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TRANSITION FROM A COMMERCIAL COURSE BOOK TO IN-HOUSE TEXTBOOK. MATSDA 2014 Reyhan Salataci Ok Sabancı University Istanbul , Turkey rsalataci@sabanciuniv.edu. OUTLINE. Context of teaching Comparison of two coursebooks Feedback from teachers and students Concerns Solutions.
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TRANSITION FROM A COMMERCIAL COURSE BOOK TO IN-HOUSE TEXTBOOK MATSDA 2014 Reyhan Salataci Ok Sabancı University Istanbul, Turkey rsalataci@sabanciuniv.edu
OUTLINE • Context of teaching • Comparison of twocoursebooks • Feedback fromteachersandstudents • Concerns • Solutions
Context of Teaching • English-mediumprivateuniversity • A challengingproficiencyexam • One-yearEnglish preparatoryschool • Fourlevels(Elementary-Pre-Intermediate, IntermediateandUpperIntermediate)-16 weeks • Theme-basedprogramme • Twodifferentcoursebooks
Thepurpose of startingwith a commercialcoursebook • Commercial textbooks (Language LeaderbyPearson) tolaylinguisticfoundation of studentsfor 8 weeks. • Increasingthenumber of thecoursesoffered(Elementary-Intermediate-Advanced Elementary-Pre-Intermediate – Intermediate -UpperIntermediate) • Easiertofollowforbothteachersandstudents (shorterandmoreup-to-datetextsandexercises)
Commercialcoursebook (LanguageLeader - LL) Route 1 (Elementary) R2 (Pre-intermediate) R3 (Intermediate) R4 (Upp-Intermedi.)
Starting in-housetextbook (BeyondtheBoundaries) • Used in thesecond 8 weeks of thecourse. • Writtenby a group of teachers at Sabancı University, School of Languages. • Printed in 2003 andeditedandreprinted in 2010. • Threelevelswithtwobooks at eachlevel: • beyon_the_boundaries_booklet.pdf
Opinionsafter a semester • Firsttrial in Route 1 (Elementary) fortwoyears positivefeedback • Usingtwobooks at allroutes in Fall 2013 • Firstreactions: “When we finished LanguageLeaderand began BeyondtheBoundaries, our teacher has changed, too. Our fun teacher has turned into very serious person overnight. It was the end of the entertainment in class.”
Students’ opinionsaboutLLandBtheB Surveyresultsfrom 37 R1 students 37 R2 students 36 R3 students
Somecommentsfromstudents • «Itcouldhavebeenmoredifficultifwe had startedwithBtheB.» • «LL is easywithgoodgrammarexercises.» • «LL is childish not suitableforouragegroup.» • «BtheB is verydifficultandsomesubjectsareboring.» • «Thetopics in BtheBneedupdating.»
Somecommentsfromstudents • «I think I havelearnedmoreacademictype of vocabulary in BtheB.» • «I don’tthinkBtheB has helped me withthespeakingskill.» • «Itwasdifficulttocopewiththelongtexts.»
Metaphors (Studentresponses) Whenwefinished LL andstartedBtheB, I feltlike/as if… -boredand in trouble. -desperate. -I don’tknowanything. -I hit hard against a wall. -one of theTurkswhowhomanagedto wenttospace! -I madeprogress.
Metaphors (StudentResponses) Finishing LL andstartingBtheB is like… -migratingfrom a villageto a megacity. -jumpingfrom a cliff. -beinglost in a jungle. -stop using Nokia 3310 and start using Iphone5. -reachingnirvana. -beingslapped in theface. -academic English has juststarted.
Teachers’ Responses (Metaphors) • When I finished Language Leaderand I started Beyond theBoundaries, I feltlike.... -a large stone hit the students. -weare in a newworldwhich is moreserious. -pleasedtobeginmoreacademictopicsandskills. - mystudentswill be challenged.
Suggestions (TeacherResponses) How tomakethetransitionsmoother? • Findingways of making BtheBmore appealing. • As we do LL, we can graduallyintroduce and incorporate texts and tasks that aresimilartothose in BtheB. • Using LL inRoute 2 is good as some of itstopicsand grammar usually harmonise with the requirements of a low level EAP course, butlet’sabandon LL on Route 4. • Choosingspecific number of units from LL and expandingthose units with outside materials to do further content and skills work.
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. ANY QUESTIONS?