Evaluation On The Reading Part Of Junior English Textbook Go For It

With the implementation of English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education(2011 edition)[i.e.New Curriculum Standards],"Different Textbooks with One Guideline" has been popular in China and different editions of English textbooks for junior middle schools have been published.The prerequisite for completing the teaching tasks and achieving the teaching goals is to select the most appropriate textbooks.Thus,textbook evaluation becomes important.However,the concrete evaluations on the four parts of listening,speaking,reading and writing have been neglected in the current research on English textbook evaluation.Among them,as both the basis and means for English language learners to develop language abilities,the reading part has got little attention,especially the evaluation on that of English textbook for junior middle schools.Without the evaluation principles as reference,it's difficult for teachers to evaluate accurately whether their reading teaching has achieved the teaching objectives.As a result,junior English teachers will not pay much attention to the reading part and students'reading abilities will remain at a lower level.Therefore,it is imperative to formulate the general evaluation principles for the reading part of junior English textbook.At the same time,in order to achieve the teaching objectives for reading as the New Curriculum Standards required and enrich the studies on the reading part of junior English textbook,the thesis conducted the evaluation on the reading part of the five students' books of Go For It in Xinfeng Junior Middle School,Dongguan,Guangdong Province.The evaluation does not only aim to make clear the strong and weak aspects of the reading part of Go For It but also tries to offer suggestions for improvement.Based on the compilation principles for English textbooks proposed in the New Curriculum Standards,the reading objectives of the fifth level for junior middle school graduates,the current studies on textbook evaluation both at home and abroad and the related theories about English reading,the thesis has put forward the general evaluation principles for junior English textbook(keeping up with times,conforming with ideological requirements,conforming with the system of English language and conforming with practical needs)and the concrete evaluation principles for the reading part in Chapter Five.Among them,the evaluation principles for the reading part can be divided into those for the reading materials(authenticity,interest,consolidation and interaction)and those for the reading exercises(clear purpose,close relevance and diversity).Go For It(the new edition)is compiled by People's Education Press.Since the issue from 2012,studies about the evaluation on Go For It and the reading part are rather few.Therefore,firstly,the thesis collected and analyzed the opinions on the reading part from the students and teachers of Xinfeng junior middle school by completing the questionnaire and interview.Secondly,based on the textual analysis of the reading part,the thesis conducted not only the overall evaluation on Go For It from the nature,idea and goals of the New Curriculum Standards but also the concrete evaluation on the reading part according to the general evaluation principles.The results show that the reading part of Go For It can basically meet the overall goal and specific goal as the New Curriculum Standards required,the topics of the reading materials can meet students' need of daily communication and the application of Task-Based Language Teaching Approach can highlight students,dominant position.However,the arrangement of the reading materials are not systematic enough,which not only hinders the consolidation of language knowledge and abilities but also the cohesion among the three grades.Based on the evaluation results,the thesis put forward some specific suggestions for improvement to the reading part of Go For It.For example,textbook evaluation should consider the systematic arrangement of reading materials to strengthen the cohesion of the reading parts among grades and consolidate students' language knowledge and abilities.