a. Textbook Description
Textbook selection is defined as the collection and description of data on the content and form of the textbook itself. They are;
1 Authors‟ and publishers‟ information
The information provided by authors and publishers of textbooks usually leaves much to be desired. Boot 1976
giving in formation as „the provision of pertinent and verifiable
details about the textbook. 2
Textbook review Reviews could be called the most general and widely used type
of textbook description. The most important merit reviews is that they provide prompt information, If, of course, the editors
of journals publish quickly enough. 3
Checklist Both textbook description and evaluation can be carried out at
the basis of checklists. We shall limit ourselves to checklists aimed at textbook description.
b. Textbook Evaluation
Refers to the collection and description of the data on the effects textbooks have on their users. In textbook evaluation usually
distinguish between two, they are; 1
Users‟ judgment teachers and learners Users‟ judgment plays an important role in textbook selection, but
more often than not they are very hard to come by. Most textbooks, in fact, have been on the market for years before the opinions that have
been formed of them become in any way generally known. 2
Experimental research into the effect of textbook.
Experimental research into the effects of textbooks is high on the list of desiderata of many authors Heuer and Muller 1973:7. Bung
1977: 233 but it is only rarely carried out, especially where entire textbooks are concerned.
13
The type of evaluation a textbook receives, however, will also reflect the concerns of the evaluator. One teacher may look at a book in terms of its
usability. The teacher is primarily interested in whether the book works easily in her class, can be used flexibly, and could easily be adapted. Another
teacher may look at a book much more critically in terms of its theoretical orientation and approach. If it is a book that teaches conversation skills what
theory of conversation is it based on? What kind of syllabus is it based on and what is the validity of the activities it makes use of? Two teachers evaluating
a writing text may likewise look at it from very different perspectives. One may subscribe to a process-oriented view of writing and look for activities
that practice such processes as generating ideas, drafting, reviewing, revising, and editing. Another may be more concerned to see that adequate treatment is
given to different conventions for organizing different kinds of texts, such as narrative writing, expository writing, and descriptive writing. In any language
program therefore it is unlikely that a published checklist can be used without adaptation as a basis for evaluating and choosing textbooks. Based on the
factors in each situation questions specific to that situation need to be generated around the main issues involved in textbook evaluation and
selection: • program factors - questions relating to concerns of the program
• teacher factors - questions relating to teacher concerns
13
Edward Arnold, Applied Linguistics and Learning and Teaching of Foreign Languages, New York: Chapman and Hall, 1984, p. 300
• learner factors - questions relating to learner concerns • content factors - questions relating to the content and organization of the
material in the book • pedagogical factors - questions relating to the principles underlying the
materials and the pedagogical design of the materials, including choice of activities and exercise types.
14
Furthermore there are some criteria for evaluating texts for reading development. Two main criteria influence the choice of text: suitability of
content, exploitability. Further issues are whether the texts should be authentic, simplified, or specially, written, and how they should be presented.
We will examine each in turn. a.
Suitability of content Far and away the most important criterion is the text should interest
the readers. The interesting content makes the learner‟s task far more rewarding. Enjoyable texts also make class work more effective.
b. Exploitability
Arguably is the most important after interest. When you exploit a text, you make use of it to develop students‟ competence as readers. A text
you cannot exploit is no use for teaching even if the students enjoy reading it.
15
C. Readability
The research on readability has been done for more than eighty years in many languages. Readability is assumed as a simple concept yet it can be very
broad. To know what readability is and matters related to it, it is better to study what experts say about this matter.
15
Cristine Nuttal, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, Oxford: Jordan Hill, 1996, p. 170
Kategori