It has been argued that the textbook has a ‘vital and positive part’ to play in a language teaching and learning process (Hutchinson and Torres, 1994: 315). According to Wen-Cheng et al. (2011: 91) the textbook assures teachers of ‘a measure of structure, consistency and a logical progression in a class’ and for learners, it fulfils their ‘needs or expectations of having something concrete to work from and take home for further study.’ However, as Swan (1992) notes, the textbook also has negative aspects as it may absolve teachers’ responsibility of their daily decision making about what to teach and how to teach. Teachers may just rely on the textbook believing that the author has produced something wise and useful for his or her students which unfortunately is not always true (Swan, ibid.).
3.3.1.1 Single textbook scheme
In Sri Lanka, the textbook has been found to be a demotivating factor which affects not only teachers’ active involvement in the classroom, but also inhibits students’ interest in learning. It is primarily due to the single textbook scheme implemented by the Sri Lankan government. The government issues free textbooks for all the subjects to all the students from grade One to Eleven under the Free Textbook Scheme of 1980 (Jayakody, 2006). However, distributing free textbooks to over 3.8 million students in about ten thousand schools and the absence of private sector for textbook publications have restricted the students to the use of just one book per subject. Further the state monopoly on single
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textbook production which inhibited the development of textbook writers and the absence of competition in textbook publications have accounted for the low quality textbook production (Karunaratne, 2003).
Adding to this, students are instructed to use the textbook carefully and return it to the school when they move on to the next grade so that the junior students can use the textbook in successive years. A small-scale survey evaluation (Aloysius, 2010) of a textbook conducted by the researcher in Jaffna for his postgraduate qualification discovered that the teacher participants had contrasting views about the textbook. On the one hand, they believed that reusing the textbooks each year led to the government reducing its funding to the education sector, and on the other hand, they intimated that it was a practical solution to deal with the delay in the distribution of new free textbooks to students at the beginning of the academic year. A report by the London based Overseas Development Institute stated that the Sri Lankan education system is in need of more efficient distribution
mechanism to ensure that all schools particularly the rural schools receive the required textbooks on time (Policy Brief 11, 2006). The teachers in the textbook evaluation survey (Aloysius, ibid.) also said that the used textbooks which were given to students, in most cases were either torn or scribbled on or dog-eared by the first user. The second and the third users got the book in such a poor condition that their motivation for learning was affected.
3.3.1.2Content of the textbook i. Language content
According to the textbook evaluation survey participants (Aloysius 2010), low- performing students are not able to enjoy the comprehension texts of the textbook as they often contain difficult structural patterns and vocabulary. As a result of this, the teachers too find it difficult to utilize the textbook effectively to teach English to their students. The teachers in Aloysius’s study (ibid.) maintained that they try their best to make the content easy for students by explaining it in their first language, but the time limit of a single lesson (forty minutes) often forces them to ignore students’ problems and try to cover some portion of the materials for the sake of completing the syllabus. However, the teachers of the students
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with higher ability levels find their job easier as those students require very little help from the teachers to understand the textbook.
ii. Structural content of the textbook
The lessons in the textbook are based on comprehension texts on interesting topics which provide students with a kind of scaffolding around which the language gradually develops (Bourke, 2006). However the textbooks concentrate more on reading and writing skills in view of the need for students to sit an English exam. The teachers of English in the textbook evaluation survey (Aloysius, ibid.) said that there were too many activities for developing reading and writing skills which on the one hand created obstacles for the teachers to complete the syllabus within the stipulated time and on the other hand made the lessons less communicative and more teacher-centred since activities on speaking and listening skills are largely omitted. The free textbook scheme with one textbook made available for each subject has prevented students from accessing a wider range of learning resources and opportunities. All the students in the same class, irrespective of their different levels of learning ability and intellectual capacities, use a single type of textbook which may be an advantage to higher ability students and a disadvantage to lower ability learners because the textbook is not differentiated according to student ability (Karunaratne, ibid.). Further, the effective teaching of the teachers of English is very much impeded by the absence of some necessary teaching components such as CDs, audio or video materials which can be used in addition to the core textbook. Teachers in Aloysius’s study (ibid.) said that the textbook helps students particularly the students with higher learning ability to prepare for the exam as far as the exam paper is designed to suit the textbook. However, they find it difficult to relate the language learned to real life situations. Hence the immediate outcome such as getting through the exam may be facilitated by the textbook, but durable impacts of language learning needs a considerable amount of input and exposure (Ismail, 1991) other than that found in the textbook and the classroom.
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