Material Evaluation

1. Why evaluate material

Evaluation is a matter of judging the fitness of something for a particular tpurpose. Given a certain need,
and in the light of the resources available, which out of a number of possibilities can represent the best
solution? Evaluation is, then, concerned with relative merit. There is no absolute good or bad – only
degrees of fitness for the required purpose.

2. How do you evaluate materials

Evaluation is basically a matching process : matching needs to available solutions. If this matching is to be
done as objectively as possible, The danger is that, if subjective factors are allowed to influence judgement
too soon, it may blind you to possibly useful alternatives

Evaluation Process :

1 Defining criteria.

2 Subjective analysis.

3 Objective analysis.

4 Matching.
Material Design

Defining Object

 Materials Provide a stimulus to learning.

 Materials embody a view of the nature of language and learning.
 Materials reflect the nature of the learning task.
 Materials provide models of correct and appropriate language use.

A Materials Design Model

Input: a topic for communication / stimulus materials.

Content focus:

Language focus:

Task: The purpose of language learning is language use.

Evaluation

A Learner assessment. As with any language course there is a need to assess student performance at
strategic points in the course, for example, at the beginning and at the end. But this assessment takes
on a greater importance in ESP, because ESP is concerned with the ability to perform particular
communicative tasks. The facility to assess proficiency is, therefore, central to the whole concept of
ESP. The results of this kind of evaluation, for example, enable sponsors, teachers and learners to decide
whether and how much language tuition is required.

B Course evaluation. A second important form of evaluation is the evaluation the course itself. This kind
of evaluation helps to assess whether the course objectives are being met — whether the course, in
other words, is doing what it was designed to do.

Evaluation can fulfil two functions — assessment and feedback.