Textbook Evaluation for College Reading Classes

Abstract

Choosing a right textbook is a critical element for successful language teaching and learning. However, few instructors seem to practice in-depth analysis when selecting a textbook. We evaluated three textbooks for college reading classes to assess their suitability as course materials. These were the coursebooks developed by ELT (English language teaching) publishers. For analysis, we examined textbook organization, text type and form, text organization, and reading exercises. Our study indicated that these publications were of good quality to some extent - interesting readings and engaging activities; however, some problems were noted in textbook organization, text type and form, text structuring and reading exercises. In particular, in contrary to the publishers' claim, text types and forms were of a narrow range and some texts lacked authenticity due to incoherent structuring. The findings as such strongly suggest a need for in-depth textbook analysis before the instructor chooses a textbook.