An EFL textbook evaluation study in Anatolian high schools : 'New bridge to success for 9th grade new beginners'

Abstract

This study explored English teachers’ attitudes towards the evaluation of the textbook New Bridge to Success for 9th Grade New Beginners (NBS) and the study also investigated teachers’ perceptions concerning main characteristics of a model ELT textbook designed for high school students in Ankara. The study was conducted with 60 English teachers from 13 different Anatolian High Schools in Ankara during June 2006. Two sets of data were used for this study. First, a questionnaire was distributed to 60 English teachers and interviews were completed with 12 of the teachers who returned the questionnaire. In addition, the textbook NBS is used as core material for analyzing the data in terms of determining the correspondences and discrepancies between the teachers’ reports and the actual features of the textbook. The purpose of the questionnaire administered to Anatolian High School teachers was to determine how the English teachers evaluate the textbook NBS .The questionnaire consisted of Likert scale items and open ended questions. The follow-up interviews provided insight into teachers’ suggestions and beliefs considering the features of a model ELT textbook designed for the high school students. The data in the questionnaire was analyzed by calculating the mean scores, percentages and frequencies. Two open-ended questions in the questionnaire and the interviews were analyzed by using qualitative techniques. Flesch-Kincaid readability test was administered in terms of determining the readability level of the reading samples in the textbook NBS. In addition, the Vocabulary Profiler was used to set out the vocabulary load and gradation in the textbook. According to the analyses, teachers’ evaluations depicted agreement and disagreement considering the features of the textbook NBS. The findings also showed that the researcher’s own observations of the textbook elements correspond to the teachers’ evaluations. On the other hand, there are a number of aspects wherein the participants’ responses reflect discrepancies when compared with the analysis of the textbook by the researcher.