Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción

Facultad de Educación

Pedagogía en Educaión Media en Inglés

“Coursebook analysis”

Maria Gabriela Sanhueza

English as a Foreign Language Methodology

Maria de los Angeles Lagos

Rocio Muñoz Jara.

Concepcion, December 2014

Interview

Teacher’s interview:

1) Do you think coursebooks are important?

I think they are complements, I don’t think they are as important as most of teacher

think they are. A lot of teachers tend to depend on coursebooks rather than

creating their own more critical course content. So I think they are a complement,

an important complement maybe, but not as important as teacher’s intent.

2) What are your criteria for choosing a coursebook?

I like coursebooks which are very open, so they give us a fairly base structure, and

then create a lot of space for language production. A lot of coursebooks tend to

guide students with a large number of small activities and I don’t like that.

3) Which part of the coursebook do you frequently use and which parts do you

seldom use?

I don’t generally use coursebooks, and I suppose the things I would use from a

coursebook could be exercises that students could do autonomously, particularly

use of English exercises. The things that I would leave out tend to be the reading,

because reading coursebooks are normally based around on comprehension. I

also use some of the writings but generally I don’t evaluate writing in the same way

than coursebooks, but sometimes the ideas for writing production are creative.

4) When why and how do you supplement coursebooks?

I think the coursebook is the supplement. The problem with coursebooks is that

they by creating activities for students to do the language that students use to

communicate is fairly artificial. It’s important that teachers look outside the

coursebook to create authentic communication opportunities, and the reading in

coursebooks tend to be very limited. As you know extensive reading is very

beneficial so I look outside coursebooks for reading and also I look outside

coursebooks for writing, because a lot of coursebooks depend on exam based

writing which is not actually interesting. Why supplement coursebooks, because

students need communication which is authentic and which makes them think,

because you don’t start thinking in English until you are actually concentrated in

the topic you are talking about. How... sometimes I use the topics in the

coursebooks and I complement them by looking literature for children and picture

books, depending on the level. Sometimes I use the vocabulary areas as a general

guide for the coursebook and then I look for particular reading which is basically

around similar vocabulary.

5) What kind of help would you like to have from the coursebook in teaching

grammar or any other aspects of the language?

The advantage of grammar exercises in coursebooks is that they’ve been tested

on the level, and in most specific grammar books they tend to be extensive and

terribly boring. In coursebooks they tend to be shorter and more precise. I suppose

that the advantage of coursebooks is that they have been carefully prepare for the

level, and things that you prepare by yourself sometimes are on the money to

speak and sometimes not.

Learner’s interview:

1) How often do you use your coursebook?

I usually use the coursebook. (…..) When I have to study and in my classes when

the teacher asks for it. But, when I have to learn something, I do not use it because

it does not have all the topics that I want to learn. So, I have to use the internet.

2) Which part(s) of it do you use frequently or which part(s) do you seldom use?

In classes I frequently use the listening and vocabulary activities parts. Mmmm

because, those are really interesting for the teacher and for us, (…..) we can

practice a lot of different vocabulary and the structure of the sentences by (…)

listening and writing. But the speaking and reading, the teacher does not use that

parts mmmmm because those are really boring. The topic of the speaking activities

are really boring and old fashioned and the reading activities the same.

3) Which part of the book do you like best and which part do you like least?

Mmmm the part that I like best is the listening part, because it is interesting, and

some of the activities are related to our interests. The part that I like least is the

writing part, because it is too difficult to write.

4) Is the coursebook important for you?

Mmmm not at all, I think that the activities are not really fun. Also, the topics are not

of our interesting as students. I use it just when mmmm I have to study certain

vocabulary. I appreciate more (….) when the teacher teaches us some things

about the English language than the coursebook.

5) What kind of coursebook would you like to have?

I would like to have a coursebook in which the topics are interesting for me (…) I

mean topics like: video games, singers, televisions (cartoons), etc. And would like

to have fun activities in which all the students have a good time and the teacher

too. Mmmm is boring all the time when to have to read and write and so on.

6) Do like the coursebook you have now?

No, I do not like it. The activities and the topics are really boring. Also, the

coursebook does not have many colours and you cannot see clearly the images. I

only like the listening activities and vocabulary activities.

Coursebook analysis:

Factual details:

Title: Straightforward Advanced Student's Book.

Author: Roy Norris.

Publisher: Macmillan. Price: $20.000 aprox.

ISBN: 9780230021471 No. of pages: 178

Components: SB/TB/WB/CD room.

Other: Portfolio.

Level: Advanced, C1. Physical size: 11’ x 8’6”

Lessons/sections: 4 lessons per unit. Units: 12

Hours: 1 hour per lesson. Length: one year

Target skill: speaking, writing, reading, listening.

Target learners: Advanced students learning English as a foreign language.

Target teachers: English as a foreign language’s teachers.

ASSESSMENT (* Poor. ** Fair, *** Good, **** Excellent)

Factor Rating and comments

Rationale Good, activities are mostly focused on communication, but there are also activities focused on grammar.

Availability Fair, the book is not that easy to be found.

User definition Excellent, what the prologue says concur with what the book has.

Layout/ graphics Excellent, the book has a wide variety

of images.

Accessibility Good, the book is available in Chile, but it is not available in many libraries.

Linkage Good

Selection/grading Good, it is not necessary to follow one unit after the other.

Physical characteristics Good

Appropriacy Excellent, it is supposed that the book will be used by advanced students. That is why the contents are complex.

Authenticity Excellent, the resources of the book are taken from newspapers, magazines, TV shows, radio programmes, and so on.

Sufficiency Good, the book provides students with most of the information that they need to complete the activities.

Cultural bias Good, there is not an emphasis or a discrimination of any culture.

Educational validity Good, the book has been approved by the Minister to be used in educational Institutions.

Stimulus/practice/revision Excellent, all the activities have a warming up stage or an activity to elicit previous knowledge.

Flexibility Good, it is not necessary to start the book with the unit one.

Guidance Excellent, the instructions are clear so students can work autonomously.

Overall value for money Fair, the book is a little bit expensive and the components are sold by separate.