论文部分内容阅读
Abstract：Materials evaluation activities are organized for many reasons, one of which is to identify particular strengths and weaknesses of the course books already in use(Yi, 2004). In this thesis, the author will evaluate Contemporary College English Intensive Reading Book II by using the criteria and steps suggested by J.D. Brown’s and Cunningsworth
Key words:materials; materials evaluation; Contemporary College English Intensive Reading Book II
1.Introduction
Generally speaking, there are three main purposes for textbook evaluation: selecting a new text book; testing effectiveness of a textbook; designing a textbook (Xia, 2003)
Contemporary College English Intensive Reading books, issued in 2001, play an important part in college English learning for English majors. The introduction of these books clearly points out that there are 5 principles in compiling the set of books: First, to maintain the inner link between these books, avoid sudden jerk and inverted repeat. Second, to embody the new idea of the new syllabus, pay more attention to the basic skills. Third, to reflect the special requirements of Chinese students, introduce the new ideas, methods and technique abroad. Forth, as to pedagogies, the set of books tries to take fully inclusive and equitable measures, give consideration to both language and culture. Fifth, as coursebook selection is a vital matter involving state talents training, details of the compilation of the books are all exact and precise.
2.Evaluation by J.D. Brown''s Criteria
J.D. Brown (1995) suggests that materials should be considered from five perspectives: background, fit to curriculum, physical characteristics, logistical characteristics, and teachability(Yi, 2004).
Materials background refers to information about the author''s and the publisher''s credentials. In this set of books, the first note to the text is the information about the author and the text which give enough information about the material background.
Determining whether the materials fit to the curriculum should consider the extent to which each set of materials agrees with the overall approach and syllabus, and the degree to which the materials match the language needs of the students and the situational needs of the program. Take Lesson One Text A for example, Another School Year-- What For? This article is suitable here, because most of the college students have the confusion that why we should study so many kinds of classes, and the text told us the answer that "the business of the college is not only to train you, but to put you in touch with what the best human minds have thought". Physical characteristics may take the form of layout consideration, organizational issues, editorial qualities and material quality. Texts in this book are selected from almost 120 books in American and British cultures, selections, reading materials and more than 120 magazines. The available texts should match the conditions that the languages should be standard and brilliant with a suitable amount of new words and the contents should be various and all-sided with cultural connotation and humanistic value.
Logistical characteristics may include such issues as the price and the number of auxiliary parts that are required as well as the availability of the materials. This set of books has compatible tapes and unit tests for the students to learn by themselves. But as the rapid development of technology, tapes are not enough; instead, more audiovisual aids such as mp3 or CD should be available.
The teachability of the materials refers to whether the materials have teachers'' book. It seems that many colleges use the books as their course books, so there are many kinds of teachers'' books including an answer key, annotations to help teachers explain and plan activities, unit reviews, and so on.
3.Evaluation by Cunningsworth''s Criteria
Cunningsworth (1995) suggests four guidelines which underlie many of the more specific criteria for materials evaluation (Yi, 2004).
1.Coursebooks should correspond to learners'' needs. The books are compiled for the students who have been in grasp of more than 2100 words. Students need to improve their intonation and reading skills in the first college year. Articles in Book II are about 1000--1400 words and the length of articles is suitable to read and repeat.
2.Coursebooks should reflect the uses which learners will make of the language. The purpose of learning a foreign language is to communicate. The articles in the book, which are written by native speakers, tell the students how the native speaker speaks and write, and how they are thinking. The culture carrying can make learners imperceptibly influenced by what they constantly see and hear.
3.Coursebooks should take account of students'' needs as learners and should facilitate their learning processes. The book tries to help students develop a good learning habit and foster the students'' independent character and creative ability. In this book, 70 percent of the texts are simple and famous stories. It can promote learning by contributing to students’ motivation. Text A is studied with teacher''s help while text B is asked to learn all by students themselves only with the guidance of the teacher. 4.Coursebooks should have a clear role as a support for learning. One main point of Book II is grammar review. Students from different areas may have different knowledge of grammar. After the review, most students could enjoy the same level. Then the following study becomes easier for most students. During this process, it is easy for the students to use the course book as a support for learning.
4.Conclusion
To conclude, the Contemporary College English Intensive Reading Book II is an appropriate course book for English majors, for it has formed a complete set with support books and its materials are classic, etc. But there are still shortcomings of this book. My suggestions are as follows:
1.With the development of technology, new types of audiovisual aids such as mp3 or CD should be issued and some new expressions should be extended in the book.
2.The materials are classic, but it also need some new information and expressions in the course book for students to study.
3.There are too many lessons in /the book so that the burden for the teachers and students is a little heavier. In fact, many teachers choose to delete some in teaching. The book can cut down some meaningless articles such Man in the Water and make the book itself concise.
References:
[1].Brown, J.D. The Elements of Language Curriculum: A Systematic Approach to Program Development. Heinle & Heinle/Thomson Learning Asia. 1995.
[2].Cunningsworth, A. Choosing Your Coursebook. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited.1995.
[3].Xiubo, Yi.Applied Linguistics Language Learning and Teaching. Changchun: Jilin University Press.2004.
[4].夏纪梅.《现代外语课程设计理论与实践》. [M].上海外语教育出版社, 2003.
[5].杨立民.《现代大学英语精读2》.[M].外语教学与研究出版社, 2004.
作者简介：轩静 河南人（1988—）吉林大学外国语学院2010级英语语言文学硕士研究生 研究方向：语言学。
Key words:materials; materials evaluation; Contemporary College English Intensive Reading Book II
1.Introduction
Generally speaking, there are three main purposes for textbook evaluation: selecting a new text book; testing effectiveness of a textbook; designing a textbook (Xia, 2003)
Contemporary College English Intensive Reading books, issued in 2001, play an important part in college English learning for English majors. The introduction of these books clearly points out that there are 5 principles in compiling the set of books: First, to maintain the inner link between these books, avoid sudden jerk and inverted repeat. Second, to embody the new idea of the new syllabus, pay more attention to the basic skills. Third, to reflect the special requirements of Chinese students, introduce the new ideas, methods and technique abroad. Forth, as to pedagogies, the set of books tries to take fully inclusive and equitable measures, give consideration to both language and culture. Fifth, as coursebook selection is a vital matter involving state talents training, details of the compilation of the books are all exact and precise.
2.Evaluation by J.D. Brown''s Criteria
J.D. Brown (1995) suggests that materials should be considered from five perspectives: background, fit to curriculum, physical characteristics, logistical characteristics, and teachability(Yi, 2004).
Materials background refers to information about the author''s and the publisher''s credentials. In this set of books, the first note to the text is the information about the author and the text which give enough information about the material background.
Determining whether the materials fit to the curriculum should consider the extent to which each set of materials agrees with the overall approach and syllabus, and the degree to which the materials match the language needs of the students and the situational needs of the program. Take Lesson One Text A for example, Another School Year-- What For? This article is suitable here, because most of the college students have the confusion that why we should study so many kinds of classes, and the text told us the answer that "the business of the college is not only to train you, but to put you in touch with what the best human minds have thought". Physical characteristics may take the form of layout consideration, organizational issues, editorial qualities and material quality. Texts in this book are selected from almost 120 books in American and British cultures, selections, reading materials and more than 120 magazines. The available texts should match the conditions that the languages should be standard and brilliant with a suitable amount of new words and the contents should be various and all-sided with cultural connotation and humanistic value.
Logistical characteristics may include such issues as the price and the number of auxiliary parts that are required as well as the availability of the materials. This set of books has compatible tapes and unit tests for the students to learn by themselves. But as the rapid development of technology, tapes are not enough; instead, more audiovisual aids such as mp3 or CD should be available.
The teachability of the materials refers to whether the materials have teachers'' book. It seems that many colleges use the books as their course books, so there are many kinds of teachers'' books including an answer key, annotations to help teachers explain and plan activities, unit reviews, and so on.
3.Evaluation by Cunningsworth''s Criteria
Cunningsworth (1995) suggests four guidelines which underlie many of the more specific criteria for materials evaluation (Yi, 2004).
1.Coursebooks should correspond to learners'' needs. The books are compiled for the students who have been in grasp of more than 2100 words. Students need to improve their intonation and reading skills in the first college year. Articles in Book II are about 1000--1400 words and the length of articles is suitable to read and repeat.
2.Coursebooks should reflect the uses which learners will make of the language. The purpose of learning a foreign language is to communicate. The articles in the book, which are written by native speakers, tell the students how the native speaker speaks and write, and how they are thinking. The culture carrying can make learners imperceptibly influenced by what they constantly see and hear.
3.Coursebooks should take account of students'' needs as learners and should facilitate their learning processes. The book tries to help students develop a good learning habit and foster the students'' independent character and creative ability. In this book, 70 percent of the texts are simple and famous stories. It can promote learning by contributing to students’ motivation. Text A is studied with teacher''s help while text B is asked to learn all by students themselves only with the guidance of the teacher. 4.Coursebooks should have a clear role as a support for learning. One main point of Book II is grammar review. Students from different areas may have different knowledge of grammar. After the review, most students could enjoy the same level. Then the following study becomes easier for most students. During this process, it is easy for the students to use the course book as a support for learning.
4.Conclusion
To conclude, the Contemporary College English Intensive Reading Book II is an appropriate course book for English majors, for it has formed a complete set with support books and its materials are classic, etc. But there are still shortcomings of this book. My suggestions are as follows:
1.With the development of technology, new types of audiovisual aids such as mp3 or CD should be issued and some new expressions should be extended in the book.
2.The materials are classic, but it also need some new information and expressions in the course book for students to study.
3.There are too many lessons in /the book so that the burden for the teachers and students is a little heavier. In fact, many teachers choose to delete some in teaching. The book can cut down some meaningless articles such Man in the Water and make the book itself concise.
References:
[1].Brown, J.D. The Elements of Language Curriculum: A Systematic Approach to Program Development. Heinle & Heinle/Thomson Learning Asia. 1995.
[2].Cunningsworth, A. Choosing Your Coursebook. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited.1995.
[3].Xiubo, Yi.Applied Linguistics Language Learning and Teaching. Changchun: Jilin University Press.2004.
[4].夏纪梅.《现代外语课程设计理论与实践》. [M].上海外语教育出版社, 2003.
[5].杨立民.《现代大学英语精读2》.[M].外语教学与研究出版社, 2004.
作者简介：轩静 河南人（1988—）吉林大学外国语学院2010级英语语言文学硕士研究生 研究方向：语言学。