if we are thinking in schools. If we are thinking in
universities its the same, you have one semester, one group of students who
have very different types of levels and you have to consider that.
4) Interviewer: Ok, so. Which parts of the course book do you frequently use?
Interviewee: I generally use real material like listenings, readings, because the
rest is grammar and when we talk about grammar, we think about collocations
or definitions of things, of different words. Grammar in general can be used not
only in the contexts the course book is offering you, but also in the context the
teacher can offer.
5) Interviewer: So, the grammar part is less used than the real material?
Interviewee: no, I use it strongly, the thing is that you complement with the
context that you think students will be more comfortable dealing with.
Sometimes the context offered by course books are not your students likes and
that what you have to analyse and evaluate before using that or selecting
another one.
8) Interviewer: What kind of help would you like to have from the CB in
teaching
grammar?
Interviewee: probably, that course book could offer games using grammar,
more games, more fan activities using grammar. No only filling in or completing
worksheet which I think is necessary too, and I use it, but as a complement for
the class and as they are going to be immersed not only in what they are going
to listen or write, they need to do something with their bodies in order to
understand the grammar and thats what is missing from course books; they
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offer games sometimes, but they are games that you need to probably they
dont make them move in grammar and we can make them move in grammar
as well as in speaking activities.
Interviewer: like to do them more meaningful?
Interviewee: correct, because meaning is not only in listening and writing, but
also doing.
9) Interviewer: What kind go help would you like to have from the CB in
teaching
pronunciation?
Interviewee: mmm. The same, I would say the same with grammar, fun
activities, activities that would engage them or challenge them to use the correct
phonetic or to use the correct phoneme, to challenge them in phonetics which is
a dense subjects and everybody that this is so difficult and if you approach them
through games it would be much easier for the teacher to teach that area.
10) Interviewer: What kind go help would you like to have from the CB in
teaching
lexis?
Interviewee: well, I generally do this with the students, I make them move.
Lexis is better understood when they interact, when they exchange their
knowledge, so the way they do it is I have the word, you have the meaning find
the meaning try to match the meaning with the word you have in your hands,
but first investigate with your classmates in the dictionary, so they do this
research and then they stand up and start looking for the word, so making them
move makes their more active in their learning they will remember a little bit
easy, more easily like mmm.. yeah I remember that word, it was at that
corner I have to do that in order to get it
11) Interviewer: What kind go help would you like to have from the CB in
teaching
skills of the lg?
Interviewee: uff you mean listening, speaking, writing
Interviewer: yes, I do
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12) Interviewer: so, in the use of course books, do you think that the books
should be skills oriented mainly more than grammar or?
Interviewee: yes, I think that the final activities that course books offer in every
unit should include the four skills and thats a challenge for the people that
create, write course books, thats why teacher need to be present there,
because you know how to integrate them, because you know your students and
you know what theyve learnt. So, maybe you have similar activities at the end
of the unit, but maybe you can complement them with something else and that
is your responsibility
Interview Chart
CATEGORIES
PARTICIPANT
COMMENT
Importance of
coursebooks.
They are important for the teachers and for the students
as a guide in terms of content and functions.
Criteria for
choosing a
coursebook.
Parts of CB most
used.
Parts of CB less
used.
Context/reasons for
supplementing.
no answer
more than that or when the students are not going to feel
comfortable or not familiar with the contents that the
course book is offering
Procedure for
supplementing.
Kind of help in
teaching Grammar.
Kind of help in
teaching
pronunciation.
10
Kind of help in
teaching lexis.
Kind of help in
teaching skills.
11
Analysis
To begin with, it is important to mention that today teachers tend to update
their teaching according to the new approaches and methods. The current
approach that most teacher worldwide intend to base their classes is the
communicative approach in an integrative way. Moreover, this is the case of my
interviewee who in most of her answers, she declared in her words a
communicative approach.
The interviewee tried to be consistent in her speech, it means that she did
not have much contradictions in what she does in her classes. Even though she
never mentioned a communicative approach, it can be easily concluded when she
replied the following: in a class you have to try to make them write, speak, listen,
read and think in English which gives us a clue of her work in class. According to
Richards & Rodgers (2001, p. 155) one of the main goals of the communicative
approach is to develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills
Thus, when the interviewee declared that she would like help from CBs of that kind,
she is addressing herself into this approach without mention it. Moreover, this is a
good signal that university teachers try to make a change in the way they teach.
Moreover, when we talk about supplementing a coursebook, we can refer
to McGrath (2002, pp. 81) when he quotes Acklam (1994) who designed a checklist
which helps identifying certain gaps in coursebooks using the questions Is there
enough X?. This question emphasises sufficiency, variety and relevance.
Therefore, the interviewee declared that she supplements a coursebook when
there is not enough of something and when she thinks her students can do more
than what the CB offers. Thus, this is the case of using the question if there is
enough of grammar, pronunciation work, vocabulary work, authentic material and
so forth. It is not a matter or desiring to supplement the CB, the teacher must know
his/her class and what they can achieve in order to get to the target level.
To sum up, the usage of a coursebook is not just selecting a CB, going to
the class, and do the activities it provides. However, it is more than that, as the
interviewee could recognise in the interview. It is knowing your students capacities,
culture, level of English and type of students a teacher has and when to
supplement a coursebook and how it would enhance, challenge, engage and
motivate the students.
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Factual Details
Title: Straightforward Pre-Intermediate Students Book
Author(s): Philip Kerr
Publisher: Macmillan.
Price: Not available
ISBN: 978-0-230-02079-5
No. of Pages: 159
Components: SB/TB/WB/Tests/Cassettes/Video/CALLA/Other CD pack,
Portfolio
Level: Between A2 & B1 Pre-intermediate Level Physical size: 27.5 x 22 cms
Length: Not specified, it is a multi-level coursebook.
Units: 12 Units
Lessons/sections: 4 (A/B/C/D)
Hours: 1
Target Skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.
Target Learners: Adults and young adults.
Target Teachers: Every teacher.
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Flexibility **
Guidance ****
Overall value for money *
level.
It tries not to teach the content in only one
culture, however the British culture
predominates above others.
There is no information about the validity of
the CB, however, it is part of a worldwide
prestigious brand as Macmillan.
Each unit is similar to the PPP format as it
begins with a warm-up, presentation,
practice and most of the time production
stage.
At least this CB is not that flexible as there
are certain units that should be covered
before others, yet not all of them.
The learner can use this book with or without
the guidance of a teacher.
No information available
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References
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