Chapter 2_literature Review2

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Chapter 2: Literature review

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEWCHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 TEXTBOOK COUR!E BOOK A"# $ATERIAL!2.1 TEXTBOOK COUR!E BOOK A"# $ATERIAL!

2.1.1 #e%i&iti'&(

The subject of this study is the textbook Oxford English for Electronics (OEE) by

Eric H.Glendinning & John McEwan, therefore, it would be sensible to coence

the literature with the clarification of three related terinologies! "textbook,# "course

book# and "aterials.#

"Textbook# is generally defined by Microsoft Encarta $%'( as a book that treats a

subject co)rehensi*ely and is used by students as a basis for study. This ter, also

called text, is the ost )re*alent ter to refer to a book ex)loited in teaching+learning

situations. n any circustances, the ex)ectation is that teaching will be based on a

single textbook, although other aterials ay be used at the teacher#s discretion.

The ter "course book# is used to refer to a textbook on which a course is based. n

E-T, it is defined ore s)ecifically by Tolinson $//0( as!

a textbook which )ro*ides the core aterials for a course. t ais to )ro*ide as uch as

)ossible in one book and is designed so that it could ser*e as the only book which the learners

necessarily use during a course. 1uch a book usually includes work on graar, *ocabulary,

)ronunciation, functions and the skills of reading, writing, listening and s)eaking.

$Tolinson, //0! ix(

The ter "course book# is soeties associated with text materialsas it has been

s)ecifically selected and ex)loited for teaching )ur)oses by the classroo teacher

)articularly in the local setting. 2re3uently, a course book is considered core

aterials of a certain course. t ay be acco)anied with a *ariety of su))leentary

aterials.

n the broad sense of the conce)t, "aterials# as defined by Tolinson $//0( is

4anything which is used to hel) to teach language learners.5 t can be in the for of atextbook, a workbook, a cassette, a 67+8o, a *ideo, a )hotoco)ied handout, a

news)a)er, a )aragra)h written on a white board! anything that )resents or infors

about the language being learned. Materials of these kinds can ob*iously be ex)loited

effecti*ely for language learning. Howe*er, in the local setting, textbooks see to be

the ost widely used aterials in language teaching.

Therefore, within this aster thesis the ters "textbook,# "text,# "course book,# and

"aterials# are used interchangeably. -ater, in the suggestions for new aterials

design, the ter "aterials# is used to refer to the teacher+written aterials to re)laceOEEin the fifth seester.

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2.1.2 The r')e( '% te*t+'',( i& a )a&-ua-e pr'-ra

English language instruction has any i)ortant co)onents but the essential

constituents to any E1-9E2- classroos and )rogras are the textbooks and

instruction aterials that are often used by language instructors. :s Hutchinson andTorres $//;!


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taught, as well as the kinds of language )ractice the students engage in during class

acti*ities.

:s 6unningsworth $/0;!'( asserts, 4course aterials for English should be seen as

the teacher#s ser*ant and not his aster5 which leads to the issue of how texts are or

should be used in a classroo. Fet, due to the growth of the E1- )ublishing arket,

teachers need to be increasingly knowledgeable and so)histicated in sorting through

the asses of books a*ailable. 8ather than chastising instructors for using texts,

ex)erts need to be offering the ad*ice on how to best select course books.

2.2 $ATERIAL! EVALUATIO"2.2 $ATERIAL! EVALUATIO"

2.2.1 What i( ea&t +/ ateria)( eva)uati'&0

This thesis concerns ainly with the )rocess of e*aluation therefore, it would be

reasonable to de*ote the literature ainly on clarifying the key ter that will be

fre3uently encountered in this thesis.

:s being defined in Microsoft Encarta 8eference -ibrary %', the ter evaluation

steing fro the *erb 4to evaluate5 which eans 4an assessent of *alue!the act

of considering or exaining soething in order to judge its *alue, 3uality,

i)ortance, extent, or condition.5 eing e)loyed as a )edagogical ter, it has beeninter)reted in any different ways by researchers howe*er, its nature reains

unchanged.

:ong *arious definitions of aterials e*aluation, that offered by Tolinson $//0(

sees to be the ost widely acce)ted. He considers systeaticity an utost

i)ortant characteristic of this )rocedure in defining aterials e*aluation as!

the systeatic a))raisal of the *alue of aterials in relation to their objecti*es and to

the objecti*es of the learners using the.$Tolinson ! //0! xi(

Dia this definition, Tolinson i)licitly )oints out that the *alue of a aterial should

be deterined by considering whether the learning )oints are )otentially useful to the

learners, whether the learning )rocedures can axiiIe the likelihood of the learners

actually learning what they want and need to learn. Therefore, besides studying the

objecti*es stated by the author$s( of the book, the e*aluator is ad*ised to consider the

learners# o)inions. ?b*iously, his definition is well aligned with the learner+centered

a))roach.

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n order to ha*e a dee)er understanding of the e*aluation )rocedure, -ittlejohn

$//0( and Tolinson $///( suggest that it should be distinguished fro the related

ter, analysis.

:t its ost basic le*el, analysis is a )rocess that leads to an objecti*e, *erifiabledescription. E*aluation, as the word suggests, in*ol*es the making of judgments=.

n the si)lest for, analysis seeks to disco*er what is there $-ittlejohn //0(,

whereas e*aluation is ore concerned to disco*er whether what one is looking for is

there and if it is, to )ut a *alue on it.

$6ited in McGrath, %%!%%(

n -ittlejohn#s *iew)oint, a close analysis of aterials thesel*es should be seen as a

)reliinary ste) to aterials e*aluation. Thus, 4when co)aring a descri)tion of a

textbook with a descri)tion of a context in order to establish whether that textbook

ight be suitable for that context we are e*aluating5 $cited in McGrath, %%!%%(. t

can be conse3uently inferred that e*aluation differentiates itself fro analysis in the

sense of context+relatedness. n the sae *ein, Hutchinson& Caters regard what

distinguishes e*aluation fro analysis is that 4e*aluation is, KthenL, concerned with

relati*e erit5 $Hutchinson, T., & Caters, : /0@!/B(. They also ake it clear that

whether the book is )raiseworthy de)ends largely on its suitability to the local setting,

as 4there is no absolute good or bad only degrees of fitness for the re3uired

)ur)oses.5

n an e)irical )oint of *iew, Hutchinson, T., & Caters, :. $/0@!/B( see e*aluation

)lainly as 4a atter of judging the fitness of soething for a )articular )ur)ose.5

They share with Tolinson that 4the e*aluation )rocess should be systeatic5 and

add that it 4is best seen as a atching exercise! atching your analyIed needs to

a*ailable solutions5 $/0@!'(. The essence of this definition is its attention to the

students# needs in e*aluating aterials and therefore is ado)ted in this thesis.

n conclusion, the e*aluation of the textbook OEEis to be conducted with an atte)t

to realiIe its features discussed abo*e!

+ systeaticity

+ context+relatedness

+ taking into account students# o)inions

+ judging the fitness of the book against the learning goals

The following )arts enclosing a))roaches, ty)es and the roles of aterials e*aluation

will be )ursued in the light of these characteristics.

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2.2.2 Appr'ahe( t' ateria)( eva)uati'&

Materials e*aluation or ore s)ecifically textbook e*aluation has been studied fro

different research )ers)ecti*es. : close study of the literature shows that there is

no consensus aong researchers# uses of the ter "a))roach# in aterialse*aluation. McGrath, ., $%%( synchroniIes 4a systeatic a))roach5 with 4a

cyclical a))roach5 with three stages eanwhile :nsary, H., & abaii,E.,$%%( in

their article 4ni*ersal 6haracteristics of E2-9E1- Textbooks! : 1te) Towards

1ysteatic Textbook E*aluation5 include a heading 4checklist approach to

textbook e*aluation,5 which narrows down the eaning of the ter. : )o)ular

classification is that of Ellis, 8. $//0(, who states that the literature on

educational e*aluation identifies two broad a))roaches! the "objecti*es odel#

and the "res)onsi*e e*aluation# based on 3uantitati*e and 3ualitati*e stand)oints

res)ecti*ely.

2.2.2.1 O+etive( '3e)

:s being ex)lained by Ellis, 8., this odel belongs to the )sychological tradition of

educational research and is noothetic in a))roach $i.e. it e)loys 3uantitati*e data

to ake statistical generaliIations with a *iew to establishing general "laws#(. This

a))roach re3uires that curricula be ex)ressed in ters of )recise objecti*es, the

achie*eent of which can be deterined by tests that easure learner beha*ior and

learning outcoes. n brief, the objecti*es odel a))roach is concerned with

deterining whether the )rogra9)roject has achie*ed its goals through 3uantitati*e

ethods.

n the case of the study where the learning objecti*es of the course were not well

established, this a))roach sees to be ina))licable. Therefore, the latter a))roach is

to be taken into consideration.

2.2.2.2 Re(p'&(ive eva)uati'&

n contrast to the abo*e+entioned a))roach, res)onsi*e e*aluation belongs ore to

the sociological tradition of educational research and is idiogra)hic in a))roach $i.e. it

)roceeds by eans of intensi*e studies of indi*iduals and )articular cases(. The

"res)onsi*e e*aluation# a))roach ais to illuinate the co)lex nature of the

organiIational, teaching and learning )rocesses at issue. To )ut it in a si)le way,

this ty)e of e*aluation tends to base its judgents of textbook *alue on the res)onses

of a *ast aount of stakeholders of the learning )rocess including the teachers, the

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learners, and the adinistrators. 1uffice it to say that this a))roach has a close

relationshi) with 3ualitati*e research ethod.

deally, e*aluators are recogniIing the need for broad+based a))roach to e*aluation

that incor)orates both the objecti*es odel and the res)onsi*e e*aluation. Howe*er,

due to the tie and ex)erience constraints, we decide to follow the res)onsi*e

e*aluation a))roach only.

2.2.4 T/pe( '% ateria)( eva)uati'&

8esearchers offer different ways of categoriIing e*aluation in general and aterial

e*aluation in )articular. The classification recoended by Ellis $//0( )resents an

ex)ansi*e scenario of the forer whereas McGrath $%%( di*ides the latter into three

stages in a circular )ath. These two ways of categoriIation co)leent each other to

for a co)lete *iew of aterials e*aluation.: 3uestion to be raised here is where

the )osition of aterial is in a large )icture of a whole )rogra9 )roject e*aluation.

2.2.4.1 $ar'5 ver(u( ir'5eva)uati'&

Ellis $//0( in the article 4The e*aluation of counicati*e tasks5 distinguishes

between acro+e*aluation and icro+e*aluation as follows!

Marco+e*aluation can be defined as e*aluation that seeks to answer one or both of the

following 3uestions!

. To what extent was the )rogra9)roject effecti*e and efficient in eeting its goals

%. n what way can the )rogra9)roject be i)ro*ed

$6ited in Tolinson, ., //0! %0(

:s the word suggests, acro+e*aluation, then, is an e*aluation carried out for

accountability and9or de*elo)ental )ur)oses by collecting inforation relating to

*arious adinistrati*e and curricular as)ects of the )rogra. He clais that the

i)leentation of a acro+e*aluation of a )rogra9 )roject in*ol*es collecting

*arious kinds of inforation relating to one or both of the following!. :dinistrati*e atters $i.e. the logistical and financial under)innings of the )rogra(

%. 6urriculu atters, which, in turn can be broken down into a consideration of!

a. Materials

b. Teachers

c. -earners

$6ited in Tolinson, //0! %0(

t, therefore, can be seen as an ubrella ter that encloses series of icro+e*aluations.

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Micro+e*aluation, according to Ellis $//0(, 4is characteriIed by a narrow focus on

soe s)ecific as)ect of the curriculu or the adinistration of the )rogra5$cited in

Tolinson, //0! %/(. Task e*aluation, e*aluation of le*els of students#

)artici)ation etc, are exa)les of icro+e*aluation.

This *iew of e*aluation is reflected diagraatically in the figure below!

Fig. 2.1: Marco- and micro-evaluation in language teaching (cited in Tomlinson, 1998: 219)

:s illustrated in the diagra, aterials e*aluation co)oses an as)ect of acro+

e*aluation of the whole )rogra9)roject. Together with teacher and learner

e*aluation, it constitutes an integral )art of curricular atters. This figure also shows

the relationshi) of aterials e*aluation with other areas of e*aluation such as

)rogra e*aluation, learner e*aluation, and task e*aluation in a larger scene. The

next )art will a))roach aterial e*aluation fro a closer angle.

2.2.4.2 Pre5u(e i&5u(e p'(t5u(e eva)uati'&

2ro another *iew)oint, McGrath, ., $%%( argues for a cyclical a))roach to

aterials e*aluation that enco)asses three stages! )re+use, in+use, and )ost+use

e*aluation.

$A. The(i(

Pr'-ra6pr'eteva)uati'&

A3i&i(trativeatter(

Curriu)ar atter(

$ateria)(eva)uati'&

Teacherevaluation

Learnerevaluation

taskevaluation,etc.

evaluation ofquestioningpractices, etc.

evaluation oflevels ofparticipation,etc.

timetaleevaluation, etc.

$ar'5eva)uati'&

$ir'5eva)uati'&

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Fig. 2.2: Closing the circle (Mcrath, !., 2""2:18")

This arguent is su))orted by 6unningsworth $//'( and Ellis $//0( who clai that

the ost coon for is )robably the ")redicti*e# or ")re+use# e*aluation designed

to exaine the future or )otential )erforance of a textbook. This stage is carried out

when decisions concerning the selection of a))ro)riate textbook need to be ade.

Howe*er, as >unan $//!%( )oints out in reference to the )re+use e*aluation of

aterials,

Chile we can exercise )rofessional judgent in answering 3uestions such as, 4does the

introduction, )ractice, and recycling of new linguistic ites see to be shallow9stee) enough for

your students5, ultiately, such 3uestions can only be settled with reference to their actual use5

The "in+use# e*aluation designed to exaine aterial that is currently being used ay

ser*e better )edagogical )ur)oses. This second stage can be conducted )eriodically in

cobination with careful obser*ation in order to satisfy :llwright#s $/0! '+B(

deand, 4The use of the textbook is onitored to )erit e*aluation of its use and

effecti*eness.5 This goal can be achie*ed with analysis of the teachers# diaries9

journals, classroo obser*ation data, and records of the course book ada)tation or

su))leentary aterials, which would be a co)licated )rocess.

The final stage in the circle is "retros)ecti*e# or ")ost+use# $reflecti*e( e*aluation of a

textbook that has been used in any res)ecti*e institution. This stage enables a ore

co)rehensi*e way to assess the effect of using aterials. :lthough soe teachers

ight think that )ost+e*aluation is a "daunting# task for which not only tie ex)ertise

is needed, McGrath $%%!'( acknowledges that this ty)e 4is ost reliable when it

draws on the ex)eriences of se*eral teachers and se*eral grou)s of learners.5 To be

ore s)ecific, Masuhara $//;( sees systeatic )ost+use as a stage in which the )re+

use selection criteria that are )roduced )rior to the course can be *alidated. The

$A. The(i(

Pre5u(e eva)uati'&e(ta+)i(he( p'te&tia) (uita+i)it/

I&5u(e eva)uati'&-ather 3ata '& p)a&&i&-3ei(i'&(ip)ee&tati'& a&3 re(p'&(e7a/(tiu)ate pre)ii&ar/re'&(i3erati'&('% (e)eti'& riteria

P'(t (e eva)uati'&u(e( 3ata '& i&'ur(e u(e a&3 3ata'&e%%et( t' a((e(( (uita+i)it/ '%(e)eti'&a&3 (e)eti'& pr'e3ure(

1!


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feedback collected fro this )hase ay ser*e as future reference for hoegrown

aterial writers.

Chen it coes to the 3uestion of cobining the a))roaches with the after+use

e*aluation, there a))ear two o)tions. Howe*er, it sees unreliable to judge theeffecti*eness of a certain textbook by 3uantitati*ely co)aring the results in )re+tests

and )ost+tests or t+tests between different grou)s since so any *ariables are in*ol*ed

such as learning styles, students# self+studies, teaching ethodologies, etc. Therefore,

the kind of e*aluation being de)loyed in this thesis is 4)ost+use e*aluation5 in

alignent with 3ualitati*e a))roach. The ain )ur)ose of this e*aluation is to

*alidate the erit of OEEbased on its users# o)inions.

2.2.8 The r')e( '% eva)uati'& i& ateria)( 3eve)'pe&t

Fig. 2.#: $ teacher%s &ath through the &roduction o' ne or ada&ted materials

(oll* and +olitho 1998:98)

E*aluation is not at all new in the context of education. n contrast, it is an integral

)art in alost e*ery educational )rogra. Hardly any language )rogra can be

co)leted without an e*aluati*e ste). This issue has been a to)ic of great interest

aong foreign researchers. n Dietnaese context, howe*er, only recently has

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3.6ontextual

realiIationof aterials

4.Nedagogical

realiIationof aterials

5.

Nroductionof aterials

1.

dentificationof need for

aterials

2.

Ex)lorationof need

1tudentuse of

aterials

6.

valuation

o'

materials

against

agreed

oectives

9999999 #/&ai path

5 5 5 5 5 5 Opti'&a) (tep( a&3 %ee3+a,)''p(


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e*aluation confired its *ital role in guaranteeing educational 3uality. ts

significance still holds true within the sco)e of aterials e*aluation.

E*aluation is regarded by Jolly and olitho $//0( as an essential co)onent of

aterials writing )rocess. :s being illustrated in the abo*e figure, the trigger ste) in

the downward se3uence that is res)onsible for kee)ing the whole syste in otion is

the e*aluation of aterials against agreed objecti*es. ased on his or her e*aluation

or learner feedback, the teacher considers any one of the )re*ious ste)s and akes

adjustents to the aterials as they are being used or after the e*ent. t is e*aluation

that akes the )rocess )otentially cyclical.

These two researchers also state that 4trialing and e*aluation are *ital to the success

of any aterials5 adding that 4e*aluation, by both learners and teachers, based on

learning objecti*es, can cut down on wasted tie and effort and result in clear

)in)ointing of ste)s which re3uire attention in the subse3uent )rocess of re*ision.5

The e*aluation also )ro*ides teacher + aterial writers with a)le lessons in order to

diagnose the weakness and sustain the strength in their self+ade aterials. Hence, in

what ways should a textbook be e*aluated

2.4. $ETHO#! O TEXTBOOK EVALUATIO"2.4. $ETHO#! O TEXTBOOK EVALUATIO"

n general, three basic ethods can be discerned in the literature on textbooke*aluation. 2or con*enience, McGrath $%%!%'( refers the to the i)ressionistic,

the checklist, and the in+de)th ethod.

2.4.1 The ipre((i'&i(ti eth'3

:s indicated in its nae, i)ressionistic analysis is concerned to obtain a general

i)ression of the aterial. :s 6unningsworth#s $//'!( ter 4i)ressionistic

o*er*iew5 suggests, such an o*er*iew ty)ically in*ol*es glancing at the )ublisher#s

blurb $i.e. the brief descri)tion of the book on the back co*er(, and at the content )age

$for an indication of the syllabus ty)e and co*erage(, and then skiing through the

book looking at organiIation, layout, to)ics, and *isuals. 2or that reason, this ethod

is soeties called 4first+glance e*aluation.5 This kind of o*er*iew is undoubtedly

inade3uate if it constitutes the sole basis for textbook e*aluation and selection.

Howe*er, this ethod )robably )ro*ides the re*iewer with the *ery first i)ression

as well as the objecti*es of the author$s( in designing the book. This thesis, therefore,

e)loys it to attain a general i)ression in cobination with the i)leentation of a

ore exhausti*e ethod.

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2.4.2 The he,)i(t eth'3

The liitations of the i)ressionistic ethod lead to the eergence of an alternati*e

tool of assessent in which a checklist becoes the )oint of de)arture. n its ost

literal sense, it consists of a list of ites that is 4referred to for co)arison,identification, or *erification5 $6ollins English 7ictionary //%(. This ethod, which

akes good use of a checklist to e*aluate aterials, is ad*ocated by nuerous

researchers of the field such as Tucker $/@'( 6andlin & reen $/@/( 7aoud &

6elce+Murcia $/@/( Cillias $/0


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The last )oint was not entioned by 1kierso $//( but ust be included because it

reflects the )re*ailing learner+centered a))roach in second language teaching.

Cillias $/0


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)ros and cons of all three )re*alent ethods, it is clear that the checklist

ethod triu)hs o*er the others, and therefore, is chosen as the ajor ethod

to gauge the textbook OEE. The following )art will be de*oted to selecting

criteria to be )ut in the checklist and ethods of rating and weighting the.

2.8 CRITERIA OR TEXTBOOK EVALUATIO"2.8 CRITERIA OR TEXTBOOK EVALUATIO"

Darious scholars ha*e suggested different ways to hel) teachers becoe ore

systeatic and objecti*e in their ethod of e*aluation by using a checklist. :

significant body of literature exists on this ethod $Tucker $/@'( 6andlin &

reen $/@/( 7aoud & 6elce+Murcia $/@/( Cillias $/0otably, :nsary $%%( after conducting a scrutiniIed

cor)us of ten E2-9E1- textbook re*iews )lus ten E2-9E1- textbook

e*aluation checklists has anaged to draw the so+called coon+core

characteristics of a standard E2-9E1- textbook. Most recently, Miekley, J.

$%'( has also released a co)osite s)ecification constructed fro )roinent

eleents of twenty+two )re*iously )ublished checklists. These works contain

the results of recent research in second language instruction. 2or exa)le,

research shows that in addition to teaching the content, an E2-9 E1- teacher

should cater for sufficient counication skills and challenge learners to think

critically about what strategies they should use in their learning. Therefore, the

works )ro)osed by those researchers hel) lay a reliable foundation for this

study. The following will discuss the foration of an e*aluation checklist with

the focus on the what $fro general categories to detailed criteria( and the how

$to assess( with the ai of adjusting the to the s)ecific context of an E1N

course in the 6ollege of Technology.

2.8.1 What (h'u)3 +e i&)u3e3 i& the riteria he,)i(t0

Nrior studies on checklist e*aluation ha*e been carried out broadly with *arious

focuses. :nsary $%%( ad*ocates such facets as 4)ractical considerations5 or

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4a*ailability,5 4)ricing5=Howe*er, in this study, aterials is regarded as a

)edagogic de*ice, that is, as an aid to teaching and learning a foreign language.

Therefore, this will liit the focus to as)ects of the organiIation, content, skill, and

ethodology ex)ressed in the course book.

Many ex)erts ad*ocate a *ery detailed exaination of a course book#s language

content, which has led to the )roduction of extensi*e e*aluation checklists. The

following will discuss the )ros and cons of a nuber of the. Tucker, one of the

)ioneer in situational a))roach, introduces a syste which has a set of criteria

claied to be 4consistent with the basic linguistic, )sychological, and )edagogical

)rinci)les5 $/@'!


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n fact, these criteria did not sur*i*e the attack ade on the by other

ethodologists. 6unningsworth $//'( sees to be ore radical in touching u)on the

i)ortance of relating aterials to course objecti*es and the learner#s needs and

)rocesses. The learner+centered a))roach is ebedded in all the four ain grou)s of

criteria! language content, skill, to)ic, and ethodology, with such illustrations as!

$( whether the course book co*ers the ain graar ites a))ro)riate to each le*el,

taking learners# needs into account $%( whether reading )assages and associated

acti*ities suitable for the students# le*els, interests, etc. $


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e)hasiIe how knowledge and cogniti*e ability should be addressed in the creation

and e*aluation of aterials.

8ecently in :erica, the e*aluation of the instructional effecti*eness of the

indi*idual iddle grades science )rogras has a))lied a set of research+based criteria

de*elo)ed by Nroject %B#s "enchmarks for #cience $iteracy $//ational 8esearch 6ouncilOs %ational #cience Education #tandards $//B(. The

)rocedure#s instructional criteria are based on existing research on student learning

and are organiIed in se*en categories, each of which focuses on a s)ecific as)ect of

instructional su))ort. These categories include )ro*iding a sense of )ur)ose taking

account of student ideas engaging students with rele*ant )henoena de*elo)ing and

using scientific ideas )rooting students# thinking about )henoena, ex)eriences,

and knowledge assessing )rogress and enhancing the science learning en*ironent

6ollecti*ely, as re*ealed by this re*iew, ex)erts deand a great deal fro textbooks,

although their beliefs ay not always reflect the *iew or the situation of one#s own

classroos. Howe*er, an awareness of these issues is significant for enhancing his or

her ability to e*aluate and choose the best textbooks. Each indi*idual e*aluation lists

ay or ay not include the issues or eleents that reflect the concerns of the teachers

choosing textbooks. ?ne of the key )robles facing the designer of an e*aluation

instruent is the s)ecification of criteria. :ong the ost i)ortant as)ects of that

)roble, the a))ro)riateness of criteria to the e*aluati*e )ur)ose )robably ranks the

first. Much of the discussion on aterials e*aluation is )osited on the assu)tion that

the e*aluator has in ind fairly well defined end+users $learners and teachers( and

context. :s a result, discussions of e*aluation criteria tend to be context+related.

Therefore, selecting )articular ites to create a )ersonal e*aluation index is the best

ethod for ensuring that the realities of each indi*idual learning situation are

addressed.

2.8.2 H'w t' %'rat the eva)uati'&

:lthough differences exist aong different checklists, a aterials e*aluation

checklist, following McGrath $%%(, is ex)ected to fulfill a nuber of )otentially

conflicting functions!

. )ro*ide co)rehensi*e inforation of the sort that will facilitate e*aluation

%. and co)arison

$A. The(i( !0
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1oe checklists $e.g. those of Tucker /@', 7aoud and 6elce+Murcia /@/, Cillias

/0?. These o)tions are then con*erted into scores! two )oints for e*ery FE1answer, one )oint for e*ery N:8T-F answer and Iero for >? answer. 7aoud &

6elce+Murcia $/@/( and Cillias $/0


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The great ad*antage of 3uantifying res)onses in this way is that the "score# for each

criterion is to be calculated by ulti)lying rating and weighting scales 8$ating( x

C$eighting( Q 1 $core(. Cith the scores subtotaled and totaled, the atter to ake

co)arisons between different sets of textbooks becoes si)le.

Chen the newly designed aterials are to be )ut into )iloting stage, scoring will be

a))lied in order to weigh its effecti*eness against OEE. Howe*er, this study restricts

itself in analyIing only one set of aterials therefore, it only handles with the

weightings and ratings of two different grou)s of res)ondents+the teachers and the

students without dealing with scores.

This 3uantifying easureent is ex)ected to indicate in a ore s)ecific way than an

i)ressionistic judgent and in a clearer way than a *erbal res)onse to an o)en

3uestion. Es)ecially, when *isualiIed in a chart it ay illustrate which features of the

aterials are weak and would need odification or reediation in the substitute set

of aterials.

2.8.4 T')i&('&;( i3e')'-ie( '% -''3 ateria)(

Chile *arious studies ha*e been done, trying to establish a detailed list of criteria, not

as uch attention has been gi*en to exaine what akes good aterials. efore

settling down on our own checklist we need to brief about the basic )rinci)les of

second language ac3uisitions rele*ant to the de*elo)ent of aterials for the

teaching of languages as suariIed by Tolinson, ., $//0! @+%(. He belie*es

that there is now a sufficient consensus for 1-: research to be used as an inforati*e

base for the forulation of criteria for the aterials to be de*elo)ed and e*aluated.

Materials should achieve im&act through no*elty, *ariety, attracti*e

)resentation, and a))ealing content. :s it is belie*ed that the aterials will

be taken in for )rocessing when the learners# curiosity, interest and attention

are attracted.

Materials should hel& learners to 'eel at ease with s)acious, culture+

friendly texts and illustrations, and techni3ues to hel) the to learn rather

than testing the all the tie. The reason for that is 48esearch has shown =

the effects of *arious fors of anxiety on ac3uisition! the less anxious the

learner, the better language ac3uisition )roceeds. 1iilarly, relaxed and

cofortable students a))arently can learn ore in shorter )eriods of tie.5$7ulay, urt and Arashen /0%(

$A. The(i( !"


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Materials should hel& learners to develo& con'idence, which coincides

with 7lay, urt and Arashen#s $/0%( findings that 4relaxed and self+

confident learners learn faster.5 Howe*er, this cannot be achie*ed by the

)rocess of si)lification but through acti*ities that try to ")ush# learners

slightly beyond their existing )roficiency by engaging the in tasks that are

stiulating, )robleatic, but still achie*able or tasks in*ol*ing in

iaginati*ity, creati*ity, and analytical skills.

0hat is eing taught should e &erceived * learners as relevant and

use'ulby relating the to known learner interest and to 4real+life5 tasks that

the learner need or ight need to )erfor in the target language. ?therwise,

aterials should )ro*ide the learners with a choice of to)ics and tasks.

:d*ocates to this )oint of *iew include 1te*ick $/@B(, Arashen $/0%(, and

Cenden $/0@(.

Materials should reuire and 'acilitate learner sel'-investment by

engaging the in learner+centered disco*ery acti*ities or in*ol*ing the in

finding su))leentary aterials for )articular units in a book and gi*ing

the res)onsibility for aking decisions about which texts to use and how

to use the.

Materials should e3&ose the learners to language in authentic usethrough

the ad*ice they gi*e, the instructions for their acti*ities, the s)oken and

written texts they include )ro*ided that the in)ut ust be co)rehensible

and *ary in style, ode, ediu, and )ur)ose.

The learners% attention should e dran to linguistic 'eatures o' the in&ut

either consciousl* or suconsciousl*.2or exa)le, the learners ight be

)aying conscious attention to working out the attitude of one of the

characters in a story but ight be )aying subconscious attention to the

second conditionals that the character uses.

Materials should &rovide the learners ith o&&ortunities to use the target

language to achieve communicative &ur&oses*ia inforation or o)inion

ga) acti*ities, )ost+listening and )ost+reading acti*ities, creati*e writing and

s)eaking acti*ities, foral instruction gi*en in the target language either on

the language itself or on the subject atter.

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Materials should ta4e into account that the &ositive e''ects o' instruction

are usuall* dela*ed, which eans that instructions should be recycled.

Materials should ta4e into account that learners di''er in learning st*les,

which eans that acti*ities should be *ariable and should cater for all

learning styles.

Materials should ta4e into account that learners di''er in a''ective

attitudesby )ro*iding choices of different ty)es of texts, ty)es of acti*ities,

o)tional extras, etc.

Materials should &ermit a silent &eriod at the eginning o' instructionthat

can facilitate the de*elo)ent of an effecti*e internaliIed graar beforethey start to s)eak. t is, therefore, ad*isable to arrange acti*ities fro

co)rehension to )roduction.

Materials should ma3imi5e learning &otential * encouraging intellectual,

aesthetic, and emotional involvementthat stiulates both right and left+

brain acti*ities.

Materials should not rel* too much on controlled &ractice. :s ostresearchers see to agree with Ellis who says that 4controlled )ractice

a))ears to ha*e little long+ter effect on the accuracy with which new

structures are )erfored5 $Ellis, //!/%( and 4has little effect on fluency5

$Ellis and 8athbone, /0@(.

Materials should &rovide o&&ortunities 'or outcome 'eedac4e*aluated in

relation to the )ur)ose for which the language is used. n other words, the

language )roduction acti*ities should ha*e intended outcoes other thanjust )racticing the languages.

2.8.8 The i&3ivi3ua)i


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checklist. elow are se*eral factors to structure a s)ecific design to acco)lish the

e*aluati*e objecti*es.

2.8.8.1. The what

The indi*idualiIed checklist results fro a thorough exaination of se*eral

)re*iously )ublished lists and the ost salient features a))licable to the s)ecific

teaching context are selected. The criteria are organiIed in fi*e categories, each of

which focuses on a s)ecific as)ect! organiIation and forat, Electronics content,

language content, skill, and ethodology. This choice of categories bases itself

largely on the checklist of 6unningsworth $//'( with a su))leent of organiIation

and forat, and an alternation fro to)ic category to Electronics content.

t can be seen that any of other indexes highlight the i)ortance of clear

organiIation, and thus this should becoe a feature in the new list. seful table of

content, glossary, and index is a criterion in this section. The forat should create

i)act and attract to the eyes. The organiIation is su))osed to focus on con*enience,

logicality, se3uentiality, and unifority.

The content area is di*ided into two )arts! the electronics and the language content,

which is characteristic of an E1N course book. :s being ex)loited in career+related

settings, the electronics content first and foreost ust eet the re3uireents for theoccu)ational outcoes. They are desired to be accurate, u)+to+date, built on students#

existing knowledge, and logically follow the objecti*es stated. The knowledge data in

each unit are )referred to be balanced with a))roxiately the sae length and linked

to other subject areas. The content is also ex)ected to include discussion 3uestions,

and suggestions for further reading.

The language content category consists of criteria for deterining whether the

aterial atte)ts to co*er ade3uately graar, *ocabulary, )ronunciation. 1uch

criteria as *arious text+ty)es, suitable le*el of difficulty, se3uencing fro

co)rehension to )roduction, dealing with the structuring and con*entions of

language use abo*e sentence le*el are also included in this grou).

2ourthly, when it coes to skill area, it is assued that the integration of the four

skills would ser*e best. The acti*ities ust ha*e clearly defined objecti*es, suitable

for students# le*els, interests a))ro)riate in ters of guidance9control, degree of

accuracy, and style. Materials for s)oken English are ex)ected to be well designed to

e3ui) learners for real+life interaction. -istening aterials should be well recorded,and as authentic as )ossible. Micro+skills ought to ser*e acadeic and occu)ational

$A. The(i( !6


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)ur)oses. t is noteworthy that the criteria in this category )ro*ide analysts with the

o))ortunity to coent on not only the four language skills but also high+order

thinking skills such as inter)retation and reasoning.

-astly, the ethodological criteria are designed to get aligned with the two )re*ailinga))roaches! counicati*e and learner+centered ones aiing at )ro*iding students

with what they need in their acadeic and occu)ational fields. The aterials are

)resued to )roote students# counicati*e abilities through )air+work and grou)+

work. )lication of the latter a))roach is that students are seen as the asters of

their learning )rocess, which eans they ha*e to take res)onsibility in their own

learning and self+i)ro*eent and the aterials should encourage curiosity,

creati*ity, and healthy 3uestioning.

2.8.8.2 The h'w

Nerha)s, no neat forula or syste ay e*er )ro*ide a definite way to judge any

textbook. Howe*er, at the *ery least, )robably the a))lication of a set of uni*ersal

characteristics of E2-9E1- textbooks suggested by :nsary $%%( ay well hel)

ake textbook e*aluation a coherent, systeatic, and thoughtful acti*ity. 1he cites

Tucker $/@'!


24/29


2irstly, an e*aluation for with three ain coluns is designed. The criteria a))ear

in the central colun on the for. The colun to the left is s)ared for the e*aluator to

insert his9her weightings fro one to three based on the i)ortance of the criterion to

the textbook#s erits. The colun to the right called the rating colun is subdi*ided

into four sub+coluns corres)onding to the four+)oint ratings. Ty)ically, the scale of

4no9 little e*idence,5 4)artially e*ident,5 4ostly e*ident,5 4fully e*ident5 ratings are

s)ecified. : co)arati*e weight is assigned to the relati*e realiIation in the textbook!

full e*idence of the defined criterion in the textbook recei*ing three, ade3uate

e*idence a score of two, a )artial atch a score of one, and a total lack a score of

Iero. The res)ondents# jobs are si)ly to fill in the weighting colun with a nuber

fro one to three and )ut a tick in the a))ro)riate boxes that indicate their answers.

1econdly, the collation of two se)arate sets of scores ay ser*e as the basis for

e*aluating!

$( the weighting $C( which a))ears in the first colun indicating the

significance of each defined criterion to the *alue of the textbook, ranging

fro one to three

$%( the rating $8( ranging fro Iero to three which a))ears in the third

colun on the for indicating the degree of atching between the ideal

defined criterion and its actual realiIation in the textbook.

2inally, the two sets of weightings and ratings after each criterion are re)resented on

a gra)h by drawing dotted line corres)onding to the nuerical ean *alues so that it

is con*enient to co)are the erit of this textbook as gauged by the teachers and the

learners.

!.5 T$% &'L%( ') T%*T+'' %-L/T' T$% 2&'3%4T ')!.5 T$% &'L%( ') T%*T+'' %-L/T' T$% 2&'3%4T ')

%( % %(2 T%&L( )'& %T (T/%T(%( % %(2 T%&L( )'& %T (T/%T(

2.=.1 H'w OEE wa( e*p)'ite3 i& the E!P 'ur(e(

:lthough the beliefs on textbook use ay be as dichotoous as ne*er bringing the

into the classroo to using e*ery )age each day, the teachers of E1N 7e)artent

regard the iddle ground between these two as the ost )ractical and useful

a))roach. OEEhas been used as a core aterial in cobination with a *ariety of

internet aterials in the E1N courses for the Electronics and Telecounications

students, 6?-TE6H, D>H since the foundation of E1N 7e)artent in %. The

$A. The(i( !8


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thirty units excluding those that focus on listening skills were hal*ed, the first half

was taught in the fourth seester, the rest in the fifth. Each unit was taught in four

)eriods.

Most teachers tended to consistently follow the text#s se3uence, ethodology, )acingand *ocabulary. This situation occurred for a *ariety of reasons! ease of organiIation

of lessons, to )ro*ide stability for students, and by the will of )rogra adinistrators

to assure that co)arable instruction is being )resented across courses. >e*ertheless,

they were not co)letely satisfied with the NNN )rocedure )resented. :s a result,

they thought of any other ways to lead in the lessons by )ro*iding the extra

inforation fro the internet or self+ade handouts. 1e*eral extra acti*ities were

also designed to co)ensate for the inade3uacy of counication tasks. Grou)

)resentation on the learnt to)ics, for exa)le, was warly welcoed by the students.

6lose class obser*ations and reflections of the instructors as well as their students

through the foru htt)!99www.fotech.org showed that there eerged a nuber of

co)laints about the textbook.

+ here are too many new words.

he content is o*solete.

he content does not closely relate to the students majors.

#ome of the lessons are too long while some others are too short.

he *ook is insensitive to students needs.

he main focus is placed on reading skills.

#peaking and listening skills were not paid enough attention to.

he *ook does not support pair work or group work ade!uately.

here are few chances for students to enlarge their knowledge of the field.

here is hardly any room for developing analytical skills+ critical skills.

here is an inade!uacy of reallife tasks,.

Cith the a))earance of the teacher+generated textbook -English forElectronics and

elecommunications /olume 0 for the third seester, a considerable aount of

E1N knowledge in OEEwas o*erla))ed. Chen the new curriculu for the whole

E1N course was established in the beginning of the acadeic year %B, this textbook

turned out to be a isatch. 6onse3uently, a reconsideration of the book usage is

su))osed to be i)leented in order to ensure the 3uality of the E1N )rogra.

$A. The(i( !9


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2.=.2 A& i&tr'3uti'& t' the pr'et '% 3e(i-&i&- &ew E!P

ateria)(

There a))ears a fact that E1N global course books a*ailable in the arket are not well

tailored to the s)ecific students# needs, which is against the characteristics of an E1N

course. The teachers who are in charge of teaching E1N ha*e to confront with the

se*ere lack of suitable textbooks to be ex)loited in their highly s)ecialiIed teaching

en*ironent. n that circustance, the o)tial choice is to create 4in+house5

aterials. 7es)ite the fact that de*elo)ing their own classroo aterials is an

extreely difficult, arduous )rocess $1heldon! /00(, the E1N 7e)artent has set u)

an ex)ansi*e )roject of designing new E1N aterials for all the four faculties! law,

econoics, inforation technology, and electronics & telecounications.

n this *ein, the 7i*ision of ET is res)onsible for writing a set of three course books

"English for Electronics and elecommunications /olume 0+ 1+ 2#. :ll the ebers

of the di*ision ha*e eagerly )artici)ated in this significant work beginning with the

establishent of new curriculu. The Taba#s $/B%( flowchart of se*en stages of

curriculu de*elo)ent was ado)ted as a con*entional )rocedure.

CURRICULU$

Fig 2.6: Flochart o' Taa%s (1972) even tages o' Curriculum evelo&ment.

efore any sketch for the )roject was jotted down, two ebers of the di*ision were

fortunate enough to ha*e been sent to the Nhili))ines for a one+onth )rogra on

1yllabus 7esign and 6urriculu Manageent. This course in accordance with

another one on Tertiary Education held by 2aculty of Education, D>H has

e3ui))ed the staff with sound under)innings for constructing the new syllabus

$A. The(i( "0

iagnosis

of nees

iagnosis

of nees

)ormulation

ofo:ectives

)ormulation

ofo:ectives

(election

of content

(election

of content

'rgani;ati

on ofcontent

'rgani;ati

on ofcontent

(election oflearninge


27/29


syste. The counicati*e a))roach acco)anied with the learner+centered one has

*italiIed the old dull syllabus and hel) oti*ate a )ositi*e learning en*ironent.

:n i)ortant co)onent of the )roject, -a studentneeds analysis$1ee :))endix! (

that was conducted before the syllabus design. t was felt that an accurate

re)resentation the students# ais, concerns, interests, ex)ectations, and *iews

regarding teaching ethodology would assist in the o*erall syllabus design as well as

textbook e*aluation by creating a clearer )icture of the co)atibility between actual

students# needs and the )ercei*ed goals9 objecti*es of the E1N )rogra.

:fter a thorough assessent of learner needs, the di*ision has coe u) with a

workable set of clearly defined objecti*es for each seester. The learning goals were

established with a cross reference to the enchark for >atural 1cience and

Technology by :erican :ssociation for the :d*anceent of 1cience $//


28/29


iscuss the applications of these technologies in improving

qualit? of life

anal?;e the organi;ation of ifferent kins of reaing te

improve their reaing@et=een@the@lines skills in orer to

comprehen state@of@the@art technical ocuments aout the

=ireless =orl.

evaluate the influences of ne= technologies on peopleAs life

master note@taking skills of short lectures

:oin in seminars confientl?, constructivel?

hanle =ith several t?pical occupational situations

improve interpersonal skills

construct informative an =ell@organi;e essa?s

improve anal?tical, critical thinking skills via iscussions,

panels, eates, seminars

raise a=areness of life@long learning

These sets of objecti*es ser*e as a leading factor in order to select and organiIe the

contents and learning ex)eriences as well as the e*aluation of the textbook OEE. Thecriteria checklist was designed with the backu) of these sets of )ur)oses.

:t )resent, -English for Electronics and elecommunications /olume 0was ostly

co)leted and has been )ut into )iloting stage. That the book has recei*ed

rearkably )ositi*e feedback fro both the students and the adinistrators )ro)els

the di*ision ebers to continue with the )roject of designing *olue two and three

for the fourth and fifth seester. Howe*er, before this deanding ission is to be

i)leented, retros)ection about the )re*iously used book is an essence.

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2.=.4 The te*t+'', eva)uati'& a( a& i&te-ra) part '% the

pr'et

There a))ears a sad fact that no textbook e*aluation or consultation with the

instructors had been conducted by the uni*ersity adinistration )rior to theintroduction of the textbook OEE to the language )rogra. nstead of choosing a

course book that fulfills the learning goals set in the curriculu, the teaching staff

re*ersely resorted to build u) the curriculu based on the textbook OEE. t was

unfortunate because the learners# needs are subjugated in fa*or of the liited

)ossibilities of the text. :fter se*eral seesters of trialing, the teaching staff decided

that in order to deterine the relati*e strengths and weaknesses of the book and

ultiately decide how well it suited the desired and attainable goals of the newly

structured E1N curriculu, a series of textbook e*aluation 3uestionnaires would be

created and )ro*ided to both the instructors and the students.

The e*aluation 3uestionnaires are based on the s)ecific concerns and )riorities of

6?-TE6H, D>H. They contain 3uestions that )ertain to the layout and design,

range and balance of acti*ities, skills a))ro)riateness and integration, subject content,

language ty)es and ethodologies re)resented in the textbook. The 3uestionnaires

will be extreely beneficial in s)ecifying ais and analyIing the teaching and

learning situation ore clearly, gathering additional ideas, and ac3uiring a *ariety ofo)inions and concerns that ay ha*e otherwise been o*erlooked. The results of the

teacher and student textbook e*aluation 3uestionnaire sur*ey can be found in the next

cha)ter.

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Chapter 2_literature Review2

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