Critical Analysis Of Two Language Teaching Resources - Article Example

Running Head: Critical Analysis of Two Language Teaching Resources Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code and Name: University: Date Assignment is due: Exposition of the Essential Criteria of Effective Language Teaching Materials Design Introduction Teaching materials form a crucial aspect of all language teaching programs. Teaching materials design and development is an essential practical undertaking for all language teachers. The task of materials design entails producing, evaluating and adapting language teaching materials for teachers’ own classroom use. Tomlinson (1998) observes that the process of materials development involves an interaction of theoretical conceptions and practical classroom application. This paper assesses the criteria that English teachers need to consider of when designing these teaching materials. a) Learners’ Needs A proper understanding of the learners as well as their needs is critical in the design of language teaching materials. Attention should be focused on relevance, interest, specific individual needs and motivation. A needs analysis is necessary in order for learners’ needs to be established with regard to various skills such as reading, listening, speaking writing, grammar, writing and vocabulary knowledge. The needs analysis should also focus on the learning preferences of individual learners. Both the educational and life experiences of learners, their level of literacy in the first language, their interests, and aspirations for learning the language should also be put into consideration. b) Curriculum and the Context Teachers are often bounded by a certain mandated curriculum that defines the values, skills and content that should be taught. Regardless of the nature of curriculum, the responsibility of the language teacher remains to ensure that all learners’ needs are always given attention during the process of designing materials. The context of language learning impacts significantly on the nature of materials that should be designed. For instance, in a primary level, native English-speaking setting with a mandated curriculum, the materials used should facilitate interaction relating to subject content. Additionally, the materials should be designed in such a way that the learners’ cognitive academic language proficiency is developed (Burns & Joyce, 2007). c) Availability of Resources and Facilities Language teachers need to be realistic about the limitations and constraints imposed by availability of resources. Decisions on materials design may be influenced by availability of items such as computers, video players, TV, digital camera, photocopier, laminator, access to the internet, cardboards, and so on (Hedge, 2000). Not all of these materials can be readily accessed. Teachers should appreciate the reality that in some teaching contexts, resources for use in materials design are always limited, hence the need for improvisation. d) Flexibility The content that is used in designing language teaching materials should be flexible in that it should be applicable in diverse classroom settings (Tomlinson, 2003). The teacher should be able to use the materials in different classroom units. Flexibility can be attained when factors involving approach, methodology, level, technology, logistics, teaching style and expected outcomes are taken into consideration. e) Linguistic Influences Language teaching is a challenging task especially in adult and literacy education. Linguistic influences always exert an influence on pedagogy in term of the way language teaching programs are designed. Teachers need to know how to arrange their materials in a hierarchical so that they do not confuse learners. In Australia, AMEP (Adult Migrant English Program) students expressed surprise and confusion because of poor hierarchical ordering of learning activities (Burns & Joyce, 2007). Too much focus was put on language use and communication at the expense of grammar and language form. As a result, learners found out that they had no choice but to take responsibility of their own learning activities (Burns & Joyce, 2007). f) Manner of Instructions and Appeal of Teaching Materials For materials to be pedagogically relevant in language teaching, they need to be made with the aspect of instructions being put into consideration. Clarity in instructions can be ensured through proper choice of metalanguage. The metalanguage should contain concise and efficient instructions. In terms of attractiveness, attention should be on the ‘feel’ and ‘look’ of the language teaching materials. These aspects can be reinforced through physical appearance, user-friendliness, ability to be reproduced and durability. User-friendliness may apply in exercises where learners are required to fill the gaps with the appropriate answers. In such a case, the gaps should be enough for the learners to fill in their hand-written responses. g) Authenticity Authenticity in language teaching materials should be in terms of both the texts discussed by learners that they are required to perform. In second language acquisition settings, emphasis should be on authenticity of both visual and spoken texts. Learners should see, read and hear just like native speakers do while communicating in their natural settings. For inexperienced language teachers, designing such materials can be a great challenge (Graves, 2000). h) Language Learning Opportunities Language learning materials should be designed in such a way that they encourage learners to acquire new learning strategies and skills. The materials have to be crafted in such a manner that they teach language learners everything that they should know within the short time that they spend in the classroom. They should also maximize the extent to which the learning opportunities available outside the classroom are utilized. Instilling confidence in learners is one of the primary tasks that can be accomplished by through the help of well-designed language teaching materials. Conclusion In summary, the different criteria that are used in language teaching materials design and development play a crucial role in determining the success of a language acquisition program. Criteria such as learners’ needs, selection and gradation, authenticity and flexibility are particularly critical elements that can guide teachers through the process of creating effective language teaching materials. Towards this end, the teaching materials used should be attractive and the instructions indicated should be ones that can supplement verbal and written cues. They should inspire learners to seek new learning opportunities in the real-world language usages since they cannot learn everything within the limited time they are in the classroom. Critical Analysis of Two Language Teaching Resources Introduction There are different criteria recommended for use in language teaching materials design and development. The criteria play a crucial role in determining the success of a language acquisition program. For the purposes of this paper, the criteria most recommended for us in evaluating language teaching resources include, a critical analysis of learners’ needs, curriculum and context selection, availability of resources and facilities, personal confidence and competence, flexibility and other linguistic influences. Thesis Statement The mandate of the paper is to evaluate these two teaching resources as per the criteria described above, inclusive of a consideration of the level of teaching they are appropriate for, the teaching and or learning principles best fitting the resources, the aims underlying the use of these resources, their target audience, and such contextual information relevant to the resources. Resources Chosen for Analysis Two language-teaching resources, namely Steven Molinsky and Bill Bliss’ Day by Day English for Employment Communication and Soars, J. & Soars’ 1996 book, New Headway English Course: Intermediate, will be critically analyzed for suitability using the criteria below. Criteria for Assessment The table below contains an outline of the criteria decided upon for the two course books under review. This criterion constitutes a highbred of Ur’s (1996) and Harmer’s (2001) quoted by Graves (2000) suggestions for course book criteria assessment, as well as other additions as deemed essential as suggested by Burns & Joyce (2007). Criteria for Assessment Day By Day English Headway English Objectives explicitly laid out in an introduction and implemented in the material √ √ Acceptable to target community √ x Varied topics and tasks, so as to provide for different learner levels, learning styles, interests √ √ Clear attractive layout and design; print easy to read √ √ Clear instructions √ √ Systematic coverage of syllabus x √ Periodic review and test sections √ √ Good pronunciation explanation and practice √ √ Good vocabulary explanation and practice √ √ Fluency practice in all four skills x √ Encourages learners to develop own learning strategies and to become independent in their learning √ √ Adequate guidance for the teacher, preparation load √ √ Audio cassettes x √ a) Evaluation of New Headway English Course book Course Objectives and Target Learners The New Headway English Course book is suitable for adult learners of English as a second language, people who have already mastered a first language and perhaps several other languages. The ideal level targeted by this intermediate book is that of learners who have had a fair introduction into the language in the elementary and beginner levels and need to progress towards advanced competence. The book is targeted at people who need English as a second language for functional purposes, to speak, write and read in. Suitability of Materials for Target Learners The New headway Course book has fallen short in the requirement of identifying with the context of the target learners. Most of the examples used in the book are Anglo-biased (i.e. they are all about England and the way of life in England). The learners targeted by the book are none-Englanders, who have not been exposed to the lifestyle. Some of them are recent migrants to Europe or those in other countries who are intent on building their competence in English. A good example is the practice section of the New Headway English Course book (Soars & Soars, 1996, pp. 95). The conversation between Ron and Beatrice features such sentences as, Adam lives in Birmingham, He told me he lives in Cambridge; He’s moving to Manchester, He went to Brighton etc. Most people using the book will not be able to relate with these geographical locations or know their contextual relevance in the conversation. Availability and Cost The third edition of the New Headway English Course book is accompanied by an audio CD and a teacher’s book. Copies of the book can be accessed easily from online sources from every location in the globe, in either hard copy or soft copy. Learners from all walks of life and in any location from which they want to use the book. All one needs to listen to the audio CD is a simple CD player, which are very easy to obtain today. The book is therefore very convenient for use in teaching. The book costs under US $20, an outright cheap price. Systematic Coverage of the Syllabus The New Headway English Course book aptly makes up for these needs. It has six different sections in each of the 12 units catering for the grammar, vocabulary, reading, speaking, listening and writing needs. The book constitutes a comprehensive resource with the entire ESL curriculum that any learner would need for almost any language use. The book features both language input sections such as those of Grammar, Vocabulary and Every Day English and a section on skills development where students can practice their input in speaking, writing, listening and reading. The First Unit for instance covers such grammatical components/lessons as verbs, questions and negatives as well as tenses, a pattern that is repeated all through the book. Once these grammar lessons are learnt, the book proceeds to help the students use the knowledge in the four areas of language use, speaking, writing, listening and reading. It is important to note that both books are designed in such a way that they accumulate the knowledge progressively. The contents are arranged in a hierarchical order so that they do not confuse learners and so that they progress in their understanding and competence. Topics / Tasks and Instructions The New Headway English Course book has its content tailored in such a flexible manner that, it is applicable in diverse classroom settings. The different units of the book, utilizes varying approaches, methodologies, teaching styles etc, and in this regard, the book expects a variety of learner outcomes. In the New Headway English Course, the teachers may also decide to put additional activities or to leave out some activities in the book, which do not meet the learners’ needs. The book has adapted most of their materials and or activities from authentic materials like radio reports, newspaper articles, job advertisements etc, such that the teachers can easily supplement these materials with other similar texts and teacher-created supplementary materials. The book is equally superior in the terms of the relevance of the ESL pedagogy. The instructions used are equally clear and easy to follow through for the beginner English learners that it targets. The book has adopted the proper choice of metalanguage, a metalanguage that contains concise and efficient instructions that beginner ESL learners can understand. In a Grammar Spot, (Soars & Soars, 1996, pp. 17), the following explanation of verbs is given, ‘Some verbs are used in both simple and continuous forms. These are called action verbs… Some verbs are almost never used in the continuous form. These are called state verbs…’ After every one of these statements, there is an example given to ease the understanding of their application in real contexts. Visual Outlay and Formatting In regards to attractiveness of the resources, attention should be on the ‘feel’ and ‘look’ of the language teaching materials. These aspects can be reinforced through physical appearance, user-friendliness, legibility, ability to be reproduced and durability. The New Headway Course book includes graphical illustrations, photos, tables, text inserts (i.e. scanned documents) and diagrams accompanying the text instructions. The pages are well laid out with impressive formatting that makes it equally attractive, easy to read and understand, able to reinforce the instructions, apt in capturing the reader’s interests and memorable. Content The New Headway English Course book is an adequate resource that constitutes the entire ESL curriculum. It features both language input sections such as those of Grammar, vocabulary and every day English and then a section on skills development where students can practice their input in speaking, writing, listening and reading. This allows for a comprehensive coverage of learners’ needs. This means that even the aspect of language use in the workplace is covered by the book, such as in Unit 7, titled ‘The World of Work’ (pp. 54) (Soars & Soars, 1996). In this unit, a student learns about present perfect tenses (grammar) with workplace examples, proceeds to learn a new set of phrasal verbs (vocabulary) in pp. 60 and then learns about speaking on the phone (Everyday English) in pp. 61. After acquiring this knowledge, the student is then helped to use it when reading about dream jobs (pp. 58), when speaking in a role play discussion of job interviews (pp. 58), when listening to a recording of a retired man’s narrative on his busy life (pp. 61) and finally, when writing a letter of application of job (Soars & Soars, 1996). b) Evaluation of Day by Day English Course book Course Objectives and Target Learners The second resource under analysis, Day by Day English, is targeted at beginner learners of the English language. It is a comprehensive introduction to ESL the general workplace communication who hope to seek for employment in English-speaking contexts in the near future. These are mostly people who may have migrated into English-speaking countries, seeking for employment (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994). It is important to note that this is an English beginner’s book who require to gain command of English through what the book refers to, “a dynamic, all-skills approach … for students to learn the language they need to communicate effectively with their supervisors, co-workers and customers” (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp.4). In the introduction, Molinsky & Bliss (1994, pp. vii) notes that the book, “aims to offer beginning learners of English effective preparation for the world of work”. Essentially therefore, this book is an extra-curriculum instruction book that does not necessary seek to build a comprehensive English language competence, but to improve the ability of learners to communicate within diverse occupational contexts that they may join. Suitability of Materials for Target Learners The group of people the book targets is in need of mastering communication English, for use when applying for jobs, attending interviews, conducting job enquiries and working in a variety of contexts. This book adequately meets the needs of this class of learners in that it provides a basic description of the workplace communication for prospective employees (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994). While not trying to introduce and advance the learner’s general command of English, the book focuses on the helping learners use their command of the language to communicate optimally during the search for employment. Towards this end, the book is sufficient in serving the target user’s needs. The book is very ideal in its use of conversations to help learners practice their speaking skills. The book has numerous conversations, which students listen to, discuss, read and practice in pairs or groups (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. V). Systematic Coverage of the Syllabus Day by Day English fails short of being comprehensive for teaching ESL by its own since it primarily focuses on the writing and speaking aspects of language and only within the workplace contexts, especially those seeking for jobs. Most of the examples provided only fit the workplace environment. For instance, the book is organized in ‘six distinct thematic units namely, Getting a Job, new on the Job, Small Talk, communication with Co-workers and Supervisors, Job performance, and More Small Talk’ (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. V). The totality of its content centers around the workplace and only in regards to speaking and writing. Even the small section coverage allocated for grammar and vocabulary exercises is dedicated to workplace contexts (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. V, 13). On the other hand, Day by Day English book is relatively very flexible in its contents and the best suitable teaching strategies. Molinsky & Bliss (1994, pp. V) in their introduction note that the teachers are free, ‘to develop approaches and strategies that are compatible with {their} own teaching style and the needs and abilities of {their} students’. The units of the book are progressive and interrelated to the extent that the learners would best learn by covering the book in its entirety, thus limiting its level of flexibility as a teaching resource. Topics / Tasks and Instructions The book is focused on teaching workplace vocabulary, employing technical communication means while seeking for employment, using workplace diction and responding to workplace communication. Day and Day English is skewed in its grammatical applications and lessons to feature employment-search communication needs and not as way of teaching grammar. To do this, the book overly relies on group and pair work between the learners. For instance, every section has four prominent sections namely Work With English, Your Turn, Team Work, Take a Break (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. Vii). In all these sections students are supposed to work in pairs or in small groups and ultimately to discuss as a class. This in a way limits the opportunities for the learners to participate as individuals and to employ their cognitive abilities uniquely. The book is very relevant in the topics it provides and the learner activities/tasks included respective to its goals of enabling workplace communication. The instructions are equally clear and easy to follow through for the beginner English learners that it targets. The book has adopted the proper choice of metalanguage, a metalanguage that contains concise and efficient instructions that beginner ESL learners can understand. It is specifically tailored to enable teachers to highlight the concepts that are useful to learners in the workplace contexts although not in an attempt to cover syllabus needs of an ESL learner. For instance, in page 16 of the book, the book aims at helping students to speak about their backgrounds and interests. It thus provides a model interview between an interviewer (A) and an interviewee (B), and then instructs the students to, ‘create an original conversation’ by filling in a few words left blank on ‘a model dialog’ in the same page (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. 16). Every beginner can easily understand and complete that task based on how it is presented. Visual Outlay and Formatting Day to day English has reinforced its physical appearance with a very appealing format of text and graphic contents in full color. In the page 16 exemplified above, he model interview is presented alongside an illustration of the interviewer and interviewee to ease understanding of the context (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. 16). It is user-friendly, highly legible and attractive to look at in most of the pages. The book includes graphical illustrations, diagrams, cartoon characters, photos, boxes, tables, and text inserts (i.e. scanned documents) accompanying the text instructions (See Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. 17 for instance). The pages are well laid out with impressive formatting that makes the books equally attractive, easy to read and understand, able to reinforce the instructions and apt in capturing the reader’s interests. Availability and Cost Day by Day English does not have an audio CD that can be used by learners alongside the book. However, copies of the book can be accessed easily from online sources from every location in the globe, in either hard copy or soft copy. Learners from all walks of life and in any location from which they want to use the book. The book costs under US $30, a relatively cheap price. Content Most course books, Day by Day English being one, focus on vocabulary since it is one of the most basic and obvious components of any language. This book is focused on teaching workplace vocabulary, employing technical communication means while seeking for employment, using workplace diction and responding to workplace communication. Day and Day English is skewed in its grammatical applications and lessons to feature employment-search communication needs and not as way of teaching grammar. A good example of this is in page 17 of the book where two sets of 12 vocabularies in total are introduced and provided in a practice exercise yet all the words are noun-verb matches for occupations (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. 17). The second section of the page is assigned to reading and it is a job interview (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. 11). The third and final section of the page is assigned to teamwork, and again, it is an interview role-play (Molinsky & Bliss, 1994, pp. 17). As such, the book is evidently and specifically tailored to enable teachers to highlight the concepts that are useful to learners in the workplace contexts and not in an attempt to cover syllabus needs of an ESL learner. Conclusion This discussion has helped establish that there are different criteria recommended for use in language teaching materials design and development. The discussion was centered on two language-teaching resources, namely Steven Molinsky and Bill Bliss’ Day by Day English for Employment Communication and Soars, J. & Soars’ 1996 book, New Headway English Course: Intermediate, both of which were critically analyzed for suitability as teaching resources for ESL learners. It thus emerged from the discussion that both books do not meet the entire criteria of effective instruction resources for ESL learners, although the approximate that level to a large extent. The New Headway English Course book comes the closest to meeting the whole criteria than does the Day by day English book, especially in regards to being a comprehensive ESL instruction resource. Nevertheless, both are equally good in presentation, availability, flexibility and many other attributes as provided for by the assessment criteria. References Burns, A. & Joyce, H. (2007). Adult ESL programs in Australia. Prospect, Vol. 22 (3). pp. 56-69. Graves, K. (2000). Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language. Vol. 4 (4). pp. 107-146. Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language, Vol. 5 (3). pp. 112-143. Howard, J. & Major, J. (2009). Guidelines for designing effective English language teaching materials. Asian EFL Journal, 11, 4, 31-57. McGrath, I. (2002). Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Molinsky, S. & Bliss, B. (1994). Day by Day English for Employment Communication. London: Prentice Hall. Richard, J. (2001). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Soars, J. & Soars, L. (1996). New Headway English Course: Student's Book Intermediate level. Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Stern, H. (1987). Fundamental concepts of language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Tomlinson, B. (2003). Developing materials for language teaching. London: Routledge. Tomlinson, B. (1998). Materials development in language teaching. London: Routledge. Read More

d) Flexibility The content that is used in designing language teaching materials should be flexible in that it should be applicable in diverse classroom settings (Tomlinson, 2003). The teacher should be able to use the materials in different classroom units. Flexibility can be attained when factors involving approach, methodology, level, technology, logistics, teaching style and expected outcomes are taken into consideration. e) Linguistic Influences Language teaching is a challenging task especially in adult and literacy education.

Linguistic influences always exert an influence on pedagogy in term of the way language teaching programs are designed. Teachers need to know how to arrange their materials in a hierarchical so that they do not confuse learners. In Australia, AMEP (Adult Migrant English Program) students expressed surprise and confusion because of poor hierarchical ordering of learning activities (Burns & Joyce, 2007). Too much focus was put on language use and communication at the expense of grammar and language form.

As a result, learners found out that they had no choice but to take responsibility of their own learning activities (Burns & Joyce, 2007). f) Manner of Instructions and Appeal of Teaching Materials For materials to be pedagogically relevant in language teaching, they need to be made with the aspect of instructions being put into consideration. Clarity in instructions can be ensured through proper choice of metalanguage. The metalanguage should contain concise and efficient instructions.

In terms of attractiveness, attention should be on the ‘feel’ and ‘look’ of the language teaching materials. These aspects can be reinforced through physical appearance, user-friendliness, ability to be reproduced and durability. User-friendliness may apply in exercises where learners are required to fill the gaps with the appropriate answers. In such a case, the gaps should be enough for the learners to fill in their hand-written responses. g) Authenticity Authenticity in language teaching materials should be in terms of both the texts discussed by learners that they are required to perform.

In second language acquisition settings, emphasis should be on authenticity of both visual and spoken texts. Learners should see, read and hear just like native speakers do while communicating in their natural settings. For inexperienced language teachers, designing such materials can be a great challenge (Graves, 2000). h) Language Learning Opportunities Language learning materials should be designed in such a way that they encourage learners to acquire new learning strategies and skills. The materials have to be crafted in such a manner that they teach language learners everything that they should know within the short time that they spend in the classroom.

They should also maximize the extent to which the learning opportunities available outside the classroom are utilized. Instilling confidence in learners is one of the primary tasks that can be accomplished by through the help of well-designed language teaching materials. Conclusion In summary, the different criteria that are used in language teaching materials design and development play a crucial role in determining the success of a language acquisition program. Criteria such as learners’ needs, selection and gradation, authenticity and flexibility are particularly critical elements that can guide teachers through the process of creating effective language teaching materials.

Towards this end, the teaching materials used should be attractive and the instructions indicated should be ones that can supplement verbal and written cues. They should inspire learners to seek new learning opportunities in the real-world language usages since they cannot learn everything within the limited time they are in the classroom. Critical Analysis of Two Language Teaching Resources Introduction There are different criteria recommended for use in language teaching materials design and development.

Read More