To Whom Are You Writing? Examining Audience in L2 Textbook Writing Activities

A sense of audience is important in the development of student writing (Many & Henderson, 2005). Research shows students need to consider an audience’s attitudes, beliefs, and expectations to be effective writers (Midgette, Haria, & MacArthur, 2007). Therefore, students need learning opportunities in L2 classrooms to develop this ability. Yet, the incorporation of audience in L2 textbook writing activities has not been sufficiently addressed. This study examined textbook activities to whom students write based on parameters of audience influence proposed by Grabe and Kaplan (1996, 2014). Writing prompts from six high school textbooks in Saudi Arabia were analyzed. The results indicate prompts instruct students to write to a single reader, known/unknown readers, as well as write about general topics. However, prompts do not provide information for students about three parameters (age, gender, and social status) which are necessary ingredients in developing a writer’s sense of audience and play a significant role on textual variations. This study also modified a model of audience that can be used for textbook evaluation. The findings benefit textbook developers and teachers by motivating them to consider parameters of audience influence when they design lessons and materials for L2 writing classrooms.

A Critical Analysis of English Language Teaching Situation in Nepal

Critical pedagogy (CP) is an educational movement that primarily aims to support the students in developing a consciousness of freedom so that they can connect the knowledge to power for social reformation. The supporters of CP argue that language teachers should emphasise developing the social skills of the learners along with language skills. Studies show that many English language teachers may have inadequate knowledge and skills about CP and the spirit of CP may not be followed while designing curriculum and writing textbooks. The purpose of the study was to examine the use of CP in English Language Teaching (ELT) focusing on classroom practices, curriculum designing and textbook writing at the secondary level. For this, I used a qualitative research design in which data were collected from six English teachers through in-depth interviews from three schools. I investigated that while designing curriculum, selecting textbooks, and making ELT policy, CP has not been practically implemented. Language policy, curriculum and textbooks are designed by a specific group and imposed on the teachers and learners. There has been a political influence in ELT policy as well. However, some teachers were found positive to CP and implemented it in the classroom, but they demanded special training.

An Integrated Model of Teaching Theory and Action Research in POA-based Textbook Writing

Teaching theories provide important guidance for language teaching materials development, but there is little research on how textbook writers apply teaching theories in the actual writing process. This study analyzes the process of compiling iEnglish, a series of textbooks based on the Production-Oriented Approach (POA) and proposes an Integrated Model of Teaching Theory and Action Research for textbook writing. By elaborating the roles of teaching theory and action research at different stages of textbook writing and the interaction between theory and practice during the process, the study concludes that the Integrated Model can promote both textbook improvement and theory refinement.

Pelatihan dan Pendampingan Penulisan Buku Ajar Bagi Dosen Pemula Melalui Whatsapp Group

Terbatasnya kemampuan guru dan dosen dalam menghasilkan karya tulis ilmiah berupa buku ajar dan karya tulis lainnya disinyalir menjadi kendala pembangunan sistem pendidikan yang baik di Indonesia. Pengabdian masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk memberikan pemahaman dan pengalaman bagi dosen pemula terkait penyusunan buku ajar dari Rencana Pembelajaran Semester (RPS) matakuliah yang diampu dan mengahasilkan buku ajar yang dapat digunakan di kampus masing-masing. Subjek dalam pengabdian ini adalah dosen pemula dari berbagai perguruan tinggi yang ada di Indonesia yang berjumlah 956 orang yang terbagi menjadi empat group WhatsApp. Kegiatan pengabdian ini dilaksanakan dengan metode ceramah, diskusi, dan praktik. Tanggapan peserta yang mengikuti pelatihan penulisan buku ajar diperoleh dari testimoni peserta. Hasil testimoni peserta menunjukkan bahwa group menulis buku ajar yang diikuti sangat bermanfaat dalam meningkatkan pemahaman peserta dan sangat membantu dalam proses penyusunan buku ajar bagi masing-masing peserta.Training and Assistance in Writing Textbooks for Novice Lecturers through Whatsapp GroupAbstractThe limited ability of teachers and lecturers to produce scientific papers in the form of textbooks and other written works is allegedly an obstacle to the development of a good education system in Indonesia. This community service aimed to provide understanding and experience for novice lecturers related to the preparation of textbooks from the Semester Learning Plan (RPS) for taught courses and produce textbooks that can be used on their respective campuses. The subjects in this service are novice lecturers from various universities in Indonesia, totaling 956 people who are divided into four WhatsApp groups. This service activity is carried out using lecture, discussion, and practice methods. The responses of participants who took part in the textbook writing training were obtained from participant testimonials. The results of participant testimonials show that the group writing textbooks that are followed is very useful in increasing participants' understanding and is very helpful in the process of compiling textbooks for each participant.

The Adaptive Expertise of Expert ELT Textbook Writers

Although the ELT (English Language Teaching) materials development literature points to the influence of classroom experience on materials design, the literature is less specific about how such experience affects skilled textbook writing. Drawing primarily upon concurrent verbalization and pre- and post-concurrent verbalization interview data collected from two expert ELT textbook writers as they produced coursebook content, this study finds the participants tapped their English language teaching and teacher training experience – with experience operationalized here as knowledge and skills developed as a result of time and effort spent operating in a domain – during writing episodes when using problem-solving skills, navigating constraints, applying pedagogical reasoning skills, and engaging repertoire. The participants, in other words, were able to effect transfer from the neighbouring domains of English language teaching and teacher training to the expertise domain of ELT textbook writing, demonstrating adaptive expertise. This study demonstrates the usefulness of collecting data while participants are writing to discover how transfer effects and adaptive expertise are realized in real-time work and thus makes an important contribution to the research field of materials development. In addition, the results of this study may benefit teachers who look to textbooks for guidance as they develop pedagogic confidence.

“Hitlermania”

Recent surveys and reports document a growing phenomenon of “Hitlermania” in some parts of India. This article investigates whether the way in which National Socialism is presented in school education has encouraged this development or, on the contrary, has discouraged a positive valuation of the Nazis, including their leader. It analyzes curricula and a sample of school history textbooks published by state and central education boards, which have been used in Indian schools over the last two decades, focusing on their treatment of National Socialism and the Holocaust. While the results can be partly attributed to government interference in the school history curricula and in textbook writing, there appear to have been other factors at play, such as the social environment.

Reflections of a Textbook Author

In this essay, I reflect on textbook writing after three decades of participating in the activity. I address the following questions: What perspective should textbooks take? What is the best approach to teaching microeconomics? What is the best approach to teaching macroeconomics? How does the content of the introductory course evolve? How much material should textbooks include? Are textbooks too expensive? How is digital technology changing the market for textbooks? Who should become a textbook author? ( JEL A22)