A Study Of The Adaption Of The Reading Ma-Terials In Go For It (2012) From Go For It (Nunan 2005)

Most researches on reading materials in textbooks have been concerned with the self-evident importance of reading materials,and attempts at their effective use.What seems to have escaped the researchers’ attention is materials adaptation from textbooks compiled by native speakers of English,not even a survey of the adaptations,nor an analysis of their causes.This paper studies the adaptation of the reading materials of Go for it!(2012)from Go for it!(Nunan 2005)by comparing them with their source texts in terms of general design and intra-textual alterations,seeking after a complete description of the adaptation,an in-depth inquiry into its rationale,and a proposal for the principles of textbook adaptation.The research results are as follows:(1)The texts adapted tend to have a conclusive result,which may allow for less room for students’ personal interpretation;(2)Some adapted materials,decontextualized,go toward opaqueness in their writing purpose,hence their textual authenticity cast into doubt;for some other materials,the adaptation seems to orientate towards simplification of English uses,as manifested in the impersonalization of personal expressions of feelings,and replacing difficult grammar items,say,subjunctive mood,by simpler tenses;(3)The primary consideration underlying the materials adaptation seems to be facilitating the learners’ knowledge of English,and authentic readings for understanding is merely of secondary importance.