Materials evaluation: What would be your top tips for effectively evaluating materials for language teaching? What do you look for? What do you avoid? What influences your decisions in using or not using a given material?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n photo taken by @Marisa_C<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n When we evaluate materials, we inevitably ask lots of questions. Turns out discussion of materials evaluation generates a great quantity of questions too. Here is the summary I have cobbled together from a particularly challenging transcript:<\/em><\/p>\n (NB: I have filled in the missing letters from all tweets containing abbreviations, just to make reading easier!)<\/em><\/p>\n @Marisa_C helpfully defined materials for us: \u201cMaterials = coursebook, supplementary, own design, downloads, anything\u201d and everybody jumped in with\u00a0criteria<\/strong>\u00a0they consider important<\/strong>. Further\u00a0criteria<\/strong>\u00a0arose throughout the discussion, but for convenience and clarity, they are all gathered together here:<\/p>\n Needs to provide good mix of skills and be interactive. Lots of heads-up activities. (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n Also important is clear structure and engaging topics.\u00a0(@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n Level should be appropriate. (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n Materials able to be connected to students\u2019 intrerests\/background\/culture..? (@TomTesol)<\/p>\n We usually look at\u00a0 whether suited to specific learning situation\u00a0 + offer valid methodology in relation to course aims. (@AlexandraKouk)<\/p>\n I think materials need to allow us to communicate well with students \u2013 that creates rapport. (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n For me, the point of a book is to help me present new input to ss \u2014 I have to do the rest (communicative stuff) (@TomTesol)<\/p>\n For me, an important criterion is how memorable is the topic\/.content going to be so that language can stay \u2018glued\u2019 to it. (@Marisa_C)<\/p>\n How does the material lend itself or be adapted) to natural,meaningful,relevant communication? (@CotterHUE)<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think a book should tell you what, but rather present a selection of things to choose from. (@teflgeek)<\/p>\n F=fun R=rapport I=ideology N=needs D=design. \u2026Sorry missed the E=education (as in principles of) (@Marisa_C)<\/p>\n When I look at a page of material I see if I would be interested myself \u2013 then I decide. And I ask sts what they think too.\u00a0(@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n I like materials which show you something interesting about the world and help learn\/practise language\/skills (@robertmclarty)<\/p>\n Systematically:\u00a0 Does it fit age, level, syllabus criteria\u2026 (@teflgeek)<\/p>\n I also feel materials need to appeal to variety of learner types\u2026Learner types can be sensory perception (VAK) but also global-analytic cognitive processing types. (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n Another issue to consider with mats is that subject matter might interest you, but does it interest sts? (@pjgallantary)<\/p>\n Assess supplementary audio: is it an EIL approach with non-natives holding conversations? Or native English speakers? (@CotterHUE)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I posed the question \u201chow do you identify the criteria and which are more\/less important also?\u201d and @pjgallantary supplied a useful answer: \u201ccourse books are\u00a0where we all start \u2013 knowing how they work helps us understand what to look for in materials\u201d \u00a0Of course, being able to evaluate effectively isn\u2019t the whole story \u2013 there are institutional constraints to take into consideration too. @Shaunwilden reminded us that course books \u00a0\u201dare establishment enforced more often than a choice by teacher and students\u201d and\u00a0@teflgeek told us about a group evaluation process in which nobody agreed, and the resolution? \u201cThere were three of us and the DoS got the casting vote\u201d. \u00a0Meanwhile,\u00a0@TomTesol reminded us that materials evaluation is not just about selection prior to the beginning of a course but a continuing process involving \u201cconstantly reviewing, getting students\u2019 and faculty feedback\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n The discussion meandered naturally into the question of materials adaptation, which is a common follow-on to evaluation and identification of shortcomings. Why do we adapt the all-singing, all-dancing glorious multi-colour materials on the market these days?<\/p>\n Books written for a specific demographic with set format from publisher\u2026which doesn\u2019t match your students (@CotterHUE)<\/p>\n Problems with delivery but mostly missing keys and audioscripts which meant I had to copy them for students (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n Other reason was that book on ICT was really outdated. Or book for BEC prep didn\u2019t deal with exam (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n Main issue with coursebooks is their homogeneity \u2013 T needs to be able to make relevant to own students (@pjgallantary)<\/p>\n Ultimately NO book is ever going to be right for your class because it wasn\u2019t designed specifically for your class. (@teflgeek)<\/p>\n The point in the book is that you may HAVE to use it in which case try to salvage what you can & improve (@Marisa_C)<\/p>\n I constantly adapt and update materials based on surprises, feedback, etc. design new materials too. Assessment important (@CotterHUE)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n To lessonize: first, look at relevance of content\u00a0 i.e. what u want it for –\u00a0 to teach language point, vocab., skills etc (@AlexandraKouk)<\/p>\n As to developing own materials, As ever we must start from sts needs -WHY are we using this text, this video, etc, then HOW (@pjgallantary)<\/p>\n I create materials for PEO using articles \u2013 lots of things you can do \u2013 vocab, discussion, grammar etc. (@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n I adapt to suit the SKILLS I want them to develop (@TomTesol)<\/p>\n As Marisa implied, if you can\u2019t figure out a way to adapt materials so the inpurt will stick, your evaluation is finished: They stink. (@TomTesol)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The question of the role of the\u00a0Teacher\u2019s Book<\/strong>\u00a0within the evaluation process, and ultimately teaching, was touched on a few times throughout the discussion and opinons were varied:<\/p>\n Never really use the teachers book, except for answers. Looking at teachers book means I\u2019m unresponsive to the class.(@CotterHUE)<\/p>\n Depends. Came across word I didn\u2019t know in ESP book, now have printed teachers notes.(@MarjorieRosenbe)<\/p>\n Most are now online and often very long. 120 pages or so of pdfs to print out.But lots of info. (@Marjorie Rosenbe)<\/p>\n Teacher\u2019s Book Important to most \u2018non-natives\u2019 I\u2019ve worked with. (@TomTesol)<\/p>\n Or inexperienced \u2018natives\u2019. Or experienced \u2018natives\u2019 looking for new ideas or something to bounce off maybe. (@LizziePinard)<\/p>\n For me not very [important] but if I am choosing for a group of teachers it is something I look at closely. (@Shaunwilden)<\/p>\n Well, depending on the market and availability of training \u2013 sometimes that\u2019s all a Teacher can get \u2013 a good Teacher\u2019s guide. (@Marisa_C)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n A few curveballs were thrown near the end \u2013 broadening the scope of \u201cmaterials\u201d but there wasn\u2019t enough time to go into this in any depth as the hour was fast drawing to a close and next thing we knew everyone was being invited to contribute their final five minute words of wisdom. This is what emerged amongst fielding of curveballs:<\/p>\n Constant assessment of materials, be it website, publisher, etc. What works with your style and students? What doesnt work? (@CotterHUE)<\/p>\n I think to evaluate effectively you need more awareness of your own beliefs\/principles etc and good awareness of context etc (@LizziePinard)<\/p>\n Test drive stuff before landing yourself with a CB for a year of pain! Use good placement to match students to level especially important first (@oyajimbo)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Very old\u00a0blog post<\/a>\u00a0on choosing a CB or materials (@Marisa_C)<\/p>\n Here\u2019s\u00a0more recent research<\/a>\u00a0with v. useful checklist on p.6 (@AlexandraKouk)<\/p>\n Subject matter might interest you but does it interest sts?\u00a0Wrote about that<\/a>\u00a0(@CotterHUE)<\/p>\n A\u00a0useful research paper\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0(@AlexandraKouk)<\/p>\n Another useful research paper<\/a>\u00a0(@AlexandraKouk)<\/p>\n Have a look\u00a0here\u00a0<\/a>and add sth if you can \u2013 been collecting interesting texts\/topics for developing lessons. (@Marisa_C)<\/p>\n Pecha Kucha<\/a>\u00a0with mnemonic for evaluation (@Marisa_C)<\/p>\n This is a\u00a0MATERIALS mnemonic<\/a>\u00a0from Tanner and Green (back in the day)\u00a0(borrowed) (@TomTesol)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Phew! That finally brings me to the end of this summary. Thanks all for a great discussion. And, if you have any criteria you want to add to the list, anything you want to add, agree, or indeed disagree with, feel free to do so in the comments section. Nobody will object to the discussion continuing, I am sure!<\/em><\/p>\n Thank you to all who participated.\u00a0 <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you want an overview of all the literature out there on materials development and have access\/can wangle access to journal articles, @HeatherBu2011 recommends the following:<\/p>\n \u201cState-of-the-Art Article:\u00a0Materials development for language learning and teaching\u201d\u00a0<\/em>by Brian Tomlinson in\u00a0Language Teaching (2012), 45.2, 143\u2013179<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thanks to Lizzie Pinard<\/a> for this summary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The topic this week was: Materials evaluation: What would be your top tips for effectively evaluating materials for language teaching? What do you look for? What do you avoid? What influences your decisions in using or not using a given material? When we evaluate materials, we inevitably ask lots of questions. Turns out discussion… ![\"photo](\"http:\/\/eltchat.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/2012-12-04-14.32.24.jpg\")
<\/a>Done and dusted? I think not. Materials evaluation is a complex business.<\/em><\/h1>\n
The following reasons emerged:<\/strong><\/h1>\n
And how do we go about it?<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Finally, here are the\u00a0links that were thrown up throughout the discussion:<\/h1>\n
<\/em><\/p>\nPostscript:<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-summary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}