热点聚焦 | 外语教材研究（二）：使用研究

从世界范围看，外语教材作为意识形态、知识和文化内容的载体，既是外语教师教学的主要依托，也是育人的重要保障。虽然相关研究已蓬勃兴起，但无论研究视角，还是理论建构和方法论层面仍有较大探索空间。加强外语教材研究，有利于外语教师结合我国外语教育的实际情况创新教学和教材建设，为培养具有中国情怀和国际视野的新时代人才提供支撑。

外语教材研究视角多样，比如文化呈现、国际化元素、教师的教材使用情况、教材的编写创作等，不同视角下的研究侧重、方法、启示也都不同。因此，在接下来的系列热点聚焦中，我们将为大家呈现内容丰富的外语教材研究案例，以期为外语教师的教材使用、编写和研究提供参考。

温馨提示：第93期“我来读文献”活动关注《外语教材中的文化呈现》一书（点击了解详情），由北京外国语大学张虹副教授领读。活动将于12月15日开始，欢迎大家参与！(添加iResearcher<微信号fltrpteacher>为好友，发送信息“姓名+学校+第93期我来读文献活动”即可尽快加入活动群)

在英国学者Harwood看来，外语教材研究主要包括三大方面——内容研究、使用研究和出版研究。使用研究主要关注教材（包括配套教师用书）的利用和开发，但目前相关研究尚不充分；其中Hutchinson（1996）提出了教材使用的影响框架（详见后文），Shawer（2010）按教师对教材的不同使用情况将其分为三类，curriculum-makers、curriculum-developers和curriculum-transmitters，认为教材内容、教师经验不是教学效果的决定性因素，重点在于教师的个人发展和投入。此外，由于学生在对教材活动有效性的评价和文化内容的态度等方面可能与教师有所不同，因此他们的教材使用情况也值得探究。

本期热点聚焦关注教材使用研究，所选的三篇文章来自Harwood主编的《英语教材研究：内容、使用与出版》一书，分别为“Teachers’ Conceptualization and Use of the Textbook on a Medical English Course”“An Experienced Teacher’s Use of the Textbook on an Academic English Course: A Case Study”“Global Textbooks in Local Contexts: An Empirical Investigation of Effectiveness”。第一篇文章探讨了沙特阿拉伯一所医学院校的七位教师对所教英语教材的认知和使用情况，该文对整个研究过程作了充分而细致的描述。第二篇文章研究了英国一所大学一位学术英语教学经验丰富的老师是如何改编教材并在课堂上作灵活调整的，这其中也受到多元动态的因素影响。第三篇文章介绍了一个针对日本一所大学英语教学项目持续六年（涉及700人）的实证研究，考察了当地师生使用国际教材的实际情况和效果，表明国际教材可以有效促进二语教学，但并非定论，对国际教材的顾虑同样需要重视。因篇幅所限，本文仅梳理了三篇文章的概要，有意了解详情的读者可参阅该书。

Teachers’ Conceptualization and Use of the Textbook on a Medical English Course

Ahlam Menkabu and Nigel Harwood

作者简介

Ahlam Menkabu is a PhD student in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex. She is also a lecturer at Taif University, Saudi Arabia.

Nigel Harwood is a senior lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex, where he teaches modules relating to materials and textbook design, English for specific and academic purposes, genre analysis, and teaching/researching second language writing.

内容概要

While there have been numerous analyses of second language (L2) English language textbook material, there has been far less research conducted on how teachers use this material in class, and why. This article duly focuses on seven English language teachers’ conceptualizations of, and adherence to, their prescribed textbook. The teachers were teaching English to medical students on an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course at a Saudi Arabian university. Classroom observations were followed up by qualitative interviews to explore teachers’ textbook use and motivations underlying their practices. Teachers held varying views of the textbook, with some describing it using metaphors associated with constraint or tedium while others conceptualized it in more positive terms, using metaphors associated with guidance. Although the textbook played a central role in all the teachers’ lessons, there were variations in the ways teachers adapted the materials to meet their learners’ needs and to best satisfy their own pedagogical preferences and priorities, like adding, reordering, modifying, and deleting textbook exercises, etc. However, a perceived lack of subject specialist knowledge, a shortage of time, and an exam-driven syllabus all negatively impacted on teachers’ use of and attitudes towards the textbook. The implications of this study are explored, particularly for teacher development within ESP contexts. And cooperation with subject specialists is encouraged so as to ensure that assessment tasks are maximally relevant for students’ content-related studies.

An Experienced Teacher’s Use of the Textbook on an Academic English Course: A Case Study

Fotini Grammatosi and Nigel Harwood

作者简介

Fotini Grammatosi is an English language teacher and a PhD candidate at the University of Essex. Her research interests focus on the role of materials in teaching and learning, on teachers’ evaluation criteria, and on the impact of various factors on teachers’ approach to, and evaluation / use of, materials.

Nigel Harwood is a senior lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex, where he teaches modules relating to materials and textbook design, English for specific and academic purposes, genre analysis, and teaching / researching second language writing.

内容概要

Although the textbook enjoys a prominent role in many ELT classrooms, empirical research investigating textbook usage in classroom contexts is lacking. Using a repeating cycle of classroom observations and pre- and post-interviews over the course of a semester, this qualitative descriptive case study focused on the way John, an experienced teacher, used the mandated textbook, and his explanations for these behaviors as he sometimes adapted, but frequently abandoned, the book. The study was situated in a UK university, on an English course to prepare students for academic study; and although the textbook was supposed to constitute the syllabus, John enjoyed considerable freedom and autonomy in choosing what was covered in class, and how. Results revealed that John’s decisions regarding the use of the textbook were influenced by his evaluation of the quality of the textbook and its lack of alignment with his preferred pedagogical approach, but also by contextual factors, such as: John’s views on the lack of fit between the textbook material and the needs, abilities, and interests of his students; course logistics, with new students enrolling halfway through the course; and his course director’s refusal to allow him to replace the mandated textbook with an alternative title which John felt was at a more appropriate level. Our findings echo those of mainstream education research, which conclude that textbook usage patterns are context-bound and mediated, and also suggest that Hutchinson’s (1996) framework for describing the factors affecting textbook use is valid. We end the chapter by proposing various textbook consumption projects for future research of a more evaluative bent.

*Hutchinson’s study of EAP teachers suggested that the following factors impact on the teacher–textbook interaction:

(i) the textbook (its content);

(ii) the teacher (e.g., beliefs, training, pedagogical and content knowledge, experience, preferred teaching style, perception and evaluation of the textbook, attitude towards top-down mandates <e.g., school/state syllabus, directives from school principal>);

(iii) the learners (e.g., level, aptitude, previous learning experiences, preferred learning styles);

(iv) the classroom (e.g., physical layout);

(v) the school (e.g., timetable constraints, principal’s attitudes towards textbook use and to EFL as a subject).

Global Textbooks in Local Contexts: An Empirical Investigation of Effectiveness

Gregory Hadley

作者简介

Gregory Hadley is a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford. He has taught in Japanese higher education for over 20 years.

内容概要

Global textbooks (GTs) – full-featured English language teaching materials containing a range of workbooks, videos, CD-ROMs, and online materials – have become a major feature of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) pedagogy in the 21st century. However, they are much maligned by some scholars as tools of cultural imperialism that damage local cultures and contribute to the learners’ failure to acquire proficiency in English as a Foreign Language. This article uncovers a number of the sociopolitical dynamics that give rise to GT opposition, and questions some of the more strident claims of anti-GT scholars. The article then presents a six-year empirical study conducted at a university English language program in Japan, where nearly 700 students have used a GT as the core material. Drawing from both qualitative and statistical analyses, this article concludes that GTs have significant potential for becoming an effective resource for second language learning, but the greatest chance of pedagogical improvement seems most likely in language programs where major institutional stakeholders achieve an acceptable degree of political equilibrium. As we look to that day when changes and improvements are possible, this article urges the use of empirical data as a prime mover for positive change.

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《英语教材研究：内容、使用与出版》已由外研社于2021年9月出版，有意购买本书的读者可长按识别下图中的小程序码或点击阅读原文直接购买。

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