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Teachers’ Conceptualization and Use of the Textbook on a Medical English Course

 

Ahlam Menkabu and Nigel Harwood

 

作者简介

Ahlam Menkabu is a PhD student in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex. She is also a lecturer at Taif University, Saudi Arabia.

 

Nigel Harwood is a senior lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex, where he teaches modules relating to materials and textbook design, English for specific and academic purposes, genre analysis, and teaching/researching second language writing.

 

内容概要

While there have been numerous analyses of second language (L2) English language textbook material, there has been far less research conducted on how teachers use this material in class, and why. This article duly focuses on seven English language teachers’ conceptualizations of, and adherence to, their prescribed textbook. The teachers were teaching English to medical students on an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course at a Saudi Arabian university. Classroom observations were followed up by qualitative interviews to explore teachers’ textbook use and motivations underlying their practices. Teachers held varying views of the textbook, with some describing it using metaphors associated with constraint or tedium while others conceptualized it in more positive terms, using metaphors associated with guidance. Although the textbook played a central role in all the teachers’ lessons, there were variations in the ways teachers adapted the materials to meet their learners’ needs and to best satisfy their own pedagogical preferences and priorities, like adding, reordering, modifying, and deleting textbook exercises, etc. However, a perceived lack of subject specialist knowledge, a shortage of time, and an exam-driven syllabus all negatively impacted on teachers’ use of and attitudes towards the textbook. The implications of this study are explored, particularly for teacher development within ESP contexts. And cooperation with subject specialists is encouraged so as to ensure that assessment tasks are maximally relevant for students’ content-related studies.

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An Experienced Teacher’s Use of the Textbook on an Academic English Course: A Case Study

 

Fotini Grammatosi and Nigel Harwood

 

作者简介

Fotini Grammatosi is an English language teacher and a PhD candidate at the University of Essex. Her research interests focus on the role of materials in teaching and learning, on teachers’ evaluation criteria, and on the impact of various factors on teachers’ approach to, and evaluation / use of, materials.

 

Nigel Harwood is a senior lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex, where he teaches modules relating to materials and textbook design, English for specific and academic purposes, genre analysis, and teaching / researching second language writing.

 

内容概要

Although the textbook enjoys a prominent role in many ELT classrooms, empirical research investigating textbook usage in classroom contexts is lacking. Using a repeating cycle of classroom observations and pre- and post-interviews over the course of a semester, this qualitative descriptive case study focused on the way John, an experienced teacher, used the mandated textbook, and his explanations for these behaviors as he sometimes adapted, but frequently abandoned, the book. The study was situated in a UK university, on an English course to prepare students for academic study; and although the textbook was supposed to constitute the syllabus, John enjoyed considerable freedom and autonomy in choosing what was covered in class, and how. Results revealed that John’s decisions regarding the use of the textbook were influenced by his evaluation of the quality of the textbook and its lack of alignment with his preferred pedagogical approach, but also by contextual factors, such as: John’s views on the lack of fit between the textbook material and the needs, abilities, and interests of his students; course logistics, with new students enrolling halfway through the course; and his course director’s refusal to allow him to replace the mandated textbook with an alternative title which John felt was at a more appropriate level. Our findings echo those of mainstream education research, which conclude that textbook usage patterns are context-bound and mediated, and also suggest that Hutchinson’s (1996) framework for describing the factors affecting textbook use is valid. We end the chapter by proposing various textbook consumption projects for future research of a more evaluative bent.

 

*Hutchinson’s study of EAP teachers suggested that the following factors impact on the teacher–textbook interaction:

(i) the textbook (its content);

(ii) the teacher (e.g., beliefs, training, pedagogical and content knowledge, experience, preferred teaching style, perception and evaluation of the textbook, attitude towards top-down mandates );

(iii) the learners (e.g., level, aptitude, previous learning experiences, preferred learning styles);

(iv) the classroom (e.g., physical layout);

(v) the school (e.g., timetable constraints, principal’s attitudes towards textbook use and to EFL as a subject).

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Global Textbooks in Local Contexts: An Empirical Investigation of Effectiveness

 

Gregory Hadley

 

作者简介

Gregory Hadley is a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford. He has taught in Japanese higher education for over 20 years.

 

内容概要

Global textbooks (GTs) – full-featured English language teaching materials containing a range of workbooks, videos, CD-ROMs, and online materials – have become a major feature of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) pedagogy in the 21st century. However, they are much maligned by some scholars as tools of cultural imperialism that damage local cultures and contribute to the learners’ failure to acquire proficiency in English as a Foreign Language. This article uncovers a number of the sociopolitical dynamics that give rise to GT opposition, and questions some of the more strident claims of anti-GT scholars. The article then presents a six-year empirical study conducted at a university English language program in Japan, where nearly 700 students have used a GT as the core material. Drawing from both qualitative and statistical analyses, this article concludes that GTs have significant potential for becoming an effective resource for second language learning, but the greatest chance of pedagogical improvement seems most likely in language programs where major institutional stakeholders achieve an acceptable degree of political equilibrium. As we look to that day when changes and improvements are possible, this article urges the use of empirical data as a prime mover for positive change.

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