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THE role and design of instructional
Somaye Bagheri kangani
Much of the language teaching that occurs throughout the
world today could not take place without the extensive use of
materials. These may take the form of:
a) printed materials such as books,workbooks,worksheets,or
b) nonprint materials such as cassette or audio
c) materials that comprise both print and nonprint sources
such as self–access materials and materials on the Internet.
In addition , materials not designed for instructional use such
as magazine,newspaper,TV material may also play a role in
Cunnings worth(1995,7) summarize the role of
course books) in language teachings as:
-A resource for presentation materials(spoken and written)
-A source of activities for learner practice and communicative
-A reference source for learners on
grammar,vocabulary,pronunciation,and so on
-A source of stimulation and ideas for classroom activities
-A syllabus(where they reflect learning objectives that have
already been determined)
-A support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain
Dudley-Evans and St. John(1998,170-
171)suggest that for teachers of ESP courses,
materials serve the following functions:
-As a source of language
-As a learning support
-For motivation and stimulation
Authentic versus created materials
Authentic materials refers to the use in
teaching of texts, photographs, video
selections, and other teaching resources that
were not specially prepared for pedagogical
created materials refers to textbooks and
other specially developed instructional
Advantages claimed for authentic materials
are (Phillips and
Shettlesworth 1978;Clarke1989;Peacock 1997):
-They have a positive effect on learner
-They provide authentic cultural information
about the target culture
-They provide exposure to real language
-They relate more closely to learners, needs
-They support a more creative approach to
Critics of the use of authentic materials:
Created materials can also be motivating for learners.-
- Authentic materials often contain difficult language
- Created materials may be superior to authentic materials
because they are generally built around a graded syllabus
-Using authentic materials is a burden for teachers
Commercial textbooks together with
ancillaries such as workbook ,cassettes, and
teacher's guides are perhaps the commonest
form of teaching materials in language
teaching . Haines(1996,27)characterizes
differences between past and current trends
in English language textbooks.
Author and academic centered
Uncertain global market
Sell what is published
Culture and methodology of origin
English for its own sake
UK/US publisher dominance
Native speaker expertise
Artificial texts and tasks
Specific fragmented markets
Pacific Rim/latin American focus
International or local culture
Indigenous learning situation
English for specific purposes
Rise in local publishing
Nonnative speaker competition
The use of commercial text books in teaching has
both advantages and disadvantages.
some advantages are:
-They provide structure and syllabus for a
-They help standardize instruction.
-They maintain quality.
-They provide a variety of learning resources.
-They are efficient.
They can provide effective language models and
-They can train teachers.
some disadvantages are
-They may contain inauthentic
-They may distort content.
-they may not reflect student's need.
-They can deskill teachers.
-They are expensive.
Before evaluation a textbook some
information are needed on following
-The role of textbook in the program
-The teacher in the program
-The learners in the program
Criteria for textbook evaluation
Cunnings worth(1995)proposes four criteria for evaluating
textbooks, particularly course books:
1. They should correspond to learners , need. They should match the
aims and objectives of the language learning program.
2. They should reflect the uses(present or future) that learners will
make of the language. Textbooks should be chosen that will help equip
students to use language effectively for their own purposes .
3. They should take account of students , needs as learners and should
facilitate their learning processes, without dogmatically imposing a rigid
4. They should have a clear role as a support for learning. like
teachers,they mediate between the target language and the learner.
Cunnings worth(1995)presents a checklist for
textbook evaluation and selection(Appendix2)
organized under the following categories:
-aims and approaches
-design and organization
Dudley Evans and St. John(1998,173)suggest that operating with so
many categories is often not very practical and it is easier to use two or
three key criteria in the first instance and then apply others if or when
needed. They propose the following questions to ask when selecting
1.Will the materials stimulate and motivate?
2.To what extent does the materials match the stated learning objectives
and your learning objectives?(It is rare for a single of published material
to match the exact learning needs of any one ESP learner group, and
activities do not always meet the stated objectives.)
3. To what extent will the materials support the learning process?
In any language program,t herefore,it is unlikely that a published
checklist can be used without adaptation as a basis for
evaluating and choosing textbooks. Based on the factors in
each situation, questions specific to that situation need to be
generated around the main issues involved in textbook
evaluation and selection:
program factors- questions relating to concerns of the program
teacher factors- questions relating to teacher concerns
learner factors- questions relating to learner concerns
content factors- questions relating to the content and
organization of the material in the book
pedagogical factors- questions relating to the principles
underlying the materials and pedagogical design of the
materials,including choice of activities and exercise types
Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998,173)suggest that
a good provider of materials will be able to:
1. select appropriately from what is available
2. be creative with what is available
3. modify activities to suit learners need
4. supplement by providing extra activities
Commercial textbooks can seldom be used without
some form of adaptation to make them more suitable
for the particular context in which they will be used.
This adaptation may take a variety of forms.
-Adding or deleting content.
- Modifying tasks.