Types of Material Evaluation

There are many different types of materials evaluation. It is possible to apply the basic principles of
materials evaluation to all types of evaluation but it is not possible to make generalizations about procedures
which apply to all types.
Richards (2001) identifies four types of factors, which are essential for textbook selection and
evaluation:
a) program factors
b) teacher factors
c) learner factors
d) pedagogical factors.
There are three types of approaches for material evaluation Garinger (2002:1):
 an intuitive, impressionistic approach ,
 a formal prior to use evaluation
 a process approach.
The intuitive, informal evaluation is based on the first impression of the evaluator by a quick glance at the
textbook or reading the blurb of it. It is not a comprehensive and valuable evaluation.
The second approach is widely acceptable, for instance by Chambers (1997). It is consider detailed,
systematic and comprehensive. This approach uses developed procedures and criteria for step-by-step
evaluation of the materials.
Cunnings worth (1995)and Ellis(1997) propose a three- phase process of material evaluation:
 predictive or pre-use evaluation that is conduct to evaluate the future use of the text book ,
 in-use evaluation (Whilst-use Evaluation) is conducted when the text book is currently used
 retrospective or post-use‘ (reflective) evaluation of a text book that has been used
formerly.

The selection of materials involves matching the given materials against the context in which they
are going to be used and the needs and interests of the teacher and learners who work within it, to
find the best possible fit between them.
When it comes to designing a coursebook, Tomlinson (2003) provided a framework for choosing
coursebooks. The author suggested three elements namely ‘psychological validity, pedagogical validity
and process and content validity’ (p.45). In other words, it focuses on students, teachers and
materials.
When developing materials, the materials should be coherent to students’ needs, objectives and
academic requirements. The materials should also concern with teacher’s skills, abilities, theories and
beliefs. Lastly, the materials should consider how the teaching contents are presented and the process
of teaching and learning.
https://www.academia.edu/36969650/Material_Evaluation_and_Selection_of_Materials_in_Curricul
um_Development_Book_Chapter_
 Match the phase of evaluation of the materials with appropriate features

pre-use evaluation Whilst-use Evaluation post-use (reflective) evaluation

Clarity of instructions
 Clarity of layout
 Comprehensibility of texts
 Credibility of tasks
 Achievability of tasks
 Achievement of performance objectives
 Potential for localization
tests of what has been ‘taught’ by the materials;
 tests of what the students can do;
 examinations;
 interviews;
 questionnaires;
 criterion-referenced evaluations by the users.
Is each question an evaluation question?
Does each question only ask one question?
Is each question answerable?
Is each question free of dogma?
Is each question reliable in the sense that other
evaluators would interpret it in the same way?
 Pre-use Evaluation
Pre-use evaluation involves making predictions about the potential value of materials for their users.
It can be context-free, as in a review of materials for a journal, context influenced as in a review of draft
materials for a publisher with target users in mind or context-dependent.
Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004, p. 7) proposed the following criteria for evaluating criteria:
 Is each question an evaluation question?
 Does each question only ask one question?
 Is each question answerable?
 Is each question free of dogma?
 Is each question reliable in the sense that other evaluators would interpret it in the same way?
Whilst-use Evaluation
This involves measuring the value of materials while using them or while observing them being
used. It can be more objective and reliable than pre-use evaluation as it makes use of measurement rather
than prediction. Exactly what can be measured in a whilst-use evaluation is controversial but It would be
included the following:
 Clarity of instructions
 Clarity of layout
 Comprehensibility of texts
 Credibility of tasks
 Achievability of tasks
 Achievement of performance objectives
 Potential for localization
Post-use Evaluation
Post-use evaluation is probably the most valuable (but least administered) type of evaluation as it can
measure the actual effects of the materials on the users. Ways of measuring the post-use effects of materials
include:
 tests of what has been ‘taught’ by the materials;
 tests of what the students can do;
 examinations;
 interviews;
 questionnaires;
 criterion-referenced evaluations by the users.
A useful exercise for anybody writing or evaluating language teaching materials would be to evaluate
the checklists and criteria lists from a sample of the publications above against the following criteria:
1. Is the list based on a coherent set of principles of language learning?
2. Are all the criteria actually evaluation criteria?
3. Are the criteria sufficient to help the evaluator to reach useful conclusions?
4. Are the criteria organized systematically?
 Authenticity of materials and authenticity of tasks.

Authenticity and Authentic Materials

An authentic task is a task that native speakers of a language would do in everyday life. When
learners do an authentic task they are doing something that puts real communicative demands on them. The
learners need to plan a trip around their country for a group of students on an exchange trip.
Authentic learning activities are tasks given to students in the real world where they can apply what
they learned in class and continue to learn more in a setting that is relevant to them.
Authenticity relates to the language produced by native speakers for native speakers in a particular
language community . Also it relates to the language produced by a real speaker/writer for a real audience,
conveying a real message. The concept of authenticity can be situated in either the text itself, in the
participants, in the social or cultural situation and purposes of the communicative act, or some combination.
As to the role of authentic materials in the language classroom, both Nunan and Hedge agree that
they are not produced for language teaching purposes and do not have "contrived or simplified language."
Thus, newspapers, magazines, TV programs, menus, ads, videos, or maps, internet and so forth are clear
examples of authentic materials.
The communicative approach has highlighted authenticity as the need to communicate, which
presupposes an emphasis on meaning rather than on form. So language authenticity and authentic materials
should be understood within the foreign/second language learning context as any kind of spoken or written
act which does not contain any traces or signs of language teaching intervention, and emerges from the
producer's own first language, culture, and needs for communication.
Moreover, Harmer claims that learners can greatly benefit from authentic materials as these types of
input help students improve their language production, acquire the language in an easier manner, and
increase their confidence when using the language in real life situations.
Scholars provide a rather controversial view by noting that "there is probably no such thing as
‘real task authenticity' since classrooms are, by nature, artificial." So "a communicative task [is] a piece
of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing, and interacting in
the target language while their attention is principally focused on meaning rather than form". []
Reasons to use authentic materials and tasks:
culturally and linguistically rich, cultural content inherent in the materials impact positively on the
students' motivation, curiosity, and attention as there was a constant natural desire of enquiry from students
to their teacher and peers with regard to the characters, places, and activities described in all materials;
motivate the teacher not to focus solely on the due completion of the school curriculum, but to enrich
their teaching practices with communicative activities;
encourage students to find information about their own culture and use the target language to answer
questions and talk about foreign and national places, customs, and traditions;
play an important role in the enrichment of the students' vocabulary range, and in increasing their
cultural awareness and level of attention;
help students develop their listening and reading skills; enhance the teacher's professional
performance.
An authentic task is a task that native speakers of a language would do in everyday life. When learners do
an authentic task they are doing something that puts real communicative demands on them. Example The
learners need to plan a trip around their country for a group of students on an exchange trip.
In the classroom Authentic tasks are easy to identify as they are what we do with our own language all the
time. Examples include phoning for information, preparing a party, planning a holiday, answering e-mail,
preparing reports, holding a meeting and filling in application
forms.https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/authentic-task
 Handout 1. Fill in the blanks with the given examples of materials according to the degree of
authenticity:
To qualify as truly authentic material, the source and the use must be authentic. We have, therefore, 4
degrees of authenticity:
1.Authentic materials These are sourced authentically and used for their original purposes. They are quite
rare. Examples might include:

2. Quasi-authentic materials These are materials originally intended for communicative purposes but
whose use is changed. They are very common. Examples might include:

3. Semi-authentic materials These are based on authentic materials but are simplified in some way to
make them accessible, especially to lower-level learners. These are usually written because it is so much
more difficult and often impossible to simplify audio and video recordings. Examples might include:

4. Contrived, unauthentic materials Even when these make an effort to appear authentic, they are
recognisably not authentic and they might include:
 A learning styles questionnaire
 Materials used on an academic, scientific or occupational English course
 A TV guide
 Fire drill instruction in a school
 Class excursion planning materials taken from websites advertising local attractions
 Texts on how to study and remember facts

 Texts taken from various genres for analysis of their structure, staging and language content
in the classroom. These could be narratives, reports, procedures, recipes, letters etc.
 Texts taken from published sources as the basis of examination tasks
 Other sources of texts are: advertisements, visitor guides, social website posts, notices,
packaging, menus, blogs, T-shirts, maps, political slogans and a host more.
 Audio materials are less commonly available but will include radio and TV broadcasts,
YouTube and other internet-based video sources, on-line lectures and presentations, voice
mails, recorded messages and so on.

 Graded readers
 Texts based on magazine and newspaper articles
 Teacher-written texts based on other information (often a compilation of some sort)

 Tests for students

 Language exercises
 Texts, both spoken and written, intended to exemplify certain language features (structures,
lexis, discourse etc.)
 Spoken dialogues, telephone conversations, interviews etc. intended to exemplify
communicative acts and functions
 Emails purporting to be from a friend
 Most examination materials
 A lot of coursebook materials
 Task instructions
To qualify as truly authentic material, the source and the use must be authentic. We have, therefore, 4
degrees of authenticity:
Authentic materials These are sourced authentically and used for their original purposes. They are quite
rare. Examples might include:
 A learning styles questionnaire
 Materials used on an academic, scientific or occupational English course
 A TV guide
 Fire drill instruction in a school
 Class excursion planning materials taken from websites advertising local attractions
 Texts on how to study and remember facts
Quasi-authentic materials These are materials originally intended for communicative purposes but
whose use is changed. They are very common. Examples might include:
 Texts taken from various genres for analysis of their structure, staging and language content
in the classroom. These could be narratives, reports, procedures, recipes, letters etc.
 Texts taken from published sources as the basis of examination tasks
 Other sources of texts are: advertisements, visitor guides, social website posts, notices,
packaging, menus, blogs, T-shirts, maps, political slogans and a host more.
 Audio materials are less commonly available but will include radio and TV broadcasts,
YouTube and other internet-based video sources, on-line lectures and presentations, voice
mails, recorded messages and so on.
Semi-authentic materials These are based on authentic materials but are simplified in some way to
make them accessible, especially to lower-level learners. These are usually written because it is so much
more difficult and often impossible to simplify audio and video recordings. Examples might include:
 Graded readers
 Texts based on magazine and newspaper articles
 Teacher-written texts based on other information (often a compilation of some sort)
Contrived, unauthentic materials Even when these make an effort to appear authentic, they are
recognisably not authentic and they might include:
 Tests for students
 Language exercises
 Texts, both spoken and written, intended to exemplify certain language features (structures,
lexis, discourse etc.)
 Spoken dialogues, telephone conversations, interviews etc. intended to exemplify
communicative acts and functions
 Emails purporting to be from a friend
 Most examination materials
 A lot of coursebook materials
 Task instructions https://www.eltconcourse.com/training/materials/authenticity.html
An authentic task is a task that native speakers of a language would do in everyday life. When learners do
an authentic task they are doing something that puts real communicative demands on them. Example The
learners need to plan a trip around their country for a group of students on an exchange trip.
In the classroom Authentic tasks are easy to identify as they are what we do with our own language all the
time. Examples include phoning for information, preparing a party, planning a holiday, answering e-mail,
preparing reports, holding a meeting and filling in application forms.
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/authentic-task
Design authentic tasks for the
project: Tourism in Neiva
(duration -5 lessons)