Critical Perspectives on Language Teaching Materials

Critical Perspectives on Language Teaching Materials

Also by John Gray NEOLIBERALISM AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS (with D. Block and M. Holborow) THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENGLISH: Culture, Consumerism and Promotion in the ELT Global Coursebook

Critical Perspectives on Language Teaching Materials Edited by John Gray Institute of Education, University of London, UK

Selection, introduction and editorial matter John Gray 2013 Individual chapters Respective authors 2013 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978 0 230 36285 7 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-1-349-34872-5 ISBN 978-1-137-38426-3 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137384263

Contents List of Tables Notes on Contributors vii viii 1 Introduction 1 John Gray 2 Telling Tales: Changing Discourses of Identity in the Global UK-Published English Language Coursebook 17 John Kullman 3 LGBT Invisibility and Heteronormativity in ELT Materials 40 John Gray 4 The Neoliberal Citizen : Resemiotising Globalised Identities in EAP Materials 64 Christian W. Chun 5 This activity is far from being a pause for reflection : An Exploration of ELT Authors, Editors, Teachers and Learners Approaches to Critical Thinking 88 Denise Santos 6 Critically Evaluating Materials for CLIL: Practitioners Practices and Perspectives 111 Tom Morton 7 Communicating Constructions of Frenchness through Language Coursebooks: A Comparison 137 Simon Coffey 8 Spanish Imagined: Political and Subjective Approaches to Language Textbooks 161 Cristina Ros i Solé 9 Motivation, Authenticity and Challenge in German Textbooks for Key Stage 3 182 Nick Andon and Ursula Wingate v

vi Contents 10 Resisting Coursebooks 204 Scott Thornbury Bibliography 224 Index 248

Tables 3.1 EFL textbooks 47 3.2 Teachers 48 5.1 Topics, processes and outcomes contained in the drafts 99 6.1 Frequency of teachers reported use of specially written CLIL textbooks 124 6.2 Frequency of teachers reported use of textbooks written for native-speaking students 125 6.3 Frequency of teachers reported use and adaptation of authentic non-textbook materials 125 6.4 Frequency of teachers reported practice of making their own materials from scratch 126 6.5 Distribution of areas of concern in teachers responses to open questions 127 7.1 Unité 4: En Famille 144 7.2 Dossier 4 (unit 4) 146 7.3 Tricolore Total 148 7.4 Topics in Tricolore Total 2 and how these position the learner 152 8.1 Spanish and Latin American texts in AI (Viajar section) 176 vii

Contributors Nick Andon is the programme director of the MA in ELT and Applied Linguistics at King s College London. His research interests include materials development, task-based language teaching, teacher beliefs and teacher development. Christian W. Chun is an assistant professor in the Department of English, City University of Hong Kong. His work has appeared in Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Language Assessment Quarterly, and Research in the Teaching of English. He is currently working on a book under signed contract addressing power and meaning making in an English for Academic Purposes classroom. Simon Coffey teaches foreign language education and applied linguistics at King s College London, where he is a member of the Centre for Language, Discourse and Communication. His research interests focus on language choice and interculturality with a particular focus on French and what that signifies for different learners. John Gray is Senior Lecturer in TESOL Education at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is the author of The Construction of English (2010) and the co-author with David Block and Marnie Holborow of Neoliberalism and Applied Linguistics (2012). John Kullman is Principal Lecturer in English and Language Studies at Canterbury Christ Church University, England. He is co-author with Adrian Holliday and Martin Hyde of Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book for Students (2004/2010). Tom Morton is Senior Lecturer in TESOL at Birkbeck, University of London. He is the co-author with Ana Llinares and Rachel Whittaker of The Roles of Language in CLIL (2012). Cristina Ros i Solé is a researcher in language education at King s College London and University College London. She is the co-editor with Jane Fenoulhet of Mobility and Localisation in Language Learning (2011) and Romanticising Language Learning (2013). viii

Notes on Contributors ix Denise Santos is a language teaching consultant and materials writer and her recent research has focused on listening strategies in modern foreign languages (University of Reading, UK). Further details about Denise s work can be found on www.denisesantos.com. Scott Thornbury is curriculum co-ordinator for the MA TESOL at The New School, New York. He has written a number of books on language and methodology for teachers, including About Language (1997) and An A Z of ELT (2006). Ursula Wingate is Senior Lecturer in Language in Education at King s College London. She is joint editor of the Language Learning Journal and her research interests are in academic literacy and language teaching methodology.