Suggests that English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers assess prospective textbooks by comparing real-life user's actual knowledge of the author's assumed student knowledge. Through examination of charts and page excerpts of two ESL grammar textbooks, demonstrates that access to the pedagogical knowledge demands sophisticated formal knowledge,…

This article is adapted from a project report prepared for the author's Master's degree in Education. The objective is to report the use of an adapted analytical technique for examining the images contained in contemporary English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) textbooks. The point of departure for the study was the identification of the trend in mass…

This paper examines visual and affective factors involved in the reading of foreign language texts. It draws on the results of a pilot study among students of post-compulsory school stage studying French in England. Through a detailed analysis of students' reactions to texts, it demonstrates that the use of "authentic" documents under…

Suggests a framework of criteria against which a teacher may evaluate the appropriateness of prospective foreign language teaching materials for his class. (Text is in German.) (DH)

An evaluation design is provided to help teachers identify the most suitable textbook for cultural studies. The evaluation design is applied to five recent college German textbooks in order to determine the interaction of culture and language instruction. (SW)

This article presents a checksheet for systematically evaluating foreign language textual materials. (CLK)

Deals with "area study" aspects of the teaching of English in schools and colleges. Using as an example the British monarchy, it is shown how "area study" elements are handled in schoolbooks in use today. Suggestions relating to the subject are also offered. (IFS/WGA)

Describes and compares five basic German texts for high school students and includes the evaluative criteria used. (CK)

Discusses texts in the audiovisual field, giving controversial viewpoints in methodology and pedagogy: late introduction of writing, teaching grammar, the use of pictures, significance of memorizing, etc. Second part offers for discussion a catalog of criteria which may offer assistance in the selection of suitable audiovisual courses. (Text is in…

This article provides an analysis of textbooks available for teaching French civilization and ranging in orientation from subjective, historical, geographical, cultural and sociological approaches to anthropological, semiotic, comparative and linguistic ones. The content and the format of the texts is dealt with, as well as various teaching…

Proposes a system that can be used to analyze and evaluate any language teaching method at any level, by breaking down a particular method and comparing it to another, in terms of linguistic and sociocultural content, methodological organization; and physical quality. (AM)

Discusses the treatment and the image of women in the Speak English series of instructional materials for English as a second language. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

Of 21 beginning French textbooks evaluated according to presentation of French culture, only two met the cultural and pedagogical criteria derived from various models. Lacking this cultural content, students cannot fully learn the foreign language. (PMJ)

Presents findings from a study that established a series of criteria for assessing the equity of gender representation in foreign-language textbooks, applied the criteria to a number of Russian textbooks to compare them on a basis as a case study, and considered the criteria as a basis for the examination of gender representation in…

Despite some exceptions in recent years, most elementary foreign language texts continue to be organized in a typical "twenty-five lesson" format bound by an old-fashioned idea of continuity. It is argued that this format is a major source of student frustration and a barrier to optimum second language acquisition. As one possible alternative, an…