Chapter one: Introduction
1. Introduction
1.1. Background and Purpose Nowadays English is important and popular language in all over the world and it become important means of communication, so that people want to learn English as a foreign or second language in countries, particularly in Iran. Education material, especially textbook plays a main role in learning English.
Tomilnson (2011a) defined a textbook as a book “which provides the core materials for a language learning course” (P. xi) in which a variety of issues are covered considering the learning needs of the students within a class. Textbooks are important and reliable resource for teaching and learning English and they are depending on context. Textbooks are valuable in each language classroom and they have several roles in English language teaching and help the process of learning and teaching.
According to Cunningsworth (1995) the textbooks provide the language course as a source for material presentation, activities for learner practice and communicative interaction, stimulation and ideas for classroom activities, and a reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, and
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Authentic material is meaningful to students, challenges their cognitive abilities, and engages them. Many Iranian texts often contain material which fails to raise the interest of students due to the heavy emphasis on vocabulary and grammar (Rahimi & Nabilou). Therefore, these course materials should be revised and in a way that they provide students with opportunities to interact with the material that motivates them to learn (Gibbs, 1992). Further, the textbooks should include an appropriate content consistent with students’ age, preferences and expectations (Tomlinson,
particular feature of language or could be authentic texts "adapted" to contain or highlight certain features of language. However, Johns and Davies argue that learning should contain a purpose and that texts in the language classroom should act as “vehicles for social and economic contacts and for the transmission of ideas”. Consequently, they propose an alternative to TALO which looks at a Text as a Vehicle for Information, or TAVI. This is where understanding the text is the main priority and the text should have some relevance to the students. As a result, cognitive strategies are reinforced. Because of this, Johns and Davies (1983: 4) add that where “where possible the texts will be selected not by the language teacher but by the students
Students are usually required to prepare some class with some recommended reading books, journals or articles, (depending on the particular aims of the course), occasions where they are able to practice their literacy and language skills.
1. This document teaches student how to read the word, by showing a specific point of view of the author. By sourcing it, the students can understand that the document represent the perspective of the author.
He feels a deep sense of guilt and pain because of the condition of society
Yes! Text books need to be placed into their position they were meant for, supplemental teaching methods. In order to do this, a teacher must understand how valuable and knowledgeable they are in a classroom setting, as well as know their own boundaries. “Textbooks can never do the work for the teacher” (Kauckak & Eggen, 2007). Teachers need to teach and not use textbooks for personal placement over their own unique teaching methods. Mooney and Mausbach stated in their article align the textbook to fit around your teaching methods, don’t lose balance and leadership over the classroom. There are many other methods to textbooks than just hard copies, “a teacher could download a digital copy and use it for interaction on the smartboard” (Klymkowsky, 2007). Textbooks allow teachers to gain fabulous ideas for lesson plans, grade level building, and data consumption. “Teachers need to use their own creativity to format lessons to teach the students, so that all student’s needs are meet” (Klymkowsky
Throughout the semester when using our textbook we had a table of contents in the front of the book which helped us find the page number we were looking for. It also had an index section in the back of the book which allowed us to look up a certain subject in the book that we wanted to find to see where it was located in the textbook. Throughout the textbook there were words in bold, italics, and different colors which meant they were important. For example, in the book the word “claim” was in bold then it said “is the assertion you are making about the issue” (Roen, Glau, Maid 246). From the word being in bold it stood out and we learned what the word
I also believed the teacher’s manual for this textbook was helping for not only the teacher, but also the student in being able to get the information across to the student that might have difficulty understanding the reading material. The teacher’s manual provided activities and experiments for each chapter in the book to help both teacher and student.
If a survey was carried out among teachers of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Teachers of English as a Second Language (TESOL), a finding would be that a major concern for teachers is the inability to find appropriate material or the perfect text for their lesson. This is the basis for the article by Swale. Swale in his investigation puts forward two different options to overcome this problem. At this stage the author notes that no matter what approach is taken, the teacher needs to double as an editor or in some cases a material developer/writer.
Student survey responses corresponded with the most expressed concerns of teachers. Of the 45 students surveyed (proficient and deficient learners in reading comprehension), all expressed that the vocabulary within a text is difficult and makes it hard to comprehend a reading. Furthermore, 73% of students said that language (the language used in the text and the format of a text) in historical or English readings were confusing. Finally, 86% of students said that most of what they read in class was boring and they found very little interest in the reading.
Identify any textbook or instructional program you primarily use for language and literacy instruction. If a textbook, please provide the title, publisher, and date of publication.
Reading and Understanding College Textbooks emphasizes improvement of the reading process and study skills necessary for understanding and learning college-level material; it focuses on strengthening reading comprehension and encourages critical reading skills that are necessary for successful completion of college courses. Students learn a variety of strategies to assist them in improving vocabulary, comprehension, test-taking abilities, and flexibility in reading.
The prices of college textbooks have increased more rapidly than tuition, health care expenses, and lodging fees. All of these have elevated beyond inflation (huffingtonpost.com). Students around the nation have been facing the daunting task of deciding whether or not to buy a textbook or take a class. Why is this even happening? The textbooks that professors are assigning can cost at least two to three hundred dollars (huffingtonpost.com). Along with tuition, housing fees, and other expenses, students are now paying outrageous amounts for textbooks. Textbooks should be free to college students because the prices are outrageous, there are high consequences for opting out, and there are ways to give students free books.
Although vocabulary is the sub-skill of a language, it plays a very important role in language learning and teaching. In fact, vocabulary is central to language and is of paramount importance to language learners. On the other hand, words are the building blocks of a language that are used to label objects, actions, and ideas. In other words, people cannot convey the intended meaning without knowing vocabulary. It is widely accepted that vocabulary is a very important part in English language learning because no one can communicate in any meaningful way without vocabulary. As McCarthy (1990) stated, the single, biggest component of any language course is vocabulary. Nation (1990) also affirms that vocabulary can be considered as the most important element in language learning because Learners think that many of their
Textbooks were only used by students who are studying it. The mass of people will not read textbooks very often because they do not need to know special knowledge for their daily life. Thus, it only fits special group. (Storey, 1998)
In this research, I’m going to focusing on the English as a language is being taught in many countries oversea today including Thailand. In fact, you’ll be surprising to know that English is required for many of the students in many countries. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily taught as well as it could be because of heavy teaching load, class sizes and adequate technology. Learning an English today still's has been challenging for many countries and specifically in Thailand. In Thailand, the student often gets too overwhelmed with English and mentally tune out in the classroom because English was their least favorite subjects. On the other hand, the students don’t have a resource at school or they don’t have it enough. Furthermore, many students just go to English class and switch back to Thai as soon as they out of school. English isn't used locally in Thailand. Although, there still a lot students continue care about English language because English has been the most ordinarily utilized language internationally and the language of traffic control and the majority of academic journals. It’s the most common language on the internet and the language that travelers use to communicate with different native speakers.