ELTWeekly Vol. 5 Issue#26 | July 22, 2013 | ISSN 0975-3036
* This paper is submitted for publication by Ajit Kumar Pradhan, Research Participant, EFL University, Hyderabad.
Introduction
No textbook is complete by itself. The usefulness of the textbooks depends on their successful adaptation. So, it is the responsibility of the teachers to adopt and adapt materials to suit the needs of his/her learners. In Indian education system, textbooks are generally prescribed, not taking the primary user (i.e. teachers) into consideration. Moreover, this situation is often found in the case of English teachers teaching in technical and professional courses like B.Tech., MBA, MCA etc. As Robinson (1980) believes the quintessential ESP ‘materials produced for use once only by one group of students in one place at one time’, there is a demand of materials evaluation and adaptation as per the needs of specific classroom. Thus, there is a need to create awareness among teachers to evaluate ESP material, which is the primary aim of this workshop.
This paper begins with the need of a textbook and the difference between ESP and EGP textbook. Further, criteria to evaluate an ESP textbook will be evolved and different ESP textbooks from India and abroad will be analysed in groups. And finally some issues on ESP textbook evaluation in Indian contexts will be discussed with its significance to classroom practices.
Why do we need a textbook?
The issue of textbook or course book selection is a significant factor for teachers and students who consider textbook as an indispensible part of learning and teaching. As many students and novice teachers highly depend on the textbook, it is very necessary to choose the textbook(s) carefully. The followings are a few reasons for the need of a textbook.
– Suitable to the needs of the learners
– To look ahead to what to be discussed next and to look back what has been done already.
– Well-presented
– To adapt and improvise teaching (Neill, 1982)
What is the scope of any textbook?
Textbooks should be based on the needs of the specific group it is meant for. As Further Neill (1982) states “Whoever wrote these books have never seen this group or the inside of a shipyard. This group has its own needs and we must provide materials specifically designed for those needs.” (p. 105). However, it may not be feasible to cater to each individual’s specific needs, as the needs of learners vary and ongoing. We may think of common needs of the group of learners. Neill (1982) has rightly pointed out in this context: “Although one group’s needs diverge at various points from another’s, there is often a common core of needs shared by a variety of groups in different places studying under different conditions at different times” (p. 106)
EGP vs ESP Textbooks?
General English textbooks are generally based on topics and themes from everyday life. The contents of coursebook try to respond to general needs and wants of the learners. The focus is more on development of four language skills (especially speaking and listening) and vocabulary and grammar. (Masuhara and Tomlinson, as referred in Tomlinson, 2008). As the needs of EGP students is not specified, which is generally for higher studies, the materials also cannot be based on specified subjects or themes.
However, in the case of ESP learners, it is feasible to predict the specific contexts to a large extent where the learners are going to use English. Thus, the ESP learners need only that much of English which they immediately need. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) rightly state when designing the materials for ESP learners “Tell me what you need English for and I will tell you the English that you need” (p.8). Thus, the topics and contents of ESP learners will be based on the specific groups. A textbook on ‘English for Engineers’ should be based on engineering topics and a textbook for doctors should highlight some issues from their profession. However, it depends on the materials designer to select appropriate materials which should not be too familiar or unfamiliar, thus boring.
Supplementing ESP textbook(s)
Tomlinson (1998) points out that, when evaluating instructional material for language teaching, it is important to consider how interesting the content is for the learners, but it is paramount for the material to be clearly linked to the course objectives. If the coursebook focuses on the linguistic skills, employees need in the workplace, it will be useful. According to Alexander (1998), such usability is a principle that should guide the selection of instructional materials.
However, no textbook is perfect. As Robinson (1980) believes that “Quintessential ESP, if we can pinpoint it is perhaps this materials produced for use once only by one group of students in one place at one time” (p.2) Thus, there is a need to supplement materials to cater to the needs of learners’ specific needs. Further, according to Allwright (1981,9) “ there is a limit as to what teaching materials can be expected to do for us. The whole business of the management of language learning is far too complex to be satisfactorily catered for by a pre-packaged set of decisions embodied in teaching materials”. According to Hutchinson and Waters (1987), if existing materials are found to be ineffective, they can be adapted or rewritten to reflect the learning needs and objectives that have been identified.
What are the criteria for Evaluating ESP Textbooks?
It may not be feasible to follow a strict yardstick for coursebook evaluation. As Sheldon (1988, p.245) states “coursebook assessment is fundamentally a subjective rule of thumb activity and that no neat formula grid or system will ever provide a definite yardstick”. However, many researchers like Cunningsworth (1995), and Hutchinson et al (1987) have tried to develop criteria for evaluating ESP materials. The criteria can be represented in the following five questions.
- Does the textbook cover the language functions learners are likely to use in their future professional environment?
- Does the textbook cover the topics / situations learners are likely to encounter in their future professional environment?
- Does the textbook emphasize the linguistic skills most needed in the academic and professional fields?
- Does the textbook content adequately reflect local and target language cultures?
- Does the textbook take into account local teaching / learning styles?
Conclusion
Based on the criteria three ESP textbooks from India are analysed. They are
- Das et.al. 2009. An introduction to Professional English and Soft skills, New Delhi: CUP
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. Anna University. 2oo6. English for engineers and technologists. Chennai: Orient BlackSwan
- Raman et al.2009. Technical Communication: Principles and practices. New Delhi : OUP
The followings are some of the findings and conclusions common to all the above mentioned textbooks:
- The textbooks are well-designed. Although the activities of the textbooks are meant for the general language skills development, it seems to be appropriate to the ESP beginners. It has been generally observed that some students are not ready to take ‘pure’ ESP courses in the very beginning of their course. There should be an appropriate progression from EGP to ESP courses, depending upon the level and interests of the students. For these the activities of these books help the teachers to a great extent.
- Although the authors of the three textbooks claim its use for technical students, it is not evident from their selection of topics and activities. Many topics have been selected from the general interests like Water, Gold and silver etc. Das et. al (2009) provide activities without keeping itself to topics-based textbook pattern. Further, Raman et al (2009) is a theoretical book dealing with theoretical aspects of communication.
- Activities of the textbooks hardly relate to what the technical students would ever perform in their academic and professional contexts. There is less language input from their background.
- Local cultures and language has not found a place in any of the textbook. Thus the textbooks seem to be alienated from the target audience.
Thus, there is a need to adopt and adapt materials to suit to the needs of the learners. In-house materials should be designed and teachers play a pivotal role in this regard. It is also necessary to collaborate with content subject teachers to design effective materials. The success of ESP materials highly depends on the collaborative affords from experts, English teachers, content teachers and students.
References
Alexander, L.( 1998). Course design and the management of learning. In IATEFL.1998. Manchester conference selection, ed. P. Grundy, 74-78. Kent, UK : IATEFL.
Allwright, D. (1981). What do we want teaching materials for? ELT Journal 36 (1): 5-18.
Basturkmen, H. (2006). Ideas and options in English for Specific Purposes. New Jersey : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
Bouzidi, H. (2009). Between the ESP classroom and workplace: Bridging the gap. English Teaching Forum.
Cunningsworth, A. (1995). Choosing Your Coursebook. London: Macmillan: Heinemann.
Hutchinson, T. and A. Waters. 1987. English for Specific Purposes: A learning centred approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Sheldon, L. E. (1988). Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials. ELT Journal 42 (4) : 237-46.
Tomlinson, B. (1998). Commnets on Part C. In Materials development in language teaching, ed. B. Tomlinson, 261-64. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press