Student Name: Nuzhat Tabassum
Student ID: 201620252
Course: Textbook Analysis
Course Instructor: Dr Mohamed Fathy Khalifa
Semester: Fall 2019
Assignment
Criteria for EFL textbook evaluation
Introduction
In this assignment, the topic that will be discussed is the criteria based on which EFL textbooks
are evaluated. Before I proceed to the criteria, it is important to explain certain things that are
related to the topic of textbooks and textbook analysis for a thorough understanding of the
complete content.
A textbook is a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study.
Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational
institutions. (Wikipedia)
Textbook analysis can be defined as a systematic analysis of the text materials including
the structure, the focus, and special learning assists.
Some teachers believe textbooks are sacred and blindly follow them whereas other
teachers completely refuse to follow any kind of textbook. None of these approaches to
textbooks are ideal and it is very important for teachers to hence reach a compromise
where they learn how to make the best use of a textbook or a coursebook.
There are four types of textbook analysis which are:
a) Impressionistic analysis: Overall presentation and analysis of textbook.
b) In depth analysis: Examines the treatment of the 4 skills.
c) Quantitative analysis: Results are shown in numbers and percentages.
d) Qualitative analysis: Results show peoples opinions and attitudes.
Why is textbook analysis important?
It is important because it helps in identifying the problems in a textbook so that the book
can be modified to be made more student and teacher friendly. Strengths and weaknesses
of the books are also identified through this process. Without textbook evaluation there
would be no scope of improvement for textbooks.
Criteria for textbook analysis
The criteria are divided into various sections:
Design Analysis: In this section a range of issues are analyzed such as the physical
appearance, the layout of the textbook and the format. The durability of the cover,
whether it is hardback or paperback, the attractiveness of the cover and the content inside
as well as the binding all are analyzed in this section. The book should also have some
space alongside the text for the student to take some important notes related to the text
while reading it or discussing about it. The weight and size of the book must be suitable
to so that it is easy to carry for the students and not too heavy. The font size also must be
taken into consideration to ensure it is large and clear enough for reading. Moreover, it is
also necessary that charts, and texts are appropriately labelled to aid language learning.
The textbook should also aid students and encourage self-learning. The design should
also be analyzed to check whether it features the latest technological advancements in the
field of education.
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Illustrations Analysis: Illustrations can be one of the most important aspects of the
design in EFL textbooks. If the pictures and illustrations in a book are colorful, relevant
to the text and attractive, it will immediately grab the attention of the readers or the
audience of the textbook. Some books are seen to have childish illustrations which are
not age appropriate. Moreover, they are low quality graphics which do not enhance the
books overall outlook. Some illustrations have no link to the text or are totally irrelevant
or placed in a way that they do not add to the meaning of the text nor support it in any
way. None of the images should promote any kind of cultural, social, racial or gender
stereotyping. It shouldn’t promote gender biases through any illustrations. These kinds of
topics must be avoided at all costs as it might negatively impact the language learner
when they see they are being addressed as inferior or superior to each other. Pictures
should not suggest any kind of double meanings. The pictures need to be well spaced and
not too crowded on a page. There also shouldn’t be too many pictures related to the topic
as that takes up unnecessary space. Every picture needs to be functional and not just to
cover up unwanted spaces on the textbook.
Language Skills: Evaluating the language skills of an ELT textbook is very important
because the language is what the student or learner needs to acquire from the book.
Presentation of grammar. Language teaching methodologies also come into question here.
In the past traditional approaches to teaching language was encouraged and preferred like
the grammar translation method or the audiolingual method. However, since the 1980’s
this trend has gone downhill. Nowadays all ELT books are expected and encouraged to
follow the communicative approach as it has been proven to be the most effective way to
learn a language. According to Breen and Candlin (1987) the initial considerations for
evaluating the skills in textbooks would be based on three aspects. In the first aspect it is
essential to find out which language skill is highlighted in the materials and notice if any
practical guidelines are actually provided to facilitate them. Secondly, it is important to
see if the proportion of each skill is carried out successfully by considering the length of
the overall course period. In the final aspect, it is important to evaluate the skills in order
to find out whether the underlying purpose in practicing skills is clear. Cunningsworth
(1995) regards the integration of the skills as the “fifth skill” in addition to the
improvisation of the four main language skills in language learning and suggests six
criteria for evaluating language skills in a textbook. These are the following:
1. Are all language skills emphasized equally?
2. Does the textbook include materials that integrate language skills?
3. Are the reading passages apt for the age of learners?
4. Are the numbers of reading content enough for students?
5. Is the quality of the listening material high and are they authentic?
6. Does the material provide background information, questions and activities?
Presentation of Grammar: The selection of grammatical items should be carried out by
taking into consideration the learner’s language needs. To aid the language learning
process, the structural issues need to be presented in short units or modules. We should
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also consider which is given more priority, language form or language use. Then comes
the need to investigate whether there is a balance between both form and use of language.
The new acquisition should be built on a foundation of what the student already knows.
Additionally, several grammatical structures have multiple meanings such as the usage of
the present perfect tense and present continuous tense. The rules should follow a normal
word order and show resemblance to everyday communicative language because that’s
what is the most important for the learner. A meaningful context also needs to be
provided in order to activate students’ comprehension. Skierso (1991) proposed that
several verb forms such as paradigms and conjugations need to be presented as a
summary. Language learners should move from form focus to fluency and this must be
done by building a link by considering the design of the activities. It should manipulate
students into familiarizing the structure in context with the aim of presenting both the
grammar rule and how to use it during the communication process. Meaningful drills are
also controlled; however, the learners have limited choices in terms of using a set of
different words or phrases. This stage can be followed by structure based free sentence
comparisons. All of this is meant to make the learner fluent in every aspect of language
skill and communicate effectively.
Presentation of vocabulary: The vocabulary load should be consistent with the level of
the language learners. It is also important to see if the vocabulary teaching order is
following a proper sequence like going from beginners to intermediate and so on.
Complex vocabulary is better not introduced during the early stages of language learning
as it makes learners confused. Revision is a very important part of vocabulary. All words
that have been introduced need to be kept in practice so that the learners don’t completely
forget about them after the lesson is done. This process is called recycling. New words
can be introduced using graphics and pictures to make it more understandable and
enjoyable for the learners. It is extremely important that the words newly introduced are
used in sentences or in context to make the learner aware of the proper way to use the
word as just knowing the word isn’t enough. Use of antonyms and synonyms are also
effective when it comes to teaching new vocabulary as it makes the concept of the
meaning very clear to the learners. Translation is also considered to be a way of
presenting the meaning of new vocabulary items.
Exercises: Richards (1990) focuses on the importance of the selection procedures and
criteria considering the principal types of activities and tasks consistent with a specific
language program. Timing regarding the exercises should also be set. Material should
help the student’s comprehension skills and achieve to test the students in how well they
can extract the main idea from the text. Competency over certain structures and
vocabulary is another aim of textbook exercises. When it comes to writing exercises, the
presentation should be varied, and the assessment of new issues needs to be done after
revision. The language learners need to gain confidence while carrying out activities and
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this can be done by narrowing the focus of the activity or organizing the sequence of the
exercises in a proper way. The activities should also aim to develop cognitive abilities in
the learners by providing exercises that make them use critical thinking and problem
solving. In addition, students need to be aware of social issues, environmental issues, and
cultural issues through the help of the texts and exercises. This can be considered as a
part of the hidden curriculum of the textbook. The material must be authentic, and
exercises should support what has been taught in the lessons. The exercises shouldn’t be
too easy or too difficult and answer keys must be provided to facilitate the correction
process. The activities and exercises need to be varied and use a variety of material like
realia, pictures and videos.
Cultural issues: L2 learners need to be made aware of the cultural stereotypes
represented in the English-speaking countries as they are mostly unaware of it due to
their cultures being different and varied. The cultural norms of certain language learners
will hinder the process as they might look down upon or frown upon certain cultural
aspects of native English language speakers. The textbook must try to build a bridge
between the L2 learners’ culture and the L2 culture. This can be done by comparisons of
many cultures which will make the learners be more tolerable and acceptable towards
different cultures and their ways of life. New values are better introduced at the initial
stages of language learning so that learners can grow accustomed to the ideas presented
there. Cunningsworth (1995) also believes in the familiarity of characters, social and
cultural context for effective language learning. Moreover, the kind of roles associated to
women can be indicated as one of the textbook analysis elements. Sheldon (1998) focuses
on the evaluation of cultural issues in ELT materials under the heading of ‘cultural bias’.
The textbook should be evaluated for gender and racial stereotyping which students
might find offensive and these matters need to be resolved in a textbook. Religions and
societies need to be respected in all contents and materials so that the book is acceptable
to students all over the world.
Topics: It is important to remember here that many scholars like Richards, Graves and
Byrd focus on the distinction between the linguistic and thematic content. The linguistic
content is associated with the certain structural aspects of the language. The thematic
content provides the necessary content to support language instruction. The topics used in
the language teaching materials act as vehicles in order to reflect the thematic content.
Language can’t be taught as one subject because language occurs under real situations in
our lives. Learners come to classrooms with their own knowledge, attitudes, skills and
cognitive abilities so all that must be taken into consideration. The topics should be
varied, interesting and challenging which will spark communication through the
exchange of ideas and opinions. The topics of the units need to be analyzed in order to
find out whether the recommended topics are included and given enough time to be
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presented throughout the textbook. Equal emphasis should be given to the most important
topics and no topic should be left out.
Teacher guides: Teacher guides are very important and need to be evaluated as the
teacher needs a certain amount of support to use and successfully implement a textbook
in class. Teachers will have to be made aware of the different ways they can use the
textbook and all the support that is provided both online and offline. While teachers are
using the guides, they will find it easy to notice the shortcomings and strengths of the
textbook and help to make it much better providing suggestions for their renewal.
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