Evaluation Of Go For It!in Terms Of The National English Curriculum Standards(2011)

Textbooks serve as an indispensable part in the process of curriculum implementation. They not only embody the syllabus, but also provide the vital evidence for teachers to carry out the teaching activities. Besides, they offer primary sources for students to acquire language knowledge, develop language skills, etc. On account of the deepening of English curriculum reform and the implementation of the policy "one syllabus, multiple sets of textbooks", a variety of English textbooks spring up in the market. Therefore, it is essential to analyze and evaluate textbooks scientifically and objectively from teachers’and students’needs. On the one hand, it displays a clear picture of the advantages and disadvantages of a particular set of textbooks, which can provide evidence to utilize textbooks scientifically and reasonably for teachers and use textbooks effectively and efficiently for students. On the other hand, compilers can revise textbooks according to the reliable feedbacks offered.The present thesis aims to carry out internal and external evaluation of Books1-2of Go for it!. The internal evaluation is adopted through text analysis, which examines the compilation concept, principles, characteristics, organization of teaching materials and design. Then on the basis of it, this thesis analyzes textbooks from the perspective of overall language ability, which is required in the National English Curriculum Standards (2011), including language knowledge, language skills, affect, learning strategies and cultural awareness. To prove the objectivity of this study, external evaluation is implemented to know the practical using conditions of the textbooks through questionnaires of teachers and students, interview with teachers and classroom observation. Later, data and information are collected and analyzed by Excel.The findings eventually turn out to prove that the textbooks are in accordance to the requirements of the National English Curriculum Standards to a large extent. Activities in the textbooks are closely related to the topics and functions in each unit. Besides, the cultivation of students’overall language ability is emphasized. Additionally, it advocates teachers to adopt flexible teaching approaches conforming to the practical teaching situations and students’learning needs. Moreover, it encourages to build up students’self-confidence and to develop their cooperative spirits. Furthermore, it inserts cultural knowledge into the teaching materials. However, some shortcomings exist in this thesis. The phonetic knowledge and its activities are arranged unreasonably. The amount of vocabularies is considered too big. The learning strategies scattered in the textbooks are implicitly and unbalanced.Finally, this thesis puts forward some suggestions for teachers, students, textbooks compilers and local educational administrative department for better utilization of textbooks. With regard to teachers, they should study the National English Curriculum Standards carefully and implement the beliefs and ideas of it into practical teaching. The specific operations to improve effectiveness contain deletion, addition, replacement, extension and reordering consequence of teaching. Plus, teachers should cooperate with colleagues and attach importance to their professional development. Students also should undertake initiative and participate positively in learning. In terms of textbooks compilers, more interesting materials should be selected. Moreover, activities provided should be arranged and enriched for better mastering of language knowledge and language skills. Last, they should develop learning strategies. As to local educational administrative department, it should enhance teachers’training for the better utilization of the textbooks.The present thesis has some limitations as well, mainly because of the finite investigation subjects and the lack of variety in research items and instruments. Therefore, to make the results more reliable, the comprehensive evaluation of the whole set of textbooks is essential to guarantee its accuracy and objectivity. Besides, a wider range of subjects and a richer selection of research instruments are suggested for further study.