English Coursebook Research Articles

GENDER NEUTRALITY IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: TEACHER TALK AND COURSEBOOKS

State of the problem. The article explores the phenomenon of gender neutrality in language education and presents the results of classroom discourse analysis and coursebook content analysis. The purpose of the study is to reveal to what extent teachers of English as a foreign language (L2 teachers) in Russia use gender-neutral language and gender-neutral behaviour strategies in the classroom and how gender neutrality is presented in the English coursebooks (created both by Russian and international authors). The novelty is determined by the fact that this is the first attempt to analyse teacher talk and English coursebook contents in terms of their gender neutrality in the Russian socio-cultural context. Results. Results show that many lessons and coursebooks analysed use some gender-neutral vocabulary and grammar strategies, but contain gender-stereotyping and unequal representation of personalia and case names. The proposed hypothesis that English teachers in Russia use gendered lexical and grammatical means, as well as gender stereotypes in the classroom was validated to a certain extent. The overall result demonstrates that more than 60% of teachers are not gender-neutral. As for the coursebooks, most of them seem to be gender-neutral in terms of grammar, and half of them seem to be gender-neutral in terms of vocabulary. At the same time, 60% of coursebooks contain gender stereotypes and 90% do not represent males and females equally (with male superiority in number). Conclusion. Special guidelines on gender-neutral English in the classroom for English teachers in Russia should be created to provide some recommendations on the use of gender-neutral language and the use of coursebooks. These guidelines should refer to the Russian socio-cultural context and contain all the necessary footnotes for teachers to explain to them the importance of gender neutrality in the English language and to help them to explain the phenomenon to the students, who might experience certain challenges while acquiring the concept of gender neutrality that is only minimally represented in the Russian language.

Let’s Judge a Book by its Cover: The Case Study of Active Skills for Reading

Textbook is an essential element of teaching and learning materials. After the teacher, textbooks are the most important factor in learning. Since textbooks act as an important material in teaching and learning, they need to be evaluated regularly. In the light of the foregoing, this study aimed to evaluate “Active Skills for Reading” using a researcher-made checklist and a structured interview. This book was being taught in six classes of Chabahar Maritime University as a general English coursebook. The goal of this study was to determine the suitability of the book as a general English course from the students’ and teachers’ perspectives. To this end, 150 students and 4 teachers were selected, and data were collected during two semesters in 2020. The quantitative data of the checklist were analyzed by calculating descriptive statistics using SPSS version 26, and qualitative data was analyzed through deductive content analysis. It was shown that the teachers and students believed that the appearance of the book is attractive, the content of the book is up-to-date and practical, and the goals are well defined. It was also revealed that although the textbook had some shortcomings such as lack of enough grammar sections in each unit, teachers felt the book was still appropriate for general English courses, especially for developing the reading skills. Generally, it was indicated that the textbook had met students’ needs for a general English course. The study ends with suggestions for general English teachers and materials designers.

THE PERSPECTIVE OF SLA PRINCIPLES OF MATERIALS ANALYSIS ON A THEMATIC ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FOR SIXTH-GRADE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

This study attempts to explain the materials of the thematic English textbook entitled “Grow with English” for sixth grade by reflecting the SLA principles. Therefore, it could be useful as a preliminary step before conducting a textbook evaluation. This article used a qualitative research method with the focus of content analysis. The writer derived the results by responding to the materials analysis proposed by Littlejohn (2011) regarding three main questions (1) what is the learner expected to do?, (2) who with? and (3) with what content?. Each question depicted certain criteria that elaborate the elements of those three questions to outline coursebook materials. Moreover, to complete the analytical of textbook task-based analysis, the writer used the concept of ten SLA principles as suggested by Ellis (2005). The results showed that game-based tasks and consciousness-raising tasks are effective in supporting L2 acquisition since they derived both explicit and implicit knowledge. This study is limited on the scope that only focuses on a preliminary stage before conducting an in-use evaluation. The findings of this study could be a consideration and reference for EFL teachers, creators of English coursebook materials, and English coursebook policymakers, especially in Indonesia to put more attention on the importance of SLA principles in the textbook’s materials that can support students’ L2 acquisition.

Analysis of Advance with English Coursebook (Yilin Oxford Edition)

Teaching materials are the concrete embodiment of the course targets and contents. It is also the main medium for teachers and students to carry out teaching activities. Good language teaching materials should be used by learners at different levels in different ways. They also provide an opportunity for teachers to form or create their unique teaching styles. Therefore, the analysis of English teaching materials is particularly important. First, this article introduces the writing purposes which match the requirements of the General English Curriculum Standards and then analyzes the contents of Advance with English in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The third part discusses the limitations of Advance with English in respect to its practical use.

An Analysis on Gender Representation in Cambridge Checkpoint English Coursebook

The main focus of this study is to explore the representation of gender in Cambridge Checkpoint English Coursebook. The negative connotation of women stereotype in English Foreign Language (EFL) textbook potentially affects students’ negative perceptions and misconceptions about gender identity. The findings of previous studies on gender issues in language textbooks mostly indicate that they presented gender biases and stereotypes, but some studies reported positive images of women. To continue a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of EFL textbooks from a feminist perspective, the present study looks at visual and textual discourses representing images of women in EFL textbooks in Cambridge Checkpoint used by one private school in Makassar named Bina Citra Indonesia School. The findings reveal that the textbook represent gender stereotype in many Gender Analysis Pathway (GAP) area such as; gender GAP in culture area especially a stereotype of emotionally expressive woman and the stereotype of woman must be married at certain age, gender GAP in politic area, economic, health area and gender GAP in education area. Some gender discourses expressed by female characters and social actors. The result of research found that the textbooks support the continuation of gender biases and stereotypes. This textual study suggests that as English plays an increasingly important role in a transcultural and post-feminist world, the writers of English textbooks must pay attention to the issue of gender in language education.

Developing Digital English Materials Based on Contextual Teaching Learning for Economics Students

This study refers to the problem study of the teaching and learning needs which requires English learning resources in order to meet the expectations of students during the ESP pandemic teaching and learning process. The fundamental goal of this research is to create effective digital English learning resources for students at the University of Serang Raya's Economics faculty. The main goals of creating a digital English coursebook based on contextual teaching-learning are to help Economics students enhance their English language skills and to meet their learning demands. This research was carried out using the PSDD model as a research and development method (Preliminary Study, Design, and Develop). The information is gathered using a questionnaire and a speech assessment form.

English varieties in the Year-7 coursebook taught in Indonesia

The present research was designed to investigate the English varieties encountered in an English coursebook applied throughout Indonesia. It applied a descriptive analysis. The data were sorted out from corpora. The research found out that the coursebook applied in Indonesian schools included different varieties of English. They were American, British, and American and British-like. The varieties here covered vocabulary, spelling, and grammar.

Evaluating the 10th Grade English Coursebook Currently in Use in Afghanistan

In recent years, the use of (or lack of) of English textbooks in teaching English as a second/foreign language classrooms has become an issue of great debate among English teachers. Regarding the critical role of teaching materials in second language instruction, this study was an attempt to evaluate the English Coursebook taught at the 10th grade in Afghan schools from the perspectives of both teachers and students. To this end, 30 Afghan teachers of English were asked to fill out a piloted, Likert-scale questionnaire whose items tapped different aspects of the book. In addition, 100 Afghan students at the 10th grade were given another questionnaire to elicit their opinions on the book. After collecting and analyzing the data, the results indicated that, except for the pictures and illustrations used in the book, other aspects including ‘meeting syllabus objectives’, ‘compatibility with Afghan socio-cultural norms’, ‘teachability’, and ‘effectiveness of the testing system’ are confirmed by the teachers. In addition, except for the paper quality and suitability of the illustrations and pictures, the students agreed on the effectiveness of the book in vocabulary development, topic selection and sequence of the exercises.

Designing English Coursebook for Islamic Bilingual Boarding School Based on the Value of the Four Pillars of Nationality

The purpose of this study is to develop an English course book for bilingual boarding school (Pesantren). The value of four of national pillars (Pancasila, Bhineka Tunggal Ika, UUD 45 and NKRI) is chosen as the theme of the course book. The research model uses research and development (R&D) methods of Reiser and Mollenda where the development model has several steps, namely: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE). The 45 students were taken as the subject of the research and determined as purposive research sample from 300 populations of all students. The instruments of this research were test and questionnaire. The descriptive and quantitative analyses were employed in this research.The result of this research is an English book which designed by some consideration; the curriculum is adapted from general English, the sequence and approach of the coursebook is adapted from coursebook the model by Joko Priyana, Riandi and Anita P., and every chapter of the book contains certain information and the value of the four pillars of nationality.

The implementation of principles of foreign language teaching in designing a coursebook for university medical students

The paper deals with the issues of designing an English language coursebook for university medical students. The coursebook has a dominant role in education as the main means of transferring knowledge. The problems related to design criteria for a manual and its functions have been investigated by both Ukrainian and foreign scientists. The topicality of the research is specified and predetermined by the need to develop a methodological basis for designing an English language coursebook for university medical students. The object of the research is a unit structure for an English coursebook for first-year medical students. The aim of the work is to present a methodological basis for designing a syllabus of an English course for first-year medical students, to substantiate the implementation of the principles of foreign language teaching in the creation of a coursebook, the main aim of which is the formation of communicative competence with the help of a system of pre-textual, textual and post-textual exercises. The presentation of the main material. The goal of studying the discipline “The English language” is to form professionally-oriented communicative competence of the students based on studying some English content involving medical terminology and lexis of systems of the human body. The syllabus comprises the following topics: the structure of the human body, the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, lymphatic system and immunity, nervous system, digestive system, respiratory system, urinary system, reproductive system, and the endocrine system. The tasks for each topic involve doing drills, listening to and reading authentic medical texts, watching videos, and doing exercises for self-studies. Conclusion. The authors have concluded that the efficiency of forming the communicative competence of medical students depends on following a certain sequence of (pre-textual, textual, and post-textual) tasks and principles of foreign language teaching in designing units of the coursebook. The researchers have substantiated the necessity of being guided by the didactic and methodological principles in designing a syllabus and coursebook. The authors have analyzed the structure and construction of the units. Having been guided by the current requirements for a task design defined by the prominent Ukrainian methodologists, the researchers have presented a system of tasks that develop language and speech competences in reading, writing, listening, and speaking for medical students while studying the body systems. The perspectives of further research will embrace the creation of an English coursebook for second-year students of medical universities and medical faculties of universities. It will include the description of the diseases of the human body systems studied during the first year.

INTERTEXTUAL MARKERS IN THE EDUCATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL DISCOURSE

The article addresses the issue of intertextual links in the educational pedagogical discourse. The research is based on the theoretical findings and provisions of foreign scholars as well as the linguists of the post-soviet information space, who consider the intertextual links in the aspect of M.M. Bakhtin’s dialogic theory. The basic methods of the research are general scientific (descriptive and analytical) and a specific method of linguistic abstraction. The material of the research is a modern coursebook Focus 1, 2, 3, 4 used in teaching a foreign language in mid-school. The main objective of the case study is to specify the notion of intertextuality, define its role in the didactic text, and to analyze the main intertextual markers in the English coursebook. The coursebook is viewed in the plane of the “supertext” where all heterogeneous didactic materials are interconnected in the aspect of their sense and situational context. Intertextuality in the didactic text stands in close relation with the category of addressability. It suggests a dialogic link with other texts, actualizes precedence of the didactic text, ensures intersubject connections and fosters socio-cultural competence of pupils. The author differentiates the notions of inner and outer intertextuality. The intertextual markers in the coursebook are precedent names, utterances, events and texts of different genres. There has been cleared out that the most productive spheres for borrowing precedent names are the social sphere and the sphere of arts; precedent utterances are mostly expressed by complete quotations, proverbs and sayings; precedent situations reflect nationally and universally significant events; precedent texts are adopted authentic text fragments of different genres. Non-verbal intertextual markers are schemes, tables, diagrams and artistic images.

An investigation into gender representations in an English coursebook

An investigation into gender representations in an English coursebook

English Coursebook Adoption Processes for Junior High Schools in Japan

In Japan, each municipal or prefectural board of education (BOE) is responsible for selecting its own coursebook series to be used in English lessons for nation-wide, compulsory education courses (elementary through junior high school) and in high school. This paper is a report on the investigation of the official governmental websites of five municipal or prefectural BOEs to find what kinds of methods they currently use for the selection process of English coursebooks for junior high school (JHS). The processes employed by the BOEs were examined. It appears that the criteria BOEs use for selection differ and may not be firmly grounded in research on SLA and materials evaluation. Another consequence of the strategies used by BOEs is that they may be less inclined to adopt different coursebook series than those used in previous years. 日本では、各市町村または県の教育委員会（BOE）が、小学校から中学校の義務教育及び高校の英語の授業で使用する独自の教科書を選択する責任がある。本論文では、政府の公式ウェブサイト上の5つの教育委員会を調査して、BOEが中学校英語の教科書採択に現在どのような方法を採用しているかについて報告する。BOEで採用されている教科書採択方法を調べたところ、各BOEによって基準は多少異なり、SLAと教材評価の研究にしっかりと基づいていない可能性がある。BOEによっては、前年度で使用されたものとは異なる英語教科書を採用する事に消極的である可能性もある。

Glocalisation in action: ‘Less is More’ English coursebook series

Glocalisation in action: ‘Less is More’ English coursebook series

Evaluating an inclusive blended learning environment in EFL: a flipped approach

This research explores the use of an inclusive blended learning environment in an EFL class. A total of 39 students, including 6 participants who suffered from physical and cognitive disabilities followed a flipped learning model over a period of two months. In order to create this inclusive blended learning model, a series of videos were developed to deliver three B1 didactic units of an English coursebook and were designed to take into consideration students’ physical and cognitive disabilities. Captions, text and sign language were provided together with the videos, following a “universal design” in which a wide range of students are considered when elaborating the materials. These videos were viewed by participants before their lessons in order for the teacher to devote in-class time to those learners who may have struggled to understand and put into practice the contents and explanations in the videos. In-depth interviews, a perception scale of the flipped learning experience and an evaluation of the tools implemented were used with a special focus on those students with disabilities. Several implications and pedagogical recommendations were drawn.

Teaching and Learning Process of English Speaking Skills at SMKN 27 Jakarta Pusat Majoring in Tourism – A Case Study

Students of tourism vocational schools require mastering speaking skills in English to be able to handle guests from various backgrounds. Yet, the preliminary research showed that 60% of students in SMKN 27 Jakarta Pusat could not speak English fluently. This study aimed at describing the design, teachers' plan, teaching methods, materials, teachers' role, and students' role, and assessment techniques of English speaking teaching and learning. This study used a case study with observation and interview as the research technique. The findings of this study showed that the syllabus design used in SMKN 27 was a functional-based syllabus that was suitable for the vocational high school students. The teaching methods used in teaching and learning were the Direct Method and Audiolingual Method. The materials used by the teachers in teaching and learning process were videos and an English coursebook in most of the observations' meetings. Teachers acted as a prompter and a feedback provider, helped the students when they found any difficulties in expressing themselves using the target language and gave feedback directly. The assessment techniques used were summative and formative assessment and the teachers used mid-term test and final-term test as the assessment techniques. 
 

An Evaluation of an English Coursebook “When English Rings The Bell”

This study aimed to evaluate an English course-book for eight graders entitled “When English Rings the Bell” published by the Ministry of Culture and Education of Indonesia in 2014. The study discussed what the teachers perceived as a good quality course-book and what recommendations they expected for the improvement of the course-book. The study was carried out in Bengkayang District. It employed a mixed-method with 15 English teachers as the research subjects. It applied the convenience sampling method and collected data using a questionnaire designed based on Tomlinson’s course-book evaluation framework and analyzed by interpreting the subjects’ answers. The finding revealed that the teachers perceived the course-book positively with some recommendations for its improvement.

AN EVALUATION OF ENGLISH COURSEBOOK FOR YOUNG LEARNERS ENTITLED ENGLISH CHEST

One of the English coursebooks used in the teaching and learning English in Indonesia is English Chest. This study was conducted to answer the questions: (1) To what extent does English Chest series fulfill the criteria of a good English coursebook for young learners in terms of: physical format, subject matter, page layout, vocabulary and structure, graphic elements and content?; and (2) Does this coursebook meet the requirements of the syllabus of teaching English in primary school in Indonesia? The terms were developed and modified based on the criteria proposed by Varella (2014) about the good coursebook for young learners. The design of the study is descriptive qualitative. Ten English teachers using the coursebook were asked to assess it based on a checklist and interviewed. After the data were analyzed, the findings revealed that English Chest coursebook the series is categorized as a good and appropriate English coursebook for EFL young learners. Furthermore, the syllabus proposed by English Chest coursebook the series is in agreement with the syllabus of Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan 2006.

The Quality of English Coursebook for Nursing Department Student (Based on Students’, Lecturers’, And Experts’ Perspective)

This research was aimed to find out the students’, lecturers’, and experts’ perspective toward the quality of the English coursebook for nursing department students. This research was an evaluative study. The participants of this research were 3 experts, 3 lecturers and 80 nursing students. The instrument of this research was an evaluation checklist based on Mc.Donough and Shaw’s criteria. The findings of the research were (1) over eighty percent participants agreed that syllabus fulfills the criteria for quality a nursing coursebook; (2) over eighty percent participants agreed that the content area fulfills the criteria for quality a nursing coursebook; (3) over ninety percent participants agreed that layout and physical appearance fulfills the criteria for quality a nursing coursebook; (4) over eighty percent participants agreed that practicality fulfills the criteria for quality a nursing coursebook; (5) over eighty percent participants agreed that language use fulfills the criteria for quality a nursing coursebook.

Uma análise dos processos presentes em enunciados de um livro didático de inglês: uma perspectiva sistêmico-funcional de práticas de ensino e aprendizagem

Este trabalho investiga a adequação do livro didático de inglês utilizado em um programa de aceleração da SME-RJ, o Programa Acelera Brasil, de natureza sociointeracional. Tomando a Linguística Sistêmico-Funcional como teoria sócio-semiótica de linguagem e utilizando especificamente o Sistema de Transitividade, são analisados os processos presentes nos enunciados das atividades, buscando compreender a natureza das práticas de ensino e aprendizagem que constituem o livro. Os resultados apontam para concepções pedagógicas desvinculadas de questões de criticidade e ideologia, gerando discrepâncias entre o Programa e o livro didático.