Coursebook Selection and Sequencing in the Curriculum
Recap
 |
| Coursebook Selection and Sequencing in the Curriculum |
Take 10 minutes to share your course aims and objectives with your peers. Ensure that:
Your aims are clear and general (not vague or too broad)
Your objectives are SMART
Use this opportunity to clarify any uncertainties about your course.
Coursebook Selection and Sequencing
Aims of the Session
In this session, we aim to:
Consider different approaches to coursebook evaluation
Begin analyzing and discussing the content map in different coursebooks
Consider criteria for conceptualizing content (scope) what are you going to teach?
Consider sequencing of content in a syllabus in what order are you going to teach the content?
Analyze some ELT textbooks to notice content conceptualization and sequencing
Start developing a content map for your course
Process of Course Design
Materials in English Language Teaching
What types of materials can you use to teach English? Make a list with your group members.
Curriculum Planning
Language/linguistic content = input = what are we going to teach?
Process/Means = methodology in language teaching (related to teacher beliefs and the nature of language)
Output = Product = learning outcomes
Approaches to Coursebook Evaluation
1. Impressionistic Overview
Layout: clear, attractive; quality of visuals; sequencing
Presents a general introduction to the materials
2. The Checklist Method
Checks for the presence of certain items.
3. Indepth Evaluation
Content: how specific items about learners’ needs and syllabus requirements are dealt with, and how different aspects of language are addressed.
Consider combining all approaches to evaluate coursebooks.
Impressionistic Overview: Content Map in Coursebooks
When looking at the content map of a book, consider:
Linguistic level (graded materials)
Progression
Opportunities for practicing language skills
Interesting topics and activities
Motivating and inspiring materials
Recycling
Emphasis on fluency (through skills practice)
Emphasis on accuracy (through understanding of grammar)
Opportunities for individual study (to promote learner autonomy)
Promotes effective learning
The Checklist Method
Checking for the presence of certain aspects is:
Systematic
Cost effective (saves time)
Convenient format
Explicit (all categories are well understood)
Develop your own checklist. 'Borrow and adapt' (McGrath 2002). Cite sources appropriately.
The In depth Method
Detailed analysis of the coursebook and scrutiny of some units. This may involve piloting sample units that seem typical of the book.
Consider online analysis on publishers’ websites, discussions on professional boards, or asking publishers’ representatives.
CATALYST Test (Grant 1987)
Communicative
Aims
Teachability
Available addons
Level
Your impression
Student interest
Tried and tested
Perfect Coursebook?
Grant (1987:118) stated, “The perfect textbook does not exist, but the best book available for you and your students certainly does.” The textbook should:
Suit the needs, interests, and abilities of the learners
Suit the teachers
Meet the needs of the syllabus (including exams)
Coursebook Evaluation and Selection
When evaluating and selecting a coursebook for your course, consider:
What will be the content for your course? Why?
If using a coursebook, select one for your context and explain your choice.
How will you organize and sequence your content? Why?
Make a map of your course and show how you plan to use the coursebook (which units in which week).
Write at least 500 words to describe your scope and sequence plan.
Content: Scope and Sequencing
Making sensible, welljustified decisions about content is crucial in curriculum design. Poor content choices lead to poor learning outcomes, despite excellent teaching efforts. (Nation & Macalister 2009)
Conceptualizing Content
What do the students need?
What is the purpose of the course?
What content do you want your learners to use? (what to include and exclude)
Scope
Concerned with the breadth and depth of coverage of items in the course (Richards 2001)
What range of content will be covered?
To what extent should each topic be studied?
Sequencing within a Course
Common Criteria for Sequencing:
Simple to complex to improve learnability
Chronology (e.g., planning and brainstorming as the first stage of writing)
Prerequisite learning (e.g., simple sentence structure SVO for writing sentences)
Learner needs and interests
Recycling/spiral sequencing (language and skills)
Two Types of Sequence Design:
1. Linear
Lessons depend on what came before
Spiral: Provides easily monitored recycling of material, allowing learners who were left behind to catch up in the next cycle.
Matrix: Elements selected from categories of content, but not necessarily in a predictable order.
Revision Units: Include revision sessions within a linear syllabus.
2. Modular
Selfcontained modules with specific objectives and assessment at the end of each module.
Units: Shorter than a module, longer than a lesson, planned around a focus of instruction (also referred to as Scheme of Work).
Further Reading
Christison, M., & Murray, D. E. (2014). What English Language Teachers Need to Know Volume III: Designing Curriculum. Taylor and Francis.
Graves, K. (2000). Organizing the course. In Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers. Heinle CENGAGE Learning.
Littlejohn, A. (2010). The analysis of language teaching materials: Inside the Trojan Horse. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Masuhara, H. (2010). What do teachers really want from coursebooks? In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P., & Macalister, J. (2009). Goals, Content, and Sequencing. In Language Curriculum Design. Routledge.
Skela, J., & Burazer, L. (2021). The Architecture of ELT Coursebooks: The Internal Organization of Coursebook Units. Vestnik za tuje jezike, Vol.13 (1), 383407. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/vestnik.13.383407
Thank you!
Nottingham Trent University
No comments:
Post a Comment