English Language Learning Materials: A Critical Review

Description

This research collection presents a critical review of the materials used for learning English around the world. The first section includes a discussion of materials for specific learners and purposes, such as young learners, self-study, academic writing and general proficiency. The second section presents a detailed study of the materials used in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Africa and Australia, and critically evaluates their effectiveness in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. Taking both the teacher's and the learner's needs into consideration, the book makes a positive contribution to the future of research in materials development, and has practical applications. This comprehensive, critical analysis of materials in use around the world will be useful for academics researching materials development and applied linguistics and for students on post-graduate applied linguistics and ELT courses.

Brian Tomlinson is Professor of TESOL at Anaheim University, USA and Honorary Visiting Professor at the University of Liverpool, UK. He has worked in Japan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, the UK, Vanuatu and Zambia, and is Founder and President of the Materials Development Association (MATSDA).

"The articles in this volume discuss their subjects in a variety of ways, ranging from the anecdotal to the highly analytic and highly quantitative.... serve as a motivator for teachers to depend less on what their textbooks tell them to do and to draw more on knowledge of their students, of teaching, and of the world they live in" Scott Gardner, JALT Journal