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Selecting
Texts for the Adult ESL Classroom: Part 3 Questions to Consider (page 2 of 2)
Oliva Fernandez, Marketing
Director, Adult and Higher
Education
2. Do
the materials incorporate current pedagogy
and instructional perspectives?
These questions address how closely the textbook’s
underlying philosophies and methodologies
complement those of the program, as well as generally
recognized best practices in ESL instruction. Do the
overall pedagogy and methodologies of the book
match those of the program? Is there both instruction
and practice for the students? Is there spiraling and
recycling of vocabulary, concepts, and language
functions throughout the activities and units? Is there
a balance of controlled and more open exercises so
that students are challenged in different ways and at
different degrees of difficulty? Are there activities that
are cognitively as well as linguistically challenging?
Two important, currently discussed points of pedagogy
arise in these questions: multilevel
strategies and
learner
persistence strategies.
Multilevel
classes have
been a perennial challenge in ESL programs. Most
educators will tell you that every class is multilevel in
one way or another. Teachers are constantly looking
for tools to help them accommodate or mediate
the multilevel classroom and expand it in a way that
reaches and challenges as many learners as possible.
Examine textbooks and their accompanying teacher’s
editions to see if such strategies are provided for the
teacher. Are there ways to adjust activities or offer
activities that provide different levels of engagement?
Are there additional activities and reproducible
worksheets available for those learners who need
more practice or for those who can rise to practice
that extends beyond the center of the lesson? Does
the text include ideas for grouping strategies that
might support a multilevel class? The more material
a textbook can offer in these areas, the less time a
teacher will have to spend developing supplemental
activities.
Learner
persistence is not about retention. It is
about what learners do when real-life demands and
commitments force them to "stop out" of formal
instruction for a period of time. This is a reality for
many learners, particularly adult learners, and the key
to persistence is how the learners self-direct their own
learning while they are out of the classroom so that
they can feel comfortable, confident, and motivated
to return when they are able. Textbooks that build in
persistence strategies for the learners and the teacher,
include activities that can be done independently
by the learners, provide extra worksheets and other
reproducibles, or even develop learner self-access
web sites that coordinate with the text, can support
persistence. With these kinds of tools, learners can
continue their learning on their own so that they feel
active, even when they are not in class.
3. How conducive are the presentation and
layout to learning?
While full-color art and attractive fonts are not
necessarily the last word in textbook evaluation, a
text is enhanced by a positive presentation. Clear
instructions and directions, illustrations that are
appropriate for the target learner group, and even
sufficient white space, especially for literacy and lowlevel
learners, can support instruction and learning. It
is important to ask questions that address these points
and ensure that the format is pleasing to those who
will use it.
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