II-The Algerian Educational System and approaches to
English Teaching
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Table 5: New English Textbooks (Lekhal,
2008)
This table summarizes the ELT textbooks designed for middle
school learners from 2003 to the present day. From the independence till
present day, English textbooks have been changed and designed many times and by
many authors. During this long period, the Algerian educational authorities
were trying to design the most convenient textbook which suits the Algerian
pupils' level, needs, culture and way of living as well as thinking.
4-English Language Teaching approaches
4-1-Fourth Year ELT Textbook
On the Move is the actual ELT textbook designed for the
middle school fourth year students who are aged between 14 and 15 years old and
have studied English for three years. It was first published by the Ministry of
Education in 2006.
In the section «To the Teacher», the author Arab
mentioned that: «(see Appendix E). The first
part, «Language Learning» corresponds to the receptive stage of the
teaching/ learning procedure. It is concerned with the acquisition of language
in its various components and forms: functions, grammar and sounds. It
includes:
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II-The Algerian Educational System and approaches to
English Teaching
- Listen and consider. - Read and consider. - Words and
sounds.
The second part, entitled «Skills Building» which
corresponds to the productive stage, consists in the practical uses of the
language on the basis of what has been acquired in the first part. It
comprises:
- Research and Report.
- Listening and speaking. - Reading and writing.
These two parts are followed by «Project Round Up»,
which is a sample breakdown of the items expected to be contained in the
project of each file (see Appendix F). «Where Do We Stand Now?» is a
rubric devoted to the student's achievements, it is divided into an objective
assessment called «Progress Check» (see Appendix G) and a subjective
one called «Learning log» (see Appendix H). Finally, the file is
closed with «Time For» which is devoted for students to take a break
before moving to the next file (see Appendix I). On the Move takes up
from Spotlight on English, Book Three while developing features of its
own.» (Arab, 2006:8). This textbook consists of six files, all of them
following the same structure, i.e. two main parts subdivided into three
sections.
A good textbook would allow learners to make choices from a
variety of activities. It also helps them to organize their learning and
enables them to learn better, faster, clearer, and easier to meet the
challenges of real- life situations.
4-2-The Notion of Autonomy within On the
Move
The Ministry of Education considers developing learner
autonomy as one of the main objectives of ELT in the middle of education in
general and fourth year pupils in particular.
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II-The Algerian Educational System and approaches to
English Teaching
According to the Teacher Handbook, the teacher:
«must keep in mind that the learners' gradual autonomy is one of the main
objectives.»(2004:03), and this is the reason why new syllabus has been
designed, new textbooks have been published and the CBA has been introduced as
a new approach.On the other hand, the development of learner autonomy is
mentioned by the authors of On the Move as one of the main features of
this textbook
«... the development of student autonomy through
`survival strategies' and research tasks involving group work and peer
evaluation.»
(Arab et al, 2006:09).
In this textbook and in the beginning of each file, there is
an anticipating phase called «Food For Thought» in which pupils
predict the files theme through illustrations. This technique renders them
somehow more autonomous since they rely on their previous knowledge and
predict. In addition, each file is ended with a project workshop in which
pupils do a research about the file theme. In this phase, the teacher should
act as a counselor; his role is to direct the learners' efforts towards
available sources of information as well as assessing their results. The
project also encourages the use of extra learning resources, such as
dictionaries, personal documents, and realia, which promote autonomous
learning. However, these projects are often done in non-autonomous way, just
getting information from the internet and copy them, or only one of the group
members takes in charge.
Furthermore, On the Move offers learners the
opportunity to assess their progress in a section called «Where Do We
Stand Now?» .This section comes at the end of each file, and it comprises
two types of complementary evaluation: «The Progress Check» and
«The Learning Log». The first type is a summative evaluation aims at
involving learners in problem-solving situations and assessing their
performance through different tasks related to what has been seen in the whole
file.
Whereas, «The Learning Log» is basically a
self-assessment activity which is less objective but more motivating to
learners. The items covered are a summation of the functions, language forms,
sound features and skills seen throughout the file. Learners are requested to
evaluate their performance by ticking in the appropriate column (very well,
fairly well, a little) against each item.
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