Evaluating the Long-term Effectiveness of English Language Coursebooks at Turkish Public High Schools

Year 2021, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 458 - 483, 08.04.2021

Mehdi Solhi Yaren Zehra Mert Zeliha Çelen Rabia Kısa

https://doi.org/10.32601/ejal.911493

Cited By: 2

Abstract

In this pre-use evaluation study, the long-term effectiveness of the contents of the English language coursebooks provided by the Ministry of Turkish National Education for high school students (i.e., 9th to 12th graders) in Turkey were evaluated, exploiting Tomlinson and Masuhara’s (2013) fifteen universal coursebook evaluation criteria. In so doing, the evaluators initially used the criteria independently to evaluate the coursebooks before achieving a consensus on their average scores. They discussed each criterion along with the effectiveness of the activities in two units (i.e., Unit 2 & Unit 7). The results indicated that the coursebooks are potentially quite effective in respect of providing students with communicative opportunities, use of idioms, integrated technology, self-evaluation opportunities, and illustrations in use. Conversely, some of the common deficient characteristics of the coursebooks encompass the lack of activities that promote the use of English as a lingua franca, being void of opportunities for students to continue learning English after the course, offering no flexibility for effective localization and insufficient catering for the needs of the students. All in all, the coursebooks can only be partially effective in facilitating long-term acquisition of English.

Keywords

Coursebooks evaluation, coursebook deficiency, public schools, English deficit

References

• Abdelwahab, M. M. (2013). Developing an English language textbook evaluative checklist. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 1(3), 55–70. http://doi.org/10.9790/7388-0135570
• Akkaya, S. (2019). An evaluation of 2nd graders’ English course book “English 2” from teachers’ perspective [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Institute of Social Sciences, Istanbul: Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University.
• Allwright, D. (1981). What do we want teaching materials for? ELT Journal, 1, 5–18. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/36.1.5
• Arıkan, G. (2008). Textbook evaluation in foreign language teaching: Time for English, grade 4: Teachers’ and students’ views [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Institute of Social Sciences, Adana: Cukurova University.
• Aytuğ, S. (2007). An EFL textbook evaluation study in Anatolian high schools: New bridge to success for 9th grade new beginners [Unpublished master’s thesis]. The Graduate School of Education, Ankara: Bilkent University.
• Bahman, M., & Rahimi, A. (2010). Gender representation in EFL materials: An analysis of English textbooks of Iranian high schools. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 9, 273–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.12.149
• Brown, J. B. (1997). Textbook evaluation form, The Language Teacher, 21(10), 15–21.
• Byrd, P. (2001). Textbooks: Evaluation for selection and analysis for implementation. In Celce-Murcia, M. (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (pp. 415– 427). Heinle & Heinle.
• Chambers, F. (1997). Seeking consensus in coursebook evaluation. ELT Journal, 51(1), 30–35. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/51.1.29
• Crewe, J. (2011). How far do ‘global’ ELT coursebooks realize key principles of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and enable effective teaching-learning? [Unpublished master’s thesis]. The School of Humanities, Birmingham: University of Birmingham
• Cunningsworth, A. (1995). Choosing your coursebook. Oxford: Macmillan Heineman.
• Çakıt, I. (2006). Evaluation of the EFL textbook “New Bridge to Success 3” from the perspectives of students and teachers [Unpublished master’s thesis]. School of Social Sciences, Ankara: The Middle East Technical University.
• Çelik, S., & Kasapoğlu, H. (2014). Implementing the recent curricular changes to English language instruction in Turkey: Opinions and concerns of elementary school administrators. South African Journal of Education, 34(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.15700/201412071144
• Davcheva, L., & Sercu, L. (2005). Culture in foreign language teaching materials. In Sercu et al. (Eds.), Foreign language teachers and intercultural competence (pp. 90– 109). Multilingual Matters LTD. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853598456-008
• Dodgson, D. (2019). 6 reasons for using coursebooks (from a teacher who doesn’t usually like them). Retrieved on February 15, 2020 from https://www.modernenglishteacher .com/2019/6-reasons-for-using coursebooks-from-a-teacher-who-doesn-t-usually-like-them
• Dubin, F., & Olshtai, E. (1986). Course design: Developing programmes and materials for language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Dülger, O. (2016). Evaluation of EFL coursebooks taught in Turkey based on teachers’ views. Journal of Advances in English Language Teaching, 4(1), 1–11.
• Gearing, K. (1999). Helping less experienced teachers of English to evaluate teacher’s guides, ELT Journal, 53(2), 122–127. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/53.2.122
• Gray, J. (2002). The global coursebook in English language teaching. In D. Block & D. Cameron (Eds.), Globalization and language teaching (pp. 151–167). London: Routledge
• Gray, J. (2006). A Study of cultural content in the British ELT global coursebook: A cultural studies approach [Unpublished doctorate dissertation]. Institute of Education. London: University of London.
• Haycroft, J. (1978). An introduction to English language teaching. The UK: Longman.
• Hutchinson, T., & Torres, E. (1994). The textbook as agent of change. ELT Journal, 48(4), 315–327.
• Johnson, D. M. (1992). Approaches to research in second language learning. New York: Longman.
• Kayapınar, U. (2009). Coursebook evaluation by English teachers. Inonu University Journal of the Faculty of Education, 10(1), 69–78.
• Kramsch, C. (1988). The cultural discourse of foreign language textbooks. In A. J. Singerman (Eds.), Toward a new integration of language and culture (pp. 63–88). Middlebury, VT: Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.
• Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). Beyond methods: Macrostrategies for language teaching. Hartford, CT: Yale University Press.
• Littlejohn, A. (1998). The analysis of language teaching materials: Inside the Trojan horse. In B. Tomlinson (Eds.), Materials development in language teaching (pp. 190– 216). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Masuhara, H., Hann, N., Yi, Y., & Tomlinson, B. (2008). Adult EFL courses. ELT Journal, 62(3), 294–312.
• McDonough, J., & Shaw, C. (1993), Materials and methods in ELT: A teacher’s guide. London: Blackwell.
• McKay, S. L. (2003). Toward an appropriate EIL pedagogy: Re-examining common ELT assumptions. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/1473-4192.00035
• McKay, A., & Gass, S. A. (2016). Second language research (2nd edition). New York: Routledge.
• Mukundan, J., & Ahour, T. (2010). A review of textbook evaluation checklists across four decades (1970–2008). In B. Tomlinson & H. Masuhara (Eds.), Research for materials development in language learning: Evidence for best practice (pp. 336–52). London: Continuum.
• Öz, Ö. (2019). A post-use evaluation of an EFL coursebook from the perspectives of preparatory school students and instructors: A mixed methods study [Unpublished master’s thesis]. The Graduate School of Social Sciences, Ankara: Middle East Technical University.
• Özdemir, F. E. (2007). An evaluation of Time for English 4, the 4th grade English coursebook for public schools [Unpublished master’s thesis]. School of Social Sciences, Ankara: Middle East Technical University.
• Pennycook, A. (1994). The Cultural politics of English as an international language, London: Longman.
• Sercu, L. (2005). The future of intercultural competence in foreign language education: Recommendations for professional development, educational policy and research. In Sercu et al. (Eds.), Foreign language teachers and intercultural competence (pp. 160–185). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
• Sheldon, L. E. (1988). Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials. ELT Journal, 42(4), 237–246. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/42.4.237
• Skierso, A. (1991), Textbook selection and evaluation. In M. Celce-Murcia and L. McIntosh (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (pp. 432–53). Boston: Heinle and Heinle.
• Solhi, M., Sak Masrı, M., Şahin, Ş., & Yılmaz, H. S. (2020). Evaluation of the English language coursebooks used at the Turkish public elementary schools. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(3), 1282-1308.
• Tılfarlıoğlu, F. Y. & Öztürk, A. R. (2007). An Analysis of ELT teachers’ perceptions of some problems concerning the implementation of English language teaching curricula in elementary schools. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 3(1), 202–217.
• Tomlinson, B. (1999). Developing criteria for materials evaluation, IATEFL Issues, 147, 10–13.
• Tomlinson, B., Dat, B., Masuhara, H., & Rubdy, R. (2001). ELT courses for adults. ELT Journal, 55(1), 80–101.
• Tomlinson, B. (2012). Materials development for language learning and teaching, Language Teaching: Surveys and Studies, 45 (2), 143–79.
• Tomlinson, B. (2013a). Introduction: Are materials developing? In B. Tomlinson (Eds.), Developing materials for language teaching (pp. 1–17). Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
• Tomlinson, B. (2013b). Materials evaluation. In B. Tomlinson (Eds.), Developing materials for language teaching (pp. 21–48). Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
• Tomlinson, B., & Masuhara, H. (2013). Adult coursebooks. ELT Journal, 67(2), 233–249. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/cct007
• Tsiplakides, I. (2011). Selecting an English coursebook: theory and practice. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 1(7), 758–764. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.1.7.758- 764
• Ur, P. (1996). A course in language teaching: Practice and theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Vale, D., Özen. E. N., Alpaslan, I. B., Çağlı, A., Özdoğan, I., Sancak, M., Dizman, A. O., & Sökmen, A. (2013). Turkey national needs assessment of state school English language teaching. Ankara: British Council.