Pros And Cons Of Evaluating ELT Materials

EVALUATING ELT MATERIALS 3

Evaluating ELT Materials before Implementation

The selection of a course book is one of the most important decisions a teacher will make in shaping the content and nature of teaching and learning. It involves matching the material against the context in which it is going to be used, following the aims of the teaching program, as well as fitting the personal methodology of the teacher. In this paper, I will first look at the purposes of course books, including their limitations. Following this, I will examine several evaluation methods, as provided by leading experts in the field. I will then apply the model of one of these methods, designed by McDonough and Shaw, to a course book used to my own working context. In

(Cunningsworth 1995). The creation of extensive evaluation checklists by leading experts provides criteria for detailed course book analysis. Cunningsworth’s checklist for evaluation and selection contains 45 questions, covering criteria such as aims, design, language content, skills, and methodology, as well as practical considerations such as cost and obtainability. Sheldon (1988) provides an expansive checklist of 53 questions classified under 17 major criteria, which appraises content factors such as accessibility, content, layout and authenticity. Because of the wide variety of ELT course books available, he advocates the use of evaluative measures, yet admits dissatisfaction with the “uneven quality” of these “evaluative tools,” (Sheldon 1988: 240) stating the lack of any standardized global checklist or approach to materials analysis. Extensive checklists such as these, as well as others (Breen and Candlin 1987, Robinett, adapted by Brown 1994, McDonough and Shaw 1993, Skierso, 1991) imply that designers are striving for comprehensiveness in evaluation procedures. Swales (1980, cited in Wharton, web site) has criticized this inclination, claiming that the more questions one asks of a set of teaching materials, striving for some kind of intricate discovery, the more likely one is to be disappointed. Rather, teachers should look at the evaluation process from a more subjective view (Sheldon 1988,

A brief external evaluation includes criteria which gives an overview of the organizational foundation of the course book, ‘as stated explicitly by the author/publisher’ through the cover, introduction and table of contents statements. Following this is an in-depth internal investigation of the course book, ‘to see how far the materials in question match up to what the author claims as well as to the aims and objectives of a given teaching program.” (McDonough and Shaw 1993: 64). Unique in their coverage of criteria, their 22-point framework is designed both for teachers looking to select a course book, a predictive evaluation, as well as for those teachers looking to identify strengths and weaknesses in course books already used in their working context, a retrospective evaluation. (For a detailed look at retrospective evaluations of tasks in teaching materials, see Ellis: The Language Teacher Online). Their model “distinguishes the purpose behind the evaluation- be it to keep up-to-date with current developments or to adopt/select materials for a given course.” (ibid: 65). For the purposes of this evaluation, I will follow the model provided by McDonough and Shaw, applying pertinent criteria to the course book used in my working context. The model’s procedural format and flexibility will allow me to fully assess the strengths and weaknesses of my materials. Furthermore, taking a retrospective approach to the evaluation will give me “insight into the organizational