Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials

Abstract

ELT coursebook publishing is a multi-million pound industry, yet the whole business of product assessment is haphazard and under-researched. Coursebooks are often seen by potential consumers-teachers, learners and educational purchasers-as market ephemera requiring invidious compromises between commercial and pedagogical demands. Some practical and theoretical reasons for such grassroots discontent are discussed, as areprevious textbookstudies and qualitative 'checklists’. The state of the informational assistance available to intending purchasers is also examined. Finally, a set of ‘common core’ qualitative criteria is advanced, whose purpose it would be to make evaluation and selection more systematic and informed.1 According to Hutchinson and Waters, textbook evaluation is basically a straightforward, analytical ‘matching process: matching needs to available solutions’ (Hutchinson and Waters 1987:97). My own view is that this issue is rather more emotive and controversial for teachers; many would agree with Swales (1980) that textbooks, especially coursebooks, represent a ‘problem’, and in extreme cases are examples of educational failure. I would like to explore the reasons for such strong reactions, and to put forward possible evaluative solutions. I wish to concentrate on coursebooks because, whether we like it or not, these represent for both students and teachers the visible heart of any ELT programme. The selection of a particular core volume signals an executive educational decision in which there is considerable professional, financial and even political investment. This high profile means that the definition and application of systematic criteria for assessing coursebooks are vital. Supplementary textbooks and materials on the other hand may not carry the same burden. The evaluative criteria for these can to some extent remain implicit, or be allowed to define themselves more informally in the local situation. Classroom attitudes ELT coursebooks evoke a range of responses, but are frequently seen by teachers as necessary evils. Feelings fluctuate between the perception that they are valid, labour-saving tools, and the doleful belief that ‘masses of rubbish is skilfully marketed’ (Brumfit 1980:30). In basic terms, there seems to be a ‘coursebook credibility gap’ (Greenall 1984:14) because of emphatic contradictions and potential conflicts of interest in their creation, commercial exploitation, public assessment, selection, and ultimate classroom use. ELT books are frequently seen as poor compromises between what is educationally desirable on the one hand and financially viable on the other. In simple terms, they often do not seem to provide good value for money.