A Tentative Evaluation Of Three Sets Of Coursebooks Used By English Majors In China

Coursebook is a fundamental element in the whole process of English Language Teaching. Coursebook evaluation is beneficial to both the teachers and the coursebook writers in that it can provide useful information for selection, application, and development of coursebooks.This thesis intends to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the three sets of coursebooks used by English majors in China, namely 1) Contemporary College English, 2) English Through Culture, and 3) Integrated Skills of English. The three sets of coursebooks are all compiled or revised after the implementation of the 2000 National English Teaching Syllabus for College English Majors, and are representative of the model of the latest coursebooks used by English majors in China.Upon a literature review of the theories on coursebook evaluation and the existing models of material evaluation, the author establishes a hierarchically ordered working model of the present evaluation, which moves from the macro level to the micro level of the English Language Teaching (ELT) materials. The first sub-evaluation is conducted at a macro level to explore the linguistic principles which constitute the foundation of material development and evaluation, including different descriptions of the nature of language and various language learning theories. The second sub-evaluation examines the detailed items in a package of coursebook, such as the basic components of a set of coursebooks, the table of contents, the language contents, the topic and value, the Teachers' Book, etc. The third sub-evaluation surveys the development of learners' language skills through tasks in these three coursebooks. The analytical methods including both qualitative and quantitative approaches are used throughout the whole evaluation.In the last part, with the similarities and differences, the strengths and the weaknesses found in the three sets of coursebooks, the author formulates a hierarchically ordered model for evaluating ELT materials in general, and gains some insights into the nature of the coursebooks used by English majors in China. In response to the problems existing in these coursebooks per se or in their practical use, such as unsuitable teaching methods and the traditional design of tasks, the author also provides teachers and coursebook writers with some constructive suggestions for application and improvement of the ELT materials in the future.