An Evaluation Of New Standard English(FLTRP Version) For Senior Middle Schools

Textbooks, as an important teaching resource, play a significant role in school education.In China, English textbooks carry the requirements stipulated by the curriculum for seniormiddle school English education and determine English teaching content and teachingmethods in senior middle school education. English textbooks are a major resource for seniormiddle school students to learn English and a major tool for teachers to organize Englishteaching process. Therefore, the evaluation of English textbooks is an important task in seniormiddle school education. However, such practical and helpful studies are few by now.Based on studies of English textbook evaluation at home and abroad and combined withthe needs of current senior high school English teaching environment, this paper will use themethods of literature and questionnaire to make a systematic and scientific evaluation of NewStandard English for senior middle schools, textbooks published by Foreign LanguageTeaching and Research Press. Theoretically, this study will enrich the current studies oftextbook evaluation and be a reference for future studies. Practically, this study will helpstudents and teachers in senior middle schools for a better use of the textbooks and will dosome help to senior middle school English teaching.The research questions in this study are listed as follows:1. Does New Standard Englishmeet the requirements stipulated by New English Curriculum for Chinese Senior MiddleSchools?2. Does New Standard English meet the actual needs of senior middle schoolstudents and teachers?3. What are strengths and weaknesses of New Standard English?Which parts need to be improved?Questionnaires are major tools in this study. The questionnaires, including a teacherquestionnaire and a student questionnaire, were adapted from a questionnaire designed byGrant and senior middle school English textbook evaluation criteria, created by He Anping, aprofessor in South China Normal University. In this study, field survey was conducted inearly December2011in Yantai, Shandong. Students and teachers involved in this surveycome from a key senior middle school and a general senior middle school in Yantai. Thequestionnaire data were analyzed by the statistical software SPSS17.0for quantitativeanalysis. The questionnaire data were entered manually. Descriptive Statistics were used tocalculate the proportion, the effective percentage and frequency of options. The study shows that New Standard English has a unique and skillful way to embody therequirements stipulated by New English Curriculum for Chinese Senior Middle Schools. Itcovers the topics required by the curriculum. Each module is built around a theme.Vocabulary is rendered in context and closely connected with other language skills. It followsthe syllabus in a creative way and balances the requirements of school examination andstudents’ interests. Heuristic teaching method is used in grammar learning. Of all parts,students and teachers like Cultural Corner most. However, it also has some shortcomings.Some topics repeat and some reading materials are somewhat unauthentic. The quantity ofvocabulary is too large and the repetition is relatively too low.