Selecting Course Book

 

How To Select course book

 

• A.    Approaches to evaluation

When we want to evaluate coursebooks it’s good to find coursebooks through overview of its possibilities, its strengths and also weakness. And then looking for quality of the visual is it interesting for learners? What the whole course package is made up?, don’t forget to look for the sequence of contents coursebook. Impressionistic overview is one of kind that’s way to know general information of material or coursebook. It’s very good to be appropriate when we are doing preliminary sift through a lot of textbook before making a shortlist for more detailed analysis and also when we are facing new material.

• B.     Selecting the best available coursebook

The way to select the best available coursebook has many steps. Firstly, we search or select coursebook that’s appropriate with context that we will use it, then techniques to select coursebook are identify the aims and objectives of teaching programme, analyze the condition or situation of teaching and learning according to material that we will use it. these techniques give profile of the context for teaching material that’s selecting and also requisite that will have to meet material.

The others step to make a list of potential coursebook is by using information from publishers, advise from colleagues and own previous experience. The result should consist between three and five coursebook and will be subject which are relevant to the needs of teachers and learners concerned on evaluation process criteria that’s selected from presentation in the book. Evaluation coursebooks have many variables that the effect the success and failure of coursebook when we are using it. the coursebook which most closely fits the requirement and the context will be the best available that will be needed into account.  Then the goal is to enhance the value of professional judgment by providing framework which can be operated. and to modify any procedure to suit circumstance and preferred way of working.

• C.     Types of materials evaluation

There are three ways when we want to evaluate coursebook, firstly we can evaluate textbook before we use textbook, secondly we can evaluate it during use it, the last after we use it depending on circumstances and purpose or aims of evaluation is undertaken.

 There are two types to evaluate material, they are:

1)      In-use evaluation

2)      Post-use evaluation

In the first type can mean that we do evaluation of materials during we are using coursebook. For example when we know the book in the first time, or we are using it to be evaluated to know whether should be considered for replacement.

And then the second type can mean that we redo evaluation of textbook performance and can do assessment with finding the weakness or strangeness of textbook that we are using it continuously. It’s very good to make decision that we can use the coursebook in next future or we use the others coursebook. If the coursebook is good for teachers and learners, so coursebook can be used for all time.

• D.    Guidelines for evaluations

There are many useful guidelines for evaluation. They are:

Ø  Guideline one

·         Coursebooks should correspond to learners needs. They should match the aims and objectives of the language-learning program.

Goals and objectives refers to need’s students include in language content and communicative abilities. Firstly, finding coursebook that can reach objectives. Goals and objectives should decide the course or materials that will be used when teaching and learning process. The content of the material should have correlation with students needs, in terms of language items, skills and communicative strategies.

Ø  Guideline two

·         Coursebook should reflect the uses (present or future) which the learners will make of the language. Select coursebook which will help to equip students to use language effectively for their own purposes.

It means that should be relevant with the view of what students needs in personal, professional, academic or whatever other situations.

Ø  Guideline three

·         Cousebook should take account of students needs as learners and should facilitate their learning process, without dogmatically imposing a rigid method.

                      It means that the items of skill, function, grammar etc should be determined by students needs, and then the strategies and styles of learning process should give influence to individual students.  In addition the coursebook should give motivation.

Ø  Guideline four

·         Coursebook should have a clear role as a support for the learning. Like teachers, they mediate between the target language and the learner.

It means that the coursebooks have big function for the learners, they should have facilitate learning and bring the learners to the target of language. And then, with the coursebooks whether students and teachers should have participations in their teaching and learning process. In addition coursebook provide exercises and activities to promote fluency in the use English. Beside that, coursebook support teachers by providing ready-made presentation material, ideas, reading texts, listening passages, dialogues etc.

• E.     The guidelines in practice: case study

In this case we focus to highlight upper intermediate that contains 11 units. The first guideline is in goals and objectives. Including to motivate students with express their ideas, or stimulate discussion, secondly include in developing fluency and accuracy based on language practice or practical grammar, and the last is consolidating progress includes vocabulary and pronunciation work. The  main point of highlight is to relate the four language skills (fluency, skill practice, accuracy and understanding grammar). Then concerning the usefulness and relevance to the learners include in language items of their balance and organization. The language items expect of course in the level. The skill work refers to comprehensive with useful activities. The last in students learning needs with identifying a number of features in the book which are relevant.

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