Coursebook Evaluation

The following evaluation was made after the Gold – advanced coursebook by Richard
Acklam with Sally Burges, published by the Longman Publishing House and will be used for
a bilingual class in the 11th grade, with 5 hours of English per week.
The class is made up of 27 students, 20 girls and 7 boys, with the ages from 16 to 18 years
old. They are all from urban areas, currently living in the city where they go to school. The
children’s’ families consist usually of two parents, but some children are currently living with
a grandmother because their parents are working abroad and others are from monoparental
families. From their choice of school and specialty, they are all hard working pupils,
motivated to learn more about the English culture, history and geography. The pupils’ level of
English is advanced or upper intermediate; some of them have studied English from the 2 nd
grade while others have studied it only from the 5th grade. Up to this moment, they have had
world geography and world history classes and have developed a critical thinking in
Romanian literature. The pupils have also had French as a secondary language classes.
Most of the girls want to go to the Faculty of Letters, while the boys want to study in the
Faculty of Economy and Business Administration and maybe get a degree in English while
there. Therefore, the girls will probably be more interested than the boys during the classes.
The majority will use English as a second language when taking classes for their MA
diploma, when applying for a scholarship abroad or for a job. Moreover, they will need to
have good listening and speaking skills in order to be able to communicate effectively in the
future. They will also have to focus on a correct pronunciation, fluent reading and writing
(including a good grammar), in that precise order and the time allotted for each of them will
be in direct ration to their importance. The range of topics presented to class will have to
include both academic and daily life situations so that all the pupils’ needs will be satisfied.
After this year, the children should be able to master the English language at a proficiency
level, to be able to communicate effectively with both foreign people and native speakers.
Moreover, after having a look at a number of alternative coursebooks approved by the
Ministry in charge with the educational sector, I have decided that the Gold coursebook is
appropriate for the level of English the children have and their needs. I must add that the
coursebook comes with a teacher’s book, cassettes and CDs to support the written information
that can be find in the coursebook. It also comes with a price of 30 lei and an additional 5 lei
for the cassettes and CDs.

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The book is very colorful and appealing. The editors of the book have done a great job in
combining images, drawings, sketches with an easy to read font. It is structured in fifteen
units. The units are also organized so that the skills and subskills are tackled one at a time in
the following order: Reading, Vocabulary, Grammar, English in Use, Writing, Listening and
Speaking. The texts providing new information are usually half a page long and they’re
situated in the beginning of each unit. Then follow exercises with the unknown words from
the text (vocabulary exercises). The grammar part is made up of different exercises which ask
the pupils to compare, match, complete sentences, write the correct word etc. There is also a
Grammar Check which allows pupils to renew their previously learnt grammar. In the Writing
section the children will be taught how to do the drafting, to write formal letters, informal
notes, brochures, articles etc. The Listening part provides a diversity of topics; the pupils will
listen to songs, stories, interviews, news coverage and so on. Least, but not last, the Speaking
segment will help the pupils tell stories, compare and contract photos, will teach them how to
agree or disagree on a particular subject, express uncertainty etc.
Furthermore, apart from a well thought design, the book editors have given intriguing titles to
each unit, such as: “What a spectacle!”, “It takes all sorts”, “The roots of all evil?”. “The
universal migraine”, “Where will it end?” etc. To be mentioned, there is a Progress Check
every five units so that the pupils will review what they have already learnt. I will also have
the opportunity to test them and thus evaluate their progress. There is also included a
Grammar reference, Language index/Exam tasktype index, Writing reference and
Communication activities.
To conclude, the coursebook meets all the requirements. It is accessible for the pupils and also
provides great opportunities for the teacher to evaluate systematically the progress of the
children. The cassettes enrich the class activities and provide a great source of accents
because of audio parts with native speakers and foreigners speaking English. Therefore, the
Gold coursebook is the best for a bilingual class.

Vatra Oana Alina

Studii Americane, anul 2