An Analysis Of Go For It! From The Perspective Of Task-based Language Teaching

Course book selection and evaluation plays a significant role in achieving teaching goals, for course books are the most important tools of teaching organization and implementation. As the most widely used English course book for junior schools in China, Go for it! should accord with the idea of Task-based Language Teaching which is advocated in the new English Curriculum Standard. Therefore, it' s necessary to analyze it by referring to the theory and principles of Task-based Language Teaching.This paper firstly elaborates on the essence of Task-based Language Teaching concerning its theoretical origins, its principles and models for classroom teaching. Then it summarizes the principles and methods of English course book evaluation. On the basis of these two aspects, the paper puts forward criteria for interior course book evaluation with regard to teaching objectives, teaching methods, teaching contents and contents organization. It points out that in respect of teaching objectives, English course books with the idea of Task-based Language Teaching should set the ultimate goal of developing students 'language knowledge, language skills, positive attitude towards language learning, learning strategies and cultural awareness. It should be able to engage students in positive and corporative learning and exploit their multi-intelligence as well. In respect of teaching methods, it should emphasize student—centered multi—interaction and the creation of authentic language environment. Also, it should pay attention to dealing with language knowledge and skills in a balanced way. In respect of teaching contents, the materials in the course book should tally with the characteristics of humanism, authenticity, openness and variety. The contents should be structurally and systematically arranged and easy to operate in respect of contents organization. After that, this paper examples one copy of Go for it !(the first volume for Grade 8) as a sample. Through evaluating its task types, topics, language structures, communicative functions, etc, the paper tries to find out whether Go for it ! matches the idea of Task-based Language Teaching.After analysis, the paper draws the conclusion: Go for it ! embodies the idea of Task-based language Teaching and it meets the needs of the new English Curriculum Standard. It gives consideration to the learning of both communicative functions and language structures. The course book is rich in information, familiar to students experience, interesting and motivating. The language in the course book is authentic and reflects English culture. Various tasks are organized under the same topic to form a "task chain" in each unit so that students have the opportunity to follow a lifelike procedure and learn to use English in daily life through performing tasks. On the other hand, the course book still has some weaknesses. For example, it lacks the learning of phonetic knowledge; the tasks in each unit seem to be excessive that the contents of the tasks can not be easily recalled by the teacher or the students; some language structures in the course book are arranged unsystematically and the contents of some tasks are unfamiliar with the students who live in the rural areas. The course book needs to be improved in the revised edition. As for the teachers, they should make best use of the advantages and bypass the disadvantages of the course book when using it.