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Reading and Writing Targets 3 by Evans and Dooley (2001): A Critical Analysis

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 Reading and Writing Targets 3 by Evans and Dooley (2001):

A Critical Analysis

Jamel Abdenacer ALIMI

e-mail: jamel_alimi@yahoo.com

10 March, 2006.
PAPER PLAN

INTRODUCTION

1- PRELIMINARIES

1.1 ELT Syllabus and Course Design: Literature Review

1.2 RAWT3-related Contextual Considerations

1.3.1 The Learning/Teaching Context

1.3.2 The EEP Learners

1.3.2.1 Learner Factors

1.3.2.2 Learners' L2-related Needs

2- RAWT3: A DESCRIPTION OVERVIEW

2.1 General Observations

2.2 Aims and Objectives

2.3 Underlying Syllabus and Course Design Principles

3- RAWT3: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

3.1 Course Design Principles

3.2 Accountability and Congruence

4- RECOMMENDATIONS

5- CONCLUSION

END NOTES

6- REFERENCES

7- APPENDICES
 Any syllabus will express— however indirectly—

certain assumptions about language, about the

psychological process of learning, and about the

pedagogic and social processes within a classroom

(Breen 1984: 49; quoted in Nunan1988a: 6)

INTRODUCTION

Oman's secondary schools for general education have undertaken, since last
September 2005, the implementation of the first Elective English Programme (EEP)
ever for Grade 12 classes. A global book1, entitled Reading and Writing Targets 3
(RAWT3) by Evans and Dooley (2001), along with a supplementary Writing Tasks
Sheet (Appendix One) has been prescribed by the Ministry of Education authorities
for that purpose (Assessment Document Development Committee for English 2005).
The textbook just referred to, while intuitively praised for many a merit over the last
few months, does still pose a dire need for systematic analyses and evaluations of its
very content and ways of working, which, unfortunately, has not been fully satisfied
to date.

The present paper is in partial response to the gap in investigative research noted
above. Within its purview, it will be mainly concerned with providing a critical
analysis of RAWT3, with chief regard to its underlying syllabus design assumptions
and to the degree of its congruence with the needs of the EEP student community at
Sohar Secondary School for General Education, where I currently work. To this two-
fold end, the essay proposes to proceed according to the following steps:

A- Preliminaries: These will include, in turn, a brief review of the literature on

syllabus and course design for English language teaching, a description of my
teaching context and of the EEP students here concerned.
B- A brief overview of the Coursebook.
C- A critical analysis of RAWT3's underlying principles and of its degree of
suitability for the EEP students' needs.
D- A set of RAWT3-related recommendations.

The remainder sections are to be structured according to the format outlined above. In
the interest of time and space, further details are available in the End Notes and
Appendices Sections to supply necessary clarifications and comments, as need arise.

2
1- PRELIMINARIES

As the heading should clearly indicate, the present Section will comprise a few
introductory notes to serve as a basis for the Critical Analysis Section to come. These
particularly concern RAWT3, as a coursebook2, in relation to its macro syllabus and
course design background and, at a later stage, to the very micro instructional context
it is being implemented in.

1.1 ELT Syllabus and Course Design: Literature Review

Syllabus and course materials design falls within two broad strands closely connected
to either Type A or Type B syllabus design classification (White 1988: 45-6)3. The
former (also termed synthetic4) type may be of a notional-functional, topic, content,
phonological, lexical, structural or skills units of design5. Conversely, the latter
category is of an analytic6 or process orientation, and takes "task" as a unit of analysis
and design. It concerns the Procedural, Process and the Task-Based Language
Teaching syllabuses, which first appeared in the 1980s (Long and Crookes 1992). In
contradistinction to the sub-syllabuses pertaining, respectively, to Type A and Type B
taxonomy above, stand the Proportional syllabus (Johnson 1982: 135-44; Yalden
1983: 120-37) and the Multidimentional syllabuses (Ullmann 1982; Batstone 1988:
188-9).

As Reilly (1988) points out, it is practically rare that either of the syllabuses identified
earlier occurs in absolute independence, or in entire distinction, from any other. Thus,
more often than not, "For a given course, one type of syllabus usually dominates,
while other types of content may be combined with it" (ibid). This depends, inter alia,
on two intertwined factors: the target and learning needs7 (Klimová and Suchánková:
2001:9) .

The current learner's centrality in the syllabus and course design equation alluded to
just earlier would hardly pose, in principle, any serious matter of discord. This is
chiefly due to the impact of the Communicative Language Teaching (McDonough
and Shaw 2003: 15-39), work in English for Specific Purposes (Munby 1978;
Hutchinson and Waters 1987), and the growing influence of Humanistic-
Constructivist approaches to English Language Teaching (Arnold (ed.) 1999). Rather,
what is practically at issue is, as will be discussed later, the variety of claims built
around it by some coursebook designers and publishers— only to give out, at times,
some skillfully marketed masses of rubbish (Brumfit 1979: 30; quoted in McGrath
2003:12). This has necessitated the rise and growth of a plethora of textbook
description, analysis, and evaluation frameworks in the field8. Two out of the key
parameters, which have won consensus amongst curriculum, syllabus and coursebook
evaluators, directly concern the context analysis as well as the survey of learner
needs. Both of these are turned to in the next sub-section.

1.2 RAWT3-related Contextual Considerations

In extension to the previous sub-section, which placed RAWT3 within the context of
the recent developments in syllabus design and theory, the present part will now
situate the textbook under discussion in closer relation to the Omani instructional
context and, much more narrowly, to the needs of the EEP student community at

3
Sohar Secondary School for General Education. The data provided below are only
quick notes from a more detailed report available in Appendices Two and Three.

1.2.1 The Learning/Teaching Context

Sultanate of Oman's students are given up to twelve years of English language

instruction at state-run schools. These are spread over a period of nine years in Grades
1-9 at junior-senior, Basic Education schools and three years later in Grades 10-12 at
senior-high Schools for General Education. Senior-high students have five to six 45-
minute English classes per week; those enrolled in the EEP have only three. Despite
genuine efforts to modernize the teaching of English, the syllabus is still prescribed by
the centralized Ministry of Education and implemented in one way or another by a
majority of non-native teachers of variously national, academic and teaching
backgrounds, which negatively impacts on the status of English in the long run
(Nunan et al 1987)9. Lessons revolve around the usual four skills in addition to
grammar and vocabulary, and are almost totally delivered in a teacher-fronted way.
Continuous as well as end-of-term evaluation and assessment are tightly textbook-
bound, which rather gives way to rote-learning, little, if ever, exposure to extra
material, and to many instances of cheating during exams, as it must be mentioned,.

1.3.2 The EEP Learners

The overall negative depiction of the Omani instructional context above has to suffer
yet other serious effects when considering the plight of the EEP learners here
involved. A glance through Appendix Three should be informative enough to
mentally visualize their rather low proficiency learning variables. Some of these
noticeably include:

 an overwhelmingly weak level at all language skills,

 rather limited study skills, including access to dictionaries, computer
facilities, library books and other learning materials,
 a heavy dependence on rote-learning and cheating during examinations, and
 a tendency not to perceive English as a world language or a skill immediately
related to their own needs and existence (Nunan et al 1987)

The implications of these as well as other similar characteristics available in

Appendix Three are to be spelled out in Sections Three and Four below.

2- RAWT3: A DESCRIPTION OVERVIEW

2.1 General Observations:

RAWT3 is the third of a three-level writing series designed for pre-intermediate

students (Both the teaching context and the age group of the target students have not
been specified). It is made up of 18 units, each with a distinct 11-to-14-exercise
theme. As stated in the Teacher's Guide (TG)'s Introduction (Appendix Four), it is
meant to provide material for 40 to 45 teaching hours.

4
2.2 Aims and Objectives:

The overall aim of RAWT3, as stated in the Student's Book blurb (Appendix Six) and
the TG Introduction, is to provide "systematic" development of students' reading and
writing skills via

 carefully selecting a wide range of unit themes to appeal and motivate

learners at pre-intermediate level,
 starting each unit with a written input based on a "real-life communicative
situation to develop students' reading skills to serve as a model for their own
written work",
 following input texts with a set of vocabulary and grammar exercises to help
students produce successfully fluent and accurate pieces of writing,
 exposing learners to a miscellany of text genres,
 familiarizing students with a wide variety of reading skills,
 supplying writing tip boxes so as to help students with the structure of each
piece of composition, and
 providing paragraph plans to give learners step-by-step guidance and support.

From its part, the four-heading "Contents" page (Appendix Seven) yields further
indicative clues as to the realization of RAWT3's aims and objectives on a unit-wise
basis. As illustrated in the extract below, the unit entries invariably specify

UNITS page READING WRITING SKILLS GRAMMAR

SKILLS
UNIT 15 p.64 - reading for - making -advice /
detailed suggestions suggestion— esp.
Trouble Shared… understanding conditionals type 2
- a letter offering
- matching topics to advice to a relative
paragraphs

- reconstructing a
text

 the types of reading sub-skills in focus,

 the communicative purpose as well as the genre of the piece of writing, and
 the grammatical / structural item thought suitable for tackling the composition
exercise.

Surprisingly, this continuum misses out two key components: vocabulary and, at a
lesser degree, speaking; the latter being stressed in the TG Introduction as an
indispensable in-class activity "before the exercise is assigned as written homework".

2.3 Underlying Syllabus and Course Design Principles

Considering the overview description above, it might be inferred that RAWT3's design
rests, most prominently, on the following views of language and language learning:

5
View of Language:

 Language is a set of rules and patterns which need to be learned and

internalized step by step.
 Language is made up of discrete units— hence, the expediency to expose
learners to a variety of "accuracy" exercises.
 Language is used for purpose and, thus, varies according to the context / topic
/ situation it may be used in.

View of Learning:

 Language is a linear and additive development.

 Each of the items is to be learnt separately. Once mastered, a different one is
then moved onto.
 The learnt set of rules or patterns provides for effective, communicative
writing skills.
 Learners indiscriminatingly learn items at either the same or similar rate.
 Writing is a culmination of model reading, lexical and grammatical inputs.
 The teacher is à la fois a giver of knowledge about language and a monitor of
opportunities to get the students to produce extended pieces of discourse.

As could be expected, these two sets of views are to exert a considerably powerful
influence at many a level. Their impact is notably manifest in the potential learning
context RAWT3 happens to be implemented in, the methodology it embraces, the roles
it expects from the teacher and learners, the way it is actually designed and produced
as a skills book, and, ultimately, the extent to which it meets the requirements of its
target students. The next Section will give brief consideration to the two latter.

3- RAWT3: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The chief aim of the present section is to critically analyze the coursebook herein
concerned in terms of its underpinning assumptions and of the extent to which it
actually meets the needs and expectations of the EEP community described in Sub-
section 1.3.2 earlier.

3.1 Course Design Premises

Based on the overview description Section above, the principles RAWT3 draws on
tend to derive from an integrated, multilayered approach to language learning, with
stress on the functional, syntactic and lexical aspects of English on the one hand, and
on the learning strategies for fostering learners' reading and writing skills on the other.
The realization of this bi-focal objective is conceived attainable through a series of
exercises which call on the inductive and deductive faculties in students.

The initial assumptions just identified have engendered several merits as to the
ultimate state of the Coursebook. Their subsequent positive impact is outstandingly
tangible in the latter's

6
  selection of topics and themes which undeniably appeal to its teenaged
audience.
 Its inclusion of graphic and written inputs, along with study and writing tips,
so as to maximize motivation and performance in students.
 Its devising of lexical and syntactic exercises which prove of tremendous
assistance and relevance as to carrying the ultimate writing assignments and
projects.
 Its pedagogically realistic stance in approaching the writing skill as a
combination of process and product.
 Its genuine efforts to live to its claim as a reading-to-writing skills book from
one unit to another.
 Its success in exposing the targeted writing students to a variety of writing
genres

Irrespective of these advantages, RAWT3 does seem to suffer, at least, three major
deficiencies. These are summed up in the following points:

a- General syllabus tradition: As preconceived by its co-authors, the skills book

under consideration pertains to Type A syllabus category. In so doing, it
manifests conformity to the notoriously "traditional definition of a syllabus as
an organized statement of content of things to be learnt" (White 1988: 91).
b- Methodology bias: RAWT3 shows ample evidence for tendency towards
intervention in the learning process as well as the pre-selection, specification
and presentation of content. Such a strand gives too much preference for a
product-oriented, end-means model of coursebook design— hence, its
condemnation by proponents of procedural, process, and learning- or learner-
centred one ( Long and Crookes 1992; Prabhu 1987; Nunan 1988b: 20).
c- Approach to Units: It seems that the co-authors' use of such terms as
"systematic development", "real-life communicative situation", and "task"
(Appendix Four) is deliberately aimed at highlighting their adherence to a
task-based model to English instruction. The practical materialization of this
allegiance tends to prove extremely questionable, though. For it displays but
little correspondence, if at all, to the construct of "pedagogic tasks" which, in
short, necessitates a considerably high level of active learner involvement,
communicative interaction and cognitive processing while tackling the task
assignment as a communication problem to solve (Nunan 2004: 1-4). Seen
from this perspective, it very much fails to meet the above-mentioned
characteristics and would, most expectedly, result in a quite limited range of
"routes, media, modes of participation, [and] procedures", as has been the case
with other coursebooks with a similar trend (Candlin 1987, cited in Nunan
1988a: 45-6).

3.2 Accountability and Congruence

As pointed at in the preceding sub-section, RAWR3 undeniably offers many positive

aspects. This is said, it should be stressed that the Coursebook, not least by the mere

7
fact of being a global textbook, imminently sparks off serious problems of suitability
with many an instructional context around the world. The one here considered will
happen to be yet another case in point. Indeed, a perusal of the data in Sub-section 1.3
above would not fail to reveal the number of gaps between the expectations of the
coursebook and the realities it has to confront when implemented with students whose
profile is not dissimilar to that described in Sub-section 1.2.3. These, most pertinently,
concern

 The high level of English language command that RAWR3 conspicuously

imposes on the EEP students when dealing with either skill in target (See
Appendix Eight for a sample).
 The option for reading inputs whose settings, events, and characters are, in all
cases, non-Arab and culturally-specific— thus, further straining the content
schemata of the students in focus.
 The suggestion of writing topics that have little in common with the daily life
here in Sohar.
 The expectation that these writing topics may very well be carried out in four-
to-five paragraph format by students who, in their majority, are just simply
incapable of producing an accurate, one-to-three-sentence written discourse.

Understandably enough, these and other similar points exert an urgent need for
adapting RAWR3 to the EEP community at Sohar Secondary School and, by
extension, to their peers with identical profiles elsewhere in the Sultanate. A few
suggestions in this regard are put forth in the next Section.

4- RECOMMENDATIONS

In light of the preceding Sections, it is felt crucial to realize that RAWR3, however
well-designed, simply cannot be expected to be ideally suited to each and every
learning context. The discrepancies between its potentialities and the practical
difficulties surrounding its implementation (Section 1.3) urgently require EEP
teachers to consider the following set of recommendations:

 A critical stance towards the content, aims and procedures of any Units which
might prove well beyond the intellectual, cultural or linguistic reach of the
students, as is the case with Units 3, 6, 9, and 12.
 A more independent and creative attitude towards the prescribed textbook.
This will greatly maximize the teachers' possibilities for inspiration and a
sense of partnership with RAWR3's co-authors (Cunningsworth 1984: 65).
 Adoption of language learning procedures and techniques inspired by a
genuine drive for humanizing the imposed coursebook and the classroom
(Tomlinson 2003).

5- CONCLUSION

The present essay has attempted to provide a critical analysis of RAWT3— a

commercial coursebook recently authorized for use in an Omani teaching and learning
context. The chief concern was to relate the textbook in question "as it is" to the

8
specific needs of the student community at Sohar Secondary School for General
Education. Based on the tripartite data deriving from syllabus design theory, the
description and analysis of RAWT3 and learners' needs, a set of recommendations for
amending the Evans and Dooley series book for near future use in the Sultanate was
also suggested.

Given its scope, the paper has limited itself to approaching RAWT3 according to the
three parameters mentioned above. In so doing, it missed out higher-order data which
could only be derived from testing out the "Trojan Horse" Textbook against "what
may actually happen in classrooms" (Littlejohn 1998: 191). This unfortunate lacuna
may be adequately filled out, in its own right, in a separate paper based on an Action
Research framework. Only then, could RAWT3, and, by extension, other similar
coursebooks, best reveal their real value as active, dynamic contributors to the
learning processes.

END NOTES

1- According to Tomlinson (1998: x), a "global coursebook" is one " which is not
written for learners from a particular culture or country but which is intended for use
by any class of learners in the specified level and age group anywhere in the world ".

2- This term, following Tomlinson's (1998) definition, should be understood here as

"A textbook which provides the core materials for a course. It aims to provide as
much as possible in one book and is designed so that it could serve as the only book
which the learners necessarily use during a course. Such a book usually includes work
on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, function and the skills of reading, writing,
listening and speaking (ix).

3- Type A and Type B Taxonomy:

Type A Type B

a- Syllabus orientation to Interventionist; giving priority to Non-interventionist; experiential;

learning process the pre-selection of linguistic or "natural growth" approach to the

other content or skill objectives learning process

b- Attitude towards the learner . external to the learner . internal to the learner

. other-directed . inner directed or self- fulfilling

. determined by authority . negotiated between teachers and

learners

c- Teacher/student roles . teacher as a decision-maker . learner and teacher as joint

decision-makers

. teacher doing things to the learner . teacher doing things for or with the

learner

d- Language content . content = what the subject is to . content = what the subject is to the

9
 the expert learner

. content = a gift from the teacher or . content = what the learner brings

knower and wants

. content is subordinate to learning

processes and pedagogical

procedures

e- syllabus objectives defined in advance described afterwards

(adapted from White 1988: 45-6)

4- "A synthetic language teaching strategy is one in which the different parts of
language are taught separately and step-by-step so that acquisition is a process of
gradual accumulation of the parts until the whole structure of the language has been
built up" (Wilkins 1976)

5- See Robinson (1998) for a state of the art article which establishes second language
syllabus design in light of recent SLA theory; Richards and Rodgers (2001) and
McDonough and Shaw (2003: 40-58) for further details and analysis.

6- According to Nunan (2004), an analytic syllabus is " A syllabus based on the

notion that learners can acquire language by holistic "chunks" of language and then
analyzing the language into its component parts, rather than having the language
broken down for them. Topic and content-based syllabuses are analytic in nature
(212).

7- As Klimová and Suchánková )2001:9) explain " The former reflects what the
learner needs to do in the target situation, what communication purpose,
communicative setting, or the means of communication is, what language skills,
functions, or structures the learner will need to acquire. The latter answers the
question of what the learner needs to do in order to learn, what his/her learning
purpose, learning style, resources, or profile are".

8- See, for instance, the models proposed by McDonough and Shaw (2003), McGrath
(2002), Tomlinson (ed.) (1998) and Cunningsworth (1984; 1995).

9- Almost two decades ago, Nunan et al (1987: 3) noted the problems presented by
the various backgrounds of the expatriate teaching workforce, especially insofar as
their teaching methodology was concerned. Their observation still holds true, in my
view.

6- REFERENCES

Arnold, J. (ed.) (1999), Affect in Language Learning, Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

10
Assessment Document Development Committee for English (2005), Student
Assessment Document for English: Grades 10 to 12, Muscat: Sultanate of Oman's
Ministry of Education.

Batstone, R. (1988), "Teachers and course design: the case for a modular approach",
ELTJournal 42, 3: 185-94.

Breen, M. (1984), "Process syllabuses for the language classroom". In C.J. Brumfit
(ed.), General English Syllabus Design,Oxford: Pergamon.

Brumfit, C. (1979), "Seven last slogans", Modern English Teacher 7, 1: 30-1.

Brumfit, C.J. (ed.) (1984), General English Syllabus Design,Oxford: Pergamon.

Candlin, C. (1987), "Towards task-based language learning". In C. Candlin and D.

Murphy (eds.), Language learning Tasks, Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall.

Cunningsworth, A. (1984), Evaluating and Selecting EFL Teaching Materials,

London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.

Cunningsworth, A. (1995), Choosing your Coursebook, London: Longman.

Evans, V. and J. Dooley (2001), Reading and Writing Targets 3, Student's Book,
Newbury: Express Publishing.

Evans, V. and J. Dooley (2001), Reading and Writing Targets 3, Teacher's Book,
Newbury: Express Publishing.

Hutchinson, T. and A. Waters (1987), English For Specific Purposes: A Learning

Centred Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Johnson, K. (1982), Communicative Syllabus Design and Methodology, Oxford:

Pergamon Institute of English.

Klimová, B. and H. Suchánková (2001),"Some tips for syllabus design", IATEFL

Issues June-July, 9-10.

Littlejohn, A.(1998), " The analysis of language teaching materials: inside the Trojan
Horse". In B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 190-216.

Long, M.H. and G. Crookes (1992), "Three approaches to task-based syllabus

design",TESOLQuarterly,26,1:2756.[27January,2006]http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/TESOL
Online/texts/longcrookes/

Mac Grath, I. (2002), Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching,
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

McDonough, J. and C. Shaw (2003), Materials and Methods in ELT. 2nd edn.
Malden, Ma., USA: Blackwell.

11
Munby, J. (1978), Communicative Syllabus Design, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Nunan, D. (1988a), Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Nunan, D. (1988b), The Learner–Centred Curriculum, Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Nunan, D. (2004), Task-Based Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Nunan, D., D. Watton and M. Tyacke (1987), Philosophy and Guidelines for the
Omani English Language School Curriculum, Muscat: Sultanate of Oman's Ministry
of Education.

Prabhu, N.S. (1987), Second Language Pedagogy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Reilly, T. (1988), "Approaches to foreign language syllabus design", ERIC Digest ED

295460.

Richards, J.C. and T.S. Rodgers (2001), Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching.2nd ed, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Robinson, P. (1998), "State of the art: SLA theory and second language syllabus
design", The English Teacher Online 22, 4. [28 January, 2006]
http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt/98/apr/robinson/html.

Tomlinson, B. (1998), "Glossary of basic terms for materials development in

language teaching". In B. Tomlinson (ed.), Materials Development in Language
Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, viii-xiv.

Tomlinson, B. (ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching, Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Tomlinson, B. (2003), "Humanizing the language class", Guidelines 25, 2: 4-9.

Ullmann, R. (1982), "A broadened curriculum framework for second languages", ELT
Journal 36, 4: 255-62.

White, R.V. (1988), The ELT Curriculum: Design, Innovation And Management.
Oxford: Blackwell.

Wilkins, D.A. (1976), Notional Syllabuses. Oxford : Oxford University Press

12
7- APPENDICES

APPENDIX ONE: RAWT3 Writing Tasks Sheet (an extract)

13
APPENDIX TWO: The Omani Learning/Teaching Context

The data, provided below in a Prompts-Notes format, concern only two out of
Cunningsworth (1995: 149)'s four-category, 27-item checklist for specifying aims and
analyzing the learning/ teaching situation.

The Sultanate of Oman is one of the Arabian Gulf states, with a population of
approximately 2,331,000 people— about 75% of them are Omani nationals; 49%
Females; 51% Males: around 40% illiterate as per the Year 2003 Census releases. It
presents the following features:

8- a- Status of English: First foreign language since 1970. Recently used as a medium
instruction at Science, Medicine, Engineering and Agriculture faculties at Sultan
Qaboos University. Widely used in banks, hospitals, hotels, private firms dealings
especially in major cities and towns and where expatriates are predominant. Limited
use as a communication channel amongst young nationals at and outside home.

b- Role of English in Oman: A resource for local development as well as a a means

of communication with non-Arab-speaking nations worldwide.

10- a- Main purposes for learning English: To raise the consciousness of pupils,
including those aspiring to enter tertiary institutions, in relation to the following " four
dimensions of a language learner: 1. As a communicating individual (the development
of communicative competence)

2. As a learner (the development of strategies in learning how to learn

a language)

3. As a social being (the development of social interaction)

4. As a person ( the development and affirmation of personality)".

( Nunan et al 1987:3)

b- Programme intensity: Compulsory tuition from Grades 1 through 12 at all

public, state-funded institutions.

c- Availability for learning English:

LEVEL CYCLE YEAR PERIOD/WEEK LENGTH OF PERIOD TIME/ WEEK

Basic Education 1 1-4 5 40 mins. 200 mins.

Basic Education 2 5-9 5 40 mins. 200mins.

Secondary Education 10 5 45 mins. 225 mins

Secondary Education 11-12 6 45 mins. 225 mins.

14
 English Elective Grades 11-12 3 45 mins. 138 mins

10- Materials and equipment resources available in the school: 36 classrooms; two
physics labs; two chemistry labs; two computer labs; a library; an OHP; tape-
recorders; two photocopiers; English language book-boxes; English Arabic
dictionaries.

11- Size of the classes: EEP classes: 25-30; others: 35-39

12- Class homogeneity level: one single level per class/grade; mixed-ability students;
strict sex segregation (except for a few schools scattered in remote, mountainous
areas. Age ranging between 15 and 19.
13- Predominant values of the educational system: emphasis on knowledge and on
individual preparation for a place in society.

Future use of language systems: both productively and receptively

APPENDIX THREE: Learner Factors and Needs at Sohar Secondary School for
General Education

The learners involved in the present coursebook description and analysis are about
150 out of 1,130 in total. They are all males in their final, pre-university class. They
all come from Sohar, the second largest city in the country. The majority of them are
Omani nationals; the rest are Sudanese, Egyptians, and one Algerian newcomer from
Nottingham, England. They are taught by four Omani teachers, three Egyptians, three
Tunisians and one Sudanese. They display a wide range of learner factors and of
learner needs, as shown below:

Learner Factors (Based on a Summary of Learner Factors compiled by McGrath

(2002: 19))

a- Age range: 18-19

b- L2 proficiency level: predominantly pre-intermediate; little homogeneity
within learner groups
c- First language: Arabic
d- Socio-cultural background: Muslims; strong allegiance to Sunni, Abadhi, and
Shiite precepts
e- Occupation: fishing on week-ends(minority)
f- Reasons for studying English: part of the curriculum; future academic and
vocational purposes for some
g- Attitude to learning English: English overwhelmingly seen as a subject like
any other— not as a skill; not learned as a second language or "perceived as
functionally relevant to their existence" (Nunan et al 1987); fearful attitude to
English (bête noire); respect towards, and cooperation with, teachers and
School Staff
h- Previous language-learning of English: more or less 9 years
i- Language-learning aptitude: rather weak
j- General expectations of

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  The coursebook: preparation for the end-of-term examinations
 The teacher: a facilitator; a spoon-feeder; a mediator; a translator
 Their own role: teacher-dependent

k- Specific wants: varied

l- Preferred learning styles: analytic; indiscrete bits; rote learning (and cheating
whenever possible)
m- Sex distribution: single sex (many of them showing gay behaviour)
n- Interests : football; basketball; swimming; dancing …

Learners' L2-related Needs ( Based on McGrath, ibid)

a- Dialect: British English

b- Language-skills: writing
c- Contexts and situation of use: class and school magazines; web chatting; English
language assessment portfolio
d- Sub-skills: joining sentences; building sentences out of dehydrated ones; writing
extended written discourse based on graphic cues
e- Notions: miscellaneous
f- Functions: miscellaneous
g- Language-system emphasis: grammar and lexis
h- Language forms: elementary structures and vocabulary items
i- Future use of language systems: both productively and receptively
j- Attention to writing mechanics: spelling and punctuation

APPENDIX FOUR: Teacher's Guide's Introduction

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APPENDIX FIVE: A schedule presenting the "explicit" nature of RAWT3
(Adapted from Littlejohn (1998: 197) in Tomlinson (ed.))

Title : Reading and Writing Targets Student's Book 3

Author : Evans and Dooley
Publisher: Express Publishing (2001)
ISBN: 1-84325-267-8

A. BOOK AS A WHOLE
1. Type : supplementary; class use for pre-intermediate students
2. Intended audience :
Age range: not specified
School: pre-intermediate
Location: worldwide

3. Extent :

a. Components: durable "Student's Book"; Teacher's Book; supplementary,

consumable Writing Tasks Sheets (Appendix One)
b. Total estimated time: 40-45 hours (Teacher's Book)
4. Design and layout
1 colour SBk, 79 pp (+ Appendix figuring 1 colour photofile section : 81-104
pp); 1 black-and-white TBk 47 pp

5. Distribution
a. Materials Teacher Learners
cassette [ ] [ ]
tape script [ ] [ ]
answer key [√ ] [ ]
guidance on use of class materials [√ ] [ ]

b. Access
index/ word list [ ] [ ]
detailed content list [√ ] [√ ]
section objective

6. Route through material

specified [√ ]
user-determined

7. Subdivision

18 units with 18 different themes ( Unit One is a detailed introduction devoted

writing strategies, with standardized exercises throughout.

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 B. OVERVIEW OF AN EXTRACT (Unit Two: Everyday People)

1. Length: 1 theme out of 18

2. Exercise Sequence : 1 A rubric; 2 An article (reading); 3 Comprehension
questions; 4 Vocabulary exercise STUDY TIP 5 Vocabulary exercise; 6
Vocabulary exercise; 7 Grammar exercise; 8 Grammar exercise STUDY TIP
9 Grammar exercise; 10 Grammar exercise; 11 Grammar exercise WRITING
TIP 12 An article (reading); 13 Writing topic; 14 Writing plan box.

APPENDIX SIX: RAWT3's Blurb

APPENDIX SEVEN: RAWT3's Contents Page

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APPENDIX EIGHT: A Copy of RAWT3's Unit Nine

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