Lita Brusick Johnson

April 4, 2013

Textbook Review
LING 583 - Materials and Curriculum Development
Textbook Review: All-Star 3

Title

All-Star 3 (ISBN 0-07-284679-8)

Authors

Linda Lee and Kristin Sherman

(with Stephen Sloan, Grace Tanaka, and Shirley Velasco)
The McGraw-Hill Companies
2005

Publisher
Date

According to the 2011 Digest of Education Statistics, over 921,000 adults in the U.S. participated in
state-administered English as a second language programs in 2009. 1 An essential classroom tool in such
ESL programs is a textbook that focuses on learner needs and goals while enabling learners to meet
relevant standards and that applies research-based instructional strategies, including:

integrating reading and writing elements with oral English language development (four skills) to enable

authentic communication;

employing a communicative language approach that also attends to language forms;

using authentic content and activities that are relevant to students life experience;

drawing upon learners prior knowledge and strengths;

employing a variety of instructional approaches and activities (from drills to projects) to enable learners

with different learning styles and interests to strengthen their communicative competence across a wide
spectrum of authentic, real-life engagements;

developing metalinguistic, cognitive, and metacognitive strategies, plus life and work skills;

Digest of Education Statistics 2011, p. 640.

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regularly assessing learner progress; and

utilizing appropriate technology.2

All-Star is a four-level text book series for adult ESL learners participating in state-funded or

community-based programs. It is aligned with major adult standards (CASAS Life Skill Competencies,
SCANS/Workplace Competency, EFF Content Standards). All-Star describes itself as "systematically
build[ing] language and math skills around life-skill topics" (xii). All-Star 3 (intermediate level) provides a
well-structured and sequenced communicative language learning framework for enhancing learners
practical, daily-life English proficiency. The integration of the four language skills is complemented by
development of metalinguistic, metacognitive, and cognitive strategies that are useful in various contexts.
While several problems areas are described below, I believe that this textbook could be adapted by
teachers to provide a sound learning experience for adult learners in community ESL settings.
Description. The 190-page All-Star 3 is a bound, four-color 8 x 11 inch textbook that features
attractive visuals and sufficient white space to be inviting to students; the textbook is totally in English.
Both students and teachers have access to the textbooks goals and objectives in a 21-page introductory
section. Included is a Scope and Sequence chart that describes the textbooks eight units, organized in a
thematic/topical syllabus. For each unit, specific life skills are taught (listening and speaking, reading and
writing, and critical thinking), along with unit work in the areas of vocabulary, grammar, civics concepts, and
math skills. The arc of instruction is clearly laid out (albeit with a mix of outcome and activity language).
Correlations to national standards, as well as literacy completion points, are provided.

These criteria, appropriate to an English for general purposes context, are drawn from the criteria
identified in the Center for Applied Linguistics report on trends, research and promising practices in adult
ESL (Schaetzel, 2010) and Graves (2000), pp. 152-156.
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The broad real life themes of the eight units are: setting goals; housing; healthy living; money/
consumer issues; accidents/emergencies; community; work; and communication. All-Star 3s authors take
pride in the textbooks use of authentic texts (some of which are adapted to the classroom context). Each
unit is made up of seven two-page lessons, plus two supplementary spotlight lessons on reading and
writing skills. All-Star 3 claims that its flexible structure (expandable from 70 to 180 hour of class time)
allows teachers to customize each unit to meet a variety of student needs and curricular objectives (xiv).
Various expansion activities and resources are available separately (listed in Appendix A).
Description Analysis: Unit 4 (Money and Consumer Issues). Like other units, Unit 4 has a
nine-part format that provides a predictable frame and cycle for skills development. Most lessons begin
with a schemata-activating pair/group discussion and end with learner-to-learner engagement that utilizes
lesson content, with different activities that focus on language forms and strategy development embedded
between:

Lesson 1: Talk About It: Making Purchasing Decisions (a) discussion of picture dictionary visual;
(b) multiple choice questions on vocabulary; (c) peer interview opinions and preferences; ranking
exercise. (d) Try This metacognitive strategy: looking over the whole unit and anticipating.

Lesson 2: Vocabulary in Context: Understanding Warranties (a) pair discussion of pictures, plus
personal opinion; (b) reading short authentic texts (warranties) with embedded vocabulary; vocabulary
definition; (c) pair dialogue repetition using vocabulary followed by transformation. (d) Try This
metalinguistic strategy: suffixes.

Lesson 3: Listening and Speaking: Selecting a Car (a) inference and personal judgment discussion;
(b) life-skill focus: note-taking on written vehicle warranty; (c) dialogue: repetition followed by
meaningful transformation. (d) Try This communication strategy: disagreeing politely.

Lesson 4: Reading and Critical Thinking: Identifying Bank Services and Problems (a) discussion of
personal knowledge related to theme; (b) reading/response exercise: glossary of banking terms; (c)
synthesis discussion analysis and problem solving.

Lesson 5: Grammar: Using Gerunds (a) rule explanation with examples; (b) four exercises of
increasing complexity and individualization to produce target form.

Lesson 6: Application: Teaching Children to Manage Money (a) individual self-assessment of

consumer knowledge; (b) True-False exercise on longer reading (adaptation of Knight Ridder article);
(c) problem-solving in pairs or groups. (d) Window on Math: computing interest on loans.

Lesson 7: Review and Assessment listening review (format used on standardized tests), vocabulary
review, and Learning Log check list.3

Spotlight: Reading Strategy authentic text (extended discourse), a success story from The
Christian Science Monitor, plus three theme-related paragraphs. Strategy focus: identify main idea.

Spotlight: Writing Strategy strategy focus (scaffolded on the previous main idea strategy): outlining,
based on cluster diagrams (reasons, examples, and details connected visually); end-of-unit learner
creation of a meaningful written paragraph based on learners own cluster diagram and outline,
reflecting personal opinion.
Appendix B is an activity analysis sheet, adapted from Littlejohn (1998), for All-Star Unit 4. It

includes all the elements Littlejohn identifies in order to facilitate analysis of not only what is done but also

All-Stars teachers edition provides end-of-unit tests, along with performance-based assessment tools
related to big picture visuals.
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what is not done; several categories are added.4 The following are among conclusions from this analysis
that answer Littlejohns three basic questions:
(1) What is the learner expected to do?
a. Turn-taking: Learners have an active role, not only responding but initiating in over a third of the
activities.
b. Focus: Learners engage primarily in meaning-producing activities (2/3 of the 27 activities in
this unit). To a lesser degree, they also focus on language rules/forms and strategies (just
under a third).
c. Mental Operation: The preponderance are meaning-making activities, involving, for example,
application of students general knowledge, decoding of semantic/propositional meaning, and
formulation of items into larger units); each of these items happens in at least half of the 27
activities. Learners do not engage extensively in drills. While students analyze language forms
and apply a stated language rule (four instances each), grammar-related activities are
segregated in the grammar lesson. Different lessons emphasize other operations (e.g.,
categorizing, hypothesizing, calculating).
(2) Who with? While 18 of the 27 activities are done individually, 12 involve simultaneous discussions in
pairs/groups (some in combination). Meaningful student-to-student interaction seems to be reflected
in the regular flow of interaction from individual work to pair/group work.

Additions to Littlejohns elements: inclusion of strategies in Littlejohns Focus on category; an

expansion of the hypothesize category to include develop questions and solutions in the Mental
Operation category; and metacognitive comment and mathematical element added as entries under the
nature of the content.
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(3) With what content?

(a) Input to learners. The pattern of graphic, oral, and written input elements appears to be
scatter-shot, appropriate for a four-skills approach. The preponderance of input is written or
graphic. There is some extended written discourse, but most of the written input is words, phrases,
or sentences.
(b) Expected output. Output is primarily short written or oral production. Two instances of more
extended output come at the end of the unit. The balance of oral and written output appears to be
consonant with textbooks goal of increasing learner competence in the four language skills.
(c) Source. The source of content is preponderantly the textbook (in 16 of the 27 activities).
However, learners themselves are the source of input in a third of the activities. The teacher is
not a primary content source.
(d) Nature. An appropriate scatter-shot activity pattern reveals itself, with various linguistic,
metalinguistic, metacognitive, and mathematical items touched upon during the course of unit activities;
non-fiction rather than fictions is the focus. However, the nature of the content in eleven activities
the largest single category is learner-supplied personal information or opinion.
Role of Teachers, Learners, and Textbook. From this analysis, one could infer that the teachers
role is that of a facilitator of student learning. The teacher explains content (e.g., grammar), directs
students attention, solicits their responses, provides feedback on student output, and encourages the use
of strategies. But the teachers role is closely intertwined with the role of the textbook. The underlying
assumption appears to be that the textbook provides the map of classroom learning that will be
followed. This tips the decision-making power toward the teacher, who manages learners interaction with
the textbook/materials. And yet, students creatively contribute their ideas and are engaged in making
meaning; the outcome of student speech and writing is generally not teacher- or textbook-controlled.
However, learners do not make decisions about how learning will happen or what will be learned. Rather,
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learners engage in real-life type exercises and activities, learn vocabulary and language rules,
produce meaningful language, and provide input for others learning.
Evaluation. As Kathleen Graves (2000) suggests, materials development means creating,
choosing or adapting, and organizing materials and activities so that students can achieve the objectives
that will help them to reach the goals of the course (p. 150). Such choices are at the root of both the
weaknesses and the strengths of every textbook, including All-Star 3. Among the All-Star 3s weaknesses
are:
The absence of complex tasks that encourage creativity, have clear outcomes, and require
meaningful cooperative work. Most learner-to-learner engagement is opinion-sharing, with some is
simple problem-solving.
The grammar section is not strong. Though appropriately sequenced, grammar elements are not
extensive (raising possible adequacy issues for students whose goal is college); they are segregated in one
lesson per unit. Little attention appears to be given to recycling language forms, and inductive
learning of grammar forms is not featured. Though there is a strong vocabulary-building focus, the time
devoted to the strand of language-focused learning (Nation, 2007) appears to be less than time allocated
to the strands of fluency development and meaning-focused in- and out-put.
Math and pronunciation elements are quite limited (three exposures each).
Some content may be less real life for students than claimed. For example, Unit 3-4 activities may
reflect an assumption that learners have access to healthcare and might be purchasing homes and cars (or
saving $1,500 for vacation). However, this might not be the case for some financially-challenged students.
How textbook language interfaces with learners actual or perceived relationships to authority figures
(e.g., police officers, bosses) may not reflect a hidden curriculum (Graves, 2000, pp. 200-201), but may
bear closer examination in light of the group of learners who actually sit in the classroom.
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 Learner use of technology is limited, and some input seems dated (e.g., letter-writing v. e-mail Unit 2;
job application process Unit 7).
However, these weaknesses can be overcome by teacher innovation and adaptation of this
textbook, which also has significant strengths:
A sound path for increasing competency in the four language skills, enhanced by teaching of learning,
communication, and thinking strategies;
A communicative language approach to learning, with a primary focus on meaning and fluency that is
augmented by a focus on form;
A variety of instructional approaches and types of student-centered activities (short of tasks),
interspersed with vocabulary and grammar exercises, utilized in a sequence that builds from simple to
complex;

Use of authentic material and graphics, with substantial input provided by learners themselves.

Authentic material is provided about both responsibilities and rights (e.g., the Fair Housing Act in Unit 2);

Structured standards-related assessment of progress.

Conclusion. All-Star 3 has both strengths and weaknesses, and since All-Star is eight years old, it

should be compared with newer textbooks. However, I believe that All-Stars strengths outweigh its
weaknesses. In a community-based ESL program, All-Star 3 could provide a sound framework that a
teacher could creatively adapt to shape a classroom context that meets the needs of learners, augmenting
the textbook with processes for inductive learning of language forms, meaningful, outcome-focused learner
tasks, use of computer technologies, and content that reflects more fully the actual real-life situation of
learners.

References
Digest of Education Statistics 2011. National Center for Education Statistics (U.S. Department of
Education). Accessed March 2013: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/
*Grant, N. (1987). Making the Most of Your Textbook. Harlow, Essex: Longman.
*Graves, K. (2000). Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers. Boston, MA: Heinle Press.
*Lee, L. and Sherman, K., with Sloan, S., Tanaka, G., and Velasco, S. (2005). All-Star 3. New York, New
York: The McGraw-Hill Companies.
*Littlejohn, A. (1998). The analysis of language teaching materials: Inside the Trojan horse. In B. Tomlinson
(ed.), Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
pp.190-216.
Nation, P. (2007). The Four Strands. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 213.
doi:10.2167/illt039.0
Schaetzel, K., Young, S. and Center for Applied Linguistics Staff. (2010). Education for Adult English
Language Learners in the United States: Trends, Research, and Promising Practices.
Washington, D.C.: Center for Applied Linguistics. (Supported by funding from the US
Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.)
*Sheldon, L. (1988). Evaluating ELT textbooks and materials. ELT Journal 42 (4): 237-246.
*Tucker, C. A. (1975). Evaluating beginning textbooks. English Teaching Forum 13 Special Issue, 355361.

*Elements of textbook checklists provided by these sources were adapted in the checklist developed for
this paper, which is found in Appendix A.
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