A Learner-Certered Coursebook Evaluation Of Experiencing English—Learning To Change

Coursebooks(or textbooks),as one of the most commonly adapted learning materials worldwide,have experienced great changes since the very beginning.They are of pivotal significance during both the process of teaching and language acquisition since they determine the learning and teaching content to a large extent and serve as the medium among the learners,teachers and the language.Hutchinson & Torres(1994)attached importance to coursebooks in English language teaching.They held that coursebooks are essential and necessary components in language teaching classrooms worldwide and in almost every teaching-learning situation.The evaluation of materials emerged almost at the time teaching materials were produced,and it is a noteworthy step not only in ensuring the quality of the materials,but also in further improvement of material compilation.Among those coursebooks for college English learners,Experiencing English—Learning to Change is a relatively new edition designed for intermediate English learners.This thesis investigated the advantages and disadvantages of this coursebook based on Dudley-Evans & St.John's learners' needs analysis model as well as McDonough & Shaw's theoretical framework of coursebook evaluation system.The author tried to answer the questions listed below.First,according to the needs analysis questionnaire,what are the English learning needs of college English learners? Second,what are the major strengths and problems of the coursebook in question based on coursebook evaluation framework? Third,to what extent do the results of the coursebook evaluation match the learners' needs according to the results of the two questionnaires?The results of the questionnaires reveal that the coursebook in question could be considered as a qualified one from both theoretical and empirical perspectives because it complies with the principles of coursebook evaluation and meets the most needs of the participants.The most outstanding merits of the book are clear and logical arrangement and design;reasonable price and easy accessibility;multiple types of activities;activities inspiring learners' creativity and independent thinking;reasonable arrangement for the training of listening,speaking and writing skills;language texts of relatively high practicality;multiple coverage of subjects;and properly chosen methodology.However,demerits do exist in the book,including the lack of interesting topics and the length and difficulty level of reading passages.What is also worth noticing is that the compilers of this series of coursebooks embody Project-based Teaching method and focus on the communication and comprehensive competence of the learners.This survey aimed to promote the awareness of those involved in EFL teaching programs towards the pivotal role of coursebook evaluation,needs analysis and the constant improvement of coursebook compilation concepts.