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Prepared  by Türkan Kahraman, Birsen Durmaz, Sibel Alkan, Ertan Arýcý, Alihan Haluk Yýlmaz 

 

  Home   Pace Setter 

 

 

Introduction 

       The role of a coursebook in learning/teaching process is guite varied. They tell a lot about the underlying approach of the educational system. Besides they have the role of partenrship with the teacher. Especially they are great helpers for unexperienced teachers. Giving confidence to experiment with alternative material they help teachers to be efficient ones. Furthermore they supply variety of classroom activity and teaching technique.

       However they may have some disadvantages. For example, there may be a lack of variety in teaching procedures, less attention to individual students’ needs, lack of creativity in teaching techniques and language use.

       Considering both these negative and positive sides of a coursebook ‘PACESETTER’ is examined in terms of different aspects of coursebook evaluation.

       In part I the coursebook is dealt with in terms of design and organization of content and writers’ claims about this. You are also informed about different syllabus types.

       In part II language content of the coursebook is examined in three aspects: grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Grammar items according to the appropriateness to each level are examined with form and function relation. Vocabulary examination of the book is given in terms of its amount and the way of its presentation. At the end of this part you are informed about the way of presentation techniques of pronunciation.

       In part III main four skills are covered one by one considering the syllabus requirements, students’ needs annd the way of presentation techniques of each skill.

       In part IV topic and the methodology of the coursebook is examined. Topic of the coursebook is taken in hand considering reality, the students’ needs, interest and age, characters in the topics and their relation in a social network and topic variation in the coursebook. Methodology is covered considering the approaches to language learning, techniques used for presentation and practice, the way of different skills taught and the students’ needs.

       In part V evaluation of the teacher’s book is given with the role of teacher reflcted by the coursebook. You are informed about the proficiency in details.

       In part VI some considerations about the coursebook are given. Here information about whole course package, value of the books and its appearance is presented.

       In part VII aim and achievement of the English programme by the students who have been studying the coursebooks are presented. These points are reflected through the eyes of the students who have been the class studying on this coursebook. Namely these are the results of the observator.

       At last in the appendix you see some questions both for the learners and the teacher, explaining the students’ and the teacher’s point of views about the language course and the coursebook. Also some photocopied papers are put in appendix in order to provide support of the research and make it easy to understand.

       Pacesetter as four-staged book, starter, elementary, pre-intermediate and intermediate; their workbooks and the teacher’s books of them are evaluated through these aspects in this paper.      

 

CONTENT

 

Introduction

I.    ý. Design and Organization

A.   Design

B.   Organization

II.Language Content

     A. Grammar  B. Vocabulary C. Pronunciation

    III.Skills

A.   Listening   B.   Speaking C.   Reading D.   Writing

IV. Topic and Methodology

A.   Topic  B.   Methodology

V.   Teacher’s Book

A.   Teacher’s Book B.   Teacher’s Role

VI.      Some Considerations

VII.  Questionaire

A.   Questions for Learners B.   Questions for Teachers

Conclusion

References

Index

Appendix

 I. Design and organization

 A. Design

    Pacesetter is a four-level coursebook, which takes learners from beginner to intermediate level of English. The total coursebook package consists of a student’s book, workbook a teacher’s book, and cassettes, which are carefully chosen to, built students’ ability to communicate accurately, fluently and confidently in English.

       The student’s book contains 15 main units, which include a photo-story, a language review section and end-of-unit activities. There are content pages outlining what comes in each unit, preliminary pages introducing classroom language and some international English words. The three consolidation units at the end of each five include a project work and review the language and skills.

       The workbook is linked closely with the student’s book. The main units of the workbook mirror and support all aspects of student’s book work on grammar, vocabulary and skills. There is a preparation section at the end of each main workbook unit, which provide a researching area of new vocabulary for the next unit of the student’s book.

       The teacher’s book includes teaching notes for each activity with their answer keys. Photocopiable optional activities and tests for each unit help the teacher to use the book effectively. Basic lesson planning is done on the first page of each unit.

       The cassettes, which are an important part of the package, provide listening, pronunciation and reading activities. They include dialogues texts songs and listening development.

       In Pacesetter new grammatical structures and key words are introduced one by one, and the communicative use is always emphasized. The organization of the content and selection of the topics is done as a result of integration of all types of syllabuses.

       Structural syllabus is based on the teaching of grammatical or structural aspects of language form. Its theory of learning assumes that the ability to use the language (functional ability) arises from structural knowledge or ability.

       The content of the structural syllabus is based on the grammatical form. Structural syllabus uses some forms of descriptive and prescriptive grammatical classification. The grammatical categories are noun, verb pronoun, adjective, adverb, future tense, past tense… and so on. Since the structural syllabus doesn’t move above the sentence level it includes semantical classification of sentence types such as statements, declaratives questions, exclamations and grammatical classification of sentence types such as simple, compound and complex sentence.

       It is also related to morphology which deal with the word formation such as the form of marking the same system of language, singular, plural, suffixes prefixes, roots… and so on. Synthetic nature of structural syllabus requires learners to use the information either to produce the utterance or to check the accuracy of production.

       Structural syllabus is mostly associated with cognitive methods of language teaching which assume that language is best learnt through conscious knowledge of the form of language and the rules for their combination.

       Situational syllabus is based on teaching and learning language in situations and settings. It is important to realize that there are many different types of situational syllabus: many different linguistic focuses, pronunciation focuses and lexical focuses in situation can be found. Situations may be constructed in functions or various types of discourse.

       The students are supposed to play the same situation using their own language. On the other hand dialogues, role-plays in which real life situation is created are used to practice the target language. The content of the situation is formed by the materials, writers, and teacher or can be taken from the real life. It can be used with audio-visual (behaviouristic) cognitive and acquisition-based instruction.

       Functional-notional syllabus design is closely associated with communicative teaching. It includes mastery of language use and communicative proficiency rather than mere mastery of structures. Language is seen as a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning. The functional view emphasizes the semantic and communicative dimension rather that the grammatical categories of language. It includes specification of language teaching content by categories of meaning and function rather than by elements of structure and grammar. It also specifies the topics, notions and concepts the learners need to communicate about.

       Wilkin’s notional functionalism is defined in two categories. First, notions which mean the interaction of categories of meaning and grammatical form. Examples of notions are time (time relation: past tense, present tense; duration: until, since), quantity (countable, uncountable), space (dimensions locations, motion) and so on. Second functions that mean the uses to which language forms are put. Examples are greeting, requesting, approval apologising and so on. Each notion and function can be associated with variety of forms. For example, ‘Can you stop talking?’ here ‘can’ as a form may function as a warning or request. This may go from function to form. For example, giving advice as a function can be seen in different forms: ‘Why don’t we go to the cinema?, Let’s go to the cinema?, Would you like to go to the cinema?’

       The term ‘skills’ refers to four models of language: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Each skill is the combination of structural and functional ability existing in a specific settings or situations independently. For example, language skills such as listening to radio for news or reading skills for skimming and scanning …etc.

       In skills-based instruction learning of language is facilitated by breaking the language behaviours into skills. The students are hoped to put together them when using the language.

       The ability to use the language requires general ability however; it is also based on the need for specific skills. For example, a waiter in a restaurant may have English skills, which he needs to do his job. That’s why skill-based instruction sees language system as a reducible system that is teaching purpose is based on specific skills. So it is used in language for specific purpose programs.

       Underlying theory behind the task-based syllabus is Krashen’s acquisition theory that claims the ability of language use is gained through participation and exposure to it.

       Activities for non-structural purpose are defined as a way of language learning. Tasks are the means of bringing the real world into the classroom. By means of them, real life needs and activities are used as learning experience. Through use of tasks, communication skills are developed in a natural integrated way.

       Teaching cycle in task based instruction includes six levels which are designed to help the students to put few words of English they know into use. These are introduction, listening task, planning, report, listening and language focus stages.

       Each lesson starts with an informal chat introducing the topic and explaining the purpose of the task. It provides exposure to new words and phrases. Then the students listen to the native speaker who did the same task to get further language input for the task to come. The task is done to provide a context for language use. The teacher roles as a monitor and encourage the groups or pairs to tell their findings and to plan their reports. After planning present their reports through a spokesperson. The reports can sometimes be recorded on tape and played back to the class with a listening stage. After the report, the groups have the opportunity to compare their performance with the native speaker who did the similar task. At language focus stage the students’ attention is drawn to language forms and patterns. They are given some time to systematize their knowledge.

       Content based instruction is teaching of content or information in the target language with no direct or explicit information that is, the students are given content instruction instead of direct language instruction. It aims to give communicative competence including grammatical, strategic, sociolinguistic and discourse competence.

       According to content based instruction language arise from the setting in which it is used. It doesn’t distinguish form and function but defines the language in content of its functions and meanings. The students are allowed to learn subject matter and language simultaneously. Language is learned in the context of its use and the students learn the language not the rules of it.

    B. Organization

 The organization of the book is designed both for teachers and the students. The topics contain general and interesting knowledge about the world in order to keep learner’s attention. The language is given with a mixture of familiar and new topics, which also provides a revision and recycling opportunities for learners. Study skills help students to become aware of how they learn and develop strategies, which suit them best. The subjects move from the familiar to the new ones and new items are related to those already known. The varied activities in the coursebook mean that different learning styles are mixed and that all students will find tasks that interest and motivate them.

       For teachers on the other hand presentation and practice become easier with the help of clear headings and instructions, showing how the materials are to be used. There are helpful descriptions of the methodology and thorough notes for lesson planning which help teachers to vary their lessons and suit them to the needs of their students. 

       The language syllabus in Pacesetter is structurally graded and develops on a loopback principle. This means that constant revision is built into the syllabus progression.    

       Revision and recycling of the language and skills are provided in different ways. Especially the grammatical items are recycled in different units during the whole coursebook. With the recycled item also new items can be presented which avoid boredom. For example “the first conditional” is given in the elementary level; “the second conditional” is given in the pre-intermediate level and both subjects are recycled in the intermediate level coursebook. Also there is a review section at the end of each unit, which provides a revision and recycling of the unit and topics in it. New grammar is summarised with brief explanations, examples and clear tables.

       Another part in the coursebook which provides revision and recycling is the consolidation units in each of the student’s book revise and recycle the grammar, vocabulary and skills of the previous five units, combining them in different and interesting ways. These consolidation units end with a project. The projects aim a systematic review and they give students opportunities for self-expression and some creativity with the language they have learned.   

       The content of the coursebook starts with an introduction part to the course, which give some information about the book and parts included in it. There are 15 main units and at the end of the five ones a consolidation unit. Units include a photo story, a language review section, information gap activities for skills and at the end of each unit freewheeling activities such as songs, puzzles…etc. Each unit has its own syllabus and is divided into some parts.

       First, the topic of the unit is introduced with an activity, which helps students to make predictions about subject. This stage is important because it prepares students for the unit and gives the teacher an opportunity to understand how much the students already know. The presentation stage is followed by activities, which help to practice new language.

       After the topic section new grammar is presented in clear and meaningful context, then in function part students are expected to use the structure in a controlled context. In this way students develop their ability of thinking about language and use it in communicative way.

       By learning vocabulary students will find it easier to remember the new items so at this stage vocabulary is presented. Throughout the course vocabulary is recycled and extended in the context of different topics. In the later levels of the coursebook students also learn how to use prefixes and suffixes and how to generate new words.

       Vocabulary section is followed by the skills and sub-skills, which are prepared in order to improve students’ fluency and confidence in using and understanding English. Every unit contains some work and activities on each of the main language skills: reading, listening, writing and speaking. These skills are also divided into some kinds of sub-skills. For example especially in the starter level of the coursebook skimming is used so much as a reading sub-skill.

       The last part of the content is pronunciation. This part is usually mixed with the listening activities as listen and repeat drill is used so much. The sounds, words, sentence stress and intonation patterns are given in the ‘Useful English’ sections.

       The content of the teacher’s book has some differences. As it is used as a guide for the teacher the methodology and procedures to be followed are given. There are also some step-by-step teaching notes with answer keys, typescripts and optional activities. Different types of worksheets and tests are included in the teacher’s book and helpful background cultural notes can be found besides. Not only cultural notes but also the other necessary explanations about the lesson and activities are given clearly in a right sequence. Such notes can be seen more often in the advanced units or levels since the topics become more complex and comprehensive.

       In Pacesetter students are taught how to study independently. Many activities in the coursebook are for students to do alone in the class, for example reading a text or planning a piece of writing. The instructions and explanations of the activities are made so clearly that students can understand them easily without the help of the teacher. Especially features such as the ‘Learn to Learn’ sections in the student’s book and the ‘Prepare for Unit …’ vocabulary preparation part at the end of every workbook unit are designed to teach students to study effectively and independently on their own. The starter level, for example, presents dictionary skills, basic vocabulary recording ways and simple self-check methods. Homework will also be done individually, often using the workbook. Confidence in working alone will help students with all aspects of working independently such as more advanced study or revising for exams. 

       The clear headings and instructions in all the components show how the materials are intended to be used. At the beginning of each component there is a contents page which can be used as a guide to find your way around the book. The layout is so clear and easy to understand. The pages of all units are given and each unit and its content is explained so whatever you are looking for can be easily found. The logical progression of presentation and practice in each unit, within each book makes it straightforward to use. See appendix 1

  II. Language Content

A. Grammar 
       The book covers the main grammar items appropriate to each level taking into consideration different needs of learners. It starts from easier ones and then step by step it deals with more difficult ones. In this way both less confident and confident learners are able to build a strong grammar background. There are four books in one set of the book package and these coursebooks have workbooks too. The book starts with very easy items such as imperatives, the verb ‘to be’, my-your…etc. these items warm up the learners and through the stages students face with more difficult and complex ones; for example, present simple tense countable and uncountable, present perfect tense…etc.

       The coursebook gives more emphasis to use (meaning) than form. It encourages students to use the language for themselves. Each grammar concept is given with a function, which allows the students to use the language confidently. For example in pre-intermediate level of the book grammatical items are Present Perfect and Past Simple tenses and functions of them are ‘talking about experiences’. (pp 20-25)

Exercise 4C: Choose the correct word.

1.       Where have you been/gone?

I have been/gone to the dentist.

2.       Are your parents on holiday?

Yes, they have been/gone to Florida. They are having a good time.

        Each unit of the book begins with a warm up activity. These activities enable students to find out whether they have a pre-information about the items they are going to meet or not. Items that are introduced to the students are related to and contrast with another item also. For example, in pre-intermediate level of the book students are introduced with the Present Perfect tense and then they learn items ‘gone’ and ‘been’ in a relation with it. (pp 21) More else again in the same book the item of adjectives is given with many related items such as make + pronoun/noun + adjective; look, sound, feel taste, smell + adjective; and so + adjective. (pp 27)

       The grammatical forms that have more than one meaning are given an emphasis in the coursebook. In this way the book develops a wide and up look point of view on grammar. Thus students being aware of that one grammatical form may have more than a single meaning which allows them to use that grammatical structure in different ways. When students learn for instance the Present Continuos tense they use –ing form at the end of verbs; when they learn the Past Simple tense on the other hand they are taught to use the –ed form at the end of verbs. Students also know that not all the verbs ending with –ing or –ed belong to those tenses but to different grammatical topics. The distinction is explained with different exercises such as:

Match the two parts of these statements.

1.       Adjectives ending in –ed           a) describe how people feel.

2.       Adjectives ending in –ing          b) describe the causes of feelings.

 

B. Vocabulary

       The coursebook makes a clear distinction between active and passive vocabulary. At the beginning of each unit in the teacher’s book there is a list of words, which includes ‘key’ and ‘other’ vocabulary. In this case ‘key’ vocabulary means the vocabulary which the students should actively use and ‘other’ vocabulary means passive vocabulary which is for recognition only. This division means that development of vocabulary and the learning load is carefully controlled. By the help of this list teacher can focus on the important words of the unit and may encourage students to learn and use this ‘key’ vocabulary primarily. See appendix 2

       Pacesetter presents the new vocabulary in a certain process and clear context which allows students to understand new vocabulary they face and gives them change to assimilate it. Since the vocabulary is presented in the context, the book gives emphasis on the purpose. In each unit there is a connection between the topic and the vocabulary section. The following example shows this connection clearly.

a)      In the text find and underline idioms 1-3 below. Read the whole sentence each time.               b) Match the idioms with these meanings.

1.       has gone sky high                    a pleasant change

2.       a breath of fresh air                  a bad condition

3.       a sorry state                              has increased a lot

       In each unit there is a vocabulary section and each section has its own topic. One of the vocabulary topics in unit 2 of the pre-intermediate level is ‘Endangered Animals’.

Example: find these creatures in the word square.

1.       a colourful sort of bird                               C  D  O  L  P  H  L  N  E

2.       two reptiles                                                U  K  W  T  I  G  E  R  V

3.       two very dangerous sorts of fish                L  S  Y  Q  R  L  J  U  P

4.       two mammals that live in the sea               L  N  L  S  A  Q  R  S  A

5.       a large cat that lives in Asia                       Z  A  C  J  N  G  P  M  R

6.       a large African or Asian mammal             A  K  M  W  H  A  L  E  R

                                                                        R  E  S  H  A  R  K  X  O

                                                                        D  E  L  E  P  H  A  N  T

       In first unit of pre-intermediate book (pp 11) new words are given with other words that have relation with each other.

Example: look at the pictures of sports equipment. Complete the missing words in the chart.

 Equipment                               Sport                                             Place

A helmet                               motor racing                        a track (orcircuit)      

A board                                 __________                         _____________

A stick                                 ice hockey                              _____________

Goggles and gloves              ___________                        _____________

Shorts and a vest                  ___________                        _____________

       The book also encourages students to develop their own ways of vocabulary learning. It includes some different techniques, which enables students to keep the new vocabulary. One of them is building up a vocabulary book. Students add the new words that they meet or they are wanted to add by the book. For example in page 87 of pre-intermediate book students are expected to add new vocabulary to their vocabulary book. See appendix 3

Example: ‘Look at the unit again, add all the new behaviour words and phrasal verbs to your vocabulary book.’

       Also it gives an emphasis on to teach students different methods which enables students to generate words and combination by the help of prefixes and suffixes and mostly used phrasal verbs. For example on page 37 of pre-intermediate book we may see this. See appendix 4

‘Look at the unit again, add all the new words for careers, different meanings of take off and words with ex- to your vocabulary book.’

 C. Pronunciation

       Pronunciation is another area that the book deals with. It has material for pronunciation work. The book has a specific part for pronunciation. We may see this on page 69 of pre-intermediate level of the book. See appendix 5

       Pronunciation is practiced systematically with help of listen and repeat drills and a short explanation about related item. It gives emphasis on all the areas of pronunciation. For example in unit 3 of pre-intermediate book it deals with individual sound.

Example: Listen and repeat these sentences. Be carefully with the underlined sounds.

1.       I’d like a cup of coffee, please.

2.       How about a bar of chocolate after lunch.

3.       Let’s get a slice of pizza today.

See appendix 6 for word stress

See appendix 7 for sentence stress.

       Pronunciation work is built on listening activity but these pronunciation works are not dialogues. For example on page 11 of pre-intermediate book we may see this:

a)      Listen to these sentences. Mark the intonation. Which are the real questions?

 

1.       That’s really cool, isn’t it?

2.       It is broken, is it?

3.       They aren’t fast are they?

4.       You won’t be late, will you?

b)      Listen again and repeat.

  III. Skills

 A.     Listening

       In coursebooks there are different kinds of listening materials. Some materials handle listening in its own right, with recorded listening passages for comprehension, for extraction of information as a lead-in to discussion, in conjunction with a reading text…etc. There is listening practice in every unit of Pacesetter. In the cassette recordings students are presented with a wide range of types of spoken English: dialogues, mini dramas, announcements recorded messages, television or radio programs, phone calls and so on.

       One of the most difficult and often unnerving aspects of taking part in a conversation in a foreign language is the unpredictability of the answer and response. While learners can keep what they try to say within their linguistic competence, there is no way that once outside the safe confines of the classroom, they can control what comes back at them in conversation. The most effective strategy is quick thinking and accurate prediction of what to expect. In Pacesetter students learn to listen to spoken English with confidence, to understand it accurately and to develop specific sub-skills for effective listening such as understanding the gist of a conversation/massage, listening for detail, listening ‘through’ difficult or unknown language without panicking, understanding the speaker’s mood or attitude and so on.

       In Pacesetter listening section deals with everyday spoken language in common situations, such as making arrangements, buying clothes, asking about time, ordering information, discriminating between and comparing account of events or making phone calls. In Pacesetter starter (unit 1) you can see a phone call listening passage. Students listen this phone call and fill in the blanks at the conversation. This shows us that listening passages in the coursebook forms part of a dialogue or conversation work.

       In Pacesetter intermediate (unit 2, pp 16) there is a dialogue between three people (Eddie, Laura and John). This dialogue contains their speech about their feelings. Also in the starter level of the same book you can see radio news that must be completed by students. These examples are really important for spoken English and real life situations.

       In the coursebook there are also specific listening passages to make better students’ pronunciation. Especially in pronunciation sections there are specific listening passages because these passages can’t stay with the normal context of the book. It must be a separate part. For example in Pacesetter intermediate (unit 10, pp 69) pronunciation section is about word stress so it is independent from the normal conduct of the book.

       However there are listening passages related to the content of the book. For example in the intermediate level of the coursebook  (unit 1, pp 13) there is a listening passage that contains a song about a road. The sections before the listening activity are about the road stories. So the listening passage is a part of this subject; it isn’t apart from the content. Listening materials are set in meaningful content so understanding the material gets easier as the example that has been given.

       There are numerous songs in different musical styles in the ‘freewheeling’ sections throughout Pacesetter and they are all recorded on the cassettes.

       The songs in the coursebook are for enjoyment but there is always a teaching point behind them, either more informal exposure to the new language points or an extension of the topic and vocabulary through music. For example in Pacesetter starter (unit 3, pp 25) there is a freewheeling activity that contains a song about love. First students listen to the song and then they write a good title for it. At the end of the section they sing the song together. See appendix 8

        Students are not expected to study the language of the song in any detail (it is often ‘above level’ in any case so close study is not desirable) but rather to enjoy listening to and singing along with pop songs in English while doing a simple task. In Pacesetter intermediate               (unit 5, pp 105) listening section contains a song and expects students to sing it.

       We should check if the coursebook provides pre listening activities to focus learners’ attention on the topic of the passage. These can take the form of pre questions or asking students to look for certain items of information contained in the listening material. This gives purpose to the activity, allows on element of prediction and makes the passage more accessible by placing it in a context. All these and other listening skills are presented and systematically developed in Pacesetter through pre listening tasks. For example in Pacesetter starter (unit 4, pp 28) there is a listening task about the clothes. However at the beginning of the task there are some questions about clothes. With these questions task aims to turn students’ attention to the listening section. Also in the same book in the consolidation 1 section (pp 41) there is a listening activity about a penfriend but before the listening task there are questions about penfriendship in order to take students’ opinions about the topic. Also in reading section at the same unit there is a letter to a penfriend. All these are to create students’ interest about the listening section. Wee also need to check the quality of the recorded sound. This should be very high. The speed of speaking should be appropriate to the learners’ ability and level where different accents are used they should not normally deviate too drastically from whichever (standard) variety the students have become used to form their teacher and previous listening. On the other hand overarticulated speech is to be avoided and the models presented should include features such as aliasion, week forms, assimilation…etc.

       With all the Pacesetter recordings, learners are helped by sound effects pauses, repetitions or rephrasings (built-in redundancy) and by the clear delivery of all the language on the cassettes. The cassettes contain all the listening texts, exercises and songs. The voice on the cassettes give examples of a normal range of slight British English accents and some examples of Australian, New Zelland and North American English. The speed of speech is very slightly slower than that of a native speaker to compensate for the limitations of the classroom environment. However the rhythm, stress and intonation are all natural. Some background sound effects are used to establish the context of the recorded material but these do not interfere with the clarity of the speech.

       The factor contributing to the difficulty of understanding recorded material is the absence of vision, depriving students of all the supporting features normally available through facial expression, gesture, eye contact…etc. Videotapes can overcome this advantage if they are available but the cost of purchasing the videotapes themselves and the equipment needed to play them means that at present there are far more audiotapes produced as a part of the course packages than videotapes, although videos are available as optional extras with some courses. However there is no videotape of Pacesetter.

 

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