Materials Evaluation

Karen Villalba Ramos

What did you say? Let’s discover what you think.
What you shared
Saying the truth
What else?
What is Materials
evaluation?
Materials evaluation may be defined as a
procedure or a systematic appraisal measuring the
potential value(s) of materials on learners in
relation to their objectives (Tomlinson 1998,
2003). In other words, materials evaluation
means a principled process of providing useful
information about the targeted materials in
order to select and/or develop them in a reliable
and valid approach.
Purposes of materials evaluation
Mukundan (2004, 2009) argues that
there are two purposes for
evaluation; the first purpose is to
select the coursebook and the other
purpose is to determine the
effectiveness of the coursebooks
while they are used.
However, Tomlinson and Masuhara
(2004) indicate that the ultimate
purpose of evaluation is for re-
development of material.
Identifying the potential strengths
and weaknesses of the materials for
selection and/or development
purposes is useful.
 Materials evaluation help
us to identify the

Do you agree? potential effectiveness of

language theories which
are embedded in the
Discuss with your partners. materials for different
purposes.
True or False?
When you were reading you found info about...
Other types of Only evaluating published
materials???
evaluation???
When you were reading you found info about...
A few categories to Teacher-made
evaluate??? materials
guidelines???
Types of evaluation (Book)
Types of evaluation (Stages)
Pre-Use Evaluation: It involves
making predictions about the
potential value of materials on
people who use them (Tomlinson
1998, 2003).
He indicates that this type of
evaluation is often
impressionistic, subjective and
unreliable since a teacher scans a
book quickly to gain an impression
about its value.
Whilst (In)-Use Evaluation: It
measures the value of the materials
whilst observing or using them.
Mukundan (2009), for example,
indicates that retrospective
evaluation is the re-evaluation of
materials while they are in-use to
decide if the materials work
Types of evaluation (Stages)
Post-Use Evaluation: It is the most
important and valuable type of
evaluation because it can measure
the actual effects of the materials
on the users and provide reliable
information (Tomlinson 1998, 2003).

Tomlinson maintains that it can

measure short term effects such as
motivation, impact achievability
and instant learning.
Types of evaluation: Styles
Tools for evaluation
Getting closer to evaluation
● Reviews
● Surveys
● Checklists
● Questionnaires
● Evaluation scales

Which one is made by experts?

Checklists
Time to evaluate
References
References
Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. New York:

Pearson Longman.

Byrd, P. (2001). Textbooks: Evaluation for Selection and Analysis for implementation. In M. Celce-Murcia

(Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (Third Edition) (pp. 415-427). Boston: Heinle &

Heinle.

Ellis, R. (1997). The empirical evaluation of language teaching materials. ELT Journal, 51(1), 36-42.

Garinger, D. (2002). Textbook Selection for the ESL Classroom. Washington DC: Eric Clearinghouse on

Languages and Linguistics. Retrieved from

http://mcael.org/uploads/File/provider_library/Textbook_Eval_CAL.pdf
References
Hutchinson, T. (1987). What’s Underneath? An Interactive View of Materials Evaluation. In Sheldon, L.

(Ed.) (1987): ELT Textbooks and Materials: Problems in Evaluation and Development. (ELT Document

126). Oxford: Modern English Publications/The British Council.

McDonough, Jo & Shaw, Christopher (1993): Materials & Methods in ELT. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

siLang Project (2013). Evaluation Methodologies for Language Learning. Retrieved from

http://si-lang.inf.uth.gr/index.php?title=Evaluation_Methodologies_for_Language_Learning&oldid=459

Tomlinson, B. (Ed.) (1998): Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.