English Instructional Technology

BOOK EVALUATION
Textbooks are the important media of teaching and learning process
therefore they need to be evaluated and selected carefully. Evaluation and
selection of textbooks is a complex process that is carried out in many different
ways. We will try to evaluate a textbook that is used in the school based on the
checklists. The book is Look Ahead an English Course for Senior High School
Students Year X that is written by Th.M. Sudarwanti and Eudia Grace. Look
Ahead is a series of English course books for Senior High School students. The
book is published in line with the 2006 curriculum or in Indonesian it is called
Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendididikan (KTSP). The checklists are shown below.
Sample Checklist for Textbook Evaluation
Source: Daoud, A.-M, and Celce-Murcia, M.1979. Selecting and evaluating a
textbook. In M, Celce-Murcia and L.Mclntosh, eds. Teaching English as a Second
or Foreign Language (pp.302-307). New York: Newbury house.

The checklist

Exce Good
llent

The textbook
a. Subject matter
1. Does the subject matter cover a variety of
topics appropiate to the interests of the
learners for whom the textbook is
intended(urban or rural environment: child
or adult learners:male/female students)?
2. Is the ordering of materials done by topics
or themes that are arranged in a logical
fashion ?
3. Is the content graded according to the needs
of the students or the requirements of the

Ade
quat
e

Wea
k

Tota
lly
lack
ing

existing syllabus (if there is one)?

4. Is the material accurate and up to date?

b. Vocabulary and stuctures

1. Does the vocabulary load(i.e., te number of
new words introduced every lesson) seem
to be reasonable for the students of that
level?
2. Are the vocabulary items controlled to
ensure systematic gradation from simple to
complex items
3. Is the new vocabulary repeated in
subsequent lessons for reinforcement?
4. Does the sentences length seem reasonable
for the students for that level?
5. Is the number of grammatical points as well
as their sequence appropiate?
6. Do the structures gradually increase in
complexity to suit the growing reading
ability of the students?
7. Does the writer use current everyday
language, and sentence structures that
follow normal word order?
8. Do the sentences and paragraphs follow one
another in a logical sequences?
9. Are linguistic items introduced in meaning
situations to facilitate understanding and
ensure assimilation and consolidation?
c. Exercises
1. Do the exercises develop comprehension
and test-knowledge of main ideas, details,
and sequence of ideas?
2. Do the exercises invole vocabulary and
structures which build up the learners
repertoire?
3. Do the exercises provide practise in
different types of written work (sentence
completion, spelling and dictation, guided
composition)?
4. Does the book provide a pattern of review
within lessons and cumulatively test new
material?
5. Do the exercises promote meaningful
communication by referring to realistic

activities and situations?

d. Illustrations
1. Do illustrations create a favorable
atmosphere for practice in reading and
spelling by depicting realism and action?
2. Are the illustrations clear,simple,and free of
unnecessary details that may confuse the
learner?
3. Are the illustrations printed close enough to
the text and directly related to the content to
help the learner understand the printed text?
e. Physical make up
1. Is the cover of the book durable enough to
withstand wear?
2. Is the text attractive(i.e..,page appearance,
binding)?
3. Does the size of the book seem convenient
for the students to handle?
4. Is the type size appropiate for the intended
learners?

The Teachers Manual

a.General Features
1. Does the manual help the teacher
understand the rationale of the Textbook
(objectives, methodology) ?
2. Does the manual guide the teacher to any
set syllabus for that level?
3. Does the index of the manual guide the
teacher to the vocabulary, structures and
topics found in the Textbook?
4. Are correct or suggested answers provided
for all of the exercises in the textbook?
5. Is the rationale for the given sequence of
grammar points clearly stated?
b.Type and amount of supplementary exercises for
each language skill
1. Does the Manual provide material for
training the students in listening and

understanding the spoken language?

2. Does the Manual provide material for
training the students in oral expression?
3. Does the Manual suggest adequate and
varied oral exercises for reinforcing points
of grammar presented in the Textbook?
4. Does the Manual provide drills and
exercises that enable the teacher to help the
students build up their vocabulary?
5. Does the Manual provide questions to help
the teacher test the teacher test the students
reading comprehension?
6. Does the Manual provide adequate graded
material for additional writing practice?
c.Methodological/pedagogical guidance
1. Does the Manual help the teacher with each
new type of lesson introduced?
2. Does the Manual provide suggestions to
help the teacher review old lessons and
introduce new lessons?
3. Does the Manual provide practical
suggestions for teaching pronunciation and
intonation?
4. Does the Manual provide suggestions to
help the teacher introduce new reading
passages?
5. Does the Manual provide guidance to the
teacher for introducing various types
written work?
6. Does the Manual provide guidance to the
teacher for evaluating written work and
identifying the students most serious
mistakes?
7. Does the Manual advise the teacher on the
use of audiovisual aids?

d.Linguistic background information

1. Does the Manual provide contrastive
information for the teacher on likely
pronunciation problems?
2. Are English vocabulary items and English
structures well explained?
3. Are lists of cognate words(true and false

cognates) provide for the teacher?

4. Does the Manual provide information on
grammar to help the teacher explain
grammatical patterns presented in the
lessons and anticipate likely problems(i.e.,
data from contrastive analysis and error
analysis)

Textbook Evaluation Checklist

Source: Patricia Bird and Marianne Celce-Murcia
Evaluation of the fit
Fit between the
textbook and the
curriculum
Fit
curriculum/goa
ls
Has appropiate
linguistic
content
Has appropiate
thematic
content
Fits the
pedagogical
and SLA
philosophy of
the
program/course

Yes(a good
fit)

Perhaps (an
adequate fit)

Probably
not (a poor
fit)

Absolutely not (wrong for

curriculum, students,
and/or teachers)

Fit between the

textbook and the
students
Explanation
understandable
and usable for
students
Examples
understandable
and usable for
students
Activities
appropiate for
students
Thematic
content
understandable
and culturally
appropiate for
students
Fit between the
textbook and the
teacher
Fits the
language skills
of our teachers
Fits the
knowledgebase of our
teacher
Provides
explanations
that can be
used by our
teacher
Provides
examples that
can be used
and expanded
by our teachers
Fits the needs

and preferences
of our teachers
Fits the needs
and preferences
of our teachers
Provides inbook or
instructors
manual support
for teachers

Overall evaluation of
the fit of the book for
this course in this
program

Should the text be

selected?

After evaluating with the checklist, it can be concluded that Look Ahead
an English Course for Senior High School Students Year X is an appropriate book
to be used in the class. The materials developed in this book have been adapted
from the teaching-learning cycle method which puts genres as the main tool in
language learning. The materials of the book fit the curriculum in Indonesia. The
book also fits with the needs of students as learners of English. The contents (and
explanations), examples, exercises or tasks and presentation/format are good. The
contents are interesting because it has good illustrations. It is also understandable
for the students because the book provides many explanation and examples that
are easy to learn. The book also has many exercises that provide enough variety to
meet the need of the learners in reading, speaking, writing and listening. It
provides many activities which stimulate the students mind and help them to
participate and feel confident in using English. The book also fits with the
teachers because the explanations/contents are appropriate with the goals of
teaching and learning process and the examples provided in the book can be
useful to explain the lesson easily. It also provides the answer key for any

exercises that have discrete answer. The exercises also make the teachers feel easy
to apply a variety of interesting learning styles for the students. Then the
presentation/format of the book is good to connect the contents and the
illustrations because the illustrations are clear and interesting.
Actually this book also has weaknesses in vocabularies and pronunciation.
The vocabularies are good for the students but some of the vocabularies seem
difficult for the first grade of Senior High School and the new vocabularies are not
repeated again in subsequent lessons. Then about pronunciation, there is only a
little phonetic transcription to guide students to guide students to pronounce
vocabularies. Although the book has some weaknesses, it is a good book to be
selected and used in the schools because it has much strength such as the fit
between the book with the curriculum, the students and the teachers. Besides
using this textbook, it is better if the teachers make adaptation by giving other
materials from other sources to meet the students needs of learning English.