The Analysis， Evaluation and Adaptation of Unit 6 When was it invented？

張蕊

【Abstract】Materials play a significant role in English teaching and learning. This thesis evaluates Unit 6 When was it invented？ by internal evaluation and external evaluation and puts forward some specific adaptation.

【Key words】materials analysis; materials evaluation; materials adaptation

There is no doubt that materials play a significant role in English teaching and learning. Cheng and Sun （12） pointed that although the positive value of materials has not been in doubt， the negative influence of low-quality materials and the abuse of materials have been documented now and again. So， it is necessary for teachers to choose and use the textbooks appropriately.In what follows， I will give some brief thoughts of the appointed unit： Unit 6 When was it invented？

1. The External Evaluation

a. The intended audience.

The audiences of this unit are grade nine students who are more likely to think in terms of images and grade nine is also a special stage for them to form the abstract thinking little by little. So on the one hand， their attention can be aroused by the rich and beautiful pictures of this unit. On the other hand， the grammar part “passive voice” may be the difficult point for students. In addition， the topic “inventions” which is an interesting topic for most of grade nine students can stimulate their curiosity.

b. The authors view on language and methodology.

This unit uses the topic “inventions” as a main line. The task-based language teaching method is mainly used in this unit. At the same time， the communicative function and the basic language structure are also concentrated on. This unit stresses the importance of students comprehensive language application ability. And it leads students to learn to use English in their daily life through its step-by-step learning procedures. From these， we can see that in the authors opinion， the objective of learning language is to use it appropriately in our daily life.

c. Do the materials represent minority groups and / or women in a negative way？

In this unit， the contents of the texts are represented in a positive style. Besides， there are both the men and the women; both the boys and the girls; both the Chinese and foreigners in the pictures. That is balanced. But in the conversation of “2d”， the names of these two roles “Paul” and “Roy” are all boys. And that may make the girls in the class lose some interest to role play it.

2. The Internal Evaluation

Some language expression in this unit is inauthentic. So the teacher should give the proper adaptation. Lets see the conversation in “1a” in Section A：

A： “I think the TV was invented before the car.”

B： “Well， I think the TV was invented after the car.”

It is really boring， and the native speakers wont make a conversation like that. These two are more likely to be two sentences of expressing the points. And also the conversation in “2d” in Section A is inauthentic. It ends with “Around 1917” and in fact there is no ending.

The tests and exercises also have some limitations so it cannot suitable for all kinds of students. For example， this unit requires students do many tasks by themselves， such as making the conversation by themselves， observing the grammar rule by themselves and self checking. And it encourages students to break away from the textbook and use this language by their own. It may not suitable for the students who like depending too much on the teachers.

3. The Adaptation of This Unit

Exercise： 2d in Section A

Adaptation： Modifying

Modifying： the two role of this conversation “Paul” and “Roy” are all boys. So girls may lose some interests in role playing it. We can change one of them as “Mary” or “Lucy”， etc. And teacher can make some cute headwear for their role-play or hold a Class Role-play Competition for them to motivate students enthusiasm.

Exercise： 1b in Section B

Adaptation： Modifying

Just writing some name of food like “banana” is too easy for grade students. Here we can organize students to play a game. We can let the students work in groups and try to write as more words as possible. Which group writes the most words can get awards. That can not only help students remind the words but also arouse their attention in the beginning part of the class.

Exercise： 2e in Section B

Adaptation： Modifying

Without the enough preparing， students may have difficulties in the writing part. We can modify “2e” like an interview task. The teacher can let students play the role of the reporter and the famous basketball player and then interview each other to exchange some different ideas. And then the students should write a report of their interview. This kind of way is more attractive and can help students get more information to write.

References：

[1]McDonough，J & Shaw，C.Materials and Methods in ELT.A Teachers Guide[M].Hoboken：Wiley-Blackwell，2013.