Developing an English Language Textbook Evaluative Checklist

In the selection of a new textbook, it is important to evaluate to ensure that it is suitable. Evaluation is widely acknowledged as a powerful means of improving the quality of education. Three methods of evaluation can be used for evaluating English Language Teaching (ELT) textbooks. An evaluative checklist is one of these methods that can be used to help select the most appropriate ELT textbooks for their learners. This paper presents an overall view of evaluating an ELT textbook with a focus on the instrument of a checklist. It tried to develop a valid, reliable, and practical checklist. The paper refined checklists previously developed by different researchers. More specifically, the comments and suggestions given by a large number of TEFL professors helped the researcher improve the items of the checklist in reference to their clarity and inclusiveness. They were provided with a copy of the checklist. They were free to reword, delete or add items that they considered necessary. The findings are expected to be useful for English language teachers, ELT material developers and evaluators, as well as curriculum developers. Further study is required to improve the instrument.

在新编教材的甄选过程中，开展评估以确保其适配性至关重要。评估是提升教育质量的公认有效手段。针对英语语言教学（English Language Teaching, ELT）教材的评估可采用三种方法，其中评估清单（evaluative checklist）便是可用于协助为学习者挑选最适配ELT教材的工具之一。本文全面阐述了ELT教材的评估思路，重点聚焦于评估清单这一工具，旨在开发一套兼具效度、信度与实用性的评估清单。本文对不同研究者此前开发的各类评估清单进行了优化完善；具体而言，众多英语作为外语教学（Teaching English as a Foreign Language, TEFL）领域的教授所提出的意见与建议，助力研究者优化了评估清单的条目，提升了其表述清晰度与内容包容性。研究者向这些教授提供了评估清单的副本，允许他们自行修改措辞、删除或新增其认为必要的条目。本研究成果有望为英语教师、ELT教材开发者与评估者，以及课程开发者提供参考价值。后续仍需开展进一步研究以优化该评估工具。