英语教学法复习提纲Unit14.doc

Unit 14 Evaluating and Adapting Textbooks123. Good textbooks should have the following features (Tomlinson1998)：1). Good textbooks should attract the students curiosity, interest and attention. In order to do this, textbooks should have novelty（新奇的东西）, variety, attractive layout (present explain describe design), appealing content, etc. Of course they should also make sure that learning really takes place when the students use the textbooks. It is not necessarily enough that students enjoy the textbooks. 2). Textbooks should help students to feel at ease. The layout of presentation, tasks and activities, and texts and illustrations should all look friendly to the students so that they feel relaxed when seeing them.3). Textbooks should help students to develop confidence. Good textbooks help to build up students confidence by providing tasks or activities that students can cope with.4). Textbooks should meet students needs. What is covered in the textbooks should be relevant and useful to what the students need to learn and what they want to learn.5). Textbooks should expose the students to language in authentic use. Generally speaking, . textbooks written in authentic language are more motivating and challenging.6). Textbooks should provide the students with opportunities to use the target language to achieve communicative purposes.7). Textbooks should take into account that the positive effects of language teaching are usually delayed. Research into SLA shows that it is a gradual rather than an instantaneous process and that this is equally true for instructed learning (formal learning).So it is important for textbooks to recycle instruction and to provide frequent and ample exposure to the instructed language features in communicative use.8). Textbooks should take into account that students differ in learning styles. Tasks and activities should be variable and should cater for a range of learning styles so all students can benefit.9). Textbooks should take into account that students differ in affective factors. Good textbooks should accommodate different attitudinal and motivational background as much as possible.10).Textbooks should maximize learning potential by encouraging intellectual, aesthetic and emotional involvement which stimulates both right and left brain activities. Good textbooks enable the students to receive, process and retain information through “multiple intelligences”124. Selecting textbooksA. Choosing a textbook: questionnaire (part 1) Does the book suit your students? 1 Is it attractive? Given the average age of YES PARTLY NO your students, would they enjoy using it?2 Is it culturally acceptable? YES PARTLY NO3 Does it reflect what you know about your YES PARTLY NO students needs and interests?4 Is it about the right level of difficulty? YES PARTLY NO5 Is it about the right length? YES PARTLY NO6 Are the courses physical characteristics YES PARTLY NO appropriate? (e.g. is it durable?)7 Are there enough authentic materials, so YES PARTLY NO that the students can see that the book is relevant to real life?8 Does it achieve an acceptable balance be- YES PARTLY NO tween knowledge about the language, and practice in using the language?9 Does it achieve an acceptable balance be- YES PARTLY NO tween the relevant language skills, and in- tegrate them so that work in one skill area helps the others?10 Does the book contain enough communi- YES PARTLY NO cative activities to enable the students to use the language independently?Score: 2 points for every YES answer. 1 point for every PARTLY answer. 0 for every NO answer.B. Choosing a textbook: questionnaire (part 2) Does the book suit the teacher? 1 Is your overall impression of the contents and YES PARTLY NO layout of the course favorable? 2 Is there a good, clear teachers guide with an- YES PARTLY NO swers and help on methods and additional activities? 3 Can one use the book in the classroom with- YES PARTLY NO out constantly having to turn to the teachers guide? 4 Are the recommended methods and appro- YES PARTLY NO aches suitable for you, your students and your classroom? 5 Are the approaches easily adaptable if neces- YES PARTLY NO sary? 6 Does using the course require little or no time- YES PARTLY NO consuming preparation? 7 Are useful ancillary materials such as tapes, YES PARTLY NO workbooks, and visuals provided? 8 Is there sufficient provision made for tests and YES PARTLY NO revision? 9 Does the book use aspiral approach, so that YES PARTLY NO items are regularly revised and used again in different contexts?10 Is the course appropriate for, and liked by, col- YES PARTLY NO leagues? Score: 2 points for every YES answer. 1 point for every PARTLY answer. 0r for every NO answer.C. Choosing a textbook: questionnaire (part 3) Does the book suit the syllabus and examination?1 Has the book been recommended or app- YES PARTLY NO roved by the authorities?2 Does the book follow the official syllabus YES PARTLY NO in a creative manner?3 Is the course well-graded, so that it gives YES PARTLY NO well-structured and systematic coverage of the language?4 If it does more than the syllabus requires, YES PARTLY NO is the result an improvement?5 Are the activities, contents and methods YES PARTLY NO used in the course well-planned and executed?6 Has it been prepared specifically for the YES PARTLY NO target examination?7 Do the courses methods help the stu- YES PARTLY NO dents prepare for the exam?8 Is there a good balance between what YES PARTLY NO the examination requires, and what the students need?9 Is there enough examination practice? YES PARTLY NO10 Does the course contain useful hints on YES PARTLY NO examination technique? Score: 2 points for every YES answer. I point for every PARTLY answer. 0 for every NO answer.125. Maley (1998:281) suggested the following options选择 to adapt materials:1). omission: the teacher leaves out things deemed inappropriate, offensive, unproductive, etc., for the particular group.2). addition: where there seems to be inadequate coverage, teachers may decide to add to textbooks, either in the form of texts or exercise material.3). reduction简化，缩减: where the teacher shortens an activity to give it less weight or emphasis.4). extension: where an activity is lengthened in order to give it an additional dimension. (For example, a vocabulary activity is extended to draw attention to some syntactic patterning.)5). rewriting/modification: teacher may occasionally decide to rewrite material, especially exercise material, to make it more appropriate, more communicative, more demanding, more accessible to their students, etc.6). replacement: text or exercise material which is considered inadequate, for what- ever reason, may be replaced by more suitable material. This is often culled from other resource materials.7). re-ordering重新安排: teachers may decide that the order in which the textbooks are presented is not suitable for their students. They can then decide to plot a different course through the textbooks from the one the writer has laid down.8) branching: teachers may decide to add options to the existing activity or to suggest alternative pathways through the activities. (For example, an experiential route or an analytical分析的 route.)126. Textbook adaptation can be done at three levels. The first level is macro adaptation, which is ideally done before the language program begins. After comparing what is covered in a textbook and what is required by the syllabus or examination, the teacher may find that certain areas or even whole units of the book can be omitted, and certain contents need to be supplemented. Macro adaptation is very important because it helps to avoid waste of time and energy of the teacher and the students as well. It also helps the teacher to see in advance what he or she needs to supplement so that he or she can keep an eye on materials that could be used.The second level of adaptation is adapting a unit. This could be reordering the activities, combining activities, omitting activities, rewriting or supplementing exercise material, etc. Unit adaptation helps to make the classroom teaching more smooth and cohesive. It also helps the teacher to better fulfill the aims of a unit.The third level is adaptation of specific activities in a unit. Occasionally an activity is regarded as valuable, but it is not well-designed or it is not feasible in a particular class. If the teacher does not want to give up the activity, he or she needs to adapt it. 127匹配题A Skinner: