Classroom Research : The Key To More Effective Material Use and Design For the Language Classroom

Reflecting on what is going on in the classroom is one way a teacher can improve his or her teaching. It is also an effective means to evaluate teaching materials. By performing a micro-analysis of material used in a classroom task or activity teachers can systematically evaluate the materials\u27 effectiveness and worth, particularly in terms of the aims and objectives of the course. This paper presents a retrospective micro-evaluation on a specific set of materials adapted for the classroom, and assesses its effectiveness or ineffectiveness. The paper also discusses the original material and sheds light on the authors\u27 rationale for its intended use

Designing a "Workable" English Language Course : Some Thoughts in Language Course Development

This article reports on an earlier unpublished study of an English language course designed for Japanese high school students. Though the course analysis was originally carried out in a high school setting the analysis has been expanded to include course design recommendations for any English language program that follows sound pedagogical principals. In fact, the original study, which was, in reality, a critique of an existing course design, was the springboard from which the forthcoming discussion and list of recommendations for designing a future English language course was set forth. Regarding the list of recommendations, it is by no means a prescription that must be followed precisely. In fact, I hope that those teachers who read it, do so with the intention of adapting or improving the list, as it is really just one more step we take towards culminating a better understanding of our own view of a "workable" English language course. If there is anything to be learned from a study of course design and syllabus types it is that they should be treated as living and breathing entities and not as recipes which when followed to the letter result in predetermined or desired outcomes