RETROSPECTIVE EVALUATION OF ELT COURSEBOOK EFFECTIVENESS

Abstract

The right choice of a coursebook makes both teaching and learning experiences effective and enjoyable. However, the real strengths and weaknesses of the chosen teaching material become apparent only over a period of continuous use. This article looks into the way coursebook effectiveness can be evaluated by the participants of the educational process. The importance of retrospective assessment of a coursebook is emphasised, considering the fact that it enables to evaluate the work done and make the appropriate decisions for the future courses. The evaluation should be performed not only by teachers, but also by students. For this purpose, two different assessment forms have been developed. The author stresses that learners and educators view coursebooks from the various standpoints, that’s why their evaluation forms should include different sets of parameters. The principles for creating the questionnaires for teachers and students are outlined in the present work. The article suggests that the most effective way to conduct a coursebook evaluation is to use free data mining web tools which not only streamline the evaluation process, but also enable to effectively process the results of the survey. The author outlines the process of creating interactive questionnaires using one of such web tools. The last part of the article features description of the practical implementation of the suggested evaluation approach. The developed questionnaires have been used to evaluate Speakout Intermediate coursebook with which a general course of English was taught to a group of adult learners. The results of the survey and possible implications thereof are discussed in the article.