چکیده:
Changing the English textbook of the first grade junior high school at Iran’s public schools after 27 years has sparked researchers’ interests in conducting evaluations of the new English textbook to get insights into its strengths and weaknesses. In line with this trend, this study aimed at evaluating the new textbook (Prospect 1) from teachers’ perspectives. To attain this objective, 30 junior high school teachers were interviewed and the data were then analyzed by qualitative content analysis.The results revealed that from teachers’ perspectives, there were some pitfalls with the new textbook such as applying an unsuitable method of literacy instruction; over-attention to the communication skills at the expense of literacy skills; over- localization of the content; overlooking the development of intercultural competence in students; and lack of authenticity in the presentation of the content. Finally, as the central figures in the process of educational change, the participant teachers offered some suggestions to amend the new textbook with the hope that their voices be heard by the pertinent authorities.
خلاصه ماشینی:
"Results and discussions The results of the content analysis indicated that 6 categories for the evaluation of the new textbook emerged which could be listed as follows: Strong points of the new textbook Weak points of the new textbook The applicability of the textbook in the educational context Eliminating the students’ needs to participate in extracurricular English classes Meeting the two major goals of "communication" and "literacy" skills Suggestions for improvement Each category was further analyzed and some subcategories emerged which will be presented and discussed as follows: Strong points of the new textbook From teachers’ perspectives, the new textbook addressed the problems of the old textbook, such as being based on traditional methods of language instruction; focusing mainly on reading and writing skills; lack of attention to communicative skills; not having supplementary materials; and promoting a teacher-centered classroom atmosphere, and they considered this to be very favourable.
Weak points of the new textbook Conversely, weak points of Prospect 1 were pointed out to be: not paying enough attention to literacy skills, not presenting English alphabet letters in order and at the start of the instruction, being very difficult for students with no English background, abandoning grammar, mere attention to fluency at the expense of accuracy, lack of enough practice in pronunciation, lack of authenticity in the presentation of the content, presenting merely the Iranian culture and ignoring the international cultures, and setting unrealistic goals considering the constraints of the educational context."