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HEIDEMARIE HAIDER ibw-Forschungsbericht 143 | Fremdsprachen für die Wirtschaft
3.7 Materials Evaluation
The main criteria of the textbook evaluation are the learners’ needs and wants as identified by
the results of the needs analysis.
3.7.1 EVALUATION RESULTS
STRENGTHS
■ In a questionnaire about the textbook given to teachers and learners, 90% of both teachers
and learners agreed or partially agreed with the statement that they like the textbooks
Shopping Light.
■ The evaluation of the A-units revealed that the general units are well suited to promote learning
languages for work and life and thus complement the job-specific topics (B-units) in a
very valuable way.
■ Providing a textbook that comprises General English and English for Specific Purposes is
an important prerequisite to achieving a balanced combination of vocational and general
educational components. This approach has been recommended by the Council of
Europe’s Council for Cultural Cooperation stated in Liszt (1999: 146).
■ The B-units also fulfil many of the students’ needs and learning preferences:
– In the field of listening and speaking, visits by foreign customers, serving customers,
professional discussions and work placement abroad are well represented.
– As far as reading skills and texts are concerned, product descriptions and trade journals are
also well represented.
– The less needed skill – viz.: writing – is also dealt with in the textbook: Activities and texts
such as filling in of forms and application forms meet the needs of learners.
– The students’ learning preference – pair work – is taken into consideration to a satisfactory
degree. Group work is also represented; however, it could be slightly expanded.
– The preferences of working with photos/pictures and reading and listening activities are
well represented in the textbook.
■ The teacher’s book is valued by teachers as a good supplement to the textbook and offers
additional materials.
LIMITATIONS
The evaluation also revealed some limitations:
■ Business trips and telephone calls with foreign suppliers are underrepresented in the field
of listening and speaking.
■ As regards reading skills, manuals, (technical) books and web pages are not or hardly ever
dealt with in the textbook.
■ As far as writing skills are concerned, business letters and faxes are clearly underrepresented
in the textbook.
■ A lack of material regarding new media such as the Internet and e-mail can be observed.
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