GRADO EN EDUCACIÓN PRIMARIA (Semipresencial) TEXTBOOK …€¦ · 1 GRADO EN EDUCACIÓN PRIMARIA...

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GRADOENEDUCACIÓNPRIMARIA(Semipresencial)

TEXTBOOKANALYSIS

Alumnas:DíazLeón,Idoia

Profesor:D.JesúsRisueñoMatínez

Fecha:Juniode2016

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1. ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. 3

2. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 3

3. THE ENGLISH LEARNING TEACHING PROCESS IN SPAIN. ....................... 3

3.1) CLIL (Content & Language Integrated Learning) .......................................... 4

3.2) Objectives and competences that must be present in the English Language

Teaching ....................................................................................................................... 5

4. THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM IN PRIMARY EDUCATION ........................... 6

4.1) The Legal Framework ......................................................................................... 6

4.2) The general objectives of the LOMCE .............................................................. 7

4.3) LOMCE and Key Competences ......................................................................... 7

4.4) The four blocks of contents of the Spanish Curricular design of the English

Teaching. ...................................................................................................................... 7

4.5) The Basic Contents on the Second Cycle of Primary Education ..................... 8

4.5.1) Second Cycle Contents ................................................................................... 8

5. HOW TO TEACH ENGLISH IN PRIMARY EDUCATION .............................. 10

5.1) Madrid and McLaren (1995): ........................................................................... 10

5.2) Halliwell, S (1992): ............................................................................................. 11

5.3) Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Textbooks ...................................... 13

5.3.1) Advantages of Course books ........................................................................ 14

5.3.2) Problems of the using of textbooks ............................................................... 14

5.3.3) How teachers can solve this problem ............................................................ 16

6. HOW TO EVALUATE A COURSE BOOK .......................................................... 17

7. CONCLUSION: ........................................................................................................ 28

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY: .................................................................................................... 29

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1. ABSTRACT

This English textbooks analysis deals with different parts of the Spanish structure of the

English Language Teaching (ELT). I wish students could have a good command of

English once they leave school, one day.

Due to the fact that nowadays Spanish students do not really manage it, it has

been a pleasure to do a research on this field in order to learn more about the theoretical

aspects to take into account when we, as English teachers, try to choose our main tool to

work as teachers, and to improve the possible ways that can be used to make our

students to improve their level of English.

The aspects that will be treated are going to be related to the current situation of

the English Teaching Process in Spain, the laws in force that legislate it, how to teach

English in primary education, who are some of the main authors, how to evaluate a

course book and finally we will finish comparing some English textbooks and the

evaluation criteria.

2. INTRODUCTION

The educational situation in Spain is not in its best moment. Some years ago

students used to learn languages trough traditional methods bases on grammar,

exercises and theoretical aspects. The communicative competence was not present in

the students’ life. Fortunately, things are changing and that is why publishers and

teachers are transforming their traditional methodology into an eclectic approach

focused mainly on communication.

3. THE ENGLISH LEARNING TEACHING PROCESS IN SPAIN.

It might be said that if we focus our attention on the methods used in Spain, and

in the English speaking countries, there’s a main difference.

In Spain, there are several methods, but the most used in here is the traditional

one. If we compare it with those from the non-English speaking countries we are far

away from them.

One of the most important difficulties is the fear on what happen if two methods

of different languages are mixed at the same time. Parents stated that they are worry

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about the possibility that their children’s learning process may be delayed a cause of the

mixture of these two processes, but experts assure that there isn’t any risk if things are

done in the correct way.

3.1) CLIL (Content & Language Integrated Learning)

Nowadays schools are supposed to be bilingual and it is the moment when we

have to mention the CLIL methodology. I would like to talk about the advantages and

disadvantages of bilingual schools. On the one hand it might be said that there are more

advantages than disadvantages but on the other hand it should be known that nowadays

bilingualism is not as real as it is supposed to be. In Spain many schools join the

bilingual project, but is it feasible in Spain? As soon as the project was presented, a vast

majority of schools took the decision of carrying it out, but what happen with the

command of English teachers should have to make it real? Teachers should have

prepared themselves before join this project, the main problem has been that it has

started very quickly and without having reached the necessary level to teach different

subjects in English, but despite this fact, we should not forget that students are

conscious about the importance of speaking another language different from their

mother tongue. Never had students been more motivated with languages, it is true, but

sometimes it is not enough. If we have a look into the situation ten years ago, things

were far away they are nowadays, society would not remember students and teachers

learning languages as they do now.

Teachers try to interrelate all the subjects among them, but taking into account

that it is even difficult to teach just one subject in a foreign language, it is even more if

we have to interrelate it with all the subjects that form the curriculum: depending on the

subject things will be more feasible or not. That is one of the reasons why we talk about

feasibility of bilingualism in our country. If you decide to choose one school in our

country and your decision is going to be taken regarding the general characteristics of

each school, you will realise that a high percentage of schools are going to be bilingual

schools, because the school just need to assume that a part of the curriculum of some

subjects will be taught in the English language.

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3.2) Objectives and competences that must be present in the English Language

Teaching

According to the opinions of some experts such as Madrid and Ortega (2014: 3-4) the general professional competences that teachers must develop during their training period are the following:

- To apply the knowledge and techniques which are acquired in the period of pre- service training in a variety of social and educational contexts.

- To recognise and accept the multicultural diversity of modern society and being prepared to work in multicultural educational contexts.

- To undertake research in teaching processes, so that teachers can not only use acquired knowledge but create their own.

- To know how to use the classroom as an area of communicative interaction by providing the students with significant and comprehensible teaching and learning situations which encourage participation and critical reflection.

- To be able to establish learners‟ interests and linguistic and communicative needs in order to programme and implement an open curriculum, so as to fulfil these needs and meet the requirements of curricular design established by the Autonomous Community, Spain and the Common European Framework of Reference.

- To mediate between the learners' cognitive structure and their learning experiences so as to encourage the discovery of knowledge and ideas.

- To develop specific skills to motivate and interest the learner in the classroom and to be able to generate positive attitudes towards the contents being learned.

- To be able to present and exploit content and to promote learning construction taking into account learner personality (maturity, cognitive style, learning rhythm, etc.)

- To know how to use techniques of temporal sequencing, and individual, pair and group work appropriate for the tasks being carried out (students grouping techniques)

- To assess the effectiveness of the curriculum being taught, their own professional action and the students’ achievement, using a variety of evaluation and self- assessment criteria.

- To deal with learner diversity by bearing in mind students‟ special needs and bringing in the contributions of more advanced learners, as well as those of those with difficulties, all with a variety of social and cultural constraints.

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4. THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM IN PRIMARY EDUCATION

4.1) The Legal Framework

This syllabus is based on the general requirements imposed on Primary Education in

Spain by current Spanish law and regulated by the Ministry of Education which basing

on the European Common Reference framework for the learning of foreign languages,

aims to provide guidelines for the effective teaching of English as a foreign language in

schools.

This legal framework has a decisive influence on the focus, design and delivery of our

teaching programme because it helps to avoid improvisation; it provides an order and

structure which is as clear and brief as possible; it provides flexibility and allows the

programme to be modified if necessary; it helps us focus on our pupils’ aims and

special needs in their acquisition, assimilation and practice of the basic competences in

English, helping them cope with easy and everyday situations in an autonomous and

respectful way whilst allowing for creativity and freedom of expression; and it enables

us to adapt our teaching to the cultural and environmental characteristics of the teaching

context.

The current Education legislation, which provides the foundation for our syllabus is:

ü LOE:TheOrganicLawofEducation2/2006of3rdMaythatcontainsthe

mainguidelinesfortheeducativesysteminSpain.

ü LOMCE: The Organic Law 8/2013, 9th of December, for the improvement of

the quality on Education, which modifies the LOE in some articles.

ü RoyalDecree1513/2006of7thDecember,whichestablishesthebasic

curriculumforPrimaryEducationinSpain.

ü LEA:TheAndalusiaLawofEducation17/2007of10thDecember,which

appliestheaboveRoyalDecreeinAndalusia.

ü Decree230/2007of31stJuly,whichestablishestheimplementationand

thecurriculumofPrimaryEducationinAndalusia.

ü TheOrderof10thAugust2007,whichdevelopsthecurriculumofPrimary

EducationinAndalusia.

ü TheOrderof17thMarch2011,whichmodifiesthepreviousorderabout

theevaluationinPrimaryEducationinAndalusia.

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ü TheOrderof25thJuly2008,whichregulatesattentiontodiversityin

Andalusia.

4.2) The general objectives of the LOMCE

Adhering to the European Union guidelines regarding education the general objectives

are:

• To reduce variations in requirements and demands within education systems

throughout the country.

• To lower the dropout rates in compulsory educational levels (pupils under the

age of 16).

• To improve levels of achievement in Compulsory Secondary Education.

• To improve students’ level of knowledge in basic subjects.

• To establish a clear system of progress indicators according to educational

objectives.

• To increase the autonomy of schools.

• To generalise and spread the use of ICT within education.

• To promote and update vocational training studies.

• To improve foreign languages learning.

• To streamline the educational offer.

4.3) LOMCE and Key Competences

The nomenclature and definition of Key Competences in the LOMCE, according to the

Royal Decree 126/2014 of 28th February, is based on 7 competences:

1. Linguistic competence

2. Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology

3. Digital competence

4. Learning to learn

5. Social and civic competencies

6. Initiative and entrepreneurship

7. Cultural awareness and expression

4.4) The four blocks of contents of the Spanish Curricular design of the English

Teaching.

According to the Spanish Legislation and the Common European Framework of

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Reference for Languages, the English teaching is divided into four blocks of contents:

4.5) The Basic Contents on the Second Cycle of Primary Education

On the last part of this work we will do an exhaustive analyse of three books regarding the differences among them and the criteria followed on their selection. To reach this point it is necessary to talk about the main contents that should appear as basic knowledge to be acquired by our students.

Following the division of contents stipulated by law, we are going to sum up the contents into the main ones:

4.5.1) Second Cycle Contents

Listening and speaking:

- Listening and comprehension of oral messages such as instructions,

explanations, social interactions… that go from the easiest ones to the most

difficult ones.

- Oral interaction in real or simulated situations giving verbal and non-verbal

answers.

- Production of orals text once students have worked on them.

- Development of oral strategies to support the comprehension and the previous

knowledge, such as use of the visual and non-verbal context.

- Valuation of the foreign language as a communicative instrument.

Reading & Writing:

ListeningandSpeaking:Itisrelatedtooralinteraction,andstudentsaresupposedtobe

preparedtospeakandunderstandEnglishspeakers.

ReadingandWriting:Itisrelatedtowrittentextsandhowitisintroducedinourlifeoncethelisteningandspeakingskillsare

acquired.

Knowledgeofthelanguagethroughitsuse:Itisrelatedto

howdifferentelementsoflanguageareconnectedamongthem.

SocioculturalAspects:Itisrelatedtotheknowledgeofculture,

costumes,socialrelationshipsandculturalaspectsoftheEnglish-

speakingcountries.

Blocksofcontents

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- Reading and comprehension of different texts in paper and digital support.

- Guided use of reading strategies: to identify the most relevant information, to

deduce the meaning of the words and misunderstood words.

- Reading and writing of their own texts of their daily activities such as

invitations, notes, warnings…

- To make compositions following a model of simple texts using expressions

and sentences known by them.

- Use of technologies to read and write.

Knowledge of the language through it use:

- Identification of phonetic aspects, rhythm, intonation in English language and

its use as main aspects of the comprehension and production of short oral texts.

- Recognition and use of the vocabulary, ways and basic structures of the

English language, previously acquired.

- Relationship among spelling, pronunciation and meaning from written texts

and oral expressions known in advance.

- Introduction to the knowledge and use of tha basic strategies of production of

texts from very structured models.

- Interest to use the foreign language in a correct way in different situations.

- Use of abilities and procedures such as repetition, memorization, relationship

among words and expressions with gestural and visual elements, observation of

models, reading of texts, use of multimedia supports to acquire new vocabulary

and structures of the language.

- Reflection about the learning and how to accept mistakes as part of the process.

- Gradual use of graphics media to look up information.

- Self-confidence of their own ability to learn a foreign language and how to

evaluate the cooperative work.

Sociocultural knowledge

- Interest to know information about the people and the culture of the foreign

countries.

- Knowledge of some similarities and differences in the daily customs and use of

the basic forms of social interaction among countries where English is spoken.

- Receptive attitude with people who speak a foreign language and have a different culture.

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5. HOW TO TEACH ENGLISH IN PRIMARY EDUCATION

5.1) Madrid and McLaren (1995):

According to Madrid and McLaren (1995: 18-20): “There are some principles in which

the Spanish Curricular Design has to be based: language as communication;

communicative competence; the role of L1; the importance of contextualization and

discourse; the learner-centred curriculum, constructivism and autonomous learning,

cooperative learning; Concepts, procedures and attitudes; Cross-curricular activities.”

If we focused our attention on the Madrid and McLaren citation that means:

a) Language must not be taught in a theoretical way were grammatical structures

are the base of the learning process. Learning a language is a whole process

where many elements have to be taken into account. Sometimes teachers try to

teach just grammar and if we compare it with how we learn our mother tongue

we are going to realise that it is a complete different process. The context, the

social environment and the purpose have to present when we learn a foreign

language, as they are when we learn our mother tongue.

b) When they talk about communicative competence that means that there are some

basic aspects that should be covered in the learning of a foreign language. These

aspects are:

- Grammar contents

- Functions of the language

- Sociocultural environment where the interaction takes place

- Cohesion and coherence of the oral or written text.

- How to communicate and to transmit the message.

c) Sometimes people think that the mother tongue is a problem to learn a new

language, but they confirm that, in some occasions, it can work as a bridge

between them. When students are confused or they do not know the exactly

word to use, they sometimes copy it from their mother tongue and then, try to

use it with an English connotation. It is a good work on the fluency.

d) If teachers teach grammar with isolated contents and sentences it is going to be

more difficult for them to understand the meaning and to use it in a normal way.

For example, if we want them to learn about the present continues, let’s try to

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teach it through the actions they are doing while you are explaining it, instead of

writing sentences on the board that are not related to the real context.

e) Teachers must focus their teaching process on the students’ needs. It they realise

that learning a new language is profitable for them and they feel that they are

able to do it, students will be highly motivated and they will be encouraged to do

it.

f) Things are changing nowadays, that is why teachers have to use new methods

and strategies in order to motivate the students and to be the main part of the

teaching-learning process.

g) A good way to make students work in class is to do it with their classmates. To

do it the teacher can propose them activities they will do in pairs or groups. In

that way the interaction and motivation will be higher.

h) With the incorporation of the European Framework, contents, procedures and

attitudes go together in the same set. This are not learnt isolated, they are learnt

as a whole.

i) Some years ago, when people thought about learning English, everybody

thought about it as a theoretical learning. Nowadays English can be taught not

just in the English lessons, it can be done in other subjects, even more in schools

that are classified as bilingual.

5.2) Halliwell, S (1992):

According to Halliwell, S.: “If you have little time each week for language work then you will have to put some of your preparation time and energy into identifying the essential items within the book and working out how to concentrate on those. If, on the other hand, you have plenty of time, your ingenuity will have to be directed towards working out how to provide plenty of additional and varied practice of the same topic. If the amount of time you take rests with you, you have a different set of decisions to make.”

As we can see in her citation, there is a main difference between teaching English with a textbook or without it. I am going to try to explain it using the key words she uses in her book with my own explanations. I am going to do it with two charts where we can detect the advantages and disadvantages of doing it.

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IN FAVOUR OF USING A TEXTBOOK

- Framework: A course book is normally a guide to be followed by teachers

and students, they can check the concepts they are learning and, at the

same time, the can see what is going to be learnt next.

- Syllabus: The course book is worked as a sequence, it is strategically done,

all the concepts, content and vocabulary is gradually connected and

planned.

- Ready-made texts and tasks: All the material of the course book is

prepared according to the level of the students who are going to use the

book. It is easy for the teacher because the teacher does not have to do

extra work to prepare extra material.

- Economy: Sometimes, despite the convenience of using a course book for

the teacher, it is cheaper than using other methods such as photocopies, to

buy computers or digital boards to work with them in a interactive way…

- Convenience: As we have said before, using digital learning is more

expensive and heavier for students. Books are done to be carried from one

place to another, there are many bags made to take them, and it is true

that a book is the most confortable methodology for a teacher: the units

are in a correlative way, as well as the contents, grammar, vocabulary…

- Guidance: For those beginners who do not have experience as teachers is a

good guide to organise and be aware of how many grammatical aspects,

vocabulary and contents in general are taught per lesson, and how to

organise them.

- Autonomy: The course book is, sometimes, a good tool for students with

different pace; they can have a look whenever they need. If they do not

have a book, the learner can be lost when he/she needs support.

AGAINST USING A TEXTBOOK

- Inadequacy: When a teacher focuses his/her learning process on a book,

he/she forgets about other students needs. It does not exist a book which

covers all these kind of students. It is impossible that all the students do the

same, at the same time. We, as teachers, have to adapt the contents and, of

course, the methodology depending on the student or group.

- Irrelevance, lack of interest: There are many times that if teachers choose

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fashionable topics for their lessons, students will pay more attention and

they would more motivated than they are with some topics dealt on course

book that are not relevant for them.

- Limitation: If we, as teachers, think that all what we have to teach is in the

course book, the lessons will be boring, and the teacher won’t work on

his/her own initiative and creativity.

- Homogeneity: Books are made to be taught in one way and the same

exercise is done for the whole classroom. There is not an eclectic

methodology when the teacher uses just a simple book to be used in the

lessons.

- Over-easiness: The society is changing and the teaching process is doing it

as well. The lessons nowadays ask for more initiative and work out of the

book. Teachers have to encourage students to participate in their learning

process, but it is true that, for those teachers who do not love their job,

they will use the book without taking into account students’ preferences

and interests.

5.3) Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Textbooks

Once we have talk about different opinions of different authors, I would like to

do a brief conclusion about the advantages and disadvantages of using textbooks.

On the one hand it must be said that, many years ago, books were very useful to

be used at school. The most appreciated methodology was that were contents, concepts

and attitudes were designed in a strict way. The teacher was the most important person

in the teaching process, and the students just followed the teacher’s instructions. But, on

the other hand, it was really difficult for those students who needed special attention or

any kind of measures for attention to diversity.

Nowadays, things have changed a lot, teachers have a different role, they are not

the most important part of the teaching process, and the main element is the student. As

it has changed, publishers are changing a lot and they are working on the option of

having different material according to the different kinds of students a teacher can deal

with in their professional career. But despite publishers are working on this change,

currently there are some teachers who start to prepare their own materials to use in the

lessons and they start thinking on the fact of working without a textbook due to the

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technological progress and the insight on new methodologies.

A problem that teachers have to deal with is with is the most appropriate book

for their lessons: it is a really difficult task. There are many items where teachers may

work on them to find the most suitable book for his/her students. As Schwartz (2006)

mentioned: “A good curriculum is not only designed for the students, it is also designed

for the teachers as well. In other words, a good curriculum not only educates the

student, but teachers can also teach something of value to the students.”

5.3.1) Advantages of Course books

To sum up all the aspects dealt above I would like to conclude this part of

advantages of Course books saying that according to some experts, we have to mention

some extra advantages of using a textbook in the English lessons:

Firstly, it must be said that many teachers think that the course books are

focused on specific contents in force stipulated by law, they are exposed in a gradual

way and students can be more organized because they need what are the limits of each

unit and what they are going to learn next. The language used in the book is always

adapted to the level and contents of the students.

Secondly, it is true that if a teacher does a good use of the textbook and he/she

uses it adding extra material whenever he/she thinks it is necessary, it could be one of

the best mixtures to acquire the basic concepts.

Apart from this, I would to hihgligh that nowadays, in comparison to some years

ago, all the ESL course books have many practical tools for teachers such as: attention

to diversity activities, units tests, the teacher’s manual to guide those teachers who start

their careers… All these aspects should be revised and taken into account in a textbook

selection.

5.3.2) Problems of the using of textbooks

Finally, I am going to do a review about the aspects teacher must consider when

teachers decide to use a course book in their lessons:

- Students get bored when they have done the same types of exercises in the first

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two units. Publishers should try to change the structure of each unit, but, at the

same time, for those students with more difficulties, they need to be used to a

specific organisation.

- The reading and listening texts are not real, that is why when students go abroad

for the first time they feel like if they never had heard a word in English.

- Those books that do not have extra material for those “slow learners” will be

bored in the moment they feel lost.

- The English subject is always expected to be funny and more instrumental than

others. When students see that the teacher just follows a course book, students

feel disappointed with the subject, they loose their interest and motivation.

- According to Harmer (2007): “It may be relatively easy for students to be

extrinsically motivated; however, the challenge is sustaining that motivation.

Although motivation can be sustained through varied class activities, if the

content of the course book is uninteresting and repetitive, then sustaining the

motivation will be problematic for the teacher no matter how hard they try.”

Another current problem in the educational system we have in Andalusia is that

books are given to the families for free. Apparently, it is a good measure, but the

problem is that publishers do not include all the content, explanations, vocabulary,

grammar… in the students’ book, part of it appears on the workbook, and teachers

cannot force families to buy them because parents have the right to not buy it if they do

not consider doing it.

Finally, I would to mention that books are too theoretical sometimes for students.

They are kids that start learning a new language, can you imagine if you had to learn to

speak your mother tongue with a book and just with the grammatical explanation?

Teachers could solve this problem if the speak English in the English lessons, that

would motivate students, students won’t be shy to do the same, and the lessons would

be more practical than theoretical.

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5.3.3) How teachers can solve this problem

The first suggestion I would like to mention, as I have said before, is the

language use to teach English. Is impossible to make our students to speak English if

the teacher talks to them in Spanish. When a person start to speak in his/her mother

tongue, is when he/she has been exposed to the language for a long time, in that

moment, structures, concepts, vocabulary is acquired and the person starts to say the

first words.

Despite using the textbook, teachers can complete the teaching process with

extra activities and materials adapted to students’ needs and preferences. When the

student is motivated, he/she starts to develop the linguistic competences and abilities. A

good option for it is the use of “realia” (real material), that means to use real materials

in combination with the textbook, for example: if a student reads a text about transport,

try to show them a real plan of the tube of London, real coins, they will be closer to real

things and it is possible for them to be more interested on this learning. Related to what

I have seen I would like to mention the next citation:

Nation (2001) claimed that: “When learners read, they not only learn new

words, but they can also develop their syntactic knowledge as well as general

knowledge of the world.”

Outside the use of “realia” could also increase the students’ motivation, there are

other kinds of activities such as role plays, songs, games… that help to enhance students

participation and improvement on the language.

Another suggestion could be to add grammar extra activities to the textbook

activities. Students are used to the typical grammar exercises, try to include grammar

exercises in the development of the other activities. Another method could be to let

them to be teachers for a while, they would work in groups to prepare the grammar

explanation, and once they have done it they will explain to all their classmates. If we

do it, we are working in a cooperative way, and students will develop the oral skill at

the same time. The more involved students are, the more motivated they will be.

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6. HOW TO EVALUATE A COURSE BOOK

When we talk about the selection of a textbook there are many aspects to take

into account. These aspects are related to the main tools a teacher will need in his/her

lessons to be successful in the teaching-learning process.

In this part, we are going to make a list about the main elements that we have to

focus our attention in and then, we are going to analyse and compare three real

textbooks to check which one would be the most suitable for an English lesson.

According to O’Neill, “Since language is an instrument for generating what

people need and want to say spontaneously, a great deal must depend on spontaneous,

creative interaction in the classroom.” (O’Neill 1982: 111), many factors may be

studied before choosing one book or another. Learning a language is not just to know

the grammar rules, that is why there are some elements to be evaluated when we are

choosing the methodology or textbook we are going to follow.

Many experts support the fact that teachers must not focus their teaching process

on a single tool: the book, it has to be complemented with extra support.

To create my own evaluation assessment to evaluate a course book I am going to

mix the criteria of some experts in order to make the most complex and useful. The

authors in which my own rubric is going to be based are:

- McDonough and Shaw (1993): They provide a flexible two-stage model for the

comprehensive evaluation of coursebooks.

COURSEBOOKEVALUATION

ExternalEvaluation

InternalEvaluation

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The external evaluation includes the criteria that give a general overview of the

the course book and the internal evaluation gives an overview of the more intrinsic

aspects.

To create my own course book evaluation I have done a previous research of

some main authors to establish my own criteria. These authors are: Mcdonough and

Shaw criteria (1993); Halliwell, S. (1992); Salaberry (1996) and Dr. Hamad Al-sowat

(2012). Here it is my own chart with the main elements that set up my course book

evaluation.

This chart is divided into two categories:

- In the external evaluation we will see if the book deals with social aspects

related to the age and environment of the students; the amount and variety of

activities; if the organisation of the units is clear; if it is attractive to students;

how it deals with vocabulary: list, pictures?; if the paper is made of a good

quality; if at the beginning of the book appear the current competences,

objectives…; and finally, if all the information appears in English.

- In the internal evaluation the aspects that are dealt are those aspects such as how

the four skills are treated; how students interact among them; if the content used

in the ESL is related through links or websites to real videos or web pages; how

cultural aspects and festivities are taught; how the readings are; if there is a

grammar bank for students to have a look whenever they need; if contents are

connected among them are the level grows in a gradual way; if the content learnt

in the previous lessons are present in the following units; if the English teaching

is connected to what they are learning in other subjects; if the activities of the

book encourage students to work in pairs or groups; if the units of the books are

connected to the units of those subjects taught in the bilingual section; if there

are some activities that recommend students to use technologies; if students

understand easily the headlines of activities; and if the listenings are real

listenings from real life or those made just for English teaching.

The three books analysed on this work are:

1. Oxford Rooftops

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2. Explorers

3. Tigers

1) Oxford Rooftops

According to the course book evaluation, I would like to start saying that the

book is completed adapted to the previous contents from the previous year. It starts

doing a review on the starter unit to continue with the new knowledge.

If you do a quick view it is true that it seems to have a wide variety of activities,

focusing on communicative competence as the main part of each unit. The structure is

exactly the same in all the units. It is attractive and a little bit different as books are for

the 4th year of primary education. There are many texts, and some of them seem to be

more complex in aspect, as others from other books.

This book has a digital version but the daily use listenings of the book are

available in a CD. If we have a look on the icons that appear in the unit, it must be said

that there are not to many that seems to be new.

In the students’ book there is not a vocabulary list, there is a picture dictionary

but you need to have the workbook to use it. The workbook is plenty of vocabulary

activities and games. Regarding the aspect of looking as a complete source to use in

class, it should be highlighted that without the workbook there would be a lack of

activities for them to practice, due to the fact that students of 4th year are not quick

enough to write on their notebooks in case the teacher decides to use the digital book to

work with the activity book.

The quality of the book seems to be good, as well as the format of it. All the

information in it appears in English and, from my honest point of view, it looks

attractive due to the fact that they mix fictitious characters with real ones.

All the skills are present in the book, but the students’ book is focused on the

listening, reading and speaking skills, the same as the workbook is focused on the

writing skill. That is why the communicative competence is present all the time among

the students and through the readings we are prepared for ESL, instead of being real.

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Regarding readings, the book is plenty of them, there are readings almost in all

the pages of the students’ book but there is not an extra reading section, there are just

two reading at the end of the book where two extra cultural aspects are treated, but not

as much as they should be treated in almost all the units.

From my honest point of view, I miss a grammar section where students could

consult in case they have doubts. Nowadays, teachers try not to give grammar

explanation in a thick way, we try to teach it in an intrinsic way that is way it would be

a good idea to have a grammar section. Despite this, it is true that there are many games

using grammar and that contents are taught in a gradually way and the units are

connected among them.

The cross-curricular activities are in the digital material the teacher has, as well

as in the units but students are not going to realise because they are orientated to daily

situations or activities and not to other subjects, for example. It could be a good idea to

connect the units of this book to the bilingual program. Units in the English subject are

independent from the bilingual topics from other subjects.

Finally I would like to say that the activities headlines are understood perfectly

and, the digital competence is worked more by the teachers than by the students in this

book, but they do a good job on the autonomy and cooperative work with all the

speaking activities we can find per unit.

To sum up, I would to highlight that it could be a good book to use due to the

basis of its contents, the way they are presented and how they try to change little by

little the previous books based on pictures and more childish learning.

COURSE BOOK EVALUATION

Book: Oxford Rooftops

Authors: Sarah Phillips & Paul Shipton

Publisher: Oxford

EXTERNAL EVALUATION 1 2 3 4 5

1. It is adapted to the 4th year of primary X

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education?

2. Is there a wide range of activities? X

3. Is attention to diversity dealt? X

4. Has it got a clear structure per unit? X

5. Is it a communicative book? X

6. Does it have enough materials to work in class? X

7. Does it have a digital edition? X

8. Is the teachers’ material accessible? X

9. Does it have a vocabulary section included? X

10. Is the layout and format clear? X

11. Is the textbook appropriate to the level of the

students?

X

12. Is the book made of a good quality? X

13. Is it attractive to students? X

14. Is it related to competences? X

15. Does it use English as the vehicular language? X

INTERNAL EVALUATION 1 2 3 4 5

1. Are the four skills present in all the units? X

2. Is interaction present in most of activities? X

3. Is the internal content related to real or external

texts?

X

4. Are the cultural aspects treated in the units? X

5. Does it have a reading extension? X

6. Does it have a grammar reference bank? X

7. Does it have a picture dictionary? X

8. Are the contents taught in a gradually way? X

9. Are the units connected to the next ones? X

10. Are games included? X

11. Does the book include a study guideline? X

12. Are the activities meaningful? X

13. Does the book include projects? X

14. Does it work with cross-curricular activities? X

15. Does it promote the cooperative work? X

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16. Are the units connected to the bilingual

programming?

X

17. Is technology included in the activities? X

18. Is the autonomy and personal initiative

promoted on the book?

X

19. Are listenings real or adapted to English ELT

books?

X

20. Are the explanations of the activities easy to

understand for students?

X

Mark: 105 points

2) Explorers

Comparing this book to the previous one, I detect that of course the contents are

connected among units but the level is lower than the one exposed above. Its format is

similar to a primary book from the first cycle.

Each unit has the same structure, it always start with games and listenings to

work on the communicative competence. It would be easier for students because it is

full of pictures, and listen and repeat activities.

As it happen in the other one, students will need the workbook to do activities

related to the contents learnt. The digital version of this book is not as developed as it is

in Oxford Rooftops, due to the fact that it is older than the other one, and digitally

things are changing a lot in the last few years.

Vocabulary is worked through the texts or through the workbook because all the

information of the book is wrriten in English, but they do not have a picture dictionary

on the students’ book.

The quality of the book seems to be good, as well as the format of it. The pages

are thick enough to be broken easily. The characters who appear in all these pages are

always the same in all the units.

As it happen in the other book, all the skills are present in the book, because they

must be by law but it is true that the level is not high enough for those students who

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have a good command of English. The written skill is worked on the workbook, but the

communicative competence is present in all the units.

Regarding the listenings they are ESL listenings. These students are not prepared

to listen to real audios, but there are many exercises to learn how to pronounce specific

vocabulary.

The book is full of readings, there are comic strips, stories, and they work a lot

in pairs or group where they work in a cooperative way through games.

It has a similarity with the other book because it has two cultural pages at the

end of the book, but I thind it would be a good idea to have one per unit.

As I said before, I miss a grammar section for students to practice, or for those

students who have more problems to acquire the basic concepts it would be a good

measure to work with attention to diversity, which does not appear in the book.

Like in the other book, the cross-curricular activities are related to their daily

life, and I think it could be motivated for them to see how other subjects are present in

the English subject or vice versa. Why not to do a scientific project in the English

subject? It would be a good way to work with bilingualism as well.

In conclusion, nowadays I would not choose this book for my students as an

English teacher. The publishers have many resources to motivate our students, to make

them autonomous and to work all the skills in a funny way for them. You just need one

minute to detect that it looks a little bit unfashionable and that it is not updated in

comparison to others.


Book: Explorers

Authors: Suzanne Torres, Nina Lauder & Paul Shipton

Publisher: Oxford


1. It is adapted to the 4th year of primary

education?

X

24











students?

X









texts?

X













16. Are the units connected to the bilingual X

25

programming?




X


books?

X



X

Mark: 93 points

3) Tigers Team

If we look at the evaluation chart we will detect a big difference between this

book and the others analysed before. This is the book that obtained the vast majority of

points.

This book contains a lot of different activities. There are many resources to use

in the digital board, even the students at home using their own code. The book follows

the same structure in all the units and it has a really good level for the 4th year of

primary education. The units are related among the others as in the other books, but it

mix more types of activities and as I have seen in real lessons students are motivated

with the book because they do a lot of projects promoted by the book, in order to

encourage students to work in a cooperative way.

The book contains a reading extension, a speaking extension a grammar

reference bank and a picture dictionary. They can use all of this with the student’s book,

the workbook or the digital version.

There is a games section that students love. As it has too many options it is

easier to work with those students who have a different pace on the learning process.

The quality of the book is similar to the others, all of them come from good

publishers and the quality of the pictures, the format and the layout is very good in the

three of them. It is considered very attractive for students and as in the others, all the

information is written in English.

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The four skills are present in all the units, but of course it is clear that it

promotes the communicative competence proposing a lot of readings, listenings and

oral activities.

The cooperative work is used in every single lesson because an English lesson is

considered a good one when students participate and speak to each other and loose their

fear to speak a foreign language.

Regarding the extra cultural aspects there are more texts as in the others. These

texts are related to English speaking countries customs and, sometimes, it helps students

to improve their level of English when the know specific things of their culture.

Opposite to the others, we cannot miss a grammar section where students could

consult in case they have doubts because it has a complete grammar reference bank per

unit where there are the explanation and some exercises related to it.

According to the cross-curricular activities it is true that it is almost the same to

the others books: they appears but students do not realise that they are trying to relate

the contents they are learning with other subjects, they realise it connects with the social

environment. Neither it is with the bilingual topics with could be being taught at the

same time in other subjects.

The language used for the students’ comprehension is adapted to their

knowledge and terms known by them.

I would like to confirm that this book would be my most clear choice. I think it

is a complete edition, updated in almost all the abilities, methodology and variety of

activities. The digital material is plenty of resources and it makes students to be highly

motivated with the subjects, thanks to the great variety of things to do in class.


Book: Tigers Team

Authors: Carol Read & Mark Ormerod

Publisher: Macmillan


27

1. It is adapted to the 4th year of primary

education?

X











students?

X









texts?

X












28


16. Are the units connected to the bilingual

programming?

X




X


books?

X



X

Mark: 141 points

7. CONCLUSION:

Once I have finished my research, I would like to talk about the conclusions I have gathered during the development of this work.

First of all, I would like to say that before starting doing this research I never could imagine the amount of books and articles that exist regarding this topic. In my short experience as a teacher, when I had had to choose a course book, I was used to have a quickly look into the books and then, I remember teachers talking and negotiating with publishers to check what was the amount of money, presents or digital material that they could give to teachers or schools.

After analysing many articles and reading information from many authors, I have realised that there is a big and complex process before taking this decision. Many elements must be present in the election of a course book, and now I can understand, that in the end you are choosing a big part of your methodology when you choose a course book.

It is true that a teacher’s methodology cannot be focused on the election of a book, but in the end the teacher is always determined by the book he/she normally uses in the lessons.

Nowadays, there are many important aspects to take into account when a teacher selects a textbook. Some years ago things were easier than they are nowadays. Currently, in primary education despite the numerical mark teachers have to evaluate by competences, it seems to be easy but books are a very good aid to do it. If you have a look at the beginning of each book, you will see some really important information: in a

29

general view you will see the contents, grammar, cultural aspects… but if you open the teachers’ guide there will be even more elements such as the competences and all the aspects stipulated by law.

Another aspect that has attracted my attention is the fact of seeing how things have changed in the last years. Some years ago, books were completely theoretical and we could say that nowadays one of their main goals is to be communicative. The language is learnt from another perspective and that is why it is so important to choose the correct methodology and course book.

When I started comparing several course books I realise that almost all of them work in the same way, there are just minimal differences that make you to choose one or another. Publishers are like mobiles companies, when the last model has all the sophisticated items, the other companies copy them and the try to launch a product similar to that one but, in the most of the cases, even better.

Finally I would like to conclude saying that textbooks could be a really good support for teachers if they are used in the correct way. It is better to spend time on choosing them, because depending on it the students’ learning can be varied and modified.

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Read, C. & Ormerod, M. (2013). Tiger Team, 4. Spain: Macmillan Education

• Torres, S., Lauder , N., Shipton, P. (2011). Explorers, 4. China: Oxford

• Phillips, S., Torres, S., Shipton P. (2015). Oxford Rooftops, 4. China: Oxford

• Kitao, K. (1997). Selecting and Developing Teaching/Learning Materials. The

Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IV, No. 4

• Martín, M. A. (2009). History of Foreign Language Teaching Methodology.

Departamento de Ciencias de la Educación. Facultad de Formación del Profesorado.

Universiad de Extremadura.

• McLaren, N. y Madrid, D. (2004).The Foreign Language Curriculum, en Madrid, D.

y McLaren, N. (eds.): TEFL in Primary Education. Granada: Editorial Universidad

de Granada, pp. 144-176.

• Ministerio de Educación y Ciencias (2006). Ley Orgánica 1513/2006, de 7 de

diciembre, por el que se establecen las enseñanzas mínimas de la Educación

Primaria. Boletín Oficial del Estado, 293, 43053.

• Risueño, J.J., (2013). A general Framework for curricular design. Metodología y

recursos para la enseñanza de (L.E.) INGLES. Centro de Profesorado “Sagrado

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Familia”, Úbeda.

• Salaberry Ramiro, M. S. (1996). Audio-visual and technical resources. In N.

MacLaren and D. Madrid (eds.). A handbook for TEFL (pp. 421-444). Alcoy: Marfil.

• Alcalá, F. R., Pérez, P. and G. Luque, G (2004): “Individual Characteristics of

Primary School Children”, in D. Madrid and N. McLaren (eds.) (2004), pp. 104-140.

• Council of Europe (2001): Common European Framework for Languages. Brussels.

• Madrid, D. and Hughes, S. (2006): Teaching Practice for Language Teacher.

Granada: Grupo Editorial Universitario.

• Madrid, D. and Ortega, J. (2014): Teaching Practice Guide for Primary School. GEU

• Madrid, D. and McLaren, N. (1995): Didactic Procedures for TEFL. Valladolid. La

Calesa. Madrid, D. (1996): “The EFL Classroom”, in N. McLaren y D. Madrid (eds.)

(1996), pp. 129-154. Madrid, D. (1996): “The EFL Teacher”, in N. McLaren y D.

Madrid (eds.) (1996): A Handbook for TEFL. Alicante: Marfil, pp. 107-128. Madrid,

D. (1997): “La evaluación del área curricular de la lengua extranjera”, in Salmerón,

H. (de.) (1997):

• Navarro, M. and Pablo, E. (2004): “Developing Linguistic Competence”, in D.

Madrid & N. McLaren (eds.) (2004), pp. 283-314.

• Educación Primaria, BOE n1⁄4 173, 20/7/2007. ORDEN ECI/2220/2007, de 12 de

julio, por la que se establece el currículo y se regula la ordenación de la

• McLaren, D. Madrid and A. Bueno (eds) (2005). Pérez Martin, C. (1996):

“Linguistic and Communicative Competence”, in N. McLaren and D Madrid (eds)

(1996), pp. 313-365. Pérez Paredes, P. and Rubio, F. (2005): “Testing and

Assessment”, in N. McLaren, D. Madrid and A. Bueno (eds) (2005), pp. 606-

638. Pérez Valverde, C. and Muros, J. (2004): “Discourse Competence in the EFL

Classroom”, in D. Madrid & N.

• McLaren (eds.) (2004), pp. 178-218. Trujillo, F. Torrecillas, J. and Salvadores, C.

(2004): “Materials and Resources for ELT”, in D. Madrid & N.

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