UNIVERSIDAD CATLICA DE LA SANTSIMA CONCEPCIN

Course Book Analysis

ENGLISH METHODOLOGY II
MARA JOS BASTAS - PATRICIA DAZ
November 2012

Index

1.- Introduction 2
2.- Teaching English Language, Communicative Competence and Authentic Material .. 3
2.1 Syllabi and Material Selection . 3
2.2 Text books Pedagogical features

2.3 University Training for EFL Teachers on Material Use 3

2.4 EFL Material Evaluation 4
2.5 Authentic and Artificial Material 5
3.- Course book analysis .6
3 .1 General information:.6
3.2 Factual Details.6
3.3 Rating.6-10

4.- Course Book Activities Analysis. .11

4.1 Speaking activities 11
4.2 Writing Activities ..12-13
5.- Language Content Checklist 14
6.- Checklist Choosing a textbook Does the book suit your students .. .15
7.- Methodology and Skills16
7.1 Methodology. 16-17
7.2 Skills 17-19
8.- Conclusion .20

1.

INTRODUCTION

As Gonzalez (2008)expresses the lack of interest that most Universities have in

material design and use has interfered with teachers work for many years; educational
institution tend to forget to truly teach their student how to design their own material and
what is even worse how to use adequately the already existing material. The importance of
this area within English as a Foreign Language teaching has been neglected, and when it has
been covered it has only been only partially.
There are a large number of text books available in the market, and most teacher do
not know what areas or aspect to consider at the moment of choosing one. This may be
influenced by the poor participation they have, since most of the schools work with books
provided by the Ministry of Education. Teachers tend to base their pedagogical work on these
books and stop preparing their own material.
According to this, as teachers to be, it is import to know how to evaluate a course
book. In t he following pages a thorough analysis of the book Straight Forward, PreIntermediate Students Book by Philip Kerr will be provided, this analysis will also include the
Straight Forward Pre- Intermediate Workbook by Matthew Jones and Philip Kerr, since the
writing activities are in the second book.
The analysis of this text book emerged from the need of supporting its use in First Year
Students of Teaching Language Program. These books were thought to foster students
communicative skills, it was selected having in mind it supplies the linguistics need regarding
International Tests.
The analysis of this text book is highly meaningful and twice as beneficial for it is a
good source of practical work for 4th year students and a manifestation of commitment with
the 1st year Curricula, especially with the teaching labor. As previously stated this analysis will
provide the answers sought

2. - Teaching English Language, Communicative Competence and Authentic Material

English Language deals with the importance of students communication through the
world. Speaking becomes the main aim in learners communicative competence which
includes five elements pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, gesture and mimics, fluency and
accuracy. Saying we can assume that communicative approach is essential in Language
Teaching and as Mitchel (1995) cited in Johansson authenticity is the key concern of
communicative approach. Johansson (2006) states that using this authentic material helps
students to be connected with the world: This accustoms learners to becoming familiar with
the target language and prepares them for real situations. According to Richards and Rodgers
(2006) changes in language teaching methods throughout history have reflected recognition of
changes in the kind of proficiency learners need, such as move toward oral proficiency rather
than reading comprehension as the goal of language study.

2. 1.-Syllabi and Material Selection

Chambers (1995) emphasizes the relevance of pedagogical features, when evaluating a
text. These features are age, cultural appropriateness, methodology, level, quality, number
and type of exercises, skills, teachers book, variety, pace, personal involvement and problem
solving. The author points out that not only validity must be regarded as essential but also the
previous outcomes associated to these texts books (achievements of students who have used
it). When selecting a text book it is mandatory to take into account to whom it is aimed.

2. 2. - Text books Pedagogical features

The same author argues that although professional judgment affects the text selection,
this judgment should not be provided as main argument to back up the decision made.
Establishing the criteria, writing it down and comparing it elements, based on facts,
emerge as the most suitable series of actions to make a good selection. The author provides a
list of aspects that are relevant when analyzing a text books appropriateness: to identify
possible alternatives, to identify essential features, to identify desirable features, to weight
desirable features, to establishing presence of desirable features, to establish presence of
essential features, additional features, to calculate de initial choice, to judge the risks
associated to the purchase of the book, to consider the risks related to the texts. Defining the
criteria bolsters this evaluation process and aids it to become empirical, logic and practical. It is
evident that to establish and to develop criteria makes the selection process more complicated
and extensive; however, the author states that the process can be taken into other areas and
used, for instance, for the asset of computers or furniture.

The author manifests that although professional judgment affects the text selection, it
should not be the only source to make decisions. Nevertheless, the features (essential or
desirable) are determined by it; this judgment is what defines whether the results of the
evaluation are to be considered or not.

2. 3. - University Training for EFL Teachers on Material Use:

Gonzalez (2008) carried out a case study which aimed to understand EFL students
view on: Lack of materials; limited access to existing resources; Lack of awareness of their
limitations in materials use; Exposure to unrealistic settings. The author remarks that materials
are not to be thought only as course books, it is compulsory to have in mind any element that
contributes to the English Language acquisition / learning process. The motif of this study was
mainly to deepen in the way Universities train their future EFL teachers, the author states that
education institutions do not regard material design as a relevant topic; hence most of them
do not include them on their syllabi. This factor defines the students future work and
consequently the competence they have regarding this area.
The participants of this study were 18 EFL Teachers from public schools and 5 EFL
University students-teachers and 3 cooperating teachers (practicum) were asked about
material use and design in Colombia. The interviews obtained were contrasted to discover to
what extent students were well- trained in the use and design of material.
The study showed that the material available in Universities and other sources such as
internet, libraries and schools, is not adequate for the reality of Colombia (where the study
took place). Moreover, material is not fully within reach. The participants declared that this
hinders the quality of the classes and teachers work. Regarding Lack of awareness on material
design, it is commonplace to consider it as something not relevant enough, it is not given much
attention, therefore, and when a student teacher starts working they do not have the
experience or theoretical knowledge about text books and material in general.

2. 4. - EFL Material Evaluation

Gilmore (2003) emphasizes the importance of natural features of conversation, such as
turn taking, pauses, back channeling; nevertheless, these are absent in most text books. On
the other hand, the author suggests that artificiality is not always detrimental to students. If
well-structured and planned, these texts supply students the target language they need to use.
The main drawback of this artificiality may perhaps be that it understates the students ability
to find the structures themselves. On the contrary, its greatest advantage is that text books are
specially designed for their proficiency level improvement.

2. 5.-Authentic and Artificial Material.

In the study carried out by Gilmore (2003), 7 service encounters were analyzed. Service
encounter was defined as any situation in which a group of people (generally strangers) meet
and request information from each other, this kind of interaction is highly likely to occur
outside the classroom and, therefore, be more meaningful for students. The objective of this
research was to find out whether dialogs found in text books promoted equal target language
development and acquisition as realistic conversations
The method consisted of the questions posed by one of the interlocutors; they were
written down, taken outside the classroom and used in authentic encounters. The outside
conversations were recorded and transcribed. The criteria used to compared conversations
were chiefly authentic conversations features such as speakers, pauses in conversation
(seconds), terminal overlap and latching, back-channeling, exact words spoken, hesitation
devices) were compared to the texts conversations features. The analysis showed that in terms
of length of conversation, authentic dialogs were longer and had a more complex structure
than question-answer dialogues. Lexical density, defined as the number of words present in a
text, showed that contrived texts have a higher vocabulary load. False starts, pauses and
repetitions were found more often in authentic data than in contrived texts and dialogues.
Terminal overlap (interlocutors speaking at the same time) occurred considerably less in text
books dialogues, latching (not speaking over one another), nonetheless, was more frequent.
The author concludes by saying that pedagogical simplicity and artifice are justified when
developing communicative competence.
Johansson (2006) agrees on this last point, after her study it was possible to portray
that most teachers consider alternative material as highly useful. On the other hand, for
students the use of course books was neither motivating nor interesting.
This leads us to think that the influence of students perception regarding material
selection has not frequently taken into consideration; learners are the cornerstone of language
teaching therefore their opinions should be considered.
Alternative material is defined as any material used to teach English with the
exception of course books. Moreover, the author expresses that this material ought to be reallife material and authentic; besides, it must be formulated or created by native speakers,
hence magazines, books, real-life conversations could be classified as not conventional
material. Kramschs (2000) as cited in Johanssen (2006) the term authentic has been used as
a reaction against the prefabricated artificial language of textbooks and instructional
dialogues. Regarding the Communicative approach, realistic language helps students to
establish a relation or linking between classroom and life outside the classroom.

3. - Course book analysis

3.1 General information:

Straightforward is a complete, six-level course based on observation of what good

teachers really do in classroom. The course takes adult and young adult learners from beginner
to advanced level. Topics are introduced through a personalized speaking task and vocabulary
is presented and practiced in context.
The course book used to do the analysis will be the Pre-intermediate Students book,
which is the one that students of first year of English Major use in the Universidad Catlica de la
Santisima Concepcion. The Workbook offers practice material for each Student's Book lesson,
including extra reading lessons and a self-contained Writing Course for classroom or self-study
use. A free Audio CD includes dictation exercises and audio versions of all the Student's Book
and Workbook texts.

3.2 Factual Details:

Pre-intermediate

students

Title:

-Straightforward
book

Author:

Philip Kerry (Straightforward students book)

Matthew Jones and Philip Kerr (Workbook)

Publisher:

Macmillan Publishers Limited

Price:

$14.720 (Libreria Inglesa)

ISBN:

978 1405 01057 3

978 0230 02079 5 (with CD-ROM)

No. of pages:

159 pages

Components:

- Students Pack (Students book + CD- ROM)

- Workbook Pack (with key + Audio CD)
- Workbook pack (without key + Audio CD)
- Teacher's Book & Resource Pack
- Class Audio CD
- Portfolio

Level:

Pre-intermediate level

Physical size:

27,8 cm x 21,9cm

Length:

One year

Units:

12 units

Lessons/sections:

Four lessons per unit (A, B, C, D)

Hours:

10 hours per week

Target skills:

Reading
Listening
Writing
*Speaking (mainly emphasized in this skill)

Target learners:

Adults and young adults

Target teachers:

University English Language Teachers

3.3 Rating

Factor

Rating

Rationale

****

Availability

***

User definition

***

Layout/graphic

****

Comments
Related to rationale, this
course book is based on the
Integrative Approach. It helps
students to be connected with
the four skills, it includes
integrated language input. It
reinforces
functional
situational language since
every unit focuses on factors
mentioned above
The Students book analyzed
is called Straightforward Preintermediate and it is available
in
Libreria
Inglesa
in
Concepcion.
This students book is for
adults and young adults
belonging to pre-intermediate
level.
The
Universidad
Catlica de la Santsima
Concepcin uses this book for
st
1 year students of English
Major. Having this in mind,
students ages go from 18 to
25 approximately.
The
students
book
is
appropriate for adults and
young adults since the images
used are authentic pictures of
characters, objects, places,
etc. there are also pictures of
cartoons. The colors used are

Accessibility

****

Linkage

Selection/grading

***

Physical characteristics

****

Appropriacy

**

also appropriate, not too

bright and not too dull.
As it was already said, this
book is available in Book
stores in Concepcion; thus is
not difficult to have access to
it, since it is possible to buy it
and have it immediately in
ones hands.
The course book has two links
related to unit 3 and unit 4
that complement students
Reading abilities. However
the course book does not
present any link related to
extra materials for students.
The units of the course book
Straightforward are divided in
activities reinforcing the four
skills (reading and listening,
speaking and writing) as well
as
activities
related
to
grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation.
However,
these activities are not graded
by their level of difficulty.
Straightforward
have
six
levels. Starting with beginning
level through advanced level.
The book corresponding to
the Pre-intermediate level
currently is being analyzed.
The cover books are blue, it
has twelve units. The length
of the book is 159 pages in
total; this includes Tape
scripts
of
the
listening
activities plus a review of the
twelve activities, in which
students can reinforce their
knowledge. Every unit ends
with a language reference
component, here grammar
vocabulary and language
features are included. The
length it is 27.8 cm long and
21, 9 cm wide.
This book has activities which
are very simple and brief
therefore
is
not
very
appropriate
for
preintermediate level. Students
for first year English Major will
work in various activities; this
can be beneficial by making
them improve their skills in
each unit. It is important to
notice that the book clearly
states the tasks and the

Authenticity

****

Sufficiency

**

Cultural bias
***

Educational validity
**

Stimulus/practice/ revision

****

corresponding skill to be
reinforced.
The book clearly is linked to
authentic material, since it has
real pictures of places,
celebrities
and
unknown
people, objects, etc. The book
also uses real news, articles
related to different topics and
texts
with
relevant
information.
The course book fosters
learners
speaking
performance and improves
their listening skills; therefore
it
only
reinforces
the
previously mentioned skills.
However, the rest of the skills
are
improved
with
the
workbook since helps learners
to improve reading and writing
due to the activities related to
these tasks. This may cause
an issue between learners
because they may not do the
writing activities leading to
avoiding an improvement in
their reading and writing skills.
The course book culture is
centered in the British Culture;
the audio CD is made by
native
English
speakers
specifically British speakers.
This book has been used in
the UCSC from 2011 and it
was
requested
for
the
MECESUP project of the
Education Faculty. However,
there is no information
available referring to the
reason why this book was
chosen and not a different
one. The known information is
about the project itself and not
about the book.
As it was previously stated,
this course book includes a
review component in which
students can work improving
their skills. It also includes a
workbook, in which students
can progress on their reading
as well as writing skills; here
the students can do writing
assignments at home or in the
classroom. Finally, as this
book has two CDs, they can
easily practice, In order to
improve their listening and
speaking skills.

Flexibility

***
Guidance

***

Overall value for money

****

The units are not related and

they do not depend on each
other. If a teacher skips one
unit, continuing with other
units will not be a problem
The course book gives
students functional language
tips. It also gives tips for
useful
language;
through
charts learners can find
Grammar and Pronunciation
tips.
The book costs $14.720
pesos. It is important to know
that it is really worth the price,
because it fulfills the purpose
of
teaching
integrated
language, by reinforcing the
four skills. With this book
learners will learn and will
improve their knowledge of
the English language.

The chart above was rated by the following concepts:

Excellent ****
Good

***

Fair

**

Poor

10

4. - Course Book Activities Analysis

From the book previously presented and described, a set of activities have been taken,
2 writing activities and 2 speaking activities. These will be analyzed based on the criteria
exposed by Littlewood (1981). It is important to mention that every unit develops the four
skills.
The unit chosen for the analysis is Unit 5, ( Students Book) it contains sub topics called
Tourist Trail
(5A), Planes (5B), A weekend Break (5C), Holiday Heaven ( 5D). In
addition to this a Language reference is provided at the end of the unit, in which structural
points are explained.

4.1 Speaking Activities

From Tourist Trail (5A):
1.- Work in pairs. Discuss these questions.
*what time of year do tourists come to your country?
*which parts of your country do tourists go to?
*what do they do there?

This is the first activity presented in the unit. Students are asked to start the class
speaking. Therefore, and as mentioned above, it may be possible to define it as Pre
Communicative Activity, Quasi -Communicative: Students interact and discuss a real life
situation. The content is contextualized and personalized your town. Furthermore, the
activity requests pair work.

3 .-Imagine that you are the mayor of your town. How can you make your own town
a better place for tourists?
Work in pairs. Think of six things that you can do to improve your town for tourists.
Tell the rest of your class your ideas.

The activity presented above may be Communicative, Functional; since students are
asked to provide solutions to a real problem: attracting tourists. Moreover, interaction is
requested (pair work and reporting to the class)

11

4.2 Writing Activitites:

Note: Writing activities are in the Workbook, they are not in the Students book.

5A / Tourist trail
FUTURE 1 (FUTURE PLANS)
1.- Look at Barbaras diary for next week and make sentences using present continuous

Tue
13:30 lunch with Svetlana
Wed
09:00 meeting with Chris at his office
18:30 tennis with Gilbert
Thu
19:30 Pete & Monique for dinner
Fri
15:30 flight to Paris
On Tuesday, shes having lunch with Svetlana.
On Wednesday morning, she ____________________________________________________.
On Wednesday evening, she_____________________________________________________.
On Thursday, Pete and Monique__________________________________________________.
On Friday, She ________________________________________________________________.

This is the first writing activity presented in unit 5 and the students here have to work
individually. The activity presented here can be defined as Pre-Communicative Structural, the
activities are related to grammar since students have to write sentences using past continuous.
This will make learners practice the language which is the main aim for these types of
activities.

12

2.- Make sentences about Mikes plans for next week, using going to and the brackets.

Hes going to buy a new suit for the wedding. (buy)

1.- __________________________________________________________________. (return)
2.-____________________________________________________________________. (book)
3.-______________________________________________________________________. (get)

In this second activity, the student also needs to work alone. Here the student needs to
write the entire sentence using going to and the verbs in brackets. This activity can be precommunicative structural, like the other mentioned above because is also related to grammar
and helps students to practice using the language.
The book also presents writing activities which are longer in comparison with the
activities presented above. The unit 5 ends with writing:
6.- Read the email from Kate to Silvia and write Silvias reply. Use the ideas below to help you.

To: silviabrooks@fastmail.sa
From: katesurf@surfparadise.co.uk
Re: Hotel in Cape Town

1 Offer to meet Kate at the airport.

2 Ask for her flight number.
3 Suggest The Dolphin Inn, which costs 40 a night. Dear Silvia,
4 Offer to take her on a trip to Table Mountain.
Thank you for your email and many thanks for
offering to arrange a hotel for me when Im in
Cape Town. I would be really grateful if you
could give me the name of a good, cheap hotel
near the sea. Im arriving on Wednesday 11
May and Im planning to stay for three weeks.
I hope to have some free time in my last week.
Jenny tells me that you are keen on scuba
diving. Are you interested in doing some diving
with me? I really look forward to meeting you.
All the best,
Kate

This type of activity can be pre- communicative leading to quasi-communication activities. This
task helps students to relate the structures taught by the teacher to the use of the language.

13

5. - Language Content Checklist

Language content

Does the course book cover the main grammar items appropriate to each level, taking learners needs into account?

Is the material for vocabulary teaching adequate in terms of quantity and range of vocabulary, emphasis placed on
vocabulary development, strategies for individual learning?

Does the course book include material for pronunciation work? If so what is covered: individual sounds, word
stress, sentence stress, intonation?

Does the course book deal with structuring and conventions of language use above sentence level, eg how to take
part in conversations, how to structure a piece of extended writing, how to identify the main points in a reading
passage? (More relevant at intermediate and advanced levels.)

Are style and appropriacy dealt with? If so, is language style matched to social situation?

Skills

Are all four skills adequately covered, bearing in mind your course aims and syllabus requirements?

Is there material for integrated skills work?

Are reading passages and associated activities suitable for your students levels, interests, etc? Is there
sufficient reading material?
Is listening material well recorded, as authentic as possible, accompanied by background information, questions
and activities which help comprehension?

Is material for spoken English (dialogues, role-plays, etc) well designed to equip learners for real-life interactions?

Are writing activities suitable in terms of amount of guidance/control, degree of accuracy, organization of longer
pieces of writing (eg paragraphing) and use of appropriate styles?

Topic

Is there sufficient material of genuine interest to learners?

Is there enough variety and range of topic?

Will the topics help expand students awareness and enrich their experience?

Are the topics sophisticated enough in content, yet within the learners language level?

Will your students be able to relate to the social and cultural contexts presented in the course book?

Are women portrayed and represented equally with men?

Are other groups represented, with reference to ethnic origin, occupation, disability, etc?

Methodology

What approach/approaches to language learning are taken by the course book? Is this appropriate to the
learning/teaching situation?

What level of active learner involvement can be expected? Does this match your students' learning styles and
expectations?

What techniques are used for presenting/practicing new language items? Are they suitable for the learners?

How are the different skills taught?

How are communicative abilities developed?

Does the material include any advice/help to students on study skills and learning strategies?

14 for their own learning (eg by setting their own

Are students expected to take a degree of responsibility
individual targets)?
Source: Cunnigsworth (1995:3-4)

6. - Choosing a textbook Does the book suit your students?

Choosing a textbook
Does the book suit your students?
1. Is it attractive? Given the average of

YES

PARTLY

NO

2. Is it culturally acceptable?

YES

PARTLY

NO

3. Is it about the right length?

YES

PARTLY

NO

4. Does it achieve an acceptable balance

YES

PARTLY

YES

PARTLY

YES

PARTLY

YES

PARTLY

NO

YES

PARTLY

NO

YES

PARTLY

NO

YES

PARTLY

NO

YES

PARTLY

NO

your students, would they enjoy using it?

NO

between the relevant language skills,

and integrate them so that work in one
skill area helps the others?
Does the book suit the teacher?
5. Is there a good, clear teachers guide

NO

with answers and help on additional

activities?
6. Are the recommended methods and

NO

approaches suitable for you, your

students and your classroom?
7. Are the approaches easily adaptable
if necessary?
8. Does the book use a spiral approach
so that items are regularly revised and
used again in different contexts?
Does the book suit the syllabus and the examination?
9. Has the book been recommended or
approved by the authorities?
10. If it does more than the syllabus requires,
is the result an improvement?
11. Is there a good balance between what
the examination requires and what the students need?

Score: 2 points for every YES answer, 1 point for every PARTLY
answer, 0 for every NO answer.

15

Source: Grant (1987:122-6)

7. - Methodology and Skills

7.1 Methodology
The analyzed course book develops the four skills; although writing is not included in
the Students Book, it is in the Work Book. In the students book there

are great deals of

activities promoting the speaking skill. This could lead us to think that the course book follows
the Communicative approach; however, this idea must be discarded since it is also possible to
find grammar points, a quite relevant point to have in mind. Let us turn the attention to the
Integrative approach for a moment. This approach emphasizes the enhancement and
development of the four skills and the three systems of the language. The text book not only
presents speaking, writing, reading and listening activities but it also guides students on
pronunciation patterns, vocabulary development and functional Language. It is also possible to
lots of student-to-student interaction; this course book bolsters the use of language in class
which is essential for their oral performance and language general knowledge. The variety of
activities present in the book are coherent with students learning styles and strategies, since it
displays different types of activities and advices students on how to enhance their language
competence. A possible drawback related to this point is that usually student do not choose
which activities they do, it is the teacher who decides the tasks based on the knowledge he or
she has of the class as a whole. On the other hand, there is not much guidance on learning
strategies, this might be considered in the teachers role; the absence of activities that
promote metacognition is an important factor that is missing.
Both Students book and Workbook do not present sections that include advice on
students learning strategies. Nevertheless, plenty of information is provided which may
intend to help them to have a better understanding of grammar rules and structures of the
English Language.
The book depends on students` involvement, since most of the activities tend to be
aimed to speaking skill development; consequently, without students willingness to
participate in the class and chiefly willingness to speak, the objective of the book will not be
achieved. At lower levels, students are usually shy; they do not feel confident enough to talk in
a non-native language let alone in front of others, this maybe a drawback to the completion of
the tasks. However, it is well known that students must be exposed as much as possible to a
second language to acquire it.
16

The workbook also presents dictation, translation sections among others. In general it
is mainly about grammar points and writing activities. An important point to have in mind,
regarding writing activities is that in the Students book, they are rather brief and are mainly
fill-in the blanks activities. In opposition to this, in the workbook writing activities are more
extensive and more frequent. Writings in the workbook are based on descriptive and
interactive activities connected to real life situations. The most common activities that the
book proposes are descriptions, letters, and texts, giving instructions or directions. These
activities are very useful for first year students who are in the process of developing skills and
acquiring language structures.
After a perusal of the texts, it was not possible to find activities or sections in which
metacognition was explained or even presented. On the other hand, there were a lot of
activities emphasizing cognitive processes. This observation cannot be regarded as negative;
however, the lack of metacognitive features could slightly impair students involvement and
enhancement degree of responsibility

7.2 Skills
Regarding the amount of material aimed to the development of the integrated work, it
is possible to account for the following:
In the Students book every Unit has been divided into the following categories:
Grammar, Vocabulary, Pronunciation (systems of the language). Concerning Grammar, for
instance, there are targeted activities and if necessary they are explained in detail in the
Language Reference section (at the end of each unit); nonetheless, it is not clear who and in
what moment will explain this section.
Concerning language skills, there is a lot of material for their development. Firstly,
Reading and Listening Comprehension (scanning and bottom- up activities) are preceded and
also supported by predictions, contextualization and key word presentation; there are pretask, while-task and post- task activities, contextualization of the topic, personalization.
Secondly, speaking is constantly remarked in almost every page of the book, this is coherent
with its aim. The most common speaking activities are description and discussion about the
topics in progress.

17

In terms of Reading passages, it is relevant to mention that the vocabulary found in

this book is not quite coherent with the level requested in other activities. For example, the
language of the extracts is appropriate for Pre- Intermediate students; however, the spoken
English activities are bit lower, they are simpler (from a the structural point of view).
Regarding Listening, there are two CDs that complement the texts. Volume 1 contains
only recordings and no activities, there are 64 tracks whose topics correspond the units of the
Students book. The quality of the recording is very good; the speakers have a wide variety of
RP oriented accents that may be used to train students accent discrimination. In contrast to
this, a very relevant flaw must be taken into account: the lack of background information; the
tracks are presented without any setting; they do not place students in a specific context.
In volume 2 Listening activities and the Tests corresponding to Units 1 to 12 are in an
audio CD, it can be found in the University Library. It

also contains Vocabulary and Grammar

Reference a well as exercises. In this CD there is no key word presentation Listening material is
well recorded and the way the elements are shown on the screen aid students, it is easy to
manage. Moreover, Female and male oriented, there is a wide variety of topics, such as
environmental issues, and although most of the speakers have an RP oriented accent it is
noticeable that they do not come from the exact same place, this supports listening for they
promote real language.
Regarding Spoken English in the Students book, every unit has at least one role-play
activity, they tend to place student in real life situations. However, there is a couple of them
that are a bit vague at the moment of providing instructions. On the other hand, the student
book s dialogues are rather short; most of them are presented as fill-in the gaps activities,
usually students are asked to use the target language to do achieve this role-play. A few
dialogues are presented as practice for speaking; this may be due to the emphasis the book
has on productive skills. However; memorizing a dialog, rehearsing it and presenting it in front
of the class does not aid productive skills. From the previously accounted information, it may
proper to highlight that although speaking Is promoted in the students book there is no much
flexibility to allow students to create their own dialogues, regardless the level of proficiency
they posses.
In terms of writing there are plenty of activities that are related to the topics of the
unit. From the perspective of the communicative approach, these activities are controlled
since the students are given the structures they need to use. On the other hand, there other
writing activities that are Communicative, students re asked to create texts for a real audience.
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Some examples are given in the Activities Analysis Section. The writing activities are meant to
enhance students production of: a story, a description (in this of students` town), formal and
informal e- mails, restaurant and film reviews, and letters of application, instructive texts and
opinion compositions.
As a conclusion, referring to the skills fostered by the book, it is compulsory to express
that all of them are taught, although there is a tendency to reinforce productive skills.

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Conclusion

The thourugh analysis made to the text book Stright Forward, used in first year
of the English teaching Progrm in Universidad Catlica de la Santsima Concepcin,
has lead us to conlude the following:
When students finish the course, regarding the systems of the language they
should know about:
Firstly, in Grammar present, past and future tenses, predictions ( may amd
might), passive, modals, relative clauses, prepositions, frequency adverbs, modifiers,
comparatives and superlatives. Secondly, in Vocabulary ( adejectives, collocations,
phrasal verbs). Thridly, Pronunciation students should know the alphabet, final s, short
and long vowels, intonation, silent letters, word and sentence stress, connected speech.
Regarding speaking and Writing students should be able to talk and describe
past events and the world around them. They will have the linguistic competence to
agree or disagree, advice, give instructions and directions and request information.
However, it has been possible to notice that the CDs which contain more
exercises and recordings are only at the library. It may be adviceable to give each
student a copy of it, so they can practice and work independently.
It is important to say that in certain aspects, the book fulfills its purspose of
giving students the right tools for the integrative approach and leading them to a better
use of the English Language.
The texts provide guidance on the purposes and contexts in which the language
is used. The contents included in these books ( students and workbook ) are the basic
communicative aspects needed for an English Learner, this is to say, with the elements
to communicate outside the classroom in real life situations and better their learning
press in the future.
The books include 4 topics per Unit, in total there are 60 topics, this eclecticism
is quite advantageous since students interests do not always coincide, some may like
environmental topics, others internet or movies. Since the communicative skills are
promoted in these books, students have freedom to participate, to share their interests,
emotions and feeings with classmates and to provide opinions.
Many teachers trust on course books, the ease with which the topics and contents
are presented many time is tempting. Teachers adopt a text and base their work on them;
they tend to forget they have the opportunity to adapt them. The books analysed are
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good sources and tools of knowledge, but teachers are essential. It is teachersduty to
contextualize and personalize the language of the texts, help students to be aware of the
importance of learning a new language and to appreciate how useful the content can be.
If teachers are not willing to teach, to guide and to answer students doubts, it does not
matter how good materials are students will never learn.

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References

Chambers, F (1997) Seeking Consensus in Course book Evaluation. ELT Journal

Volume 51/1 January 1997. Oxford University Press
Gilmore, A (2004) A Comparison of Text books and Authentic Interaction.
ELT Journal.Volume 58/4 October 2004. Oxford University Press
Gonzlez Mondaca, A. (2006, December). Profile issues in teacher's professional
development on materils use training in EFL teacher education: Some
reflections. Bogot, Colombia.
Johansson, T. (2006). Teaching material in the EFL classroom; teachers and students
perspectives. 1-24. Sweden.
Jones, M & Kerr, P (2005) Pre-Intermediate Workbook with Key ; . Macmillan
Publishers Limited. Thailand
Kerr, P

(2005) Straight Forward; Pre- Intermediate Students Book. Macmillan

Publishers Limited. Thailand

Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2006). Approaches and Methods in Language

Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press.

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