An Analysis and Evaluation of the Textbook New Senior English for China（Student’s Book One）

WANG+Chen++Liu+Xianghu

1. Introduction

Textbook plays a vital role for both students and teachers in senior high school. Based on theories of English language teaching materials evaluation， the purposes of this paper is to evaluate the textbook New Senior English for China.

2. Theories of English Language Teaching Materials Evaluation

McGrath （2002） summarizes three basic methods to evaluate textbook， namely they are the checklist method， the impressionistic method， and the in-depth method. Cunningworth （1995） lists the checklist for evaluation and selection， namely they are： aims and approaches， design and organization， language content， skills， topic， methodology， teachers book， and practical consideration. When using impressionistic method， the make-up of the textbook should be considered， and the layout also should be scanned in a short time. The in-depth method is micro analysis of each specific unit， which should conclude the language content and language skills.

3. The Evaluation of New Senior English for China （Students Book One）

The evaluation focuses on overall design， methodology， content， and language skills.

3.1 Overall Design

Cunningsworth （1995） points that organization of textbook should be suitable for learners and teachers. The general aim of the textbook is to complete teaching tasks as well as to stimulate and cultivate students' interest in learning English. In the textbook， it is easy to find that different units have different topics， which are selecting from learners everyday life. So it is attractive enough for learners to let them have interest in learning the textbook. In each unit， the first part is warming up， following by pre-reading， reading， comprehending， and language using， which is helpful for students to form effective learning strategies. In the textbook there has activities， needing learners complete them in groups， which help to develop students cooperative learning ability.

3.2 Methodology

As Cheng （2011） mentions that， the student-centered and task-based teaching approach is welcomed recently. This textbook considers students need， and put students in the center of the learning process. The textbook also arrange some activities that need students to complete instead of instructing by teacher. Combining structure and function， each unit has a topic， around which there are task-based activities and contents to train learners skills of listening， speaking， reading， and writing. These tasks are individual， but are all around the topic to form a task chain. These tasks are arranged according to difficult level， and are benefit to students acceptance.

3.3 Content

The organization of content based on complexity and learnability. From unit one to unit five， the difficulty levels are increasing gradually. This way of organization not only keep students interests but also make students feel challenging in the learning process. The textbook also have adequate recycling and revision. The layout of the textbook is clear， and it is easy for both learners and teachers to find the content they needed effectively. The vocabularies in the textbook are chosen from the learning material， which provides learners with context， so that learners can not only know the vocabulary itself but also know how to use it in practice.

3.4 Language Skills

The four skills of listening， speaking， reading， and writing are all covered in the textbook. The reading materials can be listened. In addition， it prepares special listening practice for students. Each unit has a speaking part， which need students discuss in English in groups. Reading is the main part in the textbook. After reading， the textbook also prepares writing tasks for learners. In the textbook， the four skills are often integrated. The integration of four skills can make learners learning English synthetically， and it can make learners have a whole concept of English.

4. Conclusion

In general， the New Senior English for China （Students Book One） is in accordance with the requirement of curriculum standards. Adopting task-based teaching approach， this textbook is student-centered， which conforms to the social development and the regularity of learners effective learning. It can satisfy both teacher and learners needs. The layout and content are attractive to learners， and the content are convenient for teachers teaching. Besides， the difficulty level of content is suitable for grade one senior high schools students. The textbook provides a framework for teacher and students， which is convenient for teacher to design the teaching syllabus.

References：

[1]Coursebook Research Institution.（2015）.New Senior English for China（Students Book One）Beijing：People Education Press.（課程教材研究所.新课标高中英语（学生用书第一册）.北京：人民教育出版社.2015.）