Index 1. Evaluating a coursebook -------------------------------------------------------- 1 - External evaluation -------------------------------------------------------- 1 - Internal evaluation --------------------------------------------------------- 3 2. Exploring gender and culture in textbooks -------------------------------------- 6 - Culture --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 - Gender --------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 3. Adapting materials -------------------------------------------------------------- 11 - Visuals, layout and design ------------------------------------------------ 11 4. Interactive activities ------------------------------------------------------------ 15 - Writing instructions ------------------------------------------------------- 15 - Inclusive materials -------------------------------------------------------- 16 5. Final thoughts ------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 6. Bibliography --------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
EVALUATING A COURSEBOOK:EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL EVALUATION Whether we have the chance, as teachers, to choose the materials we want to work with or they are just “handed in” to us, it is important to assess them, to know their structure, their content and how it is presented to discover their value and potential, and how they adjusts to our needs and our students’ needs.
External evaluation The coursebook Oxford Discover 6, Student Book by Oxford University Press, is meant for high school teenagers, in third or fourth year, with a B2 language level. It won the 2015 British Council ELTons for Excellence in Course Innovation. The front cover displays the book title in big fonts and a magnifying glass representing the “O” in Oxford and the “I” in Discover. At the bottom there is the Author’s name and the publisher. It also portrays two images in outer space, one of a satellite aiming at the Earth and another one showing a colonized Moon with spheres on it and people doing different activities inside them. Also, the Earth from afar in the horizon. Inside the biggest sphere, there are young children experimenting with different crops. It is possible to think that the coursebook might have a scientific or inquiry based approach to knowledge. Visually, it doesn't look cluttered and the colour palette creates harmony and an appealing modern look. On the first page, there’s no new information but there’s a close-up of the two images on the cover. Following this, we find the table of content, or, in this case, the ‘scope and sequence’ with a bright colourful display. This could reinforce the idea that the coursebook might have a broader approach when it comes to learning and teaching. The book has 18 topics that are divided into groups of two, so, depending on how you read it, there can be 18 or 9 units of work.
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Each topic begins with a ‘Big question’ such as ‘What is the Earth made of?’
or ‘Why do we wear masks?’ which prompt different ways to learn specific language topics and at the same time are related to a school subject like Science and Social Studies respectively. This helps the students to learn by context, for that reason, the book might be better suited for a bilingual school or at least a school with a high level of ESL. The coursebook covers the main four skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing) but it also focuses on specific vocabulary and grammar. Every pair of units ends with a ‘Wrap up’ where students can work on a final task or activity that includes everything they learnt so far and put it into practice. Furthermore, the index introduces four characters (Finn, Sonya, Charlie and April) with human-like features. 2
On the back cover, there’s a lot of information. We find again the title and the magnifying glass but in a bigger size and containing the words ‘critical thinking’, ‘communication’, ‘collaboration’ and ‘creativity’ which the book considers are the ’21st Century skills’. There’s also the slogan ‘Creating young thinkers with great futures’. The blurb claims that the ‘Big questions’ are a way to tap into children’s natural curiosity and enable them to ask their own questions, find their own answers and explore the world around them and be independent. This is supported by a grammar and skills syllabus which, according to the author, would help students achieve a near-native fluency in English. At the bottom, there’s a long list of everything that is included with the coursebook, such as a workbook, class audio CDs, posters, access to digital resources like video clips and online practice, and a parent and teacher website. It also recommends some readers related to science. Finally, there’s the name of the author again accompanied with a picture. On the whole, from the external analysis of the book, it can be said that this is a complete and well-rounded option for teaching and learning English through context.
Internal evaluation When we take a look inside the coursebook and navigate through the units, we can find a regular display of topics and skills. Each pair begins with an image related to the specific ‘big question’ and gives the students a heads up of everything they will cover as they go through them. There’s always an introductory video, which might be watched beforehand or afterwards depending on the accessibility of digital resources. It would be important to assess the school and classroom possibilities in order to make the most of the learning experience. The teacher may choose to use this resource or not and how to utilize it, but he or she should make sure to have access and provide a regular plainfield for the students. At the same time, the cover picture functions as a ‘warm up’ or a starting point for the students to discuss and interact between them. Then, one of the little characters asks directly to the students. 3
As we can see, the first approach to the different topics are contextualized through visual and reading materials and the learning process goes from the smallest units, such as specific vocabulary to bigger ones. There are small activities in between to put into practice what they just learnt as they go. According to what the blurb claims, they provide a section called ‘Before you read’ to encourage the student’s critical and reflexive thinking. With all this preparation, the students might feel more comfortable to plunge into the reading part, which is typically a text related to the big question that will let them explore the topic in more depth, with explanatory pictures and images. Afterwards, the coursebook moves on to a reading comprehension section in which students can put into practice and revise what they read. This is also the section that emphasizes on grammar with exercises such as ‘true or false’, ‘match the sentences’ and ‘circle the correct option’ and it’s directly linked to the workbook, with extra practice. Also, there are listening activities to read along thus combining several skills. The units are divided into five main sections: the cover with the introduction, as 4
a preview of everything that will be covered. ‘Get ready’ which includes the main vocabulary and grammar activities; ‘Read’ a text that deals with the Big question at the beginning of the unit; ‘Understand’ where, after reading, students can make sure they grasped the main ideas and put them into practice. Then, there’s the ‘Communicate’ section, that concentrates three of the main skills, with listening, speaking and writing activities, that can be expanded on the workbook. At the end of the unit, there’s the ‘Wrap up’ section, which provides the students with the opportunity to summarize everything they learnt through the unit and do some final activities focusing on their individual creations and sharing after with the class. As a whole, the coursebook has an integrated set of skills but they can be learned separately. They are not presented in isolation but there are specific sections across the units to practice each of them and then combine them. Regarding the sequencing, there are no strong arguments to say that the units must be taught in a particular order, since every pair of units focuses on a different topic that is not strictly connected to the previous or the next one. Probably, what might guide the teaching sequence are the grammar points, because tenses, for example, make sense in a particular order. But that shouldn’t compromise the teacher’s choice to skip or follow the units as he or she considers best. 5
What, in my opinion, is a good way of grading the materials is presenting the skills from, first, an introduction to relevant vocabulary and then passing on to reading, speaking and writing. This might be an advantage for students who feel more comfortable with a particular set of skills or a specific learning style and even foster their independent learning. There’s also a ‘testing practice’ section and a dictionary at the end of the book that could help students who want to learn on their own. The topics presented in each unit by the big questions are appealing enough to motivate a great audience or at least spark curiosity about the world around us and promote all kinds of interactions between teachers and students. Overall, the coursebook Oxford Discover 6 is a complete and well-rounded option for teachers who wish his/her students to learn a language using the language.
EXPLORING GENDER AND CULTURE IN TEXTBOOKS The experience of learning a foreing language can be determined by a great extent by the type of coursebook teachers use in the classroom. Cultural and social representation might have a direct effect on how students engage or relate with the learning process. Moreover, topics that could be considered sensitive, controversial or anything that could trigger the status quo tend to be excluded because teachers don’t know how to tackle them without creating an environment where students don’t feel comfortable enough to share or open up in conversation. Thus, the importance of first, analysing the textbook to make better decisions and adapting it if necessary.
Culture Even though learning a foreing language implies getting to know a foreing culture, the focus may not be on that specific culture but mainly on the target language, so it should come as no surprise that students may find it hard to relate to their coursebooks when they have no reference whatsoever to their reality. And teachers, on the other hand, may struggle to explain or adapt the content to make it more appealing or at least more understandable for their students. Furthermore, with the shift from teacher-centered to student-centered approach, arises the need for 6
contextualized materials. In this sense, the inclusion of local references, may foster a deeper understanding of the topics and create awareness of language and critical thinking. In the case of the coursebook Oxford Discover 6, there are close to none specific cultural references since it is aimed at a wide international audience thus, it might be intentionally neutral in cultural aspects. Also, this feature can be quite common in commercial publications considering that it’s more profitable. However, there are just a few instances where intercultural reflection might be triggered but only superficially and with the intent of comparison or mere reference. The book focuses more on igniting students’ own opinions and sparkle curiosity no matter where they are from. 7
As López-barrios claims, the limited suitability of some EFL coursebooks raised the necessity of producing local and localized teaching materials. Here’s an example: The coursebook Tune Up for the 12th grade originally published by british editorial Richmond, clearly shows how a coursebook can be adapted or localised to suit the students’ reality. The originally british material has a special edition for the ministry of education of the Chilean government with a red and blue logo on the front cover. From the start, the coursebook presents students with the topic of first impressions and stereotypes, asking specifically about chilean teenagers. Then, it moves on to linguistic contrast and intercultural reflection. The aim is to open up to other cultures without prejudice and let students express their own opinions in a safe environment.
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Then, on Lesson 4, there is a topic directly related to Chilean folk culture: “Myths and Legends” where students have to identify and match descriptive content. Though not every student might be familiar with these myths and legends, at least they might have heard of or relate to some extent. However, this type of activity would result nearly impossible for students from other countries and cultures who have no relation to Chilean folk stories whatsoever. Therefore, the clear example of a localised coursebook. As long as the textbook provides the students with the opportunity to learn and practice in the target language, it shouldn't really matter if it’s global or local. Both have advantages that can make students go beyond a superficial approach of language learning.
Gender When it comes to analyse gender in textbooks, though deeply related to culture and cultural matters, it might be an issue that still is considered sensitive and teachers tend to avoid it because they don’t feel confident enough or know how to tackle it in a respectful and comprehensive way. Moreover, gender representation might be conditioned not only by the type of society but by the type of school and religious background. Some schools that are considered to be more traditional or conservative, find the topic to be off the records and would not include a wider representation of gender in their lessons and coursebooks. But dealing with gender representation is not a matter of if it should or shouldn’t be included in textbooks, it’s a matter of identity and human rights so the issue is how it is represented and how it could be more inclusive. When dealing with gender, sexual identity, families, jobs, professions, colours, clothes, or any other topic that depends on how people and society see and identify themselves, heteronormativity tends to be the rule and that’s the way it is usually represented in textbooks, showing no diversity or inclusion of different realities.
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Again, the coursebook Oxford Discover 6 seems to be intentionally neutral in any of these topics, abiding to the term PARSNIP, there’s no evident representation of it. Also, since it’s a coursebook intended for higher proficiency levels, there are no topics such as introducing vocabulary about families, clothes, jobs or professions where heteronormativity tends to be more explicit. Still, that shouldn’t be an excuse to avoid the subject matter or, in any case, address it in a respectful and meaningful way. Going back to the coursebook Tune Up, there’s no clear or evident representation of gender either. But, it seems quite interesting that unit 5, focuses on jobs linked to personality traits rather than determined by people’s gender and since there are no pictures or representative images it is plausible that it is intentional and open to students' own beliefs and opinions. The activities are oriented for students to reflect on themselves and their future in a variety of possible careers.
Anyway, with just a superficial look into other textbooks it is easy to find examples of how families and people are stereotypically represented in general, with no diversity whatsoever or even emphasizing differences uncritically.
(New Headway, Pre-intermediate)
(Prepare! 1, Cambridge)
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Questioning heteronormativity in the classroom through textbooks can be the first step towards wider inclusion, recognition and acceptance of diversity in society. Open dialogue in a respectful environment can reduce the negative impact these topics may arise, both for students and teachers, for every human being should feel comfortable in their own skin and be represented, and that includes coursebooks for language acquisition.
ADAPTING MATERIALS
When we analyse and evaluate materials we might encounter the need to change some things. Whether it is for commercial or cultural reasons, coursebooks may lack global and gender representation, therefore, if teachers don’t create their own materials from scratch, they can ‘adopt’ commercial publications and then ‘adapt’ them to fit their specific needs. These can be their students’ learning styles, attitudes and cultural norms. There are five techniques to adapt: adding, deleting, modifying, simplifying and reordering. Adapting then, is a process of matching the materials to the context by changing some internal characteristics of a coursebook.
Visuals, layout and design These three concepts can have a major impact on the learning process, thus the importance of considering and evaluating them in the coursebooks we use. Size, prominence and placing influence when and how we pay attention to visuals and texts. Visuals can also influence our affective response and our comprehension of content. Then, as teachers, we can evaluate and adapt them to fit our needs and help us teach with maximum effect. There are different kinds of visuals such as photos, drawings, charts, maps, diagrams among many others. They can be considered as a tool and they all serve a purpose, though many can be purely decorative. But we can use them to our advantage for pedagogic reasons since they can stimulate learner interactions, provide visual explanation, context and procedures. Ideally, visuals provide an authentic aesthetic experience as well as language acquisition. Teachers may analyse them in terms of how impactful they are, how attractive, useful, varied and likely to facilitate learner creation of mental representation rather than inhibit their own imagination. 11
When it comes to layout, that is, the structural arrangement of parts, if it’s well organized it can support teachers in managing teaching procedures smoothly with structural clarity. A good layout can have a significant role in attracting attention, separating sections and giving consistent structure. For that reason, teachers can consider how clear and connected are visuals and activities, how much white space there is, if the content is cluttered or separated and how smoothly everything flows. The overall plan of appearance and functions of a set of materials is the design. This can be the design of the whole book, such as the size, weight and covers or the design of the internal pages. Good designed materials are appealing, clear, aesthetic, impactful and they can help teachers achieve their teaching objectives, stimulate affinity and credibility. Unlike layout, design features can be evaluated in degree in terms of appearance and functionality. When analysing them, teachers may consider to what extent they are interesting and appealing, and at the same time, if they provide consistency, variety, and even if they are portable. The coursebook Oxford Discover 6 has a clear and well organized representation of visuals. The overall design is consistent and there’s no excess of illustrations. They are strategically placed and every section is clearly separated and identified. Each unit has a different set of colours to help identify them and it is consistent throughout the entire unit. As mentioned before, this coursebook is neutral in terms of culture and gender representation so unless the teacher decides to tackle any of these topics there’s no need for adaptation. However, since unit 7 deals with symmetry, it’s easier to adapt it to fit the students’ reality. The following handout is an adaptation and supplementation of the topic. It is for highschool students (third year, private school) who live in Argentina, more specifically Buenos Aires. The unit can have a special section with images of buildings and architecture of the city and students can analyse and describe them in terms of the main topic. They will be presented with typical buildings that they have seen and say which type of symmetry they can see and answer some questions. Also the “see, think wonder” routine can be applied. Look at the pictures and discuss with your classmates: How many of these buildings do you know? What can you say about them? Are they symmetrical? What type of symmetry can you see? Do you think the symmetry serves a purpose? Why?
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Buildings in the city of Buenos Aires Grammar in use After you discuss with your classmates, complete the sentences with comparative and superlative adjectives. Then write a short text about these buildings including all the information you want. 1. Teatro Colón is _________ 2. Palacio de Aguas Corrientes is _____________ 3. Obelisco is ___________ 4. Cabildo is _____________ 5. Casa Rosada ____________ 6. Edificio Kavanagh ___________
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The next handout is about gender representation in coursebooks. The technique applied is a modification that includes rewriting and restructuring. The original activity is from the coursebook New Headway Pre-Intermediate and it shows a stereotypical couple who meet on a blind date. The modification shows instead a homosexual couple on a blind date and what they say about each other.
Blind Date This week Marc 27, waiter meets Alex 29, actor They met at a birthday party. Will they meet again?
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Listen to the audio and complete the information below
Marc Alex talking about Alex talking about Marc First impressions First impressions What did you talk about? What did you talk about? Any difficult moments? Any difficult moments? Good table manners? Good table manners? Best thing about him? Best thing about him? Would you like to meet again? Would you like to meet again? 2. Match the sentences Alex was surprised because he made him laugh Marc was interested so he asked him a lot of questions Alex was interesting because he didn’t expect him to be funny
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Evaluating materials and then adapting them is not just a matter of making the learning experience more relatable to our students but a way of inclusion and deconstructing stereotypes that might affect their learning process. Teachers have a great responsibility in that matter so compromise and critical thinking are essential.
Interactive activities After adapting some materials we can also consider the possibility to make them interactive as a way to diversify and make the learning process funnier. There are many options to do that. Some of them are websites such as Wordwall, Liveworksheets, Quizlet and Edpuzzle. These are some examples for teachers to make their activities digital and for the students to practice and have fun while learning. Adapting an activity is not just reproducing what students could be doing in a textbook. Bearing in mind certain aspects about language can be very beneficial. What skills are they practicing? Are they being challenged or just drilling? There are many options to adapt an activity and make language learning more meaningful for students. As teachers, we can attempt to make activities that encourage creativity and interaction. The following are two activities I adapted. A Wordwall quiz and a Liveworksheet. These were a first attempt at making interactive activities.
Writing Instructions
More often than not, teachers take for granted that instructions in coursebooks and the activities we give to our students are clear but that’s not always the case and we find ourselves having to explain tasks and activities many times. The problem is that they might be confusing or too long and they don’t go straight to the point. Instructions should be clear and simple, with the words positively written instead of negative and properly sequenced. They might also include visuals or at least visually 15
attractive. There are many aspects to achieve this. Some of them are salience, separation and sequencing.
Inclusive Materials Again, adapting materials may also mean to make them more inclusive, for students who, for example, are dislexic or have any other particular need. For that, we must pay attention to several aspects surrounding coursebooks and teaching materials that more often are overlooked. Text and activities have to be readable, the fonts, the heading and the structure have to be organized in such a way that they are clear and easy to go through. Colour and layout play an important role as well. The following is an interactive activity with lots of online and digital resources to make students interact with each other as well as developing different skills to make the learning process more meaningful. This activity focuses on the learner and interaction. As opposed to the first digital activities I created, this time there’s a lot of room for output and not just superficial interactivity. They can practice several language skills and share with their classmates.
Click here!
Final thoughts Designing and adapting materials can be challenging. A thorough evaluation of them can let us know what would suit our students best as well as what we might need to change or adapt. We must bear in mind their background and characteristics to make them more inclusive and dynamic. Making our materials more interactive shouldn’t be difficult given the amount and diversity of options the digital world has to offer. It’s just a matter of research and compromise to give our students a more meaningful learning experience. 16
Bibliography: ● Goldstein, B. (2016). Visual literacy in English language teaching. Cambridge Papers in ELT series. [pdf] Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ● Gray, J. (2013). LGBT Invisibility and Heteronormativity in ELT Materials in Critical Perspectives on Language Teaching Materials Edited by John Gray. Palgrave Macmillan UK. Edición de Kindle. ● López-Barrios, M., & Villanueva de Debat, E. V. (2014). Global vs. Local: Does It Matter? In International Perspectives on Materials in ELT (pp. 37-52). London: Palgrave Macmillan. ● McDonough, J. & Shaw, C. (2003) (2nd edition) Adapting Materials in Materials and Methods in ELT. A Teacher’s Guide. Malden: Blackwell. ● McDonough, J. & Shaw, C. (2003) (2nd edition) Evaluating Materials in Materials and Methods in ELT. A Teacher’s Guide. Malden: Blackwell. ● Paiz, J. (2018). Queering ESL teaching pedagogical and materials creation issues. TESOL Journal (9,2), 348-367. ● Tomlinson, B. (2018). Visuals, Layout and Design in Materials Development for Language Learning in Materials Development for Language Learning. Liverpool: Wiley Blackwell ● Tomlinson, B. (2018). Writing instructions for language learning materials in Materials Development for Language Learning. Liverpool: Wiley Blackwell ● Whyte, S. & Cutrim Schmid. E. (2019). Classroom Technology for young learners in The Routledge Guide in The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners. Taylor and Francis. Edición de Kindle.
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