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Writing a language textbook, why not? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| cathrynm Senior Member United States junglevision.co Joined 6129 days ago 910 posts - 1232 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Finnish | Message 9 of 11 01 May 2011 at 7:30am | IP Logged |
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I'm just speaking as a consumer of textbooks, so this is just based on my opinion as a consumer.
Pimsleur has one thing right -- and that's the focus on socializing and dating rather than the dreaded 'going to the post office' type of chapter. I'd start with introductions, then go to dating and dining. Then for the more advanced chapters, use TV drama and movies style dialogs as examples. For the dialogs, find actors, or, at least, take a few acting classes first. Tell a story. In the back, have the dictionary pointing to page numbers of where the sentences are used. Included a grammar reference in the back. Also, I hate language CD's that have the 'which is the correct statement' type of problems on them. Because what happens is I listen over and over again, and my brain latches onto the wrong version as well as the correct version. I don't want to hear 'wrong language' -- ever. JLPT tests started using these kinds of questions, and they just drive me nuts and confuse me. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5013 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 10 of 11 01 May 2011 at 10:44am | IP Logged |
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Another textbook consumer here. :-)
I like when textbooks offer more vocabulary to the the subject than just traduction of the words used in dialogue or text opening the lesson. It allows me to use the new structures immediately to create my own sentences. Perhaps at the end of the book, there could be not only list of words by alphabetical order, but thematic one as well. Another good thing is the grammar reference someone already mentioned, because at least most of the beginners do not usually buy a separate one, which is quite understandable. And a lot of exemples of the grammar are always a great thing. I like traduction exercises a lot but of course these are not possible if you are making a textbook in the target language only. And lots of audio. I admire your courage and wish you good luck with your work. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| aru-aru Triglot Senior Member Latvia Joined 6461 days ago 244 posts - 331 votes Speaks: Latvian*, English, Russian | Message 11 of 11 02 May 2011 at 3:28pm | IP Logged |
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You say you guys are teachers. So what you mean is, you've been teaching the language X in classroom before? Than that might help you much, because as it was said before, you need to figure out first who is your target audience. I mean, if you're teaching students in Canada who are not too likely to end up living in region where X is spoken, the "Post Office" scenario really should be left out.
Vocabulary to include, word frequency lists is an ideal source, but if language X is very rare, you'll have to make it up. Generally, I'd say stick with things you actually talk about, and include those. A list of 50 vegetables - that the students can easily get elsewhere. Maybe get someone to make a small program for you that gives you the word frequency from film subtitles or something. Also, decide what you want to teach - mainly communication (speaking/listening), or maybe your students will use the language mostly for reading in it. Or, if mixed approach is necessary. Move on from there. Then there is the question of how much you want to teach, and how intensive do you want to do it. Do you push crazy hard, or take it lightly. Again, it depends on what your students are most likely to want. If the language is rare, be good and go for a book that can be used for self study! Have answers for all exercises, translations (and even Roman script transcriptions, if necessary) for all texts and dialogues, and loads of audio. I also judge the book by the number of CDs it comes with. What would be great in this busy world is, have a CD that can be used without the book while commuting. Many drive, so textbook reading in the bus is out of the question. Such a CD takes a lot of time and creativity, but I believe that is the future of language learning. Have a CD in target language only, and edit the audio to make a CD in target language + English translations and explanations. Topics to include... Depends on for whom you make it, but if the main intention is to use it in class, try using texts in which there is something to discuss. Social problems or something, some cultural differences, anything to give the students something to want to practice talking about. "Where is the pen? The pen is on the table" makes a boring conversation. Be creative. Reuse your vocabulary. Stay away from words that will only come up once in the book. Don't try to cover all of the grammar, like all the possible weird tenses that are used only rarely. What I'd suggest instead is to add such a thing as sentence patterns. How to say "I like ...", "I want to do ...", "Even if....", "If..., then..." And other stuff that is often used in the language. Go for lots of functional stuff, like "I can", "I have", "I will", "I should", "I might", don't try to go deep, try to go functional. Give students options to express themselves with simple grammar and limited vocabulary. So far that's all that comes to mind. I have not made a textbook, but I have taught before, and gone through a big pile of various textbooks looking for the right text to use in my next class. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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