Coursebook Evaluation and Development in a Vocational College: A Pilot Study

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 6 Sayı: 2, 238 - 263, 24.09.2024

Şükran Türkmen Çiçek , Aysun Yavuz

https://doi.org/10.47806/ijesacademic.1448270

Öz

Coursebooks are considered as an important teaching resource by many English teachers all the around world even though there has been great improvement in technology and internet. Nevertheless, course books need to be evaluated or developed in the light of needs and aims of the students. The contents and tasks should meet with students’ objectives and needs. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate English coursebooks; namely, Interchange 1 and Intro published by Cambridge University press which have been used at a vocational college in a state university. This pilot study is carried out through a mixed method research design from the perspectives of both English instructors and students. For the quantitative phase of the study, Textbook Evaluation Questionnaire (Öz, 2019) and the Need Analysis Questionnaire (Aliki et.al., 2021) are used whereas English instructors and students are interviewed with open-ended questions in the qualitative phase. 5 English instructors and 358 students participated in this pilot study. The quantitative data analysed through the SPSS Statistics 20 with descriptive statistics and qualitative data was analysed through thematic coding. The findings revealed extensive implications for the development of the coursebooks, integration of vocational English, authentic language materials, engaging activities and contemporary course content etc.

Anahtar Kelimeler

coursebook evaluation, coursebook development, need analysis, English for specific purposes

Kaynakça

• Ahmed, S. (2017). Authentic ELT materials in the language classroom: An overview. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 4(2), 181-202.
• Aliki, K., & Teacher, M. E. E. (2021). Needs analysis questionnaire. US-China Education Review B, 11(2), 52-60. https://doi.org/10.17265/2161-6248/2021.02.002
• Azarnoosh, M., & Ganji, M. (2014). ESP book evaluation: The case of management course book. International Journal of Secondary Education, 2(4), 61-65. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsedu.20140204.11
• Bacon, S., & Finnemann, M. (1990). A study of the attitudes, motives, and strategies of university foreign language students and their disposition to authentic oral and written input. The Modern Language Journal, 74(4), 459-473. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1990.tb05338.x
• Brannen, J. (2005). Mixing methods: The entry of qualitative and quantitative approaches into the research process. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(3), 173-184. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570500154642
• Brislin, R. W. (1986). The wording and translation of research instruments. In W. J. Lonner & J. W. Berry (Eds.), Fieldmethods in cross-cultural research (pp. 137–164). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
• Chang, W. Y. (2009). A needs analysis of applying an ESP program for hotel employees. Yu Da Academic Journal, 21, 1–16.
• Charalambous, A. C. (2011). The role and use of course books in EFL. [Online submission]
• Creswell, J. W., V. L. Plano Clark, M. Gutmann, & W. Hanson (2003). In A. Tashakkori & C. Teddlie (Eds.), Handbook on mixed methods in the behavioral and social sciences (pp. 209–240). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Cross, D. (1984). News and activity in the media. In B. Jones (Ed.), Using authentic resources in teaching French (pp. 19-28). Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research.
• Cunningsworth, A. (1995). Choosing your coursebook. Macmillan Heinemann.
• Demir, Y., & Ertas, A. (2014). A suggested eclectic checklist for ELT coursebook evaluation. Reading, 14(2), 243-252.
• Ertürk, H. (2013). An EFL course book evaluation: Unique 6, teachers' and students' perspectives. Master's thesis, Necmettin Erbakan University.
• Göçmen, T. K. (2019). The investigation of the efficiency of Interchange course book series in terms of clt elements. Master’s thesis, İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Social Sciences Institute, Department of Foreign Language Education.
• Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching (3rd ed.). Longman.
• Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes: A learning-centered approach. Cambridge University Press.
• Hyland, K. (2006). English for academic purposes. Routledge.
• Iswati, L. (2019). Developing ADDIE model-based ESP coursebook. Indonesian EFL Journal, 5(2), 103-112. https://doi.org/10.25134/ieflj.v5i2.1804.
• Ivankova, N. V., Creswell, J. W., & Stick, S. L. (2006). Using mixed-methods sequential explanatory design: From theory to practice. Field methods, 18(1), 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1515/sm-2017-0020
• Karimnia, A., & Jafari, F. M. (2017). Critical ESP textbook evaluation: The case of visual arts textbook. Sustainable Multilingualism, 11(1), 219-236. https://doi.org/10.1515/sm-2017-0020
• Kayapinar, U. (2009). Coursebook evaluation by English teachers. İnönü Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 10(1), 70-78.
• King, N. (2004). Using templates in the thematic analysis of text. In C. Cassell & G. Symon (Eds.), Essential guide to qualitative methods in organizational research (pp. 256-270). Sage.
• Lai, L. S., & To, W. M. (2015). Content analysis of social media: A grounded theory approach. Journal of electronic commerce research, 16(2), 138.
• Lisna, M. (2016). Retrospective evaluation of ELT coursebook effectiveness. Advanced Education, (6), 87-92. https://doi.org/10.20535/2410-8286.81589
• Lotfi, B. (2005). Incorporating critical thinking activities in content areas (ESP/EAP) (SAMT Publication, vol. 3).
• McDonough, J. & Shaw, C. (2006). Materials and methods in ELT: A teacher’s guide. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
• Mehrpooya, S. An evaluation of interchange series taught at language institutes of Gonbad. Master’s thesis, Allameh Tabatabae’i University.
• Menggo, S., Suastra, I., Budiarsa, M., & Padmadewi, N. N. (2019). Needs analysis of academic-English speaking material in promoting 21st-century skills. International Journal of Instruction, 12(2), 739-754.
• Morse, J. M. (2006). Reconceptualizing qualitative evidence. Qualitative Health Research, 16(3), 415-422.
• Murphy, D. F. (1985). Evaluation in language teaching: Assessment, accountability, and awareness. In J. C. Alderson (Ed.), Evaluation (pp. 1-17). Pergamon.
• Noho, H., Fatsah, H., & Talib, R. (2018). Developing supplementary English reading materials for vocational high school. International Journal of Humanities and Innovation (IJHI), 1(2), 99-105. https://doi.org/10.33750/ijhi.v1i2.12
• Nunan, D. (2001). Second language teaching and learning. Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
• Olsen, W. K., Haralambos, M., & Holborn, M. (2004). Triangulation in social research: Qualitative and quantitative methods can really be mixed. In Developments in sociology. Causeway Press Ltd.
• Öz, Ö. (2019). A post-use evaluation of an EFL coursebook from the perspectives of preparatory school students and instructors: A mixed methods study. Master’s thesis, Middle East Technical University.
• Peacock, M. (1997). The effect of authentic materials on the motivation of EFL learners. ELT Journal, 51(2), 144-156. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/51.2.144
• Pinner, R. S. (2013). Authenticity of purpose: CLIL as a way to bring meaning and motivation into EFL contexts. Asian EFL Journal, 15(4), 138-159.
• Purwanti, A. R. (2019). Evaluation on an ESP course book: Get along with English for the hotel industry. JEES (Journal of English Educators Society), 4(2), 107-116. https://doi.org/10.21070/jees.v4i2.2432
• Raseks, A. E., Esmaeli, S., Ghavamnia, M., & Rajabi, S. (2010). Don’t judge a book by its cover: Text book evaluation in the EFL settings. The Journal of International Social Research, 3(14), 448-461.
• Richards, J. C. (2001). Communicative language teaching today. New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Rubin, J. (1979). What the good language learner can teach us. In J. B. Pride (Ed.), Sociolinguistic Aspects of Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford University Press.
• Sahragard, R., Rahimi, A., & Zaremoayyedi, I. (2010). An in-depth evaluation of Interchange series. Porta Linguarum, 13, 55-74.
• Sarem, S. N., Hamidi, H., & Mahmoudie, R. (2013). A critical look at textbook evaluation: A case study of evaluating an ESP course-book: English for international tourism. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences, 4(2), 372-380.
• Satriani, I., & Resmini, S. (2021). ESP coursebook evaluation: Students’ perception on activities and tasks. ELT in Focus, 4(1), 20-25.
• Shih, M. (1992). Beyond comprehension exercises in the ESL academic reading class. TESOL Quarterly, 26(2), 289-318. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587007
• Solhi, M., Meryem, S. A. K., Şahin, Ş., & Yilmaz, 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. https://doi.org/10.17263/jlls.803714
• Tomlinson, B. (2012). Materials development. In A. Burns, & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge Guide to pedagogy and practice in second language teaching (pp. 269-278). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
• Tsagari, D., & Sifakis, N. C. (2014). EFL coursebook evaluation in Greek primary schools: Views from teachers and authors. System, 45, 211-226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2014.04.001
• Tyupa, S. (2011). A theoretical framework for back-translation as a quality assessment tool. New Voices in Translation Studies, 7(1), 35-46.
• Weir, C., & Roberts, J. (1994). Evaluation in ELT. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
• Woodrow, L. (2018). Introducing course design in English for specific purposes. New York: Routledge.
• Yazıcıoğlu, S. (2019). An evaluation of interchange coursebooks based on the criteria of learner centered teaching: Teachers' point of view. Master’s thesis, İstanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Social Sciences Institute, Department of Foreign Language Education.