Developing Materials for Language Teaching Chapters from the fi rst edition Edited by Brian Tomlinson LONDON • NEW DELHI • NEW YORK • SYDNEY Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10018 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com The chapters fi rst published in Developing Materials for Language Teaching, 2003 This ebook collection fi rst published 2014 © Brian Tomlinson and Contributors, 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury Academic or the author. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. eISBN: 978-1-4742-1054-6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by Jones Ltd, London Contents All Chapter Numbers Refer to the First Edition, PB ISBN: 9780826459176 (now out of print) 2 Selection of Materials 37 Rani Rubdy 5 Adapting Classroom Materials 86 Carlos Islam and Chris Mares 12 Developing Electronic Materials for Language Teaching 199 Beverly Derewianka 13 Hyperfi ction: Explorations in Texture 221 Claudia Ferradas Moi 15 Materials for Beginners 256 Carlos Islam 17 Talking like Texts and Talking about Texts: How Some Primary School Coursebook Tasks are Realized in the Classroom 291 Irma K. Ghosn 18 Materials for Specifi c Purposes 306 Roger Barnard and Dorothy Zemach 25 Materials for Language Awareness 422 Rod Bolitho 26 Materials for Cultural Awareness 426 Alan Pulverness 29 Materials Development and Teacher Training 479 Christophe Canniveng and Mertxe Martinez 30 A Practical Experience of Institutional Textbook Writing: Product/Process Implications for Materials Development 490 Patrick Lyons 31 Personal and Professional Development through Writing: Th e Romanian Textbook Project 505 Ruxandra Popovici and Rod Bolitho CHAPTER 2 Selection of Materials Rani Rubdy Introduction The coursebook has become an almost universal element of ELT, playing as it does a vital and positive part in the everyday job of teaching and learning of English (Hutchinson and Torres, 1994). The plethora of material that continues to be produced unabated bears ample testimony to its perceived importance not simply as one of the main ‘tools of the trade’ in the language classroom but as ‘the visible heart’ of any ELT programme (Sheldon, 1988: 237). As Cunnings- worth has noted, the wealth of published material that is availableon the market today makes the selection of the right coursebook a challenging task, requiring teachers to make informed and appropriate choices when selecting coursebooks and supporting materials (Cunningsworth, 1995: 1). What makes it vital to develop even more accurate and revealing ways of evalu- ating and selecting coursebooks is that materials themselves have evolved into morecomplexobjects.WhileintheearlydaysELTcoursebookscontainedmainly reading texts accompanied by a set of comprehension questions and a few grammarandvocabularyexercises,materialstodayfrequentlyoffer‘packages’for language teaching and learning which include workbooks, teachers’ guides, audioandvideosupport andevenCALLprogrammeswithpreciseindicationsof the work that teachers and learners are to do together in a way that effectively structuresclassroomlessons(Littlejohn,1998:190).Indeed,materialshavemore andmorecometobeviewedas‘anembodimentoftheaims,valuesandmethods of the particular teaching learning situation’ (Hutchinson, 1987: 37) to the extent that, as Hutchinson observes, the selection of materials probably repre- sents the single most important decision that the language teacher has to make. The selection of materials involves matching the given materials against the context in which they are going to be used and the needs and interests of the teachers and learners who work within it, to find the best possible fit between them. This calls for major strategic decisions based on informed judgement and professionalexperience,forcingteacherstoidentifytheirpriorities:AsLittlejohn rightlyobserves,‘Weneedtobeabletoexaminetheimplicationsthatuseofaset of materials may have for classroom work and thus come to grounded opinions about whether or not the methodology and content of the materials is appro- priate for a particular language teaching context’ (Littlejohn, 1998: 190–1). 38 Rani Rubdy The number of variables that affect the success or failure of coursebooks in particular contexts have made it necessary to identify appropriate criteria on which to base these decisions. The range and multiplicity of criteria that reflect these variables in the literature typically relate to learner goals and needs, learningstyles,proficiencylevels,languageteachingmethods,classroomcontexts and processes, as well as the potential of materials for generating motivation, variety and interest. Approaches that evaluate and select materials only on the basis of such overtly observable properties that reside in the texts, tasks and activities, however, represent to some extent a static view of materials. Since materials are a powerful stimuli for generating learning, a more dynamic approach would be one which selects materials for their potential not only to engage the learners’ and teacher’s attention and effort, but also to draw sub- stantialcontributionsfromtheteacher,thelearnersandthecollectivegroupasa whole that can be transformed into worthwhile learning experiences in the course of classroom interaction. This chapter will review the approaches and criteria that have been employed in the selection of instructional materials in ELT and assess the theoretical and pedagogical assumptions underlying them. In view of the fact that the require- ments of particular learning/teaching situations are often varied, and hence cannot be met by any one ideal coursebook, however impressive or eminent, it will propose a framework for selecting materials which, while incorporating cri- teriathatformpartofconventionalwisdom,prioritizesthepotentialthatallgood materials have for flexibility, adaptability and relevance to the changing needs, goals and interests of the modern-day language learner. The Roles and Functions of Coursebooks It might be helpful to begin by examining current thinking regarding the role andfunctionsofcoursebooks.Thisshouldhelpbringclaritytotheactofjudging the worth of coursebooks, particularly in the face of the broad variation found amongteachersofEnglishacrosstheworldwhousethem,andthediversityinthe objectives for learning English that exists among their students. Recent years have seen a renewed debate about the desirability of ELT course- booksinfacilitatingtheteachingandlearningofEnglish.Somescholarsobjectto them inprinciple ongroundsthat published materialsdo notalways provide the typesoftextsandactivitiesthatateacherisseekingforagivenclass(Block,1991). Others argue that they tend to have a constraining effect on the freedom of action of the teacher, predetermining the content and procedures for learners and pre-empting creativity and exploration on the part of teachers (Prabhu, 1988). Because coursebooks are typically produced centrally by a group of ‘spe- cialists’foranothergrouptouselocallyinatop-downfashion(Maley,1998:279) theycanactasinstrumentsofinstitutionalcontrolorservearangeofcommercial interests (Bell and Gower, 1998: 117) that could be disempowering for teachers. In this view, ‘The teacher becomes little more than a cipher for a prepared text’ (Hutchinson and Torres, 1994). 2. Selection of Materials 39 To combat this trend of over-reliance on the textbook, a strong case has been made for the promotion of teacher-generated materials (Block, 1991; Dubin, 1988) and for greater learner involvement in materials adaptation (Clarke, 1989; Riggenbach, 1988), more in tune with a learner-centred philosophy that char- acterizes contemporary classrooms. Block (1991), for instance, contends that the way core language is contextualized in many commercial materials often renders itirrelevantandoutdated.Hemaintainsthatthepersonaltouchthattheteacher can bring to his/her materials is unparalleled by the stereotypical activities that characterize many of them. Clark (1989) pleads for creative learner involvement in materials adaptation and shows how giving learners a more contributory role can serve not only to make existing materials more relevant but also more motivating for the learner. Notwithstanding these developments, there are those who argue that ‘course- books provide teachers and learners with a range of professionally developed materials within tried and tested syllabus structures’, allowing teachers to spend their valuable time more on facilitating learning than materials production (Bell and Gower, 1998: 116). Advocacy of coursebooks has come from scholars who stronglybelievethatcoursebooksshouldbeseenasameansof‘re-skilling’rather than‘de-skilling’teachers(O’Neil,1982;HutchinsonandTorres,1994;Edgeand Wharton, 1998) and that, provided they are used flexibly, they can be adapted and supplemented to meet the needs of specific classes (Bell and Gower, 1998: 117). They state the following advantages for the use of coursebooks: 1. Coursebooksfulfilawiderangeofpracticalneeds,particularlyincontextswhere English is being taught in a non-English-speaking environment and where tea- chers either lack training or sufficient time to analyse each group’s needs. 2. The coursebook helps provide a route map for both teachers and learners, making it possible for them to look ahead to what will be done in a lesson as well as to look back on what has been done. 3. Coursebooks provide structure and predictability, which help give partici- pantsinsocialinteractionslikelessonsasafebase,aplatformfornegotiation and exploration. 4. By dealing with a certain amount of routine work for teachers, the course- book frees them to attend to more important aspects of lesson planning (including materials adaptation and supplementation), and to concentrate on using their creative skills. 5. Coursebooks provide teachers, particularly those lacking in training and experience, with a sense of self-confidence and security. 6. Most coursebooks are designed and developed by experts in the field, con- versant with current theoretical approaches and methodological practices. Thequalityofsophisticationintheirdesign,contentandorganizationwould be difficult to match with home-grown materials. 7. Coursebooks can act as agents of change, allowing innovative ideas to be introduced within their structured framework in a way that enables teachers and learners to develop in harmony with these new ideas. Indeed, Edge and 40 Rani Rubdy Wharton (1998) see the ELT coursbook functioning as a genre of mass communication,whereitsauthorscanenterintopositivedialoguewithteach- ers and students on a number of issues of current significance to ELT professionals. Not surprising, then, to see why the selection of materials has come to involve ‘considerable professional, financial and even political investment’ – not just by teachers and learners – but other stakeholders as well, such as administrators, educational advisors, education ministries and state governments, making the task a high profile one (Sheldon, 1988: 237). Conflict of interests can arise between commercial agencies who view ELT books as big business and use aggressive marketing strategies to exploit the situation and those committed to the choice of a coursebook simply for its value for effective classroom use. This explains the current polarization of views, fluctuating between the perception that coursebooks are valid, labour-saving tools, on the one hand, and the belief that they are just ‘skilfully marketed’ ‘masses of rubbish’ (Brumfit, 1980: 30), on the other. WeareremindedofAllwright’sconsideredviewaboutthelimitedusefulnessof ELT materials, expressed some two decades ago: ‘The whole business of the management of language learning is far too complex to be satisfactorily catered forbyapre-packagedsetofdecisionsembodiedinteachingmaterials’(Allwright, 1981). Hence the feeling that published materials can at best only represent ‘poorcompromisesbetweenwhatiseducationallydesirableontheonehandand financially viable on the other’ (Sheldon, 1988: 237), thus justifying Cunning- sworth’s (1984) cautionary note about coursebooks being good servants but bad masters. The debate has raised many important questions regarding the relationship between ready-made ELT materials and the teaching and learning process that warrant serious consideration. Some of these have been identified by Bell and Gower (1998: 117), as summarized below: 1. Giventhatcreativityistobepreservedasanimportantpedagogicalprinciple, how can we ensure that coursebooks do not take away investment and responsibility from teachers and learners? 2. How can one ensure that coursebooks reflect the dynamic and interactive nature of the learning process while at the same time maintaining the con- sistency of the syllabus? 3. Althoughitistruethatnocoursebookcancaterforalltheindividualneedsof all learners all of the time, how can sufficient material be provided so as to meet most needs most of the time and provide enough flexibility to enable teachers to individualize it? 4. If the language provided in many coursebooks is conventional rather than real life, how can samples of use that are as natural as possible be provided? 5. Ifcoursebooksarefrequentlypredictableinformatandcontent,howcanthe material be made more lively? 2. Selection of Materials 41 These questions help refocus attention on precisely the kinds of issues that are problematicaboutready-madeELTmaterialsforwhichthosearguinginfavourof teacher and student-generated materials see them as providing solutions in being able to address more effectively such aspects of classroom lessons as teacher responsibility,creativityandinvestmentaswellaslearnerinitiativeandreceptivity– indeed,justthekindofintangibleattributesthatinhereingoodmaterials,ortobe more precise, in materials that provide a ‘good fit’. Because such materials are likely to be directly responsive and relevant to the specific needs of a particular group of teachers and learners and the circumstances of their learning, they are likely to optimize teacher and learner contributions to the learning process and thereby enhance learning itself. At the same time, reduced reliance on pre- determinedcontentandgreatercontrolovertheteaching–learningprocessentails greater teacher and learner freedom, creativity and choice, thus contributing to the desirable educational goals of independence and autonomy for both. Materials Evaluation and Selection Ellis speaks of the strong surge of interest in the goals, roles and methods of evaluation in recent years (Alderson and Beretta, 1992; Rea-Dickins and Ger- maine, 1992; Weir and Roberts, 1994), and attributes this trend primarily to the increase in the influence of mainstream educational theory and in part to the need to carry out large-scale programme evaluations for external funding agen- cies like the ODA, the British Council and USAID (Ellis, 1998: 217). He goes on to make a distinction between macroevaluations of such large-scale projects, typic- ally carried out for accountability and/or developmental purposes and micro- evaluations. The latter are carried out by teachers on a day-by-day and lesson-by- lesson basis and focus less on the programme as a whole and more on what specific activities and techniques appear to ‘work’ in the context of a particular lesson. By this definition, materials evaluation, selection and adaptation fall under the purview of microevaluation, as does the evaluation of teachers’ and learners’classroombehaviours.Ellisarguesthatsinceitismicroevaluationwhich is compatible with many teachers’ perspective about what evaluation involves, encouraging teachers to adopt a micro- rather than a macroperspective to evaluation will help them undertake evaluation that accords with their own perspective. Atthispoint,anotherdistinctionthatwillbeusefultomakeisthatbetweenthe evaluation of materials (see Chapter 1 (Tomlinson) in this volume) and their selection. Evaluation, like selection, is a matter of judging the fitness of some- thing for a particular purpose. However, while it is true that the selection of materialsinevitablyinvolves,orsubsumes,aprocessof evaluation,evaluationcan beundertakenforavarietyofpurposesandcarriedoutinavarietyofways.Inthe selectionofmaterials,ontheotherhand,whatassumesprimaryimportanceisthe analysis of learner needs and interests and how these are addressed. Conse- quently, in the selection of materials usually it is the most appropriate rather than the best that wins.