The Understanding of Textbook

the learning outcome. Furthermore, the following are the common features of a good textbook based on Penny Ur:  Objectives explicitly laid out in an introduction, and implemented in the material  Approach educationally and socially acceptable to target community  Clear attractive layout; print easy to read  Interesting topic and task  Varied topic and task, so as to provide for different learner levels, learning styles, interests, etc  Clear instruction  Systematic coverage of syllabus  Content clearly organized and graded sequenced by difficulty  Periodic review and test sections  Fluency practice in all four skills  Encourages learners to develop own learning strategies and to become independent in their learning 7 Additionally, Richard has different perception of what a good textbook is. The followings are the characteristics of good textbook according to Richard:  They should provide structure and syllabus for a program  They help standardize instruction  They maintain quality  They are efficient  They provide a variety of learning resources  They can provide effective language models and input  They can train teachers  They are visually appealing 8 Harmer also points out that, “Good textbook often contains lively and interesting material; they provide a sensible progression of language items, clearly showing what has to be learnt and in some cases summarizing what has 7 Penny Ur, A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009, p.186 8 Jack C. Richards, Curriculum Development in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, p.254-255 been studied.. .” 9 He adds that, “Good textbook also relieve the teacher from the pressure of having to think of original material for every class.” 10 From the explanations of the experts above, it can be seen that the common features of a good textbook are varied. The textbook has to be suitable with the learning objectives, interesting in the cover or layout, covering all of the four basics English skill in form of the content and the exercises, and having the varied exercise.

4. The Textbook Evaluation

Beside many benefits that the teachers and the students got from the textbook, there are critics of the textbook adoption system which claim that the quality of the textbook is not as good as it could or should be. For instance, Reed, Bergemann and Olson state that, “Textbook summarize large quantities of information and often make it too general and superficial, thus discouraging conceptual thinking, critical analysis, and evaluation.” 11 Hence, the textbook needs an evaluation by the teachers. Moreover, Harmer points out that, “…teachers relying too heavily on the textbook will often not to be encourages providing enough roughly-tuned input or output practice. Textbook also tends to follow the same format from one unit to the next.” 12 The textbook could create a classroom culture which limits the interaction between the students and the students and also the teachers and the students. Further, Richards claims that, “…no commercial textbook will ever be a perfect fit for a language program.” 13 It means that there is no best textbook that the teachers can use as guidance in the teaching and learning process but 9 Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, New York: Longman Publishing, 1996, New Ed., p.257 10 Ibid., 11 Reed, Bergemann, and Olson, op.cit., 1998, p.257 12 Harmer, loc.cit., 1996, p.257 13 Richards, op.cit., 2001, p.257