An exercise in course-book evaluation: Strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations regarding New English file: Elementary

Julián Felipe Gutiérrez-Bermúdez

doi:10.5294/3870

Authors

Julián Felipe Gutiérrez-Bermúdez Author Secretaría de Educación Distrital

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5294/3870

Keywords:

aprendizaje de segunda lengua, evaluación de materiales, valuación de libros e texto, enseñanza de lengua inglesa, autenticidad de los materiales.

Abstract

Often overlooked and reduced to a quick and shallow ‘flick test’, materials evaluation is a necessary skill for English Language Teachers to acquire. It serves the logistical purpose of making an effective selection of materials that cater to their students’ needs as well as their own, and puts them in contact with opportunities for further development of their practices based upon the contents and activities found throughout the evaluation process of a given teaching material. The purpose of this article will be then, to conduct an exercise in materials evaluation using Oxford University Press’ New English File series. By making a review of the different theoretical stances and experiences on the matter, it will be possible to develop a series of criteria with which to conduct a structured, qualitative evaluation. Based on the results of the application of the aforementioned criteria, it will be possible to conclude on the suitability of this teaching material on a particular context.

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Author Biography

Julián Felipe Gutiérrez-Bermúdez, Secretaría de Educación Distrital

Julián Felipe Gutiérrez graduated from Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 2007 with a degree on psychology, working as an elementary school teacher with Bogotá's Secretaría de Educación Distrital since 2010 at the Débora Arango Pérez school, one of the schools conducting the city's bilingual education program on its public schools. Mr. Gutiérrez is currently a MA candidate for the University of Leicester's MA in TESOL and applied linguistics (United Kingdom). His academic interests include the effect of cultural identity on bilingual education and the development of evaluation procedures for English Language Teaching Materials

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