Balancing Linguistic and Social Needs: Evaluating Texts Using a Critical Language Awareness Approach

Abstract

English as a second language (ESL) content-based texts are often evaluated for their presentation of sound second-language teaching practices. While such reviews are important and valuable, they ignore an examination of the race, class, and gender issues introduced in the texts. A critical perspective on textbook evaluation organized around the concept of critical language awareness (CLA) is introduced as an alternative and provides an appropriate tool for ESL teachers and administrators to gauge how deeply current content-based texts consider critical social issues in ESL students' lives. Two popular content-based texts are used to illustrate how texts can be reviewed. Findings reveal that neither text fully addresses all of the stages of CLA. Implications for practice discuss how teachers and administrators can use the instrument to complement findings from other evaluations and as a template to supplement discussions on issues of race, class, and gender.