Abstract
The paper evaluates the ELT textbook English for Today (Classes Nine–Ten) which is used as a dominant instructional material in secondary level schools and madrasahs in Bangladesh. The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) of Bangladesh published the revised edition of the textbook series English for Today in the academic year 2013 incorporating the guidelines proposed in National Education Policy (NEP, 2010) and National Curriculum (NC, 2012). Ever since the introduction of the ELT textbook series, systematic evaluations to examine their pedagogical usefulness and constraints have been found inadequate. The purpose of the study is, therefore, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the textbook which will help the teachers do maximum application of its strengths in the classroom, and make sensible decisions about the weaknesses. This study followed the ‘whilst-use’ evaluation type, and adopted mainly the checklist method. The checklist was designed drawing on suitable criteria from the popular checklist developed by McDonough, Shaw and Masuhara (2013). In addition, a short semi-structured interview was conducted with 10 secondary English teachers in order to explore how the teachers would perceive and evaluate the textbook. Though the evaluation identified the textbook’s rewarding features, it also revealed a number of limitations which require sincere attention of the curriculum and materials developers. The study implies that the textbook requires both internal and external improvements in order to maximize the learning outcomes and meet the curriculum objectives. The paper also makes recommendations for the curriculum experts and textbook writers for consideration during future editions of the textbook.
Highlights
The paper evaluates the ELT textbook English for Today (Classes Nine–Ten) which is used as a dominant instructional material in secondary level schools and madrasahs in Bangladesh
The National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) of Bangladesh published the revised edition of the textbook series English for Today in the academic year 2013 incorporating the guidelines proposed in National Education Policy (NEP, 2010) and National Curriculum (NC, 2012)
The National Curriculum (NC, 2012) which was developed in the light of the 10th National Education Policy (NEP, 2010) brought about significant changes in the major components of the secondary and higher secondary curriculums in Bangladesh
Summary
The National Curriculum (NC, 2012) which was developed in the light of the 10th National Education Policy (NEP, 2010) brought about significant changes in the major components of the secondary and higher secondary curriculums in Bangladesh. The training sessions could not substantially change the classroom practices so far as CLT is concerned (Karim & Mohamed, 2019) Though it has been nearly 20 years since the introduction of CLT in Bangladesh, a vast majority of teachers still stick to traditional lecture-based approach to teach English with focus on language forms and training has little effect in classroom practices (Uddin, 2020). The secondary English textbooks have been developed twice since the introduction of CLT in the 90s This indicates that the textbooks being used will continue for more years through modifications until a curriculum renewal takes place. The paper attempts to explore the following research questions: a) What are the strengths and limitations of the textbook? b) How do the practicing language teachers perceive the suitability of the textbook?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
