ELT Materials Evaluation: A System and Criteria

Profile Issues in Teachers Professional Development, 2009

Our article aims at providing teachers with an overview for materials development, taking into account the experience gained by two teachers in the English Programme of the School of Education at Universidad Externado de Colombia in Bogotá. This experience has helped us achieve better teaching and learning conditions for our university students in their quest to learn a foreign language. This paper addresses the issue of the role of teachers as textbook developers, and how they can meet materials development demands by integrating a clear conceptualisation and set of principles as well as their essential components.

2018

ELT materials evaluation is an important professional activity for ELT professionals. However, there are questions on who should perform the evaluation. Although there is a recognized importance of collaboration between researcher and non-researcher-teachers, some scholars have raised their concerns on the possible divergence between these two groups of teachers. Hence, this exploratory study sought to examine whether researcher-teachers (i.e., actively engaged in research) and non-researcher-teachers (i.e., not actively engaged in research) diverge or converge when evaluating ELT materials. The participants in this study involved five non-researcher-teachers and five researcher-teachers who evaluated the sample materials using a two-part questionnaire. These evaluators used an in-depth method because it is more focused and allows them to evaluate materials with depth. The scores assigned during validation were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inter-rater correlations. The ...

Material design plays a significant role in English Language Teaching and learning programs. The purpose of this study was to find out important factors needed to consider when designing English Language Teaching (ELT) materials. Its main focus was to determine students' attitudes and teachers' responses regarding material designing factors in four key areas: task related factors, teacher-learner related factors, administrative factors and guiding or recommended factors. The study involved thirty students and five teachers of Applied Linguistics and ELT at department of English in University of Dhaka. The quantitative data were collected by the use of questionnaire and the qualitative data were collected by teacher's interview. The quantitative data were analyzed by the use of means ,frequency and percentages and qualitative data were analyzed by figure and common themes. The study found that (87.49%) of students had positive attitudes towards administrative factors,(86.65%) towards guiding factors,(76.66%) for task related factors and(75.83%) had positive attitudes towards teacher-learner related factors.

International Journal for Cross-Disciplinary Subjects in Education

The paper will focus on ELT materials for children. The aim is to identify the most important factors linked with selection, implementation and evaluation of ELT materials currently used in kindergartens. The project involves a questionnaire study related to the materials currently used in teaching English to very young learners. The idea is to investigate the role of materials from teachers' perspective. The data will be collected in the Silesia region. It is hoped that the results from the research project will enrich the process of English education in the pre-primary stage and the process of materials development for children in pre-primary education.

Our article aims at providing teachers with an overview for materials development, taking into account the experience gained by two teachers in the English Programme of the School of Education at Universidad Externado de Colombia in Bogotá. This experience has helped us achieve better teaching and learning conditions for our university students in their quest to learn a foreign language. This paper addresses the issue of the role of teachers as textbook developers, and how they can meet materials development demands by integrating a clear conceptualisation and set of principles as well as their essential components.

Materials and Methods in ELT are either given by the school (90%) or from the "open market" -> Who selects those and what criteria are they based on? Cunningsworth says we should pay attention on what 'the books say about themselves.' Browse the • adaptability factor (we may use only parts i.g drop the listening because not authentic) Achtung: wichtige Kompetenzbereiche können nicht skaliert werden. Es fehlen z.B. soziokulturelle Kompetenzen wie Höflichkeitskonventionen oder Redewendungen.

English Teaching: Practice and Critique

Purpose-This paper aims to develop a multi-aspectual framework for evaluating locally prepared English language teaching (ELT) materials used for Iranian senior high school students. Many practitioners of the field assert that the inappropriate development of ELT materials would leave an adverse effect on the potential value of the realistic ways which translate the educational beliefs on language learning into operational goals defined by local educational systems. Design/Methodology/Approach-Using a stratified sampling method, 120 high school students along with 60 ex-students attending Isfahan (Khorasgan) University as well as 30 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers teaching English courses at high schools were selected. To measure the participants' attitudes toward the pedagogical effectiveness of English textbooks (i.e. Right Path to English series), a 30-item questionnaire developed based on the comprehensive guidelines suggested by Nation and Macalister (2010) about materials development was used. To improve the credibility and dependability of respondents' perceptions, a focused-group interview was further utilized as a source of triangulation. Findings-The findings revealed that the multi-aspectual framework is a comprehensive and valid model utilized for post-use materials evaluation. The results also depicted that the target textbooks published by the Iranian Ministry of Education did not satisfy the actual needs of students. Practical implications-The findings may offer certain benefits to teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) teachers, policy makers and materials developers engaged in locally ELT material design. Originality/value-The present study used a comprehensive list of criteria dominating not only the curriculum development but also the principles governing the EFL classroom practices. Considering the principles as a litmus test for evaluation, the study used a principle-driven approach to evaluate the Iranian English textbooks used in senior high school level.

Issues in materials development, 2016

This chapter first highlights the core values of second language teaching materials and a number of pitfalls made by materials developers. According to research conducted by Tomlinson, Bao, Masuhara and Rubdy (2001), the qualities which constitute the highest qualities of a coursebook includes these 12 features: (1) realistic objectives, (2) flexibility for connecting with local learners’ needs, wants, personalities and learning styles, (3) substantial content to support learners engagement, (4) communicative and learner-centred pedagogical approach, (5) stimulating topics that prompt affective and intellectual responses, (6) authors’ open-minded attitude and respectful voice,(7) clear and sufficient instruction, (8) high teachability that allows for minimal preparation time, (9) attractive appearance, (10) clear design with clear separation and logical sequencing, (11) functional illustrations as the basis for personal interpretation rather than mere decoration, as well as (12) diverse range of text types that serve both pleasure reading and thoughtful responses.

Creativity and Innovations in ELT Materials Development, 2018

This chapter provides an overview of how ELT materials can be improved through creative mindsets and innovative efforts, as well as through materials personalisation and localisation. It is not, however, a review of current approaches to the ELT curriculum but mainly offers innovative insights to enrich current ways of developing course materials. It addresses the three main areas covered by this book, namely creativity, innovations and teacher–learner involvement in coursebook design.