摘 要

在第二语言的学习过程中，教材所起到的作用是至关重要的。如今市面上发行的教材，数量庞大，质量也参差不齐。知晓如何挑选一本适合学生使用、满足教学要求的教材是十分重要的。因此，采用科学方法进行教材评估的重要性便越来越为人所看重。本文旨在以«现代大学英语»和«新编英语教程»这两本使用多年的教材为例，结合回顾性评估的理论，探索一本成功的语言教材所需要的特点。并以此为出发点，提出具有实用意义的教材选择意见。本文主要分为三个部分：第一部分介绍教材评估理论的各个派系及中外研究的进展；第二部分展示在大学校园实地调研的成果和相关数据的分析；第三部分对分析结果进行汇总，并得出大致的结论。借由实际使用数据的分析和相关理论框架，为改善第二语言教学提供可供参考的意见和方案。

关键词：第二语言；教材评估；大学英语

Abstract

In the process of learning a second language, the role of teaching material is crucial. Today, the number of textbooks published on the market is huge and the qualities are heterogeneous. It is very important to know how to select a textbook suitable for students to meet the pedagogical requirements. Therefore, the importance of textbook evaluation theory is becoming more and more important. The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics needed for a successful textbook based on the Contemporary College English and A New English Course. Taking this as a starting point, some practical suggestions on textbook selection are put forward. This thesis is divided into three parts: the first part introduces the various factions of the theory of teaching material evaluation and the progress of Chinese and foreign research; the second part shows the results of the field investigation and the analysis of relevant data in the university campus; the third part summarizes the results of the analysis and draws a general conclusion. Based on the analysis of actual use data and related theoretical framework, we can provide some suggestions for improving the second language teaching.

Key Words: second language teaching; textbook evaluation; college English

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Literature review 4

2.1 Definition of textbooks 4

2.2 Definition and significance of textbook evaluation 4

2.3 Evaluation studies abroad 4

2.4 Evaluation studies in China 7

3 Research Methodology 9

3.1 Research questions 9

3.2 Textbooks, informants and procedures 9

3.3 Instrument: Questionnaire 12

4 Results 14

4.1 Results for Contemporary College English (CCE) 14

4.2 Results for A New English Course (ANEC) 17

5 Discussion 22

6 Conclusion 25

References 27

Appendix: Transcription of interview 29

Acknowledgement 32

The Retrospective Textbook Evaluation of Contemporary College English and A New English Course

1 Introduction

Based on the Guidelines of the National Program for Medium-and Long-term Educational Reform and Development (2010-2020) and Some opinions on improving the quality of higher education in all-round way (2006), the Guide to College English Teaching (the latest edition of the Ministry of Education, 2017) was proposed to offer a series of pedagogical advices for English education at a college level in China. With respect to the curriculum resources, the Guide to College English Teaching (the latest edition of the Ministry of Education, 2017) explicitly points out that teaching material is the main carrier of teaching content as well as the basic guarantee for achieving teaching objectives. The guiding ideology, material selection, design style and carrier form of College English textbooks should be kept pace with the times and fully reflect the characteristics of higher education. College English instruction should use state-level planning textbooks and other excellent teaching materials, and actively promote the construction of three-dimensional teaching materials for College English. Colleges and universities should also attach importance to the selection and compilation of teaching reference materials, especially in the modern abundant network resources, and select high-quality teaching resources associated with courses. (7.3) Therefore, it is necessary to carry on the research of textbook evaluation to help the universities and colleges accumulate relevant information to satisfy the reform of English pedagogy.

L2 acquisition cannot take place without language input, and textbooks serve as the primary form of input for learners. In mainland China, learners of L2 English have little or no natural exposure to the target language-English. In daily life, Mandarin Chinese is the main instrument for people to communicate. Most of the students can only access the foreign language study in class. Textbooks are the main source for L2 learners. Moreover, the Ministry of Education of China stipulated that the study of English was a compulsory subject throughout the university education, both for English Majors and English Minors. To advance the course, teachers need a textbook which can satisfy their demands. They need to make choice among the diverse a textbook in the market. The selection of textbooks may be closely associated with the achievement of teaching objectives. To choose the textbooks that best contribute to English teaching, it is paramount to carry out an assessment based on valid and reliable principles or approaches.

In order to improve students’ language knowledge, practical abilities and cross-cultural awareness, the selection of teaching materials is very important and necessary. In mainland China, there are two books Contemporary College English and A New English Course which have been widely used across the universities for English majors.

The review of the established studies on textbook evaluation reveals that there are four main approaches to assessment: predictive evaluation, retrospective evaluation, conversation analysis(CA)-based evaluation and second language acquisition (SLA)-based evaluation. Predictive evaluation involves making predictions about the potential effectiveness or value of textbooks before they are used (Tang, 2017, p.23). Unlike predictive evaluation research, studies on retrospective evaluation measure the actual effects of textbooks on users after they have been used (Tang, 2017, p.28). Some CA-based studies on textbook evaluation focus on authenticity of dialogues in textbooks (Tang, 2018, p.33). CA-based studies on textbook evaluation also pay attention to the adequacy of the pragmatic information included in textbooks (Tang, 2018, p.34). Similar to CA-based studies, the forth type of textbook evaluation, namely, SLA-based assessment, is also driven by a theoretical framework. Those studies aim to assess whether the grammar instruction in textbooks is sequenced in a way that is compatible with the L2 developmental path (Tang, 2018, p.35).

Since both of the selected textbooks, -Contemporary College English and A New English Course, have been used across China over years, university students and teachers have already offered many comments about them. These two textbooks will continue to be used in the universities. Therefore, the retrospective evaluation approach will be applied to the current study. By using this approach, we can look into two different teaching styles and analyze the two textbooks’ respective strengths or weaknesses. This can help us to improve the effectiveness of English teaching, work out a more adaptive teaching program and accumulate the experience to choose the suitable textbooks.

2 Literature review

2.1 Definition of textbooks

Textbooks are regarded as the main resources that achieve both the learners’ (both students and teachers) primary needs (McDonough amp; Shaw -2003). For the students, textbook is one of the most important ways to get new knowledge and necessary aid to review what they have learned. For most of the teachers, textbook is a tool to express and explain their own ideas and opinions.

2.2 Definition and significance of textbook evaluation

To help the learners choose a suitable textbook, evaluation advice is very important and useful information. There are many textbooks in the market. They all have their respective strong points or weak points. To satisfy learners’ own needs, textbooks need to find the best one which meets most of the needs. Generally speaking, different teachers have their respective demands, at this time, they can make the choice with the help of the evaluation result. As the same textbook, if it was judged by the same criteria, it could be successful in one aspect, but not so good in another. Teachers can choose the best one which accords with their own teaching plans. Teachers may utilize textbooks as guidelines for their classroom teaching (Harmer, 1991; McGrath, 2002) or plan and organize the whole language syllabus around them (Garinger, 2002; Harmer, 1991).

2.3 Evaluation studies abroad

The teaching materials are required to contain a textbook for students and a teaching manual for teachers. In addition, a workbook and supplementary videos are needed. All of the teaching materials ensure the appropriate level with the learners’ language proficiency. Textbooks should keep appropriate degrees of difficulty for corresponding levels of learners. Besides, all of the contents should be examined carefully. The editors must make sure the whole books with right world outlook, philosophy and values. All the materials that the textbooks refers to should be authentic and understandable for the learners. The textbook can assure the role of the learners and help their self-study out of the class. With different methods of the evaluation, there are several systems.

Breen and Candlin’s (1987) evaluation guideline is divided into two parts. The first part puts forward some questions on the purpose of the textbook. The other part sets up some criteria regarding class activities. The questions in the first part concern the usage of the textbook, especially on: 1) the objective and content of the textbook, 2) the requirement on the learners, 3) the requirement on the teachers, and 4) the function of the textbook as a classroom resource. There are more specific questions under the above four items. Breen and Candlin (1987) have proposed a learner-centered principle when answering the questions. In the second part of the evaluation, they put forward some particular questions to examine one textbook. The main question focuses on the following aspects: the requirement and interest of the learner, the language learning method of the learners, the process of teaching and learning in the classroom. Breen and Candlin (1987)’s research is very beneficial to today’s study. The only issue that we may need to address is the lack of the effects of technology in their evaluation approach.