THE ENGLISH TEXT BOOK

Text book is the most widely used teaching tool. It is an integral part of any educational system. It is a meaningful teaching and learning material. It is not merely a source of information but a course of study, a set of unit plans and a learning guide.

          A text book is the book used by the teacher and the student in the class.  It is a tool in the hands of a teacher, and an aid to the taught. It helps to revise and reinforce the language material already taught.

Definitions

          “In the absence of any other instructional material the text book becomes a potent tool in the hands of a teacher to teach the skill of a language. “

                                                                        -R. S. Trivedi

          “Text books are the written form of knowledge and thinking for organized teaching and instruction.”

-Heroliker

Importance of a Text book

          The text book is a very useful tool in the hands of a language teacher.  Text books have s significant place in the teaching -learning activities.

          Text books play a significant role due to the below reasons:

1.     They make the teaching of English systematic.

2.     They present the limited portion of the language items in concrete form.

3.     They stimulate teaching-learning process.

4.     They help to implement the curriculum.

5.     They serve as a guide to the teachers.

6.     They provide material for self-study.

7.     They help the teachers from making omissions and repetitions.

8.     They help in supplementing students learning experiences.

9.     They help the teachers to give home assignments to the students.

10. Exercises and examples given in the text books are helpful to the students.

Characteristics of a good Text book

           A text book is one of the essential tools in the hands of a teacher. It must be designed that it can satisfy the need and thirst of both the learners and the teachers. It presents the limited portion of the knowledge of the language which is to be taught in a given time. The characteristics of a good text book can be considered from the following two points of view.

A.   Academic

B.    Technical

Academic Characteristics

          Academic characteristics of a text book can be studied under the subject matter, suitable vocabulary and structures, pictures and illustrations, opportunity of oral work, and facilities provided for developing language skills

1.     Adequate Subject Matter

The subject matter should be of interest to the students, and be appropriate to their level of understanding.  In the beginning it should be simple. Difficult chapters should be included at the later stage. Matters should be related to the environment of the students. It should be related to the Indian culture and tradition. It should have varied topics such as essays, letters, stories, dialogues, incidents, diary notes, biographies of great men, drama, poetry etc.  The different topics included in a text book comprise learning activities and materials which are logically linked with one another. The text book must have short and simple sentences, clear expression, and it should appeal to the sense. No lesson should be so long as to cause boredom. It must consist of the following sections:

          Lessons of Intensive study

          Lessons for Extensive study

          Exercises in language work, composition

2.     Suitable Vocabulary and Structures

According to the All India Council for Secondary Education, a good text book should contain 2500 words and 250 structures for six years course of English. The words and structures should be graded carefully. The number of words and structures introduced should rise with the age of the students. New words should be repeated frequently so that students become familiar with it. At the end of each lesson various exercises are given to help practice in the use of vocabulary and structures. The exercises should test both the reading and writing skills. 

3.     Pictures and Illustrations

Pictures and illustrations are relevant, well-drawn and realistically coloured. Colour should be used for lower classes and black and white for higher classes.  It should be appropriate to the age group.

4.     Opportunity of Oral Work

Text books should be provided tasks to express the ideas of students orally. The lessons are based on the possibility of introductory oral work.

5.     Developing Language Skills

A good text book should provide ample activities to develop the four language skills equally. The exercise should be varied in form and should cover the whole range of language skills. Each exercise should have clear instructions. Thereby the students can easily practice the language skills.

Technical Characteristics

          The technical considerations are as follows:

1.     The printing should be attractive.

2.     The paper used should be of good/durable quality.

3.     The text books should have attractive print with no mistakes.

4.     The size of the type should be bold for juniors and small for seniors.

5.     Margin and spacing should be symmetrical.

6.     Headings and sub-headings should be bold.

7.     There should be no spelling or grammatical errors.

8.     The binding should be durable and the price reasonable.

9.     The title over of the text book should be attractive.

10. The size of the text book should be according to the level of the student. For the primary level text book should be 6”× 4”, and 8.5” × 5.5” for the secondary level.

In brief, text book serves as the friend of the teacher and students. It is a tool to facilitate and stabilize the learning so as to   make students confident to face examinations.