Textbooks Evaluation

    The most obvious and most common form of material support for language instruction comes from textbooks

    A distinction is to be made between the terms 'text , and textbook' .Texts are viewed as 'any of a wide variety of types of linguistic forms' , whereas textbooks are 'one types of text ,a book for use in an educational curriculum , or a coherent body of teaching materials which may consist of either the course books , or a learning package consisting of several parts' ( Brown , 2001:138). Information about                          text books can be obtained from two sources : the textbooks itself and the users of the textbooks .Three terms should be taken into account: textbook selection , textbook description , and textbook evaluation.

   Textbook selection is used for the collection ,ordering ,   and editing the necessary materials for teaching to construct the textbooks .The selection of any textbook is dependant on : the objectives  : the curriculum , the teaching situation , and the way in which the school is organized .

   Textbook description refers to the collection and description of data related to the form and content of the textbook itself . The most reliable sources of textbook descriptions : authors' and publishers' Information, textbook reviews , new descriptive tools , and checklists. Textbook evaluation is about the collection and description of data related to the effects the textbooks have on their users. It takes two forms: users' judgements , and experimental research into the effects of textbooks.

The textbooks available lack in Interactive aspect, i.e. it focuses on the form of language rather than uses of language .

The dependence on the commercially produced books rather than locally – produced books does a lot of harm to the attempts made to boost and promote the local values and ideas .

As it is well – known , foreign textbooks are designed to promote the cultural values of their makers .So in order  to spread the social, cultural values of our own , It is imperative to make use of and instill them into the textbooks.

Reliance on the textbooks which encourage more communication and connection between learners and teachers .