Textbook evaluation: ELT teachers’ perspectives on “Learning to Read English for Pre-University Students”

Abstract

As Ellis (1997) underscores, it is mandatory that we evaluate every single textbook used to teach a language. The present study aimed to evaluate Learning to Read English for Pre-University Students, currently taught at Iranian high schools. To this purpose, 75 high school EFL teachers were given Litz (2000) textbook evaluation questionnaire. Their answers were analyzed based on a Likert scale. The results of the study showed that the textbook mostly did not live up to the teachers' standards, mainly because it has ignored listening, and writing skills and does not follow a communicative approach in teaching different skills and components of language. Results of this study have implications both for teaching and material development.